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 .
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 1-11 and 13-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Vincent et al. (2018/0120913) in view of He et al. (US 20220350471).
With regard to claim 1, Vincent teaches a power over ethernet (PoE) power sourcing equipment (PSE) (Fig. 1, par. 13 - network switch 100/power over ethernet power sourcing equipment) comprising:
PoE ports connectable via respective communications links to powered devices (PDs) (Fig. 1 - ports 102, par. 14 - Ports 102 are used to transfer data and power from switch 100 to one or more powered devices (PDs));
a power supply unit (PSU) configured to supply PoE power to the PDs via the PoE ports and the communications links (Fig. 1- power sourcing equipment module 104, par. 15 - power sourcing equipment module/power supply unit supplies power PoE to the ports to power PDs);
one or more fans configured to provide airflows through the PSE including at least a first fan configured to provide an airflow to the PSU (Fig. 1- fan(s) 112, par. 16 - fans are used to regulate the flow of air into and/or out of switch/PSE);
and control circuitry comprising fan control logic (Fig. 1, par.15 - “Processor 106 is configured to manage and control the general operation of switch 100…. Power control circuit 108 can implement the power-related instructions received from processor 106, as well as monitor the status of ports 102 and communicate with PDs 114 and non-powered devices 116.”; par. 16 - active cooling subsystem monitors the incoming/outgoing temperature and controls the fan speed. It can also modulate the speeds of the fans if the load on the switch increases, the temperature increases, etc.).
Vincent also teaches that the system can store the power capacity of the power sourcing equipment module, as well as monitor a “load” on the switch, wherein if the load increases/decreases, the system can increase/decrease the fan speeds, thereby increasing/decreasing airflow within the switch (pars. 15-16). One of ordinary skill in the art would have understood that the “load” taught by Vincent is referring to the amount of power being used by the switch.
However, Vincent doesn’t specifically teach that the system monitors a PoE power usage parameter indicative of an amount of the PoE power supplied by the PSU and control the speed of at least the first fan based at least in part on the PoE power usage parameter.
He teaches a cooling system that monitors a parameter that includes a power load (power usage of an amount of power provided by a power source) and controls the speed of a fan based at least in part on the parameter (Fig. 1, pars. 3, 25, 26, 30, 31, 37).
It would have been obvious to a person skilled in the art at the time the invention was made to include the teachings of He into the system taught by Vincent above. This would have been obvious because both Vincent and He teach cooling systems that take into account temperature and power usage, and further, by including the power load (usage) into the parameter taught by He, it will provide an optimal cooling operation and keep fans noise to a minimal (He - pars. 31-32).
With regard to claim 2, Vincent in view of He teach the PSE of claim 1, wherein the fan control logic is configured to control the speed of the first fan based directly on the PoE power usage parameter (He – par. 35 – If one wants to allows the information handling system to operate at a lower noise level, the power load (usage) will be the direct indicator controlling the fan speed).
With regard to claim 3, Vincent in view of He teach the PSE of claim 2, wherein the fan control logic is configured to determine a fan speed set point for the first fan based on a PoE power usage-based fan curve that maps PoE power usage values to fan speed values (He – pars. 27, 32, 33, 34 – Each power load may correspond to a fan speed to maintain an optimal acoustic performance. That is, a light power load may provide a fan noise of less than 1.4 Sones, while a heavy power load may generate fan noise of 3.5 Sones. A person skilled in the art would recognize that power loads that vary from light to heavy, and generate Sones across that same spectrum, would be considered a curve. Further, Fig. 2 shows a curve of how fan speed increases across multiple set points when a power load and temperature increases. Pars. 34-35 teach that for users who are willing to allow a higher temperature in order to have a quieter experience, the fan will only increase based on the power load, which teaches that Fig. 2 (Line 204) does teach of a power-usage-based fan curve).
