DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application 17/685,259 was filed on March 2, 2022, and claims priority from Japanese Application 2021-072646, filed on April 22, 2021.
The effective filing date is after the AIA date of March 16, 2013, and so the application is being examined under the “first inventor to file” provisions of the AIA .
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant's claim for foreign priority, based on Japanese Application 2021-072646, filed on April 22, 2021. On April 5, 2022, the certified priority document was electronically retrieved by USPTO from WIPO.
The Examiner acknowledges receipt of certified copies of the papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Status of the Application
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 03/03/2026 has been entered.
This Non-Final Office Action is in response to Applicant’s communication of 03/03/2026.
Claims 1 and 5-10 are pending, of which claims 1, 9, and 10 are independent.
In the most recent amendment, independent claims 1, 9, and 10 have been amended. Claims 2-4 have been cancelled.
All pending claims have been examined on the merits.
Information Disclosure Statement
The Information Disclosure Statement (IDS) submitted on 04/27/2026 have been considered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 1 and 5-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. §101 because the claimed invention is directed to non-statutory subject matter. The claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea, without “significantly more”.
Based on the flowchart in MPEP § 2106, Step 1 of the Alice/Mayo analysis is: “Is the claim to a process, machine, manufacture or composition of matter?”
In regards to Step 1 of the Alice/Mayo analysis, independent claim 1 is an apparatus claim, claim 9 is a method claim, and claim 10 is an article of manufacture claim or product by process claim (“non-transitory computer readable medium”).
For the sake of compact prosecution, we continue with the Alice/Mayo “abstract idea” analysis.
Based on the flowchart in MPEP § 2106, Step 2A of the Alice/Mayo analysis is: “Is the claim directed to a law of nature, a natural phenomenon (product of nature), or an abstract idea?”
In regards to Step 2A of the Alice/Mayo analysis, the abstract idea elements recited in independent claim 1 and dependent claims 2, 3, and 5-8 are shown in italic font. The “additional elements” and “extra solution steps” are shown in underlined and italic font:
1. (Currently Amended) An information processing device, comprising:
a memory configured to store therein time-series data including one or more variables used for a thermal fluid analysis of a power electronic apparatus including a heat sink and an electronic apparatus, wherein the one or more variables include temperature at a plurality of nodes on the heat sink, wind velocity of a fan that blows air to the heat sink, and heat generation amount of one or more chips included in the electronic apparatus, and wherein the time-series data is calculated using varied time steps of different lengths;
one or more processors coupled to the memory and configured to:
calculate one or more time differential values of the one or more variables;
calculate one or more differences representing variation of the one or more variables from an initial value;
generate a nonlinear function based on the one or more variables, and
generate a linear regression equation by using the nonlinear function as a basis function;
estimate a coefficient of the linear regression equation by machine learning in which the time differential values and the differences are used as learning data;
output the linear regression equation as a thermal model of the power electronic apparatus; and
input data including wind velocity and heat generation amount into the thermal model to predict temperature change at one or more nodes in the power electronic apparatus,
wherein the one or more variables include at least one of a dependent variable and an independent variable, and
a total sum of the time differential values included in the learning data is greater than a total sum of the differences.
2-4. (Cancelled)
5. The device according to claim 1, wherein a left-hand side of the linear regression equation is a time differential of the dependent variable.
6. The device according to claim 1, wherein each of the one or more variables includes an unnormalized value.
7. The device according to claim 1, wherein a value of each of the one or more variables is expressed by a unit unified for each physical quantity represented by a corresponding variable of the one or more variables.
8. The device according to claim 1, wherein the memory stores therein a plurality of types of the time-series data, and the types of time-series data are time-series data in which at least one of an initial condition and a boundary condition differs.
Moreover, claims 1 and 5-10 recite “Mathematical Concepts", specifically “Mathematical Relationships”, “Mathematical Formulas or Equations”, and “Mathematical Calculations”, as discussed in MPEP §2106.04(a)(2) Part (IV), and in the 2019 Revised Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance.
