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 communication is response to claims filed on 03/19/24.
Claims 1-20 are presented for examination.
Information Disclosure Statement’s
4. The information disclosure statement(s) submitted on 03/19/24 & 02/11/25 have being considered by the examiner and made of record in the application file.
Drawing
5. The drawings filed on 03/19/24 are accepted by the examiner.
Specification
6. The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed. Examiner suggested to change the title to “DETERMINE PROCESSES TO BE PROCESSED OR PROCESS PROCESSES TO BE PROCESSED”
Appropriate correction is required.
Claims Objections
7. Claims 2-5, 14-17 & 18-20 are objected to because of minor informalities:
8. Claim 2, in part, recites, “…an energy harvesting state…in line 4. For consistency and clarification with “an energy harvesting state” recited in claim 1, line 2, it is suggested to change “an energy harvesting state” in line 7, to “the energy harvesting state”.
9. Claim 15 are also objected for the same reason as claim 2 above.
10. Claims 3-5 are also objected since they are depend upon objected independent claims set forth above.
11. Claim 14, in part, recites, “…a terminal device, comprising a processor…in line 1. It’s suggested to change it to: “a terminal device, comprising a processor:”
12. Claim 18 are also objected for the same reason as claim 14 above.
13. Claims 15-17 & 19-20 are also objected since they are depend upon objected independent claims set forth above.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
14. 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.
15. Claims 1, 6-11, 14 & 16-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ni Scanaill et al. (hereinafter referred as Ni Scanaill) U.S. Patent Application Publication # 2017/0170675 A1.
Regarding claims 1 & 14: Ni Scanaill discloses a terminal device (See FIG. 1A & Para. 0029; IoT device 10)/method, comprising
a processor (See FIG. 1A & Para. 0029; IoT device 10 includes a controller module 24) and
a memory (See FIG. 7 & Para. 0044; main memory 201) configured to store a computer program, wherein the processor is configured to invoke and run the computer program stored in the memory to:
determine whether the terminal device is able to complete at least one processing process according to an energy harvesting state of the terminal device (See FIG. 5 & Para. 0034-0037; The voltage comparison 104 may include comparing the output voltage V.sub.cap of the supercapacitor 14 and the output voltage V.sub.batt of the secondary battery 20 to determine if the output voltage V.sub.cap exceeds the V.sub.batt. If the V.sub.cap does not exceed the V.sub.batt, energy demanding task is rescheduled to the queue to delay the energy demanding task until either the supercapacitor 14 is sufficient to perform the energy demanding task); and
when it is determined that the terminal device is unable to complete the at least one processing process, determine at least one target processing process according to a priority of the at least one processing process (See FIG. 5 & Para. 0034-0037; The total energy evaluation 106 may include evaluating the output voltage V.sub.cap of the supercapacitor 14 and the output voltage V.sub.batt of the secondary battery 20 to determine if sufficient power for performing the schedule energy demanding task may be provided from the supercapacitor 14, the secondary battery 20 and combination thereof. this configuration allows delaying high energy demand, low priority tasks to allow the supercapacitor 14 to be sufficiently charge to be the sole power provider for the scheduled task and avoid any discharge of the secondary battery).
Regarding claim 6: Ni Scanaill discloses the method, wherein the priority of the at least one processing process is determined according to a priority rule based on a type of the at least one processing process, and the priority rule is predefined or configured by the network device (See Para. 0036; high and low priority tasks).
Regarding claim 7: Ni Scanaill discloses the method, wherein the type of the at least one processing process comprises at least one of: a dynamic scheduling type, a scheduling-free type, a data processing type (See Para. 0036; scheduling task).
Regarding claim 8: Ni Scanaill discloses the method, wherein the priority rule comprises: a priority of a processing process of the dynamic scheduling type being higher than a priority of a processing process of the scheduling-free type; and the priority of the processing process of the scheduling-free type being higher than a priority of a processing process of the data processing type (See Para. 0036; determine if the output voltage V.sub.cap exceeds the V.sub.batt. If the V.sub.cap does not exceed the V.sub.batt, energy demanding task is rescheduled to the queue to delay the energy demanding task until either the supercapacitor 14 is sufficient to perform the energy demanding task. In an example, the energy demanding task can be designated as a high priority task. If designated at a high priority task, the controller may proceed to the total energy evaluation 106 and immediately supply power the available power to perform the energy demanding task even if the output voltage V.sub.cap does not exceed the V.sub.batt. As such, the secondary battery 20 can be discharged in the performance of high priority tasks if the output voltage V.sub.cap is insufficient).
Regarding claim 9: Ni Scanaill discloses the method, wherein the priority of the at least one processing process is predefined; or the priority of the at least one processing process is configured by the network device, and the priority of the at least one processing process is configured by the network device in a semi-static manner, wherein a priority of a first processing process is carried in a scheduling indication sent by the network device, and the first processing process is any one of the at least one processing process that is scheduled in a dynamic scheduling manner or a semi-static scheduling manner (See Para. 0034-0036; high and low priority tasks).
