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 and Arguments
Applicant’s amendment filed on April 13, 2026 has been entered and made of record. Claims 1-20 are pending and are being examined in this application.
Regarding applicant’s remarks with respect to the 112(f) claim interpretation, there is no disagreement that the terms “storage” and “accelerator” should be interpreted as having structure. However, the claims do not recite sufficient structure for implementing the claimed second storage and the circuit; storages may encompass transitory storage, which is nonstatutory per se; and circuits may be implemented as software logic, which is also nonstatutory per se. Thus, the 112(f) claim interpretation reads in the structure described in the specification to make the record clear that the claimed invention is directed to statutory subject matter (i.e., to avoid a 101 subject matter eligibility rejection).
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the 102 and 103 rejections have been considered, but are moot in view of the new ground(s) of rejection provided below.
Claim Interpretation
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The claims in this application are given their broadest reasonable interpretation using the plain meaning of the claim language in light of the specification as it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim element (also commonly referred to as a claim limitation) is limited by the description in the specification when 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is invoked.
As explained in MPEP § 2181, subsection I, claim limitations that meet the following three-prong test will be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
(A) the claim limitation uses the term “means” or “step” or a term used as a substitute for “means” that is a generic placeholder (also called a nonce term or a non-structural term having no specific structural meaning) for performing the claimed function;
(B) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is modified by functional language, typically, but not always linked by the transition word “for” (e.g., “means for”) or another linking word or phrase, such as “configured to” or “so that”; and
(C) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is not modified by sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function.
Use of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim with functional language creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites sufficient structure, material, or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Absence of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is not to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is not interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites function without reciting sufficient structure, material or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Claim limitations in this application that use the word “means” (or “step”) are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. Conversely, claim limitations in this application that do not use the word “means” (or “step”) are not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action.
This application includes one or more claim limitations that do not use the word “means,” but are nonetheless being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, because the claim limitation(s) uses a generic placeholder that is coupled with functional language without reciting sufficient structure to perform the recited function and the generic placeholder is not preceded by a structural modifier. Such claim limitation(s) is/are: “a second storage to store...” recited in claim 1; and “A method, comprising...at an accelerator” recited in claims 9 and 16.
Because this/these claim limitation(s) is/are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, it/they is/are being interpreted to cover the corresponding structure described in the specification as performing the claimed function, and equivalents thereof. See the brief description of figure 3, figure 3, and paragraph of the specification associated with figure 3, disclosing that the accelerator is a machine and the second storage is a register or memory.
If applicant does not intend to have this/these limitation(s) interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, applicant may: (1) amend the claim limitation(s) to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph (e.g., by reciting sufficient structure to perform the claimed function); or (2) present a sufficient showing that the claim limitation(s) recite(s) sufficient structure to perform the claimed function so as to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph.
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 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Grinstein et al. (US Pub. 20020188424) in view of Liu et al. (CN 114647635 A, translation provided).
Referring to claim 1, Grinstein discloses An accelerator, comprising:
a connection to a first storage to store a database, the database including a first column, a second column, a third column, and a fourth column [pars. 122 and 128; a data analysis system includes an attribute reduction subsystem for processing a record set and associated attributes to determine a result-effective subset of attributes; the records and attributes are arranged in a tabular form with each row representing a record and each column representing an attribute];
a second storage to store a first information about the first column of the database, a second information about the second column of the database, a third information about the third column of the database, and a fourth information about the fourth column of the database [pars. 134 and 135; the attribute reduction subsystem employs various data encoding techniques including skipping, which entails storing the number of columns and records to be skipped, along with a starting position for the first column and record for determining the appropriate number of columns and rows to skip (i.e., whether each column is selected or skipped)]; and
a circuit to process the first information, the second information, the third information, the fourth information, and a query to generate a skip information [claim 19; pars. 122, 128, 134, and 135; the attribute reduction subsystem (via a processor) determines the appropriate number of columns and rows to skip based on the column and record information].
