DETAILED ACTION
Remarks
Applicant’s amendment and response dated 6/26/2026 has been provided in response to the 4/6/2026 Office Action which rejected claims 1-37, wherein claims 1-37 have been amended. Thus, claims 1-37 remain pending in this application and have been fully considered by the examiner.
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims have been considered but are moot in view of new grounds of rejection.
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Claim Interpretation
As to claims 8, 9, 31, and 34-36, Applicant should please note that "The broadest reasonable interpretation of a method (or process) claim having contingent limitations requires only those steps that must be performed and does not include steps that are not required to be performed because the condition(s) precedent are not met. For example, assume a method claim requires step A if a first condition happens and step B if a second condition happens. If the claimed invention may be practiced without either the first or second condition happening, then neither step A or B is required by the broadest reasonable interpretation of the claim. If the claimed invention requires the first condition to occur, then the broadest reasonable interpretation of the claim requires step A. If the claimed invention requires both the first and second conditions to occur, then the broadest reasonable interpretation of the claim requires both steps A and B; See Ex parte Schulhauser, Appeal 2013-007847 (PTAB April 28, 2016) (precedential) for an analysis of contingent claim limitations in the context of both method claims and system claims. In Schulhauser, both method claims and system claims recited the same contingent step. When analyzing the claimed method as a whole, the PTAB determined that giving the claim its broadest reasonable interpretation, "[i]f the condition for performing a contingent step is not satisfied, the performance recited by the step need not be carried out in order for the claimed method to be performed" (quotation omitted). Schulhauser at 10. When analyzing the claimed system as a whole, the PTAB determined that "[t]he broadest reasonable interpretation of a system claim having structure that performs a function, which only needs to occur if a condition precedent is met, still requires structure for performing the function should the condition occur." Schulhauser at 14. Therefore "[t]he Examiner did not need to present evidence of the obviousness of the [] method steps of claim 1 that are not required to be performed under a broadest reasonable interpretation of the claim (e.g., instances in which the electrocardiac signal data is not within the threshold electrocardiac criteria such that the condition precedent for the determining step and the remaining steps of claim 1 has not been met);" however to render the claimed system obvious, the prior art must teach the structure that performs the function of the contingent step along with the other recited claim limitations. Schulhauser at 9, 14" - see MPEP 2114.04 (II). Therefore, the steps of “delaying the reservation time automatically in a case where the reservation time passes without the upgrade”, “in a case where the function control unit is performing the unique function of the home appliance, transmitting a failure message to the server and a user terminal”, “checking, by the communication unit, an operation state of a function control unit configured to perform a unique function of the home appliance when a trigger of an upgrade occurs”, “checking whether the function control unit is performing the unique function of the home appliance when the trigger of the upgrade occurs”, “automatically delaying the upgrade reservation time for predetermined period of time when the function control unit is performing the unique function of the home appliance when the trigger of the upgrade occurs” and “automatically delaying the upgrade reservation time for predetermined period of time when downloading of the software has not been completed, when the trigger of the upgrade occurs”, as recited in claims 8, 9, 31, and 34-36 respectively, are all contingent limitations, given their broadest reasonable interpretation, and are not required
The interpretation set forth regarding 35 U.S.C 112(f) in the previous action is maintained. The equivalent structures are disclosed in the specification as stated by applicant.
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.
Claims 1-8, 10-16, 18-25, and 27-37 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang et al. (US Patent 10,841,791 B1) in view of Chang et al. (US Patent Application Publication 2022/0137948 A1).
