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 .
This Office Action is in response to the filing date 3/12/2024.
Claims 1-20 are pending and have been considered below.
Claim Objections
Claims 1-20 are objected to because of the following informalities: The acronym PCIe is required to be spelled out. Appropriate correction is required.
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.
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: “first communication unit”, “second communication unit”, and “a processing unit” in claim 1.
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.
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 § 102
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.
Claims 1 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by TWI779858B to Yuan.
Per claim 1, Yuan teaches a firmware burning device comprising:
a first communication unit configured to establish a communication connection with a first electronic device and receive a to-be-burned firmware from the first electronic device (see at least page 3, paragraph 12 “It can be understood that the control interface 220 can be connected to the server 200 through a local area network. The control interface 220 can receive a control command from the user, so that the server 200 sends a firmware 200 sends a firmware data package to the storage interface 130 according to the control command.…”);
a second communication unit configured to establish a wired communication with a peripheral component interface express (PCIe) Switch (see at least page 3, paragraph 14 “It can be understood that, in step S010, when the expander/switch 110 needs to perform firmware upgrade, the expander/switch 110 needs to establish a connection with the BMC…”); and
a processing unit connected to the first communication unit and the second communication unit (see at least page 3, paragraph 10 “It can be understood that the network interface controller 113 can connect the expander/switch 110 and the BMC 120 and the server 200 to the same local area network for data transmission and communication…”), wherein the processing unit is configured to obtain the to-be-burned firmware received by the first communication unit and burn the to-be-burned firmware to the PCIe Switch through the second communication unit (see page 4, paragraph 13 “After the expander/switch 110 finishes sending the last fragment data packet, the BMC 120 sends an end character “EOT” to indicate that all firmware data has been sent…”; see also paragraph 16 “It can be understood that after the transmission of all fragmented data packets is completed, the BMC 120 sends the CLI command “reset” to restart the expander/switch 110 to the expander/switch 110 to make the updated firmware of the expander/switch 110 take effect…”).
Per claim 11, Yuan teaches a method for automatically burning firmware applicable in a firmware burning device, the method comprising:
establishing a wireless communication connection with a first electronic device (see at least page 3, paragraph 12 “It can be understood that the control interface 220 can be connected to the server 200 through a local area network. The control interface 220 can receive a control command from the user, so that the server 200 sends a firmware 200 sends a firmware data package to the storage interface 130 according to the control command.…”);
receiving a to-be-burned firmware from the first electronic device based on the wireless communication connection established with the first electronic device (see at least page 3, paragraph 12 “It can be understood that the control interface 220 can be connected to the server 200 through a local area network. The control interface 220 can receive a control command from the user, so that the server 200 sends a firmware 200 sends a firmware data package to the storage interface 130 according to the control command.…”); and
burning the to-be-burned firmware to a peripheral component interface express (PCIe) Switch based on a wired communication connection established with the PCIe Switch (see page 4, paragraph 7 “After the expander/switch 110 finishes sending the last fragment data packet, the BMC 120 sends an end character “EOT” to indicate that all firmware data has been sent…”; see also paragraph 10 “It can be understood that after the transmission of all fragmented data packets is completed, the BMC 120 sends the CLI command “reset” to restart the expander/switch 110 to the expander/switch 110 to make the updated firmware of the expander/switch 110 take effect…”).
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 2-4 and 12-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over TWI779858B to Yuan in view of CN115113891A to Ma.
Per claims 2 and 12, Yuan does not explicitly teach
wherein after the PCIe Switch is restarted, the processing unit is further configured to: obtain a first firmware information of the PCIe Switch through the second communication unit; and determine whether the to-be-burned firmware is successfully burned to the PCIe Switch based on a predetermined firmware information and the first firmware information.
Ma teaches an analogous art relates to PCIe switch firmware updating, comprising:
after the PCIe Switch is restarted, obtain a first firmware information of the PCIe Switch and determine whether firmware is successfully burned to the PCIe Switch based on a predetermined firmware information and the first firmware information (see at least page 4, paragraphs 14-15 “…restarting the PCIe Switch, checking the version information of each target firmware of the initial main partition and the initial spare partition, if the check is successful, then each target firmware is upgraded successfully. After upgrading each firmware in the main partition and the spare partition, restarting the PCIe Switch, and checking each target firmware in the initial main partition and the initial spare partition after the restart, if the check is successful, determining that each target firmware upgrade is successful…”).
It would have been obvious for a person of an ordinary skilled in the art as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teaching of Yuan to incorporate the teaching of Ma to verify whether firmware is successfully upgraded. One would have been motivated to do so in order to confirm a successful firmware upgrade.
Per claims 3 and 13, Ma further teaches
wherein determine whether the to-be-burned firmware is successfully burned to the PCIe Switch based on a predetermined firmware information and the first firmware information, further comprises: determine the to-be-burned firmware is successfully burned to the PCIe Switch, when the predetermined firmware information is consistent with the first firmware information; determine the to-be-burned firmware is not successfully burned to the PCIe Switch, when the predetermined firmware information is inconsistent with the first firmware information (see at least page 5, paragraphs 9-14 “…judging whether the upgrading instruction is the mandatory upgrading instruction; if not, obtaining the version information of each target firmware and the CRC (Cyclic Redundancy Check) information of the initial main partition, respectively performing the first consistency check of the version information and the CRC information for each target firmware of the initial main partition and each expected upgrade firmware in the upgrade instruction one by one; if the first consistency check is failed, obtaining the version information and CRC information of each target firmware of the initial spare partition; respectively performing the second consistency check of the version information and the CRC information for each target firmware of the initial spare partition and each expected upgrade firmware respectively; if the second consistency check is failed, then upgrading each target firmware in the initial spare partition…”).
