| 36th week of 2008 patent applcation highlights part 65 |
| Patent application number | Title | Published |
|---|
| 20080216024 | Method and Apparatus for Allocating Data Paths - A method and apparatus to produce high-level synthesis Register Transfer Level designs utilises a trade-off between power dissipation and area usage in data path allocation. Power dissipation and area constraints and a priority between them are input. An algorithm automatically decides the number of registers that are to be used, according to the specified priority and constraints specified. Power management formulations can be used to gear the allocation process to trade lower power management costs for equivalent savings in register areas. Multi-criteria optimisation Integer Linear Programming is utilised with heuristically determined power and area weightings to suit different predefined requirements of the chip design. Bipartite weighted Assignment is used to determine the number of registers to be used at every stage, through cost formulations and the Hungarian Algorithm. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216025 | Tunneling as a Boundary Congestion Relief Mechanism - Simultaneous Dynamical Integration modeling techniques are applied to global placement of elements of integrated circuits as described by netlists specifying interconnection of morphable-devices. Solutions to a system of coupled ordinary differential equations in accordance with Newtonian mechanics are approximated by numerical integration. A resultant time-evolving system of nodes moves through a continuous location space in continuous time, and is used to derive placements of the morphable-devices having one-to-one correspondences with the nodes. Nodes under the influence of net attractive forces, computed based on the interconnections between the morphable devices, tend to coalesce into well-organized topologies. Nodes are also affected by spreading forces determined by density fields that are developed based on local spatial node population. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216026 | INTEGRATED CIRCUIT LAYOUT DESIGN SUPPORTING DEVICE - Provided is an integrated circuit layout design supporting device which can reduce the wiring length by avoiding bypass wirings when a plurality of same-type macro blocks are used. The integrated circuit layout design supporting device includes a terminal coordinate calculation control unit and a layout processing control unit. The terminal coordinate calculation control unit considers the plurality of same-type macro blocks included in a plurality of types of macro blocks as each of different types of macro blocks, and calculates the optimum coordinate positions of each macro terminal of each macro block. The layout processing control unit performs various types of wiring layout processing related to each of the macro terminals based on each of the macro terminal positions calculated by the terminal coordinate calculation control unit. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216027 | Electronic Design for Integrated Circuits Based on Process Related Variations - An electronic design is generated for an integrated circuit that is to be fabricated in accordance with the electronic design by a process that will impart topographically induced feature dimension variations to the integrated circuit. The generating includes adjusting the electronic design based on predictions of topographical and topographical-related feature dimension variations by a pattern-dependent model. An RC extraction tool is used in conjunction with the generating and adjusting of the electronic design. The process includes a fabrication process that will impart topographical variation to the integrated circuit and a lithography or etch process. Placement attributes for elements of the integrated circuit are determined. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216028 | FAST EVALUATION OF AVERAGE CRITICAL AREA FOR IC - Method and apparatus for approximating the average critical area of a layout or layout region, involving summing, over all the object segments of interest, respective critical area contribution values that are dependent upon particular layout parameters of the objects, each of the contribution values being representative of a plurality of defect sizes, and being defined such that for each defect size in the plurality of defect sizes, and for a particular defect type, the contribution values collectively count all critical areas arising due to the object segments of interest only once. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216029 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR PERFORMING TARGET ENLARGEMENT IN THE PRESENCE OF CONSTRAINTS - A method for performing verification is disclosed. The method includes receiving a design, including one or one or more targets, one or more constraints, one or more registers and one or more inputs. A first function of one of the one or more targets over the one or more registers and the one or more inputs is computed. A second function of one or more of the one or more constraints over the one or more registers and the one or more inputs is computed. The inputs of the first function and the second function are existentially quantified. A bounded analysis is performed to determine if the one of the one or more targets may be hit while adhering to the constraints. A preimage of the inputs of the first function and a preimage of the inputs of the second function is existentially quantified to create a synthesizable preimage. The synthesizable preimage is simplified and synthesized to create an enlarged target. Verification of the enlarged target is performed. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216030 | System for Performing Verification of Logic Circuits - The present invention relates to a system for verifying the proper operation of a digital logic circuit and program product therefor. In order to add a useful alternative in the field of functional, exhaustive simulation and of symbolic simulation, it is proposed to perform the steps of: | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216031 | DESIGN STRUCTURES FOR SEMICONDUCTOR STRUCTURES WITH ERROR DETECTION AND CORRECTION - A design structure including design data describing a semiconductor structure. The semiconductor structure includes a first semiconductor chip and a second semiconductor chip. The first semiconductor chip is on top of and bonded to the second semiconductor chip. The first and second semiconductor chips include a first and a second electric nodes. The second semiconductor chip further includes a first comparing circuit. The semiconductor structure further includes a first coupling via electrically connecting the first electric node of the first semiconductor chip to the first comparing circuit of the second semiconductor chip. The first comparing circuit is capable of (i) receiving an input signal from the second electric node directly, (ii) receiving an input signal from the first electric node indirectly through the first coupling via, and (iii) asserting a first mismatch signal in response to the input signals from the first and second electric nodes being different. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216032 | METHODS AND APPARATUSES FOR AUTOMATED CIRCUIT OPTIMIZATION AND VERIFICATION - Methods and apparatuses to automatically determine conditions at hierarchical boundaries of a hierarchical circuit design and to use the determined conditions in hierarchical optimization and verification. In one embodiment, a hierarchical block is optimized and transformed during design synthesis using one or more lemmas at the boundary of the hierarchical block. For example, the lemmas are automatically generated to specify range information for input boundary nodes. The lemmas are also used for the equivalence checker to perform hierarchical equivalence checking. Equivalence of hierarchical blocks is individually checked, in view of the lemmas. Thus, based on the lemmas, optimizations across hierarchical boundaries can be performed, while the hierarchical structure of the design is preserved so that equivalence checking of hierarchical circuit designs can still be based on the equivalence of individual hierarchical blocks. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216033 | DESIGN STRUCTURE FOR TIME BASED DRIVER OUTPUT TRANSITION (SLEW) RATE COMPENSATION - A design structure and more particularly to a design structure to minimize driver output slew rate variation. The design structure is embodied in a machine readable medium for designing, manufacturing, or testing an integrated circuit. The design structure includes a driver circuit having an input signal and an output signal, where the driver circuit is structured and arranged to control the slew rate of the output signal. A delay circuit is coupled to an output of the driver circuit, where the delay circuit has a delay proportional to a desired target slew rate of the driver output signal. A first comparator for detecting when the driver output signal rises through a specified level, and a second comparator for detecting when the driver output falls through a second specified level are included. A phase detector is coupled to outputs of the first and second comparators and an output of the delay circuit for aligning the phases (voltage-time relationships) of the comparator outputs and the delayed comparator outputs by adjusting the driver output slew rate. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216034 | Performance Visualization of Delay in Circuit Design - Methods are provided for presenting delay characteristics of a circuit design. The methods acquire routing delay data and logic delay data for each of a number of paths within the circuit design. In one method, a scatterplot of the routing delay data versus the logic delay data for each of the paths is generated and rendered. In another method, the paths are specified as being associated with modules within the circuit design. In this method, a histogram plot of the paths within each module is generated, wherein the paths within each module are identified as being dominated by routing delay or logic delay. In another embodiment, a connectivity diagram is generated to convey an amount of connectivity within modules and between modules. Each of the methods can be implemented as program instructions on a computer readable medium. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216035 | METHOD AND COMPUTER PROGRAM FOR CONFIGURING AN INTEGRATED CIRCUIT DESIGN FOR STATIC TIMING ANALYSIS - A method and a computer program for configuring an integrated circuit design for static timing analysis include receiving module data representative of a hierarchy of modules in an integrated circuit design. A configuration item is selected from a list of configuration items for at least one of the modules. The module data is configured for the module from the selected configuration item into a static timing analysis scenario for performing a static timing analysis of the configured module data. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216036 | SLACK SENSITIVITY TO PARAMETER VARIATION BASED TIMING ANALYSIS - A method, system and program product are disclosed for improving an IC design that prioritize failure coefficients of slacks that lead to correction according to their probability of failure. With an identified set of independent parameters, a sensitivity analysis is performed on each parameter by noting the difference in timing, typically on endpoint slacks, when the parameter is varied. This step is repeated for every independent parameter. A failure coefficient is then calculated from the reference slack and the sensitivity of slack for each of the timing endpoints and a determination is made as to whether at least one timing endpoint fails a threshold test. Failing timing endpoints are then prioritized for modification according to their failure coefficients. The total number of runs required is one run that is used as a reference run, plus one additional run for each parameter. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216037 | SYSTEM FOR USING PARTITIONED MASKS TO BUILD A CHIP - A mask reuse methodology process in which the soft logic is implemented with a generic array type cell structure mask and a custom blocking mask. A system is provided comprising a mask set having a plurality of reusable masks corresponding to a plurality of hard intellectual property (IP) components; a generic array type cell mask; and a custom blocking mask that includes blocking regions that positionally correspond with a set of IP components printed on a die. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216038 | Timing Driven Force Directed Placement Flow - Techniques for placement of integrated circuit elements include global placement, detailed placement, timing closure, and routing. The integrated circuit is described by a netlist specifying interconnections of morphable devices. The detailed placement uses, for example, Simultaneous Dynamical Integration, wherein the morphable-devices correspond to nodes influenced by forces, including timing forces. The timing forces are derived, for example, from a timing graph; path delay; slack; and drive resistance of the elements. The timing closure uses timing-driven buffering and timing-driven resizing to reduce maximum delay and/or transition time, and/or to fix hold time. Nets having high capacitance and/or fanout, and timing critical nets are preferentially processed. Timing-driven buffering applies buffering solutions to segments of route trees, combines solutions of adjoining segments, and prunes sets of solutions. Timing-driven resizing morphably replaces selected elements with upsized versions thereof. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216039 | Node Spreading via Artificial Density Enhancement to Reduce Routing Congestion - Simultaneous Dynamical Integration modeling techniques are applied to global placement of elements of integrated circuits as described by netlists specifying interconnection of morphable-devices. Solutions to a system of coupled ordinary differential equations in accordance with Newtonian mechanics are approximated by numerical integration. A resultant time-evolving system of nodes moves through a continuous location space in continuous time, and is used to derive placements of the morphable-devices having one-to-one correspondences with the nodes. Nodes under the influence of net attractive forces, computed based on the interconnections between the morphable devices, tend to coalesce into well-organized topologies. Nodes are also affected by spreading forces determined by density fields that are developed based on local spatial node populations. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216040 | Incremental Relative Slack Timing Force Model - Simultaneous Dynamical Integration modeling techniques are applied to global placement of elements of integrated circuits as described by netlists specifying interconnection of morphable-devices. Solutions to a system of coupled ordinary differential equations in accordance with Newtonian mechanics are approximated by numerical integration. A resultant time-evolving system of nodes moves through a continuous location space in continuous time, and is used to derive placements of the morphable-devices having one-to-one correspondences with the nodes. Nodes under the influence of net attractive forces, computed based on the interconnections between the morphable devices, tend to coalesce into well-organized topologies. Nodes are also affected by spreading forces determined by density fields that are developed based on local spatial node populations. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216041 | Integrated circuit simulation method considering stress effects - Provided is an integrated circuit (IC) simulation method which can predict the operation and performance of an IC considering stress effects that affect the characteristics of unit devices included in the IC. The method includes drawing out a first net list of unit devices included in a designed IC; preparing a layout of the designed IC; extracting a stress parameter from the layout of the designed IC; and drawing out a second net list of the first net list and the stress parameter. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216042 | Method and Computer System for Otimizing the Signal Time Behavior of an Electronic Circuit Design - A method and program for designing an electronic circuit, especially a clock tree and a sub-clock tree, within a set of sinks with given target arrival time windows, preferably on an integrated circuit. The clock tree and the sub-clock tree are preferably connected through one or multiple fixed circuits which must not be altered, cloned or removed. Several alternative implementations of the at least one logic structure are built and for each of the several alternative implementations data is stored. A set of configurations is built, each configuration comprising a combination of the one or several alternative implementations and each configuration satisfying the target arrival time windows at the complete set of sinks. A configuration is selected according to an evaluation of the data, preferably latency data, for constructing the configuration. No manual interaction is needed and a configuration with minimum latencies is provided. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216043 | Structure for Optimizing the Signal Time Behavior of an Electronic Circuit Design - A design structure for designing an electronic circuit, especially a clock tree and a sub-clock tree, within a set of sinks with given target arrival time windows, preferably on an integrated circuit designed by an IC design house or other circuit design provider. The clock tree and the sub-clock tree are preferably connected through one or multiple fixed circuits which must not be altered, cloned or removed. Several alternative implementations of the at least one logic structure are built and for each of the several alternative implementations data is stored. A set of configurations is built, each configuration comprising a combination of the one or several alternative implementations and each configuration satisfying the target arrival time windows at the complete set of sinks. A configuration is selected according to an evaluation of the data, preferably latency data, for constructing the configuration. No manual interaction is needed and a configuration with minimum latencies is provided. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216044 | METHOD, SYSTEM AND PROGRAM PRODUCT FOR SPECIFYING A CONFIGURATION FOR A DIGITAL SYSTEM UTILIZING DIAL BIASING WEIGHTS - In a method of data processing, a database defines a Dial entity and at least one instance of the Dial entity. Each instance of the Dial entity has an input having a plurality of different possible input values and one or more outputs, and each of the plurality of different possible input values has a different associated output value set for the one or more outputs. Each instance of the Dial entity determines a value of at least one of a plurality of configuration latches in a digital system separate from the database. The database also associates with the Dial entity at least one set of biasing weights that, when applied, determines a probability of each instance of the Dial entity having particular ones of the plurality of different possible input values. In response to a call to set the plurality of configuration latches, the database is accessed to apply the at least one set of biasing weights to select one of the plurality of different possible input values for the at least one instance of the Dial entity. The plurality of configuration latches in the digital system are set based upon the output value set for the one or more outputs of the at least one instance of the Dial entity. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216045 | MASK DATA PROCESSING METHOD FOR OPTIMIZING HIERARCHICAL STRUCTURE - Disclosed is a mask data processing method of correcting a hierarchical structure. In the case that in design data having a hierarchical structure including a plurality of cells each having a design pattern, when the total number of graphic forms or the total edge length of a design pattern on which the calculation of mask data processing is to be executed, the amount of calculation to be executed, or the expansion degree presumably becomes equal to or larger than a predetermined threshold value if the calculation of the mask data processing is executed on the design data having the initial hierarchical structure, the hierarchical structure is corrected. This correction is performed to reduce the total number of graphic forms or the total edge length of the design pattern on which the calculation is to be executed, the amount of calculation to be executed, of the expansion degree. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216046 | PATTERN MANAGEMENT METHOD AND PATTERN MANAGEMENT PROGRAM - A pattern management method includes extracting patterns having process margins equal to or below a predetermined value from a chip layout of an integrated circuit, screening a plurality of types of representative patterns from the extracted pattern, extracting patterns closest to the most outer periphery of the chip from the representative patterns, and representatively managing the extracted patterns which is closest to the most outer periphery of the chip. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216047 | Intermediate Layout for Resolution Enhancement in Semiconductor Fabrication - Intermediate resolution-enhancement state layouts are generated based upon an original non-resolution enhanced layout of an integrated circuit and an associated resolution-enhanced layout. The intermediate resolution-enhancement state layout includes fragments corresponding to parts of the original layout and biases associated with the fragments, where the biases indicate distances between the fragments and the resolution-enhanced layout. The fragments are also assigned attributes such as fragment type, fragment location, and biases. The intermediate resolution-enhancement state layouts can be combined to generate the layout for a full chip IC. Two or more intermediate resolution-enhancement state layouts are assembled and are locally reconverged to adjust the resolution enhancement associated with the intermediate resolution-enhancement state layouts and obtain the intermediate resolution-enhancement state layouts for the full IC. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216048 | Yield Profile Manipulator - A graphical profile map for integrated circuits on a substrate. The graphical profile map includes a depiction of die placement boundaries and shot placement boundaries for the integrated circuits on the substrate. Also included are integrated circuit property information contours, where the contours are not limited to either of the die placement boundaries or the shot placement boundaries. In this manner, three key pieces of information for the integrated circuits are presented, including integrated circuit property information, die placement, and shot placement. Because these three pieces of information are presented in a graphical form, it is much easier to interpret the information. For example, it is much easier to determine which shot and die placements have properties that are at risk, and which shot and die placements have adequate property profiles. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216049 | Software Component-Based Architecture for Applications with Execution Platform Affording Acces to the Metaprogram Level - The present invention pertains to a software component-based architecture for applications with execution platform affording access to the metaprogram level, and in particular for developing and executing man-machine interfaces, and it is characterized in that it is an architecture with components explicitly defining all the characteristics of the components, practically without involving the code defining these components, managing the components during their execution, and providing them with technical services, and that it comprises a generic container accommodating on the one hand components whose definition ensues from the specifications of the provisions of the application to be carried out and depends on the domain of use of the application, this container accommodating on the other hand technical services provided. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216050 | Method and System for Accessing a Resource Implemented in a Computer Network - The present invention relates to method and system for accessing a resource implemented in a computer network, wherein a plurality of different runtime environments exist used by either one of the resources or by a systems management application accessing one of the resources, wherein the different runtime environments require the usage of a web service resource framework comprising a plurality of respective different, runtime-specific web service standards. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216051 | System and method of interlocking to protect software-mediated program and device behaviours - Methods and devices for thwarting code and control flow based attacks on software. The source code of a subject piece of software is automatically divided into basic blocks of logic. Selected basic blocks are amended so that their outputs are extended. Similarly, other basic blocks are amended such that their inputs are correspondingly extended. The amendments increase or create dependencies between basic blocks such that tampering with one basic block's code causes other basic blocks to malfunction when executed. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216052 | Application Program Interface for Network Software Platform - An application program interface (API) provides a set of functions that make available support for processing XML documents for application developers who build Web applications on Microsoft Corporation's .NET™ platform. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216053 | Testing Measurements - Embodiments of the invention include an arbiter facility included in a test script. The arbiter facility includes properties defining a method for evaluating the status of a step or process, a method for evaluating verification point results and the steps to execute during execution of the test script. The arbiter facility operates to control the flow of the processes performed that form the test script. The control of the processes that are performed are based on explicit rules or conditions. The rules implemented by the arbiter facility can result in different processes within the test script being performed based on data processed by the arbiter facility. Moreover, aspects of the invention embodied by the arbiter facility implement rules which explicitly express, within the test case, the value (e.g., weight, importance, etc.) of individual operations. In the exemplary embodiment, the value of one or more individual operations are explicitly expressed by the rules (e.g., computations, calculations, determinations, etc.) that are imposed on the results returned to the arbiter facility by the various verification points within the test script. Accordingly and advantageously, analysis on the value of a verification point may be performed prior to implementing or executing a test script. This analysis may then be reflected in the rule implemented in the arbiter facility. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216054 | Storing and Restoring Snapshots of a Computer Process - A method to trace a variable or other expression through a computer program is disclosed. A user determines the variable and the conditions upon which activity of the variable will be monitored. As a result of the invention, every time that variable is referenced in a memory operation or other activity by the program and the conditions set forth by the user are satisfied, the state of that variable is saved as a snapshot without interrupting or stopping execution of the program. The snapshots are accumulated in a history table. The history table can be retrieved and the state of the variable in any given snapshot can be restored. Other variables and expressions can be attached to the trigger variable and the states of these other variables at the time of the activity of the trigger variable may also be saved in the snapshot. The method may be incorporated into a program as a tracing device or a program product separate from the logical processing device executing the program. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216055 | PROACTIVE PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT FOR MULTI-USER ENTERPRISE SOFTWARE SYSTEMS - The invention provides, in some aspects, systems for proactive management of development and performance of a software application based on monitoring it (and/or one or more of its components) during the course of development or execution. Those systems signal alerts upon determining that actual or expected usage of the application (or its components) by users of like classes (or roles) is anticipated to, or does, exceed quotas, when the application is placed in production mode. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216056 | Fully integrated software change request system which includes but not limited to the following modules: change request, migration request, work flow engine project, collaboration, code movement, document tracking, code execution, status notification and database schema snapshot as well as various reporting capabilities. - A fully integrated Information Technology Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) request management system comprising of a centralized database and a web interface which includes but not limited to the following modules: Change Request, Migration Request, Work Flow Engine, Project, Collaboration, Code Movement, Document Tracking, Code Execution, Status Notification and Database Schema Snapshot as well as various reporting capabilities are disclosed. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216057 | RECORDING MEDIUM STORING MONITORING PROGRAM, MONITORING METHOD, AND MONITORING SYSTEM - A recording medium readable by an information processing apparatus, has recorded thereon a monitoring program for monitoring an operation status of a monitoring target program that runs on an information processing apparatus having a processor and a memory. The monitoring program causes the information processing apparatus to obtain, at a time of installation of a program, information indicating a status where the program is executed in the information processing apparatus and becomes a monitoring target program. The program monitors, on the basis of the information obtained, whether the monitoring target program exists in a memory in which the monitoring target program has been loaded. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216058 | Method for validating a graphical workflow translation - A method for validating a translation of a graphical workflow of activities into an arbitrary, but structured language uses as input a term of a high level graphically expressed language having a number of graphical elements related logically to each other and analyzes its content and/or structure in order to translate this content and/or structure into a structured set of instructions. The graphical workflow of activities is simulated to arrive at a first set of activity results. Each instruction is translated into a generic language in order to trace the execution of such instruction to arrive at a second set of results from the translated instructions. The first set of activity results is compared with the second set of results, and the translation is validated in case of a match among the first set of activity results and the second set of results. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216059 | Automatic Generation of Functional Emulators for Web Service - A computer-implemented method, system, and computer-readable medium for emulating web service operations are presented. In a preferred embodiment, the computer-implemented method includes the steps of: collecting Web Services Description Language (WSDL) based descriptors of selected web service operations; receiving range and diversity descriptors for the selected web service operations; and inputting the WSDL based descriptors, range and diversity descriptors into an Automatic Web Service Emulator Generator (AWSEG) to generate a web service emulation of the selected web service operations. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216060 | SYSTEM FOR TRANSLATING DIVERSE PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES - A computer language translator that translates all or any portion thereof of source code in an original computer language to source code in a target computer language, which may then be translated back to the original language while still maintaining concept, syntax, form of expression, and formatting of the original source code. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216061 | Inferring Function Calls In An Ambiguous Language Computer Program - An ambiguous usage of a name in a statement of a computer program is resolved at least partially by adding to an entry statement thereof a definition that includes the ambiguously used name followed by constructing a definition-use graph, followed by checking whether or not an edge from the added definition reaches the statement containing the ambiguously used name. If all edges into the ambiguous statement are from the added definition, then the name is deemed to be a function call. If all edges into the ambiguous statement are not from the added definition, then the name is deemed to be a memory access. If some edges into the ambiguous statement are from the added definition but other edges are not, then the statement is flagged as a dual usage. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216062 | Method for Configuring a Dependency Graph for Dynamic By-Pass Instruction Scheduling - There is disclosed a method and system for configuring a data dependency graph (DDG) to handle instruction scheduling in computer architectures permitting dynamic by-pass execution, and for performing dynamic by-pass scheduling utilizing such a configured DDG. In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, a heuristic function is used to obtain a ranking of nodes in the DDG after setting delays at all identified by-pass pairs of nodes in the DDG to 0. From among a list of identified by-pass pairs of nodes, a node that is identified as being the least important to schedule early is marked as “bonded” to its successor, and the corresponding delay for that identified node is set to 0. Node rankings are re-computed and the bonded by-pass pair of nodes are scheduled in consecutive execution cycles with a delay of 0 to increase the likelihood that a by-pass can be successfully taken during run-time execution. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216063 | COMPILER FOR JAVA AND .NET - A computer implemented method analyzing a first code in a first managed computer language and generating intermediate code in a completed language. The intermediate code into linking code that allows the second code in a second managed runtime language to interact with the first code. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216064 | Method, Architecture and Software of Meta-Operating System, Operating Systems and Applications For Parallel Computing Platforms - A method, architecture, and tangible medium storing computer readable software provides a meta-operating system, native operating systems and native applications which have been designed to operate upon one or more parallel computing platforms. The meta-operating system provides for an abstracted model of a standard operating system designed to manage one or more underlying standard operating systems, and may comprise components such as computer programming languages, development environments, user interfaces, hardware platform interfaces, operating system interfaces, parallelization platform interfaces, non-native application support, or others. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216065 | Information processing device, patch code application system, electronic instrument, and patch code application method - An information processing device includes a CPU, a ROM that stores an execution code executed by the CPU, an address management memory that stores address information relating to a code read from the CPU, and a patch code memory that stores a patch code that corrects the execution code. The address information includes an address of the patch code memory where the patch code is stored instead of an address of the ROM where the execution code that is replaced by the patch code is stored. The CPU performs a process corresponding to the code read from the ROM or the patch code memory based on the address information stored in the address management memory. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216066 | PROGRAM UPGRADE SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR OTA-CAPABLE MOBILE TERMINAL - An apparatus and method for updating a program of a mobile terminal using an Over-The-Air (OTA) programming mechanism is provided. The program upgrade apparatus includes a first memory for storing a reference version of the program and at least one upgrade package; a second memory for loading an upgrade version of the program; a communication unit for enabling the mobile terminal to communicate with an external system; and a control unit for controlling the communication unit to download the upgrade package in response to an upgrade notification message from the external system, installing the upgrade package within the first memory, generating an upgrade version of the program by merging the upgrade package and the reference version in response to an install command, and operating the mobile terminal with the upgraded version of the program. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216067 | Arrangement and Method for Programming Motor Vehicles - A reprogrammable system arranged in a motor vehicle includes a data network that connects a plurality of control-units arranged in the vehicle for controlling vehicle systems. At least a first control-unit of the control-units is provided with a reprogrammable memory for storing software, which directs the first control-unit in controlling a vehicle system that is connected to the first control-unit. At least a second control-unit of the control-units is connected to a media-receiver adapted to receive a portable media, which includes software to be installed in the memory of the first control-unit. The second control-unit is further arranged to obtain the software from the portable media and to transfer the software to the first control-unit. A method for reprogramming an ECU by using the reprogrammable system arranged in a motor vehicle is also provided. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216068 | Method And System For Migrating Information Between Information Handling Systems - A system for migrating information includes a first information handling system (“IHS”). The first IHS is for, in response to a first boot event, booting from a computer readable medium, bypassing the first IHS' user authentication requirement, and establishing a connection between the first IHS and a second IHS. The system for migrating information also includes the second IHS, coupled to the first IHS. The second IHS is for, in response to a second boot event, booting from a storage device of the second IHS, establishing the connection between the first IHS and the second IHS, and migrating information from the first IHS to the second IHS. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216069 | PROVISIONING OF SOFTWARE COMPONENTS VIA WORKFLOW MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS - For a software component to be installed on a target computer system a product dependency graph is determined which identifies additional software components required by the to-be-installed software component as prerequisite or corequisite software components. For each of these software components a corresponding installation facility is determined. Then a process model is generated being executable by a Workflow Management System (WFMS). The WFMS process model comprises a directed graph of activities, wherein each software component of the product dependency graph is associated with an activity such that when the activity is executed the installation facility corresponding to each of the software components is performed. Moreover, the WFMS process model is generated in a way that the sequence of activities in the directed graph is not violating the dependencies of the software components in the product dependency graph. Finally the WFMS process model is inserted in the WFMS as the provisioning process. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216070 | METHOD, SYSTEM, AND STORAGE MEDIUM FOR PROVIDING WEB-BASED ELECTRONIC RESEARCH AND PRESENTATION FUNCTIONS VIA A DOCUMENT CREATION APPLICATION - An exemplary embodiment of the invention relates to a method, system, and storage medium for providing web-based electronic research and presentation functions via a document creation application. The method includes scanning an active document on a computer to identify relevant keywords, searching a database for reference materials relating to the relevant keywords, and displaying relevant reference materials on the computer. The method further includes deploying process software for providing the web-based electronic research and presentation functions via a document creation application. The deployment includes installing the process software on a server, identifying server addresses for users accessing the process software on the server, sending the process software to the server and copying the process software to a file system of the server. The deployment also includes sending the process software to a client computer and executing the process software on the client computer. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216071 | Software Protection - The invention relates to software protection. A method is disclosed whereby an original executable, which can be run on a computer device with an execution environment, is wrapped in an alternative execution environment for thereby forming a new executable, and thus calls from the original executable to the operating system of the computer devices can no longer be inspected or manipulated. Hereby, the executable is protected against examination and reverse engineering. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216072 | TRANSITION BETWEEN PROCESS STEPS - Among other disclosure, a data flow is an entity that completely or substantially encapsulates all or substantially all aspects of a flow of data from a preceding object instance part into a succeeding object instance part. A set of several single flows of data can provide the complete flow of data of an entire process step. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216073 | Apparatus for executing programs for a first computer architechture on a computer of a second architechture - Executing programs coded in an instruction set of a first computer on a computer of a second, different architecture. An operating system maintains an association between each one of a set of concurrent threads and a set of computer resources of the thread's context. Without modifying a pre-existing operating system of the computer, an entry exception is establishing to be raised on each entry to the operating system at a specified entry point or on a specified condition. The entry exception has an associated entry handler programmed to save a context of an interrupted thread and modify the thread context before delivering the modified context to the operating system. A resumption exception is established to be raised on each resumption from the operating system complementary to one of the specified entries. The resumption exception has an associated exit handler programmed to restore the context saved by a corresponding execution of the entry handler. The entry exception, exit exception, entry handler, and exit handler are cooperatively designed to maintain an association between a one of the threads and an extended context of the thread through a context change induced by the operating system, the extended context including resources of the computer associated with the thread beyond those resources whose association with the thread is maintained by the operating system. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216074 | ADVANCED PROCESSOR TRANSLATION LOOKASIDE BUFFER MANAGEMENT IN A MULTITHREADED SYSTEM - An advanced, processor comprises a plurality of multithreaded processor cores each having a data cache and instruction cache. A data switch interconnect is coupled to each of the processor cores and configured to pass information among the processor cores. A messaging network is coupled to each of the processor cores and a plurality of communication ports. In one aspect of an embodiment of the invention, the data switch interconnect is coupled to each of the processor cores by its respective data cache, and the messaging network is coupled to each of the processor cores by its respective message station. Advantages of the invention include the ability to provide high bandwidth communications between computer systems and memory in an efficient and cost-effective manner. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216075 | PROGRAM CREATION SUPPORT APPARATUS, CREATION SUPPORT PROGRAM AND CREATION SUPPORT METHOD FOR THE SAME - An apparatus for supporting creation of a program includes: a program execution module ( | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216076 | METHODS FOR DISTRIBUTING PROGRAMS FOR GENERATING TEST DATA - Described herein are methods and systems for distributed execution of circuit testing algorithms, or portions thereof. Distributed processing can result in faster processing. Algorithms or portions of algorithms that are independent from each other can be executed in a non-sequential manner (e.g., parallel) over a network of plurality of processors. The network comprises a controlling processor that can allocate tasks to other processors and conduct the execution of some tasks on its own. Dependent algorithms, or portions thereof, can be performed on the controlling processor or one of the controlled processors in a sequential manner. To ensure consistency between the performance of algorithms, or portions thereof, in a distributed manner and a non-distributed manner, the order of processing results from execution is according to some pre-determined order, or according to the order in which the results would have been processed during a non-distributed (e.g., sequential) execution, for instance. For algorithms that are highly sequential in nature, portions of algorithms can be modified to delay the need for dependent results between algorithm portions by creating a rolling window of independent tasks that is iterated. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216077 | SOFTWARE SEQUENCER FOR INTEGRATED SUBSTRATE PROCESSING SYSTEM - Embodiments of the invention generally provide apparatus and method for scheduling a process sequence to achieve maximum throughput and process consistency in a cluster tool having a set of constraints. One embodiment of the present invention provides a method for scheduling a process sequence comprising determining an initial individual schedule by assigning resources to perform the process sequence, calculating a fundamental period, detecting resource conflicts in a schedule generated from the individual schedule and the fundamental period, and adjusting the individual schedule to remove the resource conflicts. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216078 | Request scheduling method, request scheduling apparatus, and request scheduling program in hierarchical storage management system - A request scheduling for scheduling requests to a secondary recording media while minimizing the frequency of recording-medium mounting/removing events in a secondary storage unit of an HSM (hierarchical storage management) system by searching for one or more request(s) processed or to be executed as executable on a drive unit, in units of the drive unit. According to the searching, detecting one or more generated read request(s) to read data from a recording medium mounted on the drive unit, and setting the drive unit as an exclusive drive for the read request(s). And scheduling a drive unit having an elapsed time period for a mounted recording media not exceeding a predetermined time period to execute an executable request by priority. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216079 | MANAGING A RESOURCE LOCK - A method of operating a resource lock for controlling access to a resource by a plurality of resource requesters, the resource lock operating in a contention efficient (heavyweight) operating mode, and the method being responsive to a request from a resource requester to acquire the resource lock, the method comprising the steps of: incrementing a count of a total number of acquisitions of the resource lock in the contention efficient operating mode; in response to a determination that access to the resource is not contended by more than one resource requester, performing the steps of: a) incrementing a count of a number of uncontended acquisitions of the resource lock in the contention efficient operating mode; b) calculating a contention rate as the number of uncontended acquisitions in the contention efficient operating mode divided by the total number of acquisitions in the contention efficient operating mode; and c) in response to a determination that the contention rate meets a threshold contention rate, causing the resource lock to change to a non-contention efficient (lightweight) operating mode. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216080 | Method and system to alleviate denial-of-service conditions on a server - A method is presented for processing data in a multithreaded application to alleviate impaired or substandard performance conditions. Work items that are pending processing by the multithreaded application are placed into a data structure. The work items are processed by a plurality of threads within the multithreaded application in accordance with a first algorithm, e.g., first-in first-out (FIFO). A thread within the multithreaded application is configured apart from the plurality of threads such that it processes work items in accordance with a second algorithm that differs from the first algorithm, thereby avoiding the impairing condition. For example, the thread may process a pending work item only if it has a particular characteristic. The thread restricts its own processing of work items by intermittently evaluating workflow conditions for the plurality of threads; if the workflow conditions improve or are unimpaired, then the thread does not process any work items. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216081 | System and Method For Enforcing Future Policies in a Compute Environment - The invention relates to a system, method and computer-reliable medium, as well as grids and clusters managed according to the method described herein. An example embodiment relates to a method of processing a request for resources within a compute environment. The method is practiced by a system that contains modules configured or programmed to carry out the steps of the invention. The system receives a request for resources, generates a credential map for each credential associated with the request, the credential map comprising a first type of resource mapping and a second type of resource mapping. The system generates a resource availability map, generates a first composite intersecting map that intersects the resource availability map with a first type of resource mapping of all generated credential maps and generates a second composite intersecting map that intersects the resource availability map and a second type of resource mapping of all the generated credential maps. With the first and second composite intersecting maps, the system can allocate resources within the compute environment for the request based on at least one of the first composite intersecting map and the second composite intersecting map. The allocations or reservation for the request can then be made in an optimal way for parameters such as the earliest time possible based on available resources and also that maintains the constraints on the requestor. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216082 | Hierarchical Resource Management for a Computing Utility - This invention provides for the hierarchical provisioning and management of a computing infrastructure which is used to provide computing services to the customers of the service provider that operates the infrastructure. Infrastructure resources can include those acquired from other service providers. The invention provides architecture for hierarchical management of computing infrastructures. It allows the dynamic provisioning and assignment of resources to computing environments. Customers can have multiple computing environments within their domain. The service provider shares its resources across multiple customer domains and arbitrates on the use of resources between and within domains. The invention enables resources to be dedicated to a specific customer domain or to a specific computing environment. Customers can specify acquisition and distribution policy which controls their use of resources within their domains. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216083 | MANAGING MEMORY RESOURCES IN A SHARED MEMORY SYSTEM - The memory used by individual users can be tracked and constrained without having to place all the work from individual users into separate JVMs. The net effect is that the ‘bursty’ nature of memory consumption by multiple users can be summed to result in a JVM which exhibits much less bursty memory requirements while at the same time allowing individual users to have relatively relaxed constraints. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216084 | MEASURE SELECTION PROGRAM, MEASURE SELECTION APPARATUS, AND MEASURE SELECTION METHOD - A combination of measures are selected to set a recovery time of a business to be equal to or shorter than a time objective when a predetermined event occurs. A dependency relationship is shown between an operation constituting the business and resources necessary to continue the operation. Scenario information holds the recovery time required for a recovery when the predetermined event occurs for each of the resources. Measure information holds measures for reducing the recovery time and effects of the respective measures for each of the resources. Paths connecting a highest node to a terminal node of the resources included in the operation element related information are extracted according to the dependency relationship; and the combination of measures are selected so that a recovery time sum of the respective resources is equal to or shorter than the time objective on all the paths extracted by the resource path extraction procedure. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216085 | System and Method for Virtual Adapter Resource Allocation - A method, computer program product, and distributed data processing system that enables host software or firmware to allocate virtual resources to one or more system images from a single physical I/O adapter, such as a PCI, PCI-X, or PCI-E adapter, is provided. Adapter resource groups are assigned to respective system images. An adapter resource group is exclusively available to the system image to which the adapter resource group assignment was made. Assignment of adapter resource groups may be made per a relative resource assignment or an absolute resource assignment. In another embodiment, adapter resource groups are assigned to system images on a first come, first served basis. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216086 | METHOD OF ANALYZING PERFORMANCE IN A STORAGE SYSTEM - A method of balancing a load in a computer system having at least one storage system, and a management computer, each of the storage systems having physical disks and a disk controller, the load balancing method including the steps of: setting at least one of the physical disks as a parity group; providing a storage area of the set parity group as at least one logical volumes to the host computer; calculating a logical volume migration time when a utilization ratio of the parity group becomes equal to or larger than a threshold; and choosing, as a data migration source volume, one of the logical volumes included in the parity group that has the utilization ratio equal to or larger than the threshold, by referring to the calculated logical volume migration time, the data migration source volume being the logical volume from which data migrates. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216087 | AFFINITY DISPATCHING LOAD BALANCER WITH PRECISE CPU CONSUMPTION DATA - A system for distributing a plurality of tasks over a plurality of nodes in a network includes: a plurality of processors for executing tasks; a plurality of nodes comprising processors; a task dispatcher; and a load balancer. The task dispatcher receives as input the plurality of tasks; calculates a task processor consumption value for the tasks; calculates a node processor consumption value for the nodes; calculates a target node processor consumption value for the nodes; and then calculates a load index value as a difference between the calculated node processor consumption for a node i and the target node processor consumption value for the node i. The balancer distributes the tasks among the nodes to balance the processor workload among the nodes according to the calculated load index value of each node, such that the calculated load index value of each node is substantially zero. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216088 | Coordinating service performance and application placement management - Apparatus, systems and methods for service and/or business for coordinating tasks of performance management and application placement management in a dynamic fashion. An example process is dynamic in the face of fluctuations in the request load to the distributed computer system and the periodic adjustments to the placement of applications onto servers in said distributed computer system. There are two opposite functional flows in said process: a demand estimation function and a capacity adjustment function. The coordination system involves two subsystems: a demand estimator and a capacity adjuster, along with appropriate interfaces to of the performance manager and the application placement manager. This results in application placement process reacting quicker to demand fluctuations, performance guarantees are better met by rearranging the resources to be allocated to the various classes of service, and the management system works in an unsupervised mode, thus reducing manual administration costs and human errors. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216089 | CHECKPOINT/RESUME/RESTART SAFE METHODS IN A DATA PROCESSING SYSTEM TO ESTABLISH, TO RESTORE AND TO RELEASE SHARED MEMORY REGIONS - A method is provided in which checkpointing operations are carried out in data processing systems running multiple processes which employ shared memory in a manner which preserves data coherence and integrity but which places no timing restrictions or constraints which require coordination of checkpointing operations. Data structures within local process memory and within shared memory provide the checkpoint operation with application level information concerning shared memory resources specific to at least two processes being checkpointed. Methods are provided for establishing, restoring and releasing shared memory regions that are accessed by multiple cooperating processes. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216090 | JMS INTEGRATION INTO AN APPLICATION SERVER - A JMS implementation integrates into an application server based on the JCA Architecture. A JMS Connection is integrated based on one implementation of a JCA which sets transactional context for the JMS Connection to “no transaction”, and the JMS Session is integrated based on a second implementation of the JCA which ignores any security credentials provided. The application is unaware that it is dealing with a JCA implementation and not directly with the JMS implementation and the JMS implementation is unaware that it is being called via the JCA implementation and not directly from the application. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216091 | Autonomic Method and Apparatus for Hardware Assist for Patching Code - A method, apparatus and computer instructions for hardware assist for autonomically patching code. The present invention provides hardware microcode to a new type of metadata to selectively identify instructions to be patched for specific performance optimization functions. The present invention also provides a new flag in the machine status register (MSR) to enable or disable a performance monitoring application or process to perform code-patching functions. If the code patching function is enabled, the application or process may patch code at run time by associating the metadata with the selected instructions. The metadata includes pointers pointing to the patch code block code. The program code may be patched autonomically without modifying original code. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216092 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR OPPORTUNISTIC IMAGE SHARING - A system for requesting data from another includes means for automatically appending a request for certain information to an outgoing message. In one embodiment, an e-mail editor provides the sender-user with an option for causing the email to include a request for missing or desired contact information, such as a picture. The appended request may be in the form of an added e-mail header, e.g. “I need your picture.” On the receiving side of the email, the incoming messages may be parsed for such requests. Any requests that are found in incoming email may be remembered by the receiving system using a dedicated data structure or some indications (e.g. flags) in an existing data structure. When email is composed on the receiving system, the “remembered” request information may be used to facilitate responses to pending requests. In this manner, email correspondents may opportunistically use their email traffic to maintain updated information regarding each other. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216093 | METHOD, SYSTEM AND COMPUTER PROGRAM FOR MONITORING COMPONENTS IN A SERVICE FRAMEWORK - A solution is proposed for monitoring usage of bundles in the OSGi environment. For this purpose, an event notification interface of the OSGi environment is exploited. Particularly, each event relating to a change of state of a bundle (such as its addition, removal, starting and stopping) is detected by an auxiliary bundle—which previously subscribed to the event notification interface. The auxiliary bundle can then forward the detected events to a licensing agent, which identifies the bundle by means of a software catalogue. In this way, the desired result is achieved without requiring any instrumentation of the bundles to be monitored. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216094 | Event handling system - An event handling system to schedule and translate semantic deductions form Intelligent Agents and sensors into events capable of being made observable by a Recipient system such as monitor that provides a particular view of virtual objects and events is disclosed. The event handling system also encapsulates the system's notion of time. In fact, a human observer can shift the system along the temporal axis (up to the present) in order to replay events, or undertake analyses as a result of speeded-up or slowed-down notions of system time. The event handling system receives events from Clients/Sources via connections through the event handling system Input Portals, and uses Shared Memory as its form of inter-process communication with the Monitors. The event handling system makes events available for a recipient observation sub-system to read and provide their particular view. There can be many Clients and Recipient systems connected to the event handling system at the same time. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216095 | Graphics for End to End Component Mapping and Problem-Solving in a Network Environment - An example of a solution provided here comprises receiving as input at least one event (chosen from an event generated by an application probe, and an event generated by a component probe), and providing graphical output based on said inputs, whereby a user correlates a component problem with a performance problem affecting an application. Methods connected with graphics for end to end component mapping and problem-solving in a network environment, systems for executing such methods, and instructions on a computer-usable medium, for executing such methods, are provided. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216096 | Virtual Computer System Supporting Trusted Computing and Method for Implementing Trusted Computation Thereon - A virtual machine system supporting trusted computing includes a virtual machine monitor, a hardware and multiple operating systems (OSs). Said multiple OSs include at least a trusted OS, and at least a distrusted OS, a redirecting pipe is set in the virtual machine monitor, the redirecting pipe is adapted to redirect an I/O instruction from the distrusted OS to the trusted OS. Wherein, the trusted OS checks the trusted degree of a procedure information of the distrusted OS, and sends to the hardware an I/O instruction that corresponds to trusted procedure information confirmed via the trusted degree check, transferred via the redirecting pipe and came from the distrusted OS, performs an I/O operation by the hardware. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216097 | Techniques for Managing a Storage Environment - Techniques for managing a storage environment. According to an embodiment of the present invention, high-level application programming interfaces (APIs) are provided that can be used by applications such as storage management applications (e.g., ERM applications, SRM applications) to manage a storage environment. Using these APIs, an application can issue simple high-level commands to perform storage management operations without having to worry about the low level storage array-specific commands. Embodiments of the present invention handle the necessary translations between the high-level commands and the low-level storage array-specific commands or protocols. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216098 | SYSTEMS, METHODS AND COMPUTER POROGRAMS FOR DETERMINING DEPENDENCIES BETWEEN LOGICAL COMPONENTS IN A DATA PROCESSING SYSTEM OR NETWORK - Described are methods, apparatus and computer programs for determining run-time dependencies between logical components of a data processing environment. Components of the data processing environment are monitored by monitoring agents accessing run-time activity data via APIs of the managed system. A dependency generator identifies correlations between the run-time activity of the monitored components. For synchronous monitored systems, the dependency generator calculates an activity period for monitored components and determines which component's activity periods contain the activity periods of other components. Containment is used as an indicator of a likely dependency relationship, and a weighting is computed for each dependency relationship based on the consistency of containment. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216099 | System for Generating Optimized Computer Data Field Conversion Routines - A system converts data from input field types to output field types. The system receives a plurality of input attributes and output attributes from an application program, dynamically generates a plurality of data field conversion routines for each set of input attributes and output attributes, and stores the plurality of data field conversion routines in memory that is accessible to the application program. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216100 | Method and Apparatus for Software Upgrade in a Digital Television Receiving Device - A method and an apparatus for software upgrade in a digital television receiving device are disclosed. The method includes multiplexing service software into a transport stream according to a predefined protocol,extracting by the digital television receiving device data of the service software from the transport stream and storing the data, restarting the digital television receiving device, so that digital television receiving device software and the service software may obtain addresses of interface functions of the opposite party, and updating by the digital television receiving device software and the service software, default addresses of the interface functions of the service software and the digital television receiving device software according to the obtained addresses. With the invention, the digital television receiving device software and the service software may be independent from each other, and may be upgraded separately. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216101 | PARTIAL DYNAMIC IMPLEMENTATION OF JAVA INTERFACES - A system and method for implementing dynamic interfaces in a JAVA program including methods having a common implementation and other methods to be handled independently. The system comprises a first dynamic proxy object implementing an invocation handler for providing default implementations; a separate object providing implementations of any method in a defined interface that requires independent handling; and, a second dynamic proxy object provided for checking a method definition object for an implementation of the method, and in response, one of: invoking the method on the separate object if the implementation exists, and if the implementation does not exist, invoking the method on the first dynamic proxy object. The second dynamic proxy object thus allows for a single implementation for repetitive methods, while allowing special cases to be handled independently. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216102 | CROSS APPLICATION DOMAIN LATE BINDING TO NON-LOCAL TYPES - A system allows a non-virtual method of a base class inherited by a derived class to be effectively overridden so that code developed to access the method via the base class accesses the overriding behavior. The system replaces an instance of the derived class with a dynamic object and transparent object with the transparent object appearing to provide to invoking code an implementation of the derived class. Upon receiving an invocation of a method, the transparent proxy directs the invocation to the dynamic object by invoking an invoke method of the dynamic object passing an indication of the invoked method of the transparent object. The dynamic object may be an instance of a dynamic class that inherits a real class with a virtual invoke method. The dynamic class overrides the invoke method to provide overriding behavior. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216103 | Disk Drive Unit Having an Improved Disk Centring - A disk drive unit comprises a driven turntable ( | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216104 | Optical Disc Device Having Means For Protecting the Optical Pickup Unit - An optical disc device comprising a tray ( | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216105 | Disc device - When a disc is loaded in or unloaded from a disc device, even if the disc is pushed in the direction opposite to the transmission direction by external force to return or is pulled to return, it is possible to prevent the mechanism that transmits the disc from being damaged and to improve the reliability of the disc device. In a disc device for loading the disc inserted by the pivoting of the arm mechanism therein and for unloading the disc accommodated therein to the outside thereof, a lock mechanism, by which a lock state in which driving force for pivoting the arm mechanism is transmitted from a driving mechanism is released when force more than a predetermined amount is applied to the arm mechanism in the loading direction of the disc or in the unloading direction of the disc, is formed. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216106 | Content Distribution System - A content distribution system, including: a registration module for receiving registration data for a digital item accessible, on a communications network such as a peer to peer (P2P) network, using a digital item client, such as a P2P client, on a first device; an activity module for receiving a request for content of the digital item from the client on a second device; and a transaction module for registering download of the content to the second device, for processing payment transactions with the second device, and for processing remuneration transactions with at least the first device. The system also has a search module for receiving queries for digital items and ranking results based on a user selected ranking criteria including at least one of: review of said digital items; use of said digital items; and purchase of said digital items. The digital item and a declaration for the item may comply with MPEG-21. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216107 | VERIFYING AND ENCOURAGING ASSET CONSUMPTION IN A COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK - Systems and methods presented herein generally provide for the compensation of asset providers and/or communications network providers for the non-consumption of assets provided with programming In this regard when users elect not to consume the assets associated with the programming, the asset provider loses the opportunity to present their assets to such non-consuming users and is thereby injured in relation to the price they have paid for the delivery of their assets. In one arrangement, a reporting module at a customer device is operative to identify when a user skips an asset and report that skip event to the network. This information may then be utilized to adjust the bill of the asset provider and/or to bill the user associated with the skip event. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216108 | Application Blocking System - A set-top box system for blocking signaled applications from being run on a set-top box, the system comprising an audio/video service receiving module to receive at least one audio/video service, an application receiving module to receive an application, an application signaling module to manage a first table including signaling information indicating that the application is a signaled application authorized for being run on the set-top box, and an application blocking module to receive a second table including blocking information to block running of the signaled application on the set-top box, the second table being received from a broadcasting Headend, and block running of the signaled application on the set-top box in response to receiving the second table. Related apparatus and methods are also described. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216109 | METHOD OF PROVIDING CONTROLLED-ACCESS INFORMATION AND VIDEO RECEIVING APPARATUS TO USE THE SAME - In a controlled access broadcast system, a method of providing controlled-access information to a user includes determining whether a selected channel is a controlled-access channel, determining whether a smart card mounted in a smart card mounting part is configured to access the selected channel, if the selected channel is determined to be a controlled-access channel, and displaying indicia that indicates the configuration of the mounted smart card with respect to access to the selected channel. Therefore, a user can mount a smart card to access the controlled-access channel, thus increasing user convenience. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216110 | IPTV receiver and methods for processing rating information in the IPTV receiver - A method for rating information in an IPTV receiver may includes downloading content and first rating information identifying rating values of the content, wherein the first rating information includes information identifying whether the first rating information is newly downloadable, downloading second rating information defining rating types defined for rating systems in accordance with the received first rating information wherein the second rating information includes information identifying whether the second rating information is downloadable, and decoding the received content, the first rating information, and the second rating information. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216111 | Electronic television program guide schedule system and method - An electronic program schedule system which includes a receiver for receiving broadcast, satellite or cablecast television programs for a plurality of television channels and a tuner for tuning a television receiver to a selected one of the plurality of channels. A data processor receives and stores in a memory television program schedule information for a plurality of television programs to appear on the plurality of television channels. A user control apparatus, such as a remote controller, is utilized by a viewer to choose user control commands and transmit signals in response to the data processor which receives the signals in response to user control commands. A television receiver is used to display the television programs and television program schedule information. A video display generator receives video control commands from the data processor and program schedule information from the memory and displays a portion of the program schedule information in overlaying relationship with a television program appearing on a television channel in at least one mode of operation of the television programming guide. The data processor controls the video display generator with video control commands, issued in response to the user control commands, to display program schedule information for any chosen one of the plurality of television programs in overlaying relationship with at least one television program then appearing on any chosen one of the plurality of channels on the television receiver. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216112 | PLAYBACK OF INTERACTIVE PROGRAMS - A method for playing back a program which includes one or more interactive applications. A program which is stored, either in the form of a data stream or as a set of files is played back from a storage device. When playback is started, applications which are detected are launched. Applications are detected in the playback of pushed content when they become available in the playback stream. Applications are detected in the playback of pulled content by comparing the validity ranges of the applications to a current playback index. When special playback modes are used, signals which affect the lifecycle of an application are detected and corresponding signals are generated to maintain the proper state of the application. During these special playback modes, these various notification signals may be conveyed to applications which are configured to operate during these modes. Applications which are not configured to operate during these special playback modes may be terminated when the special modes are initiated and restarted when the special modes end. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216113 | METHOD FOR RECEIVING BROADCASTING SIGNAL AND BROADCASTING RECEIVER - A method for receiving a broadcasting signal and a broadcasting signal receiver are disclosed. Even when a cell is changed while an emergency alert is output, the emergency alert can be continuously output using emergency alert table information included in the broadcasting signal and channel information of the cell. The emergency alert table information may include a cell identifier and the channel information of the cell may include virtual channel information of the cell. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216114 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DELIVERY OF CONTENT IN A NETWORK - A content delivery service is described for delivering content over a broadband digital broadcast network. A controller allows the delivery of content to be made in accordance with activity in a public land mobile network. The delivery of content may therefore be effectively scheduled and an appropriate revenue level. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216115 | Method and System for Inserting a New Channel Into a List of Preferred Channels - A first set of channels is provided. The first set of channels is selected based on a predetermined criteria related to a viewing preference of a viewer. A first channel not selected based on the predetermined criteria related to the viewing preference of the viewer is inserted into the first set of channels. In one embodiment, a system operator inserts the first channel into the first set of channels. In one embodiment, insertion is disallowed if a number of channels not selected based on the predetermined criteria related to the viewing preference of the viewer that have been inserted into the first set of channels is greater than a predetermined number. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216116 | Providing Zapping Streams to Broadcast Receivers - Methods and systems for providing zapping data for one or more programs transmitted using timeslicing are disclosed herein. Zapping data may be provided by a zapping data provider or server, or may be created at the mobile terminal based on received program information. Zapping data may be provided to mobile terminals via a wireless multicast network, such as a DVB-H network, using a variety of timeslicing techniques, including providing a separate zapping data stream, providing zapping data as part of the source stream, or allowing mobile terminals to derive zapping data from the source content's broadcast stream. Zapping images may be selected from I-frames of video transmissions. An IP encapsulator may synchronize broadcast streams such that I-frames are transmitted concurrently, and at the beginning of timeslice bursts. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216117 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR COLLECTING USER INTEREST INFORMATION - A user interest information-collecting method and apparatus of the present invention are provided for collecting user interest information on the basis of program viewing-behavior patterns of a user. The user interest information-collecting method includes extracting program guide information from a digital broadcast data received by the digital broadcast receiver; classifying by keyword information items contained in the program guide information; selecting at least one of the information items as user interest fields on the basis of user-viewing history; retrieving relevant information items of the user interest fields; and designating at least one of retrieved relevant information items selected by the user as user interest information item. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216118 | METHOD OF PROVIDING USER INTERFACE IN DATA BROADCASTNG RECEIVER - A method of providing a user interface in a data broadcasting receiver is provided. The method of providing a user interface in a data broadcasting receiver comprises selecting one of a plurality of search factor information transmitted together with video information through data broadcasting and displaying selection options for selecting one of a plurality of video information comprising a part of the video information corresponding to the selected search factor. Therefore, the user can simply search for various information while viewing a movie, a TV program, a sports, etc provided through data broadcasting. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216119 | METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR IMPLEMENTING GUIDES AND USING RECORDING INFORMATION IN DETERMINING PROGRAM TO COMMUNICATIONS CHANNEL MAPPINGS - A user recovers and records multiple programs communicated simultaneously using a communications channel, e.g., QAM communications channel. The simultaneous communication may be by communicating, e.g., an MPEG-2 transport stream including data corresponding to multiple programs through a corresponding to QAM communications channel. Thus a user device, e.g., a set top box, is able to receive and record programs corresponding to multiple simultaneously broadcast programs using a single tuner. This allows a device to receive and record or display more programs at any given time, than the number of QAM tuners and/or receivers in the user device. Novel user interface features which facilitate a user's ability to identify and record multiple programs corresponding to a QAM channel are also described. Methods and apparatus for determining program to communication channel mappings based on user program recordation information are also described. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216120 | PROGRAM GUIDE SYSTEM FOR RECORDING TELEVISION PROGRAMS - An interactive program guide system is provided. The system facilitates recording of programs selected from the program guide. The system handles the recording and viewing of pay programs, parentally-controlled programs, consecutive programs on different television channels, and programs with and without copy protection. Programs may be recorded using combination television videocassette recorder (TV/VCR) units. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216121 | Device For Processing Electronic Program Guide Data to be Displayed by an Electronic Equipment Within Pages Associated to Time References - An EPG data processing device (D), for an electronic equipment (EE), comprises a processing means (PM) arranged i) to access to sets of data defining respectively channel programmes and each comprising at least first data representative of a channel name and a channel programme name, second data defining a channel programme starting time, and third data representative of a channel programme ending time, ii) either to determine amongst the accessed data sets which respectively follow each data set contributing to a displayed page of data the one which comprises the earliest ending time, in order to define a time reference just before this earliest ending time and associate this time reference to a following page of data to be displayed, or to determine amongst the accessed data sets which respectively precede each data set contributing to a displayed page of data the one which comprises the latest starting time, in order to define a time reference just after this latest ending time and associate this time reference to a preceding page of data to be displayed, iii) then to select amongst the accessed data sets each data set comprising second and third data defining a time interval including the defined time reference, and iv) finally to deliver these selected data sets in order they could be respectively displayed on different dedicated lines of a page associated to the determined time reference. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216122 | System and method for selection of content source upon device power-on - A system and method for determining which program to display from multiple content sources at a power-on event of a content display device at a certain location is disclosed. In one embodiment, the method includes receiving metadata containing content information about multiple programming available from multiple content sources on an integrated network. The content information can be analyzed so as to determine if any of the programming satisfies rules pertaining to programming appropriate for the location of the display device within a home. The content information can be analyzed in advance such that when a power-on command is received at the content display device, a program that has been determined to satisfy the rules is displayed on the display device. | 2008-09-04 |
| 20080216123 | Information processing apparatus, information processing method and information processing program - In an information processing apparatus, a text information receiving unit receives text information, and a received text morphological analysis unit performs morphological analysis on the text information. An extraction unit extracts text information of a subtitle included in a program. A subtitle text morphological analysis unit performs morphological analysis on the text information of the subtitle. A similarity calculation unit calculates the similarity between a keyword included in a result of the received text morphological analysis performed by the received text morphological analysis unit and a keyword included in a result of the subtitle text morphological analysis performed by the subtitle text morphological analysis unit. A comparison unit compares the similarity with a predetermined threshold value. A recording unit records the program at a time at which the comparison unit determines that the subtitle text of the program currently includes a keyword having similarity higher than the predetermined threshold value. | 2008-09-04 |