Grinstein does not appear to explicitly disclose that the skip information is generated based on a query; wherein the skip information indicates that at least one of the first column, the second column, the third column, or the fourth column is a variable width column.
However, Liu discloses that the skip information is generated based on a query; wherein the skip information indicates that at least one of the first column, the second column, the third column, or the fourth column is a variable width column [pgs. 9 and 17; a reading component obtains a database table descriptor, filtering condition code stream, and a to-be-processed database table for processing a query; the database table descriptor associates each column of the database table with a storage alignment mode and a column length (which means “width” in this context since it corresponds to a data type of the column); a fixed-length data type is defined as the actual length itself; a variable-length data type is defined by a preset value (i.e., an indicator), and the actual length is stored in a header].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the skipping taught by Grinstein so that the column and record information includes the database table descriptor taught by Liu, with a reasonable expectation of success. The motivation for doing so would have been to provide a data processing capability that supports more data types [Liu, bottom of pg. 8].
Referring to claim 2, Liu discloses The accelerator according to claim 1, further comprising a second circuit to process the query using the database and the skip information [pg. 9; note the first processor and the second processor for processing the query using the database table, filtering conditions, and the database table descriptor; see also Grinstein, pars. 122, 128, 134, and 135 disclosing processing the record set and associated attributes to determine the result-effective subset of attributes].
Referring to claim 3, Grinstein discloses The accelerator according to claim 2, wherein the second circuit includes a column filter to identify columns in the database based at least in part on the skip information [par. 135; note the column skipping based on the column and record information].
Referring to claim 4, Grinstein and Liu disclose The accelerator according to claim 1, wherein: the query includes a first identifier of the first column as a select column of the query and a second identifier of the second column as a pick column of the query [Liu: pg. 9; note the various SQL databases, which, by definition, define queries using SQL (including SELECT statements and filtering conditions)]; and the skip information includes a start column, a number of columns to skip [Grinstein: par. 135 – note the number of columns and records to be skipped, along with the starting position for the first column and record], and a data width associated with the number of columns to skip [Liu: pgs. 9 and 17; note the column length].
Referring to claim 5, Grinstein discloses The accelerator according to claim 4, wherein: the start column includes a third identifier of the third column [par. 135 – note the starting position for the first column]. the data width is generated based at least in part on a first width of the third column and a second width of the fourth column [par. 135; note the number of columns and records to be skipped, along with a starting position for the first column and record for determining the appropriate number of columns and rows to skip; see also Liu, pg. 9 disclosing that the database table descriptor stores the column length for each column and also the index information for the last column of the database table required by the query].
Referring to claim 6, Grinstein and Liu disclose The accelerator according to claim 5, wherein the data width is generated based at least in part on the first width of the third column, the second width of the fourth column, and a data alignment of the database [Grinstein: par. 135; note the number of columns and records to be skipped, along with a starting position for the first column and record for determining the appropriate number of columns and rows to skip; Liu: pg. 9 disclosing that the database table descriptor stores, for each column, the storage alignment mode, the column length, and also the index information for the last column of the database table required by the query].
Referring to claim 7, Liu discloses The accelerator according to claim 1, wherein the circuit is configured to generate skip information based at least in part on the third column and the fourth column being fixed width columns [pg. 9; the database table may include columns having fixed-length and variable-length data types, which would be indicated in the database table descriptor].
Referring to claim 8, Liu discloses The accelerator according to claim 1, wherein the first information includes a flag indicating whether the first column is of fixed or variable width or a width of the first column [pgs. 9 and 17; note the preset value (i.e., indicator) for columns having a variable-length data type].
