Patents Represented by Attorney Kunzler and Associates
  • Patent number: 7263825
    Abstract: An apparatus, system, and method are disclosed for detecting and evaluating a filter regeneration event. The apparatus, in one embodiment, is configured to determine whether an oxidation rate of soot accumulated on a particulate filter has attained a level sufficient to indicate that a filter regeneration event is occurring. The apparatus may include an input module for receiving input relative to engine operating conditions and exhaust gas produced as a byproduct of engine operation, an oxidation module for communicating with the input module and for determining an oxidation rate of soot accumulated on a particulate filter from the input, and a regeneration detection module to determine whether a filter regeneration event is occurring. The apparatus may further categorize a detected filter regeneration event and to facilitate defining the actual condition of soot on a particulate filter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 15, 2005
    Date of Patent: September 4, 2007
    Assignee: Cummins, Inc.
    Inventors: Joan Wills, J. Steve Wills
  • Patent number: 7260861
    Abstract: An apparatus, system, and method are disclosed for integrating the steps of securing and aligning a ramp to the pallet. A pallet mounting bracket secures to a pallet and mates with a corresponding ramp mounting bracket secured to a ramp. A pallet mounting bracket includes a registration receptacle that receives a registration member secured to the ramp mounting bracket in order to position the ramp with respect to the pallet. A driving member secured to the pallet mounting bracket engages a corresponding engagement portion on the ramp mounting bracket as the ramp is lowered into place next to the pallet. The driving member urges the engagement portion toward the pallet thereby urging a fastener secured to the ramp mounting bracket into engagement with a locking portion secured to the pallet mounting bracket thereby locking the ramp into position in alignment with the pallet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 8, 2004
    Date of Patent: August 28, 2007
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventor: Christopher Michael Turner
  • Patent number: 7229331
    Abstract: An apparatus is disclosed for improving safety and hydro-flow thrust from a trolling motor. The apparatus may include a first and second semi-circular portions configured to connect together to substantially enclose a hydro-drive device, and a semi-circular bracket coupled to each semi-circular portion, the semi-circular brackets together capable of fixedly coupling the first and second semi-circular portions to a trolling motor housing. The apparatus may also include an annular portion configured to couple to an aft opening formed by the first and second semi-circular portions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 23, 2006
    Date of Patent: June 12, 2007
    Assignee: Enviroprop Corporation
    Inventors: George I. Norman, Thomas W. Peterson
  • Patent number: 7213102
    Abstract: Secondary or augmented control of a storage array in a cost effective manner is accomplished by connecting a host to the storage array via a storage adapter independent of a RAID controller. The RAID controller provides primary control for services standard to the RAID controller. Augmented or enhanced services as well as backup control are provided by a control module executing on the host, communicating to one or more selected storage devices within the storage array via the storage adapter. In one embodiment, the control module detects faults or failures in the RAID controller, selectably directs storage commands to the RAID controller, emulates a storage controller including a RAID controller, and provides enhanced or augmented services such as conducting diagnostic, firmware update, or disaster recovery operations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 26, 2003
    Date of Patent: May 1, 2007
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: William W. Buchanan, Jr., Simon Chu, Linda A. Rledle, Paul B. Tippett
  • Patent number: 7207033
    Abstract: A process, apparatus, and system are disclosed for automatically backing up and restoring a system configuration during the installation of new software on a software device. The apparatus may be embodied as a software installation module having a pre-removal module and a post-installation module. The pre-removal and post-removal procedures are embedded within a systems packaging files so that they may be automatically executed during the installation procedures for installing the new software. The apparatus may also include a recovery module configured to perform procedures that are similar to, but potentially more thorough than the procedures implemented by the post-installation procedure. Specifically, the apparatus may be incorporated in a server within a storage area network (SAN) and configured to operate with a plurality of physical disk drives also connected to the storage area network (SAN).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 8, 2003
    Date of Patent: April 17, 2007
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Lucy Ya Mei Kung, Che Lui Shum, Limei Shaw
  • Patent number: 7203804
