DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s amendments to the claims, filed 11/24/2025, are accepted and
appreciated by the examiner. Examiner agrees with Applicant that the amended claims do not introduce new matter, with support found in the specification as amended on 07/17/2025.
Applicant's arguments (11/24/2025) have been carefully reviewed and fully considered but are not persuasive.
In consideration of Applicant’s arguments (Pg. 6, II) regarding rejection of Claims 1-4 and 7-20 under provisional double patenting, Examiner acknowledges Applicant’s request to hold the double patenting rejections in abeyance. Examiner maintains non-statutory provisional double patenting rejection over Claims 1-4, and 7-20 of co-pending Application #18/063,135, and in view of secondary references, based on review of amendments and analogous amendments to co-pending application (#18/063,135), as detailed in evidentiary discussion included below.
In consideration of arguments regarding rejection under 35 USC § 103 of 1-4 and 7-20 as currently amended (11/24/2025), arguments are unpersuasive. Examiner notes that Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection. Detailed response to arguments is presented below.
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer.
Claims 1-4 and 7-20 are provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over Claims 1-4 and 7-20 (as amended on 07/18/2025) of co-pending Application No. 18/063135 (published as VARMA (US 20240192749 A1), in view of DENT (US 20200028447 A1), DONOVAN (US 20220250508 A1), and ECKERT (US 20170052229 A1).
Explanation of obviousness analysis
Detailed explanation for the basis of an obviousness-type double patenting rejection for Claims 1-4 and 7-20 of the instant application as being not patently distinct from the corresponding co-pending patent Claims 1-4 and 7-20 is presented. Limitations are not patentably distinct from each other in view of “obviousness-type” double patenting rationale enunciated in Georgia Pacific Crop v United States Gypsum Co., 52 USPQ2d 1590, U.S. Court of Appeals Federal Circuit 1999. . Evaluation of instant application in view of referenced co-pending application reveals claim limitations merely define an obvious variation of the invention claimed in the co-pending application, in view of prior art references noted above. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because, in view of prior art, differences in claim limitation language between instant application and those found in co-pending application disclose related, analogous terms which are determined by analogous method and system, as discussed in detail below.
Analysis of the similarities and differences between instant application claim set and reference co-pending claim set reveals the instant application and the referenced co-pending Application No. 18/063716 disclose the same inventive entity with the same Assignee. In evaluation of double patenting, Examiner leans on guidance from In re Berg, 140 F.3d1428, 1431, 46 USPQ2d 1226, 1229 (Fed. Cir. 1998). Specifically, examiner considers the question: “Is any invention claimed in the application an obvious variation of an invention claimed in the co-pending application?” (See MPEP 804 paragraph II. B.) In seeking the answer to the posed question, each claim in the instant application was construed with the claims in the referenced co-pending application to determine differences, and whether identified differences render the claims patentably distinct using an obviousness analysis. See Pfizer, Inc. v. Teva Pharms. USA, Inc., 518 F.3d 1353, 1363, 86 USPQ2d 1001, 1008 (Fed. Cir. 2008). Examiner notes that the co-pending application may not be used as though it were prior art for obviousness considerations and that the scope of the reference claims must be properly considered. Guidance regarding obviousness analysis (MPEP 804 II., B. (3.)) was used, including:
Even though the specification of the applied patent or co-pending application is not prior art, it may still be used to interpret the applied claims. (See MPEP 804, paragraph II.B.1)
While not viewing the co-pending application as prior art, in view of the similarities, the factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966) that are applied for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 were considered in nonstatutory double patenting analysis based on "obviousness." (Further guidelines for obviousness are found in MPEP § 2141).
In providing rational for the nonstatutory double patenting rejection, factual inquiries in this regard are presented using four steps for guidance:
(A) The scope and content of claims in the instant application, relative to claims in co-pending application are determined;
(B) Differences between scope and content of claims in the instant application, relative to claims in co-pending application as determined in (A) are determined;
(C) The level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art is determined; and
(D) Objective indicia of nonobviousness was considered. (See MPEP 716.01)
Further, under these guiding tenants, obviousness analysis supporting the nonstatutory double patenting rejection will address two key factors: a) Explication of differences between the inventions defined by analysis of differences in claims, and b) Clear rationale why a person of ordinary skill in the art would conclude that the Applicant’s claimed invention as defined by claims in the instant application would be considered an obvious variation of the invention defined in the co-pending referenced application.
Claims 1-4 and 7-20 (as currently amended) for instant application and referenced co-pending application (as currently amended) are shown in Table1, below for side-by-side, claim-to-claim, comparison, with instant application claims in column 1 and co-pending application claims in column 2. Examiner notes added emphasis to highlight identified differences between claims 1, 19, and 20, along with dependent claims 4, 7, 17, and 18, identically numbered claims in co-pending application (#18/063135), shown in bold underline text.
Table 1: Side-by-side claim limitation recitation
Instant Application #18/063716
Pub: VARMA (US 20240192281 A1)
Co-Pending Application #18/063135
PUB: VARMA (US 20240192749 A1)
CLAIM 1 (Previously Presented)
An Information Handling System (IHS), comprising:
a heterogeneous computing platform
comprising a plurality of devices; and
a memory coupled to the heterogeneous
computing platform,
wherein the memory comprises firmware
instructions that, upon execution by at least one of the plurality of devices, causes the at least one device to operate as an orchestrator configured to:
detect a battery's State-of-Charge or
Depth-of-Discharge,
wherein to detect the battery's State-of
Charge or Depth-of-Discharge, the orchestrator is configured to receive a message from a firmware service executed by another one of the plurality of devices,
wherein the another one of the plurality of devices comprises an audio Digital Signal Processor (aDSP),
wherein the message comprises data processed by the aDSP and received from a battery management unit (BMU), and
wherein the data corresponds to the battery's State-of-Charge or Depth-of-Discharge sensed by the BMU; and
in response to the detection, select an Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) thermal zone setting.
CLAIM 1 (Previously Presented)
An Information Handling System (IHS), comprising:
a heterogeneous computing platform
comprising a plurality of devices; and
a memory coupled to the heterogeneous computing platform,
wherein the memory comprises firmware instructions that, upon execution by at least one of the plurality of devices, causes the at least one device to operate as an orchestrator configured to:
detect an overcurrent or undervoltage condition
wherein to detect the overcurrent or undervoltage condition, the orchestratoris configured to receive a message from a firmware service executed by another one of the plurality of devices,
wherein the another one of the plurality of devices comprises an audio Digital Signal Processor (aDSP),
wherein the message comprises data processed by the aDSP and received from a battery management unit (BMU), and
wherein the data corresponds to the overcurrent or undervoltage condition sensed by the BMU; and
in response to the detection, select an Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) thermal zone setting.
CLAIM 2 (Original)
The IHS of claim 1, wherein the heterogeneous computing platform comprises: a System-On-Chip (SoC), a Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), or an Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC).
CLAIM 2 (Original)
The IHS of claim 1, wherein the heterogeneous computing platform comprises: a System-On-Chip (SoC), a Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), or an Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC).
CLAIM 3 (Original)
The IHS of claim 1, wherein the orchestrator comprises at least one of: a sensing hub, an Embedded Controller (EC), or a Baseboard Management Controller (BMC).
CLAIM 3 (Original)
The IHS of claim 1, wherein the orchestrator comprises at least one of: a sensing hub, an Embedded Controller (EC), or a Baseboard Management Controller (BMC).
CLAIM 4 (Currently amended)
The IHS of claim 1, wherein the orchestrator is configured to receive the message from the firmware service via an Application Programming Interface (API) without any involvement by any host Operating System (OS).
CLAIM 4 (Currently amended)
The IHS of claim 1, wherein the orchestrator is configured to receive the message from the firmware service via an Application Programming Interface (API) without any involvement by any host Operating System (OS).
CLAIM 5 (Cancelled)
CLAIM 5 (Cancelled)
CLAIM 6 (Cancelled)
CLAIM 6 (Cancelled)
CLAIM 7 (Original)
The IHS of claim 1, wherein to select the ACPI thermal zone setting, the orchestrator is configured to compare the battery’s State-of-Charge or Depth-of-Discharge against a threshold value, and, in response to the battery’s State-of-Charge or Depth-of-Discharge meeting the threshold value, select the ACPI thermal zone setting.
CLAIM 7 (Original)
The IHS of claim 1, wherein to select the ACPI thermal zone setting, the orchestrator is configured to compare the overcurrent or undervoltage condition against a threshold value, and, in response to the overcurrent or undervoltage condition meeting the threshold value, select the ACPI thermal zone setting.
CLAIM 8 (Original)
The IHS of claim 1, wherein the ACPI thermal zone setting comprises an identification of one or more devices included in an ACPI thermal zone.
CLAIM 8 (Original)
The IHS of claim 1, wherein the ACPI thermal zone setting comprises an identification of one or more devices included in an ACPI thermal zone.
CLAIM 9 (Previously Presented)
The IHS of claim 8, wherein the one or more devices comprise at least one of: a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), a high- performance Al device, a low-power Al device, a Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe) controller, a Video Processing Unit (VPU), a display controller, a peripheral device, a memory controller, or the aDSP.
CLAIM 9 (Previously Presented)
The IHS of claim 8, wherein the one or more devices comprise at least one of: a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), a high- performance Al device, a low-power Al device, a Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe) controller, a Video Processing Unit (VPU), a display controller, a peripheral device, a memory controller, or the aDSP.