As to claim 1, Zhang teaches an upgrade method for a home appliance (e.g. UE 110, see Figs.1 and 6 and associated text, e.g. col.4 lines 5-16: UE 110 may include…a home appliance device), comprising:
setting upgrade reservation time (see e.g. col. 14: lines 31-33: Process 600 may begin by FOTA server 150 receiving a customer request to schedule a FOTA update for one or more UEs 110 (block 610); lines 41-48: In order to schedule the FOTA update campaign for the group of UEs 110, the customer may submit a request to FOTA server 150 to perform the FOTA update on UEs 110. The request may include, for example, a list of UEs 110 to receive the FOTA update, the device profiles associated with UEs 110, an indication of the firmware update package to be installed on UEs 110, and a date and time to start the FOTA update campaign) and lines 59-61: Process 600 may continue by FOTA server 150 scheduling the FOTA transmission for UEs 110 to download (block 620) and col.17 lines 3-7: the FOTA update may include instructions indicating when UE 110 should install the FOTA update. In this implementation, UE 110 may install the FOTA update at the time indicated in the instructions in the FOTA update),
receiving, through a communication unit (e.g. network interface) of the home appliance (see e.g. col.3 lines 49-51: UEs 110 may include any device with (e.g., cellular or mobile wireless network) wireless communication functionality and col.11 lines 7-9: Network interface 450 may include a transceiver that enables network device 400 to communicate with other devices and/or systems in network environment 100), new software registered with a server and storing the new software (e.g. firmware update package, see e.g. col.5 lines 26-36: FOTA server 150 may include one or more devices, such as computer devices, databases, and/or server devices, that facilitate providing firmware updates to UEs 110. FOTA server 150 may be affiliated with the OEM or another type of entity that determines when to add a new functionality to UEs 110, fix a potential security flaw in UEs 110, update firmware, etc. Additionally, FOTA server 150 may be affiliated with a network of a communication services provider. The firmware may be pushed to the communication services provider for deployment to UEs 110 within a time frame or at a scheduled time and col.16 lines 28-36: After the FOTA update transmittal has been scheduled, FOTA server 150 may transmit the FOTA update to UEs 110 (block 630). For example, based on the above described factors, FOTA server 150 may transmit the FOTA update to the UEs 110), tracking, by the communication unit, the upgrade reservation time (See e.g. col.14 lines 22-25: FOTA server 150 may be able to schedule the firmware installation at a time when UE 110 is online and idle, so as to minimize disruption to the normal operations of UE 110 and col.17 lines 3-7: the FOTA update may include instructions indicating when UE 110 should install the FOTA update. In this implementation, UE 110 may install the FOTA update at the time indicated in the instructions in the FOTA update), and writing the stored new software to the function control unit to perform an upgrade (see col.17 lines 3-7: the FOTA update may include instructions indicating when UE 110 should install the FOTA update. In this implementation, UE 110 may install the FOTA update at the time indicated in the instructions in the FOTA update).
Zhang teaches the home appliance (see e.g. col.4 lines 5-16), and the upgrade reservation time (see e.g. col. 14: lines 31-33 and lines 41-48), but does not specifically teach
checking, by the communication unit, an operation state of a function control unit configured to perform a unique function of the home appliance, in response to determining, based on the checked operation state, that the function control unit is not performing the unique function of the home appliance, writing the stored new software to the function control unit to perform an upgrade and in response to determining, based on the checked operation state, that the function control unit is performing the unique function of the home appliance: automatically delaying the upgrade reservation time for a predetermined period of time and synchronizing, with the server, reservation-time information corresponding to the delayed upgrade reservation time.
In an analogous art of updating software/firmware, however, Chang teaches, checking, by the communication unit, an operation state of a function control unit configured to perform a unique function of the home appliance (e.g. device 145) at an upgrade time (e.g. when to apply a firmware update, see Fig.5 and associated text. e.g. [0026]- The idle state conditions may include a set of rules that can be used by a device 145 to determine when to apply a firmware update. For example, the idle state conditions may include a particular time period (e.g., a window of time indicative of low activity), a particular level of observed communication activity (e.g., if network activity meets a threshold value), a particular level of observed device activity (e.g., if the main functionality of the device is not currently active), or the like and [0103]- At block 515, processing logic identifies a device state of the computing device. At block 520, processing logic determines whether the device state of the computing device satisfies the one or more idle state conditions), in response to determining, based on the checked operation state, that the function control unit is not performing the unique function of the home appliance (e.g. device is inactive/idle so idle state conditions are met), writing the stored new software to the function control unit to perform an upgrade (See e.g. [0105]- At block 525, processing logic applies the OTA update of the firmware to the computing device) and in response to determining, based on the checked operation state, that the function control unit is performing the unique function of the home appliance (e.g. device is active/not idle so idle state conditions are not met), automatically delaying the upgrade time for a predetermined period of time (See e.g. [0078]- device state monitor 372 may examine device state 340 and determine that the observed device state does not satisfy the conditions in idle state conditions 341 (e.g., device 305 is not in an idle state). In such instances, device state monitor 372 may wait for the expiration of a time interval prior to examining the device state 340 again. In such cases, device state monitor 372 may start a timer that expires at the expiration of the time interval. When the timer expires, device state monitor 372 may examine the device state 340 again to determine whether device 305 is in an idle state) and synchronizing, with a server (e.g. server computing device 125), time information corresponding to the delayed upgrade reservation time (see e.g. [0083]- Device state monitor 372 may then send a notification to the WAN accessible service to indicate that the update of the firmware has failed; Device state monitor 372 may send the notification indicating the update failure without first deleting the OTA firmware update 395 from memory 365. In such cases, the WAN accessible service may send a notification to OTA update manager 370 with further instructions; Alternatively, the notification may instruct OTA update manager 370 to restart the monitor process to reattempt installation of the OTA firmware update 395).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the method of Zhang to incorporate/implement the limitations as taught by Chang in order to provide a more efficient method of updating firmware of devices at predetermined times for the purpose of minimizing downtime.
