Patents Examined by Michael Hicks
  • Patent number: 8214369
    Abstract: A method and system are provided for selecting advertisements for presentation to a user in response to a user search query. The system may include a keyword server for parsing the user search query and an index server for receiving the parsed search query. The index server may include an index of advertising phrases and pre-filtering components for comparing index entries to the parsed user search query in order to discard non-matching index entries and locate matching entries. The pre-filtering components may include either a phrase length pre-filtering component or a word hash pre-filtering component. The system may additionally include a listing server for sorting through the matching entries located by the index server and further filtering the matching entries for retrieval and presentation to the user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 9, 2004
    Date of Patent: July 3, 2012
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Brian Burdick, Joshua J. Forman, Kevin P. Kornelson, Murali Vajjiravel, Rajeev Prasad
  • Patent number: 8214371
    Abstract: A method, computer program, database system and data structure for indexing spatial objects are disclosed. Each spatial object has a location in an n-dimensional space. The indexing is for use in a partitioned parallel environment including P partitions. Each partition resides on one or more parallel processing systems. The n-dimensional space is divided into quad-tree cells (QTCs) in a quad-tree structure. Each spatial object is assigned to one or more QTCs based on the location of the spatial object in the n-dimensional space. A spatial object index entry is created which includes a designator for the QTC to which the spatial object is assigned and a pointer to the spatial object. The entries are sorted by their QTC numbers into a list. The list of entries is divided into P substantially equal parts. The entries associated with each part are stored in a different one of the P partitions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 18, 2003
    Date of Patent: July 3, 2012
    Assignee: Teradata US, Inc.
    Inventors: Bhashyam Ramesh, Michael W. Watzke
  • Patent number: 8204920
    Abstract: A method for generating a system and, the system itself, which allows the selective access to and retrieval of data from a number of data resources. The system comprises a host system via which a user can make a request for data, and with reference to the request, the host system selects, using a series of activators held therein, those data resources, referred to as target systems, which are required to be accessed. The interface between the host and target systems and the generation and display of the retrieved data is controlled so as to provide the data to the user in the contextual format.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 9, 2002
    Date of Patent: June 19, 2012
    Assignee: Mood Enterprises Ltd
    Inventor: Simon Smith
  • Patent number: 8200690
    Abstract: Systems and methods for leveraging historical data to determine affected entities is provided. In exemplary embodiments, a current matter is created. When creating the current matter, at least one initial scope parameter for the current matter is known. Historical data associated with the at least one initial scope parameter may then be accessed and review. Based on the historical data, one or more refined scope parameter may be determined. A list of affected entities based at least on the one or more refined scope parameter is provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 23, 2008
    Date of Patent: June 12, 2012
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Deidre Paknad, Pierre Raynaud-Richard
  • Patent number: 8195628
    Abstract: A “forward” delta data management technique uses a “sparse” index associated with a delta file to achieve both delta management efficiency and to eliminate read latency while accessing history data. The invention may be implemented advantageously in a data management system that provides real-time data services to data sources associated with a set of application host servers. A host driver embedded in an application server connects an application and its data to a cluster. The host driver captures real-time data transactions, preferably in the form of an event journal that is provided to the data management system. In particular, the driver functions to translate traditional file/database/block I/O into a continuous, application-aware, output data stream. A given application-aware data stream is processed through a multi-stage data reduction process to produce a compact data representation from which an “any point-in-time” reconstruction of the original data can be made.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 11, 2010
    Date of Patent: June 5, 2012
    Assignee: Quest Software, Inc.
