Patents Represented by Attorney Whitham, Curtis, Christofferson & Cook P.C.
  • Patent number: 8350341
    Abstract: Adjustment of a switching threshold of a field effect transistor including a gate structure including a Hi-K gate dielectric and a metal gate is achieved and switching thresholds coordinated between NFETs and PFETs by providing fixed charge materials in a thin interfacial layer adjacent to the conduction channel of the transistor that is provided for adhesion of the Hi-K material, preferably hafnium oxide or HfSiON, depending on design, to semiconductor material rather than diffusing fixed charge material into the Hi-K material after it has been applied. The greater proximity of the fixed charge material to the conduction channel of the transistor increases the effectiveness of fixed charge material to adjust the threshold due to the work function of the metal gate, particularly where the same metal or alloy is used for both NFETs and PFETs in an integrated circuit; preventing the thresholds from being properly coordinated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 9, 2010
    Date of Patent: January 8, 2013
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Michael P. Chudzik, William K. Henson, Unoh Kwon
  • Patent number: 8340995
    Abstract: A method and system are described for using business artifacts to identify elements of a component business model. Artifacts operated upon by the business are first identified, and then used to analyze the business into business operations. This is done by identifying every business activity that acts on an artifact, creating directed graphs for the business activities, and decomposing the directed graphs into sub-graphs, each sub-graph representing a business operation and being annotated by a verb expression, the annotated sub-graph representing a business service. The business services are then clustered into non-overlapping components, using common affinities reflected in the verb expressions, and organized by partitioning into internal and external operations, exposing a business service for each external operation. The components are then clustered into non-overlapping business competencies, and arranged by accountability level.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 2008
    Date of Patent: December 25, 2012
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: David Bernard Flaxer, Anil Nigam, Guy Jonathan James Rackham, John George Vergo
  • Patent number: 8341592
    Abstract: A system and method is provided for the ontological representation of the meta-models of businesses and their processes, activities, and components in one or more semantic web markup languages to enable reasoning and analyzing of instances of enterprise business models to infer relationships of business entities which are previously unknown or not clear from the original business model instance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 25, 2008
    Date of Patent: December 25, 2012
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: RamaKalyani T. Akkiraju, Richard Thomas Goodwin, Anca-Andreea Ivan, Juhnyoung Lee
  • Patent number: 8341610
    Abstract: A method and system for generating problem resolution flowcharts, whereby users do not author flowcharts directly but instead author a dependency matrix of questions and answers related by state or underlying problem cause. After creation of a matrix of questions and answers, a corresponding flowchart is then calculated based on the information in the dependency matrix, and also based on the likelihood of the various problems and their causes. The probabilities of problems and their causes may be estimated or may be calculated from historical data accumulated by use of the flow chart, or some combination of the two. These probabilities are incorporated into the answer cells of the dependency matrix. The resulting flowchart is tested and evaluated, and the results of testing and evaluation are used to make modifications in the matrix of questions and answers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 2007
    Date of Patent: December 25, 2012
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Alina Beygelzimer, Mark Brodie, Sheng Ma, Jonathan Lenchner, Irina Rish
  • Patent number: 8331854
    Abstract: An ultrawideband radio transceiver/repeater provides a low cost infrastructure solution that merges wireless and wired network devices while providing connection to the plant, flexible repeater capabilities, network security, traffic monitoring and provisioning, and traffic flow control for wired and wireless connectivity of devices or networks. The ultrawidebande radio transceiver/repeater can be implemented in discrete, integrated, distributed or embedded forms.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 10, 2011
    Date of Patent: December 11, 2012
    Inventor: Theodore S. Rappaport
  • Patent number: 8332407
    Abstract: A method and system for customer-choice-based bundling of product options collects data from previous orders about customer component choices, computes a pairwise distance between any pair of components that capture how much the probability of a choice pair P(a.b) deviates from the expected probability under the null hypothesis of independence P(a)*P(b), and clusters the components. The methodology can be implemented as instructions implemented in a computer readable medium. In this way, the need for a method to permit bundles of product options to be configured through the use of business processes reflecting choices based on the preferences of customers rather than the preferences of product designers is fulfilled.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 21, 2008
    Date of Patent: December 11, 2012
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventor: Claudia Reisz
  • Patent number: 8331110
    Abstract: A power converter topology operates as a switching capacitor (capacitive voltage divider) converter during a first, preferably short portion of a switching cycle to provide excellent dynamic transient response and as a pulse width modulated converter during a second portion of a switching cycle to provide flexibility of voltage regulation and generality of application. This topology can be made self-driven and is capable of zero voltage switching. Therefore the power converter can be used as one of a plurality of branches of a multi-phase converter to enhance transient response. The respective branches can also be independently optimized for particular load levels and can be operated independently in a phase shedding manner to improve efficiency at low load. Further, the power converter or respective branches of a multi-phase power converter are compatible with non-linear control to further improve dynamic response.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 2009
    Date of Patent: December 11, 2012
    Assignee: Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties, Inc.
