Detailed Action
The present application is being examined under the pre-AIA first to invent provisions.
This action is responsive to the communications filed 9/04/2025. As per the claims filed 8/25/2025 and 9/04/2025:
Claim 6 was amended 9/04/2025.
Claims 7-14 were initially added on 8/25/2025.
Claims 7-10, 13-14 were cancelled 9/04/2025.
Claims 1-6, 11-12 are pending.
Claim 1 is an independent claim.
This action is made Final.
Note on Prior Art
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1, 5-6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Simon Weishaupt et al (US PG Pub No 2020/0401463; filed: 06/24/2019)(hereinafter: Weishaupt).
Claim 1:
As per independent claim 1, Weishaupt discloses a control management device comprising:
a job input circuitry into which a job including a plurality of instructions to a controller is input [[0017-0019] multiple processes input into a controller];
a controller exclusive determination circuitry configured to determine whether or not the controller which is a target of an instruction included in the job is locked due to an ongoing exclusive process by another job, and, when the controller is locked, wait for the controller to be unlocked [[0033] SMMutex 135 is a mutual exclusion object or operand that provides both a locking capability using a lock position when a process acquires access to resource 140 and a wait position for a process that is next to acquire access to resource 140 when the process with access or holding the lock to resource 140 completes processing and exits the lock of SMMutex 135 by releasing a lock position of SMMutex 135. In various embodiments, SMMutex 135 provides a lock and a wait position. In these embodiments, lock management program 120, residing on each process requiring access to resource 140, is capable moving process identifiers of the various processes requiring access to resource 140 into or out the lock position and the wait position of SMMutex 135.]
a parameter value storage configured to, when an instruction to be executed next is writing of an exclusive process, store a value of writing target in the controller as an original data value and lock the controller [[0033] when lock management program 120 moves a process identifier of a process into the lock position of SMMutex 135, the process has gained access to the lock in SMMutex 135. With access to the lock in SMMutex 135, the process can exclusively execute resource 140. When the process in the lock position of SMMutex 135 completes processing, if the wait position of SMMutex 135 is occupied, then lock management program 120 residing on the process exits resource 140 and atomically or nearly simultaneously moves a process identifier of a process in the wait position into the lock position of SMMutex 135]
an instruction execution circuitry configured to notify the controller of the instruction to be executed next in the job and cause the instruction be executed by the controller [[0034] a new process requiring access can monitor SMMutex 135. In some cases, lock management program 120 can determine a new process requiring access to resource 140 has a higher priority than a process currently occupying the wait position in SMMutex 135]
a job completion determination circuitry configured to determine whether or not all instructions in the job have been completed [[0059]Lock management program 120 determines whether processing is complete (decision step 622). After acquiring the lock and beginning execution of resource 140, lock management program 120 may query either the process or resource 140 in order determine a status or a completion of execution of resource 140 by the process (e.g., the process on which lock management program 120 resides).] and
a parameter value restoration circuitry configured to restore the original data value to the controller after all the instructions in the job have been completed and unlock the controller [[0070] [0070] Responsive to determining that process is complete (yes branch of decision step 622), lock management program 120 releases the lock via a move of own process identifier from the wait position to the lock position (step 626)...lock management program 120 releases SMMutex 135 atomically by moving a process identifier of the process in the wait position to the lock position as lock management program 120 releases the lock that was held by OwnID process and the program ends.].
Claim 5:
As per claim 5, which depends on claim 1, Weishaupt discloses further comprising an execution condition determination circuitry configured to determine an execution condition given to the instruction to be executed next in the job, and change the instruction to be executed next based on a determination result [[0045] As depicted in FIG. 3, SMMutex 335 includes lock position 310A holding LockID 310 and wait position 320A holding WaitID 320, where LockID 310 is a process identifier of the process in lock position 310A holding the lock in SMMutex 135 for resource 140 and WaitID 320 is a process identifier for a process that is the process that will next access lock position 310A].
Claim 6:
As per claim 6, which depends on claim 5, Weishaupt discloses further wherein the execution condition includes an execution condition determination expression and an execution condition process, and the execution condition determination expression includes a determination expression that compares a value of a specified variable managed by the controller or the control management device with a specified value, and, the execution condition process is executed based on the determination result of the execution condition determination expression [[0051] Algorithm 570, used by lock management program 120, is depicted in FIG. 5B. Algorithm 570 is used by lock management program 120 to determine if a new process requesting resource 540 has a higher priority than a process in the wait position. If, as determined by algorithm 570 in lock management program 120, the new process with the process identifier of V1 sequence ID 500 has a higher priority then a process currently holding wait position 525B, then lock management program 120 replaces the process at the wait position with the new process that has the higher priority]. Value must be determined and compared to new value in order to execute the process based on the determination.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-4, 11, 12 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 9/04/2025 with regard to the claim rejections under 35 USC 102 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues: Weishaupt failed to specifically disclose “at least a parameter value storage configured to, when an instruction to be executed next is writing of an exclusive process, store a value of a writing target in the controller as an original data value and lock the controller; ...; and a parameter value restoration circuitry configured to restore the original data value to the controller after all the instructions in the job have been completed and unlock the controller.”
Applicant also argues “in Weishaupt, the only element that could be reasonably considered as the claimed controller is resource 140, because resource 140 is the singular, shared entity that processes acquire a lock for. The Office Action also appears to rely on resource 104 as the claimed controller”. The Examiner respectfully disagrees. The Examiner notes that the resource 140 is not interpreted as the controller. The controller is understood to be a hardware component, as such the Examiner is relying on the computer system of Weishaupt as the claimed controller. It is noted that the claim language does not preclude multiple controllers to be present.
Applicant further argues: “Upon review of Weishaupt, no value in resource 140 is ever stored and subsequently restored Weishaupt is concerned only with arbitrating access to the resource, not managing values in the resource.” The Examiner respectfully disagrees.
As shown in the office action, the SMMutex component of Weishaupt serves as the parameter value storage since it must at least temporarily store the process identifier of the process into the lock position.
Applicant further states: “The process identifier of Weishaupt is not "in the resource 140"; the process identifier is associated with an external process and is managed within the SMMutex 135 data structure, which resides in a shared MEMORY 130 separate from resource 140 itself. Furthermore, the process identifier is never restored to resource 140..” Again, the Examiner makes it clear that the resource 140 is not being relied upon to disclose the controller. Therefore this applicant argument, although correct, is moot.
Regarding Applicant argument that “Any movement of a process identifier, such as returning it to the wait position, is an internal queue management operation within the SMMutex; it is not an act of restoring data to resource 140. Therefore, Weishaupt fails to disclose at least the claimed parameter value storage and parameter value restoration circuitry.” The Examiner respectfully disagrees.
The Examiner did not suggest the data is restored to resource 140. Weishaupt clearly discloses lock management program releases SMMutex atomically by moving a process identifier of the process in the wait position to the lock position as lock management program releases the lock that was held by OwnID process. The Applicant has failed to articulate why moving the process identifier from the SMMutex locked to wait does not result in data being restored.
As such, the Examiner maintains Weishaupt anticipates the claimed invention.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Contact
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HOWARD CORTES whose telephone number is (571)270-1383. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F, 8:00 am - 5:00 pm EST.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Scott T Baderman can be reached on (571)272-3644. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/HOWARD CORTES/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2118