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 .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d) to foreign application CN202311103444.3 (filling date 08/29/2023). Certified copy of the foreign priority application has been filed with this application on 04/05/2024.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1 and 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Sato (US20110176275A1).
Regarding Claim 1,
Sato teaches, A fan efficiency control method, for a server, wherein the server comprises a plurality of fans and at least one sensor, the fan efficiency control method comprising:
determining a plurality of system parameters of the plurality of fans of the server; (¶0076 teaches determining number of rotations of the cooling fans 54 b-1 and 54 b-2)
obtaining a current temperature through the at least one sensor, (¶0069 teaches measuring a temperature of each device using temperature sensors 22 a to 22 c)
and obtaining a temperature parameter corresponding to a main heat source of the server according to the current temperature; (¶0071 teaches, The temperature sensors 22 a to 22 c notify detected temperatures of the devices respectively to the temperature monitor/cooling controller 25)
obtaining a modulation function; (¶0117 teaches, PMW duty [min] modulation function)
calculating a speed weight of each fan of the plurality of fans according to the plurality of system parameters, the modulation function and the temperature parameter; and adjusting a speed of one of the plurality of fans according to the speed weight. (¶119-¶0122 teaches determining fan rotation amount based on device temperature, current number of rotation and PMW duty [min] and adjusting fan speed to determined fan rotation amount)
Regarding Claim 5,
Sato teaches, The fan efficiency control method of claim 1, wherein the step of calculating the speed weight of each fan of the plurality of fans according to the plurality of system parameters, the modulation function and the temperature parameter comprises:
determining an initial speed weight of each fan of the plurality of fans respectively; (¶0076 teaches determining number of rotations of the cooling fans 54 b-1 and 54 b-2)
calculating a required speed of each fan of the plurality of fans; (¶0120 teaches calculating the value obtained by decreasing the “current duty” by 1%)
determining whether the temperature parameter is lower than a first threshold, and determining whether the required speed of each fan of the plurality of fans is greater than a second threshold; (¶0098 teaches, determining whether or not the temperature of each of all the devices is less than the “threshold value 2” of the part temperature threshold value 25 a-2 provided for each device and ¶0120 teaches, determining whether or not a value obtained by decreasing the current number of rotation of the cooling fans 54 b-1 and 54 b-2 (hereinafter referred to as “current duty”) by 1% is equal to or more than the value “PMW_duty [min]”)
when the temperature parameter is lower than the first threshold and the required speed of each fan of the plurality of fans is greater than the second threshold, calculating to obtain the speed weight of each fan of the plurality of fans according to the modulation function and the initial speed weight of each fan of the plurality of fans; and (¶0098 teaches, determining whether or not the temperature of each of all the devices is less than the “threshold value 2” of the part temperature threshold value 25 a-2 provided for each device and ¶0120 teaches, determining whether or not a value obtained by decreasing the current number of rotation of the cooling fans 54 b-1 and 54 b-2 (hereinafter referred to as “current duty”) by 1% is equal to or more than the value “PMW_duty [min]”. Fig. 6 and ¶0099 teaches, when both of the above condition is satisfied the fan operation amount increasing/decreasing unit 25 c decreases the number of fan rotation determined in the process at step S103, step S105, or step S107 in FIG. 4A by 1% )
when the temperature parameter is higher or equal to the first threshold or the required speed is smaller or equal to the second threshold, obtaining the speed weight as the initial speed weight. (¶0124-¶0125 and Fig. 6 teaches, when temperature of each of all device is higher than threshold 2, maintaining current fan rotation amount)
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 2-3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sato (US20110176275A1) in view of Ragupathi (US20170102747A1).
Regarding Claim 2,
Sato doesn’t teach, The fan efficiency control method of claim 1, wherein the step of obtaining the plurality of system parameters of the plurality of fans comprises:
obtaining a fan amount of the plurality of fans; (Ragupathi in ¶0050 and ¶0052 teaches determining primary cooling fan and shadowing secondary variable speed cooling fans)
obtaining a fan anchor amount; and (Ragupathi in ¶0050 teaches, Then in step 208, the fan mapping is determined for a selected given driving device of step 206. For example, a thermal table 147 may contain information mapping CPU 106 as the driving device for primary cooling fan 190 3 of cooling fan zone 105 3)
defining a part of the plurality of fans as a first fan group and defining another part of the plurality of fans as a second fan group according to the fan anchor amount and the main heat source, wherein an amount of the first fan group is equal to the fan anchor amount. (Ragupathi in ¶0052 teaches, fans 1903 as primary cooling fan and 1902 and 1904 as shadowing cooling fan, being mapped to the driving device.)
