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 .
This office action is in response to the preliminary amendment filed on 10/23/2023. By this amendment, Claims 1-4 are amended, Claim 5 is canceled, and new claims 6-8 are added. Therefore, Claims 1-4 and 6-8 are pending for examination.
Priority
Applicant’s claims for priority from foreign application JP2021-077867 filed 04/30/2021 and PCT/JP2022/017110 filed 04/05/2022 are acknowledged.
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 6-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Takamitsu (JP-2007241394-A ; published 2007-09-20) in view of Kazuaki (JP-4522780-B2 ; published 2010-08-11), hereinafter referred to as Takamitsu and Kazuaki, respectively.
Regarding Claim 1, Takamitsu discloses A management system that manages grid computing using an arithmetic device, the management system comprising ([0009]In the present embodiment, the arithmetic processing execution system 100 includes a divided processing management system 140. Please note that the digital processing management system 140 of an arithmetic processing execution system 100 corresponds to Applicant’s management system managing grid computing using an arithmetic device.):
a controller ([0009] the divided processing management system 140 includes […] a mobile grid management server device 111. Please note the mobile grid management server device 111 corresponds to Applicant’s controller of the management system.);
and a memory that stores resource information that is information related to the arithmetic device ([0020] the mobile grid management server device 111 includes a CPU911 (also referred to as a central Processing unit, an arithmetic device, a microprocessor, a microcomputer, or a processor) that executes a program. The CPU911 is an example of a control device. The CPU911 is connected to […] a RAM914 (Random Access Memory) […] and controls these hardware devices. Please note that the RAM connected to the CPU 911 that executes a program of the grid management server device 111 corresponds to Applicant’s memory that stores resource information that is information related to the arithmetic device, due to its association with the CPU.),
wherein the controller performs processing of configuring a candidate of a group forming a grid for executing the grid computing as a grid candidate with reference to the resource information ([0039]As described above, the attribute condition management unit 116 manages the processing capability information 206 indicating the processing capability of each mobile terminal device 131 as at least a part of the attribute condition 202 related to each mobile terminal device 131 by the storage device. Accordingly, when arithmetic processing is distributed and requested to a plurality of terminal devices, it is possible to preferentially request processing to a terminal device having a high processing capability. Please note that the attribute condition management unit 116 that manages the processing capability information 206 with arithmetic processing being distributed and requested to a plurality of terminal devices corresponds to Applicant’s controller performing processing of configuring a candidate of a group forming a grid for executing the grid computing as a grid candidate with reference to the resource information. This is because it preferentially requests a terminal device of the plurality of terminal devices, i.e., a grid candidate of a group forming a grid for executing the grid computing, with reference to the processing capability, i.e., with reference to the resource information.),
and processing of estimating, for the grid candidate having been configured, arithmetic device information including a temporal change in a calculation capability, with reference to the resource information ([0035]In the attribute condition 202 of the portable terminal device 131, the processing capability information 206 is a value representing the processing capability of the portable terminal device 131. As a method of determining this value, it is possible to use a method of determining the value of the processing capacity information 206 from the number of clocks of the CPU (an example of the control device) of the portable terminal device 131, […] The CPU processing capacity evaluation value 303 is a value obtained by evaluating and quantifying the CPU clock number 302 as the processing capacity. Please note that the processing capability information 206 representing the processing capability of the portable terminal device 131, where it can be determined from the number of clocks of the CPU of the device, and the CPU processing capacity evaluation value 303 obtained by evaluating and quantifying the CPU clock number 302 corresponds to Applicant’s processing estimating arithmetic device information including a temporal change in a calculation capability with reference to the resource information, i.e., the quantified CPU clock number, for the grid candidate having been configured.),
and storing the arithmetic device information having been estimated in the memory together with data specifying configuring the grid candidate ([0013] The attribute condition management unit 116 manages an attribute condition related to each portable terminal device 131 of the plurality of portable terminal devices 131 by a storage device. Please note that the attribute condition related to the portable terminal device 131 being managed by a storage device corresponds to Applicant’s storing the arithmetic device information having been estimated in the memory together with data specifying configuring the grid candidate.).