As to claim 2, Zhang also teaches wherein receiving the new software comprises starting to download the new software at the upgrade reservation time (See e.g. col.16 lines 28-36: After the FOTA update transmittal has been scheduled, FOTA server 150 may transmit the FOTA update to UEs 110 (block 630). For example, based on the above described factors, FOTA server 150 may transmit the FOTA update to the UEs 110 or a subset of the UEs 110 based on the determined schedule. After the transmission, FOTA server 150 may determine whether the FOTA update package has been successfully downloaded on UEs 110 scheduled to receive the download (block 640).
As to claim 3, Zhang also teaches wherein receiving the new software comprises downloading the new software before the upgrade reservation time (See e.g. col.16 lines 28-36: After the FOTA update transmittal has been scheduled, FOTA server 150 may transmit the FOTA update to UEs 110 (block 630). For example, based on the above described factors, FOTA server 150 may transmit the FOTA update to the UEs 110 or a subset of the UEs 110 based on the determined schedule. After the transmission, FOTA server 150 may determine whether the FOTA update package has been successfully downloaded on UEs 110 scheduled to receive the download (block 640).
As to claim 4, Zhang also teaches wherein the step of setting the upgrade reservation time starts based on a reservation schedule set in advance (see e.g. col.14 lines 55-58: if the request is for a FOTA update for individual UE 110s, the date may include a date range when it would be optimal for the individual UEs 110 to receive the FOTA update packages).
As to claim 5, Zhang also teaches wherein the step of setting the upgrade reservation time starts based on a reservation schedule set by a user (see e.g. col.14 lines 41-48: In order to schedule the FOTA update campaign for the group of UEs 110, the customer may submit a request to FOTA server 150 to perform the FOTA update on UEs 110. The request may include, for example, a list of UEs 110 to receive the FOTA update, the device profiles associated with UEs 110, an indication of the firmware update package to be installed on UEs 110, and a date and time to start the FOTA update campaign).
As to claim 6, Zhang also teaches wherein the step of setting upgrade reservation time starts based on triggering of a user (see e.g. col.14 lines 41-48: In order to schedule the FOTA update campaign for the group of UEs 110, the customer may submit a request to FOTA server 150 to perform the FOTA update on UEs 110. The request may include, for example, a list of UEs 110 to receive the FOTA update, the device profiles associated with UEs 110, an indication of the firmware update package to be installed on UEs 110, and a date and time to start the FOTA update campaign).
As to claim 7, Chang further teaches wherein the upgrade time is delayed for the predetermined period of time each time the function control unit is determined to be performing the unique function (See e.g. [0078]- device state monitor 372 may examine device state 340 and determine that the observed device state does not satisfy the conditions in idle state conditions 341 (e.g., device 305 is not in an idle state). In such instances, device state monitor 372 may wait for the expiration of a time interval prior to examining the device state 340 again. In such cases, device state monitor 372 may start a timer that expires at the expiration of the time interval. When the timer expires, device state monitor 372 may examine the device state 340 again to determine whether device 305 is in an idle state).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the method of Zhang to incorporate/implement the limitations as taught by Chang in order to provide a more efficient method of updating firmware of devices at predetermined times for the purpose of minimizing downtime.
As to claim 8, Zhang teaches the upgrade reservation time (see e.g. col. 14: lines 31-33 and lines 41-48), but does not specifically teach wherein the upgrade method comprises delaying the upgrade time automatically in a case where the upgrade time passes without completion of the upgrade.
In an analogous art of updating software/firmware, however, Chang teaches the upgrade method comprises delaying the upgrade time automatically in a case where the upgrade time passes without completion of the upgrade (see e.g. [0104]- processing logic waits until the expiration of a time period before returning to block 515 to recheck the device state. If a certain amount of time passes during which an idle state is not achieved, then processing logic may perform a default operation, which may include notifying a WAN accessible service that a firmware update cannot be completed).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the method of Zhang to incorporate/implement the limitations as taught by Chang in order to provide a more efficient method of updating firmware of devices at predetermined times for the purpose of minimizing downtime.
