Patents Examined by Matthew Loppnow
  • Patent number: 5845106
    Abstract: Multiple functional units of a computer system that typically access a secondary cache and the main memory system independently and simultaneously are simulated using RTL models which create such accesses using a random process. In one embodiment, an RTL model of each functional unit generates accesses to the cache memory according to a programmable frequency. The RTL models of these functional units also generate addresses which fall within programmable address limits and tag limits. In one embodiment, the functional units include data and instruction table lookaside buffers which traverse a two-level address translation scheme.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 26, 1996
    Date of Patent: December 1, 1998
    Assignee: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
    Inventor: Warren G. Stapleton
  • Patent number: 5841678
    Abstract: A computer implemented method for modeling and simulating a hydrotreating reactor is disclosed where a first step in the simulation utilizes a computer data base of reaction kinetic parameters for hydrotreating sulfur and metals contaminated residuum and gas oil fractions. The data base is extended to include parameters and physical properties for residuum and gas oil fractions that are obtained from several different source locations. A group of equations, which are functions of catalyst properties, reactor parameters and feedstock composition, models the reaction by predicting yields, hydrogen consumption, contaminant levels, and physical properties of the reactor product. The simulation adjusts the kinetic parameters for reaction conditions to be simulated, such as temperature, catalyst activity, hours on stream, space velocity etc., and solves the model equations for the desired results.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 17, 1997
    Date of Patent: November 24, 1998
    Assignee: Phillips Petroleum Company
    Inventors: Daniel M. Hasenberg, Joseph F. Campagnolo, Jr.
  • Patent number: 5838595
    Abstract: The present invention configures a control strategy and a process model to calculate a setting of a machine. The present invention adjusts the process model in accordance with an analysis of the setting to control the machine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 25, 1996
    Date of Patent: November 17, 1998
    Assignee: Texas Instruments, Inc.
    Inventors: Michael Francis Sullivan, Judith Susan Hirsch, Stephanie Watts Butler, Nicholas John Tovell, Jerry Alan Stefani, Purnendu K. Mozumder, Ulrich H. Wild, Chun-Jen Jason Wang, Robert A. Hartzell
  • Patent number: 5831874
    Abstract: In a data processing system, a stored environmental model of a wireless communication system is selected. The model locates at least one object in relation to a transmitter. A parent image node is created in an image tree, wherein the parent image node is associated with the transmitter. Child image nodes are created in the image tree only for each object that can redirect a propagating signal from the transmitter with a signal characteristic that exceeds a threshold. The child image node is associated with an object energized by the transmitter, and a corresponding child image in the environment model. Next, a point of interest in the environmental model is selected. Thereafter, an accounting is made for contributions to the signal characteristic at the selected point of interest from each of the child images corresponding to the child image nodes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 31, 1996
    Date of Patent: November 3, 1998
    Assignee: Motorola, Inc.
    Inventors: Theodore Xavier Boone, Hayward Laverne Singletary
  • Patent number: 5826057
    Abstract: A method for managing virtual address space in which programs designed for smaller virtual address spaces in the multiple virtual memory scheme can be collectively allocated to a single enlarged virtual address space in the single virtual memory scheme efficiently, without requiring any change in the programs themselves, such that the entire virtual address space becomes available in the compatible mode. In the method, the effective addresses to be used during an execution of a program designed for a smaller address space are calculated by combining an appropriate address base for this program specifying upper bits of the effective address and lower bits of the virtual addresses for a region of the enlarged address space to which this program is allocated. The address base may be replaced by the upper bits of the starting address of the program in the enlarged address space which are retained throughout the effective address calculation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 15, 1993
    Date of Patent: October 20, 1998
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
    Inventors: Toshio Okamoto, Hideo Segawa, Mitsuo Saito, Osamu Wakamori
  • Patent number: 5805866
    Abstract: An alignment method for achieving accurate alignment by accurately eliminating an isolated area with a large nonlinear component of an alignment error from sample areas. A conversion parameter is calculated by statistical processing on the basis of a result obtained by measuring the position of each sample area on a substrate to be processed in advance, and each area on the substrate is aligned on the basis of arrangement coordinate values calculated using the conversion parameter. This method relates to a method of aligning each of a plurality of areas to be processed arranged on the substrate on the basis of arrangement coordinates on a first coordinate system (x, y) set on the substrate to a predetermined process position in a second coordinate system (X, Y) for defining the moving position of the substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 24, 1997
    Date of Patent: September 8, 1998
    Assignee: Nikon Corporation
    Inventors: Nobutaka Magome, Shinji Mizutani
  • Patent number: 5802498
    Abstract: A computer-aided billing system which directs the printing of customer invoices to include current billing information and transmittal charges for a pre-paid return envelope which the debtor will receive with the invoice for use in return of the invoice payment and which also directs collation or assembly of the pre-paid return envelope, the invoice, and the shipping envelope in which the invoice and pre-paid return envelope will be sent to the debtor. The computer-aided billing system contemplates debtor agreement to pay the transmittal charges and the possibility of future transmittal charges for electronic transmittal of invoices and invoice payments. Applications include, but are not limited to, use by banking institutions and credit card companies.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 11, 1996