Per claims 4 and 14, Ma further teaches
send a first information to the first electronic device through the first communication unit, wherein the first information is configured to indicate that the to-be-burned firmware is successfully burned to the PCIe Switch; and send a second information to the first electronic device through the first communication unit, wherein the second information is configured to indicate that the to-be-burned firmware is not successfully burned to the PCIe Switch (see at least page 5, paragraphs 9-14 “…judging whether the upgrading instruction is the mandatory upgrading instruction; if not, obtaining the version information of each target firmware and the CRC (Cyclic Redundancy Check) information of the initial main partition, respectively performing the first consistency check of the version information and the CRC information for each target firmware of the initial main partition and each expected upgrade firmware in the upgrade instruction one by one; if the first consistency check is failed, obtaining the version information and CRC information of each target firmware of the initial spare partition; respectively performing the second consistency check of the version information and the CRC information for each target firmware of the initial spare partition and each expected upgrade firmware respectively; if the second consistency check is failed, then upgrading each target firmware in the initial spare partition…”).
Claims 5, 6, 15, and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over TWI779858B to Yuan in view of CN115113891A to Ma and in further view of CN113238778A to Liao.
Per claim 5 and 15, Yuan does not explicitly teach
wherein the first firmware information comprises a first firmware version number of a current firmware of the PCIe Switch and a first timestamp at the time of burning the current firmware, and the predetermined firmware information comprises a second firmware version number of the to-be-burned firmware and a second timestamp at the time of burning the to-be-burned firmware to the PCIe Switch.
Ma teaches an analogous art relates to PCIe switch firmware updating, comprising:
wherein the first firmware information comprises a first firmware version number of a current firmware of the PCIe Switch obtaining the version information of each target firmware and the CRC (Cyclic Redundancy Check) information of the initial main partition, respectively performing the first consistency check of the version information and the CRC information for each target firmware of the initial main partition and each expected upgrade firmware in the upgrade instruction one by one…”).
It would have been obvious for a person of an ordinary skilled in the art as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teaching of Yuan to incorporate the teaching of Ma to use firmware versions for verifying whether firmware is successfully upgraded. One would have been motivated to use firmware versions for verifying firmware upgrade to ensure that the firmware is upgraded to a new version.
Neither Yuan nor Ma teaches timestamp of burning firmware to the PCIe.
Liao teaches an analogous art relates to upgrading firmware to a device, comprising:
timestamp of upgrade firmware (see at least page 5, paragraph 4 “In some embodiments, the step of determining the BIOS image file for updating according to the timestamp comprises: in response to the updated BIOS firmware is abnormal, restoring the updating item and determining new BIOS mirror file for updating according to the timestamp. if the updated BIOS firmware is abnormal, indicating that some configuration items are not compatible with the BIOS firmware, and re-selecting the BIOS mirror image file to update the configuration partition of the BIOS firmware”).
It would have been obvious for a person of an ordinary skilled in the art as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Yuan and Ma to incorporate the teaching of Liao to include timestamp of the upgraded firmware. One would have been motivated to include timestamp for the upgraded firmware because it can be used to compare with the previous timestamp for verifying that the firmware is upgraded.
Per claims 6 and 16, Ma further teaches
wherein the predetermined firmware information is consistent with the first firmware information, comprises one of the first firmware version number being consistent with the second firmware version number, the first timestamp is consistent with the second timestamp, the first firmware version number is consistent with the second firmware version number, and the first timestamp is consistent with the second timestamp (see at least page 2, paragraph 8 “…restarting the PCIe Switch, checking the version information of each target firmware of the initial main partition, if the verification is successful, then each of the target firmware in the initial main partition is upgraded successfully…”); and
the predetermined firmware information is inconsistent with the first firmware information comprises one of the first firmware version number is inconsistent with the second firmware version number, the first timestamp is inconsistent with the second timestamp, the first firmware version number is consistent with the second firmware version number but the first timestamp is inconsistent with the second timestamp, the first firmware version number is inconsistent with the second firmware version number and the first timestamp is inconsistent with the second timestamp, the first firmware version number is inconsistent with the second firmware version number but the first timestamp is consistent with the second timestamp (see at least page 2, paragraphs 12-13 “…respectively performing the first consistency check of the version information and the CRC information for each of the target firmware of the initial main partition and each expected upgrade firmware in the upgrade instruction; if the first consistency check is failed, obtaining the version information and CRC information of each target firmware of the initial spare partition…”) .
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 7 and 17 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claims 1 and 11, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
CN112269584A relates to PCIe switch firmware upgrading.
CN114153477A relates to PCIe switch firmware upgrading.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PHILLIP H NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)270-1070. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9:00AM-5:00PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Wei Zhen can be reached at (571) 272-3708. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/PHILLIP H NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2191