As to claim 10, Zhang teaches an upgrade system for a home appliance (e.g. UE 110, see Figs.1 and 6 and associated text, e.g. col.4 lines 5-16: UE 110 may include a home appliance device), comprising:
a server (e.g. FOTA server 150) configured to register new software of a home appliance (see e.g. Fig.1 and associated text, e.g. col.5 lines 26-36: FOTA server 150 may include one or more devices, such as computer devices, databases, and/or server devices, that facilitate providing firmware updates to UEs 110. FOTA server 150 may be affiliated with the OEM or another type of entity that determines when to add a new functionality to UEs 110, fix a potential security flaw in UEs 110, update firmware, etc. Additionally, FOTA server 150 may be affiliated with a network of a communication services provider. The firmware may be pushed to the communication services provider for deployment to UEs 110 within a time frame or at a scheduled time), and a home appliance (e.g. UE 110) comprising a communication unit (e.g. network interface, see e.g. col.3 lines 49-51: UEs 110 may include any device with (e.g., cellular or mobile wireless network) wireless communication functionality and col.11 lines 7-9: Network interface 450 may include a transceiver that enables network device 400 to communicate with other devices and/or systems in network environment 100)) configured to receive and store the new software (e.g. firmware update package, see e.g. col.5 lines 26-36: FOTA server 150 may include one or more devices, such as computer devices, databases, and/or server devices, that facilitate providing firmware updates to UEs 110. FOTA server 150 may be affiliated with the OEM or another type of entity that determines when to add a new functionality to UEs 110, fix a potential security flaw in UEs 110, update firmware, etc. Additionally, FOTA server 150 may be affiliated with a network of a communication services provider. The firmware may be pushed to the communication services provider for deployment to UEs 110 within a time frame or at a scheduled time and col.16 lines 28-36: After the FOTA update transmittal has been scheduled, FOTA server 150 may transmit the FOTA update to UEs 110 (block 630). For example, based on the above described factors, FOTA server 150 may transmit the FOTA update to the UEs 110), track an upgrade reservation time (See e.g. col.14 lines 22-25: FOTA server 150 may be able to schedule the firmware installation at a time when UE 110 is online and idle, so as to minimize disruption to the normal operations of UE 110 and col.17 lines 3-7: the FOTA update may include instructions indicating when UE 110 should install the FOTA update. In this implementation, UE 110 may install the FOTA update at the time indicated in the instructions in the FOTA update), and cause the stored new software to be written to the function control unit (e.g. processor 420) to perform an upgrade (see col.17 lines 3-7: the FOTA update may include instructions indicating when UE 110 should install the FOTA update. In this implementation, UE 110 may install the FOTA update at the time indicated in the instructions in the FOTA update).
Zhang teaches the home appliance (see e.g. col.4 lines 5-16), a communication unit (see e.g. col.3 lines 49-51), the upgrade reservation time (see e.g. col. 14: lines 31-33 and lines 41-48) and cause the stored new software to be written to the function control unit to perform an upgrade (See e.g. col.17 lines 3-7), but does not specifically teach check an operation state of a function control unit and a function control unit configured to perform a unique function of the home appliance, determine, based on the checked operation state, whether the function control unit is performing the unique function of the home appliance or when the function control unit is not performing the unique function of the home appliance and automatically delay the upgrade reservation time for a predetermined period of time and synchronize, with the server, reservation-time information corresponding to the delayed upgrade reservation time when the function control unit is performing the unique function of the home appliance.