CLAIM 10 (Original)
The IHS of claim 1, wherein the ACPI thermal zone setting comprises an identification of a temperature sensor associated with an ACPI thermal zone.
CLAIM 10 (Original)
The IHS of claim 1, wherein the ACPI thermal zone setting comprises an identification of a temperature sensor associated with an ACPI thermal zone.
CLAIM 11 (Original)
The IHS of claim 1, wherein the ACPI thermal zone setting comprises a trip point associated with an ACPI thermal zone.
CLAIM 11 (Original)
The IHS of claim 1, wherein the ACPI thermal zone setting comprises a trip point associated with an ACPI thermal zone.
CLAIM 12 (Original)
The IHS of claim 1, wherein the ACPI thermal zone setting comprises a mitigation action associated with an ACPI thermal zone.
CLAIM 12 (Original)
The IHS of claim 1, wherein the ACPI thermal zone setting comprises a mitigation action associated with an ACPI thermal zone.
CLAIM 13 (Original)
The IHS of claim 1, wherein the orchestrator is configured to select the ACPI thermal zone setting based, at least in part, upon context or telemetry data.
CLAIM 13 (Original)
The IHS of claim 1, wherein the orchestrator is configured to select the ACPI thermal zone setting based, at least in part, upon context or telemetry data.
CLAIM 14 (Currently Amended)
The IHS of claim 13, wherein the context or telemetry data comprises a metric indicative of at least one of: a memory utilization, a network utilization, a battery utilization, or a peripheral device utilization, a presence of the user, an engagement of the user, an IHS location, or an IHS posture.
CLAIM 14 (Currently Amended)
The IHS of claim 13, wherein the context or telemetry data comprises a metric indicative of at least one of: a memory utilization, a network utilization, a battery utilization, or a peripheral device utilization, a presence of the user, an engagement of the user, an IHS location, or an IHS posture.
CLAIM 15 (Original)
The IHS of claim 13, wherein the context or telemetry data comprises: a service tag, a serial number, or a device identification.
CLAIM 15 (Original)
The IHS of claim 13, wherein the context or telemetry data comprises: a service tag, a serial number, or a device identification.
CLAIM 16 (Previously Presented)
The IHS of claim 1, wherein the orchestrator is configured to send another message to a host Operating System (OS) with an indication of the selected ACPI thermal zone setting.
CLAIM 16 (Previously Presented)
The IHS of claim 1, wherein the orchestrator is configured to send another message to a host Operating System (OS) with an indication of the selected ACPI thermal zone setting.
CLAIM 17 (Original)
The IHS of claim 1, wherein to modify the ACPI thermal zone setting, the orchestrator is further configured to receive a policy from an Information Technology Decision Maker (ITDM) or Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM).
CLAIM 17 (Original)
The IHS of claim 1, wherein to modify the ACPI thermal zone setting, the orchestrator is configured to receive a policy from an Information Technology Decision Maker (ITDM) or Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM).
CLAIM 18 (Original)
The IHS of claim 17, wherein the policy associates the battery’s State-of-Charge or Depth-of-Discharge with the ACPI thermal zone setting.
CLAIM 18 (Original)
The IHS of claim 17, wherein the policy associates the overcurrent or undervoltage condition with the ACPI thermal zone setting.
CLAIM 19 (Previously Presented)
A memory coupled to a heterogeneous computing platform in an Information Handling System (IHS),
wherein the heterogeneous computing platform comprises a plurality of devices, wherein the memory is configured to receive a plurality of sets of firmware instructions,
wherein each set of firmware instructions, upon execution by a respective device among the plurality of devices, enables the respective device to provide a corresponding firmware service, and
wherein at least one of the plurality of devices operates as an orchestrator configured to:
detect a battery's Depth-of-Discharge,
wherein to detect the battery's Depth-of- Discharge, the orchestrator is configured to receive a message from a firmware service executed by another one of the plurality of devices,
wherein the another one of the plurality of devices comprises an audio Digital Signal Processor (aDSP),
wherein the message comprises data processed by the aDSP and received from a battery management unit (BMU), and
wherein the data corresponds to the battery's Depth-of-Discharge sensed by the BMU; and
in response to the detection, select a thermal zone setting.
CLAIM 19 (Previously Presented)
A memory coupled to a heterogeneous computing platform in an Information Handling System (IHS),
wherein the heterogeneous computing platform comprises
a plurality of devices, wherein the memory is configured to receive a plurality of sets of firmware instructions,
wherein each set of firmware instructions, upon execution by a respective device among the plurality of devices, enables the respective device to provide a corresponding firmware service, and
wherein at least one of the plurality of devices operates as an orchestrator configured to:
detect an overcurrent condition;
wherein to detect the overcurrent condition, the orchestrator is configured to receive a message from a firmware service executed by another one of the plurality of devices,
wherein the another one of the plurality of devices comprises an audio Digital Signal Processor (aDSP),
wherein the message comprises data processed by the aDSP and received from a battery management unit (BMU), and
wherein the data corresponds to the overcurrent condition sensed by the BMU; and
in response to the detection, select a thermal zone setting.
CLAIM 20 (Previously Presented)
A method, comprising:
receiving an indication of a battery's State-of-Charge or Depth-of-Discharge at a heterogeneous computing platform,
wherein the heterogeneous computing platform comprises a plurality of devices and a memory,
wherein the memory is configured to receive a plurality of sets of firmware instructions,
wherein each set of firmware instructions, upon execution by a respective device among the plurality of devices, enables the respective device to provide a corresponding firmware service,
wherein the indication is received via a message from a firmware service executed by another one of the plurality of devices,
wherein the another one of the plurality of devices comprises an audio Digital Signal Processor (aDSP),
wherein the message comprises data processed by the aDSP and received from a battery management unit (BMU), and wherein the data corresponds to the battery's State-of-Charge or Depth-of-Discharge sensed by the BMU; and
modifying a thermal zone setting that corresponds to the battery's State-of-Charge or Depth-of-Discharge.
CLAIM 20 (Previously Presented)
A method, comprising:
receiving an indication of an undervoltage condition at a heterogeneous computing platform,
wherein the heterogeneous computing platform comprises a plurality of devices and a memory,
wherein the memory is configured to receive a plurality of sets of firmware instructions,
wherein each set of firmware instructions, upon execution by a respective device among the plurality of devices, enables the respective device to provide a corresponding firmware service,
wherein the indication is received via a message from a firmware service executed by another one of the plurality of devices,
wherein the another one of the plurality of devices comprises an audio Digital Signal Processor (aDSP),
wherein the message comprises data processed by the aDSP and received from a battery management unit (BMU), and wherein the data corresponds to the undervoltage condition sensed by the BMU; and
modifying a thermal zone setting that corresponds to the undervoltage condition.
In consideration and analysis for obviousness for independent Claims 1, 19, and 20, Examiner finds the difference in wording to be the terms “State of Charge” and “Depth of Discharge”, as recited in the instant application, as compared with “overcurrent and undervoltage condition”, as recited in co-pending application. All other components and functions as recited within independent claims 1, 19, and 20 of the instant application as compared with the co-pending application are identical.
Specifically Claim 1, in both instant application and co-pending application, is directed to describing components and function of an Information Handling System (IHS), with identical structural components, with the difference found in language cited above to be indicating data of “State of Charge or Depth of Discharge” (instant application), or “overcurrent or undervoltage condition” (co-pending application). Bothe claims recite data collection directed by identical “the orchestrator” which receives messages from an identical set of “plurality of devices”. Moreover, the final step describing the IHS for both the instant applicant and the co-pending application is “in response to the detection, select an Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) thermal zone setting”.
To support and validate nexus between the Claim 1 terms “undervoltage and overcurrent” (instant application) and “State of Charge and Depth of Discharge” (co-pending application), Examiner considered the following references as evidence:
DENT (US 20200028447 A1): teaching measurement of fault conditions, [106]: “detection of any of the following fault conditions:…[0107]Over- or undervoltage at the DC input [0108]Overcurrent from the DC supply”; and [0135]: “it is desirable to avoid 100% depth of discharge on a regular basis”; and [0138]: “monitor the battery voltage and optionally the battery net current…in order to keep the battery at an optimum state of charge.”
DONOVAN (US 20220250508 A1): teaches simultaneous measurement of
both “overcurrent or undervoltage” and “State of Charge” or “Depth of Discharge” in
context of the same technical field as both instant application and referenced co-
pending application, see [0074]: “controller configured to identify an operating condition of battery module 508 as a function of measurement datum…“operating condition” is a state and/or working order of a battery pack…may include a state of charge (SOC), a depth of discharge (DOD)…PMU 500 is configured to determine a critical event element if operating condition is outside of a predetermined threshold…“critical event element” is a failure and/or critical operating condition of a battery pack …may include an overcurrent, undercurrent, overvoltage, overheating, high moisture levels, byproduct presence, low SOC, high DOD, or the like…operating condition outside of the threshold is a critical operating condition that indicates that a battery pack is malfunctioning”.