    Abstract: A process, apparatus, and system are disclosed that allow information to be passed between software modules in different partitions in an environment for a predetermined operating system (OS) and an area hidden from the operating system (OS) in a storage device, such as hard disk drive (HDD). The computer system may include a hard disk drive (HDD) that meets a protected area run time interface extension services (PARTIES) specification and that has an access environment for an operating system (OS) and a PARTIES partition. The PARTIES partition is an area hidden from the operating system (OS). The computers system also includes a CMOS/NVRAM that provides a work area for communication between a user mode module, operating in the access environment for the operating system (OS) in a user data management application, and a management mode module, operating in an environment corresponding to the hidden area.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 4, 2003
    Date of Patent: April 10, 2007
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Seiichi Kawano, Ken Sasaki, Mikio Hagiwara, Kishiko Itoh
  • Patent number: 7200617
    Abstract: An external storage manager for managing an external storage storing one or more files and/or lower directories in association with a higher directory is disclosed, which causes computer to be equipped with directory acquiring means for acquiring a name of the higher directory, setting acquiring means for acquiring execution timing of a directory manager which manages the files and/or lower directories associated with the higher directory, directory displaying means for displaying on a screen the name of the higher directory acquired by the directory acquiring means, and setting displaying means for displaying on the screen the execution timing of the directory manager associated with the higher directory on condition that the higher directory displayed by the directory displaying means has been selected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 16, 2002
    Date of Patent: April 3, 2007
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventor: Yuuji Kibuse
  • Patent number: 7197518
    Abstract: A method and apparatus to recover a construct definition associated with a logical volume in a virtual tape server (VTS) system following a disaster situation involving a library manager database. The method and apparatus re-establish the association between a logical volume or data file or block and a construct definition or volume attribute that assigns certain actions that may be taken on the logical volumes. Such actions and constructs may be defined by a client processor or by the VTS system in order to provide quality storage media management. The constructs may be uploaded to or reconstructed within the library manager database in combination with the host or virtual tape server and consequently made available to the system. In particular, the method and apparatus are configured to recover one or more of a storage group construct, a management class construct, a storage class construct, and a data class construct associated with a logical volume within a VTS system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 29, 2002
    Date of Patent: March 27, 2007
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: James Arthur Fisher, Kevin Lee Gibble, Gregory Tad Kishi, Jonathan Wayne Peake
  • Patent number: 7197617
    Abstract: A process, apparatus, and system stores data check information on an electronic storage medium that uses standard sector data field sizes. The check information may include a cyclic redundancy check (CRC), a logical block address (LBA), a longitudinal redundancy check (LRC), state information, a sequence number, or other information to identify data state, misplacement, or corruption. The check information, instead of being appended to the data within the data sector, may be stored in an independent check sector. The check information corresponding to multiple data sectors may also be aggregated and stored in a single check sector. The process or apparatus may be incorporated in a storage system controller, a RAID controller, a software SCSI stack in a computer, an operating system, a storage device driver, or another appropriate application that interfaces with standard and commodity storage system components.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 29, 2003
    Date of Patent: March 27, 2007
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: William Alexander Brant, Michael Edward Nielson, Noel Simen Otterness, Thomas Elkins Richardson
  • Patent number: 7193812
    Abstract: A recording head to simultaneously read or write data to and from a plurality of tracks on magnetic tape, while compensating for shrinkage or expansion caused by moisture, temperature, creep caused by tension in the tape, creep caused by dimensional instability of the tape, as well as other causes. A recording head in accordance with the invention includes a leading module and a trailing module. In order to accommodate fluctuation in tape dimensions due to expansion or shrinkage, the leading and trailing modules may be offset with respect to one another. By offsetting one module with respect to the other, selected read and write elements from one module may more closely align with certain tracks of an expanded or shrunk tape, while other read and write elements from the other module may more closely align with other tracks on the tape.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 25, 2003
