International Business Machines Corporation

Robin Williams

Hui-I Hsiao

Glen G Langdon, Jr

Chung-Sheng Li

John Richard Smith

Sriram Kolinjivadi Padmanabhan

Yuan-Chi Chang

Lawrence David Bergman

David Mun-Hien Choy

Jy-Jine James Lin

Anant Deep Jhingran

Gene Y C Fuh

Richard G Casey

Henry Dexter Chadwick

Patrick E Mantey

John T Powers, Jr

Marc A Putterman

Frank R Moore

James M Hall

John F Bottomley

Alfred S Malowany

Gary M Giddings

Robert W Withers

Mark L Schaszberger

Henry D Chadwick

John T Powers

A scalable content management system manages searches from a local content manager and a plurality of remote content managers. A single scalable content manager manages data in a content repository or file system and its associated metadata in the same content repository or in a database, which will greatly simplify both content management logic and client application logic. The system architecture enables users to add scalable content managers as needed, which allows users to easily scale up the scalable content manager system, in both data size and user connection, as business grows. With the present scalable system architecture, a multi-node content management system will appear to be a single content management system to users, providing location transparency.

Scalable Content management system and method of using the same

Methods and apparatus for providing a multi-tier object-relational database architecture are disclosed. In one illustrative embodiment of the present invention, a multi-tier database architecture comprises an object-relational database engine as a top tier, one or more domain-specific extension modules as a bottom tier, and one or more universal extension modules as a middle tier. The individual extension modules of the bottom tier operationally connect with the one or more universal extension modules which, themselves, operationally connect with the database engine. The domain-specific extension modules preferably provide such functions as search, index, and retrieval services of images, video, audio, time series, web pages, text, XML, spatial data, etc. The domain-specific extension modules may include one or more IBM DB2 extenders, Oracle data cartridges and/or Informix datablades, although other domain-specific extension modules may be used.

Methods and apparatus for constructing and implementing a universal extension module for processing objects in a database

A data processing system is described for providing digital video information on subscriber demand, for very large video data files. The system enables rapid response to the requests by network subscribers, independent of the number of video files offered for selection. The data processing system is coupled through a data switch to a subscriber communications network.

Data server, control server and gateway architecture system and method

There is disclosed a method and means for increasing the positional accuracy of operator controlled cursors engaged in the digitized encoding of graphic information such as line drawings. The method steps comprise those of digitizing the instantaneous contact position between the cursor and the data entry surface as reference coordinates; detecting any segment of a colored object upon the surface within a predetermined area about the cursor; ascertaining the location within the area of the centroid or the like of the detected segment; and digitizing said ascertained location as a displacement from the reference coordinates. Apparatus for practicing the method comprises an independently actuable cursor formed from a position encoder and an image scanner, the scanner generating a Boolean coded array of points counterpart to a preselected surface area. The scanned array is first buffered and then used to actuate an operator viewable LED display of the scanned array on one hand and said array is sent to a CPU on the other hand. In turn, the CPU calculates the coordinates of the centroid of that array area of contiguous points having the same designated Boolean (color) 0 or 1 value. Signals representing the calculated coordinates generated by the CPU then cause the LED display to differentially indicate the calculated centroid location to the operator such as by way of a flashing display element.

Method and means for minimizing error between the manual digitizing of

An improved video display system is provided in which two color images are combinable in a dynamic and self-determining fashion to provide improved contrast, comprehension and display versatility. Two separate video signals that are to be used in generating a single display are converted into sequences of digitally encoded picture elements (pixels). Control signals are generated that are dependent upon the data content of the elements in at least one of the sequences, and these signals are used to govern the mode of combination of the two video signals for individual pixel sets. For example a first video signal of digital character and having varying pixel intensity may be transformed into color values for a first pseudocolor display. A second video signal, derived from an analog source, is digitized and is also transformed into pseudocolor, concurrent with the dynamic generation in real time of the data dependent control signals. Such control signals may be incorporated in either or both of the digitized data sequences, and the second video signal may be digitized with or without adjustment of intensity ranges within variable limits. The two transformed digital signal sequences are then arithmetically or logically combined in accordance with the functions defined by the data dependent control signals. For example, the signals may be added, ANDed, ORed, averaged, subtracted, or one or the other can be blocked, and these functions can be varied, dependent upon the data, in incremental fashion within the display. Consequently, the contrast between the two color images can be selectively enhanced, the data contained in the images can be much more clearly depicted in graphical form, and special effects can be obtained in versatile and discretionary fashion.

Multi-color video display systems using more than one signal source

Growing community of inventors

San Jose, CA, United States of America

Robin Williams