Patents Examined by Michael Hicks
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Patent number: 8856114Abstract: Techniques and systems are disclosed providing improved ranking of results to an online search-based query. One or more user types are identified for a search-based query, and may correspond to a number of user relevant results, and which user results are selected. A user profile can be determined for the respective user types for the search-based query, which may identify a proportion of the users that belong to that type, and how many results are relevant to that type. A set of relevant results can be identified for the respective user types for the search-based query, based on a number of results used by the user type. An improved ranking of the results can be determined for the search-based query, from the one or more sets of relevant results, based on user profiles and a desired user satisfaction metric for a desired number of users.Type: GrantFiled: December 23, 2011Date of Patent: October 7, 2014Assignee: Microsoft CorporationInventors: Joseph Yossi Azar, Xiaoxin Yin, Iftah Gamzu
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Patent number: 8832085Abstract: A method and a system for maintaining the freshness of a search engine server's database. A popularity parameter is defined, and a popularity value is assigned to each link in the search engine's database. The most popular links are selected for updating the contents stored, or associated with, the site to which the links refer. In one embodiment, popularity is' based at least in part on the search results generated by the search engine in response to user queries.Type: GrantFiled: July 11, 2011Date of Patent: September 9, 2014Assignee: Round Rock Research, LLCInventor: Jim McKeeth
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Patent number: 8832093Abstract: In one embodiment, a user of a social networking system requests to search for a place near the user's current location. The social networking system generates a list of places near the user's current location, select a sub-set from the list of places based on visibility and activity of the user and the user's social contacts for each place in the list, and returns the sub-set to the user.Type: GrantFiled: August 18, 2010Date of Patent: September 9, 2014Assignee: Facebook, Inc.Inventors: Joshua Redstone, Benjamin J. Gertzfield, Eyal M. Sharon, Srinivasa P. Narayanan, Daniel Jeng-Ping Hui
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Patent number: 8825657Abstract: Systems and methods are described for the creation of hierarchical networks of overlapping informational Web neighborhoods, where each neighborhood comprises a set of closely linked pages that share a common set of concepts and intent and purpose. A general description of a category of information can be used to generate a network of overlapping communities of web pages and objects, where the neighborhoods represent pages or objects that share a common set of underlying concepts and semantic associations. Each such neighborhood can be semantically tagged. Overlaps among neighborhoods and the hierarchical structure of the network capture complex relationships among the concepts that the corresponding informational neighborhoods represent. All informational neighborhoods of the web can be mapped. The systems and methods can be adapted for any digital content and constitute a hybrid network of contents and their relationships.Type: GrantFiled: January 19, 2007Date of Patent: September 2, 2014Assignee: Netseer, Inc.Inventors: Behnam Attaran Rezaei, Alice Hwei-Yuan Meng Muntz
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Patent number: 8812476Abstract: Systems, methods, and computer program products are provided for locating an object owner. The system provides a microchip database that stores a plurality of microchip records containing microchip identification codes, owner contact information and the like. Microchips are embedded in objects such that when the object is scanned the microchip identification code can be retrieved and used to search and retrieve contact information from the microchip database using one or more search engines. When using the microchip identification code to conduct a search a link to a website displaying information associated with the microchip record is presented first in the list of search results.Type: GrantFiled: March 12, 2013Date of Patent: August 19, 2014Assignee: Save This Life, Inc.Inventors: Lucy Byrd Hope, Christian Robert White
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Patent number: 8805820Abstract: What is disclosed includes a method for searching objects in response to a query that includes a first set of criteria pertaining to a first index, a second set of criteria pertaining to a second index, and logic joining the first set of criteria and the second set of criteria. The method includes querying the first and second indexes based on the first and second set of criteria, respectively, to obtain a first set of first-identifier values and a first set of second-identifier values, respectively. The method also includes correlating the first set of second-identifier values with a set of unique-identifier values and/or a second set of first-identifier values. The method also includes using the logic and, the set of unique-identifier values, and/or the second set of first-identifier values to determine a set of matched objects.Type: GrantFiled: April 4, 2008Date of Patent: August 12, 2014Assignee: EMC CorporationInventors: Anurag Maunder, Sathyanarayaman Kavacheri, Christos Tryfonas, Sudhakar Muddu
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Patent number: 8793231Abstract: Methods, systems, and articles of manufacture for indexing annotations made for a variety of different type (i.e., heterogeneous) data objects are provided. A set of parameters uniquely identifying an annotated data object may be converted to an index comprising a set of index values, each corresponding to a column in a homogeneous index table. In order to accommodate the indexing of heterogeneous data objects, a mapping may be provided for each different type (or classification) of data object that may be annotated, that defines how the identifying parameters of that type will be mapped to the columns of the homogeneous index table.Type: GrantFiled: August 3, 2007Date of Patent: July 29, 2014Assignee: International Business Machines CorporationInventors: Brian J. Cragun, Julia E. Rice, Peter M. Schwarz, William C. Swope, Hoa T. Tran
