Patents Issued in April 29, 2008
  • Patent number: 7366684
    Abstract: A blind-supply open commerce business system provides a database where suppliers may upload product, product price and product delivery information. Products are offered for sale through a various systems where a potential buyer may view product information and price quotes for the same product from a plurality of suppliers wherein the identity of suppliers is not revealed. Price quotes reflect supplier cost plus margin. The system of the invention channels invoice and tracking information from a supplier to a purchaser without revealing the identity of the supplier. Suppliers ship products directly to purchasers. Purchasers may access order, shipping, and tracking information from a database of the invention.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2000
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2008
    Inventor: William B. Douglas
  • Patent number: 7366685
    Abstract: Embodiments of the present invention provide an integrated methodology that simplifies upgrade choices for complex computer products through the use of automation and integration of product monitoring and business applications with, for example, web based capabilities. Historical information for computer systems is collected and transmitted to a remote support system. Over time, sufficient historical data provides a historical view of the systems indicative of usage and facilitating the choice of product enhancements, upgrades and customization. Further, this historical view may be integrated with the advances in the product that are kept by the remote support system as well as with the performance requirements of third party application providers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 25, 2001
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2008
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Earl Walter Emerick, Lonny R. Olson-Williams, Van Dee Sammons, Kurt Clifford Thompson, Paul William Wertzler, Ronald Dean Young
  • Patent number: 7366686
    Abstract: A product sales and delivery support system performs support of product sales and delivery via a communication network, whereby a purchaser orders product from a plurality of sellers and specifies batch delivery of all ordered product by a single delivery agent.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 6, 2001
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2008
    Assignee: NEC Corporation
    Inventor: Tomihiko Azuma
  • Patent number: 7366687
    Abstract: The present invention realizes that a contribution is indirectly made to a content creator in the form of contribution data via a management server of an ASP in such a manner that contribution data equivalent to a given amount corresponding to a contribution button selected on a content display screen is created and transmitted to the management server of the ASP via the Internet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 26, 2001
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2008
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Takao Yoshimine, Mototsugu Tsutsui, Takahiko Sueyoshi, Toshinori Nakamura, Hiroyuki Hanaya, Nobuyuki Uchiyama
  • Patent number: 7366688
    Abstract: A system for processing applications from customers for manufacture of vehicle parts is provided. The system includes a server configured to generate an application interface on a customer client in communication with the server through a network. The server is further configured to receive a completed application for manufacture of a part of a vehicle from the customer through the customer client using the application interface. The completed application has information including a first set of information regarding operating conditions of the vehicle, a second set of information defining specifications for the part of the vehicle for which the application to manufacture is being submitted, and a third set of information regarding another part of the vehicle functionally interrelated with said part of the vehicle for which the application for manufacture is being submitted.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 22, 2003
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2008
    Assignee: Dana Heavy Vehicle Systems Group, LLC
    Inventors: Dale Kwasniewski, James Kendzior, Rachel Lahr, Yogesh Deo
  • Patent number: 7366689
    Abstract: A server computer builds a shopping site on a network. A user can purchase his or her desired commodity from the shopping site by using a user terminal. If a commodity requested by the user is out of stock, the server computer makes an inquiry to the user about the request level of purchase of the commodity. When the out-of-stock commodity has arrived, the server computer transmits arrival notification mail to users whose request levels are high in descending order of request level. Contents of the arrival notification mail vary by request level.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 3, 2004
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2008
    Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
    Inventor: Tetsuya Matsunaga
  • Patent number: 7366690
    Abstract: An anonymous trading system comprises a network of broker nodes, each of which have an equal status and can match orders, initiate deals and distribute prices. Trading agents are connected to some or all of the broker nodes. The network is arranged to conform to a series of rules and in a preferred embodiment the brokers are arranged as a clique tree.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 23, 2000
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2008
    Assignee: EBS Group Limited
    Inventors: Edward R. Howorka, Vladimir Neyman, Steven Iaccheo, Neena Jain, James Shu
  • Patent number: 7366691
    Abstract: Trading software may receive trading information from an exchange. The trading software may use the trading information to compute an estimate of last traded total sweep quantity. The trading software may also display the last traded total sweep quantity on a trading screen.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 25, 2002
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2008
    Assignee: Trading Technologies International Inc.
