DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 5/28/2026 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments filed on 5/28/2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1, 7 and 13 under 102(a)(1) have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Norton et al. U.S. Patent 11,556,156 under 35 U.S.C. 103 rejection.
Previous objection to the specification is hereby withdrawn.
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.
Claims 1-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over (Strickland et al. U.S. Pub. 2022/0350935) D1 in view of Norton et al. U.S. Patent 11,556,156 (hereinafter D2).
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Regarding claim 1, D1 teaches an apparatus for configuring a power supply bay (111a-k; figure 1; see par[0040]), the apparatus comprising:
a configurable power supply bay system (100; figure 1), the configurable power supply bay system comprising at least one … side wall (see above annotated figure 1; and 110-1 to 110-4 shown in above figure 1) of a power supply bay housing (see above annotated figure 1) of the power supply bay (111a-k; figure 1) … to mount a plurality of types of power supply units (see par[0040], “PSUs …..of different form factors”) within the power supply bay, each of the plurality of types of power supply units having respective external characteristics (different form factors => different sizes as external characteristics).
However, D1 does not specifically teach at least one power supply bay system configuration component, the at least one power supply bay configuration component being configured to be contiguously mounted to inside of a side wall of the power supply bay housing of the power supply bay.
D2, teaches a similar bay system (200; figure 3B), comprising a bay system configuration component (300; figure 3B), wherein the configuration component (300; figure 3B) comprises a bay spacer and alignment component (left 300; figure 3B), the bay spacer and alignment component (left 300) being configured to be contiguously mounted to a side wall (left 204; figure 3B) of the bay (200; figure 3B).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to further configure and provide the power supply bay system of D1 with at least one power supply bay system configuration component, such that the at least one power supply bay configuration component would be contiguously mounted to inside of a side wall of the power supply bay housing of the power supply bay, as suggested by D2, for accommodating a power supply unit having a form-factor of choice.
Regarding claim 7, D1 teaches a configurable power supply bay system comprising:
a power supply bay (111a-k; figure 1; see par[0040]),
a configurable power supply bay system (100; figure 1), the configurable power supply bay system comprising at least one … side wall (see above annotated figure 1; and 110-1 to 110-4 shown in above figure 1) of a power supply bay housing (see above annotated figure 1) of the power supply bay (111a-k; figure 1) … to mount a plurality of types of power supply units (see par[0040], “PSUs …..of different form factors”) within the power supply bay, each of the plurality of types of power supply units having respective external characteristics (different form factors => different sizes as external characteristics).
However, D1 does not specifically teach at least one power supply bay system configuration component, the at least one power supply bay configuration component being configured to be contiguously mounted to inside of a side wall of the power supply bay housing of the power supply bay.
D2, teaches a similar bay system (200; figure 3B), comprising a bay system configuration component (300; figure 3B), wherein the configuration component (300; figure 3B) comprises a bay spacer and alignment component (left 300; figure 3B), the bay spacer and alignment component (left 300) being configured to be contiguously mounted to a side wall (left 204; figure 3B) of the bay (200; figure 3B).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to further configure and provide the power supply bay system of D1 with at least one power supply bay system configuration component, such that the at least one power supply bay configuration component would be contiguously mounted to inside of a side wall of the power supply bay housing of the power supply bay, as suggested by D2, for accommodating a power supply unit having a form-factor of choice.
Regarding claim 13, D1 teaches a system comprising:
a processor (see par[0018]; “CPU”);
a data bus (implicitly taught) coupled to the processor;
a power supply (see par[0040], “PSUs”); and,
a configurable power supply bay system, the configurable power supply bay system (100; figure 1) comprising:
a power supply bay (111a-k; figure 1; see par[0040]) …for mounting a plurality of types of power supply units (see par[0040], “PSUs …..of different form factors”) within the power supply bay, each of the plurality of types of power supply units having respective external characteristics (different form factors => different sizes as external characteristics).
However, D1 does not specifically teach at least one power supply bay system configuration component, the at least one power supply bay configuration component being configured to be contiguously mounted to inside of a side wall of the power supply bay housing of the power supply bay.
D2, teaches a similar bay system (200; figure 3B), comprising a bay system configuration component (300; figure 3B), wherein the configuration component (300; figure 3B) comprises a bay spacer and alignment component (left 300; figure 3B), the bay spacer and alignment component (left 300) being configured to be contiguously mounted to a side wall (left 204; figure 3B) of the bay (200; figure 3B).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to further configure and provide the power supply bay system of D1 with at least one power supply bay system configuration component, such that the at least one power supply bay configuration component would be contiguously mounted to inside of a side wall of the power supply bay housing of the power supply bay, as suggested by D2, for accommodating a power supply unit having a form-factor of choice.