Regarding claims 10 & 18: Ni Scanaill discloses a terminal device (See FIG. 1A & Para. 0029; IoT device 10)/method comprising
a processor (See FIG. 1A & Para. 0029; IoT device 10 includes a controller module 24) and
a memory (See FIG. 7 & Para. 0044; main memory 201) configured to store a computer program, wherein the processor is configured to invoke and run the computer program stored in the memory to:
determine whether the terminal device is able to complete a first processing process according to an energy harvesting state of the terminal device (See FIG. 5 & Para. 0034-0037; The voltage comparison 104 may include comparing the output voltage V.sub.cap of the supercapacitor 14 and the output voltage V.sub.batt of the secondary battery 20 to determine if the output voltage V.sub.cap exceeds the V.sub.batt. If the V.sub.cap does not exceed the V.sub.batt, energy demanding task is rescheduled to the queue to delay the energy demanding task until either the supercapacitor 14 is sufficient to perform the energy demanding task); and
when it is determined that the terminal device is able to complete the first processing process, process the first processing process (See FIG. 5 & Para. 0034-0037; If sufficient power may be provided by the supercapacitor 14 and/or the secondary battery 20, the scheduled task may be performed if the energy demanding task is a high priority task).
Regarding claim 11: Ni Scanaill discloses a method, further comprising: when it is determined that the terminal device is unable to complete the first processing procedure, no processing the first processing procedure, wherein the method further comprises: before determining whether the terminal device is able to complete the first processing process according to the energy harvesting state of the terminal device, determining the energy harvesting state of the terminal device (See Para. 0034-0037).
Regarding claim 16: Ni Scanaill discloses a terminal device, wherein the processor is configured to invoke and run the computer program stored in the memory to: process the at least one target processing process according to a priority sequence of the at least one target processing process, wherein the processor is configured to invoke and run the computer program stored in the memory to: process the at least one target processing process according to a time sequence of the at least one target processing process (See FIG. 5 & Para. 0034-0037).
Regarding claim 17: Ni Scanaill discloses a terminal device, wherein the terminal device adopts at least one of following energy harvesting manners: a manner of harvesting a radio frequency signal; a manner of harvesting ambient light; a manner of harvesting vibration energy; or a manner of harvesting heat (See Abstract; energy harvesting module).
Regarding claim 19: Ni Scanaill discloses a terminal device, wherein the processor is configured to invoke and run the computer program stored in the memory to: determine whether there is a second processing process having a priority higher than a preset priority within a target time interval; and the processor is configured to invoke and run the computer program stored in the memory to: when there is no second processing process within the target time interval, determine whether the terminal device is able to complete the first processing process according to the energy harvesting state (See FIG. 5 & Para. 0034-0037).
Regarding claim 20: Ni Scanaill discloses a terminal device, wherein the target time interval is associated with at least one of a capability of the terminal device or a signal measurement result, wherein the capability of the terminal device comprises at least one of: an energy storage capacity of the terminal device; an energy harvesting duration of the terminal device; an energy harvesting efficiency of the terminal device; or an energy harvesting speed of the terminal device (See Abstract; energy harvesting module).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
16. 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 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 of this title, 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 set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied 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.
17. Claims 2-5, 12-13 & 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ni Scanaill, in view of HYU et al. (hereinafter referred as HYU) Korean Patent Application No. KR 101 898 144 B1 (as disclosed in the IDS).
Regarding claim 2: Ni Scanaill discloses all the limitations of the claimed invention with an exception of determining at least one processing process which is to be completed within a target time interval; and determining an energy harvesting state corresponding to the target time interval.
However, HYU from the same field of endeavor discloses determining at least one processing process which is to be completed within a target time interval; and determining an energy harvesting state corresponding to the target time interval (See Para. 0063-0064; perform tasks according to its priority and execution time).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include determining at least one processing process which is to be completed within a target time interval; and determining an energy harvesting state corresponding to the target time interval as taught by HYU in the system of Ni Scanaill in order to increase the usability of IoT devices that must operate in environments where power supply is not sufficient and wearable devices that require long-term operation (See Para. 0004; lines 4-6).
Regarding claim 3: The combination of Ni Scanaill and HYU disclose the method.
Furthermore, HYU discloses the method, wherein a starting moment of the target time interval is predefined or configured by a network device; or a length of the target time interval is predefined or configured by a network device; or the target time interval is predefined or configured by a network device (See Para. 0063-0064; tasks are performed in the order of highest priority: T2>T3>T1>T4>T5).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include wherein a starting moment of the target time interval is predefined or configured by a network device; or a length of the target time interval is predefined or configured by a network device; or the target time interval is predefined or configured by a network device as taught by HYU in the system of Ni Scanaill in order to increase the usability of IoT devices that must operate in environments where power supply is not sufficient and wearable devices that require long-term operation (See Para. 0004; lines 4-6).
