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 .
DETAILED ACTION
1. This initial office action is based on the application filed on 04/17/2024, which claims 1-10 and 21-31 have been presented for examination.
Status of Claim
2. Claims 1-10 and 21-31 are pending in the application and have been examined below, of which, claims 1 and 21 are presented in independent form.
Priority
3. This application is a 371 of PCT/CN2023/087368 04/10/2023 which claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202210521958.X, filed with the China National Intellectual Property Administration on 05/13/2022.
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in parent Application No. 202210521958.X, filed on 05/13/2022.
Information Disclosure Statement
4. The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 08/09/2024 and 01/08/2025. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Examiner Notes
5. Examiner cites particular columns and line numbers in the references as applied to the claims below for the convenience of the applicant. Although the specified citations are representative of the teachings in the art and are applied to the specific limitations within the individual claim, other passages and figures may apply as well. It is respectfully requested that, in preparing responses, the applicant fully consider the references in entirety as potentially teaching all or part of the claimed invention, as well as the context of the passage as taught by the prior art or disclosed by the examiner.
Claim Objections
6. Claims 1-3, 4, 6-9, 21-26 and 28-30 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claims 1-3, 4, 6-9, 21-26 and 28-30 recite “if” should be removed or replaced.
Claims 10 and 31 are also objected since they depend on claims 9 and 30.
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
7. Claim(s) 1-4, 6-7 and 21-28 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Andrews et al.(US Pub. No. 2023/0056727 A1 – herein after Andrews) in view of Zhao (CN 113672297 A – Date Published – 11/19/2021 – herein after Zhao).
Regarding claim 1.
Andrew discloses
A method, comprising:
downloading a target basic input output system (BIOS) version of a terminal device (chip set– See Fig. 1) from a server (an IHS may be a personal computer (e.g., desktop or laptop), tablet computer, mobile device (e.g., Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) or smart phone), server (e.g., blade server or rack server) – See paragraph [0021]. BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) 117 that may be stored in a non-volatile memory accessible by chipset 103 via bus 102 – See paragraph [0036]. Security BIOS – See paragraph [0089-0092]. Start when processor 101 executes instructions stored in BIOS 117 and begins loading information into system memory 105. Once a valid boot disk or startup disk is found, IHS 100 begins loading the OS into system memory 105. After the OS finishes loading – See paragraph [0129]. Examiner respectfully notes that the security BIOS is as a target BIOS);
restarting the terminal device (restarting IHS 100, processor(s) 101 – See paragraph [0036]);
obtaining a first state of a power button of the terminal device during power-on of the terminal device (the display is immediately turned on and networking devices are restored to their normal, active operating modes. The time from the power button press to the display turning on is typically less than one second – See paragraphs [0054]);
either a) suspending a BIOS upgrade of the terminal device if the first state indicates that the power button is in a pressed state and a pressed time period exceeds a preset time length; or
b) upgrading the terminal device based on the target BIOS version if the first state indicates that the power button is not in the pressed state or the pressed time period of the power button does not exceed the preset time length (the term “boot” refers to the process of starting an IHS, and an IHS’s “boot time” refers to the amount of time it takes the IHS to perform a boot sequence, for example, in response to a power-on or reset command. A boot sequence may start when processor 101 executes instructions stored in BIOS 117 and begins loading information into system memory 105 – See paragraph [0129]. A measurement of a time to reach Modern Standby, and/or a measurement of a time to leave Modern Standby. Additionally, or alternatively, performance measurement module 503 may configure an Energy Estimation Engine (E3) provided by OS 404 to measure an amount of battery consumption or discharge during Modern Standby (e.g., per unit time) – See paragraph [0140]);
Andrews discloses low power is achieved by only waking from the lowest power state when necessary and by only allowing software to execute in short, controlled bursts of activity, thus reducing the opportunities for software components to execute – See paragraphs [0047-0048].
Andrews does not disclose
obtaining a second state of the power button while upgrading the terminal device, wherein the upgrade fails if the second state indicates that the power button is in the pressed state and the pressed time period exceeds the preset time length;
continuing to upgrade the terminal device until the upgrade succeeds if the second state indicates the power button is not in the pressed state or the pressed time period of the power button does not exceed the preset time length.