In an analogous art of updating software/firmware, however, Chang teaches, check an operation state of a function control unit (e.g. processor) configured to perform a unique function of the home appliance (e.g. device 145, see e.g. [0026]- the simplified classifier component can monitor the device state and detect the presence of the idle state conditions, [0031]- The device 145 may subsequently monitor its device state for the idle state conditions to determine when to download a firmware update and/or when to apply the firmware update) and a function control unit configured to perform a unique function of the home appliance (see e.g. [0062]- The host processing device 325 may be configured to perform specific functions related to the operation and control of the device 305), determine, based on the checked operation state, whether the function control unit is performing the unique function of the home appliance (see e.g. Fig.5 and associated text, e.g. [0103]- At block 515, processing logic identifies a device state of the computing device. At block 520, processing logic determines whether the device state of the computing device satisfies the one or more idle state conditions), cause the stored new software to be written to the function control unit to perform an upgrade when the function control unit is not performing the unique function of the home appliance (e.g. device is inactive/idle so idle state conditions are met, See e.g. [0105]- At block 525, processing logic applies the OTA update of the firmware to the computing device), automatically delay the upgrade time for a predetermined period of time (See e.g. [0078]- device state monitor 372 may examine device state 340 and determine that the observed device state does not satisfy the conditions in idle state conditions 341 (e.g., device 305 is not in an idle state). In such instances, device state monitor 372 may wait for the expiration of a time interval prior to examining the device state 340 again. In such cases, device state monitor 372 may start a timer that expires at the expiration of the time interval. When the timer expires, device state monitor 372 may examine the device state 340 again to determine whether device 305 is in an idle state) and synchronize, with a server (e.g. server computing device 125), time information corresponding to the delayed upgrade reservation time (see e.g. [0083]- Device state monitor 372 may then send a notification to the WAN accessible service to indicate that the update of the firmware has failed; Device state monitor 372 may send the notification indicating the update failure without first deleting the OTA firmware update 395 from memory 365. In such cases, the WAN accessible service may send a notification to OTA update manager 370 with further instructions; Alternatively, the notification may instruct OTA update manager 370 to restart the monitor process to reattempt installation of the OTA firmware update 395) when the function control unit is performing the unique function of the home appliance (e.g. device is active/not idle so idle state conditions are not met).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the method of Zhang to incorporate/implement the limitations as taught by Chang in order to provide a more efficient method of updating firmware of devices at predetermined times for the purpose of minimizing downtime.
As to claim 11, the limitations of the claims are substantially similar to the limitations of
claim 2, and therefore, it is rejected for the reasons stated above.
As to claim 12, the limitations of the claims are substantially similar to the limitations of
claim 3, and therefore, it is rejected for the reasons stated above.
As to claim 13, the limitations of the claims are substantially similar to the limitations of
claim 4, and therefore, it is rejected for the reasons stated above.
As to claim 14, the limitations of the claims are substantially similar to the limitations of
claim 5, and therefore, it is rejected for the reasons stated above.
As to claim 15, the limitations of the claims are substantially similar to the limitations of
claim 6, and therefore, it is rejected for the reasons stated above.
As to claim 16, the limitations of the claims are substantially similar to the limitations of
claim 7, and therefore, it is rejected for the reasons stated above.
As to claim 18, the limitations of the claims are substantially similar to the limitations of claim 10, and therefore, it is rejected for the reasons stated above.
As to claim 19, Zhang also teaches wherein the trigger of the upgrade is generated based on a reservation schedule set in advance or a trigger generated by a user (see e.g. col.17 lines 3-7: the FOTA update may include instructions indicating when UE 110 should install the FOTA update. In this implementation, UE 110 may install the FOTA update at the time indicated in the instructions in the FOTA update).
As to claim 20, Chang further teaches wherein the communication unit is configured to delay the upgrade until the function control unit ceases performing the unique function of the home appliance (See e.g. [0078]- device state monitor 372 may examine device state 340 and determine that the observed device state does not satisfy the conditions in idle state conditions 341 (e.g., device 305 is not in an idle state). In such instances, device state monitor 372 may wait for the expiration of a time interval prior to examining the device state 340 again. In such cases, device state monitor 372 may start a timer that expires at the expiration of the time interval. When the timer expires, device state monitor 372 may examine the device state 340 again to determine whether device 305 is in an idle state).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the method of Zhang to incorporate/implement the limitations as taught by Chang in order to provide a more efficient method of updating firmware of devices at predetermined times for the purpose of minimizing downtime.
As to claim 21, Zhang teaches the home appliance (see e.g. col.4 lines 5-16) and when the trigger of the upgrade occurs (see e.g. col. 14: lines 31-33 and lines 41-48), but does not specifically teach wherein the communication unit is configured to check whether the function control unit is performing the unique function of the home appliance when the trigger of the upgrade occurs, and in response to determining that the function control unit is not performing the unique function transmit a trigger signal to the server and receive an upgrade start signal from the server, to proceed with the upgrade.
In an analogous art of updating software/firmware, however, Chang teaches wherein the communication unit is configured to check whether the function control unit is performing the unique function of the home appliance when the trigger of the upgrade occurs (See Fig.5 and associated text, e.g. [0103]- At block 515, processing logic identifies a device state of the computing device. At block 520, processing logic determines whether the device state of the computing device satisfies the one or more idle state conditions) , and in response to determining that the function control unit is not performing the unique function (e.g. idle state conditions are met), transmit a trigger signal to the server and receive an upgrade start signal from the server, to proceed with the upgrade (see e.g. [0075]- After saving the device state and applying the update, OTA update module 373 can determine a completion status of the OTA firmware update (e.g., whether or not the update has completed successfully). Subsequently, OTA update module 373 may send a notification to the WAN accessible service that indicates the completion status (e.g., success or failure); WAN accessible service may provide additional instructions to OTA update manager 370 with respect to the firmware update (e.g., whether or not to retry the update) and [0103]- If so, processing proceeds to block 525 and [0105]- At block 525, processing logic applies the OTA update of the firmware to the computing device).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the method of Zhang to incorporate/implement the limitations as taught by Chang in order to provide a more efficient method of updating firmware of devices at predetermined times for the purpose of minimizing downtime.
