Patents by Inventor Thomas M. Cipolla

Thomas M. Cipolla 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: 8788879
    Abstract: A system, method and computer program product for supporting system initiated checkpoints in high performance parallel computing systems and storing of checkpoint data to a non-volatile memory storage device. The system and method generates selective control signals to perform checkpointing of system related data in presence of messaging activity associated with a user application running at the node. The checkpointing is initiated by the system such that checkpoint data of a plurality of network nodes may be obtained even in the presence of user applications running on highly parallel computers that include ongoing user messaging activity. In one embodiment, the non-volatile memory is a pluggable flash memory card.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 10, 2011
    Date of Patent: July 22, 2014
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Matthias A. Blumrich, Dong Chen, Thomas M. Cipolla, Paul W. Coteus, Alan Gara, Philip Heidelberger, Mark J. Jeanson, Gerard V. Kopcsay, Martin Ohmacht, Todd E. Takken
  • Patent number: 8667049
    Abstract: A novel massively parallel supercomputer of hundreds of teraOPS-scale includes node architectures based upon System-On-a-Chip technology, i.e., each processing node comprises a single Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC). Within each ASIC node is a plurality of processing elements each of which consists of a central processing unit (CPU) and plurality of floating point processors to enable optimal balance of computational performance, packaging density, low cost, and power and cooling requirements. The plurality of processors within a single node individually or simultaneously work on any combination of computation or communication as required by the particular algorithm being solved. The system-on-a-chip ASIC nodes are interconnected by multiple independent networks that optimally maximizes packet communications throughput and minimizes latency.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 3, 2012
    Date of Patent: March 4, 2014
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Matthias A. Blumrich, Dong Chen, George L. Chiu, Thomas M. Cipolla, Paul W. Coteus, Alan G. Gara, Mark E. Giampap, Philip Heidlberger, Gerard V. Kopcsay, Lawrence S. Mok, Todd E. Takken
  • Patent number: 8485831
    Abstract: A tall mezzanine connector which connects the substantial middle half of each of a pair of circuit cards positioned normal thereto in such a way that there is compliance when the two halves of the circuit cards are not in alignment. The mezzanine connector comprises a header and a receptacle that includes wafers having electrical contact means at each end thereof for contacting contacts in the respective circuit cards, the wafers being held in place by an upper base member and a lower base member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 6, 2011
    Date of Patent: July 16, 2013
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Thomas M. Cipolla, Todd Takken, Paul W. Coteus
  • Patent number: 8425236
    Abstract: A tall mezzanine connector which connects the substantial middle half of each of a pair of circuit cards positioned normal thereto. The mezzanine connector comprises a and a receptacle that includes wafers having electrical contact means at each end thereof for contacting contacts in the respective circuit cards, the wafers being held in place by an upper base member and a lower base member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 16, 2011
    Date of Patent: April 23, 2013
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Thomas M. Cipolla, Paul W. Coteus, Takken Todd
  • Publication number: 20120311299
    Abstract: A novel massively parallel supercomputer of hundreds of teraOPS-scale includes node architectures based upon System-On-a-Chip technology, i.e., each processing node comprises a single Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC). Within each ASIC node is a plurality of processing elements each of which consists of a central processing unit (CPU) and plurality of floating point processors to enable optimal balance of computational performance, packaging density, low cost, and power and cooling requirements. The plurality of processors within a single node individually or simultaneously work on any combination of computation or communication as required by the particular algorithm being solved. The system-on-a-chip ASIC nodes are interconnected by multiple independent networks that optimally maximizes packet communications throughput and minimizes latency.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 3, 2012
    Publication date: December 6, 2012
    Applicant: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Matthias A. Blumrich, Dong Chen, George L. Chiu, Thomas M. Cipolla, Paul W. Coteus, Alan G. Gara, Mark E. Giampapa, Philip Heidlberger, Gerard V. Kopcsay, Lawrence S. Mok, Todd E. Takken
  • Publication number: 20120295453
    Abstract: A tall mezzanine connector which connects the substantial middle half of each of a pair of circuit cards positioned normal thereto. The mezzanine connector comprises a and a receptacle that includes wafers having electrical contact means at each end thereof for contacting contacts in the respective circuit cards, the wafers being held in place by an upper base member and a lower base member.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 16, 2011