    Inventors: Ming Xu, Ke Jin, Fred C. Lee
  • Patent number: 8326670
    Abstract: In software systems for resource-constrained production planning (RCPP), it is often beneficial to determine a detailed association, or “pegging”, between the resources and the shipments that are enabled by those resources. Presented here is a software-implemented method for constructing a pegging of a production plan for an RCPP problem. The method is called “Pegging By Explosion” (PBE). This method, takes a feasible production plan and reconstructs it, using its own specialized incremental allocation technique. A Pegging By Monitoring technique is applied to this reconstruction in order to produce the pegging. The reconstruction is accomplished by a specialized “explosion” technique related to the explosion technique of Material Requirements Planning (MRP).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 3, 2008
    Date of Patent: December 4, 2012
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventor: Robert James Wittrock
  • Patent number: 8324197
    Abstract: Trans-platinum compounds comprising carboxylato groups are disclosed, with anti-cancer usefulness. The carboxylato groups participate in solubilizing trans-platinum compounds to which they are attached.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 11, 2006
    Date of Patent: December 4, 2012
    Assignee: Virginia Commonwealth University
    Inventor: Nicholas P. Farrell
  • Patent number: 8327061
    Abstract: A digital data storage device physically stores blocks of identical data only once on its storage medium wherein a second or even further identical blocks are stored only as reference referring to the first block of these identical blocks. By this technique, storage of duplicate data is most effectively avoided on the lowest storage level of the disk storage device, even in cases where identical blocks are written by different operating Systems. In the preferred embodiment, the underlying storage medium (magnetic hard disk, optical disk, tape, or M-RAM) is segmented into two areas, the first area particularly comprising a relatively small block reference table and the remaining physical storage area for storing real blocks of information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2010
    Date of Patent: December 4, 2012
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Manfred Boldy, Peter Sander, Hermann Stamm-Wilbrandt
  • Patent number: 8322362
    Abstract: A water pressure backup device has a water tank mounted between a water source and interior plumbing lines and containing an air bladder that is inflated by a battery powered compressor when water pressure is lost at the source, bladder inflation within the tank thereby providing auxiliary water pressure to the interior plumbing lines. A control unit detects when water pressure at the source is lost, and monitors air pressure in the bladder and water pressure in the tank. When water pressure is restored at the source, the control unit shuts off the compressor and opens an air pressure relief valve at the bladder.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 31, 2009
    Date of Patent: December 4, 2012
    Assignee: Ethosystems, LLC
    Inventor: Judson E. Walls
  • Patent number: 8326665
    Abstract: A system and method is described for using a component business model to partition a business into non-overlapping components, and then allocating different components to appropriate organizing strategies, based on attribute values assigned to each component. In the best mode of implementation there are two attributes: whether or not the component differentiates the business within the market place; and whether the component is industry standard or is tailored by the organization. These attributes and their values map the components of the business to a matrix. Based on the combination of attribute values in each cell of the matrix, available organizing strategies are also mapped to the matrix, thereby identifying for each component an appropriate organizing strategy.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 15, 2005
    Date of Patent: December 4, 2012
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: David L. Cohn, Robert D. Dill, David Bernard Flaxer, George M. Galambos, Robert H. Guttman, Raman Harishankar, David Robert Kress, Christopher Murasso, Jeffrey A. Neville, Clifford Alan Pickover, George Edmund Pohle, Guy Jonathan James Rackham, Shanker Ramamurthy, John R. Smith, Stephen Michael Smith, Laurie A. Tropiano, John George Vergo
  • Patent number: 8298294
    Abstract: The invention relates to an orthopedic foot device with a connection part for the lower leg, a swivel joint (5) acting as an ankle joint (7) by means of which a foot part (10) is rotatably connected in the direction of dorsiflexion and the direction of plantar flexion to the connection part, with a damping arrangement (17) influencing the rotational movement about the swivel joint (5), with a sensor arrangement for detecting action states of the orthopedic foot part, and with a control unit connected to the sensor arrangement which controls the damping arrangement (17). The object is achieved by the fact that the sensor arrangement has an ankle-angle sensor which measures the angle between the connection part and the foot part (10), an absolute-angle sensor (20) relating to the plumb line and a moments sensor (21) for determining the torque on the ankle joint (7) or a force effecting a torque on the ankle joint (7).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 5, 2009