Ragupathi is an art in the area of interest as it relates to controlling the fan speed of one or more secondary variable speed cooling fans of an information handling system. A combination of Ragupathi and Sato would allow the system to define fans in to a first and second groups according to fan anchor amount and main heat source. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention was filed to modify Sato in view Ragupathi. One would have been motivated to do so because doing so would allow dynamically determine and optimize a fan shadowing value based on real time configuration and load conditions in a manner to minimize cooling fan power consumption relative to overall system power consumption, such as to increase cooling power efficiency (and/or decrease system power consumption) by minimizing the power-to-cool ratio (PTCR) of an information handling system without sacrificing information handling system performance as taught by Ragupathi in ¶0010
Regarding Claim 3,
Sato and Ragupathi teaches, The fan efficiency control method of claim 2, wherein the step of calculating the speed weight of each fan of the plurality of fans according to the plurality of system parameters, the modulation function and the temperature parameter comprises:
determining an initial speed weight of each fan of the plurality of fans respectively; (Sato in ¶0076 teaches determining number of rotations of the cooling fans 54 b-1 and 54 b-2)
calculating to obtain the speed weight corresponding to the second fan group according to the modulation function, the temperature parameter and the initial speed weight of each fan of the plurality of fans; and (Sato in ¶119-¶0122 teaches determining fan rotation amount based on device temperature, current number of rotation and PMW duty [min])
maintaining the initial speed weight corresponding to the first fan group. (Sato in ¶0124-¶0125 teaches maintaining current fan rotation amount)
Claim(s) 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sato (US20110176275A1) in view Ma (US20250024635A1).
Regarding Claim 4,
Sato doesn’t teach, The fan efficiency control method of claim 1, wherein the step of obtaining the temperature parameter corresponding to the main heat source of the server comprises:
obtaining the temperature parameter of the main heat source according to the current temperature and a setup temperature corresponding to the main heat source. (Ma in ¶0030 teaches, RAC 210 can calculate a temperature delta based on the maximum supported ambient temperature 220 of the information handling system 202 and the current ambient temperature of the information handling system 202. ¶0031 teaches, The RAC 210 can adjust, based on the temperature delta, one or more thermal control trigger points 222. ¶0033 teaches, The RAC 210 adjusts, based on the adjusted thermal control trigger points 222, a fan speed of the fan 214)
Ma is an art in the area of interest as it relates to managing thermal capabilities of an information handling system. A combination of Ma with Sato would allow using a temperature parameter according to current temperature and a setup temperature corresponding to the main heat source. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention was filed to modify Sato in view Ma. Sato teaches adjusting speed of fan based on detected temperature. Ma teaches adjusting fan speed based on a temperature delta based on the maximum supported ambient temperature 220 of the information handling system 202 and the current ambient temperature of the information handling system 202. Since each individual element and its function are shown in the prior art, albeit shown in separate references, the difference between the claimed subject matter and the prior art rests not on any individual element or function but in the very combination itself- that is in the substitution of the temperature delta of Ma for the detected temperature of Sato. Thus, the simple substitution of one known element for another producing a predictable result renders the claim obvious.
Claim(s) 6 and 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sato (US20110176275A1) in view of Ping (US20180260007A1).
Regarding Claim 6,
Sato teaches, A server, comprising:
a plurality of fans; (Fig. 2 teaches fans 54 b-1 and 54 b-2
at least one sensor; (Fig. 2 teaches sensors 22a, 22b, 22c)
a processor, coupled to the sensor and the plurality of proportional integral derivative controller, configured to execute a fan efficiency control method, wherein the fan efficiency control method comprises: (¶0046 teaches, The temperature monitor/cooling controller including a semiconductor storage device such as a read-only memory (ROM) and a semiconductor processing device such as a micro processing unit (MPU).)