Regarding claim 2, as mentioned above, D1 teaches the apparatus of claim 1.
However, D1 does not teach the at least one power supply bay system configuration component comprises a power supply bay spacer and alignment component, the power supply bay spacer and alignment component being configured to be mounted to the inside of the side wall of a power supply bay hosing of the power supply bay.
D2, teaches a similar bay system (200; figure 3B), wherein the configuration component (300; figure 3B) comprises a bay spacer and alignment component (left 300; figure 3B), the bay spacer and alignment component (left 300) being configured to be mounted to a side wall (left 204; figure 3B) of the bay (200; figure 3B).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to further equip the power supply bay system of D1, such that the configuration component of D1 would be equipped with a power supply bay spacer and alignment component, as suggested by D2, such that the bay spacer and alignment component would be configured to be mounted to a side wall of the bay, for accommodating a power supply unit having a form-factor of choice.
Regarding claim 3, as mentioned above, D1/D2 teaches the apparatus of claim 2.
D2, teaches a similar bay structure, further suggests another bay spacer and alignment component (left 300; figure 3B), the another power supply bay spacer and alignment component (left 300) being configured to be mounted to another side wall (204; figure 3B) of the bay, the another side wall (left 204) of the bay being positioned opposite (see figure 3B of D2) to the side wall of the bay.
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to further equip the at least one power supply bay system configuration component of D1/D2 such that it would further comprise another power supply bay spacer and alignment component, as suggested by D2, the another power supply bay spacer and alignment component being configured to be mounted to another side wall (right side of right wall) of the power supply bay, the another side wall of the power supply bay being positioned opposite (see figure 3B of D2) to the side wall of the power supply bay, to accommodate a power supply unit having a form-factor of choice.
Regarding claim 4, the modification of D1/D2 would result in the apparatus of claim 3, wherein: the power supply bay spacer and alignment component has a corresponding power supply bay spacer and alignment component width (see left 300; figure 3B of D2); the another power supply bay spacer and alignment component has a corresponding another power supply bay spacer and alignment component width (see right 300; figure 3B of D2); and
the corresponding power supply bay spacer and alignment component width and the corresponding another power supply bay spacer and alignment component width have different dimensions (see figure 3B of D3; left 300 and right 300 do have different dimensions).
Regarding claim 5, the modification of D1/D2 would result in the apparatus of claim 1, wherein: the power supply bay system configuration component comprises a bay guard bracket component (302; figure 3B of D2), the bay guard bracket component preventing (for ex: a bigger size module would not fit into the slot sized by right and left 302) mounting of an incorrect power supply type.
Regarding claim 6, the modification of D1/D2 would result in the apparatus of claim 5, wherein: the bay guard bracket is configured to be attached to a rear (see figure 3B of D2) of the power supply bay.
Regarding claim 8, as mentioned above, D1/D2 teaches the system of claim 7.
However, D1 does not teach the at least one power supply bay system configuration component comprises a power supply bay spacer and alignment component, the power supply bay spacer and alignment component being configured to be mounted to the inside of the side wall of a power supply bay hosing of the power supply bay.
D2, teaches a similar bay system (200; figure 3B), wherein the configuration component (300; figure 3B) comprises a bay spacer and alignment component (left 300; figure 3B), the bay spacer and alignment component (left 300) being configured to be mounted to a side wall (left 204; figure 3B) of the bay (200; figure 3B).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to further equip the power supply bay system of D1, such that the configuration component of D1 would be equipped with a power supply bay spacer and alignment component, as suggested by D2, such that the bay spacer and alignment component would be configured to be mounted to a side wall of the bay, for accommodating a power supply unit having a form-factor of choice.
Regarding claim 9, as mentioned above, D1/D2 teaches the apparatus of claim 8.
D2, teaches a similar bay structure, further suggests another bay spacer and alignment component (left 300; figure 3B), the another power supply bay spacer and alignment component (left 300) being configured to be mounted to another side wall (204; figure 3B) of the bay, the another side wall (left 204) of the bay being positioned opposite (see figure 3B of D2) to the side wall of the bay.
