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 .
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, 4-10, and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Chang et al. (US. 2022/0121251 A1).
In Regards to Claim 1:
Chang teaches an OCP adapter (300) for an EDSFF drive cage (320), the adapter (300) comprising:
a frame (334) defining an interior volume and comprising:
inner engagement features (346/344) configured to engage with an OCP module (336) received in the interior volume and to attach the OCP adapter (300) to the OCP module (336); outer engagement features (340/342) configured to engage with cage engagement features (Fig. 3A where cage engaged with outer feature) of a bay of the EDSFF drive cage (310) as the OCP adapter (300) is inserted into the bay (310) to guide the OCP adapter (300) into an installed position in the bay (310); and a latching mechanism (333) connected to the frame (334) and configured to latch into a latching feature of the EDSFF drive cage (320) in an installed state of the OCP adapter (300) in the bay (310).
In Regards to Claim 4:
Chang teaches the OCP adapter of claim 1, wherein the latching mechanism (333) comprises a ridge configured to snap into a latching feature of the EDSFF cage (320).
In Regards to Claim 5:
Chang teaches the OCP adapter of claim 1, wherein the latching mechanism (333) comprises a groove configured to snap into a latching feature of the EDSFF cage (320).
In Regards to Claim 6:
Chang teaches the OCP adapter of claim 1, wherein the latching mechanism (320) is located at the rear-end of the frame (334).
In Regards to Claim 7:
Chang teaches the OCP adapter of claim 1, wherein the latching mechanism (333) is located at the front-end of the frame (334).
In Regards to Claim 8:
Chang teaches the OCP adapter of claim 1, wherein the latching mechanism (333) comprises a first latch and a second latch.
In Regards to Claim 9:
Chang teaches the OCP adapter of claim 7, wherein the latching mechanism (333) is configured to disengage the latching feature as a function of moving the first latch and the second latch towards each other.
In Regards to Claim 10:
Chang teaches the OCP adapter of claim 1, wherein the inner engagement (346/344) features comprise one or more grooves configured to engage lateral edges of a PCB of the OCP module (336).
In Regards to Claim 19:
Chang teaches a method comprising:
inserting an OCP module (336) into an inner volume of an OCP adapter (300), wherein inserting the OCP module (336) comprises engaging the OCP module (336) with inner engagement features (346/344) of the OCP adapter (300); engaging outer engagement features (340/342) of the OCP adapter (300) with engagement features of a bay of an EDSFF drive cage (310); moving the OCP adapter (300) through the engagement features of EDSFF drive cage (Fig. 3A where cage engaged with outer feature) to an installed position; and latching at least one latching mechanism (333) of the OCP adapter (300) to at least one latching feature of the EDSFF drive cage (320).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-3, 11, and 20 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Claims 12-18 are allowed.
REASONS FOR ALLOWANCE
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance with regard to claim 12 Chang et al. (US. 2022/0121251 A1) teaches “A computing system, comprising:
a chassis comprising a base and a front panel; a system board supported by the base; an EDSFF drive cage disposed at or forming part of the front panel, the EDSFF drive cage comprising a plurality of EDSFF drive bays configured to receive EDSFF drives, each EDSFF drive bay comprising EDSFF-drive-bay engagement features configured to engage with complementary EDSFF-drive engagement features of the EDSFF drives; an OCP backplane connected to the drive cage and comprising one or more OCP connectors positioned in at least a subset of bays of the plurality of bays; one or more cables electrically connecting the OCP connectors to the system board; an OCP module; and an OCP adapter attached to the OCP module.” (OCP adapter 300, drive cage 320, frame 334, and OCP module 336)
Chang et al. (US. 2022/0121251 A1) does not teach “wherein an assembly of the OCP adapter and the OCP module is received within a given bay of the subset of bays such that adapter engagement features of the OCP adapter engage with the EDSFF-drive-bay engagement features of the given bay to position the OCP module in an installed position in which the OCP module is connected to one of the OCP connectors.”
The prior art of record fails to teach or fairly suggest these limitation as substantially described in claim 12, these limitations, in combination with remaining limitations of claim 12, are neither taught nor suggested by the prior art of record, therefore claim 12 is allowable.
Claims 13-18 are dependent on claim 12 and are therefore allowable for the same reasons.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NADER J ALHAWAMDEH whose telephone number is (571)270-0571. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9Am - 6Pm EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Abdullah A Riyami can be reached at (571)270-3119. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/NADER J ALHAWAMDEH/Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2831 /ABDULLAH A RIYAMI/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2831
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