    Date of Patent: September 1, 1998
    Inventor: Jorge Comesanas
  • Patent number: 5799284
    Abstract: A computer system that utilizes client/server software to allow users of the client software to log into a server and publish information about a product or service. Once the information is published, other users of the client software may log into the server to browse or search for the information. This system is designed to help extractors and manufacturers of products, as well as service providers, to advertise their product or service to other extractors, manufacturers, service providers, distributors, retailers or other consumers to help aid in the distribution of those products or services. The system is also designed to help reach these establishments over a wide area, limited only by communication networks, and the system is kept current through the use of the established users of the client allowing rapid change.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 13, 1996
    Date of Patent: August 25, 1998
    Assignee: Roy E. Bourquin
    Inventor: Roy E. Bourquin
  • Patent number: 5798949
    Abstract: The present invention provides an Traffic Safety prediction Computer Program (TRAF-SAFE) and sub-models for predicting the number of accidents, injuries and fatalities expected annually at an intersection or series of intersections based on the particular intersection and roadway features. A finite analysis approach to an intersection is used to break the intersection into discrete elements such as lanes, turnbays, stop control signals, and traffic flow rates. The total annual expected accidents can then be calculated as a summation of the interrelation of the individual elements. A Poisson's distribution is used to statistically estimate the likelihood of the individual vehicles occurring within a discrete time frame being investigated. The conflict probabilities between various permutations of the traffic flow is then calculated and summed to determine the number of conflicts for the intersection or roadway.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 9, 1996
    Date of Patent: August 25, 1998
    Inventor: Alan Richard Kaub
  • Patent number: 5796622
    Abstract: In a logical synthesize design for an ASIC using a general purpose macro, to execute automatically retrieval/elimination of a redundancy function at a function level and to optimize the circuit precisely and speedily, a redundancy conditional statement retrieval unit 3 comprises a conditional statement retrieval unit 31 for retrieving a conditional statement to indicate a condition of an output versus an input from an input macro logical descriptive data; a state transition display descriptive addition unit 32 for producing an intermediate logical descriptive data to which a state transition data is added based on the retrieved conditional statement; a logical simulation unit 34 for executing a logical simulation of an operation mode control data and an input macro logical descriptive data to output status value data; an invariable conditional statement discrimination unit 36 for discriminating and extracting an invariable conditional statement having an invariable status value, based on the status value data
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 18, 1996
    Date of Patent: August 18, 1998
    Assignee: NEC Corporation
    Inventor: Hajime Noseyama
  • Patent number: 5768149
    Abstract: A design system for designing a tube for a gas turbine engine is described. The system including, in one embodiment, a computer workstation having a plurality of executable modules stored therein. The modules include a tube design module for routing a tube between tube fittings, a tube editing module for editing tube assembly geometry, and a tube detailing module for preparing detail drawings.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 1995
    Date of Patent: June 16, 1998
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Michael A. Umney, John J. Wright, Eric G.V. Hall, Kenneth J. Ashton
  • Patent number: 5745387
    Abstract: An enhanced reality maintenance system for operating in a hazardous environment employs an environment modeler which creates a computer model of the environment. An environment renderer creates a plurality of images, each corresponding to a viewing location and orientation, `viewpoint`. A remotely operated manipulator arm is attached at a fixed end to a stationary structure, has a utility package, such as a video camera, attached to a distal end, and actuators which move the manipulator arm to desired locations within the environment. The position and orientation of the manipulator arm, are determined by a position and attitude (P&A) sensing unit. This information is passed to an manipulator arm renderer which creates an image from a prestored model of the manipulator arm, viewed from several different viewpoints. The may be interactively determined as an offset from the current position and orientation of the utility package.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 1995
    Date of Patent: April 28, 1998
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Nelson Raymond Corby, Jr., Peter Michael Meenan, Claude Homer Solanas, III, David Clark Vickerman, Christopher Allen Nafis
  • Patent number: 5745737
    Abstract: A system, method and computer program product of especial utility in providing a visual indication to a computer system user of the familiar "blinking", of pulsing, data access lights of conventional hardware data sources such as disk drives, CDROM drives and network connections in order to illustrate data cache "hits" and "misses" of an inherently computer program based caching function by incorporating simulated access lights as part of a graphical user interface ("GUI") for a data caching computer program. The GUI then allows a system user to intuitively visualize how effectively the data cache is functioning with respect to data which is accessed from the cache and data which must be accessed from another relatively more slow access time data source.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 1996
    Date of Patent: April 28, 1998
    Assignee: Sun Microsystems, Inc.