As to claim 22, Chang further teaches wherein the communication unit is configured to automatically delay the upgrade reservation time for the predetermined period of time when the function control unit is performing the unique function of the home appliance when the trigger of the upgrade occurs (See e.g. [0078]- device state monitor 372 may examine device state 340 and determine that the observed device state does not satisfy the conditions in idle state conditions 341 (e.g., device 305 is not in an idle state). In such instances, device state monitor 372 may wait for the expiration of a time interval prior to examining the device state 340 again. In such cases, device state monitor 372 may start a timer that expires at the expiration of the time interval. When the timer expires, device state monitor 372 may examine the device state 340 again to determine whether device 305 is in an idle state).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the method of Zhang to incorporate/implement the limitations as taught by Chang in order to provide a more efficient method of updating firmware of devices at predetermined times for the purpose of minimizing downtime.
As to claim 23, Zhang also teaches wherein the communication unit is configured to automatically delay the upgrade reservation time for the predetermined period of time when downloading of the software has not been completed when the trigger of the upgrade occurs (see e.g. col.16 lines 28-42: After the FOTA update transmittal has been scheduled, FOTA server 150 may transmit the FOTA update to UEs 110 (block 630). For example, based on the above described factors, FOTA server 150 may transmit the FOTA update to the UEs 110 or a subset of the UEs 110 based on the determined schedule; After the transmission, FOTA server 150 may determine whether the FOTA update package has been successfully downloaded on UEs 110 scheduled to receive the download (block 640). Ensuring that UEs 110 have successfully downloaded the update package prior to scheduling installation of the FOTA update on UEs 110 may save battery power and other network resources. In this way, FOTA server 150 may be able to reschedule transmission of the FOTA update to UEs 110 that have not successfully downloaded the FOTA update).
As to claim 24, Zhang also teaches wherein the home appliance is configured to set at least one of [download completion time,] upgrade designation time,[and product operation completion time] as the upgrade reservation time (see e.g. col.17 lines 3-7: the FOTA update may include instructions indicating when UE 110 should install the FOTA update. In this implementation, UE 110 may install the FOTA update at the time indicated in the instructions in the FOTA update).
As to claim 25, Zhang also teaches wherein the home appliance is configured to receive the upgrade reservation time selected by a user from the server or a user terminal and set a reservation schedule (see e.g. col. 14: lines 31-33: Process 600 may begin by FOTA server 150 receiving a customer request to schedule a FOTA update for one or more UEs 110 (block 610); lines 41-48: In order to schedule the FOTA update campaign for the group of UEs 110, the customer may submit a request to FOTA server 150 to perform the FOTA update on UEs 110. The request may include, for example, a list of UEs 110 to receive the FOTA update, the device profiles associated with UEs 110, an indication of the firmware update package to be installed on UEs 110, and a date and time to start the FOTA update campaign) and lines 59-61: Process 600 may continue by FOTA server 150 scheduling the FOTA transmission for UEs 110 to download (block 620) and col.17 lines 3-7: the FOTA update may include instructions indicating when UE 110 should install the FOTA update. In this implementation, UE 110 may install the FOTA update at the time indicated in the instructions in the FOTA update).
As to claim 27, Zhang also teaches wherein the communication unit is configured to trace the upgrade reservation time based on a reservation schedule, and proceed with the upgrade depending on an operation state of the function control unit, at the reservation time (see e.g. col.16 lines 43-45 Once the FOTA update has been successfully downloaded on UEs 110, installation of the firmware update on UEs 110 may be scheduled (block 650) and col.17 lines 3-7: the FOTA update may include instructions indicating when UE 110 should install the FOTA update. In this implementation, UE 110 may install the FOTA update at the time indicated in the instructions in the FOTA update).
