Patents Represented by Attorney Scully, Scott, Murphy & Presser, P.C.
  • Patent number: 8331125
    Abstract: A high density memory architecture comprising magnetic racetrack memory and a method of operation. The memory architecture comprises a plurality of magnetic memory structures, each the structure formed of magnetic material; a sensing device associated with each magnetic memory structure; first decoder device initiating a track select signal for activating a single magnetic memory structure from among the plurality to perform a bit read or bit storage operation; a bit drive device for applying a first signal to form a new magnetic memory domain associated with a bit value to be stored in the activated magnetic memory structure at a first position thereof during a bit storage operation; and, a second decoder applying a second signal for advancing each the formed magnetic memory domain toward a second position of the activated memory structure. The sensing device reads a memory bit value stored at a magnetic domain at the second position of the activated memory structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 26, 2009
    Date of Patent: December 11, 2012
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventor: John K. DeBrosse
  • Patent number: 8330137
    Abstract: A method of manufacturing an electrode is provided that includes providing a pillar of a first phase change material atop a conductive structure of a dielectric layer; or the inverted structure; forming an insulating material atop dielectric layer and adjacent the pillar, wherein an upper surface of the first insulating material is coplanar with an upper surface of the pillar; recessing the upper surface of the pillar below the upper surface of the insulating material to provide a recessed cavity; and forming a second phase change material atop the recessed cavity and the upper surface of the insulating material, wherein the second phase change material has a greater phase resistivity than the first phase change material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 11, 2011
    Date of Patent: December 11, 2012
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Alejandro G. Schrott, Chung H. Lam, Eric A. Joseph, Matthew J. Breitwisch, Roger W. Cheek
  • Patent number: 8328965
    Abstract: A method for manufacturing mechanical components made of spheroidal cast iron, comprising the following steps: —providing a casting of a mechanical component made of cast iron having a structure which is at least partially ferritic and has a carbon content ranging from 2.5% to 4.0% and a silicon content ranging from 2.0% to 3.5%; —bringing the cast iron casting having an at least partially ferritic structure to a temperature for partial austenitizing which is higher than the lower limit austenitizing temperature (Ac1) and lower than the upper limit austenitizing temperature (Ac3) for a time required to obtain an at least partially austenitic structure; —performing a thermal treatment for isothermal hardening at a temperature ranging from 250° C. to 400° C. in order to obtain a matrix which has at least partially a pearlitic-ferritic or perferritic structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 18, 2007
    Date of Patent: December 11, 2012
    Assignee: Zanardi Fonderie S.p.A.
    Inventors: Maurizio Bronzato, Zeljko Ilibasic, Franco Zanardi
  • Patent number: 8332379
    Abstract: A method and system for identifying nodes with similar content. In one aspect, the method comprises determining a structure of a network of nodes, said structure defined by incoming links and outgoing links between nodes within said network, grouping said nodes within said network into a first set of modules, calculating a first modularity value between each of the modules within the first set, said modularity value indicating a degree of similar content within each module, calculating a topical relevance value for each of the modules, selecting those modules whose topical relevance value exceeds a threshold value and calculating an authority score for the selected modules.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 11, 2010
    Date of Patent: December 11, 2012
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Ning Duan, Pei-Yun S. Hsueh, Yan Liu
  • Patent number: 8328712
    Abstract: An image processing method includes the steps of: receiving image data from a body-insertable apparatus having a plurality of imaging units that captures an image of inside of a subject and generates image data and an identification information adding unit that adds identification information for identifying an imaging unit that generates the image data to the image data; displaying a list of the selected image data by the identification information; and switching image data to be displayed in the list displaying step from image data of the one identification information being displayed to image data of the other identification information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 21, 2010
    Date of Patent: December 11, 2012
    Assignee: Olympus Medical Systems Corp.
    Inventors: Takeshi Nishiyama, Katsuyoshi Taniguchi
  • Patent number: 8331041
    Abstract: Provided is an imaging optical system and an image acquisition apparatus that can be suitably used in a small-diameter endoscope while having an ultra-wide angle of view. Provided is an image optical system (1) containing, in order from the object side, a negative front group (FG), an aperture stop (S), and a positive back group (BG), wherein the front group (FG) contains, in order from the object side, a negative first lens (L1) and a negative second lens (L2), and the back group (BG) contains a cemented lens (CL) constituted of at least three lenses (L5, L6, L7) joined together.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2011
    Date of Patent: December 11, 2012
    Assignee: Olympus Medical Systems Corp.
