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 is in response to the Application filed 04/01/24. Claims 1 – 8 has been examined and is pending.
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.
Claim(s) 1 – 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Glass et al. US 20210224122 A1.
Regarding claims 1 and 8, Glass anticipates a controller that controls an experimental device based on an experimental protocol, comprising:
an input unit that receives an input of an experimental protocol designed in the form of a directed graph, the graph including a plurality of nodes corresponding to an experiment process [0033, shows the DAG, directed Graph and plurality of nodes and edges];
a generation unit that, when the plurality of nodes include a first node and a second node, generates a dependency list including first dependency information, the second node getting executable in response to completion of processing of the first node, the first dependency information indicating that start of processing of the second node depends on the completion of the processing of the first node [0005, see link list data structure and specifying dependencies];
a selection unit that selects, based on the dependency list, a node from the plurality of nodes for starting processing [0129 see linked list and starting at node 702];
a command unit that instructs an experimental device to execute the processing of the node selected by the selection unit [0036 see Workflow provisioning tool and commands]; and
an updating unit that updates the dependency list in response to completion of any processing for one of the plurality of nodes, the selection unit selecting the second node in response to completion of the processing for the first node is completed [0086, see execution updates].
Regarding claim 2, the controller according to claim 1, wherein the updating unit updates the first dependency information from first information to second information when the processing of the first node is completed, and the selection unit selects the second node when the first dependency information is updated from the first information to the second information [0004, see second DAG specifying dependency information, DAG also includes nodes and edges].
Regarding claim 3, the controller according to claim 2, wherein the generation unit further generates a status list for determining a status of each of the plurality of nodes, and when the processing of the first node is completed the updating unit updates a status of the first node in the status list from being currently executed to having been completed, and when the processing of the second node is started the updating unit updates a status of the second node in the status list from waiting for execution to being currently executed [0086, shows worker nodes and worker status].
Regarding claim 4, the controller according to claim 3, wherein the plurality of nodes include a third node executable upon completion of the processing of the first node, the dependency list includes second dependency information indicating that start of processing of the third node depends on the completion of the processing of the first node, the updating unit updates the first dependency information and the second dependency information from the first information to the second information when the processing of the first node is completed, and the selection unit selects the second node and the third node when the first dependency information and the second dependency information are updated from the first information to the second information [0003, see second DAG and link list data structure as well as dependency].
Regarding claim 5, the controller according to claim 4, wherein the plurality of nodes include a fourth node at which processing can be started after the processing of the second node and the processing of the third node are completed, the dependency list includes third dependency information indicating that start of processing of the fourth node depends on the completion of the processing of the second node, and fourth dependency information indicating that the start of the processing of the fourth node depends on the completion of the processing of the third node, the updating unit updates the third dependency information from the first information to the second information when the processing of the second node is completed, and the updating unit updates the fourth dependency information from the first information to the second information when the processing of the third node is completed, and the selection unit selects the fourth node when the third dependency information and the fourth dependency information are updated from the first information to the second information [0003 – 0005, shows DAG and dependency as well as nodes and edges].
Regarding claim 6, the controller according to claim 1, further comprising an output unit that outputs a signal for displaying the dependency list [0003 – 0006].
Regarding claim 7, the controller according to claim 1, further comprising a conversion unit that, when the experimental protocol input to the input unit is designed in a first directed graph including a node corresponding to a container containing a sample, converts the experimental protocol input to the input unit into a second directed graph including an operation of a device moving the container, wherein the generation unit generates the dependency list based on the second directed graph [0003 – 0006].
Correspondence Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Chuck Kendall whose telephone number is 571-272-3698. The examiner can normally be reached on 10:00 am - 6:30pm.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Hyung Sough can be reached on 571-272-6799. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/CHUCK O KENDALL/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2192
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