Patents by Inventor Conrad Drescher

Conrad Drescher has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 11080018
    Abstract: The disclosure generally describes methods, software, and systems for defining a constraint satisfaction problem including floating point variables. Floating-point domains are described using a notation that allows arbitrarily many ranges denoted by at least one of intervals with boundary information or singleton values comprising fully discrete domains. Mathematically correct results are computed using closures combined with interval arithmetic. A new consistency level for constraint propagation is provided, including multi-bounds consistency, over floating point variables, where the multi-bounds consistency achieves domain consistency over monotonic functions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 13, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 3, 2021
    Assignee: SAP SE
    Inventors: Conrad Drescher, Claudia Moeller
  • Publication number: 20200364030
    Abstract: The disclosure generally describes methods, software, and systems for defining a constraint satisfaction problem including floating point variables. Floating-point domains are described using a notation that allows arbitrarily many ranges denoted by at least one of intervals with boundary information or singleton values comprising fully discrete domains. Mathematically correct results are computed using closures combined with interval arithmetic. A new consistency level for constraint propagation is provided, including multi-bounds consistency, over floating point variables, where the multi-bounds consistency achieves domain consistency over monotonic functions.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 13, 2019
    Publication date: November 19, 2020
    Inventors: Conrad Drescher, Claudia Moeller
  • Patent number: 10817504
    Abstract: Techniques and solutions are provided for analyzing constraints. A disclosed embodiment provides for determining whether a table contains a valid tuple, and if so, the minimum index of the first valid tuple. Determining whether the table contains a valid tuple can provide an early indication of whether a set of constraints is violated or entailed, for positive and negative constraints, respectively. Determining the minimum index of the first valid tuple can expedite subsequent constraint analysis. Further disclosed embodiments provide for removal of duplicate and wildcard values from a set of constraints, which can facilitate negative constraint analysis. An indication can be provided, such as through a user interface, of whether a set of constraints is violated or entailed. Software can restrict selection of values that may result in constraint violation based on the provided indication.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2018
    Date of Patent: October 27, 2020
    Assignee: SAP SE
    Inventors: Conrad Drescher, Mirko Rahn
  • Patent number: 10579731
    Abstract: An apparatus for handling string variables with open domains is provided. In some implementations, the apparatus performs operations including retrieving a first string variable having a first domain, the first domain comprising at least one undefined string value. The operations further include retrieving a second string variable having a second domain, the second domain comprising one or more string values each assigned an integer value in a second set of integer values. The operations further include applying a constraint relating the first string variable with the second string variable. The operations further include comparing the first set of integer values with the second set of integer values and filtering the first set of integer values in the first domain to a third set of integer values in the first domain. The operations further include displaying the third set of integer values for the first string variable.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 13, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 3, 2020
    Assignee: SAP SE
    Inventors: Conrad Drescher, Jens Krueger
  • Patent number: 10534592
    Abstract: Technologies are provided for creating and using template constraint expressions in constraint-based systems. Template constraint expressions can be created that can be used to define multiple usages of a same constraint rule in a configuration model. Using the template constraint expression, the constraint rule can be translated once and used multiple times as different instances of the rule are activated. Updates to the rule can be made to the template constraint expression and applied to all of the related instances. Constraint expressions can be created based on the template constraint expression. Multiple object instances in a configuration model can be identified that satisfy matching criteria of the template constraint expression. Variables of the matching object instances can be mapped to variable placeholders in the template constraint expression to create constraint expressions. A constraint solver can be used to evaluate the constraint expressions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 21, 2018
    Date of Patent: January 14, 2020
    Assignee: SAP SE
    Inventors: Patrick Berg, Conrad Drescher, Patrick Zimmer
  • Publication number: 20190303472
    Abstract: Techniques and solutions are provided for analyzing constraints. A disclosed embodiment provides for determining whether a table contains a valid tuple, and if so, the minimum index of the first valid tuple. Determining whether the table contains a valid tuple can provide an early indication of whether a set of constraints is violated or entailed, for positive and negative constraints, respectively. Determining the minimum index of the first valid tuple can expedite subsequent constraint analysis. Further disclosed embodiments provide for removal of duplicate and wildcard values from a set of constraints, which can facilitate negative constraint analysis. An indication can be provided, such as through a user interface, of whether a set of constraints is violated or entailed. Software can restrict selection of values that may result in constraint violation based on the provided indication.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 29, 2018
    Publication date: October 3, 2019
    Applicant: SAP SE
    Inventors: Conrad Drescher, Mirko Rahn
  • Publication number: 20190251162
    Abstract: An apparatus for handling string variables with open domains is provided. In some implementations, the apparatus performs operations including retrieving a first string variable having a first domain, the first domain comprising at least one undefined string value. The operations further include retrieving a second string variable having a second domain, the second domain comprising one or more string values each assigned an integer value in a second set of integer values. The operations further include applying a constraint relating the first string variable with the second string variable. The operations further include comparing the first set of integer values with the second set of integer values and filtering the first set of integer values in the first domain to a third set of integer values in the first domain. The operations further include displaying the third set of integer values for the first string variable.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 13, 2018
    Publication date: August 15, 2019
    Inventors: Conrad Drescher, Jens Krueger
  • Publication number: 20190042215
    Abstract: Technologies are provided for creating and using template constraint expressions in constraint-based systems. Template constraint expressions can be created that can be used to define multiple usages of a same constraint rule in a configuration model. Using the template constraint expression, the constraint rule can be translated once and used multiple times as different instances of the rule are activated. Updates to the rule can be made to the template constraint expression and applied to all of the related instances. Constraint expressions can be created based on the template constraint expression. Multiple object instances in a configuration model can be identified that satisfy matching criteria of the template constraint expression. Variables of the matching object instances can be mapped to variable placeholders in the template constraint expression to create constraint expressions. A constraint solver can be used to evaluate the constraint expressions.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 21, 2018
    Publication date: February 7, 2019
    Applicant: SAP SE
    Inventors: Patrick Berg, Conrad Drescher, Patrick Zimmer