Referring to claim 9, Grinstein discloses A method, comprising:
…a database at an accelerator [pars. 122 and 128; a data analysis system includes an attribute reduction subsystem (i.e., accelerator) for processing a record set and associated attributes to determine a result-effective subset of attributes; the records and attributes are arranged in a tabular form with each row representing a record and each column representing an attribute];
identifying a first column of the database and a second column of the database… [pars. 134 and 135; the attribute reduction subsystem employs various data encoding techniques including skipping, which entails storing the number of columns and records to be skipped, along with a starting position for the first column and record (i.e., identifying a first column and a last column to be skipped)];
identifying a third column of the database and a fourth column of the database based at least in part on the first column and the second column [pars. 134 and 135; i.e., the columns in between the first column and the last column];
generating a skip information by the accelerator based at least in part on the third column and the fourth column [pars. 122, 128, 134, and 135; the attribute reduction subsystem determines the appropriate number of columns and rows to skip based on the column and record information].
Grinstein does not appear to explicitly disclose receiving a query of the database; that the first column and the second column are identified based at least in part on the query; wherein the skip information indicates that at least one of the third column or the fourth column is a variable width column.
However, Liu discloses receiving a query of the database; that the first column and the second column are identified based at least in part on the query; wherein the skip information indicates that at least one of the third column or the fourth column is a variable width column [pgs. 9 and 17; a reading component obtains a database table descriptor, a filtering condition code stream, and to-be-processed database table for processing a query; the database table descriptor associates each column of the database table with a storage alignment mode and a column length (which means “width” in this context since it corresponds to a data type of the column); a fixed-length data type is defined as the actual length itself; a variable-length data type is defined by a preset value (i.e., an indicator), and the actual length is stored in a header].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the skipping taught by Grinstein so that the column and record information includes the database table descriptor taught by Liu, with a reasonable expectation of success. The motivation for doing so would have been to provide a data processing capability that supports more data types [Liu, bottom of pg. 8].
Referring to claim 10, Liu discloses The method according to claim 9, further comprising processing the query based at least in part on the database and the skip information [pg. 9; note the first processor and the second processor for processing the query using the database table, filtering conditions, and the database table descriptor; see also Grinstein, pars. 122, 128, 134, and 135 disclosing processing the record set and associated attributes to determine the result-effective subset of attributes].
Referring to claim 11, Liu discloses The method according to claim 9, wherein identifying the first column of the database and the second column of the database based at least in part on the query includes: identifying the first column as a select column of the query; and identifying the second column as a pick column of the query [Liu: pg. 9; note the various SQL databases, which, by definition, define queries using SQL (including SELECT statements and filtering conditions)].
Referring to claim 12, Liu discloses The method according to claim 9, wherein generating the skip information by the accelerator based at least in part on the third column and the fourth column includes generating the skip information by a circuit of the accelerator based at least in part on the third column and the fourth column [pg. 9; note the first processor and the second processor for processing the query using the database table, filtering conditions, and the database table descriptor; see also Grinstein, pars. 122, 128, 134, and 135 disclosing that the attribute reduction subsystem determines the appropriate number of columns and rows to skip based on the column and record information].
Referring to claim 13, Grinstein and Liu disclose The method according to claim 9, wherein generating the skip information by the accelerator based at least in part on the third column and the fourth column includes generating a start column, a number of columns to skip [Grinstein: par. 135; note the number of columns and records to be skipped, along with the starting position for the first column and record], and a data width associated with the number of columns to skip based at least in part on the third column and the fourth column [Liu: pgs. 9 and 17; note the column length].
Referring to claim 14, Grinstein discloses The method according to claim 13, wherein generating the start column, the number of columns to skip, and the data width based at least in part on the third column and the fourth column includes: identifying the third column as the start column [par. 135; note the starting position for the first column]; and generating the data width based at least in part on a first width of the third column and a second width of the fourth column [par. 135; note the number of columns and records to be skipped, along with a starting position for the first column and record for determining the appropriate number of columns and rows to skip; see also Liu, pg. 9 disclosing that the database table descriptor stores the column length for each column and also stores the index information for the last column of the database table required by the query].
