1933 results about "Mass storage" patented technology

World-Wide-Walkie-Talkie, a high speed multifunction interstellar wireless computer / instant messenger communicator, Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), coupled with a resilient, robust, VoIP data network and internet server method, deploying multiple wireless networks and protocols such as Voice Over IP, GPRS, WAP, Bluetooth, PCS, I-Mode, comprising a high speed Intel Pentium 4 Mobile(TM) or compatible Processor, to formulate a internet gateway system (99) and network bridge (150) for establishing instant low cost, real time global communications to the Public Switched Telephone Network via the internet (54). A PUSH-TO-TALK-WORLDWIDE button (21) instantly initiates global bisynchronous communications, or videoconferencing sessions. Fax, VideoMail, and unified messaging services are immediately available. GPS and mass memory provides global navigational tracking and data storage. Internet users, telephones, and cellular / satellite phone users can intercommunicate with the invention via VoIP / IM services. The invention provides uniformed global wireless communications, eliminates traditional long distance costs, and operates anywhere on earth.

An integrated circuit active memory device receives task commands from a component in a host computer system that may include the active memory device. The host system includes a memory controller coupling the active memory device to a host CPU and a mass storage device. The active memory device includes a command engine issuing instructions responsive to the task commands to either an array control unit or a DRAM control unit. The instructions provided to the DRAM control unit cause data to be written to or read from a DRAM and coupled to or from either the processing elements or a host / memory interface. The processing elements execute instructions provided by the array control unit to decompress data written to the DRAM through the host / memory interface and compress data read from the DRAM through the host / memory interface.

An advertisement selection and delivery system for selecting advertisements based on profile information and rendering the advertisements as accessible to a user operating a network-capable appliance connected to a data-packet-network is provided. The system comprises, a first server node connected to the network, the first server node functioning as a user access point on the network, a mass storage repository accessible to the first server node, the repository for storing and serving user profile data, a second server node connected to the network, the second server node for generating user preference data, at least one advertisement server connected to the network, the advertisement server for serving advertisement data, a software application for generating user preference lists and performing advertisement selection and at least one network-capable appliance connected to the network the network-capable appliance for receiving the advertisement data. A user operating the network-capable appliance accesses the first server node and receives the advertisement data, the advertisement data selected for service by matching the user preference data to stored advertisements and rendered accessible to the user during the time of user access to the system from the network-capable appliance.

A data networking system and method which allows efficient use of bandwidth for data streams such as video and audio. This invention allows network nodes to dynamically identify changing network conditions which are typical on wireless and power line networks. The system and method dynamically adapt to the changes which affect network bandwidth by changing compression rates, compression types, audio / video quality, motion masks, throughput for specific connections, or mass storage of data streams until the network is capable of sending the data. The result is an improved system that requires little or no user intervention as network conditions change.

A FLASH controller is disclosed. The controller comprises a USB interface unit. The USB interface unit implements a USB standard that has a bus speed equal or greater than 12 Mb / s. The controller includes an internal bus coupled to the USB interface unit; and a FLASH interface unit coupled to the internal bus. The FLASH interface unit includes FLASH controller logic that allows the throughput for access to the FLASH memory to match the speed of the USB standard. Advantages of the FLASH controller in accordance with the present invention include (1) utilizing the higher speed USB interface such as the USB 2.0 standard, which substantially increases the serial throughput between USB host and FLASH controller; (2) utilizing more advanced FLASH control logic which is implemented to raise the throughput for the FLASH memory access; (3) utilizing an intelligent algorithm to detect and access the different FLASH types, which broadens the sourcing and the supply of FLASH memory; (4) by storing the software program along with data in FLASH memory which results in the cost of the controller being reduced, and also makes the software program field changeable and upgradeable; and (5) providing high integration, which substantially reduces the overall space needed and reduces the complexity and the cost of manufacturing.