Takamitsu does not explicitly disclose an arithmetic device that is mounted on a vehicle;
enters an operation state when the vehicle is traveling, and enters a stop state when a power supply of the vehicle is turned off;
and vehicle information that is information related to each vehicle;
and the vehicle information stored in the memory
However, Kazuaki discloses an arithmetic device that is mounted on a vehicle ([0006] the in-vehicle LAN-side computer includes a grid management unit that manages the grid computing environment. Please note that the grid management unit of the vehicle LAN-side computer corresponds to Applicant’s arithmetic device mounted on a vehicle.);
enters an operation state when the vehicle is traveling, and enters a stop state when a power supply of the vehicle is turned off ([0004] obtain some processing result before the automobile arrives at the destination using the ECU connected to the above-described in-vehicle LAN; [0006] the in-vehicle LAN-side computer includes a grid management unit that manages the grid computing environment. Please note that an in-vehicle computer, i.e., operating as part of the operation of the vehicle, would inherently require a power supply from the car to which it is connected to operate, meaning that when the vehicle’s power supply is turned off, the device would turn off as well, and would be able to enter an operation state when the vehicle is traveling and turned on.);
and vehicle information that is information related to each vehicle ([0058] external computer information including the position information of the other vehicle-mounted LAN12a or the like side computer present in the vicinity of the automobile 10, the destination LAN12a or the like of the other automobile 10a on which the other vehicle-mounted T1 or the like side computer is mounted, and the other vehicle information relating to the traveling route R1 or the like, and record the external computer information in the external computer information recording unit. Please note that external computer information including vehicle information corresponds to Applicant’s vehicle information related to each vehicle.);
and the vehicle information stored in the memory ([0058] vehicle information relating to the traveling route R1 or the like, and record the external computer information in the external computer information recording unit. Please note that the recorded external computer information in the external computer information recording unit, including vehicle information, corresponds to Applicant’s vehicle information stored in the memory.)
Takamitsu and Kazuaki are both considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of grid computing. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Takamitsu to incorporate the teachings of Kazuaki to modify the grid computing management system that configures a grid candidate based on resource information, estimates calculation capability, and stores the arithmetic device information to apply to an arithmetic system mounted on a vehicle that enters an operation state when the vehicle is traveling, enters a stop state when the power supply of the vehicle is turned off, and stores vehicle information related to each vehicle in memory, allowing for improved system performance and real-time processing in a vehicle computer system, as described in Kazuaki.
Regarding Claim 2, Takamitsu-Kazuaki as described in Claim 1, Takamitsu further discloses the controller performs, for a job requested from a client terminal, processing of assigning the grid that executes the job from the grid candidates with reference to the arithmetic device information of each of the grid candidates stored in the memory ([0004] distribute arithmetic processing in accordance with detailed attributes of respective terminal devices when distributing the arithmetic processing to a plurality of terminal devices, for example. Please note that the system distributing arithmetic processing in accordance with detailed attributes of respective terminal devices corresponds to Applicant’s controller performing processing of assigning the grid that execut4es the job from the grid candidates with reference to the arithmetic device information of each of the grid candidates stored in the memory, i.e., with reference to each of the respective detailed attributes, for a job requested from a client terminal.).
Regarding Claim 3, Takamitsu-Kazuaki as described in Claim 2, Takamitsu further discloses when the assigning of the grid is not successful, the controller newly configures a grid that executes the job with reference to the resource information and the vehicle information stored in the memory ([0070] In addition, the management server requests a plurality of portable terminals to perform processing, and requests the portable terminals to perform processing again when the requested processing fails, thereby improving the reliability of the system. Please note that the management server requesting the portable terminals to perform processing again when the requested processing fails corresponds to Applicant’s newly configuring a grid that executes a job when the assigning of the grid is not successful.).
Regarding Claim 4, Takamitsu-Kazuaki as described in Claim 1, Takamitsu further discloses the resource information includes at least a type of the arithmetic device and the calculation capability ([0035]In the attribute condition 202 of the portable terminal device 131, the processing capability information 206 is a value representing the processing capability of the portable terminal device 131. As a method of determining this value, it is possible to use a method of determining the value of the processing capacity information 206 from the number of clocks of the CPU (an example of the control device) of the portable terminal device 131, the capacity of the memory (an example of the storage device), or the like based on the processing capacity calculation table 301 illustrated in FIG. 6, for example. Please note that the processing capability information 206 that may be determined via the number of clocks of the CPU or memory capacity corresponds to Applicant’s resource information including at least a type of the arithmetic device, i.e., the attributes of the processor, and the calculation capability that is determined.),
and the controller performs processing of configuring the grid candidate by using at least one of the type of the arithmetic device of each vehicle, the calculation capability of the arithmetic device of each vehicle, or the position data of each vehicle ([0039] Accordingly, when arithmetic processing is distributed and requested to a plurality of terminal devices, it is possible to preferentially request processing to a terminal device having a high processing capability. Please note that preferentially requesting processing to a terminal device having a high processing capability corresponds to Applicant’s controller performing processing of configuring the grid candidate by using the calculation capability of the arithmetic device of each vehicle, i.e., in order to select the most capable processing device of a vehicle. As Applicant state’s “at least one of” the criteria for configuration, this is interpreted as fulfilling the requirement.).
