Patents Examined by Mark R. Powell
  • Patent number: 6807537
    Abstract: One aspect of the invention is the construction of mixtures of Bayesian networks. Another aspect of the invention is the use of such mixtures of Bayesian networks to perform inferencing. A mixture of Bayesian networks (MBN) consists of plural hypothesis-specific Bayesian networks (HSBNs) having possibly hidden and observed variables. A common external hidden variable is associated with the MBN, but is not included in any of the HSBNs. The number of HSBNs in the MBN corresponds to the number of states of the common external hidden variable, and each HSBN is based upon the hypothesis that the common external hidden variable is in a corresponding one of those states. In one mode of the invention, the MBN having the highest MBN score is selected for use in performing inferencing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 4, 1997
    Date of Patent: October 19, 2004
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Bo Thiesson, Christopher A. Meek, David Maxwell Chickering, David Earl Heckerman
  • Patent number: 6792468
    Abstract: A software architecture and control protocol that provides applications with control over the transport that is frame-accurate, random-access, real-time and stream-based. Conventional server-based data network where media data resides on the server does not provide a frame accurate control of media data playback on a client workstation. The present invention provides control on the client with the implementation of a “client pull” data transport model. According to the present invention, requests for media data are sent from the client to the server one request at a time. The server, upon receiving the requests, retrieves the corresponding frames of media data and transmits the media data back to the client one frame at a time. In this way, the present invention allows a user-interface to provide frame accurate controls on the client workstation, while allowing for real-time playback of media data that resides on the server.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 16, 1999
    Date of Patent: September 14, 2004
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Eric David Bloch, Jeffrey Evan Beall, Gordon Anson Durand, Ralph Hill
  • Patent number: 6754713
    Abstract: A session wall for a local area network is provided. This is a device connected to a local area network which listens passively to communications sent over the network. The device also sends data over the network which is interpreted by other devices connected to the network as if it were sent by another network device connected to the local network. The session wall has means for storing access rules for the network devices which generate data communication messages over the local network. It reads a portion of each communication message it listens to and compares that data with the stored access rules to determine whether the message is permitted or not. If not, the session wall sends a message to both parties. In a message to the server it either notifies that the client wishes to close the current session, or it sends a specific message to the server that according to the protocol used causes the server to stop responding to additional client messages in that specific session.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 3, 1999
    Date of Patent: June 22, 2004
    Assignee: Computer Associates Think, Inc.
    Inventor: Ziv Dascalu
  • Patent number: 6691159
    Abstract: The system provides an integrated approach to providing users of the computer system with education, information and computer assisted help on a specific subject, problem or a project. The system further offers flexibility in providing direct human interaction by linking a group of experts through a web site. For a specific subject, the system provides two distinct paths to the user, an Education Path and an Expert Assistance Path. The system further provides the user an opportunity to contact an expert through direct e-mail link, or to chat on-line with an expert and to obtain phone call assistance at the user's request.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 2000
    Date of Patent: February 10, 2004
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Sukhminder S. Grewal, Kevin Hofmann
  • Patent number: 6691147
    Abstract: One embodiment of the invention includes a method of managing network communications in a network device. The network device includes software components and modules. Some of the components control the interaction between modules, while other components perform specific functions for associated modules. A module manager component controls the creation and destruction of modules as well as their interactions. A communications manager component manages network communications in the network device. The network communications is supported by creating a number of modules that are associated with components that implement different parts of a network protocol. As a result of the use of the modules, a component need not know which other component(s) it depends upon, nor need it know which other component(s) depend upon it. This allows components to be used together very easily in many different configurations. The modules also allow the same component to be used by multiple modules.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 7, 1999
    Date of Patent: February 10, 2004
    Assignee: 3Com Corporation
    Inventors: Nagaraj Arunkumar, Ly Loi, Chandrasekharan Nilakantan
  • Patent number: 6684246
    Abstract: A method and system for tracking access by clients to a server object of a server class. The client tracking system provides a derived client tracking server class that includes an overriding implementation of a query function of the server class. The overriding implementation instantiates a phantom server object and returns a pointer to the instantiated phantom server object. The phantom server object has functions that correspond to and override the functions of the server class. These overriding functions perform custom processing on a client-by-client basis and forward their invocation to be corresponding functions of the server object. When a client invokes the query function of the client tracking server object, a pointer to a phantom server object is returned. From then on, when that client invokes a function of the phantom server object, custom processing can be performed for that client.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 28, 1999
    Date of Patent: January 27, 2004
    Inventor: Richard Hasha
  • Patent number: 6681259
    Abstract: The invention relates to a terminal (A), which comprises at least one network interface card (NIC1, NIC2, NIC3) for setting up a data transmission connection to a communication network (NW1, NW2, NW3, MNW) for packet switched data transmission, and means (PD) for forming packets of the information to be transmitted and for unpacking information from the received packets. The terminal (A) is allocated at least one first address identifying the terminal (A), and at least one data network-specific second address.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 10, 1999
