Patents Represented by Attorney Whitham, Curtis, Christofferson & Cook P.C.
  • Patent number: 7908161
    Abstract: A computer implemented method and a computer system implementing the method of a business process transformation wizard leads a business analyst through a series of steps to invoke business transformation patterns, in order to analyze the results of those processes. The wizard first prompts the business analyst to specify business objectives of process transformation. Required parameters are added to the business process model guided by the business process transformation wizard until the business process model is completed. Once the model is completed, the wizard prompts the business analyst to select transformation techniques or patterns for optimizing process parameters and, for each selected transformation pattern, optimizes process parameters using a selected optimization technique.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 21, 2008
    Date of Patent: March 15, 2011
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Jay William Benayon, Kaori Fujiwara, Makoto Kano, Akio Koide, Bala Ramachandran
  • Patent number: 7900985
    Abstract: A tie down positioning, load securing extension arm (1.012) including an angle protector gripping head (1.016), a shaft (1.017) and a handle (1.014), wherein the head includes first and second sets of opposed jaws (1.022, 1.014) adapted to grip an angle protector (1.030), the first set of jaws having a first set of engagement elements (4.041, 4.043), the first set of engagement elements being spaced apart transversely to the arm or shaft, wherein the head further includes a tie down guide (4.020, 4.021), which, in use is adapted to facilitate placement of an angle protector and a tie down to secure, for example, a load on a vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 8, 2008
    Date of Patent: March 8, 2011
    Inventors: Carle Robert Goodfellow, Linda Rae Goodfellow
  • Patent number: 7894571
    Abstract: A displacement and velocity based prospective cine CT (PDV CT) method is disclosed for starting image acquisition if the displacement and velocity are simultaneously within predetermined tolerances, thus essentially sorting 2D CT images in a five dimensional parameter space, where displacement and the sign of the velocity are used for the temporal sorting, replacing the use of either phase or displacement as the temporal parameter during retrospective sorting, with velocity as a separate parameter correlating to some parameter of the system, e.g. the airflow rate, making it possible to do the image sorting in real-time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 8, 2009
    Date of Patent: February 22, 2011
    Assignee: Stanford University
    Inventors: Paul J. Keall, Ulrich W. Langner
  • Patent number: 7894293
    Abstract: In a three-dimensional stacked memory having through electrodes, no optimal layer arrangement, bank arrangement, control methods have been established, and thus optimal methods are desired to be established. A stacked memory includes memory core layers, an interposer, and an IF chip. By stacking memory core layers having the same arrangement, it is possible to cope with both of no-parity operation and parity operation. Further, bank designation irrespective of the number of stacks of the memory core layers can be achieved by assignment of a row address and a bank address. Further, the IF chip has refresh counters for performing a refresh control of the stacked memory. This arrangement provides a stacked memory including stacked memory core layers having through electrodes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 17, 2006
    Date of Patent: February 22, 2011
    Assignee: Elpida Memory, Inc.
    Inventors: Hiroaki Ikeda, Kayoko Shibata, Junji Yamada
  • Patent number: 7895502
    Abstract: A two-level error control protocol detects errors on the subline level and corrects errors using the codeword for the entire line. This enables a system to read small pieces of coded data and check for errors before accepting them, and in case errors are detected, the whole codeword is read for error correction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 4, 2007
    Date of Patent: February 22, 2011
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Junsheng Han, Luis A. Lastras-Montano, Michael R. Trombley
  • Patent number: 7895152
    Abstract: A metric network provides a descriptive model that explicitly expresses the relationships among all metrics of a business enterprise. Performance of each single business entity in the operational level is measured by a set of primitive metrics, each of which measures a specific aspect of the business entity. The primitive metrics construct the base on which the whole metric network is built.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 19, 2008
    Date of Patent: February 22, 2011
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Pu Huang, Hui Lei, Lipyeow Lim
  • Patent number: 7890583
    Abstract: A method, system, and computer program for dynamically setting up collaborative associations between a group of users, computing resources, and/or communication devices, where the constituents of the collaborative association are chosen based on a variety of contextual criteria. The dynamic collaboration enabler component determines the explicit identities of the parties that should be a part of the collaboration. The group of individual entities involved in the collaboration can change dynamically during the lifetime of the collaboration, based on appropriate changes in the contextual data. Such contextual data refers to both state variables associated with the collaboration software or infrastructure itself, or to the state of entities external to the collaboration. The duration of the collaborative association is specified either explicitly or through a set of context related conditions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 9, 2008
    Date of Patent: February 15, 2011
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Paul C. Castro, Archan Misra
  • Patent number: 7889210
    Abstract: A plurality of applications are integrated in a system by merging three-dimensional (3-D) display data contributions from the respective applications into a single display scene using a visual integration hub. The respective contributions of display data may be separately manipulated to establish registration or relative positioning and then locked together such that the composite image may be graphically manipulated as a single object. Two-dimensional (2-D) data such as text or spreadsheets are imbedded in the image and manipulated in the same manner as 3-D objects. The hub allows transfer of graphic data between applications and conversion of the graphic data to the format of each respective application.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 31, 2007
    Date of Patent: February 15, 2011
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Paul Borrel, William A. Tulskie, Jr.
