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 Amendment
The Amendments to the Claims filed 12/19/2025 have been entered. Claims 1-3 and 7-11 are pending in the application. Claims 4-6 and 12 have been canceled. Applicant’s amendment to the Claims have overcome each and every 35 U.S.C. 101 rejection previously set forth in the non-final rejection dated 09/30/2025. Due to amendments to the claims new 35 U.S.C. 103 rejections are presented below.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
As noted above the 35 U.S.C. 101 rejection previously set forth has been overcome by amendment to the claims.
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.
Claim(s) 1-3, 7-9, and 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yen (US 20080098263 A1) in view of Meng (CN 101436154 A).
Regarding Claims 1 and 11. Yen teaches:
A computer-implemented method for testing at least one control device,
the method being performed by measurement technology comprising external measurement hardware and measurement software (See Fig. 1 and para[0018]: A test apparatus 100 for testing a booting and shutdown process of a computer system 130 includes a test control unit 110 and a power control unit 120.),
the external measurement hardware being connected to at least one hardware interface or pin of the control device (See Fig. 1 and para[0033]: the test apparatus transfers the test result data Dt from the computer system 130 to the test apparatus 100 via a standard interface, such as a universal serial bus (USB) interface or a component object model (COM) port interface.),
the method comprising the following steps:
performing, by the measurement technology, multiple power-up and power-down operations of the at least one control device (See Fig. 3 and para[0006]: the conventional test apparatus tests the booting and shutdown processes of the computer system according to a predetermined time period within which the computer system is supplied with test power to boot and shut down the computer system. These steps may be repeated until predetermined test times are achieved.),
wherein each power-up operation comprises supplying power to the control device so that the control device executes a hardware-level initialization sequence, and each power-down operation comprises removing the supply of power from the control device so that the control device ceases operation (See Fig. 3 and para[0020] – para[0022]: The test control unit 110 may output the power control signal Sc to the power control unit 120, so that the power control unit 120 may transfer the AC power Vp to the power supply end 131 of the computer system 130. Then the computer system 130 may execute a DOS booting program to boot the DOS. After the DOS booting process of the computer system, the shutdown can be achieved only by the cutting-off of the supply power of the computer system.);
recording, by the measurement technology and independently of software executing on the control device, measurement data acquired from the control device through the at least one hardware interface or pin during the multiple power-up and power-down operations, the measurement data including data representative of operation of the control device during the hardware-level initialization sequence of each power-up operation (See Fig. 3 and para[0021] – para[0026]: After the computer system 130 finishes the DOS booting process, it may transfer test result data Dt to the test control unit 110. The test result data Dt may include the test result of the DOS booting process of the computer system 130. After the computer system 130 finishes the Windows shutdown process, the computer system 130 may output the test result data Dt to the test control unit 110, and at this moment the test result data Dt may include the test data of the Windows shutdown result.);
associating, by the measurement technology, a respective cycle identifier with the measurement data of each identified power-up and power-down operation so that the multiple power-up and power-down operations are distinguishable from one another in the recorded measurement data, wherein the measurement data recorded for the multiple power- up and power-down operations includes the respective associated cycle identifiers (See Fig. 3 and para[0028] and para[0035]: the test apparatus 100 may further include a display unit 140 for displaying the test result corresponding to the test result data Dt, such as the times of successful booting. Then, in step 330, whether the computer system 130 is successfully booted is determined. In step 350, whether the computer system 130 is successfully shut down is determined.); and
automatically initiating, by the measurement technology without user intervention and in response to each detected power-up operation, a new measurement acquisition for the respective power-up operation, (See para[0005] – para[0006]: A conventional test apparatus can automatically test the booting and shutdown processes of the computer system and it does not need to boot and shut down the computer system manually, so that the cost is saved and the efficiency of the production is increased.),
using configuration information stored by the measurement technology (See para[0005] – para[0006]: The conventional test apparatus tests the booting and shutdown processes of the computer system according to a predetermined time period within which the computer system is supplied with test power to boot and shut down the computer system.).
Yen is silent as to the language of:
automatically identifying, by the measurement technology, respective ones of the multiple power-up and power-down operations in the recorded measurement data, including automatically detecting, from physical signals, including voltages, received through the at least one hardware interface or pin, a transition of the control device from a powered-down state to a powered-up state.
