| Patent application number | Description | Published |
| 20080262638 | Apparatus and Method to Integrate Hardware Adapter Diagnostics with a Host OS Diagnostics Through Signaling - The present invention provides a system and method for controlling diagnostic functions on a remote device. The system includes a host, and a network adapter in communication with the host. The system performs a method comprising receiving a diagnostic signal from the host device on the remote device, associating the diagnostic signal with a diagnostic state of the remote device, and performing a diagnostic function indicated by the diagnostic signal. | 10-23-2008 |
| 20080263408 | APPARATUS AND METHOD TO INTEGRATE HARDWARE ADAPTER TRACING WITH A HOST OS TRACING THROUGH SIGNALING - The present invention provides a system and method for controlling tracing functions on a remote device. The system includes means for receiving a diagnostic signal from a host device on the remote device and means for associating the diagnostic signal with a tracing state of the remote device. In addition, the system includes means for performing a tracing function indicated by the diagnostic signal. The present invention can also be viewed as a method for controlling tracing functions on a remote device. The method operates by receiving a diagnostic signal from a host device on the remote device and associating the diagnostic signal with a tracing state of the remote device. Then, the method performs a tracing function indicated by the diagnostic signal | 10-23-2008 |
| 20090063707 | Shared Resource Support for Internet Protocols - Creating a unique identification for each stack in partitions of a host data computer such that a plurality of partitions may share a single adapter card during an Input/Output operation wherein the adapter card is exchanging data between the host and a Local Area Network. The adapter card includes a unique identifier pool for maintaining values of unique identifiers which are available for identifying the stacks. A deleted unique identifier for a stack may be reused by newly created stacks and may be reassigned to a recreated stack, if still available, when the stack had previously been deleted by the operating system, but is then recreated. | 03-05-2009 |
| 20100138567 | APPARATUS, SYSTEM, AND METHOD FOR TRANSPARENT ETHERNET LINK PAIRING - A solution for reducing latency in a host computing device communicating with network-attached devices over a network. The host includes two network adapters that each support bidirectional communications with the host. The solution includes a dual module that represents the two network adapters as a single logical interface to both the host and the network-attached devices. An inbound module directs inbound data sent to the interface by the devices through one of the network adapters, while an outbound module directs outbound data sent to the interface by the host through the other. In one embodiment, the outbound module is responsible for intercepting data sent to the interface and sending it through the network adapter dedicated to outbound communications. The solution also includes a mode module to enable the latency reduction apparatus, and a collapse module that enables bidirectional communications through the remaining network adapter if a network adapter fails. | 06-03-2010 |
| Patent application number | Description | Published |
| 20090144638 | AUTOMATIC INCREASING OF CAPACITY OF A VIRTUAL SPACE IN A VIRTUAL WORLD - A system and method for automatically increasing a capacity of a virtual space in a virtual world. It is determined if an allowable number of avatars are currently in the virtual space, and a capacity of the virtual space is increased when the allowable number of avatars are currently in the virtual space. The capacity of the virtual space may be increased by spawning a replicate new virtual space. The capacity of the virtual space may also be increased by expanding a size of the virtual space. The virtual space may include any type of virtual space such as for example, a store, a business, an arena, a building, a land area, a room, etc. The allowable number of avatars may be a maximum avatar capacity for the virtual space, or may be an ideal avatar capacity for the virtual space. | 06-04-2009 |
| 20090267938 | THREE-DIMENSIONAL (3D) VIRTUAL WORLD WORMHOLES - A three dimensional (3D) virtual world wormhole includes hosting a 3D virtual world, and creating a wormhole at a selected location in the 3D virtual world for automatic transport of an avatar from the selected location to a selected destination in the 3D virtual world. Policies may be defined for the wormhole where the wormhole operates in accordance with the defined policies. An avatar may be automatically transported from the location to any one of a plurality of destinations based on a current capacity of each of the plurality of destinations. | 10-29-2009 |
| 20090300582 | Generation and Synchronization of offline 3D virtual world content - Generation and synchronization of offline three-dimensional (3D) virtual world content that include hosting 3D virtual world content, providing access to a portion of the 3D virtual world content, allowing storing offline of a copy of the accessed portion of the 3D virtual world content, and receiving changes made in the stored offline copy of the accessed portion of the 3D virtual world content and synchronizing the received changes with the hosted 3D virtual world content. The accessed portion of the 3D virtual world content may be recreated offline using a rendering engine on a processing device offline from the hosted 3D virtual world. | 12-03-2009 |
| 20100094890 | URL VIRTUAL NAMING AND METADATA MAPPING - Mapping of a universal resource locator (URL) to a virtual world location may include receiving a URL for access to an entity, accessing a mapping of the URL to coordinates of a location of the entity in a virtual world, and providing access to the entity in the virtual world. A device that may include a network interface, the network interface being configured to receive a URL and provide access to a virtual world, and a memory, the memory containing at least one mapping of a URL to coordinates in the virtual world. | 04-15-2010 |