  • Patent number: 7882230
    Abstract: Servers are allocated for use in one of a plurality of compute-resources or for stand-by storage in a free-pool. Server load metrics are selected (e.g., ping-reply time or CP utilization) for measuring load in the servers. Metrics are measured for the servers allocated to the compute-resources. Several metrics can be measured simultaneously. The metrics for each compute-resource are normalized and averaged. Then, the metrics for each compute-resource are combined using weighting coefficients, producing a global load value, G, for each compute-resource. The G value is recalculated at timed intervals. Upper and lower thresholds are set for each compute-resource, and the G values are compared to the thresholds. If the G value exceeds the upper threshold, then a server in the free-pool is reallocated to the compute-resource; if the G value is less than the lower threshold, then a server is moved from the compute-resource to the free-pool.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 2, 2008
    Date of Patent: February 1, 2011
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Karen Appleby, German Goldszmidt
  • Patent number: 7872886
    Abstract: Improved regulation and transient response are provided by a power supply architecture providing both unregulated and regulated voltage converters in parallel but deriving input power from separate power supplies connected in series wherein regulated and unregulated branches each provide a substantially fixed and constant proportion of the output current. The series connection of input power sources may provide a further feedback mechanism in addition to feedback for regulation which enhances overall performance. As a perfecting feature of the invention, inductor-less resonant converters which are switched in an interleaved fashion may be used in the unregulated branch while substantially cancelling the characteristic large output voltage ripple thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 20, 2008
    Date of Patent: January 18, 2011
    Assignee: Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties, Inc.
    Inventors: Ming Xu, Julu Sun, Ya Liu, Fred C. Lee
  • Patent number: 7869980
    Abstract: Computation of variance or variance of the autocorrelation over a moving window of various sizes of a signal containing noise and possibly a small digital signal provides a sensitive, frequency independent indication of the likelihood of the presence of a small pulse, chirp or even spread spectrum digital signal possibly obscured by noise or larger signals in the signal to much lower signal-to-noise ratios than previously possible. Large signals in the signal which may also obscure any small signal are removed to a different signal path from the noise and small signals by subtraction after compression and reconstruction of the large signal. The compression noise thus added to the signal may also increase sensitivity of the variance of the autocorrelation to small signals obscured by the large signals. Controlling storage in response to the computed variance or variance of the autocorrelation allows substantial avoidance or limitation of storage of signals which contain only noise.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 3, 2005
    Date of Patent: January 11, 2011
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: David C. Casler, Joan L. Mitchell
  • Patent number: 7865540
    Abstract: A semantic publish/subscribe system enables semantic event routing and allows publishers (resp. subscribers) to use self-defined event schemas to publish (resp. subscribe) events. The constraints on value-based publish/subscribe systems that publishers and subscribers must share the same event schemas are removed. With ontology support, the system conducts event correlation based on their semantics using relational operators. Event sources are searched for subscriptions and selected events are automatically correlated according to subscriptions. The system enables efficient semantic event routing by rewriting the subscription SQL statement, wherein no redundant events are generated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 2, 2008
    Date of Patent: January 4, 2011
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Hui Lei, Liangzhao Zeng
  • Patent number: 7861248
    Abstract: An adaptive integration activity management framework for on demand business process integration provides a mechanism to enable easy integration of legacy and new applications. The framework minimizes the effort need to integrate a new application into an existing business process environment such that the new activity is a “plug-in” into an action manager by implementing a standard adaptation layer. Activity integration is implemented in the principle of “on-demand” because it is invoked as required, so the communication and collaboration between partners become much more flexible.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 17, 2008
    Date of Patent: December 28, 2010
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Liang-Jie Zhang, Yu Long, Tian-Jy Chao, John Y. Sayah, Hung-Yang Chang