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to further equip the at least one power supply bay system configuration component of D1/D2 such that it would further comprise another power supply bay spacer and alignment component, as suggested by D2, the another power supply bay spacer and alignment component being configured to be mounted to another side wall (right side of right wall) of the power supply bay, the another side wall of the power supply bay being positioned opposite (see figure 3B of D2) to the side wall of the power supply bay, to accommodate a power supply unit having a form-factor of choice.
Regarding claim 10, the modification of D1/D2 would result in the apparatus of claim 10, wherein: the power supply bay spacer and alignment component has a corresponding power supply bay spacer and alignment component width (see left 300; figure 3B of D2); the another power supply bay spacer and alignment component has a corresponding another power supply bay spacer and alignment component width (see right 300; figure 3B of D2); and
the corresponding power supply bay spacer and alignment component width and the corresponding another power supply bay spacer and alignment component width have different dimensions (see figure 3B of D3; left 300 and right 300 do have different dimensions).
Regarding claim 11, the modification of D1/D2 would result in the apparatus of claim 11, wherein: the power supply bay system configuration component comprises a bay guard bracket component (302; figure 3B of D2), the bay guard bracket component preventing (for ex: a bigger size module would not fit into the slot sized by right and left 302) mounting of an incorrect power supply type.
Regarding claim 12, the modification of D1/D2 would result in the apparatus of claim 12, wherein: the bay guard bracket is configured to be attached to a rear (see figure 3B of D2) of the power supply bay.
Regarding claim 14, as mentioned above, D1/D2 teaches the apparatus of claim 13.
However, D1 does not teach the power supply bay system configuration component comprises a power supply bay spacer and alignment component, the power supply bay spacer and alignment component being configured to be mounted to the inside of the side wall of a power supply bay hosing of the power supply bay.
D2, teaches a similar bay system (200; figure 3B), wherein the configuration component (300; figure 3B) comprises a bay spacer and alignment component (left 300; figure 3B), the bay spacer and alignment component (left 300) being configured to be mounted to a side wall (left 204; figure 3B) of the bay (200; figure 3B).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to further equip the power supply bay system of D1, such that the configuration component of D1 would be equipped with a power supply bay spacer and alignment component, as suggested by D2, such that the bay spacer and alignment component would be configured to be mounted to a side wall of the bay, for accommodating a power supply unit having a form-factor of choice.
Regarding claim 15, as mentioned above, D1/D2 teaches the apparatus of claim 14.
D2, teaches a similar bay structure, further suggests another bay spacer and alignment component (left 300; figure 3B), the another power supply bay spacer and alignment component (left 300) being configured to be mounted to another side wall (204; figure 3B) of the bay, the another side wall (left 204) of the bay being positioned opposite (see figure 3B of D2) to the side wall of the bay.
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to further equip the at least one power supply bay system configuration component of D1/D2 such that it would further comprise another power supply bay spacer and alignment component, as suggested by D2, the another power supply bay spacer and alignment component being configured to be mounted to another side wall (right side of right wall) of the power supply bay, the another side wall of the power supply bay being positioned opposite (see figure 3B of D2) to the side wall of the power supply bay, to accommodate a power supply unit having a form-factor of choice.
Regarding claim 16, the modification of D1/D2 would result in the apparatus of claim 16, wherein: the power supply bay spacer and alignment component has a corresponding power supply bay spacer and alignment component width (see left 300; figure 3B of D2); the another power supply bay spacer and alignment component has a corresponding another power supply bay spacer and alignment component width (see right 300; figure 3B of D2); and
the corresponding power supply bay spacer and alignment component width and the corresponding another power supply bay spacer and alignment component width have different dimensions (see figure 3B of D3; left 300 and right 300 do have different dimensions).
Regarding claim 17, the modification of D1/D2 would result in the apparatus of claim 1, wherein: the power supply bay system configuration component comprises a bay guard bracket component (302; figure 3B of D2), the bay guard bracket component preventing (for ex: a bigger size module would not fit into the slot sized by right and left 302) mounting of an incorrect power supply type.
Regarding claim 18, the modification of D1/D2 would result in the apparatus of claim 5, wherein: the bay guard bracket is configured to be attached to a rear (see figure 3B of D2) of the power supply bay.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HUNG Q DANG whose telephone number is (571)272-3069. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 10-6PM..
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Imani N Hayman can be reached at 571-270-5528. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/HUNG Q DANG/Examiner, Art Unit 2841 /IMANI N HAYMAN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2841
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