The mathematic elements include:
In claim 1:
“calculate one or more time differential values of the one or more variables”,
“calculate one or more differences representing variation of the one or more variables from an initial value”,
“generate a nonlinear function based on the one or more variables”,
“generate a linear regression equation by using the nonlinear function as a basis function”,
“estimate a coefficient of the linear regression equation by machine learning in which the time differential values and the differences are used as learning data”,
“predict temperature change at one or more nodes in the power electronic apparatus”,
“wherein the one or more variables include at least one of a dependent variable and an independent variable”, and
“a total sum of the time differential values included in the learning data is greater than a total sum of the differences”.
In claim 2: “wherein a total sum of the time differential values included in the learning data is greater than a total sum of the differences”.
In claim 3: “generate a nonlinear function based on the one or more variables” and “generate the linear regression equation by using the nonlinear function as a basis function”.
In claim 5: “wherein a left-hand side of the linear regression equation is a time differential of the dependent variable”.
In claim 6: “wherein each of the one or more variables includes an unnormalized value”.
In claim 7: “wherein a value of each of the one or more variables is expressed by a unit unified for each physical quantity represented by a corresponding variable of the one or more variables”.
In claim 8: “wherein the memory stores therein a plurality of types of the time-series data, and the types of time-series data are time-series data in which at least one of an initial condition and a boundary condition differs”.
Based on the flowchart in MPEP § 2106, Step 2B of the Alice/Mayo analysis is: “Does the claim recite additional elements that amount to significantly more than the judicial exception?”.
In regards to Step 2B of the Alice/Mayo analysis, the “additional elements” in independent claim 1 include: “a memory” and “one or more processors coupled to the memory”.
Moreover, “additional extra-solution elements” in independent claim 1 include: “store therein time-series data including one or more variables”, “output the linear regression equation as a thermal model of the power electronic apparatus”, and “input data including wind velocity and heat generation amount into the thermal model”.
This abstract idea is not integrated into a practical application, because:
The claim is directed to an abstract idea with additional generic computer elements. The generically recited computer elements (“a memory” and “one or more processors coupled to the memory”) do not add a meaningful limitation to the abstract idea, because they amount to simply implementing the abstract idea on a computer. The claim amounts to adding the words "apply it" (or an equivalent) with the abstract idea, or mere instructions to implement an abstract idea on a computer, or merely uses a computer as a tool to perform an abstract idea.
The extra-solution activities (“store therein time-series data including one or more variables”, “output the linear regression equation as a thermal model of the power electronic apparatus”, and “input data including wind velocity and heat generation amount into the thermal model”) do not add a meaningful limitation to the method, as they are insignificant extra-solution activity;
The combination of the abstract idea with the additional elements (generically recited computer elements), and/or with the extra-solution activities, does not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application.
The claims do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the abstract idea, because:
When considering the elements "alone and in combination" (“a memory” and “one or more processors coupled to the memory”), they do not add significantly more (also known as an "inventive concept") to the exception, because they amount to simply implementing the abstract idea on a computer. Instead, they merely add the words "apply it" (or an equivalent) with the abstract idea, or mere instructions to implement an abstract idea on a computer, or merely use a computer as a tool to perform an abstract idea.
In regards to the extra solution activities (“store therein time-series data including one or more variables”, “output the linear regression equation as a thermal model of the power electronic apparatus”, and “input data including wind velocity and heat generation amount into the thermal model”), these are recognized as such by the court decisions listed in MPEP § 2106.05(d).
More specifically, in regards to the “storing” step, see the court cases Versata Dev. Group, Inc. v. SAP Am., Inc., 793 F.3d 1306, 1334, 115 USPQ2d 1681, 1701 (Fed. Cir. 2015) (storing and retrieving information in memory); and OIP Techs., Inc., v. Amazon.com, Inc., 788 F.3d 1359, 1363, 115 USPQ2d 1090, 1092-93 (Fed. Cir. 2015) (storing and retrieving information in memory).
