Patents by Inventor Marion L. Blount

Marion L. Blount 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: 10372473
    Abstract: Mechanisms are provided for virtualizing physical sensors and providing sensor data to a requestor using the virtualized physical sensors. The mechanisms obtain sensor data from a plurality of physical sensors and storing the sensor data in a virtual sensor storage system of the data processing system in at least one standardized format. A request from a requestor for a first type of sensor data is received which does not specify a particular physical sensor. A portion of the sensor data stored in the virtual sensor storage system is retrieved in response to receiving the request, the portion of sensor data corresponding to the type of sensor data requested in the request from the requestor. The retrieved portion of the sensor data is returned to the requestor in a format corresponding to a physical sensor configured to provide the requested type of sensor data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 4, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 6, 2019
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Marion L. Blount, Metin Feridun, Suzanne K. McIntosh, Iqbal I. Mohomed, Michael E. Nidd, Axel Tanner, Bo Yang
  • Patent number: 9575477
    Abstract: A sensor is installed in a building management system by determining a sensor type of the sensor from among a plurality of supported sensor types based on information collected by a mobile device of a user; identifying configuration information required by the building management system for the determined sensor type; obtaining the required configuration information from the user using an interface on the mobile device, wherein at least a portion of the interface is generated to accommodate one or more requirements of the building management system with respect to the determined sensor type; and providing the obtained required configuration information to the building management system. The sensor type and unique identifier of the sensor can be automatically determined. Portions of the required configuration information for the determined sensor type can be automatically populated using default information for the determined sensor type.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 31, 2012
    Date of Patent: February 21, 2017
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Marion L. Blount, Jeffrey O. Kephart, Jonathan Lenchner, Iqbal I. Mohomed
  • Publication number: 20160216999
    Abstract: Mechanisms are provided for virtualizing physical sensors and providing sensor data to a requestor using the virtualized physical sensors. The mechanisms obtain sensor data from a plurality of physical sensors and storing the sensor data in a virtual sensor storage system of the data processing system in at least one standardized format. A request from a requestor for a first type of sensor data is received which does not specify a particular physical sensor. A portion of the sensor data stored in the virtual sensor storage system is retrieved in response to receiving the request, the portion of sensor data corresponding to the type of sensor data requested in the request from the requestor. The retrieved portion of the sensor data is returned to the requestor in a format corresponding to a physical sensor configured to provide the requested type of sensor data.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 4, 2016
    Publication date: July 28, 2016
    Inventors: Marion L. Blount, Metin Feridun, Suzanne K. McIntosh, Iqbal I. Mohomed, Michael E. Nidd, Axel Tanner, Bo Yang
  • Patent number: 9304511
    Abstract: Mechanisms are provided for virtualizing physical sensors and providing sensor data to a requestor using the virtualized physical sensors. The mechanisms obtain sensor data from a plurality of physical sensors and storing the sensor data in a virtual sensor storage system of the data processing system in at least one standardized format. A request from a requestor for a first type of sensor data is received which does not specify a particular physical sensor. A portion of the sensor data stored in the virtual sensor storage system is retrieved in response to receiving the request, the portion of sensor data corresponding to the type of sensor data requested in the request from the requestor. The retrieved portion of the sensor data is returned to the requestor in a format corresponding to a physical sensor configured to provide the requested type of sensor data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 10, 2012
    Date of Patent: April 5, 2016
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Marion L. Blount, Metin Feridun, Suzanne K. McIntosh, Iqbal I. Mohomed, Michael E. Nidd, Axel Tanner, Bo Yang
  • Patent number: 9256222
    Abstract: Mechanisms are provided for virtualizing physical sensors and providing sensor data to a requestor using the virtualized physical sensors. The mechanisms obtain sensor data from a plurality of physical sensors and storing the sensor data in a virtual sensor storage system of the data processing system in at least one standardized format. A request from a requestor for a first type of sensor data is received which does not specify a particular physical sensor. A portion of the sensor data stored in the virtual sensor storage system is retrieved in response to receiving the request, the portion of sensor data corresponding to the type of sensor data requested in the request from the requestor. The retrieved portion of the sensor data is returned to the requestor in a format corresponding to a physical sensor configured to provide the requested type of sensor data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 18, 2012
    Date of Patent: February 9, 2016
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Marion L. Blount, Metin Feridun, Suzanne K. McIntosh, Iqbal I. Mohomed, Michael E. Nidd, Axel Tanner, Bo Yang
  • Publication number: 20140039685
    Abstract: A sensor is installed in a building management system by determining a sensor type of the sensor from among a plurality of supported sensor types based on information collected by a mobile device of a user; identifying configuration information required by the building management system for the determined sensor type; obtaining the required configuration information from the user using an interface on the mobile device, wherein at least a portion of the interface is generated to accommodate one or more requirements of the building management system with respect to the determined sensor type; and providing the obtained required configuration information to the building management system. The sensor type and unique identifier of the sensor can be automatically determined. Portions of the required configuration information for the determined sensor type can be automatically populated using default information for the determined sensor type.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 31, 2012
    Publication date: February 6, 2014
    Applicant: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
    Inventors: Marion L. Blount, Jeffrey O. Kephart, Jonathan Lenchner, Iqbal I. Mohomed
  • Publication number: 20140025338
    Abstract: Mechanisms are provided for virtualizing physical sensors and providing sensor data to a requestor using the virtualized physical sensors. The mechanisms obtain sensor data from a plurality of physical sensors and storing the sensor data in a virtual sensor storage system of the data processing system in at least one standardized format. A request from a requestor for a first type of sensor data is received which does not specify a particular physical sensor. A portion of the sensor data stored in the virtual sensor storage system is retrieved in response to receiving the request, the portion of sensor data corresponding to the type of sensor data requested in the request from the requestor. The retrieved portion of the sensor data is returned to the requestor in a format corresponding to a physical sensor configured to provide the requested type of sensor data.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 10, 2012
