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 .
Claims 1-20 are presented for Examination.
DETAILED ACTION
Specification
The specification is objected to as failing to provide proper antecedent basis for the claimed subject matter. See 37 CFR 1.75(d)(1) and MPEP § 608.01(o). Correction of the following is required:
Regarding Claims 7, 1 2, the claims recite “the at least one network adapter is able to determine the minimum power requirements based on the computer system and the display and external devices power requirements.”(Claim 7);
“the processor determines a minimum power requirement based the connected display and the connected external device, .. selecting one of the displays or external devices to turn off until the power requirements are met” ( Claim 12);
Para [0027] of the specification document recites “However other systems may have more or less power output per port. Thus, the PoE computer system 12 is able to determine the minimum and maximum power requirements of the computer 10 and determine if the power received via the PoE network adapter and power source connection 20 is adequate. If the power required is greater than the power received, the computer 10 may send a warning to the user or may turn off various external devices or displays until the power requirements are met. The computer 10 is able to determine which devices are being used and which are not to assist in the determination to turn off various devices or displays.”. The Specification document fails to provide proper antecedent basis for the claimed subject matter.
Claim Objections
Claims 2,8, 9, 17, 18 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Regarding claims 2, 9, 17, “I/O Interface” should be --'Input/Output (I/O) interface --
Regrading claims 8, 18, “ a battery connected to the at least one network adapters” should be ---'a battery connected to the at least one network adapter--
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-20, are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor, or for pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Claim 1 recites the limitation " a motherboard where the network adapter..”, " the terminologies are unclear and the use of this phrase which renders the claim indefinite because it is not clear whether it is “ at least one network adapter” as recited in line 4 of the claim or a different network adapter. Examiner interprets as “the at least one network adapter.”
Claims 8, 16 recites the limitation “at least one network adapter capable of receiving data and power connected to one of the series of connectors of the motherboard”, the terminologies are unclear and the use of this phrase which renders the claim indefinite because It is not clear whether a network adapter capable of receiving data and power connected to any one of the series of connectors of the motherboard or receiving data and power from one of the series of connectors connected to the processor and memory.
Specifically, it is not clear whether the network adapter receives data and power connected from a connector in the motherboard that is different from the respective connectors connected to the processor or memory [ as recited in para 0028 of the specification document] or from one of the series of connectors connected to the processor or memory.
Examiner interprets as the network adapter receiving data and power connected from a connector in the motherboard that is different from the respective connectors connected to the processor or memory, as recited in para 0028 of the specification document.
The claims 9-15 and 17-20 dependent from claims 8 and 16 respectively are rejected on the same basis.
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 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 of this title, 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 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Byers et.al. (U.S Patent 9,703,650; hereinafter “Byers” in view of Bower III et.al. (U.S Patent Application Publication 2018/0348848; hereinafter “Bower”)
Regarding Claim 1, Byers discloses, A Power over Ethernet computer system, comprising[ Fig.4]:
a processing unit [‘”The network device 28 includes a processor 38 to process data including at least some of the data received from the connected network devices 12, 14..”, col 4 lines 16-19 ];
memory connected to the processing unit [“a memory 40”, col 4 lines 16-19]