Zhao discloses
obtaining a second state of the power button while upgrading the terminal device (if the terminal after entering the recovery mode, monitoring the long pressing power key and long pressing time exceeds the first time threshold, the terminal calls the display interface to display the first prompt interface. For example, the first time threshold is 10 seconds (s) – See page 12), wherein the upgrade fails if the second state indicates that the power button is in the pressed state and the pressed time period exceeds the preset time length (the terminal output character prompt on the upgrading interface, such as warning: detecting the power key length according to, immediately releasing the power key, avoiding device abnormal. when the user continues to long-press the power supply, until the long pressing time is more than 10s, the terminal is forced shutdown – See page 1. In the Recovery mode upgrading process, if monitoring the long-press power key but long pressing time does not reach the restart/shutdown time requirement (10s), the text prompt will be performed. Referring to FIG. 1, FIG. 1 is an interface change diagram of long-press power key in the Recovery mode upgrading process. As shown in FIG. 1, the user in the Recovery mode upgrading process long pressing power key, and the long pressing time is not more than 10s, the terminal output character prompt on the upgrading interface, such as warning: detecting the power key length according to, immediately releasing the power key, avoiding device abnormal. When the user continues to long-press the power supply, until the long pressing time is more than 10s, the terminal is forced shutdown – See page 28); and
continuing to upgrade the terminal device (the terminal continues to upgrade – See page 13) until the upgrade succeeds if the second state indicates the power button is not in the pressed state or the pressed time period of the power button does not exceed the preset time length (the user in the Recovery mode upgrading process long pressing power key, and the long pressing time is not more than 10s – See page 5).
It would have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of claimed invention to use Zhao’s teaching into Andrews’ invention because incorporating Zhao’s teaching would enhance Andrews to enable to restart triggering mode of the terminal is set as long-press power key, namely the terminal re-reads the configuration file for key configuration as suggested by Zhao (page 51).
Regarding claim 2, the method of claim 1,
Andrews discloses
wherein upgrading the terminal device based on the target BIOS version (Based on information collected during the deployment and ongoing support of workspaces, support assistance intelligence engine (SAIE) 324 may be configured to generate and/or analyze technical support information (e.g., updates, errors, support logs, etc.) for use in diagnosing and repairing workspace issues. Workspace insights and telemetry engine 325 may be configured to analyze and/or produce device-centric, historical, and behavior-based data (e.g., hardware measurements, use of features, settings, etc.) resulting from the operation of workspaces – See paragraph [0079]) comprises:
detecting whether the terminal device is connected to a power adapter if the power button is not in the pressed state (trusted controller 115 may also implement operations for interfacing with a power adapter in managing power for IHS 100 – See paragraph [0043]); or
upgrading the terminal device based on the target BIOS version if the terminal device is connected to the power adapter and a battery power in the terminal device satisfies a first condition.
Regarding claim 3, the method of claim 2,
Zhao discloses
further comprising displaying prompt information if the power button is in the pressed state, wherein the prompt information indicates to a user that the power button is in the pressed state (when monitoring the long-press power key, the terminal monitoring whether at the same time according to the volume key; when monitoring the long pressing power key and not long pressing volume key at the same time, the terminal monitoring the long time according to the power key time exceeds the preset time; if the time of the long power key exceeds the preset time – See page 3).
It would have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of claimed invention to use Zhao’s teaching into Andrews’ invention because incorporating Zhao’s teaching would enhance Andrews to enable to output prompt on the upgrading interface as suggested by Zhao (page 5).
Regarding claim 21.
An electronic device, comprising:
one or more processors and a memory coupled to the one or more processors and configured to store
Regarding claim 21, recites the same limitations as rejected claim 1 above.
Regarding claim 22.
A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of an electronic device, cause the electronic device to be configured to:
Regarding claim 22, recites the same limitation as rejected claim 1 above.
Regarding claim 24, recites the same limitations as rejected claim 2 above.
Regarding claim 25, recites the same limitations as rejected claim 3 above.