    Inventors: Gary Allan Kemp, II, Joan Ebersole, Jens-Uwe Schluetter
  • Patent number: 7366692
    Abstract: A method and system for generating returns for investments in asset classes such as bonds, currencies, and commodities. The index of these returns may be used as a benchmark to measure the investment performance of one or more of the asset classes that make up the index. It may also be replicated in the markets in which futures contracts for members of these asset classes are traded and used to earn the returns that the index measures. Indices constructed for each asset class can be combined with each other and with equity indices to create tradable indices hedge fund returns.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 9, 2001
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2008
    Assignee: Mount Lucas Management Corp.
    Inventors: Roger Alcaly, Timothey J. Rudderow, Frank L. Vannerson
  • Patent number: 7366693
    Abstract: A method for providing a financial evaluation of at least one financial instrument or of an issuer supports the provision of a dynamic credit limit. A dynamic credit limit may be associated with a counterparty or a debt security of the counterparty, for example. The method includes obtaining counterparty credit quality data associated with a transaction of the financial instrument between a party and a counterparty. Debt market data is obtained where the debt market data is associated with or relevant to the transaction. A dynamic credit limit is determined for the counterparty or a financial instrument of the counterparty based on at least one of the inputted counterparty credit quality and the obtained debt market data. The dynamic credit limit may be defined in terms of a credit exposure versus time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 31, 2001
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2008
    Assignee: Accenture Global Services GmbH
    Inventors: Stephen P. Crawford, Stephanie Evanick, Bryan Seyfried, Mark Dilworth, Peter Stockman, Michael R. Sutcliff
  • Patent number: 7366694
    Abstract: A method for a borrower to obtain and/or evaluate desired financial services is disclosed. Personal information from the borrower is obtained and recorded. The personal information includes reasons that the borrower wants to obtain the financing. Financing evaluation information based on pre-established and objective criteria used by at least one established financial institution that provides financing of the type sought by the borrower is obtained and recorded. A credit grading for the borrower is determined based on the personal information, and the financing evaluation information. The credit grading is determined by an independent entity that will not provide the financing to the borrower. The financing may be a loan, such as a mortgage loan or an auto loan or the financing may be the issuance of a credit card or a line of credit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 29, 2002
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2008
    Assignee: Mortgage Grader, Inc.
    Inventor: Jeffrey M. Lazerson
  • Patent number: 7366695
    Abstract: An electronic transaction method, funds transfer apparatus and method for facilitating a funds transfer. The methods comprise sending information from a purchaser or payor to a funds transfer system separate from a vendor system or payee, validating and confirming personal financial information at the funds transfer system, and transferring funds from a purchaser or payor account to the vendor or a payee account without exposing either party's financial and account information to the other. Additionally, a funds transfer apparatus is disclosed comprising connections to a payor and payee system and mechanisms for receiving and validating party and transaction information and a mechanism for transferring funds from one party to the other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 29, 2000
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2008
    Assignees: First Data Corporation, The Western Union Company
    Inventors: Terry Allen-Rouman, Jack Michael Arrington, Keval Desai, Robert Edwin Dravenstott, Wendy D. Larson, Scott J. Levokove, John Joseph Mascavage, III, Peter Eric Philipp, Margaret Morgan Weichert
  • Patent number: 7366696
    Abstract: An electronic bill presentment network includes a central network station and a plurality of different user stations. The central network station transmits bill availability information to the user stations to identify available bills of different billers for the different users. Information associated with each available bill of a respective biller is available at one of multiple networks addresses associated with that biller. The associated information could, for example, be the bill itself and/or promotional information. Each user station is associated with a respective one of the users and receives the transmitted bill availability information for its associated user and selects one of the identified available bills, such as for viewing or payment. A user station associated with a first user is linked to the first network address associated with the bills of the first biller, based on a bill selection by the first user station.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 8, 1999
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2008
    Assignee: CheckFree Corporation
    Inventors: Ravi Ganesan, Kenneth Hobday
  • Patent number: 7366697
    Abstract: A method of electronically presenting billing information, includes receiving billing information associated with a plurality of different billers, different portions of which represent bills for different payors. Requests are received from respective payors for current billing information, responsive to which bill presentment information corresponding to the applicable portion of the billing information is transmitted to the requesting payor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2001
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2008
    Assignee: CheckFree Corporation
    Inventors: Bill Kitchen, Ralph Au, Ginger B. Moses
  • Patent number: 7366698
    Abstract: A processing method and apparatus is provided, such as a clearinghouse, for tracking receivable and payable information, matching, negotiating, trading, providing working capital financing, and settling payments for accounts payable and accounts receivable between trading partners and finance providers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 13, 2006
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2008
    Assignee: JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.