determining a plurality of system parameters of the plurality of fans of the server; (¶0076 teaches determining number of rotations of the cooling fans 54 b-1 and 54 b-2)
obtaining a current temperature through the at least one sensor, and (¶0069 teaches measuring a temperature of each device using temperature sensors 22 a to 22 c)
obtaining a temperature parameter corresponding to a main heat source of the server according to the current temperature; (¶0071 teaches, The temperature sensors 22 a to 22 c notify detected temperatures of the devices respectively to the temperature monitor/cooling controller 25)
obtaining a modulation function; (¶0117 teaches, PMW duty [min] modulation function)
calculating a speed weight of each fan of the plurality of fans according to the plurality of system parameters, the modulation function and the temperature parameter; and adjusting, by the plurality of proportional integral derivative controller, a speed of one of the plurality of fans according to the speed weight. (¶119-¶0122 teaches determining fan rotation amount based on device temperature, current number of rotation and PMW duty [min] and adjusting fan speed to determined fan rotation amount)
Sato doesn’t teach, a plurality of proportional integral derivative controller, coupled to the plurality of fans; and (Sato teaches, fan controlling device 26, however it doesn’t teach, Ping in ¶0045 and ¶0050 teaches, a plurality of proportional integral derivative controller. plurality of PID controllers to control plurality of fans 130)
Ping is an art in the area of interest as it teaches temperature control for a persistent storage system (see ¶0002). A combination of Ping with Sato would allow the combined system to use a proportional integral derivative controller to control the fans. Using a proportional integral differential (PID) controller to control a fan in computing environment is known in the art as evident by Ping ¶0003, ¶0045 and ¶0050. Since each individual element and its function are shown in the prior art, albeit shown in separate references, the difference between the claimed subject matter and the prior art rests not on any individual element or function but in the very combination itself- that is in the substitution of the PID controllers of Ping for the fan controlling device of Sato. Thus, the simple substitution of one known element for another producing a predictable result renders the claim obvious.
Regarding Claim 10,
Sato and Ping teaches, The server of claim 6, wherein the step of calculating the speed weight of each fan of the plurality of fans according to the plurality of system parameters, the modulation function and the temperature parameter comprises:
determining an initial speed weight of each fan of the plurality of fans respectively; (Sato in ¶0076 teaches determining number of rotations of the cooling fans 54 b-1 and 54 b-2)
calculating a required speed of each fan of the plurality of fans; (Sato in ¶0120 teaches calculating the value obtained by decreasing the “current duty” by 1%)
determining whether the temperature parameter is lower than a first threshold, and determining whether the required speed of each fan of the plurality of fans is greater than a second threshold; (Sato in ¶0098 teaches, determining whether or not the temperature of each of all the devices is less than the “threshold value 2” of the part temperature threshold value 25 a-2 provided for each device and ¶0120 teaches, determining whether or not a value obtained by decreasing the current number of rotation of the cooling fans 54 b-1 and 54 b-2 (hereinafter referred to as “current duty”) by 1% is equal to or more than the value “PMW_duty [min]”)
when the temperature parameter is lower than the first threshold and the required speed of each fan of the plurality of fans is greater than the second threshold, calculating to obtain the speed weight of each fan of the plurality of fans according to the modulation function and the initial speed weight of each fan of the plurality of fans; and (Sato in ¶0098 teaches, determining whether or not the temperature of each of all the devices is less than the “threshold value 2” of the part temperature threshold value 25 a-2 provided for each device and ¶0120 teaches, determining whether or not a value obtained by decreasing the current number of rotation of the cooling fans 54 b-1 and 54 b-2 (hereinafter referred to as “current duty”) by 1% is equal to or more than the value “PMW_duty [min]”. Fig. 6 and ¶0099 teaches, when both of the above condition is satisfied the fan operation amount increasing/decreasing unit 25 c decreases the number of fan rotation determined in the process at step S103, step S105, or step S107 in FIG. 4A by 1% )
when the temperature parameter is higher or equal to the first threshold or the required speed is smaller or equal to the second threshold, obtaining the speed weight as the initial speed weight. (Sato in ¶0124-¶0125 and Fig. 6 teaches, when temperature of each of all device is higher than threshold 2, maintaining current fan rotation amount)
Claim(s) 7-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sato (US20110176275A1) in view of Ping (US20180260007A1) and further in view of Ragupathi (US20170102747A1).