    Date of Patent: January 20, 2004
    Assignee: Nokia Mobile Phones Ltd
    Inventors: Jussi Lemiläinen, Henry Haverinen
  • Patent number: 6678669
    Abstract: Methods are provided for developing medical diagnostic tests using decision-support systems, such as neural networks. Patient data or information, typically patient history or clinical data, are analyzed by the decision-support systems to identify important or relevant variables and decision-support systems are trained on the patient data. Patient data are augmented by biochemical test data, or results, where available, to refine performance. The resulting decision-support systems are employed to evaluate specific observation values and test results, to guide the development of biochemical or other diagnostic tests, too assess a course of treatment, to identify new diagnostic tests and disease markers, to identify useful therapies, and to provide the decision-support functionality for the test.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 14, 1997
    Date of Patent: January 13, 2004
    Assignee: Adeza Biomedical Corporation
    Inventors: Jerome Lapointe, Duane DeSieno
  • Patent number: 6678724
    Abstract: The present invention provides a common namespace for Internet and local filesystem objects. In a preferred embodiment, the common namespaces constructed by first accessing a namespace definition table. The namespace definition table contains entries referencing both a filesystem namespace subtree definition module and an Internet namespace subtree definition module. The entry referencing the filesystem namespace subtree definition module is used to access the filesystem namespace subtree definition module in order to define a filesystem namespace subtree that encompasses filesystem addresses. Similarly, the entry referencing the Internet namespace subtree definition module is used to access the Internet namespace subtree definition module to define an Internet namespace subtree that encompasses Internet addresses. The defined filesystem and Internet namespace subtrees are then combined in order to assemble a namespace encompassing both filesystem addresses and Internet addresses.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 30, 2002
    Date of Patent: January 13, 2004
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Satoshi Nakajima, Joseph D. Belfiore, Christopher J. Guzak, Chee H. Chew
  • Patent number: 6678734
    Abstract: A method is provided for intercepting network packets in a computer system, where a number of functions are used to communicate network packets between a network adapter and a protocols entity. A first network adapter and a first protocols entity installed in the computer system are identified. A set of replacement functions is provided within a packet interceptor module. At least one function used for transmitting network packets from said first protocols entity to said first network adapter is hooked into a first replacement function. At least one function used for transmitting network packets from said first network adapter to said first protocols entity is hooked into a second replacement function. At least one function used for receiving information about the status of the network interface implemented by said first network adapter is hooked into a third replacement function.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 13, 1999
    Date of Patent: January 13, 2004
    Assignee: SSH Communications Security Ltd.
    Inventors: Niko Haatainen, Tero Kivinen, Jussi Kukkonen, Tatu Ylönen
  • Patent number: 6671724
    Abstract: Software, systems and methods for managing a distributed network environment including a plurality of computers interconnected by a network link, where at least some of the computers include a layered communications protocol stack for providing a data interface between an application program and the network link, the communications stack having a transport protocol layer for providing an end-to-end communications connection. The invention includes a control module and a plurality of agent modules, each agent being associated with one of the computers and adapted to dynamically monitor the associated computer at a data transmission point between an application program running on the computer and the transport protocol layer and repeatedly communicate with the control module in order to effect management of the distributed network system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 21, 2000
    Date of Patent: December 30, 2003
    Assignee: Centrisoft Corporation
    Inventors: Suketu J. Pandya, Hariharan Lakshmanan
  • Patent number: 6671721
    Abstract: An object oriented framework mechanism for distributing and managing operations of a network application defines classes and class relationships that provide for easily extending the framework to define new heterogeneous operations in a network application. Core functions of the framework mechanism support operation management functions, which may include status reporting, error recovery, scheduling, reexecution of previously-defined operations, persistence of operations, and sharing of operations between users. The framework mechanism provides extensible functions that are extended by a user to define a network application. A network application can thus be defined by a user that supports any or all of the above-mentioned operation management functions without explicitly providing these functions, because these functions are part of the core function of the framework mechanism.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 22, 1999
    Date of Patent: December 30, 2003
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Michael John Branson, Steven Gene Halverson, Gregory S. Hurlebaus, Brian Richard Lucier, David Henry Sandifer, Andrew James Streit, Patrick Michael Wildt
  • Patent number: 6668278
    Abstract: The invention provides a method and system for receiving incoming information from multiple information sources, both interactive and passive, and for engagingly presenting that information to a recipient on a presentation interface. The system includes a “background” element, which interacts with interactive information sources and receives from passive information sources, and determines whether information from those sources is likely to be interesting to the recipient, possibly using one information so source to determine priority for another. The system also includes a “foreground” element, which presents information to the recipient when active, but not when inactive.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 21, 1999
    Date of Patent: December 23, 2003
    Assignee: Liberate Technologies
    Inventors: Wei Yen, Steven Weinstein
  • Patent number: 6665703
    Abstract: A storage system is provided which includes an internal local area network. The local area network is achieved by providing a separate Ethernet bus as well as Ethernet hardware on each host and disk/tape controller within the storage system. Each host controller and disk/tape controller is coupled to the Ethernet bus via the Ethernet interface hardware. Also coupled to the Ethernet bus is a service processor. The service processor is coupled to the Ethernet bus via an Ethernet hub. All communications between the service processor and the controllers occurs over the Ethernet bus. This allows communications with the controllers which does not materially impact the operation of the storage system in providing storage services to the attached host computers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 9, 2000