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Patent number: 8793284Abstract: An electronic device may include a memory, and a processor coupled to the memory for storing and accessing data in the memory. The processor may arrange the data in a stack data container including values extending from a stack top to a stack bottom, operate the stack data container in first and second modes of operation, and while in the first mode of operation, push and pop a respective value from the stack top of the stack data container. The processor may also while in the second mode, reverse an orientation of the stack data container and the values therein, and push and pop a respective value from the stack bottom of the reversed stack data container.Type: GrantFiled: May 24, 2012Date of Patent: July 29, 2014Inventor: Laurie Dean Perrin
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Patent number: 8788485Abstract: A method and system for remote binding of meta-content to a uniform resource indicator are provided. The method includes providing a script to a web browser application in response to the web browser, application accessing the uniform resource identifier of a content provider system and requesting an asset therefrom. The script is generated by a remote server system and is provided to the web browser application by routing the web browser application from the content provider system to the remote server system. The method also includes receiving a call from the web browser application at the remote server system via the script. The call includes the uniform resource identifier of the content provider system. Using the uniform resource identifier, the remote server system queries a data source to determine whether meta-content for the asset is available.Type: GrantFiled: May 11, 2007Date of Patent: July 22, 2014Assignee: International Business Machines CorporationInventors: Soobaek Jang, Dimitri Kanevsky, Michael W. Lipton, Joshua M. Woods, Alexander Zlatsin
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Patent number: 8775470Abstract: Disclosed is a data processing system-implemented method, a data processing system and an article of manufacture for controlling access to data stored on a database having relational objects for which access restrictions are defined for elements of the relational objects The data processing system-implemented method includes receiving a user request to access one or more relational objects of the database, identifying any access restrictions defined for the one or more relational objects, determining whether any identified access restrictions are applicable to the user request, determining whether any determined applicable access restrictions are to be enforced for the user request, and allowing access to the one or more relational objects based on the determined enforceable access restrictions.Type: GrantFiled: April 29, 2011Date of Patent: July 8, 2014Assignee: International Business Machines CorporationInventor: Paul Miller Bird
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Patent number: 8756256Abstract: Methods and systems enable communication devices equipped with software defined radio based chipset modules to seamlessly re-program the communication device to operate on any of a variety of service provider networks. By re-programming a communication device equipped with software defined radio based chipset module, the communication device can support communications over both UMTS and CDMA communication networks. An environment is provided which allows a user to quickly and efficiently switch between service provider accounts supporting communications.Type: GrantFiled: May 26, 2010Date of Patent: June 17, 2014Assignee: QUALCOMM IncorporatedInventors: Yogesh Tugnawat, Samir B. Thakkar, Billy A. Oostra
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Patent number: 8756207Abstract: In accordance with the teachings described herein, systems and methods are provided for identifying potential duplicate entries in a database. Matchcodes are generated for a plurality of records, wherein a matchcode for a record may be generated by: receiving a character string from the record; determining whether the character string includes a non-essential character substring; if the non-essential character substring is missing from the character string, then generating the matchcode from the character string and adding a wildcard character to the matchcode in place of the missing non-essential character substring. The matchcodes for the plurality of records may be compared to identify matching pairs of matchcodes, wherein for the purpose of identifying a matching pair of matchcodes, two characters are considered the same if they are equal or if one or both are wildcard characters.Type: GrantFiled: November 18, 2011Date of Patent: June 17, 2014Assignee: SAS Institute Inc.Inventor: Brian Carl Rineer
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Patent number: 8744995Abstract: Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for disambiguation of aliases. A method includes selecting a particular alias, selecting one or more past communications in which the particular alias is used, identifying an item of recipient contact information associated with the selected past communication, identifying a contact record associated with the recipient contact information, and for each contact record, generating or updating a score for the alias, and storing the score in association with the contact record.Type: GrantFiled: July 30, 2012Date of Patent: June 3, 2014Assignee: Google Inc.Inventor: Philip Hewinson