As to claim 28, Zhang teaches the communication unit, comprises a storage unit configured to store the software downloaded from the server and a communication control unit configured to trace the upgrade reservation time and perform triggering (see e.g. col.16 lines 43-45 Once the FOTA update has been successfully downloaded on UEs 110, installation of the firmware update on UEs 110 may be scheduled (block 650) and col.17 lines 3-7: the FOTA update may include instructions indicating when UE 110 should install the FOTA update. In this implementation, UE 110 may install the FOTA update at the time indicated in the instructions in the FOTA update), but does not specifically teach wherein, when the triggering occurs, the communication control unit is configured to proceed with the upgrade when the function control unit is not performing the unique function of the home appliance, delay the upgrade reservation time when the function control unit is performing the unique function of the home appliance and synchronize reservation-time information corresponding to the delayed upgrade reservation time with the server.
In an analogous art of updating software/firmware, however, Chang teaches wherein, when the triggering occurs (see Fig.5 and associated text. e.g. [0026]- The idle state conditions may include a set of rules that can be used by a device 145 to determine when to apply a firmware update. For example, the idle state conditions may include a particular time period (e.g., a window of time indicative of low activity), a particular level of observed communication activity (e.g., if network activity meets a threshold value), a particular level of observed device activity (e.g., if the main functionality of the device is not currently active), or the like and [0103]- At block 515, processing logic identifies a device state of the computing device. At block 520, processing logic determines whether the device state of the computing device satisfies the one or more idle state conditions), the communication control unit is configured to proceed with the upgrade (See e.g. [0105]- At block 525, processing logic applies the OTA update of the firmware to the computing device) when the function control unit is not performing the unique function of the home appliance (e.g. device is inactive/idle so idle state conditions are met),, delay the upgrade reservation time (See e.g. [0078]- device state monitor 372 may examine device state 340 and determine that the observed device state does not satisfy the conditions in idle state conditions 341 (e.g., device 305 is not in an idle state). In such instances, device state monitor 372 may wait for the expiration of a time interval prior to examining the device state 340 again. In such cases, device state monitor 372 may start a timer that expires at the expiration of the time interval. When the timer expires, device state monitor 372 may examine the device state 340 again to determine whether device 305 is in an idle state) when the function control unit is performing the unique function of the home appliance (e.g. device is active/not idle so idle state conditions are not met), and synchronize time information corresponding to the delayed upgrade time with the server writing the stored new software to the function control unit to perform an upgrade (see e.g. [0083]- Device state monitor 372 may then send a notification to the WAN accessible service to indicate that the update of the firmware has failed; Device state monitor 372 may send the notification indicating the update failure without first deleting the OTA firmware update 395 from memory 365. In such cases, the WAN accessible service may send a notification to OTA update manager 370 with further instructions; Alternatively, the notification may instruct OTA update manager 370 to restart the monitor process to reattempt installation of the OTA firmware update 395).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the method of Zhang to incorporate/implement the limitations as taught by Chang in order to provide a more efficient method of updating firmware of devices at predetermined times for the purpose of minimizing downtime.
As to claim 29, Zhang teaches the communication unit (see Zhang: see e.g. col.11 lines 7-14), but does not specifically teach check an operation state of the function control unit during an initial booting operation to determine whether the upgrade is possible.
In an analogous art of updating software/firmware, however, Chang teaches check an operation state of the function control unit during an initial booting operation to determine whether the upgrade is possible (See Fig.5 and associated text, e.g. [0021]- By maintaining or periodically establishing sessions with the embedded systems 150, the WAN accessible service 130 may maintain up-to-date information on the states of the device 145. In some implementations, the status updates received from embedded system 150 can include device related information associated with device 145 such as a unique identifier associated with the device (e.g., a specific device serial number (DSN)), the version number of a firmware component installed on embedded system 150, or the like, [0023]- WAN accessible service 130 may determine, based on the device related information received from device 145 or the remote control application 120, that the firmware component installed on the embedded system 150 should be updated and [0103]- At block 515, processing logic identifies a device state of the computing device. At block 520, processing logic determines whether the device state of the computing device satisfies the one or more idle state conditions).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the method of Zhang in view of Kim to incorporate/implement the limitations as taught by Chang in order to provide a more efficient method of updating firmware of devices at predetermined times for the purpose of minimizing downtime.
As to claim 30, Zhang teaches the communication unit (see Zhang: see e.g. col.11 lines 7-14), but does not specifically teach transmit, to the server, a flag signal indicating whether the function control unit is performing the unique function of the home appliance.