| 20100115425 | COLLABORATIVE VIRTUAL BUSINESS OBJECTS SOCIAL SHARING IN A VIRTUAL WORLD - Collaborative virtual business object (VBO) social sharing that may include generating a VBO responsive to an avatar performing a transaction, and providing access to the VBO to other avatars desiring access. Access to the VBO may be provided by registering information regarding accessing the VBO in an inventory of the avatar, registering information regarding accessing the VBO in a centralized registry, allowing some portions of the VBO to be searchable, or uploading a modified copy of the VBO to a centralized VBO data upload facility. Portions of the VBO may be identified as private or public and access provided to only the public portions. An apparatus for collaborative virtual business object (VBO) social sharing may include an interface configured to access virtual world and a processor configured to generate a VBO responsive to a transaction in the virtual world and provide access to the VBO. | 05-06-2010 |
| 20100179871 | USER DRIVEN TRANSACTIONS THROUGH REFERRED VIRTUAL BUSINESS OBJECT - Providing traceability in a Virtual Business Object (VBO) may include generating a VBO comprising components and actions that may be performed using the VBO, attaching traceability information regarding an avatar to the VBO and providing the VBO to the avatar. Also, a network entity configured to access a virtual world environment may include a network interface configured to provide access to the virtual world environment and a controller configured to perform a transaction with an avatar in the virtual world environment, generate a Virtual Business Object (VBO) related to the transaction, attach traceability information regarding the avatar to the VBO, and provide the VBO to the avatar. | 07-15-2010 |
| Patent application number | Description | Published |
| 20090131166 | ALLOWING AN ALTERNATIVE ACTION IN A VIRTUAL WORLD - A method for allowing an alternative action in a virtual world may include permitting a user to request an original action for an avatar of the user in the virtual world. The method may also include receiving the request for the original action and storing the request in a queue in response to the original action being unavailable to the user's avatar. The method may additionally include determining if an alternative action is available for the user's avatar in response to the original action being unavailable to the user's avatar and presenting an interface to the user to permit the user to accept the alternative action in response to the alternative action being available. The method may yet further include allowing the user's avatar to perform the alternative action in response to the user accepting the alternative action and permitting the user's avatar to perform the alternative action while the request for the original action is still in the queue | 05-21-2009 |
| 20090199095 | AVATAR CLONING IN A VIRTUAL WORLD - Avatar cloning in a virtual world may include receiving an input indicating that a user desires to access a cloning feature and allowing a cloned avatar to be cloned from the user's avatar. | 08-06-2009 |
| 20090254868 | TRANSLATION OF GESTURE RESPONSES IN A VIRTUAL WORLD - Translating gestures made by one avatar to a second avatar in a virtual world by receiving an input from a first user representing an input gesture to be made by the first avatar to the second avatar. The input gesture is translated to generate at least one translated gesture for display. The translated gesture may be output for display as being made by the first avatar to the second avatar. | 10-08-2009 |
| 20100050237 | GENERATING USER AND AVATAR SPECIFIC CONTENT IN A VIRTUAL WORLD - Generation of user and avatar specific content in a virtual world may include generating a local attribute object. The local attribute object may comprise attributes identifying at least one of the user's real world location and the user's avatar's virtual world location. Access to the local attribute object by virtual world operators may be controlled by the user and/or user's avatar. Specific content, based on the local attribute object, is presented to the user's avatar. | 02-25-2010 |
| 20100060649 | AVOIDING NON-INTENTIONAL SEPARATION OF AVATARS IN A VIRTUAL WORLD - A method for avoiding non-intentional separation of avatars in a virtual world may include detecting a first avatar seeking to enter a first location and determining if a second avatar is related to the first avatar based on a first predetermined rule. The method may also include determining that the first and second avatars are seeking to enter the first location together. The method may further include determining whether to allow the first avatar and the second avatar to enter the first location based on a second predetermined rule. | 03-11-2010 |
| 20100100452 | VIRTUAL BUSINESS OBJECT TO MANAGE VIRTUAL WORLD TRANSACTIONS - A method for managing a transaction in a virtual world may include generating a virtual business object (VBO), where the VBO may include a plurality of subcomponents that are each respectively related to a different aspect of the transaction associated with the virtual world object. Each subcomponent may include at least one attribute and each attribute may include information related to the subcomponent. Further, a set of enablement properties may be associated with each attribute and access to each attribute may be controlled in accordance with the set of enablement properties associated with each attribute. | 04-22-2010 |
| 20100211880 | VIRTUAL WORLD VIEWER - A method for managing and operating one or more virtual world viewers in a virtual world may include generating a virtual world viewer feature on a computer system in response to a predetermined action by the user. The method may also include generating an option in the virtual world viewer feature for the user to either enter or select a different virtual world location from a current virtual world location of a user's avatar for locating a virtual world viewer for viewing the different virtual world location. The virtual world viewer may be generated on the computer system for the user to view the different virtual world location without the user's avatar leaving the current virtual world location. | 08-19-2010 |