    Inventor: John J. Loy
  • Patent number: 7366699
    Abstract: An electronic money system includes a plurality of electronic money terminals for withdrawing a sum of money which is spent by a user from money data which has been deposited into an information card. Utilization-history data including the number of times the information card has been utilized, and accumulated in the information card is read out at the time when data relating to the spend money is also withdrawn from the information card. Utilization-history data read out from each of the electronic money terminals are gathered and coordinated, so as to coordinate and tabulate the utilization-histories of the information card which has been utilized on any of the plurality electronic money terminals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 2000
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2008
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Susumu Kusakabe, Hiroshi Abe, Shinako Matsuyama, Fumio Kubono
  • Patent number: 7366700
    Abstract: A data recording apparatus capable of preventing easily copying of information is disclosed with which, even if information is copied, the copied information cannot be reproduced, the data recording apparatus having a terminal to which encoder ID specific for the data recording apparatus is input, a recording unit for recording at least the encoder ID on an optical disk, and an encoding circuit for, in accordance with the encoder ID, encoding data supplied through a terminal and required to be recorded so that encoded data is, together with the encoder ID, recorded on the optical disk.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 24, 2005
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2008
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Yoichiro Sako, Akira Kurihara, Yoshitomo Osawa, Isao Kawashima, Hideo Owa
  • Patent number: 7366701
    Abstract: A copyright protection scheme downloads data from a server, typically over the World Wide Web to a client for presentation to a user. The downloaded data is cryptographically protected, by encryption and hashing. When displayed by the client, storing and copying functions are selectively disabled in respect of the data, in order to prevent unauthorized copying.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 12, 2003
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2008
    Assignee: British Telecommunications public limited company
    Inventors: Ian Duncan Bramhill, Matthew Robert Charles Sims
  • Patent number: 7366702
    Abstract: A system for permitting a secure electronic transaction on a network is disclosed. The network has a user device having a fingerprint, a provider's server and a means for providing verification of user's identity. In response to a request by the provider's server the means for providing verification positively identifies the fingerprint of the user device. It thereupon requests a confirmation from the user device of the transaction and upon receiving the confirmation completes the transaction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 6, 2001
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2008
    Assignee: iPass Inc.
    Inventor: Sancho Enrique David
  • Patent number: 7366703
    Abstract: A system and method are disclosed for conducting electronic commerce such as a virtual purchase transaction with an on-line merchant. A user is provided with an intelligent token, such as a smart card containing a digital certificate. The intelligent token suitably authenticates with a wallet server on a network that conducts all or portions of the transaction on behalf of the user with out requiring changes to the merchant's server. The wallet server interacts with a security server of a selected financial service to provide authentication of the transaction. Upon authentication, the digital wallet pre-fills forms which are transmitted to the merchant who contacts the security server for validation of the forms and upon validation, completes the transaction with the user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 4, 2001
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2008
    Assignee: American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc.