    Publication date: November 22, 2012
    Applicant: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
    Inventors: Thomas M. Cipolla, Paul W. Coteus, Todd Takken
  • Patent number: 8250133
    Abstract: A novel massively parallel supercomputer of hundreds of teraOPS-scale includes node architectures based upon System- On-a-Chip technology, i.e., each processing node comprises a single Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC). Within each ASIC node is a plurality of processing elements each of which consists of a central processing unit (CPU) and plurality of floating point processors to enable optimal balance of computational performance, packaging density, low cost, and power and cooling requirements. The plurality of processors within a single node individually or simultaneously work on any combination of computation or communication as required by the particular algorithm being solved. The system-on-a-chip ASIC nodes are interconnected by multiple independent networks that optimally maximizes packet communications throughput and minimizes latency.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 26, 2009
    Date of Patent: August 21, 2012
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Matthias A. Blumrich, Dong Chen, George L. Chiu, Thomas M. Cipolla, Paul W. Coteus, Alan G. Gara, Mark E. Giampapa, Philip Heidelberger, Gerard V. Kopcsay, Lawrence S. Mok, Todd E. Takken
  • Publication number: 20120178273
    Abstract: A tall mezzanine connector which connects the substantial middle half of each of a pair of circuit cards positioned normal thereto in such a way that there is compliance when the two halves of the circuit cards are not in alignment. The mezzanine connector comprises a header and a receptacle that includes wafers having electrical contact means at each end thereof for contacting contacts in the respective circuit cards, the wafers being held in place by an upper base member and a lower base member.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 6, 2011
    Publication date: July 12, 2012
    Applicant: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Thomas M. Cipolla, Todd Takken, Paul W. Coteus
  • Patent number: 8081473
    Abstract: A cooling apparatus, system and like method for an electronic device includes a plurality of heat producing electronic devices affixed to a wiring substrate. A plurality of heat transfer assemblies each include heat spreaders and thermally communicate with the heat producing electronic devices for transferring heat from the heat producing electronic devices to the heat transfer assemblies. The plurality of heat producing electronic devices and respective heat transfer assemblies are positioned on the wiring substrate having the regions overlapping. A heat conduit thermally communicates with the heat transfer assemblies. The heat conduit circulates thermally conductive fluid therethrough in a closed loop for transferring heat to the fluid from the heat transfer assemblies via the heat spreader.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 4, 2008
    Date of Patent: December 20, 2011
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Thomas M. Cipolla, Evan George Colgan, Paul W. Coteus, Shawn Anthony Hall, Shurong Tian
  • Patent number: 8004841
    Abstract: A cooling or heat transfer apparatus and method is disclosed for cooling an electronic device. The apparatus includes a heat producing electronic device which may include an electronic circuit card with many heat sources. A heat transfer device is connected to the heat producing electronic device which is thermally communicating with the heat producing device for transferring heat from the heat producing device to the heat transfer device. A heat conduit is connected to the heat transfer device and thermally communicating with the heat transfer device for transferring heat to the heat conduit from the heat transfer device. A cooling housing is connected to the heat conduit and the cooling housing thermally communicating with the heat conduit for transferring heat to the cooling housing from the heat conduit. The apparatus enables the replacement of circuit cards in the field because it eliminates the need to apply thermal-interface materials.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 6, 2008
    Date of Patent: August 23, 2011
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Thomas M. Cipolla, Shurong Tian, Evan George Colgan, Paul W. Coteus, Shawn Anthony Hall
  • Publication number: 20110173488
    Abstract: A system, method and computer program product for supporting system initiated checkpoints in high performance parallel computing systems and storing of checkpoint data to a non-volatile memory storage device. The system and method generates selective control signals to perform checkpointing of system related data in presence of messaging activity associated with a user application running at the node. The checkpointing is initiated by the system such that checkpoint data of a plurality of network nodes may be obtained even in the presence of user applications running on highly parallel computers that include ongoing user messaging activity. In one embodiment, the non-volatile memory is a pluggable flash memory card.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 10, 2011