10. Claim(s) 4, 6-7 and 26-28 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Andrews and Zhao as applied to claims 3 and 25 respectively above, and further in view of Krishnakumar et al. (US Pub. No. 2022/0262427 A1 – herein after Krish).
Regarding claim 4, the method of claim 3,
Andrews discloses
wherein the terminal device comprises a lid, and obtaining the first state of the power button (trusted controller 115 may utilize a lid position sensor 112 to determine the relative angle between the two panels of the laptop in order to determine the mode in which IHS 100 is physically configured. In such embodiments, the lid position sensor may measure the angle of rotation of the hinge that connects the base panel and lid panel of IHS 100. In some embodiments, processor 101 or trusted controller 115 may provide collected lid position information – See paragraph [0032]) comprises:
obtaining a state of the lid during the power-on of the terminal device (starts when the user causes IHS 100 to enter sleep (e.g., by pressing the power button, closing the lid, idling out, or selecting Sleep from the power button in the OS) – See paragraph [0050]); and
Andrews and Zhao do not disclose
either c) suspending the upgrade if the lid is in a closed state; or
d) obtaining the state of the power button if the lid is in an open state.
Krish discloses
either c) suspending the upgrade if the lid is in a closed state; or
d) obtaining the state of the power button if the lid is in an open state (OS 102 detects a wake event from a standby state. For example, p-unit 308 and/or OS 102 detects a wake indication when a device indicates such, a timer expires, a user opens the lid of a laptop, a user clicks a mouse button or a key on a keyboard or there is a network event – See paragraph [0067]).
It would have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of claimed invention to use Krish’s teaching into Andrews’ and Zhao’s inventions because incorporating Krish’s teaching would enhance Andrews and Zhao to enable to detect a wake indication when a device indicates such, a timer expires, a user opens the lid of a laptop, a user clicks a mouse button or a key on a keyboard or there is a network event as suggested by Krish (paragraph [0067]).
Regarding claim 6, the method of claim 4,
Krish discloses
wherein the first condition is that the battery power is greater than a preset power (GB compressed Suspend Power Suspend 3.9 GB moved and moved to to DRAM States to Disk to NVM 302 DDR DRAM 110 110 Latency in 1 sec 978 ms 8-10 ms 0 moving (data * (3 ms for pages storage 100 MB + 3.9 latency) GB/4 GB/s) DDR 0 80 mW 80 mW 160 mW Power – See paragraphs [0055-0061]).
It would have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of claimed invention to use Krish’s teaching into Andrews’ and Zhao’s inventions because incorporating Krish’s teaching would enhance Andrews and Zhao to enable to improve responsiveness of applications while exiting low power states as suggested by Krish (paragraphs [0041-0050]).
Regarding claim 7, the method of claim 6,
Krish discloses
further comprising suspending the upgrade if the terminal device is not connected to the power adapter (JEDEC standard features to save DRAM power when the memory is in self refresh --partial array self-refresh (PASR) and maximum power saving mode (MPSM). PASR allows suspension of the self-refresh operation on selected banks or segments in DRAM 110 thus saving power – See paragraph [0045]) and the battery power in the terminal device does not satisfy a second condition, wherein the first condition is different from the second condition (The energy saving mode is a normal mode where the multiple batteries (collectively shown as battery 5518) provide power to their own set of loads with least resistive dissipation. In balancing mode, the batteries are connected through switches operating in active mode so that the current shared is inversely proportion to the corresponding battery state-of-charge. In turbo mode, both batteries are connected in parallel through switches (e.g., on-switches) to provide maximum power to a processor or load – See paragraph [0101]).
It would have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of claimed invention to use Krish’s teaching into Andrews’ and Zhao’s inventions because incorporating Krish’s teaching would enhance Andrews and Zhao to enable to determines the operating condition of each core of a processor as suggested by Krish (paragraphs [0115-0117]).
Regarding claim 26, recites the same limitations as rejected claim 4 above.
Regarding claim 27, recites the same limitations as rejected claim 6 above.
Regarding claim 28, recites the same limitations as rejected claim 7 above.