ECKERT (US 20170052229 A1): teaching the connection between the
characteristics of “overcurrent or undervoltage” and “State of Charge or Depth of
Discharge” as related directly to system thermal properties, [0004]: “important
characteristics in this respect are the thermal load on the battery, the state of charge (SOC) and the time profile thereof, the number of charge and discharge cycles and the depth of the individual charge cycles. Moreover, critical events, such as e.g. overcurrent, exhaustive discharge, etc. may influence the service life.”
Based on the obvious physical relationship for parameters of “overcurrent condition”, “undervoltage condition” and “State of Charge”, “Depth of discharge”, as evidenced by examples of prior art, Examiner asserts one of ordinary skill in the art would understand an obvious connection between the claimed inventive concepts described in instant application, Claim 1 and referenced co-pending application Claim 1, making the limitations obvious variation of the same inventive concept. One of ordinary skill would understand the term “Depth of Discharge” as a measure (typically expressed as a percentage) of battery discharge relative to overall battery capacity (full charge state) as the complement of the term “State of Charge”. Likewise, “State of Charge” would be understood by one of ordinary skill as a representation of current capacity as a proportion of maximum capacity. One of ordinary skill would understand for “Depth of Discharge”, a requirement to monitor voltage over time (or cycles), and in the case of “State of Charge”, the requirement may also include monitoring current. One of ordinary skill would understand evaluation/monitoring of current and voltage, with well-defined critical threshold values as effective for monitoring overall system conditions related to battery performance and provide metrics related to thermal behavior. Implementation of current and voltage monitoring under the guidance of limiting values to determine battery status provides safeguards against excessive current flow or signals that voltage has dropped below a functional level, both of which may cause damage, present safety issues, or jeopardize system functionality resulting in a shut down. One of ordinary skill would thus be motivated to simultaneously utilize current and voltage monitoring with clearly defined critical threshold values as function of time or charge/discharge cycles, which would include State of Charge or Depth of Discharge to achieve the goal of applying battery performance to predicting and management of thermal parameters in system(s) connected with the battery. Such collected data would be known by one of ordinary skill to provide the information to inform the result, either from an “undervoltage or over current condition” or “State of Charge and/or Depth of Discharge”, as is claimed in both the instant application and the co-pending application. The relationship between measurement of current and voltage for monitoring and evaluating battery function, specifically the designation of threshold or limiting key values including “undervoltage” or “overcurrent”, and the relationship of those values to data cast as “State of Charge and/or Depth of Discharge” would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of application. Thus, existing prior art at the time of the application provides substantive evidentiary support for maintaining the obviousness for double patenting rejection.
Examiner asserts differences, based only on variations detailed above, between Claim 1 in the instant application and Claim 1 in the co-pending application do not significantly alter the scope and content of the claim.
With parallel claim limitations, the same reasoning and rationale is applied similarly to Claims 19 and 20. Examiner asserts the differences in terminology between Claims 1, 19, and 20 of the instant application and Claims 1, 19, and 20 of the referenced co-pending application, based on the evidentiary-based analysis given above, do not imply any compelling secondary considerations that would provide evidence against an obviousness conclusion.
Based on evidence for obviousness found in prior art, one of ordinary skill would understand that detecting, monitoring, and evaluating measures involving current and voltage, including related threshold values of overcurrent or undervoltage, would have obvious connection to and ability to determine of State of Charge and/or Depth of Discharge. One of ordinary skill would understand an obvious link between the claim limitations, relevant and related to evaluation of current and voltage behavior of a battery (or power source), during use and operation, based on data collected over time by identical components and computational instruction, and in the case of both the instant application and referenced co-pending application, directed to achieving the same outcome and application of thermal management.
Evaluation of instant application Claim 17 compared with referenced co-pending Claim 17, reveals a difference only by the word “further” found in the instant application. In the 4-Part analysis of obviousness for this claim, Examiner notes: the scope and content of the two claims is the same. Both claims provide a defining limit for how the ACPI thermal zone setting is modified, through configuration of the orchestrator to receive a policy from an Information Technology Decision Maker or Original Equipment Manufacturer. In both applications this claim limitation depends back to Claim 1, as discussed above. Examiner asserts that omission of the word “further” in co-pending application Claim 17, does not alter the scope or content of the claim in a significant manner. One of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the application would find the two claims obvious variations of the same inventive concept. Examiner asserts the difference does not imply any compelling secondary considerations that would provide evidence against an obviousness conclusion.
Examiner further notes one to one correspondence for claims 2, 3, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, i.e., the limitations claimed therein for the claimed invention of the instant application is identical to limitations claimed in claims 2, 3, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, respectively, in the co-pending application. While these are dependent claims in both the instant application and the co-pending application, the claims define obviously related system components and function, including identical acquired metrics and communication protocol among components.
This is a provisional nonstatutory double patenting rejection.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 1-4 and 7-14, and 16-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as being unpatentable over HUANG (US 20210149464 A1) in view of ECKERT (US 20170052229 A1) and HE (CN 111815924 A), and further in view of ALBORNOZ (EP 2607987 A1).
With respect to Claims 1 and 19, HUANG teaches:
An Information Handling System (IHS), comprising: a heterogeneous computing platform comprising a plurality of devices; (HUANG is directed to same technical field, Abstract: “information handling system having improved thermal management” and [0001]: “disclosure generally relates to information handling systems, and more particularly relates to thermal management using different customization modes.”; HUANG teaches heterogeneous computational method/system for information handling, with multiple devices, FIG. 1, depicting plurality of components, with description of components, [0013])
memory coupled to the heterogeneous computing platform, (HUANG teaches memory as part of IHS system, FIG.1, element 120, and [0013]: “processor 102, processor interface 106, chipset 110, memory 120… a mode controller 195.”)
memory comprises firmware instructions that, upon execution by at least one of the plurality of devices, causes the at least one device to operate as an orchestrator (HUANG teaches firmware in memory, FIG.1, with [0013]: “non-volatile RAM (NV-RAM) 140 that includes a basic input output system/extensible firmware interface (BIOS/EFI) module 142… baseboard management controller (BMC) 190”; HUANG teaches at least one device acting as controller, “BMC” and “iDRAC” [0021]: “BMC 190 implements an integrated remote access controller (iDRAC) that operates to monitor and maintain system firmware…can be connected to a remote management system to receive firmware updates…receives the firmware updates, stores the updates to a data storage device associated with the BMC” and [0022]: “Mode controller 195 includes thermal management hardware circuitry that is configured to implement thermal and power management in the information handling system”; Examiner notes the BRI applied to claim limitation language of “at least one device to operate as an orchestrator ” as described above, and finds the term analogous to the coordinate function of system described in reference language composed of at least reference disclosure of “mode controller” with “BMC” and “iDRAC”.)
to detect, orchestrator is configured to receive a message from a firmware service executed by another one of the plurality of devices (HUANG teaches detection via input/output system with controller receiving firmware messages, FIG.1. elements 192, 198, and [0020]-[0021]: “BMC 190 is connected to multiple elements of information handling system 100 via one or more management interface 192 to provide out of band monitoring, maintenance, and control of the elements of the information handling system…BMC 190 grants access to an external device…may communicate with the external device using a network interface 198…implements an integrated remote access controller (iDRAC) that operates to monitor and maintain system firmware…BMC 190 receives the firmware updates, stores the updates to a data storage device associated with the BMC, transfers the firmware updates to NV-RAM of the device or system that is the subject of the firmware update, thereby replacing the currently operating firmware associated with the device or system, and reboots information handling system, whereupon the device or system utilizes the updated firmware image.”; Examiner notes BRI for claim limitation language “orchestrator” as described above.)
message comprises data received from a battery management unit (BMU);
(HUANG teaches power management system within IHS, FIG. 1, and teaches data received from power management system with mode controller interfaced to sensors, with information used to determine policy for power management, [0022]: “Mode controller 195 includes thermal management hardware circuitry that is configured to implement thermal and power management…thermal and power management may implement customizing of parameters of a thermal policy” and [0023]: “first interface 290 connects the mode controller 250 to the sensor 260”; )
in response to the detection, select a thermal zone setting.
(HUANG teaches thermal management settings customized using detected information, [0031]: “intelligent mode is based from preconfigured thermal table that includes indexes…selection of indexes for the intelligent mode is based upon the detected platform event and a setting that is associated with the detected platform event…includes additional parameters such as detected workload changes, present date and time, speaker or head set sounds, detected acoustic sound level of ambient environment, and the like”; Examiner interprets “BMU” as analogous to “power management” system in reference to mean a component managing power source.)
HUANG does not teach:
orchestrator configured to: detect a battery's State-of-Charge or Depth-of-Discharge, to detect the battery's State-of-Charge or Depth-of-Discharge,
another one of the plurality of devices comprises an audio Digital Signal Processor (aDSP),
the message comprises data processed by the aDSP and received from a battery management unit (BMU)
the data corresponds to the battery's State-of-Charge or Depth-of-Discharge sensed by the BMU;
in response to the detection, select an Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) thermal zone setting.
