DETAILED ACTION
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Liu (9,059,551).
Regarding Claim 1: Liu teaches a communication device, wherein the communication device comprises: a cabinet (600), a plurality of subracks (800 with 430, wherein fig. 19 shows a plurality), and a plurality of switch boards (830), wherein: each subrack of the plurality of subracks comprises a corresponding backplane (430) and a corresponding plurality of service boards (800), the corresponding backplane is located in each subrack (fig. 19), the corresponding plurality of service boards are pluggably installed in each subrack (through connectors in fig. 19), and each service board of the corresponding plurality of service boards is electrically connected to the corresponding backplane (through connectors in fig. 19); and each subrack and each switch board of the plurality of switch boards are pluggably installed in the cabinet (through 410 in fig. 19), the corresponding backplane of each subrack is electrically connected to at least one of the plurality of switch boards (fig. 19), and each switch board is electrically connected to at least one backplane (fig. 19).
Regarding Claim 2: Liu teaches wherein the corresponding backplane of each subrack is electrically connected to any one of the plurality of switch boards (multiple configurations form figs. 7-19 show interconnectivity of each board and backplane to the switch boards).
Regarding Claim 3: Liu teaches wherein backplanes of the plurality of subracks are arranged in a first direction (figs. 7-19), and the plurality of switch boards are arranged in a second direction (figs. 7-19), and wherein the first direction is perpendicular to the second direction (figs. 7-19).
Regarding Claim 4: Liu teaches wherein the first direction is perpendicular to a cabinet top panel of the cabinet (figs. 1 and 7-19), and the second direction is perpendicular to a cabinet side panel of the cabinet (figs. 1 and 7-19).
Regarding Claim 5: Liu teaches wherein each backplane is parallel to a cabinet panel of the cabinet (figs. 1 and 7-19), and each switch board is parallel to the cabinet side panel of the cabinet (figs. 1 and 7-19).
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.
Claim(s) 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu (9,059,551) as applied to the claims above, and further in view of Sharma (2009/0251867).
Regarding Claim 6: Liu lacks a specific teaching of wherein bandwidth capacities of a backplane and a service board that are located in a same subrack match each other.
Sharma teaches bandwidth capacities of a backplane and a service board that are located in a same subrack match each other (paragraph [0077] allows for customizable badnwidths as needed for the system requirements between the I/O modules and the backplane).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to modify the apparatus of Liu by having bandwidth capacities of a backplane and a service board that are located in a same subrack match each other as disclosed by Sharma in order to allow for proper capacity needed for the service boards attached to the system in order to accommodate the needed bandwidth which allows the system to run properly as designed for the user instead of having interruptions from the service boards.
Claim(s) 7-13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu (9,059,551) as applied to the claims above, and further in view of Wang (7,161,930).
Regarding Claim 7: Liu lacks a specific teaching of wherein each service board is configured to: determine a destination service board when receiving a service signal; determine a relationship between each service board and the destination service board; and determine a destination port and output the service signal through the destination port based on that each service board and the destination service board belong to a same service board.
Wang teaches wherein each service board is configured to: determine a destination service board when receiving a service signal; determine a relationship between each service board and the destination service board; and determine a destination port and output the service signal through the destination port based on that each service board and the destination service board belong to a same service board (shown through figs. 4A-4B and describes in col. 9 line 55 – col. 10 line 37, wherein this is also merely the function of the already disclosed elements of the apparatus see MPEP 2114).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to modify the apparatus of Liu by having wherein each service board is configured to: determine a destination service board when receiving a service signal; determine a relationship between each service board and the destination service board; and determine a destination port and output the service signal through the destination port based on that each service board and the destination service board belong to a same service board as disclosed by Wang in order to allow for signal integrity to be preserved while allowing for easy and fast communications between the connectors of each service board through the switch boards and backplanes..
Regarding Claim 8: Liu lacks a specific teaching of wherein there are a plurality of destination ports, and each service board is configured to: replicate the service signal based on a quantity of the plurality of destination ports to obtain a plurality of service signals; and output each service signal of the plurality of service signals through a corresponding destination port of the plurality of destination ports.
Wang teaches wherein there are a plurality of destination ports, and each service board is configured to: replicate the service signal based on a quantity of the plurality of destination ports to obtain a plurality of service signals; and output each service signal of the plurality of service signals through a corresponding destination port of the plurality of destination ports (shown through figs. 4A-4B and describes in col. 9 line 55 – col. 10 line 37, wherein this is also merely the function of the already disclosed elements of the apparatus see MPEP 2114).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to modify the apparatus of Liu by having wherein there are a plurality of destination ports, and each service board is configured to: replicate the service signal based on a quantity of the plurality of destination ports to obtain a plurality of service signals; and output each service signal of the plurality of service signals through a corresponding destination port of the plurality of destination ports as disclosed by Wang in order to allow for signal integrity to be preserved while allowing for easy and fast communications between the connectors of each service board through the switch boards and backplanes..
Regarding Claim 9: Liu lacks a specific teaching of wherein any two service boards in each subrack are electrically connected, and each service board is configured to: determine a destination service board when receiving a service signal; determine a relationship between each service board and the destination service board; and send the service signal to the destination service board based on that each service board and the destination service board belong to different service boards but a same subrack.