Allowable Subject Matter
11. Claims 8-10, 23 and 29-31 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 all intervening claims.
Conclusion
12. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Aggarwal et al. (US pub. No. 2022/0137995 A1) discloses handling a firmware update for a device is disclosed, comprising: determining a device to be in an updatable state; setting the device into an updating state after determining the updatable state; and after the device is in the updating state, writing a firmware update to memory for the device. After writing the firmware update, the device is switchable to a working state in which the device operates based on the firmware update – See Abstract and specification for more details.
Jao et al. (US Pub. No. 2016/0099608 A1) discloses determining whether a physical quantity of the power adapter reaches a first reference value; and, if yes, selecting to charge the electronic device and/or the battery module. The power adapter includes a microcontroller that uses the physical quantity of the power adapter to determine charging sequence, so that the power adapter is not interfered and limited by incompatible device signal control and can be directly used to charge any electronic device while automatically switching among different charging operation states to complete charging of the electronic device and the built-in battery module in increased charging efficiency – See Abstract and specification for more details.
Tseng (US Pub. No. 2006/0064571 A1) discloses the computer system performs normal BIOS initialization routines, but executes one of a number of different boot code sequences, based on an operational configuration selected by a user. In another embodiment, a single power key is provided, and a user selects an operational configuration using a mouse (and in response to a visual prompt displayed on the screen). In this embodiment, the system may utilize specifically customized boot code routines, or alternatively may utilize customized BIOS routines. The present invention is broadly directed to systems and methods for providing efficient startup procedures in computer systems – See Abstract and specification for more details.
Hiebert et al. (US Pub. No. 2020/0092334 A1) discloses evaluating a plurality of computers hosting a cloud platform for effectiveness at operating through operational failures with minimal or no degradation to operations by identifying vulnerabilities in hardware, firmware, software and operational policy/plan aspects of the plurality of computers and managing the identified vulnerabilities by modifying hardware, firmware, software, and operational policy/plan aspects of the plurality of computers and the hosted cloud platform to improve effectiveness at operating through operational failures with minimal or no degradation to operations – See Abstract and specification for more details.
Sethi et al. (US Pub. No. 2021/0334195 A1) discloses creates and configures a container, based on the configuration data, to create a replica of the device. The server installs the update in the replica and performs multiple tests that generate logs. If the logs indicate that the update caused no issues, the server sends the update to the device. If the logs indicate that the update caused an issue, the server sends the update to the vendor. In response, the server receives, from the vendor, a modified update that addresses the issue, installs the modified update in the replica, performs the tests, determines that the modified update causes no issues, and sends the modified update to the device – See Abstract and specification for more details.
Chu (US Pub. No. 2022/0197746 A1) discloses selecting CPU firmware corresponding to the installed CPU from a plurality of CPU platform firmware stored on a first memory, and loading the CPU firmware into a shared portion of a second memory coupled to the BIOS chipset, where the shared portion of the second memory is configured to store the CPU firmware as secondary CPU firmware – See Abstract and specification for more details.
Samuel et al. (US Pub. No. 2018/0004502 A1) discloses updating an extensible firmware interface system resource table (ESRT) with one or more values may disable such automatic updates. A BIOS version control policy may be utilized to determine the one or more values for the ESRT such that BIOS updates are not automatic or that only predetermined, tested, or otherwise approved BIOS updates are permitted. One or more values of the BIOS version control policy may be set or determined and may be protected, for example, password protected so that all information handling systems within a given environment or network maintain the proper BIOS version – See Abstract and specification for more details.
Chaiken et al. (US Pub. No. 2022/0107873 A1) discloses subsequent to a determination that a power button is activated, may determine a sequence of unplugging a connector from a port within a time threshold and subsequently plugging the connector from the port within another time threshold. The embedded controller may determine a hotkey associated with the sequence of unplugging the connector from the port and subsequently plugging the connector to the port, and execute a function based on the hotkey – See Abstract and specification for more details.
Pillai et al. (US Pub. No. 2023/0086027 A1) discloses the SOC may be still booting, while the PERST_N has been de-asserted, failing the link training. This causes the host system to be reset or rebooted until the PCIe card is enumerated and is usable by the host system – See paragraph [0018].
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/MONGBAO NGUYEN/Examiner, Art Unit 2192
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