ECKERT teaches:
orchestrator configured to: detect a battery's State-of-Charge or Depth-of-Discharge, to detect the battery's State-of-Charge or Depth-of-Discharge, and the data corresponds to the battery's State-of-Charge or Depth-of-Discharge sensed by the BMU; (ECKERT is directed to related technical field, [0002]: “invention generally relates to a method for detecting the operational management of a battery storage device in an energy storage system”; ECKERT teaches a control unit for detecting state of charge, FIG. 1, [0026]: “central control unit 3...battery management system 7 for controlling the state of charge of the battery storage device 6”; ECKERT teaches detection of state of charge and depth of discharge, [0004]: “important characteristics...thermal load on the battery, the state of charge (SOC) and the time profile thereof, the number of charge and discharge cycles and the depth of the individual charge cycles”, detected by controller, [0066]: “storage and/or evaluation of the detected data for a plurality of storage containers 2 in the central control unit 3”; Examiner interprets “orchestrator” as noted above. Examiner interprets “Depth-of-Discharge” as analogous to reference “discharge cycles and the depth of the individual charge cycles”, as would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. )
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify HUANG to include orchestrator configured to: detect a battery's State-of-Charge or Depth-of-Discharge, to detect the battery's State-of-Charge or Depth-of-Discharge, and the data corresponds to the battery's State-of-Charge or Depth-of-Discharge sensed by the BMU, such as that of ECKERT because doing so would provide additional information regarding thermal system performance without addition additional cost to the information handling system disclosed by HUANG. One of ordinary skill would understand the advantage of including an analysis of state of charge for a battery/power source to gain insight into power source behavior to allow for enactment of preemptive measures for parameter adjustment to control fluctuations in thermal response. One of ordinary skill would be familiar with the importance of improving the ability to monitor and control characteristics in thermal management of any system that included batteries or electronic components as a way to prevent overheating, instability, or to ascertain the status of a power source, particularly a battery.
HUANG, as modified by ECKERT as taught above, does not teach:
another one of the plurality of devices comprises an audio Digital Signal Processor (aDSP),
the message comprises data processed by the aDSP and received from a battery management unit (BMU)
in response to the detection, select an Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) thermal zone setting.
HE teaches:
another one of the plurality of devices comprises an audio Digital Signal Processor (aDSP), (Translated copy with numbered paragraphs provided in previous office action; HE is in pertinent technical field, Abstract: “monitoring system is used for detecting the state of the power lithium battery…lithium battery is provided with a voltage sensor, a temperature sensor…monitoring the power lithium battery of the system, and transmitting data to the data collecting system” and [0004]: “battery thermal disaster early warning system for collecting and monitoring parameter…monitor and collect the voltage of the battery, current”; HE teaches use of a aDSP for collection of data as a digital processing device used in battery management, [0033]: “the hardware part uses the ADSP- TS201SY BPZ050 as the DSP data collecting system”; Examiner notes HE is directed toward a different, but related field of endeavor from HUANG and ECKERD, and instant application. Examiner is mindful that when more than one prior art reference is used as the basis of an obviousness rejection, it is not required that the references be analogous art to each other, rather, it is upon the Examiner to show the reference is analogous art to the claimed invention. (See MPEP 2141.01(a) I). In consideration of HE, Examiner has applied guidance found in MPEP 2141.01(a) I, as cited in previous office action. Based on reading of specification in view of claim limitations, Examiner has considered the problem faced by the inventor, and understands the problem is direction to an information handling system with a plurality of components for detection of conditions aimed at management and control of thermal zone settings. Examiner finds that a person of ordinary skill would have logical reason to consult and apply the teachings found in the disclosure by HE. The reference teaches an alternative, but well known component useful for digital signal processing, the audio digital signal processor, and teaches the advantage of using such a device for management in a thermal disaster early warning system. Based on this rationale, Examiner deems HE to be “reasonably pertinent” to instant application, as defined by MPEP 2141.01(a) (2), and as such, Examiner asserts that HE is appropriate analogous prior art reading on claimed invention.)
the message comprises data processed by the aDSP and received from a battery management unit (BMU), (HE teaches, as above, collecting battery data from sensors, [0004], and teaches data transmitted and received by a controller: [0006]: “monitored data is transmitted to the data collecting system”; where data collecting/processing system includes aDSP, as cited above, and management system disclosed in FIG. 5, and Table 1 with [0020]: “conventional battery monitoring management system”.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify HUANG, as modified by ECKERT, as taught above, to include that one of the plurality of devices comprises an audio Digital Signal Processor (aDSP) and the message comprises data processed by the aDSP and received from a battery management unit (BMU), such as that of HE because including the aDSP as a digital signal processor a an information handling system, as disclosed by HUANG would be understood as a way to leverage existing and readily available specialized hardware typically found in heterogeneous computing platform information handling systems to provide additional information for improved thermal management and control. One of ordinary skill would be motivated by the advantage presented by repurposing an embedded system component to perform an important task related to thermal system management to better inform an information handling system regarding real-time thermal behaviors. One of ordinary skill would see the benefit of the low power consumption of the aDSP to process data, and the value of the data provided for decision making and control.
HUANG, as modified by ECKERT and HE, as taught above, does not teach:
and in response to the detection, select an Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) thermal zone setting.
ALBORNOZ teaches:
and in response to the detection, select an Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) thermal zone setting. (ALBORNOZ is directed to closely related technical area, FIG. 1 and [0001]: “invention lies in the field of computing apparatuses and more specifically in the field of computing apparatuses in data centres or other systems in which power consumption and thermal management are monitored and controlled centrally.”; ALBORNOZ teaches parameter detection and processing, [0004]: “On-board sensor data such as temperatures, voltages, currents and fan speeds are made available to IPMI through A/D converters”; and structure analogous to orchestrator, [0005]: “Data Centre Manageability Interface (DCMI) standard allows for server power monitoring and limiting as well as for monitoring of baseboard, CPU and inlet temperatures”; ALBORNOZ explicitly teaches use of ACPI structure for thermal settings management, [0015]: “The Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI)… functions are under the exclusive control of the operating system…ACPI offers a wide range of control actions…Thermal management: Definition of thermal zones…thermal indicators, and active/passive/critical methods for cooling thermal zones…passive cooling”; ALBORNOZ teaches steps for how ACPI establishes thermal settings, FIG. 5; Examiner uses same rationale for asserting ALBORNOZ as analogous art, where one of ordinary skill would have logical reason to consult and apply the teaching of ALBORNOZ to solve the problem disclosed in the instant application.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify HUANG, as modified by ECKERT and HE as taught above to include as a response to the detection, select an Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) thermal zone setting, such as that of ALBORNOZ because to improve control of a thermal managements system. One of ordinary skill would have been motivated to combine the explicit suggestion of ALBORNOZ with the information handling system of HUANG modified to detect State-of-Charge or Depth-of-Discharge, as taught by ECKERT to include in response to the detection, selection of an Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) thermal zone setting, such as that of ALBORNOZ because this would achieve the goal of using acquired data for accurate and reliable thermal management. Specifically, one of ordinary skill would be motivated to include an ACPI for closing the loop in system management with an informed setting selection because the ACPI component would make possible dynamic control system thermal properties, allowing for quick response to real-time thermal issue indicators to make better use of user-defined thresholds. One of ordinary skill would see the standardized interface of the ACPI structure, in communication with peripheral hardware components as an advantage, since it would allow for a broad use of an information handling system, independent of specific hardware or OS and allow for flexible adaptation of processed information. One of ordinary skill would understand this as allowing for efficient response to detection of overcurrent and/or undervoltage condition that would ultimately decrease energy use while also protecting system integrity.
With respect to Claim 2, HUANG, as modified by ECKERT, HE, and ALBORNOZ as taught above, teaches the limitations of Claim 1:
HUANG further teaches:
wherein the heterogeneous computing platform comprises: a System-On-Chip (SoC), a Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), or an Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC). (HUANG teaches IHS with such components, [0042]: “information handling system can include any instrumentality or aggregate of instrumentalities operable to compute, classify, process, transmit, receive, retrieve, originate, switch, store, display, manifest, detect, record, reproduce, handle, or utilize any form of information, intelligence, or data for business, scientific, control, entertainment, or other purposes…can include processing resources for executing machine-executable code, such as a central processing unit (CPU), a programmable logic array (PLA), an embedded device such as a System-on-a-Chip (SoC), or other control logic hardware.”)
With respect to Claim 3, HUANG, as modified by ECKERT, HE, and ALBORNOZ as taught above, teaches the limitations of Claim 1:
HUANG further teaches:
wherein the orchestrator comprises at least one of: a sensing hub, an Embedded Controller (EC), or a Baseboard Management Controller (BMC). (HUANG teaches use of such components in FIG.1, element 190 “baseboard management controller”, [0013]: “information handling system 100 including…a baseboard management controller (BMC) 190, and a mode controller 195.”; Examiner notes interpretation of “orchestrator” as discussed above.)
With respect to Claim 4, HUANG, as modified by ECKERT, HE, and ALBORNOZ as taught above, teaches the limitations of Claim 1:
HUANG further teaches:
the orchestrator is configured to receive the message from the firmware service (HUANG teaches orchestrator communicating with firmware service, as above, FIG.1. elements 192, 198, and [0020]-[0021].)
HUANG, as modified by ECKERT, HE, and ALBORNOZ as taught above does not teach:
orchestrator is configured to receive the message from the firmware service via an Application Programming Interface (API) without any involvement by any host Operating System (OS).