    Date of Patent: October 30, 2012
    Assignee: Otto Bock HealthCare GmbH
    Inventors: Sven Kaltenborn, Felix Ruess, Sven Zarling, Bernhard Bischof, Thomas Kraus
  • Patent number: 8294270
    Abstract: Improved mechanical and adhesive strength and resistance to breakage of copper integrated circuit interconnections is obtained by forming a copper alloy in a copper via/wiring connection in an integrated circuit while minimizing adverse electrical effects of the alloy by confining the alloy to an interfacial region of said via/wiring connection and not elsewhere by a barrier which reduces or substantially eliminates the thickness of alloy in the conduction path. The alloy location and composition are further stabilized by reaction of all available alloying material with copper, copper alloys or other metals and their alloys.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 26, 2011
    Date of Patent: October 23, 2012
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Daniel C. Edelstein, Edward C. Cooney, III, John A. Fitzsimmons, Jeffrey P. Gambino, Anthony K. Stamper
  • Patent number: 8289884
    Abstract: A method and system for identifying unknown illicit networks uses node data, link data, and network data in a recursive analysis that computes node probabilities by combining patterns based on nodes, links and the topology of the network structure present simultaneously in the data. An iterative balancing algorithm is used to make the probability values self-consistent.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 14, 2009
    Date of Patent: October 16, 2012
    Assignee: Dulles Research LLC
    Inventors: Vladimir Fishman, William A. Eginton, Yuri Galperin
  • Patent number: 8286175
    Abstract: A method and apparatus are disclosed for determining the best cluster of computing resources to handle each of a plurality of workloads by optimally grouping multiple workloads and determining the best resource cluster to handle each group.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 2008
    Date of Patent: October 9, 2012
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Ta-Hsin Li, Giuseppe Andrea Palcologo, Stephen Scott Briggs
  • Patent number: 8262881
    Abstract: Methods to generate a distinctive fingerprint (pattern of migration) for a sample of complex, polydisperse heparins are provided. The methods involve adding resolving agents such as polyamines to a heparin sample and then analyzing the sample with a technique that separates macromolecules according to charge to mass ratio (e.g. capillary electrophoresis). The resulting electropherogram is unique to and characteristic of the heparin sample. The methods may be used, for example, to monitor the quality and consistency of various heparin preparations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 27, 2009
    Date of Patent: September 11, 2012
    Assignee: Virginia Commonwealth University
    Inventors: Umesh R. Desai, J. Timothy King
  • Patent number: 8244391
    Abstract: Tools and/or resources which newly become available to a re-entrant flow manufacturing line, data processing pipeline or the like are allocated in substantially real time to processing operations independent of and consistent with a scheduling segment previously generated by dispatching items such as workpieces or data to tools and/or resources of a manufacturing line until the newly available tool or resource can be conveniently included in a subsequently generated schedule segment in order to avoid productivity loss due to schedule latency. Items can be dispatched in a priority order to accelerate completion of processing. A schedule segment including the newly available tool or resource can be facilitated by merging allocations of a real time dispatch list with allocations of a dispatch list corresponding to a previously generated schedule segment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 28, 2008
    Date of Patent: August 14, 2012
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Richard G. Burda, Heath C. Kent
  • Patent number: 8239327
    Abstract: A system and method for a user to log broadcast content at the time of the broadcast by selecting the content source on a device, the device having been configured to send the user's selection, date and timestamp, and a unique identification to a content server. The content server obtains a playlist of broadcast content from the content source, and uses the information from the user device to identify on the playlist the specific content selected by the user. The content server delivers the specific content to the user, by electronic mail or via a web page, together with associated content.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 1, 2006
    Date of Patent: August 7, 2012
    Assignee: Jump Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Tom Healy, Norton Lam, John Freund, Jason Deruyck
  • Patent number: 8239237
    Abstract: The adaptive product conditioning is a computer-implemented method for identifying product configurations that can be provided to customers in reaction to supply imbalances. The methodology uses data mining techniques to collect and analyze business level meta data to coordinate supply and sales goals in terms of optimizing profits or managing product and technology transitions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 18, 2011
    Date of Patent: August 7, 2012
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Lianjun An, Feng Cheng, Thomas Robert Ervolina, Markus Ettl, Pu Huang, Laurence Allan Phillips, Karthik Sourirajan