    Inventors: William J. Gray, William G. Hohle, Carl Larkin, Lee J. Peart
  • Patent number: 7366704
    Abstract: A method for using a neural network to deconvolute the effects due to surface topography from the effects due to the other physical property being measured in a scanning probe microscopy (SPM) or atomic force microscopy (AFM) image. In the case of a thermal SPM, the SPM probe is scanned across the surface of a sample having known uniform thermal properties, measuring both the surface topography and thermal properties of the sample. The data thus collected forms a training data set. Several training data sets can be collected, preferably on samples having different surface topographies. A neural network is applied to the training data sets, such that the neural network learns how to deconvolute the effects dues to surface topography from the effects dues to the variations in thermal properties of a sample.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 27, 2002
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2008
    Assignee: Waters Investments, Limited
    Inventors: Michael Reading, Duncan M. Price
  • Patent number: 7366705
    Abstract: Systems and methods for clustering-based text classification are described. In one aspect text is clustered as a function of labeled data to generate cluster(s). The text includes the labeled data and unlabeled data. Expanded labeled data is then generated as a function of the cluster(s). The expanded label data includes the labeled data and at least a portion of unlabeled data. Discriminative classifier(s) are then trained based on the expanded labeled data and remaining ones of the unlabeled data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 16, 2004
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2008
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Hua-Jun Zeng, Xuanhui Wang, Zheng Chen, Benyu Zhang, Wei-Ying Ma
  • Patent number: 7366706
    Abstract: A method for automating the deployment and lifecycle management of an integration solution by using a deployment solution template to gather deployment information, where the integration solution combines components developed separately or on different platforms. The deployment information gathered includes the computing environment topology into which the integration solution is being deployed, as well as the resource requirements and non-functional requirements of the integration solution and its components. The method provides computer implemented models for analyzing the gathered deployment information, and identifying and optimizing deployment options. Choices for selection among identified and optimized options based on non-functional requirements of the integration solution may be displayed to a user of the deployment method.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 23, 2004
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2008
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Hung-yang (Henry) Chang, Ying Huang, Jim Alain Laredo, Jeaha Yang, Ray Ming Yeh
  • Patent number: 7366707
    Abstract: One aspect of the present invention relates to methods of generating a profile data set. In an exemplary embodiment, data is accessed and the accessed data is processed using a dynamic cluster method, mobile center method, and/or a k-means algorithm, each using neighborhood data. Other aspects relate to methods of generating a diagnosis, advice, and/or other information. Further aspects relate to dynamic surveying and systems.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 29, 2003
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2008
    Assignee: L'Oreal S.A.
    Inventors: Olivier de Lacharriere, Philippe Bastien, Fouad Badran, Sylvie Thiria
  • Patent number: 7366708
    Abstract: Described is a hierarchical index that captures the hierarchical relationship of a hierarchy emulated by a relational database system. The hierarchical index is implemented, using a database table which contains rows that serve as entries of the hierarchical index. Another table has rows that are associated with nodes in the hierarchy. Each entry in the hierarchal index maps to a row that corresponds to a node in the hierarchy. A node in the hierarchy may be a parent node with one or more child nodes. In this case, the corresponding entry in the hierarchical index contains identifiers which identify other entries in the index, where the other entries correspond to rows associated with child nodes of the parent node.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 27, 2002
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2008
    Assignee: Oracle Corporation
    Inventors: Neema Jalali, Eric Sedlar, Nipun Agarwal, Ravi Murthy
  • Patent number: 7366709
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a system and method of categorizing a user's inquiry and defining the scope of the assistance sought by creating a subject list style. A subject list style is created in a computer based match and route system by selecting a quantity of inquiry criteria and values to present to a user in an interactive manner. The inquiry criteria and values are organized into one or more groups, and an interrelationship between them is defined within each group. The interrelationship may be independent, hierarchical and a combination of independent/hierarchical. Additionally, a parameter is designated that indicates a source of retrieving the inquiry criteria and values. Such a subject list is then presented to a user in an interactive problem definition page.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 2005
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2008
    Assignee: Xpertuniverse, Inc.