    Inventor: Siew Yong Sim-Tang
  • Patent number: 8190611
    Abstract: A categorization server is coupled to multiple clients via a network. Each client has a security module that monitors web browsing performed on the client and reports a web site browsing stream to the categorization server. The categorization server identifies a site from the browsing stream of a client that is of a known category. The categorization server uses content-temporal locality to determine whether other sites in the browsing stream belong to the same category as the site having the known category. This determination can be performed by assigning probabilities to other sites in the browsing stream, and by considering probabilities assigned to sites in browsing streams of other clients. The categorization server provides categories of sites to the clients, and the client security modules can implement category-based security policies.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2007
    Date of Patent: May 29, 2012
    Assignee: Symantec Corporation
    Inventors: Carey S. Nachenberg, Adam Bromwich
  • Patent number: 8185555
    Abstract: Techniques for implicitly extending an object model, even those that do not provide an extension mechanism, in a manner that is transparent, independent, and non-disruptive to the model itself. An “extension” is preferably created for each object to be extended, and comprises a reference to the object and contains an “extension object” that specifies the particular extensions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 22, 2004
    Date of Patent: May 22, 2012
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Sebastian Carbajales, Vladimir Klicnik, Lok Tin Loi
  • Patent number: 8165989
    Abstract: Methods, systems, and articles of manufacture for accessing data stored in multiple data sources. Such methods employ an automated software agent to maintain a collection of data sources available for querying. The data sources may all reside within a single local network or may be distributed throughout multiple locations. Generally, the automated software agent searches a given domain for additional data sources according to a defined set of selection criteria. After discovering an additional data source, the automated software agent configures a query application to reflect the availability the additional data source. Further, the automated software agent may periodically evaluate the collection of data sources against the selection criteria and remove those that are either no longer available or no longer satisfy the selection criteria.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 4, 2008
    Date of Patent: April 24, 2012
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Richard D. Dettinger, Daniel P. Kolz, Richard J. Stevens, Jeffrey W. Tenner
  • Patent number: 8165987
    Abstract: An automatic rule generation system generates rules for fact extraction. A rule generation module receives a sample and generates a rule from the sample. A rule relaxation module generates a relaxed rule from the rule. A rule testing module generates a reverse index from a corpus, applies the relaxed rule to the reverse index, and generates text segments. An information extraction module generates modified text segments from the relaxed rule and the text segments. A candidate suggestion module performs a candidate generation process: if the candidate generation process generates no candidates, the candidate suggestion module signals the rule relaxation module to generate a further relaxed rule to use as the relaxed rule. A user evaluates a candidate and provides the candidate as an additional sample for the automatic rule generation system to generate another rule to use as the rule.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 27, 2009
    Date of Patent: April 24, 2012
    Assignee: Business Objects S.A.
    Inventor: Alpha Kamchiu Luk
  • Patent number: 8140590
    Abstract: A method and system for dynamically generating a semantically correct user interface (UI) panel for a service request and automatically mapping input data for service-oriented architecture-based system management applications. A document is received that includes semantic annotations specifying semantics of elements of a service request input message. During runtime, a UI panel is generated based on the semantics and by interpreting metadata generated by interpreting hints included in the document. Further, the semantic annotations may include a mapping definition of information technology (IT) resource selections. Based on the mapping definition, the IT resource selections are extracted from a registry and automatically mapped to a UI input element in a UI panel. In response to selecting an IT resource from the UI panel, properties of the selected IT resource are automatically mapped to an element of the service request input message according to the semantic annotations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 23, 2009
    Date of Patent: March 20, 2012
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: William M. Genovese, Sivananthan Perumal, Akshay V. Rao, Dinesh Ganesh Shetty, Thomas Spatzier
  • Patent number: 8140478
    Abstract: Consistency is managed among data operations by coalescing commit operations, adjusting a commit rate to optimize latency, and converging to fairness across servers. Write operations representing a change to data stored by one or more of a plurality of computing devices are received in succession by, for example, a cloud computing service. A state of a plurality of tracking objects is adjusted to indicate whether the change in data has been provided to the computing devices and whether the change in data has been acknowledged by the computing devices. Changes to the same data are coalesced such that only the most recent change is provided to the computing devices for storage. In some embodiments, the commit rate is adjustable such that the commit rate decreases quickly but increases slowly based on measured latencies.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 29, 2009
    Date of Patent: March 20, 2012
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Alastair Wolman, John Dunagan, John Carleton McCullough, Bruce W. Copeland, Jeremy L. Dewey
  • Patent number: 8131738
    Abstract: A secure search method of securing searches by a user through a hash provider using a search engine. The user registers with the hash provider. The hash provider sends a unique number, encrypted result database, and hashed index to the search engine. The user enters in at least one search term to be searched. The user hashes the search term and sends the search term to the search engine with the unique number. The search engine searches and selects the hashed index and encrypted result database based on the unique number. The encrypted result data set taken from the encrypted result database is sent to user. The user decrypts the result set.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 30, 2008