ALBORNOZ further teaches:
orchestrator is configured to receive the message from the firmware service via an Application Programming Interface (API) without any involvement by any host Operating System (OS). (ALBORNOZ teaches controller receiving message from firmware with independence from OS, Abstract: “baseboard management controller configured to run independently of the operating system, to receive a message from a remote management system including operating state setting information, and to communicate the operating state setting information to the operating system”; Examiner interpretation of “orchestrator” as above; ALBORNOZ further teaches independent function, [0004]: “(BMC) that contains the intelligence to run the IPMI core; the BMC makes possible in-band or out-of-band communication with an external management system…On-board sensor data such as temperatures, voltages, currents and fan speeds are made available to IPMI through A/D converters” and [0048]: “BMC 11 is configured to receive the message including operating state setting information from the RMS 20…BMC 11 may have firmware which is configured to extract the operating state setting information from the message”; Examiner interprets “API” to mean generally a software communication system allowing various software components in a system to communicate, analogous to the reference teaching communicating operating state information from a “remote management system”.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify HUANG as modified by ECKERT, HE, and ALBORNOZ as taught above, to include that the orchestrator is configured to receive a message from a firmware service executed by another one of the plurality of devices via an Application Programming Interface (API) without any involvement by any host Operating System (OS), such as that further disclosed by ALBORNOZ because this would optimize the capacity of the IHS, particularly with the advantage of improving performance, reliability, and security of such a system. One of ordinary skill would see the advantage of combining API taught by ALBORNOZ with the method/system of HUANG so that hardware and devices could be handled by firmware service in the case of host OS crash, freeze, or even during a time where the OS was out-of-service or malfunctioning, as suggested by ALBORNOZ. One of ordinary skill would be motivated by the advantage of having thermal control processes configured to act independently to secure safety and consistent operation of a system to improve the method/system disclosed by HUANG and modified as taught above.
With respect to Claim 7, HUANG, as modified by ECKERT, HE, and ALBORNOZ as taught above, teaches the limitations of Claim 1.
HUANG further teaches:
to select thermal zone setting, the orchestrator is configured to compare detected parameters against a threshold value (HUANG teaches controller, as above FIG. 1, [0013], where “orchestrator” is interpreted as above; HUANG teaches thermal management using method of threshold comparison, FIG1, FIG.2, FIG.3 and [0022]: “Mode controller 195 includes thermal management hardware circuitry…configured to implement thermal and power management in the information handling system”; with comparative analysis [0025]: “policy 220 may include a thermal management table reference that can be used by the BIOS 232 to obtain default setting for the fan controller 252 and/or the workload controller 254”; and [0034]: “FIG. 3 shows a thermal table reference 300 that can be used by the mode controller 250 to modify the selected policy 220”; Examiner interprets “compare against a threshold value” to be analogous to HUANG teaching comparison of detected data with “table of reference values” to mean comparative evaluation of data with a pre-determined set or range of values that would indicate a desired performance criterion for a measured parameter, where comparison is used of decision making for determination of appropriate settings.)
HUANG, as modified by ECKERT, HE, and ALBORNOZ as taught above, does not teach:
to select the ACPI thermal zone setting, the orchestrator is configured to compare the battery's State-of-Charge or Depth-of-Discharge against a threshold value, and in response to the battery's State-of-Charge or Depth-of- Discharge meeting the threshold value, select the ACPI thermal zone setting.
ECKERT teaches:
to select thermal zone setting, the orchestrator is configured to compare the battery's State-of-Charge or Depth-of-Discharge against a threshold value and in response to the battery's State-of-Charge or Depth-of- Discharge meeting the threshold value, select thermal zone setting. (ECKERT teaches a control unit for detecting state of charge, FIG. 1, [0026]: “central control unit 3...battery management system 7 for controlling the state of charge of the battery storage device 6”; Examiner interprets “orchestrator” as above, analogous to “central control unit”; ECKERT teaches detection of state of charge and depth of discharge, as above in Claim 1, [0004]: “important characteristics...thermal load on the battery, the state of charge (SOC) and the time profile thereof, the number of charge and discharge cycles and the depth of the individual charge cycles”; ECKERT teaches comparison of measured state of charge against expected values, FIG.2, comparing data with “possible charge state 15”; Examiner interprets “orchestrator” as noted above. Examiner interprets “Depth-of-Discharge” as analogous to reference “discharge cycles and the depth of the individual charge cycles”, as would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify HUANG to include: to select thermal zone setting, the orchestrator is configured to compare the battery's State-of-Charge or Depth-of-Discharge against a threshold value, and, in response to the battery's State-of-Charge or Depth-of- Discharge meeting the threshold value, select thermal zone setting. such as that of ECKERT because doing so would provide additional information regarding thermal system performance without addition additional cost to the information handling system disclosed by HUANG, as modified above. One of ordinary skill would understand the advantage of including an analysis of state of charge and/or depth of discharge for a battery used as a power source to gain insight into behavior and anticipate power issues that would allow for enactment of preemptive measures for parameter adjustment to control fluctuations in thermal response. One of ordinary skill would be familiar with the importance of improving the ability to monitor and control battery characteristics in thermal management of any system that included batteries or electronic components as a way to prevent overheating, instability, or to ascertain the status of a power source, particularly a battery.
HUANG, as modified by ECKERT, HE, and ALBORNOZ as taught above, does not teach:
to select the ACPI thermal zone setting, the orchestrator is configured to compare detected data against a threshold value, and, in response to detected data meeting the threshold value, select the ACPI thermal zone setting.
ALBORNOZ further teaches:
to select the ACPI thermal zone setting, the orchestrator is configured to compare detected data against a threshold value, and, in response to detected data meeting the threshold value, select the ACPI thermal zone setting. (ALBORNOZ, as above, explicitly teaches use of ACPI structure for thermal settings management, [0015] ALBORNOZ teaches steps for how ACPI establishes thermal settings, FIG. 5; ALBORNOZ teaches use of thresholding for decision making with regard to thermal settings, FIGs. 2a, 2b, with [0060]: “event may be, for example, workload reaching a predetermined threshold level…corresponding action transmitting an alert message to one or both of the RMS 300 and the OSPM 260. Alternative available actions include power down (of the server) and reset (of the server)…Optionally, the BMC firmware may be configured to calculate a workload metric and to execute more actions in response to changes in workload”)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify HUANG, as modified by ECKERT, HE, and ALBORNOZ as taught above, to include to select the ACPI thermal zone setting, the orchestrator is configured to compare detected data against a threshold value, and, in response to detected data meeting the threshold value, select the ACPI thermal zone setting such as that of ALBORNOZ because this would be a way to efficiently make thermal management decisions and implement changes to thermal zone policy. One of ordinary skill would be motivated to include an ACPI for closing the loop in system management with an informed setting selection based on thresholding techniques, because this would leverage the ACPI component for dynamic control and quick response to changes in thermal behavior of a system. By comparing real-time thermal system indicators with user-defined thresholds in the construct of ACPI protocols, decisions regarding thermal zone settings would be more efficient and more reliable. Additionally, one of ordinary skill would see the standardized interface of the ACPI structure, in communication with peripheral hardware components as an advantage, since it would allow for a broad use of an information handling system, independent of specific hardware or OS and allow for flexible adaptation of processed information.
With respect to Claim 8, HUANG, as modified by ECKERT, HE, and ALBORNOZ as taught above, teaches the limitations of Claim 1.
HUANG further teaches:
the thermal zone setting comprises an identification of one or more devices included in a thermal zone. (HUANG teaches thermal management and control, Abstract, [0001], FIG1., FIG.2, and FIG. 6, [0010]: “flow chart showing a method of thermal management”; [0022]: “Mode controller 195 includes thermal management hardware circuitry…configured to implement thermal and power management in the information handling system...thermal and power management may implement customizing of parameters of a thermal policy…may include a configuration of the information handling system that generates a particular setting of the parameters”; [0026]: “Optimized policy 222 includes a preconfigured value of indexes that provide balance in performance level, housing temperature, acoustic sound level, and the like…includes a setting of the fan controller 252 and the workload controller 254”; HUANG teaches identification of devices, for example FIG. 6, element 270 “Cooling Fans”; Examiner interprets “identification of one or more devices” to be analogous to reference identification of a device “fan” based on a “preconfigured value” to “provide balance”. Examiner asserts that reference teaches the inventive concept of a thermal management system which identifies and controls a device to produce a desired result.)
HUANG does not teach:
the ACPI thermal zone setting comprises an identification of one or more devices included in an ACPI thermal zone
ALBORNOZ teaches:
the ACPI thermal zone setting comprises an identification of one or more devices included in an ACPI thermal zone (ALBORNOZ explicitly teaches use of ACPI structure for thermal settings management, [0015] and steps for how ACPI establishes thermal settings, FIG. 5; ALBORNOZ teaches multiple components in a thermal management and/or control system, [0015]: “devices”, and [0076]: “components or groups of components to which the ACPI power states of the table are applied…Examples of devices are liquid crystal display (LCD) panels, video adapters, Integrated Drive Electronics (/OE) CD-ROM and hard disk controllers, COM ports…ACPI scheme of power management, buses are devices." )
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify HUANG as modified by ECKERT, HE, and ALBORNOZ as taught above, to include the ACPI thermal zone setting comprises an identification of one or more devices included in an ACPI thermal zone, such as that further disclosed by ALBORNOZ because this would optimize the capacity of the HIS to perform targeted thermal management, including throttling or shut-down protocols. One of ordinary skill would understand combining ACPI structure with the system/method of HUANG would enable dynamic and platform-wide monitoring capacity for thermal management and better equip a system to achieve preventive actions that could avoid costly impact of unchecked thermal issues. One of ordinary skill would One of ordinary skill would be motivated by the advantage of having thermal control processes configured to act in a more flexible, software-controlled manner to improve control and minimize energy use.