A method and system are disclosed for efficiently storing an operating state of a data processing system having a volatile memory within a nonvolatile mass storage device. In response to a selected input, a determination is made whether storing the operating state of the data processing system is possible. If storing the operating state is possible, scheduling of tasks to be performed by the data processing system is halted. Data not required for operation of the data processing system is then removed from the volatile memory. The operating state of the data processing system is stored within the nonvolatile mass storage device, thereby enabling the operating state of the data processing system to be efficiently restored. Thereafter, power is removed from the data processing system. In response to restoring power to the data processing system, a determination is made whether the operating state of the data processing system is stored within the nonvolatile mass storage device. In response to a determination that the operating state of the data processing system is stored within the nonvolatile mass storage device, the operating state of the data processing system is loaded from the nonvolatile mass storage device, thereby restoring the operating state of the data processing system.

Embodiments of the present invention are directed to methods, and distributed data-storage systems employing the methods, for recovering redundancy within a distributed data-storage system upon failure of one or more mass-storage devices within a component data-storage system of the distributed data-storage system. In certain embodiments, failure of a mass-storage device within a component data-storage system elicits a redundancy-recovery operation in which segments affected by the mass-storage-device failure or failures are moved, by a process referred to as “migration,” to other component data-storage systems of the distributed data-storage system, and are recovered as a by-product of migration. Certain embodiments of the present invention more efficiently address redundancy recovery by moving only as many segments from the component data-storage system as needed to provide sufficient free space within the component data-storage system to recover the remaining segments affected by the mass-storage-device failure or failures within the component data-storage system.

A smart card is disclosed which includes a mass storage memory for storing biometric information of a user and private data. A radio is used as an interface to the card. When the user of the card wishes to invoke an application for the private data, biometric information about the user is provided to a device in communication with the card, enabling the card to authenticate the user as an authorized user of the private data, and in response to that authentication provide the data to the application in a manner that maintains privacy and integrity of data.

An advertisement selection and delivery system for selecting advertisements based on profile information and rendering the advertisements as accessible to a user operating a network-capable appliance connected to a data-packet-network is provided. The system comprises, a first server node connected to the network, the first server node functioning as a user access point on the network, a mass storage repository accessible to the first server node, the repository for storing and serving user profile data, a second server node connected to the network, the second server node for generating user preference data, at least one advertisement server connected to the network, the advertisement server for serving advertisement data, a software application for generating user preference lists and performing advertisement selection and at least one network-capable appliance connected to the network the network-capable appliance for receiving the advertisement data. A user operating the network-capable appliance accesses the first server node and receives the advertisement data, the advertisement data selected for service by matching the user preference data to stored advertisements and rendered accessible to the user during the time of user access to the system from the network-capable appliance.

A data processing system having two or more groups of data processors that have attributes that are optimized for their assigned functions. A first group consists of one or more host computers responsible for interfacing with applications and / or end users to obtain queries and for planning query execution. A second processor group consists of many streaming record-oriented processors called Job Processing Units (JPUs), preferably arranged as an MPP structure. The JPUs typically carry out the bulk of the data processing required to implement the logic of a query. Each of the JPUs typically include a general purpose microcomputer, local memory, one or more mass storage devices, and one or more network connections. Each JPU also has a special purpose programmable processor, referred to herein as a Programmable Streaming Data Processor (PSDP). The PSDP serves as an interface between the CPU of a JPU and the mass storage device, to offload functions from the CPU of the JPU.