    Inventors: James B. Nevin, Abraham Zelkin, Richard W. Mason, John Steinhoff
  • Patent number: 7366710
    Abstract: An apparatus for retrieving and presenting digital data, includes a network that includes data archives containing digital data, a terminal that can be connected to the network, a retrieval device that retrieves digital data, using a database of digital data retrieval information including information added to each group of digital data that can be provided over the network, and a communication quality determination device that determines a quality of communication between the terminal and a data archive containing digital data extracted by the retrieval device based on search conditions specified by a user via the terminal. Digital data sorted into an order in accordance with a priority specified by the user is downloaded to a user terminal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 1, 2005
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2008
    Assignee: National Institute of Information and Communications Technology
    Inventor: Tatsuya Yamazaki
  • Patent number: 7366711
    Abstract: A summary for a collection of related documents can be generated by extracting phrases from the documents which include common focus elements. Phrase intersection analysis is then performed on the extracted phrases to generate a phrase intersection table, where identical or equivalent phrases are identified. Temporal processing on the phrases in the phrase intersection table is performed to remove ambiguous time references and to sort the phrases in a temporal sequence. Sentence generation is then used to combine the phrases in the phrase intersection table into a coherent summary.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 18, 2000
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2008
    Assignee: The Trustees of Columbia University in the city of New York
    Inventors: Kathleen R. McKeown, Regina Barzilay
  • Patent number: 7366712
    Abstract: A method, apparatus, and gateway allows a variety of client devices to access information from current information providers, and the information is adapted to accommodate the differing formats of the client devices. Speech processing, text-to-speech (TTS), speech feature transmission on heterogeneous networks, quality of service (QoS) support for real-time applications, transcoding, transformation, publish rendering, multimedia contents analysis, and speech coding may be supported.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 23, 2001
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2008
    Assignee: Intel Corporation
    Inventors: Liang He, XiaoGang Zhu, Chung Yun Yeung, Jing Yong Zhu, KeFeng Yang, ChuanQuan Xie
  • Patent number: 7366713
    Abstract: An extensible rules engine that uses database technology provides a rules evaluation service for applications external to the database server or database management system. Applications are able to utilize the rules engine to provide alternative behaviors based on information against which specified conditions are evaluated. A framework is provided for specifying data definitions that can be referenced by user-defined rules, through creation and use of an evaluation context. Application-specific data types can be defined by specifying data tables and/or variables that can be referenced by rules created for evaluation against data that is associated with the evaluation context. The data against which rules are evaluated can be provided as an in-memory object. A security model is provided in which the privilege to create rules according to a particular evaluation context is controlled by one privilege, whereas the privilege to access underlying tables or variables is controlled by another privilege.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 17, 2003
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2008
    Assignee: Oracle International Corporation
    Inventors: Sanjay Kaluskar, Wei Wang, Dieter Gawlick, James Stamos
  • Patent number: 7366714
    Abstract: Electronic discovery on computer systems and archives is provided by using statement analysis of to identify false statements so as to retrieve relevant impeachment data and other evidence related to recorded statements. The recorded statement is analyzed for possible false statements and corresponding transcript data of the false statement, any precipitating question, and any follow-up questions are selected for use in the query. The selected text can be further processed before being used in the query. The query can be used in a search engine or used to train smart search agents. The search engine query or smart search agents are released onto target computer systems and/or archives to search for responsive data and documents. Notification, reports, and indexing of responsive data and documents can be provided to produce relevant results. The analysis of the recorded statement is preferably done by voice stress analysis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 6, 2004
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2008
    Inventor: Albert Krachman
  • Patent number: 7366715
    Abstract: The present invention relates to methods, apparatus and systems for processing an electronic document and its corresponding device. It provides methods for browsing an electronic document and its corresponding browser, and methods for extracting information segments from an electronic document and its corresponding system for the same. An example of a method for processing an electronic document comprises extracting one or more information segments of the domains to which the electronic document relates from the electronic document being written by an author, and correspondingly storing said extracted information segments with said document. Wherein one or more information extraction patterns are used to extract information segments of different domains to which the electronic document relates from said document. And the extracted information segments are verified by the writer so as to ensure its correctness, reliability and readability.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 2004
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2008
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Shi Xia Liu, Li Ping Yang
  • Patent number: 7366716