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Patent number: 8725674Abstract: A method and apparatus for providing a metadata driven framework for operations support systems are disclosed. In one embodiment, the method provides a hierarchical schema for a product. For example, a metadata for each element in the hierarchical structure, and a metalanguage for controlling tasks such as data collection, data orchestration, validation, field rendering, etc. are then created. In one embodiment, the method then provides framework aware engines for compiling the metadata and metalanguage into runtime forms. For each service or product to be provided, the product or service specific behavior and the operations support systems that are impacted are identified. The framework aware engine then compiles the metadata at runtime to generate at least one update for at least one operations support function.Type: GrantFiled: June 30, 2006Date of Patent: May 13, 2014Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property II, L.P.Inventors: Richard L. Bennett, Richard R. Erickson, Mark E. Francis, Brian D. Freeman, Steven R. Polston
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Patent number: 8706682Abstract: The described embodiments contemplate a system, method and computer-readable medium with computer-executable instructions for managing an information technology network. The novel system includes a network of data sources and a federated configuration management database capable of communicating with the data sources. The data sources also may be federated. The federated configuration database management identifies among the data sources. The system also includes a core database that is capable of communicating with the federated configuration management database. The core database defines relationships of the data sources with a business practice.Type: GrantFiled: November 22, 2011Date of Patent: April 22, 2014Assignee: United Services Automobile Association (USAA)Inventors: Mark C. Blazek, Richard C. Gonzalez
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Patent number: 8700577Abstract: Embodiments of the present invention solve the technical problem of identifying, collecting, and managing rules that improve poor quality data on enterprise initiatives ranging from data governance to business intelligence. In a specific embodiment of the present invention, a method is provided for producing data quality rules for a data set. A set of candidate conditional functional dependencies are generated comprised of candidate seeds of attributes that are within a certain degree of relatedness in the ontology of the data set. The candidate conditional functional dependencies are then applied to the data refined until they reach a quiescent state where they have not been refined even though the data they have been applied to has been stable. The resulting refined candidate conditional functional dependencies are the data enhancement rules for the data set and other related data sets.Type: GrantFiled: May 13, 2010Date of Patent: April 15, 2014Assignee: Accenture Global Services Limited GmbHInventors: Peter Zei-Chan Yeh, Colin Anil Puri
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Patent number: 8694561Abstract: In one embodiment the present invention includes a computer-implemented method of improving performance of schema matching. The method includes storing a matching topology that maps a first data structure to a second data structure. The method further includes identifying a first portion of the matching topology that is a candidate for improvement as determined according to an incidence graph. The method further includes rewriting the first portion of the matching topology with a second portion according to the incidence graph.Type: GrantFiled: June 7, 2012Date of Patent: April 8, 2014Assignee: SAP AGInventor: Eric Peukert
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Patent number: 8682931Abstract: The present invention re-renders data center visualizations at different levels of abstraction based on roles or activities of an avatar. Morphing of data center objects is accomplished by either combining or decomposing existing data center objects in a manner that will result in a new object that maintains its relationship to the original objects. An example of this would be when creating an application object by combining an existing infrastructure objects (e.g., a server, a network and storage) used to support the application object runtime environment. This allows for the avatar to not only relate the application object to the supporting infrastructure objects, but also provides a view of how the application object is impacted whenever the supporting infrastructure objects change or break.Type: GrantFiled: September 29, 2009Date of Patent: March 25, 2014Assignee: International Business Machines CorporationInventors: Christopher J. Dawson, Michael J. Osias, Brian W. Sledge
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Patent number: 8676791Abstract: Methods and apparatus, including computer program products, for providing assistance in detecting mistranslation in a translated document obtained by performing machine translation of an original document. A word included in the translated document is obtained. Search results are obtained of searching both a first document data group and a second document data group including the first document data group for pieces of document data related to the obtained word. Based on the obtained search results, an index is generated. The index indicates the adequacy of the obtained word as a translated word in a field corresponding to the first document data group. The generated index is output.Type: GrantFiled: November 13, 2009Date of Patent: March 18, 2014Assignee: International Business Machines CorporationInventors: Masahiko Maedera, Takaaki Shiratori
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Patent number: 8676771Abstract: A system and method for maintaining version information. An identifier (“ID”) that identifies a collection of associated files is obtained. An index is generated that specifies the contents of the collection of associated files. The ID may be saved along with the index in a target version file to convey version information about the collection of associated files. Subsequently, the index may be extracted from the target version file to compare with a corresponding index extracted from a reference version file. The result of the comparison may be used to determine whether the contents of the collection of associated files match a reference.Type: GrantFiled: June 9, 2012Date of Patent: March 18, 2014Assignee: SAP AGInventor: Krasimir P. Semerdzhiev