    Inventors: Kevin W. Kayes, Paul A. Weiler, Brian Berliner
  • Patent number: 5745385
    Abstract: A system and method for simulating a mechanistic kinetic process, such as a chemical process including one or more chemical reactions, over a predetermined time period, subject to a programmed temperature variation, is provided. The simulation proceeds stochastically, by taking discrete time steps through the time period. The time steps vary in size, based on instantaneous reaction rate values for the reactions taking place. Reaction rates can vary by many orders of magnitude, and sometimes a stochastically calcualated time step will be so great that it might skip over a later increase in chemical activity. To avoid loss of accuracy and control of the simulation due to such excessively large time steps, when the stochastically determined time step exceeds a threshold, one or more smaller, deterministic time steps are made. The deterministic time steps "inch" forward in time, until an increase in chemical activity is detected. Then, stochastic time steps are resumed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 25, 1994
    Date of Patent: April 28, 1998
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corproation
    Inventors: William Dinan Hinsberg, III, Frances Anne Houle
  • Patent number: 5737582
    Abstract: An IC card and an IC card system that enable a variety of functions to be added to the IC card. A variety of functions are provided for individual key cards (sub-cards), and the individual key card is detachable from the main body of an IC card so that the addition of and change are easily performed by insertion and change of the individual key card.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 1, 1995
    Date of Patent: April 7, 1998
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Tomoya Fukuzumi
  • Patent number: 5727187
    Abstract: A method used by an electronic design automation system for allowing the use of logical names from a register transfer level description of an integrated circuit design in timing notes and simulation tests written for timing analysis and simulation programs. A synthesis program generates a state map file containing an entry for the logical name for each state defined in the register transfer level description of the integrated circuit. The gate level name generated by the synthesis program corresponding to the logical state name is stored in the entry providing a one to one mapping of a logical state name to a gate level state name. The state map file is input to timing analysis and simulation programs wherein references to the logical state names in timing notes and simulation tests are translated to gate level state names before further processing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 1995
    Date of Patent: March 10, 1998
    Assignee: Unisys Corporation
    Inventors: Carol L. Lemche, Harold E. Reindel
  • Patent number: 5724557
    Abstract: A computer implemented method (10) for designing a signal distribution architecture (40). The method includes developing a signal distribution network architecture model (11) and a delay model (12). The delay model (12) describes a temporal relationship of inputs and corresponding outputs of the signal distribution architecture model (40). The signal distribution network architecture (11) and delay (12) models are combined to form a master model (13). A set of values are inserted into the master model (13) to generate a response model (16). The response model (16) is used to select the signal distribution architecture (40).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 10, 1995
    Date of Patent: March 3, 1998
    Assignee: Motorola, Inc.
    Inventor: Ronald V. McBean, Sr.
  • Patent number: 5724271
    Abstract: A method for balancing a rotor of a rotatable machine such as a steam turbine-generator unit. A time-dependent equation is formulated for rotor vibration based on a rotordynamic computer model derived from finite element analysis of the machine's rotor vibration due to centrifugal forces caused by adding unbalance weights. The equation is repeatedly solved in the frequency domain as an optimizer program uses iteration to determine the unbalance weights which will cause the vibration of the rotor of the model to duplicate the measured vibration of the rotor of the machine. Then, balance weights are added to the rotor of the machine which are the inverse of the unbalance weights which were added to the rotor of the model.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 13, 1995
    Date of Patent: March 3, 1998
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Raymond John Bankert, Harindra Rajiyah
  • Patent number: 5721878
    Abstract: An apparatus and method for effectuating local reception and processing of source program signals representative of a compressed digital multimedia program received from a remote multimedia server are disclosed. The multimedia server transmits a selected multimedia program as a custom ordered series of discrete program segments to a local set-top control system, which buffers and decompresses the compressed program segments for presentation on a local display monitor. A local set-top control system preferably includes a direct access storage device adapted to buffer a predetermined number of compressed program segments received from a multimedia server, some of which may be non-sequentially ordered and others of which may be sequentially ordered. A novel formatting methodology provides for the sequential presentation of the program segments asynchronously distributed on one or more data storage disks disposed in the direct access storage device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 7, 1995
    Date of Patent: February 24, 1998
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Hal Hjalmar Ottesen, Gordon J. Smith, George Willard VanLeeuwen
  • Patent number: 5719794
    Abstract: A computerized process can design antennas using a completely deductive approach, that is, the desired electromagnetic properties are specified and the wire configuration that most closely produces the optimum result is synthesized. This new process uses a genetic algorithm in conjunction with an electromagnetic code. The genetic algorithm randomly selects a sample set of possible wire configurations from among all possible wire configurations. The performance of each configuration is computed using the electromagnetic code and ranked in order of quality. Partial solutions to this problem are obtained by "mating" the best wire configurations with one another. This evolutionary process is continued until an optimal wire configuration is obtained. Although this new process has only been tested on wire antennas, it can be used to design printed antennas, microstrip antennas, patch antennas and any other type of antenna that can be analyzed using an electromagnetic code.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 19, 1995
    Date of Patent: February 17, 1998
    Assignee: United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Air Force
    Inventors: Edward E. Altshuler, Derek S. Linden