    Abstract: Systems and methodologies that split a table into a plurality of sub-tables, and vertical partitions. By analyzing an associated work load to determine frequently referenced columns, the subject invention supplies a compromise among various vertical partitioning strategies (e.g., candidate selection for table spilt) via a merging act, such that the table is split optimally for the work load taken as a whole Accordingly, an incoming query can optimally reference only required columns.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 6, 2005
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2008
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Sanjay Agrawal, Vivek R. Narasayya, Beverly Yang
  • Patent number: 7366717
    Abstract: A method to convert data between a relational format and an XML document, by creating a set of XML Mapping Definition from metadata; selecting relational data from a relational application database, and converting the relational data to the XML document using the set of XML Mapping Definition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 26, 2004
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2008
    Assignee: Siebel Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: Alex S. Warshavsky, Chandrakant R. Bhavsar, Jeffrey M. Fischer
  • Patent number: 7366718
    Abstract: Improved duplicate and near-duplicate detection techniques may assign a number of fingerprints to a given document by (i) extracting parts from the document, (ii) assigning the extracted parts to one or more of a predetermined number of lists, and (iii) generating a fingerprint from each of the populated lists. Two documents may be considered to be near-duplicates if any one of their fingerprints match.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 27, 2003
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2008
    Assignee: Google, Inc.
    Inventors: William Pugh, Monika H. Henzinger
  • Patent number: 7366719
    Abstract: There is described a method for manipulation, storage, modeling, visualization, and quantification of datasets, which correspond to target strings. An iterative algorithm is used to generate comparison strings corresponding to some set of points that can serve as the domain of an iterative function. The comparison string is scored by evaluating a function having the comparison string and one of the plurality of target strings as inputs. The score measures a relationship between a comparison string and a target string. The evaluation may be repeated for a number of the other target strings. The score or some other property corresponding to the comparison string is used to determine the target string's placement on a map. The target string may also be marked by a point on a visual display.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 6, 2004
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2008
    Assignee: Health Discovery Corporation
    Inventor: Sandy C. Shaw
  • Patent number: 7366720
    Abstract: A distributed share folder & file discovery system allows different local computers to discover hosts and share folders without having to go through a central master browser. The local computer sends a device name query directly to any remote devices connected to a same network. The local computer then sends out a share query to the remote devices identified during the device name query to identify any folders or files that are available for sharing (shares). The local computer assembles a list of shares available on the remote devices and mounts any of the shares that are selected from the list.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 7, 2004
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2008
    Assignee: Sharp Laboratories of America
    Inventor: Sachin Deshpande
  • Patent number: 7366721
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for a visual browser that allows users to browse products over the Internet. The visual browser creates a plurality of categories in which each category identifies an attribute. Products having at least one attribute are associated with at least one category. Upon the selection of a main product by a user, the visual browser displays other related products having at least one attribute in common with the main product. The visual browser also displays products that are not related to the main product. Also, a weight bias factor is assigned to each category based upon a predefined importance of the respective category of the virtual store. The visual browser by automatically exposing users to other products that are related to the main product originally selected by the user, as well as non-related products, increases the user's exposure to available products and provides opportunities for serendipitous impulse purchases.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 29, 2000
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2008
    Assignee: Intel Corporation
    Inventors: Julie J. Bennett, Adrienne Cleveland, Edward Langlois
  • Patent number: 7366722
    Abstract: A system and method that uses XML schemas to specify the set of allowed calls, to invoke multiple function calls, either hierarchically or sequentially, and to specify the calls in such a way that they can be distributed across multiple processors. An XML schema mechanism defines the format of permitted requests and, importantly, validates the requests to ensure that they match the published signature of the functions provided by the service application. Additionally, the schema mechanism validates the request to ensure that they match the published signature of any further service application that it may need to employ. In addition, supplementary information added either within the schema itself or in supporting documents may be processed programmatically. A request may consist of a hierarchy of function calls, either nested within one another or executing in series.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 22, 2003
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2008
    Assignee: JP Morgan Chase Bank
    Inventor: Andrew Doddington
  • Patent number: 7366723
    Abstract: Methods, systems, and computer program products, implementing techniques for visual query modeling. In one aspect, the techniques include displaying in a web browser a visual model of a database, the visual model including one or more graphical objects representing one or more tables in the database and relations between the tables, receiving in the web browser user input creating a visual model of a query into the database, and generating code for the query based on the visual model of the query.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 5, 2004