With respect to Claim 9, HUANG, as modified by ECKERT, HE, and ALBORNOZ as taught above, teaches the limitations of Claim 8.
HUANG further teaches:
wherein the one or more devices comprise at least one of: a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), a high performance AI device, a low-power AI device, a Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCie) controller, a Video Processing Unit (VPU), a display controller, a peripheral device, a memory controller, or the aDSP. (HUANG teaches multiple components as part of IHS , as above, FIG.1, [0013], [0015], and [0042].)
With respect to Claim 10, HUANG, as modified by ECKERT, HE, and ALBORNOZ as taught above, teaches the limitations of Claim 1.
HUANG further teaches:
thermal zone setting comprises an identification of a temperature sensor associated with a thermal zone. (HUANG teaches, as above, thermal management and control and thermal zone settings, Abstract, [0001], FIG1., FIG.2, and FIG. 6, [0010]: “flow chart showing a method of thermal management”; [0022]: “information handling system that generates a particular setting of the parameters”; based on data from temperature sensor, FIG.2, element 260, with [0033]: “sensor 260 may include a thermostat”; Examiner interprets “temperature sensor” as analogous to reference term “thermostat”.)
HUANG does not teach
ACPI thermal zone setting comprises an identification of a temperature sensor associated with an ACPI thermal zone.
ALBORNOZ teaches, as above,
ACPI thermal zone setting comprises an identification of a temperature sensor associated with an ACPI thermal zone. (ALBORNOZ explicitly teaches, as above, use of ACPI structure for thermal settings management, [0015]; ALBORNOZ teaches use of temperature sensors, [0004]: “sensor data such as temperatures” and explicitly teaches, as above, use of ACPI structure for thermal settings management, [0015] and steps for how ACPI establishes thermal settings, FIG. 5.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify HUANG as modified by ECKERT, HE, and ALBORNOZ as taught above, to include ACPI thermal zone setting comprises an identification of a temperature sensor associated with an ACPI thermal zone, such as that further disclosed by ALBORNOZ because this would optimize the capacity of the IHS, improving the ability to perform targeted thermal control in a complex system of resources and improve overall efficiency. One of ordinary skill would be motivated by the advantage of combining the ACPI structure taught by ALBORNOZ with the system method of HUANG, as modified and taught above, for providing a standardized way to interact with sensors, in many cases without manufacturer-specific drivers which simplifies software stack and improves system diagnostics, including gathering telemetry data from various remote resources.
With respect to Claim 11, HUANG as modified by ECKERT, HE, and ALBORNOZ as taught above, teaches the limitations of Claim 1.
HUANG further teaches:
the thermal zone setting comprises a trip point associated with a thermal zone. (HUANG teaches use of a trip point associated with thermal management/control, [0025]: “policy 220 may include a thermal management table reference…used by the BIOS 232 to obtain default setting for the fan controller 252 and/or the workload controller 254… to respond to detected platform problems such as critical temperature conditions”, or [0025]: “end-user can select the cool policy 224 to respond to detected platform problems such as critical temperature conditions”; Examiner interprets “trip point” to mean generally a condition that initiates an action or event, as analogous to the reference teaching of “respond to … such as critical temperature”, where the “critical temperature” is analogous to “trip point” for the system to “respond”.)
HUANG does not teach:
the ACPI thermal zone setting comprises a trip point associated with an ACPI thermal zone.
ALBORNOZ teaches:
the ACPI thermal zone setting comprises a trip point associated with an ACPI thermal zone. (ALBORNOZ explicitly teaches, as above, use of ACPI structure for thermal settings management, [0015] and steps for how ACPI establishes thermal settings, FIG. 5.; ALBORNOZ teaches settings and thermal management based on a trip point in ACPI structured system, FIGs. 2a, 2b, and [0015](fifth bullet point): “Thermal management: …performing an orderly shutdown of a device or the entire system once a trip point has been crossed.”; and [0077]: “table 2…list of ACPI thermal trip points”)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify HUANG as modified by ECKERT, HE, and ALBORNOZ as taught above, to include the ACPI thermal zone setting comprises a trip point associated with an ACPI thermal zone, such as that further disclosed by ALBORNOZ because incorporating ACPI structure in the IHS system/method disclosed by HUANG, as modified above, would improve the ability to efficiently manage thermal systems, and prevent overheating and ultimately reduce potential damage to system components. One of ordinary skill would see the advantage of using ACPI structure, where OSPM can automatically balance thermal system performance with the need for cooling and allow for zone-specific temperature control.
With respect to Claim 12 HUANG as modified by ECKERT, HE, and ALBORNOZ as taught above, teaches the limitations of Claim 1.
HUANG further teaches:
the thermal zone setting comprises a mitigation action associated with a thermal zone.
HUANG does not teach:
the ACPI thermal zone setting comprises a mitigation action associated with an ACPI thermal zone (HUANG teaches mitigation action, response to detected parameter values, as above [0025]: “end-user can select the cool policy 224 to respond to detected platform problems such as critical temperature conditions”, or [0026]: “policy 222 includes a preconfigured value of indexes that provide balance in performance level, housing temperature, acoustic sound level…includes a setting of the fan controller 252 and the workload controller 254 that produces average results with regard to amount of thermal impact”; Examiner interprets “mitigation action” to mean generally an action initiated to impact a potential or existing problem, hazard, or risk, and, in the context of an information handling system related to thermal management, to be analogous to the reference teachings of “respond to detected platform problems” or “provide balance in performance level” and “set the cooling fans”. HUANG teaches these actions as part of thermal management of a system.)
ALBORNOZ teaches:
the ACPI thermal zone setting comprises a mitigation action associated with an ACPI thermal zone (ALBORNOZ explicitly teaches, as above, use of ACPI structure for thermal settings management, [0015] and steps for how ACPI establishes thermal settings, FIG. 5.; ALBORNOZ teaches mitigation action for thermal management, [0015]: “ACPI offers a wide range of control actions…(bullet 4) Thermal management: …active/passive/critical methods for cooling thermal zones (active cooling actions, such as turning on a fan or increasing its speed”)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify HUANG as modified by ECKERT, HE, and ALBORNOZ as taught above, to include the ACPI thermal zone setting comprises a mitigation action associated with an ACPI thermal zone, such as that further disclosed by ALBORNOZ because use of an ACPI structure would optimize the capacity of the IHS, as taught by HUANG. One of ordinary skill would see the advantage of utilizing ACPI structure to determine thermal zone settings and required mitigation actions to improve stability and responsiveness to detected changes in operational parameters. One of ordinary skill would be motivated by the advantage of operating monitoring/control for thermal management with more responsive, asynchronous, real-time notification, to avoid the need for constant polling.
With respect to Claim 13, HUANG as modified by ECKERT, HE, and ALBORNOZ as taught above, teaches the limitations of Claim 1.
HUANG further teaches:
the orchestrator is configured to select the thermal zone setting based, at least in part, upon context or telemetry data. (HUANG teaches settings based on detected information for thermal management, FIG. 2, element 290, connecting Sensor 260, Cooling Fans 270 and User Interface to Mode Controller 250, with [0023]: “first interface 290 connects the mode controller 250 to the sensor 260”; and teaches using detected context or telemetry information for thermal management/control: [0024]: “mode controller 250 dynamically adjusts the fan controller 252 and/or the workload controller 254 to customize the parameters…customization utilizes…an intelligent mode that is based upon detected platform events…detected platform events include workload changes, acoustic sound level of speaker or headsets, present date and time, and the like”; Examiner interprets “context or telemetry data” based on reading specification, [0012], with additional guidance in [0094]-[00101], specifically, [0094], reciting “terms “context data” or “contextual data” refer broadly to any relevant, background information that can provide a broader understanding of an entity or event…context data may come from various sources, and it may be used to provide insights into an IHS’s operation”. Thus, Examiner interprets “context or telemetry data” as analogous to reference teaching “detected platform events” or “parameters”, understood by one of ordinary skill in the art as information which provides insights into IHS operations. HUANG further teaches use of detected platform events to inform management/control actions, FIGs. 4/5 (elements 410, 420, 430) and further defines context/telemetry data in terms of “detected platform events” or “parameters” used for thermal management/control, [0033]: “Sensor 265 may include hardware circuitry that is configured to measure signals that can be used by the mode controller 250 to modify the selected policy 220…sensor 260 may include a thermostat, one or more microphones to measure acoustic sound levels, a processor speed detector, power measurements, and the like…sensor 260 may measure system temperature, acoustic sound level, change in workload, a time of day, skin temperature, ambient temperature, ambient sound level, etc.,…mode controller 250 may utilize the measured information to set the cooling fans 270 and/or the workload in the cores 234”)
HUANG does not teach:
orchestrator is configured to select the ACPI thermal zone setting based, at least in part, upon context or telemetry data.