Regarding Claim 7,
Sato and Ping as combined doesn’t teach, The server of claim 6, wherein the step of obtaining the plurality of system parameters of the plurality of fans comprises:
obtaining a fan amount of the plurality of fans; (Ragupathi in ¶0050 and ¶0052 teaches determining primary cooling fan and shadowing secondary variable speed cooling fans)
obtaining a fan anchor amount; (Ragupathi in ¶0050 teaches, Then in step 208, the fan mapping is determined for a selected given driving device of step 206. For example, a thermal table 147 may contain information mapping CPU 106 as the driving device for primary cooling fan 190 3 of cooling fan zone 105 3)
and defining a part of the plurality of fans as a first fan group and defining another part of the plurality of fans as a second fan group according to the fan anchor amount and the main heat source, wherein an amount of the first fan group is equal to the fan anchor amount. (Ragupathi in ¶0052 teaches, fans 1903 as primary cooling fan and 1902 and 1904 as shadowing cooling fan, being mapped to the driving device.)
Ragupathi is an art in the area of interest as it relates to controlling the fan speed of one or more secondary variable speed cooling fans of an information handling system. A combination of Ragupathi with Sato and Ping would allow the system to define fans in to a first and second groups according to fan anchor amount and main heat source. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention was filed to modify Sato and Ping in view Ragupathi. One would have been motivated to do so because doing so would allow dynamically determine and optimize a fan shadowing value based on real time configuration and load conditions in a manner to minimize cooling fan power consumption relative to overall system power consumption, such as to increase cooling power efficiency (and/or decrease system power consumption) by minimizing the power-to-cool ratio (PTCR) of an information handling system without sacrificing information handling system performance as taught by Ragupathi in ¶0010
Regarding Claim 8,
Sato, Ping and Ragupathi teaches, The server of claim 7, wherein the step of calculating the speed weight of each fan of the plurality of fans according to the plurality of system parameters, the modulation function and the temperature parameter comprises:
determining an initial speed weight of each fan of the plurality of fans respectively; (Sato in ¶0076 teaches determining number of rotations of the cooling fans 54 b-1 and 54 b-2)
calculating to obtain the speed weight corresponding to the second fan group according to the modulation function, the temperature parameter and the initial speed weight of each fan of the plurality of fans; and (Sato in ¶119-¶0122 teaches determining fan rotation amount based on device temperature, current number of rotation and PMW duty [min])
maintaining the initial speed weight corresponding to the first fan group. (Sato in ¶0124-¶0125 teaches maintaining current fan rotation amount)
Claim(s) 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sato (US20110176275A1) in view of Ping (US20180260007A1) and further in view of Ma (US20250024635A1).
Regarding Claim 9,
Sato and Ping as combined doesn’t teach, The server of claim 6, wherein the step of obtaining the temperature parameter corresponding to the main heat source of the server comprises: obtaining the temperature parameter of the main heat source according to the current temperature and a setup temperature corresponding to the main heat source. (Ma in ¶0030 teaches, RAC 210 can calculate a temperature delta based on the maximum supported ambient temperature 220 of the information handling system 202 and the current ambient temperature of the information handling system 202. ¶0031 teaches, The RAC 210 can adjust, based on the temperature delta, one or more thermal control trigger points 222. ¶0033 teaches, The RAC 210 adjusts, based on the adjusted thermal control trigger points 222, a fan speed of the fan 214)
Ma is an art in the area of interest as it relates to managing thermal capabilities of an information handling system. A combination of Ma with Sato would allow using a temperature parameter according to current temperature and a setup temperature corresponding to the main heat source. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention was filed to modify Sato in view Ma. Sato teaches adjusting speed of fan based on detected temperature. Ma teaches adjusting fan speed based on a temperature delta based on the maximum supported ambient temperature 220 of the information handling system 202 and the current ambient temperature of the information handling system 202. Since each individual element and its function are shown in the prior art, albeit shown in separate references, the difference between the claimed subject matter and the prior art rests not on any individual element or function but in the very combination itself- that is in the substitution of the temperature delta of Ma for the detected temperature of Sato. Thus, the simple substitution of one known element for another producing a predictable result renders the claim obvious.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Cheng (US20220408590A1) in ¶0028 teaches, pulse width modulation based on control fan groups of a server.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ISTIAQUE AHMED whose telephone number is (571)272-7087. The examiner can normally be reached Monday to Thursday 10AM -6PM and alternate Fridays.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Kenneth M Lo can be reached at (571) 272-9774. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ISTIAQUE AHMED/ Examiner, Art Unit 2116
/KENNETH M LO/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2116
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