  • Patent number: 7845005
    Abstract: A computer random access memory is divided into first and second partitions. Each partition has its own operating system (OS). The first partition has a conventional OS and is designated for non-Internet use. The second partition is designated for secure Internet access, and has an OS specific for Internet usage. Software in the second partition cannot write or copy files in the second partition. The size of the second partition is fixed and unchangeable while said second partition is open. Each software application in the second partition is allocated a memory region that cannot be changed, thereby preventing memory overflow attacks. A secure memory is designated for temporary storage of software used in the second partition. Cyclic redundancy check (CRC) values are calculated for all files in the secure memory. To detect unauthorized file changes, CRC values are calculated for all files used in the second partition, and checked against values stored in the secure memory.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 7, 2006
    Date of Patent: November 30, 2010
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Edward E. Kelley, Franco Motika, Tijs I. Wilbrink
  • Patent number: 7841591
    Abstract: A sheet-supplying device has a sheet-accommodating tray, a raising/lowering unit, a first position sensor, a second position sensor, a controlling unit. The raising/lowering unit raises and lowers the sheet-accommodating tray substantially. The first position sensor detects a first position indicating a position in the stacked direction of one end portion of a topmost sheet stacked in the sheet-accommodating tray. The second position sensor detects a second position indicating a position in the stacked direction of another end portion of the topmost sheet. The controlling unit controls the raising/lowering unit to raise or lower the sheet-accommodating tray based on both the first position detected by the first position sensor and the second position detected by the second position sensor so that one end of the topmost sheet in the stacked status is positioned at a prescribed position in the stacked direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 31, 2008
    Date of Patent: November 30, 2010
    Assignee: Ricoh Comapny, Ltd.
    Inventors: Satoshi Ueda, Shingo Takai, Tatsuo Matsuda, Kazuhiko Kawasaki
  • Patent number: 7838932
    Abstract: An embedded silicon carbon (Si:C) having a substitutional carbon content in excess of one percent in order to effectively increase electron mobility by application of tension to a channel region of an NFET is achieved by overfilling a gap or trench formed by transistor gate structures with Si:C and polishing an etching the Si:C to or below a surface of a raised gate structure in a super-Damascene process, leaving Si:C only in selected regions above the transistor source and drain, even though processes capable of depositing Si:C with sufficiently high substitutional carbon content are inherently non-selective.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 8, 2008
    Date of Patent: November 23, 2010
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Ashima B. Chakravarti, Dureseti Chidambarrao, Judson R. Holt, Yaocheng Liu, Kern Rim
  • Patent number: 7838515
    Abstract: Muscle relaxant formulations which include one or more quaternary ammonium neuromuscular blocking agents have a reduced tendency for hydrolytic degradation, and therefore a longer shelf life stability, when combined with one or more organic anions having at least six carbon atoms and having a pKa of less than 4.0 (preferably ranging from 0.5 to 3.5). Particularly good results are achieved when using acids of very low solubility in water, such as gentisic acid which is less than 1% soluble at room temperature.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 14, 2006
    Date of Patent: November 23, 2010
    Assignee: Lyotropic Therapeutics, Inc.
    Inventor: David M. Anderson
  • Patent number: 7838495
    Abstract: Inhibition of the proliferation of hormone refractory prostate cancer cells is achieved by administering EPB1, an ErbB3 binding protein, in combination with another anti-proliferation therapy such as administration of antiandrogens, other anticancer agents, radiation therapy, or surgery. Administration of EPB1 reverses the phenotype of hormone-resistant prostate cancer cells to hormone-sensitive prostate cancer cells.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 25, 2008
    Date of Patent: November 23, 2010
    Assignee: University of Maryland, Baltimore
    Inventors: Yuexing Zhang, Anne Hamburger
  • Patent number: D628333
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 26, 2010
    Date of Patent: November 30, 2010
    Assignee: GINGCO.NET Werbeagentur GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventor: Martin Bretschneider
  • Patent number: D633204
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 8, 2010
    Date of Patent: February 22, 2011
    Inventor: Peter Leo Macken