Nevertheless Meng teaches:
automatically identifying, by the measurement technology, respective ones of the multiple power-up and power-down operations in the recorded measurement data, including automatically detecting, from physical signals, including voltages, received through the at least one hardware interface or pin, a transition of the control device from a powered-down state to a powered-up state (See Abstract and Page 3: When the set startup delay is reached, detecting whether the system voltage is normal or not during startup. When the set shutdown delay is reached, detecting whether the system voltage is normal or not during shutdown. The computer mainboard switch test system 10 is used to test whether the mainboard 4 is on or off by detecting the system voltage on the computer power supply 5 according to the test parameters set by the input device 2, and output the test results to the display device 3.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Yen by automatically identifying, by the measurement technology, respective ones of the multiple power-up and power-down operations in the recorded measurement data, including automatically detecting, from physical signals, including voltages, received through the at least one hardware interface or pin, a transition of the control device from a powered-down state to a powered-up state such as that of Meng, Meng teaches, “detects the system voltage when the power-on delay arrives, and judges whether the system voltage is a relatively high level, thereby Determine whether the mainboard 4 is powered on normally” (See Page 4). One of ordinary skill would have been motivated to modify Yen, because identifying power-up and power-down using voltage would have helped to determine if the power-up and power-down were normal or abnormal, as recognized by Meng.
Regarding Claims 2. Yen teaches:
The method as recited in claim 1,
in which all measurement data from the multiple power-up and power-down operations are stored (See para[0006] and para[0025]: When the predetermined time period is up, supplying of the test power to the computer system is stopped, the test result is recorded, and the next test for booting and shutdown process is continued.).
Regarding Claim 3. Yen teaches:
The method as recited in claim 1,
wherein the method is carried out without influencing software running on the control device (See para[0023]: The power control unit 120 may transfer the AC power Vp to the power supply end 131 of the computer system 130. Then the computer system 130 may execute a Windows booting program to boot the Windows.).
Regarding Claim 7. Yen teaches:
The method as recited in claim 1,
wherein the at least one hardware interface or pin is part of a communication interface of the control device (See Fig. 1 and para[0033]: the test apparatus transfers the test result data Dt from the computer system 130 to the test apparatus 100 via a standard interface, such as a universal serial bus (USB) interface or a component object model (COM) port interface.).
Regarding Claim 8. Yen teaches:
The method as recited in claim 1,
further comprising analyzing the recorded measurement data once the testing has ended (See para[0021] – para[0026]: According to the test result data Dt, the test control unit 110 may determine whether the boot process of the computer system 130 is normal. According to the test result data Dt, the test control unit 110 may determine whether the shutdown process of the computer system 130 is correct.).
Regarding Claim 9. Yen teaches:
The method as recited in claim 1,
wherein the method is terminated when an event occurs selected from a group consisting of the following:
a particular measured value is obtained (See Fig. 3, para[0006], and para[0035]: When the predetermined time period is up, supplying of the test power to the computer system is stopped. In step 350, whether the computer system 130 is successfully shut down is determined. Finally, in step 360, the power control unit 120 is controlled to electrically isolate the computer system 130 from the AC power Vp.),
a sequence of measured values is obtained (See para[0036]: If the booting and shutdown process of the tested computer system is normal, the outputting of the AC power to the computer system is stopped.),
a combination of measured values is obtained,
a test drive is ended (See Fig. 3 and para[0035]: Finally, in step 360, the power control unit 120 is controlled to electrically isolate the computer system 130 from the AC power Vp.),
a user terminates the method,
a maximum file size is reached.
Claim(s) 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yen (US 20080098263 A1) in view of Meng (CN 101436154 A) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Chen et al. (US 20080164883 A1).
Regarding Claim 10. Yen is silent as to the language of:
The method as recited in claim 1,
wherein the control device is part of an interconnected system of control devices, the interconnected system being tested by the method for testing.
Nevertheless Chen teaches:
wherein the control device is part of an interconnected system of control devices, the interconnected system being tested by the method for testing (See Fig. 1, para[0004], and para[0013]: An electronic equipment, such as a personal computer, a notebook computer, or a server, must be tested on performance. ).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Yen wherein the control device is part of an interconnected system of control devices, the interconnected system being tested by the method for testing such as that of Chen. Chen teaches, “In order to control and improve the performance of the electronic equipment, one or more power cycle tests should be performed to test the electronic equipment” (See para[0004]). One of ordinary skill would have been motivated to modify Yen, because testing an interconnected system would have helped to control and improve the performance of the interconnected system, as recognized by Chen.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 12/29/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues that: The combination of Hiramatsu and Chang therefore does not disclose the noted features of claims 1 and 11.
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1 and 11 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Chen et al. (CN105093094A) discloses an automatic power cycling method for testing the reliability of chips (See Abstract).
Sarkany et al. (Sarkany, Zoltan, and Marta Rencz. "Methods for the separation of failure modes in power-cycling tests of high-power transistor modules using accurate voltage monitoring." Energies 13.11 (2020): 2718.) discloses a system for power cycling testing a chip and monitoring the voltage of the chip (See Abstract).
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CARTER W FERRELL whose telephone number is (571)272-0551. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 10 am - 8 pm.
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/CARTER W FERRELL/Examiner, Art Unit 2857
/Catherine T. Rastovski/Supervisory Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2857