Patent 7257582

Prior art

Earlier patents, publications, and products that may anticipate or render the claims unpatentable.

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Prior art

Earlier patents, publications, and products that may anticipate or render the claims unpatentable.

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To identify the most relevant prior art for US Patent 7257582, I will examine the patent citations listed within the patent itself. The USPTO provides search tools to access patent information.

Here are the prior art references cited in US Patent 7257582, along with their details and potential anticipation:

Patent Citations (Cited by Examiner)

  1. US5357632A

    • Full Citation: US5357632A - Dynamic task allocation in a multi-processor system employing distributed control processors and distributed arithmetic processors
    • Publication Date: 1994-10-18
    • Filing Date: 1990-01-09
    • Brief Description: This patent describes a multiprocessor system with dynamic task allocation, where control processors distribute tasks to arithmetic processors. It focuses on efficiently utilizing resources by dynamically assigning tasks based on system load.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): US5357632A potentially anticipates claims relating to distributing tasks to a plurality of processors and the efficient use of heterogeneous systems. Specifically, it could anticipate elements of claim 1 regarding "distributing descriptions of all of said partitions to each of a plurality of subtask processors" and "simultaneously executing at least a respective one of the subtasks... in each of at least some of said processors". The concept of dynamic task allocation based on load also aligns with the load balancing objective of US7257582.

  2. US5603028A

    • Full Citation: US5603028A - Method and apparatus for data distribution
    • Publication Date: 1997-02-11
    • Filing Date: 1992-03-02
    • Brief Description: This patent describes a method and apparatus for distributing data, particularly in a parallel processing environment. It focuses on efficient data handling for parallel computation.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): US5603028A could potentially anticipate the logical subdivision of data and its distribution to processors as described in claim 1, particularly steps (a) "automatically determining file allocation and logically subdividing records of said input file into a plurality of partitions" and (b) "distributing descriptions of all of said partitions to each of a plurality of subtask processors".

  3. US5835755A

    • Full Citation: US5835755A - Multi-processor computer system for operating parallel client/server database processes
    • Publication Date: 1998-11-10
    • Filing Date: 1994-04-04
    • Brief Description: This patent describes a multiprocessor computer system designed for parallel client/server database processes. It focuses on managing and executing database operations across multiple processors.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): Given its focus on parallel database processes, US5835755A could potentially anticipate aspects of US7257582, especially claim 11 which states "wherein said computer-executable process includes a database query." The general concept of parallel processing for database operations might touch upon distributing tasks and combining results, relevant to steps (c) and (e) of claim 1.

  4. US5926833A

    • Full Citation: US5926833A - Method and system allowing direct data access to a shared data storage subsystem by heterogeneous computing systems
    • Publication Date: 1999-07-20
    • Filing Date: 1997-03-24
    • Brief Description: This patent describes a method and system that allows heterogeneous computing systems to directly access a shared data storage subsystem. This is highly relevant to the "shared data" aspect of US7257582.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This reference is highly relevant to the core concept of US7257582, particularly the enablement of "sharing data and workload between possibly heterogeneous computer systems" as stated in the background and the detailed description. It could anticipate the ability of different processors to access the input file, which is implicitly required by claim 1's steps (b) and (c). It directly addresses a key enablement of US7257582, which is the assumption that input and output files are shared by potentially heterogeneous systems.

  5. US6061067A

    • Full Citation: US6061067A - Applying modifiers to objects based on the types of the objects
    • Publication Date: 2000-05-09
    • Filing Date: 1996-08-02
    • Brief Description: This patent describes a method for applying modifiers to objects based on their types. While not directly related to load balancing, it deals with object-oriented processing.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent appears less directly related to the core load-balancing and distributed processing aspects of US7257582. However, if the "records" in US7257582's claim 1 are considered "objects" and the "processing" involves applying "modifiers" based on their "types," there might be a very tangential overlap, potentially anticipating the "processing the respective partition" part of step (c) if interpreted broadly. Its relevance seems weak without further context.

  6. US6275867B1

    • Full Citation: US6275867B1 - Operation-partitioned off-loading of operations in a distributed environment
    • Publication Date: 2001-08-14
    • Filing Date: 1995-09-12
    • Brief Description: This patent describes off-loading operations in a distributed environment by partitioning the operations. This aligns closely with the concept of distributing subtasks in US7257582.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This reference is highly relevant. It directly addresses the partitioning of operations and off-loading them in a distributed environment, which strongly aligns with claim 1, particularly steps (a) "logically subdividing records of said input file into a plurality of partitions" and (b) "distributing descriptions of all of said partitions to each of a plurality of subtask processors." It also relates to the execution of subtasks in different processors.

Family Cites Families (Cited by Examiner)

  1. US5493643A

    • Full Citation: US5493643A - Image generator architecture employing tri-level fixed interleave processing and distribution buses
    • Publication Date: 1996-02-20
    • Filing Date: 1994-05-03
    • Brief Description: This patent describes an image generator architecture that uses tri-level fixed interleave processing and distribution buses. It relates to parallel processing for image generation.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): While specific to image processing, the concept of "fixed interleave processing and distribution" could be seen as a form of task distribution among multiple processing elements. This might generally anticipate the distribution and parallel execution of subtasks as in claim 1, particularly steps (b) and (c), though the application domain is different.

  2. US5819021A

    • Full Citation: US5819021A - Overpartitioning system and method for increasing checkpoints in component-based parallel applications
    • Publication Date: 1998-10-06
    • Filing Date: 1995-12-11
    • Brief Description: This patent describes an overpartitioning system for increasing checkpoints in component-based parallel applications. It deals with partitioning for fault tolerance and recovery in parallel processing.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This reference is very relevant due to its focus on "overpartitioning" in "parallel applications." It clearly anticipates the concept of logically subdividing tasks into a plurality of partitions (claim 1, step a) and distributing them for parallel execution (claim 1, steps b, c, d). The motivation might be different (checkpoints/fault tolerance vs. load balancing), but the underlying mechanism of partitioning and distributed processing is similar.

  3. US6560701B1

    • Full Citation: US6560701B1 - Alternate boot record
    • Publication Date: 2003-05-06
    • Filing Date: 1997-02-10
    • Brief Description: This patent describes an alternate boot record. This is a system-level feature not directly related to load balancing of application-level processes.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent appears to have no direct relevance to the claims of US7257582 and is unlikely to anticipate any of its claims.

  4. US6480876B2

    • Full Citation: US6480876B2 - System for integrating task and data parallelism in dynamic applications
    • Publication Date: 2002-11-12
    • Filing Date: 1998-05-28
    • Brief Description: This patent describes a system for integrating task and data parallelism in dynamic applications. It directly addresses both task and data parallelism, which are central to US7257582.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This reference is highly relevant. The integration of "task and data parallelism" directly anticipates the core concept of US7257582, which involves logically subdividing data into partitions and distributing subtasks to processors. This could anticipate numerous elements of claim 1, particularly steps (a), (b), (c), and (d).

  5. JP3640580B2

    • Full Citation: JP3640580B2 - Sort / merge processor
    • Publication Date: 2005-04-20
    • Filing Date: 1999-11-11
    • Brief Description: This patent describes a sort/merge processor. Sorting is explicitly mentioned as a key application of US7257582.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This reference is highly relevant, especially for claim 8, which states "wherein said computer-executable process is a sort process." A sort/merge processor would inherently involve partitioning data, processing it (sorting), and then merging the results, directly anticipating elements of claim 1, particularly steps (a), (c), and (e) within the context of a sort process.

Generated 5/29/2026, 8:34:15 PM