    Date of Patent: March 20, 2007
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventor: James Howard Eaton
  • Patent number: 7194482
    Abstract: A method and system for collecting and reviewing data related to web services receives service criteria from a service requester, selects candidate services that match the service criteria, invokes the selected candidate services, and aggregates results provided by the candidate services. In conjunction with aggregating results, the method and system builds service result objects conforming to a composite schema constructed from the various result schemas. To increase the utility of the aggregated results, metadata such as an invocation timestamp are also attached to each service result object. Result values are inspected and enumerated within a results table that may be used to determine which service result objects contain a particular result value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 26, 2002
    Date of Patent: March 20, 2007
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Michael K. Larkin, Howard Lee
  • Patent number: 7188336
    Abstract: An interface definition that specifies the functionality of humanly accessed functions within a software program is parsed into statements by a parser in conjunction with a dictionary. The parsed statements are converted to formatted statements by a plurality of formatters resulting in expression of the interface definition in a plurality of selected formats. The selected formats comprise source code formats and various documentation formats. Files generated from source code formatters, such as “C++” formatters, are included in the software build process and facilitate restricting software development to the specified functionality. Changes to the interface definition are propagated to the selected formats resulting in software functionality that is consistent with the various forms of documentation such as on-line help and printed documentation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 17, 2002
    Date of Patent: March 6, 2007
    Assignee: International Bussiness Machines Corporation
    Inventor: Marshall Lee Humphries
  • Patent number: 7185222
    Abstract: An apparatus, system, and process are disclosed for maintaining data in an electronic storage array during multiple, concurrent drive failures. A first drive failure is recognized and the storage system controller subsequently enters a first operating mode. The storage system controller then recognizes a second drive failure and enters a second operating mode, which is different from the first operating mode, in response to the second drive failure. The second operating mode allows the storage system controller and a recovery module to access the data of the second failed drive in a controlled manner in order to attempt to recover the data on the first failed drive. Also, a pinned data module may allow write data to be written to a pinned data drive, instead of a failed drive, while the storage system controller is operating in the second operating mode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 14, 2003
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2007
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: David Alan Burton, Joseph Paul Hughes, Noel Simen Otterness, Bruce A. Woller
  • Patent number: 7181653
    Abstract: A method for repairing a failed network connection between a client system and a network is disclosed. In a first aspect, the method preferably includes collecting real time connectivity information by the client system and utilizing the real time connectivity information by the client system to establish a connection with the network.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2003
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2007
    Assignee: Lenovo Singapore Pte, Ltd
    Inventors: David C. Challener, Steven J. Mastrianni, Joseph R. Parker, Ratan Ray, Leendert P. Van Doorn
  • Patent number: 7177114
    Abstract: An apparatus, system, and method are disclosed for the velocity proportional clocking of time base servo tape storage devices. The apparatus, system, and method allow the velocity of time base servo tape storage devices to be adjusted and maintained by adjusting the frequency of a clock. In one embodiment, a velocity command is received and the clock signal frequency is varied in response to the command. A feedback control signal may then be produced to control the velocity of a time base servo device in response to the clock signal frequency, the feedback control signal being used to vary the velocity of a servo motor. In one embodiment, the velocity of the servo motor varies directly proportionate to the clock signal frequency.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 13, 2005
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2007
    Assignee: International Bussiness Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Nhan Xuan Bui, Robert Allen Hutchins, Eiji Ogura, Mark Allan Taylor, Kazuhiro Tsuruta
  • Patent number: 7174465