With regard to claim 4, Vincent in view of He teach the PSE of claim 1, wherein the fan control logic is configured to control the speed of the first fan based in part on the PoE power usage parameter and in part on a sensed temperature (He - Fig. 2 (line 204) teaches fan speeds corresponding to power loads, but also teaches that it is based on temperature. Par. 37 teaches another embodiment where the parameter that controls the speed of the fan considers both the measured temperature and the power load (usage)).
With regard to claim 5, Vincent in view of He teach the PSE of claim 1, wherein the fan control logic is configured to control the speed of the first fan based indirectly on the PoE power usage parameter (He – par. 34 – Fan speed can be based on operating temperature independent of the power load. This lines up with the instant application’s description (par. 38) as to what is mean t by “indirectly”).
With regard to claim 6, Vincent in view of He teach the PSE of claim 5, wherein the fan control logic is configured to select a fan control scheme out of a plurality of fan control schemes based on the PoE power usage parameter and control the speed of the first fan based on the selected fan control scheme (He – pars. 34-37 teach of fan operation (schemes) based on temperature only, power load (usage) only and a parameter that considers both the measured temperature and power load (usage). Pars. 34-35 specifically teach that each scheme is based on a user’s willingness/experience. That is, it is selected).
With regard to claim 7, Vincent in view of He teach the PSE of claim 6, wherein the plurality of fan control schemes comprise at least one temperature-based fan curve (He – Fig. 2 (Line 202), par. 34 – teaches of a curve that corresponds to fan speeds based on operating temperatures).
With regard to claim 8, Vincent in view of He teach the PSE of claim 7, wherein the plurality of fan control schemes comprise at least a first fan control scheme in which the fans are turned off (Vincent – par. 19 - fan less mode (fan control scheme in which the fans are turned off and no longer run); pars. 31-32 - fans are never turned back on in fan-less mode).
With regard to claim 9, Vincent in view of He teach the PSE of claim 7, wherein the plurality of fan control schemes comprise at least a first fan control scheme in which the fans are operated at maximum speed (Vincent – par. 16 - if the load of the switch/PSE increases, the active cooling subsystem can increase the fan speed. A person skilled in the art would have recognized that this can lead to a maximum fan speed; He – pars. 32-36 – teaches that a heavy power load may generate a fan noise of 3.5 Sones, compared to 1.4 Sones under a light power load. Further, in par. 31, He teaches that power loads are categorized, which can report a heavy power load. A heavy power load may correspond to the maximum amount of power that the information handling system can receive to process information, and the fan is able to cool. A person skilled in the art would have recognized that this can lead to a maximum fan speed).
With regard to claim 10, Vincent in view of He teach the PSE of claim 7, wherein the plurality of fan control schemes comprise a plurality of temperature-based fan curves (He – Figs. 2, 4-6 – teach of temperature-based fan curves representing schemes of temperature only, power load (usage) only, and parameter-based that includes both temperature and the power load (usage) - light and heavy loads).
With regard to claim 11, Vincent in view of He teach the PSE of claim 6, wherein the fan control logic is configured to select the fan control scheme out of the plurality of fan control schemes by comparing the PoE power usage parameter to at least one threshold (He - pars. 31-32 – teaches that power loads may be categorized, which can report a heavy power load and a light power load. The power load has a direct correspondence to the speed of the fan. The speed of the fan has a direct correspondence to the fan noise. In par. 31, He refers to keeping the sound level below a threshold sound level. At a minimum, this would teach that the fan control scheme of a light or heavy load is associated with a threshold sound level. He also teaches that the determination of what is a light or heavy power load is based on the percentage of the utilization of the CPU. For example, a light power load would be less than 10%, while a heavy power load would be 90%. A person skilled in the art would understand that the fan control logic takes these thresholds into account and compares them to determine how to control the speed of the fan. This appears to line up with the instant application’s description in par. 43.