Kazuaki further discloses the vehicle information includes at least position data of the vehicle ([0058] external computer information including the position information of the other vehicle-mounted LAN12a. Please note that the external computer information including position information of the other vehicle-mounted LAN12a system corresponds to Applicant’s vehicle information including at least position data of the vehicle.),
Regarding Claim 6, Takamitsu-Kazuaki as described in Claim 2, Takamitsu further discloses the resource information includes at least a type of the arithmetic device and the calculation capability ([0035]In the attribute condition 202 of the portable terminal device 131, the processing capability information 206 is a value representing the processing capability of the portable terminal device 131. As a method of determining this value, it is possible to use a method of determining the value of the processing capacity information 206 from the number of clocks of the CPU (an example of the control device) of the portable terminal device 131, the capacity of the memory (an example of the storage device), or the like based on the processing capacity calculation table 301 illustrated in FIG. 6, for example. Please note that the processing capability information 206 that may be determined via the number of clocks of the CPU or memory capacity corresponds to Applicant’s resource information including at least a type of the arithmetic device, i.e., the attributes of the processor, and the calculation capability that is determined.),
and the controller performs processing of configuring the grid candidate by using at least one of the type of the arithmetic device of each vehicle, the calculation capability of the arithmetic device of each vehicle, or the position data of each vehicle ([0039] Accordingly, when arithmetic processing is distributed and requested to a plurality of terminal devices, it is possible to preferentially request processing to a terminal device having a high processing capability. Please note that preferentially requesting processing to a terminal device having a high processing capability corresponds to Applicant’s controller performing processing of configuring the grid candidate by using the calculation capability of the arithmetic device of each vehicle, i.e., in order to select the most capable processing device of a vehicle. As Applicant state’s “at least one of” the criteria for configuration, this is interpreted as fulfilling the requirement.).
Kazuaki further discloses the vehicle information includes at least position data of the vehicle ([0058] external computer information including the position information of the other vehicle-mounted LAN12a. Please note that the external computer information including position information of the other vehicle-mounted LAN12a system corresponds to Applicant’s vehicle information including at least position data of the vehicle.),
Regarding Claim 7, Takamitsu-Kazuaki as described in Claim 3, Takamitsu further discloses the resource information includes at least a type of the arithmetic device and the calculation capability ([0035]In the attribute condition 202 of the portable terminal device 131, the processing capability information 206 is a value representing the processing capability of the portable terminal device 131. As a method of determining this value, it is possible to use a method of determining the value of the processing capacity information 206 from the number of clocks of the CPU (an example of the control device) of the portable terminal device 131, the capacity of the memory (an example of the storage device), or the like based on the processing capacity calculation table 301 illustrated in FIG. 6, for example. Please note that the processing capability information 206 that may be determined via the number of clocks of the CPU or memory capacity corresponds to Applicant’s resource information including at least a type of the arithmetic device, i.e., the attributes of the processor, and the calculation capability that is determined.),
and the controller performs processing of configuring the grid candidate by using at least one of the type of the arithmetic device of each vehicle, the calculation capability of the arithmetic device of each vehicle, or the position data of each vehicle ([0039] Accordingly, when arithmetic processing is distributed and requested to a plurality of terminal devices, it is possible to preferentially request processing to a terminal device having a high processing capability. Please note that preferentially requesting processing to a terminal device having a high processing capability corresponds to Applicant’s controller performing processing of configuring the grid candidate by using the calculation capability of the arithmetic device of each vehicle, i.e., in order to select the most capable processing device of a vehicle. As Applicant state’s “at least one of” the criteria for configuration, this is interpreted as fulfilling the requirement.).
Kazuaki further discloses the vehicle information includes at least position data of the vehicle ([0058] external computer information including the position information of the other vehicle-mounted LAN12a. Please note that the external computer information including position information of the other vehicle-mounted LAN12a system corresponds to Applicant’s vehicle information including at least position data of the vehicle.),
Regarding Claim 8, Takamitsu discloses A management method of managing, by a computer, grid computing using an arithmetic device, the management method comprising ([0001]The present invention relates to […] a divided processing management method.; [0009]In the present embodiment, the arithmetic processing execution system 100 includes a divided processing management system 140. Please note that the divided processing management method including the digital processing management system 140 of an arithmetic processing execution system 100 corresponds to Applicant’s management method of managing grid computing using an arithmetic device by a computer.)
