Patents by Inventor Mary Catherine Burton

Mary Catherine Burton 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: 8032834
    Abstract: Provided are techniques for providing context-based user assistance. A request from a user for user assistance content for a first configurable element is received. One or more rules are retrieved for the first configurable element, wherein at least one of the rules describes a second configurable element that is related to the first configurable element. The one or more rules are used to identify context-based user assistance content for configuring at least one of the first configurable element and the second configurable element. The user assistance content is provided to the user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 7, 2006
    Date of Patent: October 4, 2011
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Mary Catherine Burton, Fonda J. Daniels, Sandra K. Johnson, Ruthie D. Lyle, Kelly Malone, LaTondra Alyce Murray, Demethria Johnson Ramseur
  • Patent number: 7917711
    Abstract: The invention automatically selects a copy function according to a policy associated with data to be copied. The apparatus comprises an identification module configured to identify available copy functions in response to a data copy request that includes a predefined copy policy, a comparison module configured to compare each copy function of a storage device to attributes of the predefined copy policy, a selection module configured to automatically select a copy function that satisfies the predefined copy policy, and a relationship module configured to establish a copy relationship between the determined copy function and the data copy request. A policy generation module may be included and configured to read a set of required attributes from an application and to establish the predefined copy policy based on the set of required attributes from the application.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 14, 2003
    Date of Patent: March 29, 2011
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: David Randall Blea, Mary Catherine Burton, Gregory Edward McBride, David Michael Shackelford
  • Patent number: 7451142
    Abstract: A method and system for autonomic relevancy building using information obtained from clients to improve customer support. Upon receiving a client request for product support information, product support information objects representing the requested product support information in an information library are identified. Relevant product support information corresponding to the identified relevant product support information objects are provided to the client. Data regarding whether or not the information provided to the client is relevant may be obtained from the client through implicit feedback (such as, system usage), explicit feedback (such as, user feedback), metadata information, or any combination thereof. Relevancy associations may be created between the product support information objects based on the relevancy data. Relevancy weights may also be assigned to each relevancy association based on the relevancy data, wherein the relevancy weights designate a certainty of each relevancy association.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 18, 2005
    Date of Patent: November 11, 2008
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Paul Thomas Arellanes, Mary Catherine Burton, Elizabeth A. Halliday-Reynolds, William S. Liu, Jason Thomas Read, Douglas Dwaine Yakesch
  • Publication number: 20080109723
    Abstract: Provided are techniques for providing context-based user assistance. A request from a user for user assistance content for a first configurable element is received. One or more rules are retrieved for the first configurable element, wherein at least one of the rules describes a second configurable element that is related to the first configurable element. The one or more rules are used to identify context-based user assistance content for configuring at least one of the first configurable element and the second configurable element. The user assistance content is provided to the user.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 7, 2006
    Publication date: May 8, 2008
    Applicant: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
    Inventors: Mary Catherine Burton, Fonda J. Daniels, Sandra K. Johnson, Ruthie D. Lyle, Kelly Malone, LaTondra Alyce Murray, Demethria Johnson Ramseur
  • Patent number: 7305418
    Abstract: Disclosed are a method and system for pairing objects for the purpose of copying data. The method comprises the steps of selecting such pairs in a single view including graphical depictions of representations of storage resources, and implementing checks and alert messages regarding such pairings based on predefined rules. Preferably, these graphical depictions are side-by-side depictions in the single view of a logical configuration of the storage resources, and, for example, these depictions may be hierarchical trees. Preferably, users are able to select a single source and target volume and/or to select blocks of source and target volumes using familiar computer controls, and users may also confirm their selections before committing to them. These volumes may be in the same or different storage subsystems. In addition, some error checking and/or error handling, with an appropriate error message is preferably built into the tool of this invention.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 5, 2003
    Date of Patent: December 4, 2007
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Linda Van Patten Benhase, Mary Catherine Burton, Shekhar Gajanan Kale, Amy Nicole Morris