In an analogous art of updating software/firmware, however, Chang teaches transmit, to the server, a flag signal indicating whether the function control unit is performing the unique function of the home appliance (see e.g. [0081]- Device state monitor 372 may conduct an initial check of the device state 340 for the idle state conditions. Responsive to determining that the device state 340 does not satisfy the conditions included in idle state conditions 341 during this initial check, device state monitor 372 may start a timer that expires at the end of the expiration time period and [0083]- Device state monitor 372 may then send a notification to the WAN accessible service to indicate that the update of the firmware has failed).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the method of Zhang in view of Kim to incorporate/implement the limitations as taught by Chang in order to provide a more efficient method of updating firmware of devices at predetermined times for the purpose of minimizing downtime.
As to claim 31, the limitations of the claims are substantially similar to the limitations of
claim 18, and therefore, it is rejected for the reasons stated above.
As to claim 32, the limitations of the claims are substantially similar to the limitations of
claim 19, and therefore, it is rejected for the reasons stated above.
As to claim 33, the limitations of the claims are substantially similar to the limitations of
claim 20, and therefore, it is rejected for the reasons stated above.
As to claim 34, the limitations of the claims are substantially similar to the limitations of
claim 21, and therefore, it is rejected for the reasons stated above.
As to claim 35, the limitations of the claims are substantially similar to the limitations of
claim 22, and therefore, it is rejected for the reasons stated above.
As to claim 36, the limitations of the claims are substantially similar to the limitations of
claim 23, and therefore, it is rejected for the reasons stated above.
As to claim 37, the limitations of the claims are substantially similar to the limitations of
claim 24, and therefore, it is rejected for the reasons stated above.
Claims 9, 17 and 26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang et al. (US Patent 10,841,791 B1) in view of Chang et al. (US Patent Application Publication 2022/0137948 A1), and applied to claims 1, 10, and 18, and further in view of Kim et al. (US Patent Application Publication 20170060567 A1).
As to claim 9, Zhang teaches the upgrade reservation time (see e.g. col. 14: lines 31-33 and lines 41-48) and but does not specifically teach wherein the upgrade method comprises checking, by the communication unit, an operation state of the function control unit at the upgrade reservation time, and in a case where the function control unit is performing the unique function of the home appliance, transmitting a failure message to the server and a user terminal.
In an analogous art of updating software/firmware, however, Chang teaches wherein the upgrade method comprises checking, by the communication unit, an operation state of the function control unit at the upgrade reservation time, and in a case where the function control unit is performing the unique function of the home appliance, transmitting a failure message to the server (see e.g. [0104]- If at block 520 processing logic determines that the device state of the computing device does not satisfy the idle state conditions, processing returns to block 515 to recheck the device state. In some implementations, processing logic waits until the expiration of a time period before returning to block 515 to recheck the device state. If a certain amount of time passes during which an idle state is not achieved, then processing logic may perform a default operation, which may include notifying a WAN accessible service that a firmware update cannot be completed).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the method of Zhang to incorporate/implement the limitations as taught by Chang in order to provide a more efficient method of updating firmware of devices at predetermined times for the purpose of minimizing downtime.
Zhang in view of Chang does not specifically teach transmitting a failure message to a user terminal.
In an analogous art of updating software, however, Kim teaches transmitting a failure message to a user terminal (e.g. portable terminal 50, see Fig.1 and associated text, e.g. [0068]- The portable terminal 50 may receive notification information on an update state from at least one of the wireless terminal 10, the software server 30, and the management server 40 and [0069]- The notification information on the update state may include various types of notification information such as update success, update failure, update progress, update execution, or update check.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the method of Zhang in view of Chang to incorporate/implement the limitations as taught by Kim in order to provide a more efficient method of updating software of devices where users can be more easily notified of the update results.
As to claim 17, the limitations of the claims are substantially similar to the limitations of
claim 9, and therefore, it is rejected for the reasons stated above.
As to claim 26, Zhang in view of Chang teaches wherein the server is configured to receive the upgrade reservation time selected and deliver the upgrade reservation time to the home appliance (see Zhang: e.g. col. 14: lines 31-33 and col.17 lines 3-7), but does not specifically the receiving through an application of a user terminal from the user terminal.
In an analogous art of updating software, however, Kim teaches receiving an update policy through an application of a user terminal from the user terminal (e.g. portable terminal 50, see e.g. [0070]- A user of the wireless terminal 10 may access the management server 40 through the portable terminal 50. If a user interface provided by the management server 40 is provided through the display unit of the portable terminal 50, the user may register an update policy through a user interface).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the method of Zhang in view of Chang to incorporate/implement the limitations as taught by Kim in order to provide a more efficient method of updating software of devices where users can be more easily notified of the update results.
Conclusion
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/CHENECA SMITH/Examiner, Art Unit 2192
/S. Sough/SPE, Art Unit 2192
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