A user configurable RAID system designed to provide RAID functions as well as mass storage functions in a non-RAID mode. Flexibility is built into the system to allow the user to configure the SCSI bus to which removable drive modules are connected into one or more channels to define some of the drive modules in a RAID set and others as stand-alone drives which are independently operated or logically grouped and operated in a non-RAID mode. Removable internal SCSI bridges allow the SCSI bus to be configured into one or more channels. In the RAID mode, the system is configured to prevent a wrong drive from being removed from the system in the event of a drive failure. The system automatically unlatches only the failed drive. The RAID system includes an intelligent control unit ("ICU"), a RAID controller and a modem. The ICU allows the system administrator to access the RAID system Monitor Utility so that the status of the system may be monitored and its configuration changed. The ICU also monitors the failure status of the various components of the system. The ICU has a built-in pager feature that can be configured with the Monitor Utility to page the system administrator via the modem when a component or system failure is encountered. The RAID controller controls the functions of the RAID set as programmed and configured using the Monitor Utility. The Monitor Utility may be remotely accessed using a computer via the modem. Redundant removable power supply and fan units are provided to improve system integrity. The removable power supply and fan units are configured such when the unit is plugged into the system housing, the fan is first turned on and the power through the unit is allowed to stabilize before turning on the power supply to begin providing DC power to the components in the system. A set of manual release buttons are provided for manually unlatching the drive modules from the system housing. A locking mechanism is provided for simultaneously locking all the manual release buttons.

A Universal-Serial-Bus (USB) single-chip flash device contains a USB flash microcontroller and flash mass storage blocks containing flash memory arrays that are block-addressable rather than randomly-addressable. USB packets from a host USB bus are read by a serial engine on the USB flash microcontroller. Various routines that execute on a CPU in the USB flash microcontroller are activated in response to commands in the USB packets. A flash-memory controller in the USB flash microcontroller transfers data from the serial engine to the flash mass storage blocks for storage. Rather than boot from an internal ROM coupled to the CPU, a boot loader is transferred by DMA from the first page of the flash mass storage block to an internal RAM. The flash memory is automatically read from the first page at power-on. The CPU then executes the boot loader from the internal RAM to load the control program.

A mass storage memory card adds functionality to host devices with which it is used. In addition to the ability to store large amounts of user files and protect them from unauthorized duplication, a mass storage device according to the present invention enables near field communications with a portable electronic device that otherwise does not have such functionality. In a preferred embodiment the mass storage device has a mother / daughter configuration wherein the daughter card is a fully functioning micro-SD card that can be used independently. The mother card can be accepted in an SD card slot and communicates via the SD protocol. Whether or not the daughter card is present in the mother card, a host with the mass storage device therein will be capable of near field communications. These communications can be peer to peer or can be used to purchase goods or services as a sort of electronic wallet. A controller of the device is also operable to coordinate, control, and safeguard the financial transactions made when using the device and host as an electronic wallet.

A drug dispensing device is comprised of an upper hopper having an upper opening for receiving a medicament and a lower opening. A lid covers the upper opening. A lower hopper having an upper opening and a lower opening in a bottom portion thereof is provided. The upper hopper defines a bulk storage chamber and the lower hopper defines a dispensing chamber. A rotatable dispensing disc is positioned in a lower portion of the dispensing chamber for dispensing medicament from the drug dispensing device through the lower opening in the lower hopper. A regulator is situated between the bulk storage chamber and the dispensing chamber for controlling the rate at which medicament moves from the storage chamber to the dispensing chamber. The regulator may take a variety of forms. In one embodiment, the regulator includes a valve for controlling the flow of medicament from the storage chamber to the dispensing chamber. The valve may include a member responsive to the volume of medicament in the dispensing chamber for controlling the position of the valve. The valve and member may include a trap door valve and a float, a butterfly valve and a rotatable arm, a guillotine valve and a movable arm, and a conical plunger and a wing extending from the base of the plunger. In another embodiment, the regulator may include a rotatable member having an opening therein. The rotatable member may include a cylindrical wall having an opening in a portion thereof, a plate having an opening therein, a cup shaped member defining an opening and a pair of rotatable members which together define at least one opening therein. The regulator may be configured such that the rate at which medicament moves from the storage chamber to the dispensing chamber is never zero. Further, agitating members may be provided which extend toward the upper hopper. Methods of operation are also disclosed.

A method to circumvent malicious software via a system configured to bypass a device driver stack and, consequently, also bypass the malicious software that may be adversely affecting the device driver stack by using an alternative stack such as a crash dump I / O stack. The crash dump I / O stack is poorly documented relative to the device driver stack and functions independently from the device driver stack.