ALBORNOZ teaches:
orchestrator is configured to select the ACPI thermal zone setting based, at least in part, upon context or telemetry data. (ALBORNOZ explicitly teaches, as above, use of ACPI structure for thermal settings management, [0015] and steps for how ACPI establishes thermal settings, FIG. 5.; ALBORNOZ teaches settings based on detected data, [0015]: “ACPI offers a wide range of control actions…(bullet 4) Thermal management: Definition of thermal zones (a region that physically contains devices, thermal sensors, and cooling resources), thermal indicators, and active/passive/critical methods for cooling thermal zones (active cooling actions, such as turning on a fan or increasing its speed, increase the power consumption to achieve temperature reduction; passive cooling (which reduces power consumption of components in order to reduce heat generation)” and context/telemetry data acquisition for thermal management and control, [0015]: “(bullet 6) System events: A flexible general event monitoring mechanism (i.e. thermal events, power management events” using sensors, [0032]: “system is configured to communicate the data received from the one or more sensors to the baseboard management controller; and the baseboard management controller is configured to transmit a message to the remote management system including information based on the communicated data.” and FIGs. 2a, 2b, 7, with [0087]: “Figure 7 shows a possible thermal policy remote configuration…Figures 2a and 2b the temperature data is fed to the RMS via the BMC 210…temperature data could be reported to the OSPM 260 so that the OSPM 260 can apply a thermal policy in order to set the thermal state of the computing apparatus (again possibly on a per-thermal zone basis)”; Examiner interprets context/telemetry data as described above, analogous to ALBORNOZ teaching monitoring of “System events” detected with sensors and used to inform thermal management and control actions.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify HUANG as modified by ECKERT, HE, and ALBORNOZ as taught above, to orchestrator is configured to select the ACPI thermal zone setting based, at least in part, upon context or telemetry data, such as that further disclosed by ALBORNOZ because use of an ACPI structure for management and/or control of thermal zones using measured data would optimize the capacity of the IHS method/system taught by HUANG. One of ordinary skill would see the advantage of utilizing ACPI structure to shift from an older static BIOS firmware model to a more robust and flexible OS-directed model for power management applications (OSPM), as taught by ALBORNOZ. One of ordinary skill would be motivated by the advantage of having thermal control processes configured to act independently to secure safety and consistent operation of a system and allow for dynamic thermal zoning processes that would improve the method/system disclosed by HUANG and modified as taught above.
With respect to Claim 14, HUANG as modified by ECKERT, HE, and ALBORNOZ as taught above, teaches the limitations of Claim 13.
HUANG further teaches:
the context or telemetry data comprises a metric indicative of at least one of: a memory utilization, a network utilization, a battery utilization, or a peripheral device utilization, a presence of the user, an engagement of the user, an IHS location, or an IHS posture. (HUANG teaches detection of context or telemetry data, with Examiner interpretation of “context or telemetry data” as discussed above in Claim 13, and analogous to HUANG teaching “detected platform events” or “parameters”; HUANG data for peripheral device utilization, FIG. 4, element 42 “Detected Change in Workload” and element 330 “Performance level”, and [0033]: “Sensor 265 may include hardware circuitry that is configured to measure signals that can be used by the mode controller 250 to modify the selected policy 220…sensor 260 may include a thermostat, one or more microphones to measure acoustic sound levels, a processor speed detector, power measurements, and the like…sensor 260 may measure system temperature, acoustic sound level, change in workload, a time of day, skin temperature, ambient temperature, ambient sound level, etc.,...mode controller 250 may utilize the measured information to set the cooling fans 270 and/or the workload in the cores 234”)
With respect to Claim 16, HUANG, as modified by ECKERT, HE, and ALBORNOZ as taught above, teaches the limitations of claim 1.
HUANG as modified by ECKERT, HE, and ALBORNOZ as taught above, does not teach
the orchestrator is configured to send another message to a host Operating System (OS) with an indication of the selected ACPI thermal zone setting.
ALBORNOZ teaches:
the orchestrator is configured to send another message to a host Operating System (OS) with an indication of the selected ACPI thermal zone setting. (ALBORNOZ, as above, teaches explicitly implementation of ACPI structure for thermal management, [0015], including ACPI thermal management setting function, and where details of relationship between ACPI architecture and OS is taught; ALBORNOZ teaches messaging between host OS and connected devices to communicate settings, [0007]: “computing apparatus configured to run an operating system…baseboard management controller configured…communicate the operating state setting information to the operating system…operating system is operable to accept the communication of the operating state setting information”; Examiner interprets “orchestrator” as discussed above, analogous to reference “controller”.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify HUANG as modified by ECKERT, HE, and ALBORNOZ as taught above, to include the orchestrator is configured to send another message to a host Operating System (OS) with an indication of the selected ACPI thermal zone setting, as further taught by ALBORNOZ because it would provide the advantage of an extra measure for efficiently coordinating thermal management processes in a complex system of components, and help ensure system stability and optimized performance. One of ordinary skill would see the advantage of combining the communication step as taught by ALBORNOZ as an improvement to the method/system of HUANG, as modified and taught above, of improving synchronization of thermal management processes by ensuring the OS is apprised in a timely manner of current thermal management status or processes, and for allowing dynamic and flexible adaptation for variations in thermal zone status.
With respect to Claim 17, HUANG, as modified by ECKERT, HE, and ALBORNOZ as taught above, teaches the limitations of claim 1.
HUANG, as modified by ECKERT, HE, and ALBORNOZ as taught above does not teach:
to modify the ACPI thermal zone setting, the orchestrator is further configured to receive a policy from an Information Technology Decision Maker (ITDM) or Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM).
ALBORNOZ further teaches:
to modify the ACPI thermal zone setting, the orchestrator is further configured to receive a policy from an Information Technology Decision Maker (ITDM) or Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM). (ALBORNOZ, as above, explicitly teaches the use of ACPI and modification of system thermal settings [0015]; ALBORNOZ teaches use of OEM for modification of a thermal zone setting, [0057]: “mechanism for performing workload monitoring at the BMC…use the IPMi's sensor data records (SDR) to describe an OEM-defined sensor type”, and [0059]: “workload monitoring functionality may be implemented by defining a OEM-defined sensor 251 associated to the NIC 252, and the NIC 252 may contain intelligence enabling it to monitor workload as defined by some metric, with the possible cooperation/intervention of the operating system (such as the OSPM 260); Examiner interprets “orchestrator” as discussed above. Examiner points to reference in ALBORNOZ to industry standards, regarding sensor ID, “Section 42.2 of the Intelligent Platform Management Interface Specification, Second Generation - V2.0 June 12 2009 Markup”, which would be well-known by one of ordinary skill in the art. )
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify HUANG, as modified by ECKERT, HE, and ALBORNOZ as taught above, to include to modify the ACPI thermal zone setting, the orchestrator is configured to receive a policy from an Information Technology Decision Maker (ITDM) or Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), such as that further disclosed by ALBORNOZ because such specific information about a connected component/resource would improve the reliability for management of the component. One of ordinary skill would see the value of improved capacity to evaluate and make decisions based on unique, essential information regarding the specific details of components integrated into the monitored system. One of ordinary skill would know that modifying the IHS system disclosed by HUANG, as modified and taught above, by combining the teaching of OEM data for components, as taught by ALBORNOZ would improve decision making accuracy and efficiently enhance performance and safety of the system.
With respect to Claim 18, HUANG, as modified by ECKERT, HE, and ALBORNOZ as taught above, teaches the limitations of claim 17.
HUANG, as modified by ECKERT, HE and ALBORNOZ, as taught above, does not teach:
the policy associates the battery's State-of- Charge or Depth-of-Discharge with the ACPI thermal zone setting.
ECKERT further teaches
the policy associates the battery's State-of- Charge or Depth-of-Discharge with the thermal zone setting. (ECKERT teaches, as above, use of state of charge information for setting thermal management policy, [0004]: “life of the battery storage device depends strongly on the operational management…important characteristics in this respect are the thermal load on the battery, the state of charge (SOC)” and [0006]: "battery management systems may also store these characteristics at the same time for the purposes of a subsequent evaluation”)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify the disclosed invention of HUANG, as modified by ECKERT, HE, and ALBORNOZ as taught above, to include the policy associates the battery’s State-of-Charge or Depth-of-Discharge with thermal zone setting, such as that of ECKERT because doing so is advantageous in improving the accuracy of the selected action to control or manage a thermal system. One of ordinary skill would be familiar with the importance of battery behavior characteristics identifying potential issues related to thermal processes in a system that included batteries or other power resources, and additional potentially sensitive electronic components, as a way to prevent overheating, instability, or to ascertain the status of a power source, particularly a battery.