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2008
    Assignee: SAP AG
    Inventor: Victor V. Shaburov
  • Patent number: 7366724
    Abstract: A method, apparatus, and computer-readable media for authorizing users of network portals to access a secure resource hosted by a secure server comprises storing a plurality of user identifiers, each representing a user of an owning portal; storing for each of the user identifiers an access privilege to the secure resource; storing a proxy user identifier representing a guest portal and a guest access privilege to the secure resource for all of the users of the guest portal; receiving from the owning portal a first request for access to the secure resource, the first request comprising a first user identifier representing a user of the owning portal; granting to the user of the owning portal access to the secure resource according to the access privilege stored for the first user identifier; receiving from the guest portal a second request for access to the secure resource, the second request comprising a second user identifier representing a user of the guest portal and a portal identifier representing the g
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 10, 2006
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2008
    Inventors: Kurt Frieden, Mitchell B. Rudominer, Matthew S. Markoff
  • Patent number: 7366725
    Abstract: A method of managing cells formed from a tuple of members in a multidimensional database include treating at least one dimension in the database as a plurality of hierarchically structured members divided into at least two levels, thereby defining a validation curve as the location of an intersection of the levels. What level the cells in the database are located is evaluated. Cells contained in a lower level are managed by automatically indicating them as one of valid and invalid at data load time, and cells contained in an upper level are managed by indicating them as one of valid and invalid according to a method involving at least one of less reading from and writing to the database at data load time than if all the cells in the upper level were indicated as one of valid and invalid at data load time. A computerized database management system uses a communication interface to practice the method.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 11, 2004
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2008
    Assignee: Descisys Limited
    Inventors: Philip Martin Jordan, Keith Steffen Ng, Michael John Sanders, Jerry Stewart
  • Patent number: 7366726
    Abstract: A method for retrieving a desired postal address from a plurality of postal addresses. The invention can feature receiving input data having input terms for finding the desired postal address from a first database of postal addresses where each postal address is formed of a plurality of postal address elements, searching a dictionary for entries in the dictionary corresponding to the input terms, determining that each entry in the dictionary that corresponds to the input terms corresponds to postal address elements of one or more postal addresses in the first database, and outputting data representing the desired postal address. The desired postal address is found in the first database if an address in that database has postal address elements that correspond with each of the entries of the dictionary that corresponds to one or more of the input terms.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 11, 2005
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2008
    Assignee: QAS Limited
    Inventors: David John Bellamy, David Richard Ranson
  • Patent number: 7366727
    Abstract: A method, a computer program, a computer program product, and a system for checking data consistency of data objects of distributed systems within a computer network are disclosed. System objects may be automatically merged with inbound objects by sending a first data object from a first system to a second system, storing a copy of the first data object within the second system, generating a second data object from the first data object, sending the second data object in the copy to the first system, and comparing at least one data package of the first data object with at least one data package of the received copy using a consistency check operation stored within the first data object, the second data object, or the copy.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 12, 2004
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2008
    Assignee: SAP Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Knut Heusermann, Klaus Irle, Gordon Muehl, Wolfram Siefke
  • Patent number: 7366728
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a method and system for compressing a tree structure. The method of the present invention includes providing a compressed format block for representing a plurality of levels of the tree structure, where the plurality of levels comprises a set of nodes. The method also includes compressing each node in the set of nodes into the compressed format block, such that the plurality of levels is traversed in a single memory access.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 27, 2004
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2008
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Everett A. Corl, Jr., Gordon T. Davis, Marco Heddes, Piyush C. Patel, Ravinder K. Sabhikhi
  • Patent number: 7366729
    Abstract: The schema framework of the present invention is a set of rules and best practices that a user follows when creating schema in accordance with the present invention. By following these rules, schema are produced that can be used, reused, and managed in a distributed computing environment, thus reducing the time and effort associated with creating instance documents. Certain rules govern the content and format of the schema namespaces. Each schema namespace includes a category identifier that identifies a category to which the schema associated with the namespace relates. Once an instance document has been published by storing it in a schema repository, the schema and the namespace associated with that schema are “frozen” and cannot be changed. By freezing the schema and namespace, the schema and namespace become standardized, which facilitates instance document generation, validation, and use across a distributed system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 10, 2004
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2008
    Assignee: WTVIII, Inc.