    Date of Patent: December 16, 2003
    Assignee: EMC Corporation
    Inventors: Arod Shatil, Haim Avni
  • Patent number: 6665708
    Abstract: A computer system performs a coarse-grained dependency checking between concurrently executed jobs that share a memory. First and second jobs are defined, each having a set of shared individually addressable data items stored in a corresponding set of locations within a memory. The set of locations are partitioned into a set of data areas, wherein at least one of the data areas stores more than one of the data items. The first and second jobs are then run. To determine whether a collision has occurred between the first job and the second job, it is determined whether the first job accessed a same data area as was accessed by the second job, regardless of whether a same data item within the same data area was accessed by both the first job and the second job.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 12, 1999
    Date of Patent: December 16, 2003
    Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ)
    Inventors: Nikhil Tikekar, Per Anders Holmberg
  • Patent number: 6665733
    Abstract: A network communication device including port control circuitry for controlling packet flow between the ports of the device, where the port control circuitry includes a port manager that directs packets between the ports and port bonding circuitry that bonds two or more of the ports into a bonded port set. For each packet to be sent via the bonded port set, the port bonding circuitry selects one of the bonded ports for transmitting the packet. More than one bonded port set may be defined in a given communication device, and each bonded port set may include from two ports up to all the ports of the device, as long as each port is included in only one bonded port set. One or more port bonding registers are provided to identify which of the plurality of ports are bonded in each bonded port set. In one embodiment, the bonded ports are selected on a packet by packet basis so as to achieve a relatively even distribution of packets sent by each bonded port.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 23, 1997
    Date of Patent: December 16, 2003
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Michael L. Witkowski, Dale J. Mayer, William J. Walker, Kirk D. Roller, Patricia E. Hareski, Gary B. Kotzur
  • Patent number: 6662216
    Abstract: According to a first aspect of the present invention, a data processing system is provided that includes a communication network to which multiple devices are coupled. A first of the multiple devices includes a number of requestors (or queues), which are each permanently assigned a respective one of a number of unique tags. In response to a communication request by a requestor within the first device, a tag assigned to the requestor is transmitted on the communication network in conjunction with the requested communication transaction. According to a second aspect of the present invention, a data processing system includes a cache having a cache directory. A status indication indicative of the status of at least one of a plurality of data entries in the cache is stored in the cache directory. In response to receipt of a cache operation request, a determination is made whether to update the status indication.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 14, 1997
    Date of Patent: December 9, 2003
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Ravi Kumar Arimilli, John Steven Dodson, Jerry Don Lewis
  • Patent number: 6662206
    Abstract: A technique for optimizing published event message sequences destined for information subscribers in an information processing system. Subscribers specify event interpretation rules which map event message streams into states. The event interpretation rules are maintained elsewhere in the system in preparation for providing optimized, possibly shorter, event message streams to subscribers, sufficient to correctly update the states. If a subscriber temporarily loses access to its event message stream, the optimized event message stream is determined using a shortest path graph search technique between the states defined by the start and end of the missing portion of the stream. Optimizations to the shortest path graph search technique are disclosed for use when the event interpretation rule is in replacement form, in which estimator functions based on extended rules are employed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 28, 1999
    Date of Patent: December 9, 2003
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Guruduth S. Banavar, Robert E. Strom, Daniel C. Sturman, Wei Tao
  • Patent number: 6662205
    Abstract: A large distributed enterprise includes computing resources that are organized into one or more managed regions, each region being managed by a server machine servicing one or more gateway machines, with each gateway machine servicing a plurality of endpoint machines. A distributed system management framework is supported on the gateway machines and the one or more endpoint machines to carry out system management tasks. To enhance scalability, the endpoint machines support a low cost, low maintenance client component of the system management framework, and a corresponding server component is supported on each of the gateway machines. On an as-needed basis, appropriate executable code and system management data is delivered from a gateway to one or more endpoint machines to facilitate execution of a system management task for the managed region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 1, 1996
    Date of Patent: December 9, 2003
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventor: Thomas W. Bereiter
  • Patent number: 6651086
    Abstract: Systems and methods for connecting two or more individuals to an Internet conversation based on their mutual interests, the current content they may be viewing and what they want to talk about at that time. The techniques of the present invention allow an individual who starts a conversation to maintain full control over who is able to join that conversation as well as how many are able to join at any one time. A user who desires to start or join a conversation about a particular topic or story selects an indicator, such as an icon, associated with the specific topic or story. The user is presented with an option to start or join a conversation. If the user opts to start a conversation, the user is presented with a comment page, and the user enters a comment, or comments, that preferably is intended to spark an interest in other users. The comment is then presented to other users.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 22, 2000
    Date of Patent: November 18, 2003
    Assignee: Yahoo! Inc.
    Inventors: Udi Manber, Chi Chao Chang, Anthony Lamarca