Wang teaches wherein any two service boards in each subrack are electrically connected, and each service board is configured to: determine a destination service board when receiving a service signal; determine a relationship between each service board and the destination service board; and send the service signal to the destination service board based on that each service board and the destination service board belong to different service boards but a same subrack (shown through figs. 4A-4B and describes in col. 9 line 55 – col. 10 line 37, wherein this is also merely the function of the already disclosed elements of the apparatus see MPEP 2114).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to modify the apparatus of Liu by having wherein any two service boards in each subrack are electrically connected, and each service board is configured to: determine a destination service board when receiving a service signal; determine a relationship between each service board and the destination service board; and send the service signal to the destination service board based on that each service board and the destination service board belong to different service boards but a same subrack as disclosed by Wang in order to allow for signal integrity to be preserved while allowing for easy and fast communications between the connectors of each service board through the switch boards and backplanes..
Regarding Claim 10: Liu lacks a specific teaching of wherein there are a plurality of destination service boards, and each service board is configured to: replicate the service signal based on a quantity of the plurality of destination service boards to obtain a plurality of service signals; and send each service signal of the plurality of service signals to each destination service board of the plurality of destination service boards.
Wang teaches wherein there are a plurality of destination service boards, and each service board is configured to: replicate the service signal based on a quantity of the plurality of destination service boards to obtain a plurality of service signals; and send each service signal of the plurality of service signals to each destination service board of the plurality of destination service boards (shown through figs. 4A-4B and describes in col. 9 line 55 – col. 10 line 37, wherein this is also merely the function of the already disclosed elements of the apparatus see MPEP 2114).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to modify the apparatus of Liu by having wherein there are a plurality of destination service boards, and each service board is configured to: replicate the service signal based on a quantity of the plurality of destination service boards to obtain a plurality of service signals; and send each service signal of the plurality of service signals to each destination service board of the plurality of destination service boards as disclosed by Wang in order to allow for signal integrity to be preserved while allowing for easy and fast communications between the connectors of each service board through the switch boards and backplanes..
Regarding Claim 11: Liu lacks a specific teaching of wherein each service board is configured to: determine a destination service board when receiving a service signal; determine a relationship between the service board and the destination service board; and send the service signal to each switch board based on that each service board and the destination service board belong to different service boards and different subracks, so that each switch board sends the service signal to the destination service board.
Wang teaches wherein each service board is configured to: determine a destination service board when receiving a service signal; determine a relationship between the service board and the destination service board; and send the service signal to each switch board based on that each service board and the destination service board belong to different service boards and different subracks, so that each switch board sends the service signal to the destination service board (shown through figs. 4A-4B and describes in col. 9 line 55 – col. 10 line 37, wherein this is also merely the function of the already disclosed elements of the apparatus see MPEP 2114).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to modify the apparatus of Liu by having wherein each service board is configured to: determine a destination service board when receiving a service signal; determine a relationship between the service board and the destination service board; and send the service signal to each switch board based on that each service board and the destination service board belong to different service boards and different subracks, so that each switch board sends the service signal to the destination service board as disclosed by Wang in order to allow for signal integrity to be preserved while allowing for easy and fast communications between the connectors of each service board through the switch boards and backplanes..
Regarding Claim 12: Liu lacks a specific teaching of wherein the destination service board is determined based on each service board that receives the service signal and a pre-stored service board correspondence; and the destination port is determined based on a port that receives the service signal and a pre-stored port correspondence.
Wang teaches wherein the destination service board is determined based on each service board that receives the service signal and a pre-stored service board correspondence; and the destination port is determined based on a port that receives the service signal and a pre-stored port correspondence (shown through figs. 4A-4B and describes in col. 9 line 55 – col. 10 line 37, wherein this is also merely the function of the already disclosed elements of the apparatus see MPEP 2114).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to modify the apparatus of Liu by having wherein the destination service board is determined based on each service board that receives the service signal and a pre-stored service board correspondence; and the destination port is determined based on a port that receives the service signal and a pre-stored port correspondence as disclosed by Wang in order to allow for signal integrity to be preserved while allowing for easy and fast communications between the connectors of each service board through the switch boards and backplanes..
Regarding Claim 13: Liu lacks a specific teaching of wherein both the destination service board and the destination port of the destination service board are determined based on a destination address carried in the service signal.
Wang teaches wherein both the destination service board and the destination port of the destination service board are determined based on a destination address carried in the service signal (shown through figs. 4A-4B and describes in col. 9 line 55 – col. 10 line 37, wherein this is also merely the function of the already disclosed elements of the apparatus see MPEP 2114).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to modify the apparatus of Liu by having wherein both the destination service board and the destination port of the destination service board are determined based on a destination address carried in the service signal as disclosed by Wang in order to allow for signal integrity to be preserved while allowing for easy and fast communications between the connectors of each service board through the switch boards and backplanes.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The prior art cited in the notice of references cited PTO-892 and not relied upon for the rejections above relate to the current application in that they include multiple different configurations of electronic housings in racks with subracks and backplanes to be used with switch cards.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANTHONY MICHAEL HAUGHTON whose telephone number is (571)272-9087. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9a-5p.
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/ANTHONY M HAUGHTON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2841
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