    Inventors: Masahiro Katakura, Hideyasu Takato, Yuji Kamo
  • Patent number: 8328713
    Abstract: The required minimum amount of examination site information is acquired, stored, or transmitted without missing an affected area, thus reducing power consumption, reducing the size of a battery disposed in a capsule, and reducing the size of a casing. Provided is a capsule medical device including a casing having a capsule shape; a light-detecting section, disposed in the casing, for detecting information about the intensity of light from outside the casing; an information-acquiring section for acquiring examination site information from an examination site positioned outside the casing; and a determination section for determining whether or not to acquire, store, or transmit, to the outside, the examination site information acquired by the information-acquiring section on the basis of the information about the intensity of the light detected by the light-detecting section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 25, 2010
    Date of Patent: December 11, 2012
    Assignee: Olympus Corporation
    Inventor: Yasushige Ishihara
  • Patent number: 8331435
    Abstract: An object is to calculate an accurate motion vector with a small computational effort. To this end, provided is a system for compressing a motion picture generated by projecting objects onto a screen, the objects moving relatively to the screen in a 3D space, the system including: a motion calculating component which calculates a motion vector of the object within the screen by projecting onto the screen a motion of the object in the 3D space between a time corresponding to a compression target frame and a time corresponding to another frame; and a compressing component which compresses the compression target frame by motion compensation based on the motion vector.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 29, 2009
    Date of Patent: December 11, 2012
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Hiroshi Inoue, Takao Moriyama
  • Patent number: 8328950
    Abstract: There are provided a system, method and computer program product for detecting foreign materials in a semiconductor manufacturing process. The manufacturing process uses a plurality of semiconductor manufacturing tools. The system categorizes at least one monitoring wafer according to one or more categories. The system supplies the categorized monitoring wafer to a semiconductor manufacturing tool. The system observes a level of contamination on the categorized monitoring wafer. The system compares the level of contamination to a threshold. The system cleans the tool in a response to determining that the level of contamination is larger than the threshold. The system determines which category of the wafer leaves a highest level of contamination on the tool. The system identifies a root cause of the highest level of contamination on the tool.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 20, 2010
    Date of Patent: December 11, 2012
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Robert J. Baseman, Tomasz J. Nowicki
  • Patent number: 8331726
    Abstract: A method, system and computer program product are disclosed for creating an image from a device. In one embodiment, the method comprises acquiring first and second images from the device, said first and second images having overlapping portions, and estimating said overlapping portions to obtain an approximate shift amount to align approximately said first and second images. This method further comprises analyzing the overlapping portions, using a defined cross-correlation algorithm, to calculate a precise shift amount to align the first and second images; and using said precise shift amount to join the first and second images together. In one embodiment, an optical system is used to acquire the images, a stage is used to move either the device or the optical system to acquire the first and second images, and the estimating includes using movement of the stage to estimate the overlapping areas.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 2009
    Date of Patent: December 11, 2012
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Franco Stellari, Peilin Song
  • Patent number: 8332394
    Abstract: A system, method and computer program product for conducting questions and answers with deferred type evaluation based on any corpus of data. The method includes processing a query including waiting until a “Type” is determined AND a candidate answer is provided; the Type is not required as part of a predetermined ontology but is a lexical/grammatical item. Then, a search is conducted for evidence that the candidate answer has the required LAT (e.g., as determined by a matching function leveraging a parser, a semantic interpreter and/or a pattern matcher). Alternately, the LAT may be matched to a known Ontological Type and then a candidate answer searched in an knowledge-base or database determined by that type. Then, all the evidence from all the different ways to determine that the candidate answer has the expected lexical answer type (LAT) is combined and one or more answers provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 23, 2008
    Date of Patent: December 11, 2012
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: James Fan, David Ferrucci, David C. Gondek, Wlodek W. Zadrozny
  • Patent number: 8322285
    Abstract: A combined firework is disclosed. In the combined firework, several tubular holes whose central longitudinal axes are parallel to each other are uniformly distributed in a body, the tubular holes have openings upward and bottom ends closed. The closed end of the bottom of each tubular hole is provided with two small through holes penetrating through the bottom of the body and respectively provided with an inward fuse and an outward fuse in series connection. The body, the tubular holes and the small through holes thereof are an integrally molded structure. On the bottom in the tubular hole propellant powder is provided and connected with the outward fuse and the inward fuse. On the propellant powder an inner cylinder or effect powder is provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 21, 2010
    Date of Patent: December 4, 2012
    Inventors: Ziyou Zhong, Yongzhang Liu, Weimin Zhong, Liang Zhong, Binbo Gong
  • Patent number: 8327077
    Abstract: A prefetch system improves a performance of a parallel computing system. The parallel computing system includes a plurality of computing nodes. A computing node includes at least one processor and at least one memory device. The prefetch system includes at least one stream prefetch engine and at least one list prefetch engine. The prefetch system operates those engines simultaneously. After the at least one processor issues a command, the prefetch system passes the command to a stream prefetch engine and a list prefetch engine. The prefetch system operates the stream prefetch engine and the list prefetch engine to prefetch data to be needed in subsequent clock cycles in the processor in response to the passed command.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 29, 2010
    Date of Patent: December 4, 2012