With respect to Claim 20, HUANG teaches:
A method, comprising: a heterogeneous computing platform, wherein the heterogeneous computing platform comprises a plurality of devices and a memory,
(HUANG teaches system, platform, plurality of devices and memory, parallel to limitation in Claim 1, FIG.1 and [0013]; [0021], [0023]: “FIG. 2 shows an information handling system 200 that includes a memory 210”)
wherein the memory is configured to receive a plurality of sets of firmware instructions, wherein each set of firmware instructions, upon execution by a respective device among the plurality of devices, enables the respective device to provide a corresponding firmware service, (HUANG teaches use of firmware for multiple components, and controller receiving firmware instructions, as above, parallel to limitation in Claim 1, FIG. 1, [0013], and [0021] “BMC 190 includes the network interface 198 that can be connected to a remote management system to receive firmware updates, as needed or desired.”)
wherein the indication is received via a message from a firmware service executed by another one of the plurality of devices, (HUANG, teaches, as above, Claim 1, execution of firmware instructions by connected device, [0021]: “BMC 190 receives the firmware updates…transfers the firmware updates to NV-RAM of the device or system that is the subject of the firmware update, thereby replacing the currently operating firmware associated with the device or system”)
the message comprises data received from a battery management unit (BMU); and the data corresponds to data sensed by the BMU; data used for modifying a thermal zone setting (As above, parallel limitations, Claim 1; HUANG teaches power management system within IHS, FIG. 1, [0022]; and mode controller interfaced to sensors, [0023]; Examiner interprets “BMU”, as above, to be analogous to “power management” system in reference; HUANG teaches modifying a thermal zone setting, [0022]: “Mode controller 195 includes thermal management hardware circuitry that is configured to implement thermal and power management” and FIG.4, [0035]: “FIG. 4 shows an intelligent mode thermal table 400 that can be used by the mode controller 250 to modify the selected policy 220”; Examiner interprets “thermal zone setting” as analogous to reference “selected policy” to mean instructions or modifications to connected components involved in thermal processes including heating or cooling, as taught by reference.)
HUANG does not teach:
receiving an indication of a battery's State-of-Charge or Depth-of-Discharge
the another one of the plurality of devices comprises an audio Digital Signal Processor (aDSP),
the message comprises data processed by the aDSP and received from a battery management unit (BMU),
the data corresponds to the battery's State-of-Charge or Depth-of- Discharge sensed by the BMU;
modifying a thermal zone setting that corresponds to the battery's State-of-Charge or Depth-of-Discharge.
ECKERT teaches:
receiving an indication of a battery's State-of-Charge or Depth-of-Discharge; and the data corresponds to the battery's State-of-Charge or Depth-of- Discharge sensed by the BMU;
modifying a thermal zone setting that corresponds to the battery's State-of-Charge or Depth-of-Discharge. (As above, parallel limitation in Claim 1, ECKERT teaches detection of state of charge and depth of discharge, [0004]: “important characteristics...thermal load on the battery, the state of charge (SOC) and the time profile thereof, the number of charge and discharge cycles and the depth of the individual charge cycles”; Examiner interprets “Depth-of-Discharge” as analogous to reference “discharge cycles and the depth”, which would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art.)
One of ordinary skill would have been motivated to modify HUANG to include receiving an indication of a battery's State-of-Charge or Depth-of-Discharge; and data corresponding to the battery's State-of-Charge or Depth-of-Discharge; and a setting using battery's State-of-Charge or Depth-of-Discharge data, as taught by ECKERT because would allow for deeper insight into power use for systems powered by battery sources. One of ordinary skill would see the advantage of gaining enhanced understanding of battery/power source behavior over time to improve the ability to preemptively adjust parameters and control thermal response based on real time evaluation of power used and rate at which power is being used. One of ordinary skill would be familiar with the importance of these well-known battery characteristics to ascertain real-time status of a power source, particularly a battery, as taught by ECKERT, in providing effective thermal management of any system that includes batteries and/or sensitive electronic components that will ultimately avoid instances of overheating and instability, making the combination of using these characteristics with the system of HUANG to shape thermal management policy would be obvious .
HUANG, as modified by ECKERT as taught above, does not teach:
the another one of the plurality of devices comprises an audio Digital Signal Processor (aDSP), and the message comprises data processed by the aDSP and received from a battery management unit (BMU),
HE teaches:
another one of the plurality of devices comprises an audio Digital Signal Processor (aDSP), and the message comprises data processed by the aDSP and received from a battery management unit (BMU) (HE teaches, as above, use of a aDSP for collection of data as a digital processing device through a battery management system, [0033]-[0034]: “communication protocol TCP/IP Ethernet of power lithium battery management system…comprises a network interface, network layer, transmission layer and application layer four levels. the hardware part uses the ADSP- TS201SY BPZ050 as the DSP data collecting system” and FIG. 5 with [0020]: “conventional battery monitoring management system” and see FIG. 5.; Examiner notes HE as pertinent prior art, as discussed above (Claim 1))
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify HUANG as modified by ECKERT as taught above, to include another one of the plurality of devices comprises an audio Digital Signal Processor (aDSP), and the message comprises data processed by the aDSP and received from a battery management unit (BMU), such as that of HE.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify HUANG, as modified by ECKERT and taught above, to include wherein the another one of the plurality of devices comprises an audio Digital Signal Processor (aDSP); wherein the message comprises data processed by the aDSP, such as that of HE because using aDSP protocol as a digital signal processor in an information handling system would leverage existing specialized hardware typically available in a heterogeneous computing platform without added expense for interfacing components. One of ordinary skill would be motivated by the advantage of simply repurposing an embedded system component, such as aDSP component to perform an important data collection task related to thermal system management as part of an information handling system. One of ordinary skill would see the benefit of the low power consumption of the aDSP to process data without additional resource allocation.
Claim 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over HUANG in view of ECKERT, HE, and ALBORNOZ, as applied to Claim 13, above, and further in view of BIDERMAN (US 20160082772 A1).
With respect to Claim 15, HUANG as modified by ECKERT, HE, and ALBORNOZ as taught above, teaches the limitations of Claim 13.
HUANG further teaches:
context or telemetry data comprises: a service tag, a serial number, or a device identification. (HUANG teaches, as above discussed for Claim 13, thermal management control policy based on detected information ([0024]: “platform events”) for thermal management, FIG. 2, with elements discussed for Claim 13, and [0023]; and specifically detect information types, [0024]: “detected platform events include workload changes, acoustic sound level of speaker or headsets, present date and time, and the like”, HUANG teaches communication with specific external devices, implying unique device identification, FIG. 1, with [0020]: “BMC 190 is connected to multiple elements of information handling system 100 via one or more management interface 192 to provide out of band monitoring, maintenance, and control of the elements of the information handling system…BMC 190 represents a processing device different from the processor 102, which provides various management functions for information handling system 100….BMC 190 grants access to an external device. … may communicate with the external device using a network interface 198.”; As above (claim 13), Examiner interprets “context or telemetry data” based on reading of specification, as analogous to reference teaching “detected platform events” or “parameters”, understood by one of ordinary skill in the art as information which provides insights into IHS operations.
HUANG, as modified by ECKERT, HE, and ALBORNOZ as taught above does not teach
context or telemetry data comprises: a service tag, a serial number, or a device identification.
BIDERMAN teaches:
context or telemetry data comprises: a service tag, a serial number, or a device identification. (BIDERMAN is related technical area, ABSTRACT: “method of thermal management for an electrically motorized wheel” , includes battery and controller, [0265]: “modular system package 202 may include a motor 204, a motor control system 208, an electrical storage system, such as a battery system 210, a mechanical drive system 212, a control system 214, and accessory port 218, which may include a hardware interface 232”; BIDERMAN teaches communication/control with connected devices to provide system information, [0277]: “control system 214 may also receive data from other sources, such as an accelerometer, an orientation sensor 244 and/or other such sensors”; BIDERMAN explicitly teaches use of a unique identifier to facilitate communication/control/data transfer with connected device, [0303]: “wheel 100 may be provided with a unique identifier, such as a serial number stored in memory, which can be used as an identifier”, and FIG. 25A, [0704]: “authentication may be performed when first connecting to the electrically motorized wheel to collect the serial number”)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify HUANG as modified by ECKERT, HE, and ALBORNOZ as taught above, to use context or telemetry data that comprises: a service tag, a serial number, or a device identification, such as that of BIDERMAN because it would be a convenient and efficient way to authenticate or verify an external or peripheral device connected to an information handling system. One of ordinary skill would see the advantage of incorporating the explicit use of a serial number or similar unique identifier to facilitate communication, and management/control, as taught by BIDERMAN, because it would broaden access to non-custom components to include less expensive “off-the-shelf” hardware accessories where use of a serial number unique to a device would be used to identify it. It would be obvious, efficient, and straightforward to include detection such specific device data, as taught by BIDERMAN, in the system/method of HUANG, as modified above, to provide context or telemetry data for thermal management of a variety of external or peripheral components.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure is included in previous office actions and still relevant.
BRADLEY (US 20180206122 A1) – teaches control and management of wireless devices by a common host
CULBERT (US 20050049729 A1) – teaches methods for power and thermal management for a data processing system with peripheral devices
SRINIVASAN (US 20140188302 A1) – teaches general methods for passive control in thermal and or power management systems.
GRASON (US 20230315178 A1) - teaches detection and management of power faults computing device expansion modules.
In rejections over prior art, Examiner notes citation of particular text or figures in references as applied to claims above for the convenience of the applicant. Although the specified citations are representative of teachings of the art as applied to specific limitations within an individual claim, other passages and figures in cited references may apply as well. It is respectfully requested the in preparing response, Applicant fully consider references in entirety as potentially teaching all or part of the claimed invention, as well as the context of the passage as taught by the prior art as cited herein.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TONI D SAUNCY whose telephone number is (703)756-4589. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. ET.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Catherine Rastovski can be reached at (571) 270-0349. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/TONI D SAUNCY/Examiner, Art Unit 2857
/Catherine T. Rastovski/Supervisory Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2863