    Abstract: A method is disclosed for securely updating system attributes of a client computer with a BIOS and includes signing a public key of a secure server with a private key of the BIOS prior to completion of manufacturing of the client computer to create an encrypted public key and embedded private key stored at the server. The method includes receiving at the server a request packet transmitted from the client computer requesting system attribute modification, encrypting the request packet to create an encrypted packet, and transmitting a return packet to client computer comprising the encrypted packet, the server's public key, and server instructions. The client computer decrypts the request packet using the server's public key and compares it to the original request packet, and if identical, executes the server instructions to modify the client computer's boot block to update client computer's system attributes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 26, 2002
    Date of Patent: February 6, 2007
    Assignee: Lenovo Singapore Pte, Ltd
    Inventors: Joseph Wayne Freeman, Chad Lee Gettelfinger, Steven Dale Goodman, William Fred Keown, Jr., Eric Richard Kern, Randall Scott Springfield
  • Patent number: 7171538
    Abstract: An interface for managing incremental data storage includes a write function that appends an entry to an incremental log, a read function that retrieves a most recent log entry corresponding to a block address, and a snapshot function that automatically partitions the incremental log into an additional volume. The interface may also include a policy assignment function that associates specified policies with explicitly or implicitly specified resources, a read entry function that retrieves sequential entries from the incremental log, and a compact volume function. The provided functions and associated apparatus, method, and system, facilitate management of incremental data including snapshot, remote copy, data compaction, policy management, data restoration, and other operations on data storage devices and systems.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 22, 2003
    Date of Patent: January 30, 2007
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Richard V. Kisley, John Michael Lake, Durga Devi Mannaru
  • Patent number: 7170000
    Abstract: Apparatus having a cooling device capable of both power generation using heat from a heat-generating component and cooling of the heat-generating component is provided. The cooling device has a heat-receiving part which receives heat conducted from a CPU, which is an external heat-generating component, a thermoelectric conversion part arranged to absorb heat from the heat-receiving part and having operating modes including a mode of cooling the heat-receiving part by being supplied with a current and a power generation mode of converting heat received from the heat-receiving part into a current and outputting the current, and a selecting part which makes a selection according to a temperature condition of the CPU as to in which one of the modes the thermoelectric conversion part should be operated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 13, 2003
    Date of Patent: January 30, 2007
    Assignee: Lenovo Singapore Pte, Ltd.
    Inventors: Kazuhiko Maeda, Hiroaki Agata
  • Patent number: 7171569
    Abstract: An information processing apparatus that allows the operating mode of a system to be changed according to the input of a user instruction includes a request signal obtaining module for obtaining a change request signal for requesting the change of the operating mode of the system; an instruction signal generation module for generating a change instruction signal for changing the operating mode of the system according to the change request signal obtained by the request signal obtaining module; an operation control module for changing the operating mode of the system according to the change instruction signal generated by the instruction signal generation module; and an instruction signal generation control module for preventing the instruction signal generation module from generating the change instruction signal if the request signal obtaining module re-obtains the same change request signal as the change request signal during a time period required for the operation control module to successfully change the
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2003
    Date of Patent: January 30, 2007
    Assignee: Lenovo Singapore Pte, Ltd.
    Inventors: Shinji Ohishi, Akiyoshi Tanaka, Noritoshi Yoshiyama
  • Patent number: 7170705
    Abstract: A process, apparatus, and system are disclosed for inhibiting erroneous control signals due to disruptive electromagnetic signals. In one embodiment, the invention prevents erroneous information writing in a recording device under the effect of background electromagnetic waves. A conductor pattern is formed on a printed wiring board on which wiring constituting a control circuit of a hard disk drive is formed. Background electromagnetic waves are detected by an electromagnetic wave detection circuit. In the case where an electromagnetic wave signal detected by the electromagnetic wave detection circuit exceeds a predetermined power, voltage, or current threshold, a write gate signal is turned off to inhibit a potential write operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 24, 2001
    Date of Patent: January 30, 2007
    Assignee: Hitachi Global Storage Technologies
    Inventors: Masahiro Shimizu, Nobuyuki Kitazaki