Referring to claim 15, Grinstein and Liu disclose The method according to claim 14, wherein generating the data width based at least in part on the first width of the third column and the second width of the fourth column includes generating the data width based at least in part on the first width of the third column, the second width of the fourth column, and a data alignment associated with the third column and the fourth column of the database [Grinstein: par. 135; note the number of columns and records to be skipped, along with a starting position for the first column and record for determining the appropriate number of columns and rows to skip; Liu: pg. 9 disclosing that the database table descriptor stores, for each column, the storage alignment mode, the column length, and also the index information for the last column of the database table required by the query].
Referring to claim 16, Grinstein discloses A method, comprising:
…a database at an accelerator [pars. 122 and 128; a data analysis system includes an attribute reduction subsystem (i.e., accelerator) for processing a record set and associated attributes to determine a result-effective subset of attributes; the records and attributes are arranged in a tabular form with each row representing a record and each column representing an attribute];
filtering columns of a database using a column filter based at least in part on a skip information [pars. 134 and 135; the attribute reduction subsystem employs various data encoding techniques including skipping, which entails storing the number of columns and records to be skipped, along with a starting position for the first column and record (i.e., identifying a first column and a last column to be skipped)]; and
processing…based at least in part on…the database, and the column filter [pars. 122, 128, 134, and 135; the attribute reduction subsystem determines the appropriate number of columns and rows to skip based on the column and record information].
Grinstein does not appear to explicitly disclose receiving a query of the database; that the query is processed based at least in part on the query; wherein the skip information indicates that at least one of the columns in the database is a variable width column.
However, Liu discloses receiving a query of the database; that the query is processed based at least in part on the query; wherein the skip information indicates that at least one of the columns in the database is a variable width column [pgs. 9 and 17; a reading component obtains a database table descriptor, a filtering condition code stream, and to-be-processed database table for processing a query; the database table descriptor associates each column of the database table with a storage alignment mode and a column length (which means “width” in this context since it corresponds to a data type of the column); a fixed-length data type is defined as the actual length itself; a variable-length data type is defined by a preset value (i.e., an indicator), and the actual length is stored in a header].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the skipping taught by Grinstein so that the column and record information includes the database table descriptor taught by Liu, with a reasonable expectation of success. The motivation for doing so would have been to provide a data processing capability that supports more data types [Liu, bottom of pg. 8].
Referring to claim 17, Grinstein discloses The method according to claim 16, wherein filtering the columns in the database based at least in part on the skip information using the column filter includes loading the skip information from a storage [par. 135; note the column skipping based on the number of columns and records to be skipped, along with the starting position for the first column and record; see also Liu, pgs. 9 and 17 disclosing the database table descriptor].
Referring to claim 18, Grinstein discloses The method according to claim 16, wherein: the skip information includes a start column and a number of columns to skip; and filtering the columns in the database using the column filter based at least in part on the skip information includes filtering the columns in the database using the column filter based at least in part on the start column and the number of columns [par. 135; note the column skipping based on the number of columns and records to be skipped, along with the starting position for the first column and record].
Referring to claim 19, Grinstein discloses The method according to claim 18, wherein the skip information is based at least in part on the start column and the number of columns being fixed width columns [par. 135; note the column skipping based on the number of columns and records to be skipped, along with the starting position for the first column and record, which means that the columns are fixed width].
Referring to claim 20, Grinstein discloses The method according to claim 16, wherein: the skip information includes a start column [par. 135; note the starting position for the first column] and a data width associated with a number of columns to skip; and filtering the columns in the database using the column filter based at least in part on the skip information includes filtering the columns in the database using the column filter based at least in part on the start column and the data width [par. 135; note the number of columns and records to be skipped, along with a starting position for the first column and record for determining the appropriate number of columns and rows to skip; see also Liu, pg. 9 disclosing that the database table descriptor stores the column length for each column and also stores the index information for the last column of the database table required by the query].
Conclusion
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.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GRACE PARK whose telephone number is (571)270-7727. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8AM-5PM.
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/Grace Park/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2144
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