    Publication date: July 14, 2011
    Applicant: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Matthias A. Blumrich, Dong Chen, Thomas M. Cipolla, Paul W. Coteus, Alan Gara, Philip Heidelberger, Mark J. Jeanson, Gerard V. Kopcsay, Martin Ohmacht, Todd E. Takken
  • Patent number: 7761687
    Abstract: A massively parallel supercomputer of petaOPS-scale includes node architectures based upon System-On-a-Chip technology, where each processing node comprises a single Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) having up to four processing elements. The ASIC nodes are interconnected by multiple independent networks that optimally maximize the throughput of packet communications between nodes with minimal latency. The multiple networks may include three high-speed networks for parallel algorithm message passing including a Torus, collective network, and a Global Asynchronous network that provides global barrier and notification functions. These multiple independent networks may be collaboratively or independently utilized according to the needs or phases of an algorithm for optimizing algorithm processing performance. The use of a DMA engine is provided to facilitate message passing among the nodes without the expenditure of processing resources at the node.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 26, 2007
    Date of Patent: July 20, 2010
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Matthias A. Blumrich, Dong Chen, George Chiu, Thomas M. Cipolla, Paul W. Coteus, Alan G. Gara, Mark E. Giampapa, Shawn Hall, Rudolf A. Haring, Philip Heidelberger, Gerard V. Kopcsay, Martin Ohmacht, Valentina Salapura, Krishnan Sugavanam, Todd Takken
  • Patent number: 7715197
    Abstract: A heatsink structure and method for the cooling of closely spaced packaged heat-producing devices, such as dual-in-line memory modules (DIMMs). A folded sheet metal heatsink structure is provided which is constituted of a coined metallic material and which has a large plurality of waffle-shaped ridges extending therefrom constituting additional surface areas which are adapted to enable heat generated by hub chips to pass upwardly and then outwardly through waffle-like ridges and, thus, dissipated to the exterior, thereby imparting an improved degree of cooling to heat-producing components or devices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 5, 2008
    Date of Patent: May 11, 2010
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Shurong Tian, Thomas M. Cipolla, Paul W. Coteus
  • Publication number: 20100025010
    Abstract: A cooling apparatus, system and like method for an electronic device includes a plurality of heat producing electronic devices affixed to a wiring substrate. A plurality of heat transfer assemblies each include heat spreaders and thermally communicate with the heat producing electronic devices for transferring heat from the heat producing electronic devices to the heat transfer assemblies The plurality of heat producing electronic devices and respective heat transfer assemblies are positioned on the wiring substrate having the regions overlapping. A heat conduit thermally communicates with the heat transfer assemblies. The heat conduit circulates thermally conductive fluid therethrough in a closed loop for transferring heat to the fluid from the heat transfer assemblies via the heat spreader.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 4, 2008
    Publication date: February 4, 2010
    Applicant: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
    Inventors: Thomas M. Cipolla, Evan George Colgan, Paul W. Coteus, Shawn Anthony Hall, Shurong Tian
  • Publication number: 20090303681
    Abstract: A heatsink structure and method for the cooling of closely spaced packaged heat-producing devices, such as dual-in-line memory modules (DIMMs). A folded sheet metal heatsink structure is provided which is constituted of a coined metallic material and which has a large plurality of waffle-shaped ridges extending therefrom constituting additional surface areas which are adapted to enable heat generated by hub chips to pass upwardly and then outwardly through waffle-like ridges and, thus, dissipated to the exterior, thereby imparting an improved degree of cooling to heat-producing components or devices.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 5, 2008
    Publication date: December 10, 2009
    Applicant: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
    Inventors: Shurong Tian, Thomas M. Cipolla, Paul W. Coteus
  • Publication number: 20090277616
    Abstract: A cooling or heat transfer apparatus and method is disclosed for cooling an electronic device. The apparatus includes a heat producing electronic device which may include an electronic circuit card with many heat sources. A heat transfer device is connected to the heat producing electronic device which is thermally communicating with the heat producing device for transferring heat from the heat producing device to the heat transfer device. A heat conduit is connected to the heat transfer device and thermally communicating with the heat transfer device for transferring heat to the heat conduit from the heat transfer device. A cooling housing is connected to the heat conduit and the cooling housing thermally communicating with the heat conduit for transferring heat to the cooling housing from the heat conduit. The apparatus enables the replacement of circuit cards in the field because it eliminates the need to apply thermal-interface materials.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 6, 2008