With regard to claim 13, Vincent in view of He teach the device of claim 1, wherein the one or more fans comprise a second fan configured to provide an airflow to the control circuitry, and the fan control logic is configured to control the speed of the second fan based on a parameter other than the PoE power usage parameter (Fig. 1- fans 112 (could be first or second fan). See rationale in claims 1 and 5 above, which can be the same process for each of the fans taught by Vincent).
With regard to claim 14, Vincent in view of He teach the device of claim 1, wherein the one or more fans comprise a second fan configured to provide an airflow to the control circuitry, and the fan control logic is configured to control the speed of the second fan based at least in part on the PoE power usage parameter (Fig. 1- fans 112 (could be first or second fan). See rationale in claim 1 above, which can be the same process for each of the fans taught by Vincent).
With regard to claim 15, Vincent in view of He teach the device of claim 1, wherein the fan control logic is configured to control the speed of all of the one or more fans based at least in part on the PoE power usage parameter (Fig. 1- fans 112 (could be multiple fans). See rationale in claim 1 above, which can be the same process for each of the fans taught by Vincent).
With regard to claims 16, 17, 18 and 19, the claims recite a method with corresponding limitations claims 1, 6, 11, and 3, respectively, and are therefore rejected on the same premises.
With regard to claim 20, the claim recites a non-transitory computer readable medium with corresponding limitations of claim 1, and is therefore rejected on the same premises.
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Vincent et al. in view of He et al., and further in view of Tong et al. (CN 208546343 U).
With regard to claim 12, Vincent in view of He teach the PSE of claim 6, which includes a PoE providing power to PoE ports, and a fan controller to utilize the selected fan control scheme (see above).
However, neither Vincent nor He specifically teach of a current sensor configured to generate a signal indicative of a current flowing through a PoE rail that carries the PoE power to the PoE ports;
at least one comparator configured to compare the signal to a reference voltage, the output of the at least one comparator indicating the selected fan control scheme; and
and a fan controller configured to receive the output of the at least one comparator and utilize the selected fan control scheme indicated by the output of the at least one comparator to control the speed of the first fan.
Tong teaches wherein the fan control logic comprises:
a current sensor configured to generate a signal indicative of a current flowing through a controller that carries the power to the CPU (pars. 5, 8-17, 22 and 23 – teaches that due to the need to provide cooling (turning on fans) at the earliest time, a current sensor is used to detect current before it enters the CPU, which will power a plurality of different circuits);
and at least one comparator configured to compare the signal to a reference voltage, the output of the at least one comparator indicating to turn the fan on (pars. 8-17, 22 and 23);
and a fan controller configured to receive the output of the at least one comparator and utilize the signal indicated by the output of the at least one comparator to control the speed of the first fan (pars. 8-17, 22 and 23).
It would have been obvious to a person skilled in the art at the time the invention was made to include the circuitry taught by Tong into the system taught by Vincent and He above. This would have been obvious because although Vincent and He do not teach the circuitry used to control the fan control logic therein, it is clearly understood that there has must be circuitry to perform the function they teach. For example, Vincent does teach a power control circuit that determines the power requirements of each powered device (par. 15). Vincent further teaches that the active cooling system can modulate fan speeds based on the increase/decrease of the load on the switch (par. 32). That is, Vincent (as well as He) teach systems that know exactly when to turn the fans on based on conditions, such as power load. Tong also teaches detailed circuitry that is used to turn fans on. A person skilled in the art would have understood and appreciated that the circuitry used in Tong could also be used in the systems taught by Vincent and He since they perform the same function of when to turn the fans on (based on conditions/schemes), and further, Tong specifically monitors and compares the current and voltage being used in the CPU, which clearly implies that it is taking into account the load on the CPU. Both Vincent and He specifically consider the load to determine when to turn the fans on as well.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-20 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.
After considering the applicant’s argument about Donachy, the examiner agrees. However, after further review and search, He et al. was found to read on the limitations as discussed above.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See PTO-892.
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/SCOTT T BADERMAN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2118
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