    Inventor: Winchel Todd Vincent, III
  • Patent number: 7366730
    Abstract: Performing operations on multidimensional data managed by a relational database system is facilitated by registration of solved cubes with a RDBMS. A solved cube is an abstract construct likened to a view or a table on relational data and contains not only base data, but also aggregated measure data that is base data that has been processed across multiple levels of a hierarchical dimension. In an embodiment, a solved cube may provide all the pre-computed aggregated data for a particular context that the solved cube represents. In another embodiment, a solved cube may not provide any pre-computed data, but may provide several procedures, operations and/or instructions that can be executed to compute aggregated data for a particular context that the solved cube represents. A solved cube is registered with a RDBMS by providing metadata that defines a given solved cube. Therefore, a database server is able interpret the metadata, and to perform operations on the given solved cube based on the metadata.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 23, 2003
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2008
    Assignee: Oracle International Corporation
    Inventors: David Greenfield, Greg Dorman
  • Patent number: 7366731
    Abstract: A trouble ticket handling system is provided. The system typically includes a login logic, a monitoring device, and a user interface logic. The login logic typically operates to log a user into several trouble ticket systems. The monitoring device typically polls the trouble ticket systems for open trouble tickets. The user interface logic enables the user to automatically load a proper trouble ticket from any of the open trouble tickets in the trouble ticket systems. Methods and other systems are also provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 2003
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2008
    Assignee: AT&T Delaware Intellectual Property, Inc.
    Inventors: Richard Gregory Lewis, Randy S. Young
  • Patent number: 7366732
    Abstract: A system for displaying data from a multidimensional database to a user is provided. The system includes a system computer and a multidimensional database accessible by the computer, the multidimensional database having objects stored thereon. Object model software executing on the system computer for instantiates and inflates specified objects up-front a first time the database is accessed, and instantiates and inflates objects which are not specified objects on demand as the nonspecified objects are accessed. The object model software employs an object model which includes a dataspace having at least one dataserver. At least one cube object is stored on each dataserver, each cube object having at least one saved view of data. At least one dimension object is also stored on each dataserver, each dimension object having at least one saved subset of elements.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 16, 2001
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2008
    Inventor: Richard F. Creeth
  • Patent number: 7366733
    Abstract: There has been a problem that play list reproduction cannot be performed at a data processing level of a CD player and so on which cannot interpret a play list file in an HTML format. A recording and reproducing system has a CD-RW medium 15 of holding a plurality of data files of storing predetermined data, a file recording means 14 of recording in a play list file 17 held on the CD-RW medium 15 a play list describing reproduction order of reproducing predetermined data stored by all or a part of a plurality of data files respectively by using a unique contents ID given to each data file, and a file reproducing means 23 of reproducing the predetermined data stored by all or a part of the plurality of data files respectively based on the recorded play list.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 3, 2003
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2008
    Assignees: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd., Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Chiyoko Matsumi, Keisuke Matsuo, Harutoshi Miyamoto, Nobuyasu Takeguchi, Yasuyuki Torii, Toshihiko Mizukami, Kevin Leigh La Chapelle, Ian Cameron Mercer