    Publication date: November 12, 2009
    Applicant: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Thomas M. Cipolla, Shurong Tian, Evan George Colgan, Paul W. Coteus, Shawn Anthony Hall
  • Publication number: 20090259713
    Abstract: A novel massively parallel supercomputer of hundreds of teraOPS-scale includes node architectures based upon System-On-a-Chip technology, i.e., each processing node comprises a single Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC). Within each ASIC node is a plurality of processing elements each of which consists of a central processing unit (CPU) and plurality of floating point processors to enable optimal balance of computational performance, packaging density, low cost, and power and cooling requirements. The plurality of processors within a single node may be used individually or simultaneously to work on any combination of computation or communication as required by the particular algorithm being solved or executed at any point in time. The system-on-a-chip ASIC nodes are interconnected by multiple independent networks that optimally maximizes packet communications throughput and minimizes latency.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 26, 2009
    Publication date: October 15, 2009
    Applicant: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
    Inventors: Matthias A. Blumrich, Dong Chen, George L. Chiu, Thomas M. Cipolla, Paul W. Coteus, Alan G. Gara, Mark E. Giampapa, Philip Heidelberger, Gerard V. Kopcsay, Lawrence S. Mok, Todd E. Takken
  • Patent number: 7555566
    Abstract: A novel massively parallel supercomputer of hundreds of teraOPS-scale includes node architectures based upon System-On-a-Chip technology, i.e., each processing node comprises a single Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC). Within each ASIC node is a plurality of processing elements each of which consists of a central processing unit (CPU) and plurality of floating point processors to enable optimal balance of computational performance, packaging density, low cost, and power and cooling requirements. The plurality of processors within a single node may be used individually or simultaneously to work on any combination of computation or communication as required by the particular algorithm being solved or executed at any point in time. The system-on-a-chip ASIC nodes are interconnected by multiple independent networks that optimally maximizes packet communications throughput and minimizes latency.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 25, 2002
    Date of Patent: June 30, 2009
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Matthias A. Blumrich, Dong Chen, George L. Chiu, Thomas M. Cipolla, Paul W. Coteus, Alan G. Gara, Mark E. Giampapa, Philip Heidelberger, Gerard V. Kopcsay, Lawrence S. Mok, Todd E. Takken
  • Patent number: 7529085
    Abstract: A fansink arrangement for a laptop computer wherein two distinct patterns of air intake can be employed. Particularly, dual air intakes of the laptop can be managed and controlled depending upon an operating mode of the computer. Thus, when the computer is in a “stand alone” mode, only one air intake is employed while in a “docking” mode of the computer two air intakes are employed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 2006
    Date of Patent: May 5, 2009
    Assignee: Lenovo (Singapore) Pte. Ltd.
    Inventors: Albert V. Makley, Thomas M. Cipolla, Thomas R. Hildner, Vinod Kamath, Fumitoshi Kiyooka, Lawrence S. Mok, Fusanobu Nakamura
  • Publication number: 20090006808
    Abstract: A novel massively parallel supercomputer of petaOPS-scale includes node architectures based upon System-On-a-Chip technology, where each processing node comprises a single Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) having up to four processing elements. The ASIC nodes are interconnected by multiple independent networks that optimally maximize the throughput of packet communications between nodes with minimal latency. The multiple networks may include three high-speed networks for parallel algorithm message passing including a Torus, collective network, and a Global Asynchronous network that provides global barrier and notification functions. These multiple independent networks may be collaboratively or independently utilized according to the needs or phases of an algorithm for optimizing algorithm processing performance. Novel use of a DMA engine is provided to facilitate message passing among the nodes without the expenditure of processing resources at the node.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 26, 2007
    Publication date: January 1, 2009
    Applicant: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
    Inventors: Matthias A. Blumrich, Dong Chen, George Chiu, Thomas M. Cipolla, Paul W. Coteus, Alan G. Gara, Mark E. Giampapa, Shawn Hall, Rudolf A. Haring, Philip Heidelberger, Gerard V. Kopcsay, Martin Ohmacht, Valentina Salapura, Krishnan Sugavanam, Todd Takken