    Publication date: January 23, 2014
    Applicant: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
    Inventors: Marion L. Blount, Metin Feridun, Suzanne K. McIntosh, Iqbal I. Mohomed, Michael E. Nidd, Axel Tanner, Bo Yang
  • Publication number: 20140025337
    Abstract: Mechanisms are provided for virtualizing physical sensors and providing sensor data to a requestor using the virtualized physical sensors. The mechanisms obtain sensor data from a plurality of physical sensors and storing the sensor data in a virtual sensor storage system of the data processing system in at least one standardized format. A request from a requestor for a first type of sensor data is received which does not specify a particular physical sensor. A portion of the sensor data stored in the virtual sensor storage system is retrieved in response to receiving the request, the portion of sensor data corresponding to the type of sensor data requested in the request from the requestor. The retrieved portion of the sensor data is returned to the requestor in a format corresponding to a physical sensor configured to provide the requested type of sensor data.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 18, 2012
    Publication date: January 23, 2014
    Applicant: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
    Inventors: Marion L. Blount, Metin Feridun, Suzanne K. McIntosh, Iqbal I. Mohomed, Michael E. Nidd, Axel Tanner, Bo Yang
  • Patent number: 6772159
    Abstract: There is provided a system and method for representing a data subset of server data. According to the method, a folder definition is generated for the data subset. The generation of the folder definition includes the substeps of identifying portions of the server data to be included in the data subset, generating declarations of value constraints and usage constraints with respect to at least some of the data of the data subset, and generating parameters to be supplied or selected by a user of a client device for further identifying the portions of the server data to be included in the data subset. The declarations are used for enforcing the value constraints and the usage constraints in subsequent renderings of the data subset on a client device. A folder instance is then generated based on the folder definition and parameters provided by a user of a client device or by default. The provided parameters (user provided or default) correspond to the generated parameters.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 2000
    Date of Patent: August 3, 2004
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Marion L. Blount, Hui Lei, Carl D. Tait
  • Publication number: 20010029518
    Abstract: Program product for an application programming interface that unifies a plurality of mechanisms into a single framework. The interface includes a mechanism for communicating between members of a process group of related processes, and a mechanism for synchronizing the related processes of the process group. Additionally, the application programming interface may include mechanisms for managing membership of the process group or a processor group of processors, and/or a mechanism for controlling a group state value for the process group.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 7, 2001
    Publication date: October 11, 2001
    Inventors: Peter R. Badovinatz, Marion L. Blount, Larry B. Brenner, Tushar D. Chandra, Ajei S. Gopal, Dennis D. Jurgensen, Marc A. Kaplan, Orvalle T. Kirby, John A. Pershing, John J. Turek
  • Patent number: 5253342
    Abstract: A communication protocol for direct communications between operating system kernels of a plurality of processors in a clustered-type, shared virtual memory, multi-processor data processing system is disclosed. Each processor unit includes a intermachine communications software system ("IMCS") which may-be used by a trusted kernel of the operating system of the processor to communicate with a service in another processor, either directly or through an intermediate processor. Communications are initiated when a user prepares a message in accordance with pre-programmed instructions from the IMCS in a standard format. Once the message is prepared, the user calls IMCS which selects a route for the transmission of the message over a serial communications link to the receiving processor using a "request to send immediate" serial link level protocol. The message is initially directed to a common buffer pool.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 18, 1992
    Date of Patent: October 12, 1993
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Marion L. Blount, Stephen P. Morgan, Katalin A. V. Rader, Robert K. Rader, Amal A. Shaheen-Gouda
  • Patent number: 5239643
    Abstract: A method for minimizing I/O mechanical assess operations on secondary storage devices in a data processing system having a plurality of processor units interconnected in a cluster configuration to permit each processor unit to request and obtain data that is resident only on a secondary storage device of one processor unit. The method involves the steps of maintaining at each processor unit information about each copy of data that has been sent from the unit to another unit to permit a second request to the unit to be serviced by transferring a copy of the data from the main memory which is storing the data to the requesting unit rather than servicing the request with a relatively slow I/O accessing operation to a secondary storage device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 19, 1991
    Date of Patent: August 24, 1993
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Marion L. Blount, Stephen P. Morgan, Katalin A. V. Rader
  • Patent number: 5222217
    Abstract: A system for maintaining the reliability of shared data structures, such as message queues, in a multi-processor data processing system is disclosed. The system includes a plurality of virtual memory-type processor units in which the processors share virtual memory and can access each one of a plurality of virtual memory segments by the same virtual memory address. The system assures the reliability of system-wide shared data structures in the event of a failure of one of the processors by maintaining at least two copies of each data structure and by maintaining two copies of a table used in locating such data structures. The system updates copies of such shared data structures that are stored in at least two different processing units with the results of a specified data processing transaction, which may have affected the information in such data structures, in a manner to insure that either identical updates occur or no update occurs.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 18, 1989
    Date of Patent: June 22, 1993
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Marion L. Blount, Stephen P. Morgan, Katalin A. V. Rader, Robert K. Rader, Shaheen-Gouda
  • Patent number: 4633245
    Abstract: A system is shown for connecting a plurality of intelligent terminals through a central non-blocking switch to each other, to a partitioned memory and to one or more service processors to form a local area network.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 30, 1983
    Date of Patent: December 30, 1986
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Marion L. Blount, Brent T. Hailpern, Robert A. Heller, Lee W. Hoevel, Gene E. Trivett