    Date of Patent: March 6, 2012
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventor: Benjamin S. Gerber
  • Patent number: 8131691
    Abstract: Various methods and systems for updating a search engine index based on a file change log are disclosed. One method involves accessing a file, which stores a file change log maintained by a file system. The file change log identifies one or more recently modified files. The method also involves updating an index, based on a recently-modified file identified in the file change log. The index is used to search files maintained by the file system. An application external to the file system accesses the file storing the file change log and updates the index.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 2005
    Date of Patent: March 6, 2012
    Assignee: Symantec Operating Corporation
    Inventors: Sree Hari Nagaralu, N. Sunder Phani Kumar, Shyamshankar Dharmarajan, Joseph M. Maionchi, Craig K. Harmer
  • Patent number: 8108363
    Abstract: A system analyzing apparatus analyzes a processing state of a computer system that includes a plurality of types of unit processing. The system analyzing apparatus includes a selecting unit that selects a plurality of representative unit processing based on similarities between individual units of the unit processing; and a grouping unit that groups each unit processing based on similarity between the each unit processing and each of representative unit processing selected by the selecting unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 31, 2006
    Date of Patent: January 31, 2012
    Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
    Inventors: Yukiko Seki, Lilian Harada, Ken Yokoyama
  • Patent number: 8103667
    Abstract: 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, which may correspond to a number of user relevant results and which ones 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 query, based on a number of results used by the user type. An improved ranking of the results can be determined for the query, from the one or more sets of relevant results, based on the user profiles and a desired user satisfaction metric for a desired number of users.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 28, 2009
    Date of Patent: January 24, 2012
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Joseph Yossi Azar, Xiaoxin Yin, Iftah Gamzu
  • Patent number: 8099384
    Abstract: An operation procedure extrapolating system includes a history recording unit, a sort unit and an extrapolating unit. The history recording unit records history records of processes that at least one image processing apparatus is instructed to perform in a series of operation procedures. Each history record includes operator information, time information, content information and an object image. The sort unit sorts the history records into sets defined for individual operations, based on a comparison among the object images of the recorded history records. The extrapolating unit extrapolates operation procedures in at least one of the individual operations, based on the content information of the history records included in the set defined for the at least one of the individual operations and a sequence of the operator information of the history records included in the set defined for the at least one of the individual operations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 15, 2008
    Date of Patent: January 17, 2012
    Assignee: Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Natsumi Miyazawa, Shinichi Yada
  • Patent number: 8086567
    Abstract: The present application provides a storage apparatus for storing data. The storage apparatus comprises storage means for storing data, committing means for committing the availability of a certain storage space to a source device, detecting means for detecting the availability of the certain storage space to produce a detection result, and communication means for informing the source device the detection result, whereby the source device takes corresponding action(s) according to the detection result. In this way, each storage device of a group is bound by its commitment, if it violates its commitment, it risks the loss of its file(s) stored on other members' storage space.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 20, 2006
    Date of Patent: December 27, 2011
    Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V.
    Inventors: Declan Patrick Kelly, Jozef Pieter Van Gassel
  • Patent number: 8082231
    Abstract: Described are techniques for representing a data segment comprising. A list of one or more tokens representing one or more data portions included in the data segment is received. A unique identifier uniquely identifying said data segment from other data segments is received. A signature value determined in accordance with said list of tokens and said unique identifier is received. The list of tokens, said unique identifier, and said signature value are stored as information corresponding to said data segment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 22, 2006
    Date of Patent: December 20, 2011
    Assignee: EMC Corporation
    Inventors: Matthew R. McDaniel, Arthur Beaverson
  • Patent number: 8078592
    Abstract: A method is disclosed for checking the integrity of a database through a test of database integrity information provided in the database and integrity information provided external to the database. The integrity information may be provided in a configuration file.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 7, 2007
    Date of Patent: December 13, 2011
    Assignee: Roche Diagnostics Operations, Inc.
    Inventors: Igor Gejdos, Lawrence G. Yarian, III, Keith B. Bernard, Morris J. Young, Christopher Richard Baker
  • Patent number: RE43260
    Abstract: The present invention relates to managing media items in data processing terminals. More particularly, the present invention is directed to a method, a device and a computer program product for arranging, viewing and querying media items organized in hierarchical multidimensional clusters in mobile terminals. Media items are arranged by clustering with multiple dimensions, wherein they are queried by defining the first entry for one dimension, wherein the next entry is based on the other dimension from the media items fulfilling the first entry.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 23, 2008
    Date of Patent: March 20, 2012
    Assignee: Nokia Corporation
    Inventors: Joonas Paalasmaa, Jukka-Pekka Salmenkaita, Antti Sorvari, Tapio Tallgren