by using resource information that is information related to the arithmetic device, performing, by the computer, processing of configuring a candidate of a group forming a grid for executing the grid computing as a grid candidate with reference to the resource information ([0039]As described above, the attribute condition management unit 116 manages the processing capability information 206 indicating the processing capability of each mobile terminal device 131 as at least a part of the attribute condition 202 related to each mobile terminal device 131 by the storage device. Accordingly, when arithmetic processing is distributed and requested to a plurality of terminal devices, it is possible to preferentially request processing to a terminal device having a high processing capability. Please note that the attribute condition management unit 116 that manages the processing capability information 206 with arithmetic processing being distributed and requested to a plurality of terminal devices corresponds to Applicant’s computer performing processing of configuring a candidate of a group forming a grid for executing the grid computing as a grid candidate with reference to the resource information. This is because it preferentially requests a terminal device of the plurality of terminal devices, i.e., a grid candidate of a group forming a grid for executing the grid computing, with reference to the processing capability, i.e., with reference to the resource information.),
and processing of estimating, for the grid candidate having been configured, arithmetic device information including a temporal change in a calculation capability, with reference to the resource information ([0035] In the attribute condition 202 of the portable terminal device 131, the processing capability information 206 is a value representing the processing capability of the portable terminal device 131. As a method of determining this value, it is possible to use a method of determining the value of the processing capacity information 206 from the number of clocks of the CPU (an example of the control device) of the portable terminal device 131, […] The CPU processing capacity evaluation value 303 is a value obtained by evaluating and quantifying the CPU clock number 302 as the processing capacity. Please note that the processing capability information 206 representing the processing capability of the portable terminal device 131, where it can be determined from the number of clocks of the CPU of the device, and the CPU processing capacity evaluation value 303 obtained by evaluating and quantifying the CPU clock number 302 corresponds to Applicant’s processing estimating arithmetic device information including a temporal change in a calculation capability with reference to the resource information, i.e., the quantified CPU clock number, for the grid candidate having been configured.),
and storing the arithmetic device information having been estimated in the memory together with data specifying configuring the grid candidate ([0013] The attribute condition management unit 116 manages an attribute condition related to each portable terminal device 131 of the plurality of portable terminal devices 131 by a storage device. Please note that the attribute condition related to the portable terminal device 131 being managed by a storage device corresponds to Applicant’s storing the arithmetic device information having been estimated in the memory together with data specifying configuring the grid candidate.).
Takamitsu does not explicitly disclose an arithmetic device that is mounted on a vehicle;
enters an operation state when the vehicle is traveling, and enters a stop state when a power supply of the vehicle is turned off;
and vehicle information that is information related to each vehicle;
and the vehicle information stored in the memory
However, Kazuaki discloses an arithmetic device that is mounted on a vehicle ([0006] the in-vehicle LAN-side computer includes a grid management unit that manages the grid computing environment. Please note that the grid management unit of the vehicle LAN-side computer corresponds to Applicant’s arithmetic device mounted on a vehicle.);
enters an operation state when the vehicle is traveling, and enters a stop state when a power supply of the vehicle is turned off ([0004] obtain some processing result before the automobile arrives at the destination using the ECU connected to the above-described in-vehicle LAN; [0006] the in-vehicle LAN-side computer includes a grid management unit that manages the grid computing environment. Please note that an in-vehicle computer, i.e., operating as part of the operation of the vehicle, would inherently require a power supply from the car to which it is connected to operate, meaning that when the vehicle’s power supply is turned off, the device would turn off as well, and would be able to enter an operation state when the vehicle is traveling and turned on.);
and vehicle information that is information related to each vehicle ([0058] external computer information including the position information of the other vehicle-mounted LAN12a or the like side computer present in the vicinity of the automobile 10, the destination LAN12a or the like of the other automobile 10a on which the other vehicle-mounted T1 or the like side computer is mounted, and the other vehicle information relating to the traveling route R1 or the like, and record the external computer information in the external computer information recording unit. Please note that external computer information including vehicle information corresponds to Applicant’s vehicle information related to each vehicle.);
and the vehicle information stored in the memory ([0058] vehicle information relating to the traveling route R1 or the like, and record the external computer information in the external computer information recording unit. Please note that the recorded external computer information in the external computer information recording unit, including vehicle information, corresponds to Applicant’s vehicle information stored in the memory.)
Takamitsu and Kazuaki are both considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of grid computing. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Takamitsu to incorporate the teachings of Kazuaki to modify the grid computing management system that configures a grid candidate based on resource information, estimates calculation capability, and stores the arithmetic device information to apply to an arithmetic system mounted on a vehicle that enters an operation state when the vehicle is traveling, enters a stop state when the power supply of the vehicle is turned off, and stores vehicle information related to each vehicle in memory, allowing for improved system performance and real-time processing in a vehicle computer system, as described in Kazuaki.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Sugimoto (US 20200128066 A1) discloses a distributed computing network with each vehicle acting as a node in the network, with processors in the vehicles, predicting use of the vehicles, allocating tasks to each vehicle based on the predicted use in order to use underutilized vehicle based computational resources, and obtaining positional information of the vehicle (see [0003-0006, 0012-0014, 0027])
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FARAZ T AKBARI whose telephone number is (571)272-4166. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 9:30am-7:30pm ET.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, April Blair can be reached at (571)270-1014. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/FARAZ T AKBARI/ Examiner, Art Unit 2196
/APRIL Y BLAIR/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2196