A digital home audiovisual Information recording and playback apparatus includes a microprocessor associated, through a digital interface, with a display, through another interface with sound playback structure and through a telecommunications interface with structure for loading audio selection or visual selection digital information. The system includes structure for controlling the display, enabling an operating mode to be selected from a menu of three modes, in which the device either plays back information stored in its mass memory, records new digitized information in its mass memory or combines analog information from a microphone with digitizer information received from the mass memory.

A virtual appliance environment (VAE) consists of components residing on a computer BIOS ROM and also on a mass storage device. The VAE includes a virtual appliance (VA) for diagnosing malfunctioning hardware or software. The VA for diagnosing malfunctions tests the hardware and / or software resident in the computer and transmits the results of the test to a server, which diagnoses the problem and transmits instructions to the VAE for saving the data, determining whether the computer is under warranty, and providing shipping information to a user. The VAE can also download a VA for scanning viruses. The VAE transmits the results of the virus scan to the server, which determines the type of virus infecting the computer and transmits instructions to the virtual appliance for downloading the appropriate VA for removing the virus. The VAE can save the data to another source, remove the virus, and restore the data or simply remove the virus.

A process of selecting a recording on an audiovisual reproduction system consists of displaying a number of windows on a touch screen as an interface with a user. Items of information are stored in a bulk memory and are representative of an image of the album cover that is associated with each window and whose corresponding musical recording is stored in the bulk memory of the reproduction system. Each zone of a window is associated, via the touch-screen interface software, with at least one address for accessing the items of information in the database that is stored in the bulk memory belonging to the album cover whose image is displayed in the window that is touched by the user.

A data storage device is provided. A disk device is combined with a non-volatile memory device to provide much shorter write access time and much higher data write speed than can be achieved with a disk device alone. Interleaving bursts of sector writes between the two storage devices can effectively eliminate the effect of the seek time of the disk device. Following a non-contiguous logical address transition from a host system, the storage controller can perform a look-ahead seek operation on the disk device, while writing current data to the non-volatile memory device. Such a system can exploit the inherently faster write access characteristics of a non-volatile memory device, eliminating the dead time normally caused by the disk seek time.

A method to circumvent malicious software via a system configured to bypass a device driver stack and, consequently, also bypass the malicious software that may be adversely affecting the device driver stack by using an alternative stack such as a crash dump I / O stack. The crash dump I / O stack is poorly documented relative to the device driver stack and functions independently from the device driver stack.

A solid-state mass storage device and method of anticipating a failure of the mass storage device resulting from a memory device of the mass storage device reaching a write endurance limit. A procedure is then initiated to back up data to a second mass storage device prior to failure. The method includes assigning at least a first memory block of the memory device as a wear indicator, using other memory blocks of the memory device as data blocks for data storage, performing program / erase (P / E) cycles and wear leveling on the data blocks, subjecting the wear indicator to more P / E cycles than the data blocks, performing integrity checks and monitoring the bit error rate of the wear indicator, and taking corrective action if the bit error rate increases, including the initiation of the backup procedure and generating a request to replace the device.

The system includes a bin hopper which temporarily stores a plurality of small elements, such as medications. The elements are moved out of the bin and singulated into a one-by-one sequence by a series of singulating conveyors. The resulting sequence of elements is moved onto a main system conveyor where the element is identified and then moved to a loading mechanism which arranges the item so it is ready to be gripped and stored. The system includes a mass storage apparatus comprising a series of four upstanding cylindrical drums, each having a plurality of individually accessible and addressable cell storage locations for the elements. A gripping apparatus removes the elements from the loading mechanism and transfers them to a selected location in a cylindrical drum. When an article is to be dispensed, the drum is rotated so that an ejection arm comes adjacent the desired location in the drum. The ejector arm is actuated, pushing the small element out of its slot, into the center of the drum, where it falls onto a conveyor which moves the dispensed item from the system.