Moreover, in regards to the “outputting” and “inputting” steps, see Apple, Inc. v. Ameranth, Inc., 842 F.3d 1229, 120 U.S.P.Q.2d 1844 (Fed. Cir. 2016) (Holding that the claimed menu graphic user interface is an abstract idea under 35 USC §101, because claimant "[did] not claim a particular way of programming or designing the software to create menus that have these features, but instead merely claims the resulting systems").
The Examiner holds that the independent claims “use a computer or other machinery in its ordinary capacity for economic or other tasks (e.g., to receive, store, or transmit data)” or “simply add a general purpose computer or computer components after the fact to an abstract idea”.
Independent claims 9 and 10 are rejected on the same grounds as independent claim 1.
Independent claim 10 is also rejected on the grounds that it recites a non-transitory computer-readable medium, which is merely another generic computer component.
All dependent claims are also rejected, because they merely further define the abstract idea.
Response to Amendments
Re: Double Patenting
The Double Patenting rejections have been withdrawn, as necessitated by Applicant’s amendments to the independent claims.
Re: Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
The 35 USC § 101 rejections have been amended, as necessitated by Applicant’s amendments to the independent claims.
Re: Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The 35 USC § 103 rejections have been withdrawn, as necessitated by Applicant’s amendments to the independent claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Tomoyuki SUZUKI et al., "Physics-Informed Machine Learning for Surrogate Modeling of Heat Transfer Phenomena," J. Computational and Nonlinear Dynamics, Vol. 18, pp. 111001-1 to 111001-15 (Nov. 2023). This reference is cited in Applicant’s IDS filed on April 27, 2026. Its publication date is too recent to qualify as prior art in the present application.
CN-121601877-A. “Intelligent partition heating method and system suitable for new energy automobile battery”. (Published March 3, 2023). This reference’s publication date is too recent to qualify as prior art in the present application. See Abstract:
“An intelligent partition heating method and system suitable for a new energy automobile battery are provided, wherein the method comprises the steps of calculating heating efficiency coefficients of all partitions, taking the geometric center position of a region with the largest heating efficiency coefficient as a temperature inertia center, dividing a battery pack into an inner layer region and an outer layer region by the temperature inertia center, calculating a first temperature difference of the inner layer region and a second temperature difference of the outer layer region, taking the ratio of the first temperature difference to the second temperature difference as a heat dissipation calibration parameter, calculating temperature compensation coefficients of all the partitions, combining adjacent partitions with the temperature compensation coefficient difference smaller than a preset threshold value into the same heating unit, determining heating power according to the temperature compensation coefficients of the heating units, sequentially starting heaters of all the heating units according to the sequence of the temperature compensation coefficients, and heating and controlling the battery pack by the heating power. The application is used for improving the accuracy and efficiency of the heating control of the new energy automobile battery.”
KR-102503778-B1. “Method for Predicting Particle Size Produced by Vapor-Phase Synthesized”. (Published July 26, 2022). This reference’s publication date is too recent to qualify as prior art in the present application. See Abstract:
Applicants are invited to contact the Office to schedule an in-person interview to discuss and resolve the issues set forth in this Office Action. Although an interview is not required, the Office believes that an interview can be of use to resolve any issues related to a patent application in an efficient and prompt manner.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications should be directed to Examiner Ayal Sharon, whose telephone number is (571) 272-5614, and fax number is (571) 273-1794. The Examiner can normally be reached from Monday to Friday between 9 AM and 6 PM. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, SPE Christine Behncke can be reached at (571) 272-8103 or at christine.behncke@uspto.gov. The fax number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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Sincerely,
/Ayal I. Sharon/
Examiner, Art Unit 3695
May 13, 2026
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