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Peter A. Boyle, Norman H. Christ, Alan Gara, Robert D. Mawhinney, Martin Ohmacht, Krishnan Sugavanam
  • Patent number: 8327147
    Abstract: The present invention relates electronic receipts. There is provided a method for generating an electronic receipt in a communication system providing a public key infrastructure, the method comprising the steps of receiving by a second party a request message from a first party, the request message comprising a transaction request and a first public key based on a secret owned by the first party and wherein the secret is associated with at least the secret of a further public key of the first party, electronically signing at least part of the request message with a second public key assigned to the second party to issue the electronic receipt, and providing the electronic receipt to the first party.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 20, 2009
    Date of Patent: December 4, 2012
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Elsie van Herrewegen, Jan Camenisch
  • Patent number: 8327096
    Abstract: A system and method for creating N customized disk images from N identical disk images. A computing system creates N identical disk images from a master image. The computing system customize a first identical disk image according to a customization written in customization scripts. While customizing the first identical disk image, the computing system monitors block-level operations applied on the first identical disk image. The computing system applies the monitored block-level operations simultaneously to other N?1 identical disk according to similar customizations written in customization scripts. After applying the block-level operations, the N identical disk images become N customized disk images. Identical Virtual Machines (VMs) operating in the N identical disk images become N customized VMs by operating based on the N customized disk images.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 31, 2008
    Date of Patent: December 4, 2012
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Ezra Silvera, Dean Lorenz, Inbar Shapira, Gilad Sharaby
  • Patent number: 8327294
    Abstract: A method and system are disclosed for controlling operation of a cursor on a display screen of a computer system. In the operation of the computer system, one or more areas on the display screen are designated as user interface areas for receiving input from a user via a Graphical User Interface. The preferred method of this invention comprises the steps of, for each of the user interface areas, designating an area on the display screen as an associated cursor-auto area; and the user applying input to the computer system to move the cursor on the display screen and into one of the cursor-auto areas. When the cursor moves into said one of the cursor-auto areas, the computer system automatically performs a predefined operation to associate visually the cursor with the user interface area associated with said one of the cursor-auto areas.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 17, 2008
    Date of Patent: December 4, 2012
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Sara H. Basson, Peter G. Fairweather, Alexander Faisman, Genady Grabarnik
  • Patent number: 8327312
    Abstract: Printability of a very-large-scale integration design is assessed by: during a training phase, generating a training set of very-large-scale integration design shapes representative of a population of very-large-scale integration design shapes, obtaining a set of mathematical representations of respective shapes in the training set, identifying at least two classes of physical events causally linked to the printability for the very-large-scale integration design shapes, each of the classes being associated to a respective level of printability, labeling each mathematical representation of the set according to one of the identified classes, based on a lithography model, and selecting a probabilistic model function maximizing a probability of a class, given the set of mathematical representations; and during a testing phase, providing a very-large-scale integration design shape to be tested, testing the provided very-large-scale integration design shape, and labeling the provided very-large-scale integration de
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 27, 2011
    Date of Patent: December 4, 2012
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Paul T. Hurley, Krzysztof Kryszczuk, Juri Ranieri, Robin Scheibler
  • Patent number: 8327084
    Abstract: A system and method to trigger synchronization and validation actions at memory access, in one aspect, identifies a storage class associated with a region of shared memory being accessed by a thread, determines whether the thread holds the storage class and acquires the storage class if the thread does not hold the storage class, identifies a programmable action associated with the storage class and the thread, and triggers the programmable action. One or more storage classes are respectively associated with one or more regions of shared memory. An array of storage classes associated with a thread holds one or more storage classes acquired by the thread. A configurable action table associated with a thread indicates one or more programmable actions associated with a storage class.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 30, 2007
    Date of Patent: December 4, 2012
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Christoph von Praun, Luis Ceze
  • Patent number: 8327461
    Abstract: The invention is directed to a probe for scanning probe microscopy. The probe 20 comprises a tunnel-current conducting part 30 and a tunnel-current insulating part 40. The said parts are configured such that the insulating part determines a minimal distance between the conducting part 30 and the sample surface. The invention may further concern a scanning probe microscope having such a probe, and a corresponding scanning probe microscopy method. Since the distance to the sample surface 100 is actually determined by the insulating part 40, controlling the vertical position of the probe 20 relative to the sample surface is easily and rapidly achieved. The configuration of the parts allows for a fast scan of the sample surface, whereby high-speed imaging can be achieved. Further, embodiments allow for topographical variations to be accurately captured through tunneling effect.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 15, 2010
    Date of Patent: December 4, 2012
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Harish Bhaskaran, Michel Despont, Abu Sebastian
  • Patent number: 8323871
    Abstract: An antireflective hardmask composition layer including a polymer having Si—O and non-silicon inorganic units in its backbone. The polymer includes chromophore and transparent moieties and a crosslinking component. The antireflective hardmask composition layer is employed in a method of forming a patterned material on a substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 2010
    Date of Patent: December 4, 2012
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Sean D. Burns, David R. Medeiros, Dirk Pfeiffer