A Universal-Serial-Bus (USB) single-chip flash device contains a USB flash microcontroller and flash mass storage blocks containing flash memory arrays that are block-addressable rather than randomly-addressable. USB packets from a host USB bus are read by a serial engine on the USB flash microcontroller. Various routines that execute on a CPU in the USB flash microcontroller are activated in response to commands in the USB packets. A flash-memory controller in the USB flash microcontroller transfers data from the serial engine to the flash mass storage blocks for storage. Rather than boot from an internal ROM coupled to the CPU, a boot loader is transferred by DMA from the first page of the flash mass storage block to an internal RAM. The flash memory is automatically read from the first page at power-on. The CPU then executes the boot loader from the internal RAM to load the control program.

A flash-based data archive storage system having a large capacity storage array constructed from a plurality of dense flash devices is provided. The flash devices are illustratively multi-level cell (MLC) flash devices that are tightly packaged to provide a low-power, high-performance data archive system having substantially more capacity per cubic inch than more dense tape or disk drives. The flash-based data archive system may be adapted to employ conventional data de-duplication and compression methods to compactly store data. Furthermore, the flash-based archive system has a smaller footprint and consumes less power than the tape and / or disk archive system.

A portable, application-specific USB autorun device, following connection to a computer terminal, automatically initialises or presents itself as a known type of device and then automatically sends to the terminal a sequence of data complying with a standard protocol, that sequence of data automatically causing content to be accessed or a task to be initiated. The device (i) includes a standardised USB module that includes a USB microcontroller, the standardised module being designed to be attached to or embedded in multiple types of different, application specific packages but (ii) excludes mass memory storage for applications or end-user data.

One embodiment of the present invention provides a distributed, differential electronic-data backup and archiving system that includes client computers and cells. Client computers execute front-end-application components of the distributed, differential electronic-data backup and archiving system, the front-end application components receiving data objects from client computers and sending the received data objects to cells of the distributed, differential electronic-data backup and archiving system for storage. Cells within the distributed, differential electronic-data backup and archiving system store the data objects, each cell comprising at least one computer system with attached mass-storage and each cell storing entire data objects as lists that reference stored, unique data chunks within the cell, a cell storing all of the unique data chunks for all data objects stored in the cell.

A network storage device. In one embodiment, the network storage device of the present invention uses solid-state non-volatile memory (e.g., flash-memory) as a storage medium, and has at least one interface configured for coupling to a computer network. The network storage device of the present invention is accessible to client(s) and / or server(s) of the computer network, and uses solid-state non-volatile memory to store data received therefrom. The network storage device may also be configured to include a memory for caching data to be written to the solid-state non-volatile memory. In order to provide additional storage, the network storage device may also include a peripheral interface or another network interface for coupling to a mass storage device (e.g., a RAID system), and / or another network interface for coupling to a network of mass storage devices. The network storage device may be a stand-alone unit, or may be implemented as part of a network server, or as part of a mass storage device.

A new geometry ion trap and its use as a mass spectrometer is described. The ion traps can be combined linearly and in parallel to form systems for mass storage, analysis, fragmentation, separation, etc. of ions. The ion trap has a simple rectilinear geometry with a high trapping capacity. It can be operated to provide mass analysis in the mass-selective instability mode as well as the mass-selective stability mode. Arrays of multiple ion traps allow combinations of multiple gas-phase processes to be applied to the trapped ions to achieve high sensitivity, high selectivity and / or higher throughput in the analysis of ions.

A new geometry ion trap and its use as a mass spectrometer is described. The ion traps can be combined linearly and in parallel to form systems for mass storage, analysis, fragmentation, separation, etc. of ions. The ion trap has a simple rectilinear geometry with a high trapping capacity. It can be operated to provide mass analysis in the mass-selective instability mode as well as the mass-selective stability mode. Arrays of multiple ion traps allow combinations of multiple gas-phase processes to be applied to the trapped ions to achieve high sensitivity, high selectivity and / or higher throughput in the analysis of ions.