Regarding claim 4: The combination of Ni Scanaill and HYU disclose the method.
Furthermore, HYU discloses the method, wherein the target time interval is associated with at least one of a capability of the terminal device or a signal measurement result (See Para. 0064-0065; blue color indicates the amount of energy supplied, and the gray area indicates the amount of energy consumed by each task).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include wherein the target time interval is associated with at least one of a capability of the terminal device or a signal measurement result as taught by HYU in the system of Ni Scanaill in order to increase the usability of IoT devices that must operate in environments where power supply is not sufficient and wearable devices that require long-term operation (See Para. 0004; lines 4-6).
Regarding claim 5: The combination of Ni Scanaill and HYU disclose the method.
Furthermore, Ni Scanaill discloses the method, wherein the capability of the terminal device comprises at least one of: an energy storage capacity of the terminal device; an energy harvesting duration of the terminal device; an energy harvesting efficiency of the terminal device; or an energy harvesting speed of the terminal device, wherein the signal measurement result comprises: a strength of a power supplying signal received by the terminal device (See FIG. 5; S106; Sufficient energy for Task).
Regarding claim 12: The combination of Ni Scanaill and HYU disclose the method.
Furthermore, HYU discloses the method, before determining according to the energy harvesting state of the terminal device whether the terminal device is able to complete the first processing process, determining whether there is a second processing process having a priority higher than a preset priority within a target time interval; and wherein determining according to the energy harvesting state of the terminal device whether the terminal device is able to complete the first processing process comprises: when there is no the second processing process within the target time interval, determining whether the terminal device is able to complete the first processing process according to the energy harvesting state (See Para. 0062-0064 & 0067-0070).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include before determining according to the energy harvesting state of the terminal device whether the terminal device is able to complete the first processing process, determining whether there is a second processing process having a priority higher than a preset priority within a target time interval; and wherein determining according to the energy harvesting state of the terminal device whether the terminal device is able to complete the first processing process comprises: when there is no the second processing process within the target time interval, determining whether the terminal device is able to complete the first processing process according to the energy harvesting state as taught by HYU in the system of Ni Scanaill in order to increase the usability of IoT devices that must operate in environments where power supply is not sufficient and wearable devices that require long-term operation (See Para. 0004; lines 4-6).
Regarding claim 13: The combination of Ni Scanaill and HYU disclose the method.
Furthermore, HYU discloses the method, when there is the second processing process within the target time interval, processing the second processing process and not processing the first processing process, wherein a starting moment of the target time interval is predefined or configured by a network device, a length of the target time interval is predefined or configured by a network device, wherein the target time interval is predefined or configured by a network device (See Para. 0062-0064 & 0067-0070).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include when there is the second processing process within the target time interval, processing the second processing process and not processing the first processing process, wherein a starting moment of the target time interval is predefined or configured by a network device, a length of the target time interval is predefined or configured by a network device, wherein the target time interval is predefined or configured by a network device as taught by HYU in the system of Ni Scanaill in order to increase the usability of IoT devices that must operate in environments where power supply is not sufficient and wearable devices that require long-term operation (See Para. 0004; lines 4-6).
Regarding claim 15: The combination of Ni Scanaill and HYU disclose the terminal device.
Furthermore, HYU discloses the terminal device, wherein the processor is configured to invoke and run the computer program stored in the memory to: determine at least one processing process to be completed within a target time interval; and determine an energy harvesting state corresponding to the target time interval (See Para. 0063-0064; perform tasks according to its priority and execution time), wherein a starting moment of the target time interval is predefined or configured by a network device, and a length of the target time interval is predefined or configured by a network device (See Para. 0063-0064; tasks are performed in the order of highest priority: T2>T3>T1>T4>T5).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include determine at least one processing process to be completed within a target time interval; and determine an energy harvesting state corresponding to the target time interval, wherein a starting moment of the target time interval is predefined or configured by a network device, and a length of the target time interval is predefined or configured by a network device as taught by HYU in the system of Ni Scanaill in order to increase the usability of IoT devices that must operate in environments where power supply is not sufficient and wearable devices that require long-term operation (See Para. 0004; lines 4-6).
Conclusion
21. The prior art of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure.
A. Elshafie et al. 2024/0389017 A1 (Title: Cell wake up signal formats and contents and synchronization signal) (See Abstract, Para. 0012 & 0037-0038).
B. Butt et al. 2024/0072572 A1 (Title: Energy harvesting information supported user…) (See abstract, Para. 0006 & 00813-0016).
C. Babaei et al. 2023/0389120 A1 (Title: Network energy saving ) (See FIG. 1, Para. 0046, 0050 & 0160).
22. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MEWALE A AMBAYE whose telephone number is (571)270-1076. The examiner can normally be reached on M.F 6a.m.-2p.m..
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Ian Moore can be reached on (571)272-3085. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MEWALE A AMBAYE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2469
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