at least one network adapter capable of receiving data and power connected to the processor and the memory[“The data and power may be transferred between devices 12, 14 using an Ethernet cable using power over Ethernet (PoE) technology..”, col 5 lines 20-22; “Each power port unit 24 includes a port connector 30 to mate with a power cable (not shown) connecting the port connector with a network device 12, 14. ..Each power port unit 24 may additionally include a power port unit controller 42 to control the selectively configurable operation of the power port unit 24 as either a PSE port unit or a PD port unit using control signals described in more detail below. …col 4 lines 23-29;( i.e the power port unit corresponds to the network adapter); ” The summing node 22 electrically connects the power supply 18, the power port units 24, the local loads 26, the local battery 20 as well as other elements for example, but not limited to, the processor 38 and the memory 40”, col 5 lines 7-10; “The summing node 22 may be a power summing bus. The selection signals may be discrete analog or digital signals having an analog voltage level or a logic level to select PSE versus PD operation, or may be control commands transmitted over a digital control bus (e.g., a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus or Inter-Integrated Circuit (I2C) bus) coupled to the power port unit controller 42 and the bi-directional power convertor 32 of each power port unit 24 to select PSE versus PD operation, for example….”, Col 6 lines 45-56; “The data bus 36 is controlled by the processor 38…”, col 4 lines 59-67; Fig.2, 3 ( i.e the power port unit receives the data and power connected to the processor and memory ); col 4, lines 26-41; “Each power port unit 24 is selectively configurable responsive to a selection signal received from the power port unit controller 42 or the processor 38 to operate as either (i) a PSE port unit to provide/source power to a connected network device 12, 14 or (ii) a PD port unit to sink/receive power from the connected network device 12, 14…”, .col 6 lines 14-27];
the network adapter, memory, and processing unit electrically and mechanically interface [ col 4 lines 16-19 ; col 4 lines 23-67; “ These physical components may comprise hard-wired or programmable devices, or a combination of the two. In some embodiments, at least some of the functions of the processing circuitry may be carried out by a programmable processor under the control of suitable software. …, col 13 lines 1-15; Fig.2, 3; (i.e the components/ circuitry of the network device electrically and mechanically interface)].
However, Byers does not expressly disclose a motherboard where the network adapter, memory, and processing unit electrically and mechanically interface.
In the same field of endeavor (e.g. power management of a computing server through a network adapter card to perform remote power cycling of the device ), Bower teaches ,
a motherboard where the network adapter, memory, and processing unit electrically and mechanically interface [ “the server may include a sideboard in addition to the mainboard, such as a baseboard management controller (BMC), integrated management module (IMM), or service processor (SP)..”, 0014; “the network hardware 102 may be a discrete network adapter card or a network integrated circuit (IC) integrated within the mainboard of the computing device 100. The network hardware 102 connects the computing device 100 to a network 110. For example, the network hardware 102 can include a network jack into which one end of a network cable is inserted, where the other end of the cable is connected to a network switch or other network device that is part of the network 110. The network 110 can thus be or include an Ethernet network, ..”, 0023; 0025; “The computing device 100 of FIG. 3A includes a housing 320 in which the power supply 104 and a primary logic board 322 are disposed. The primary logic board 322 includes a primary processor 326 and primary memory 328, among other hardware components,..”, 0039;” the network hardware 102 is implemented as a network IC 302 disposed on the primary logic board 322. The network IC 302 may be soldered onto the primary logic board 322, ..”, 0041; Fig.3A-3C].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Byers with Bower. Bower’s teaching of implementing a network adapter card on a primary logic board of the computing device to perform power cycling will substantially improve Byers’s system to perform a secured reboot of the device during abnormal conditions by authenticating the network packet received by the network adapter card.
Regarding claims 2, 9 Byers discloses an I/O interface [ “One network device 12 may have many data network connections, including east-west (E-W) links 19 to adjacent peer level network devices 12 in the same layer, and north-south (N-S) links 21 to connect network devices 12 in higher or lower levels (layers) in the network device hierarchy, direct Internet backbone connections 23 to the cloud computing environment 16 (cloud layer), and direct wired connections 25 to the IoT devices 14 (things) associated with the network device 12. The network device power sharing system 10 allows electrical power to flow bi-directionally alongside data on all of the above paths, producing a highly resilient power system.”, col 3 lines 8-16; Fig.1].
Regarding Claims 3, 10, Byers discloses I/O interface [ col 3 lines 8-16; Fig.1]
However, Byers does not expressly disclose at least one display connected to the I/O interface.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Byers to connect a display to the I/O interface , since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select the component on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of design choice.
Regarding Claims 4, 11 Byers discloses at least one external device connected to the I/O interface [col 3 lines 8-16; Fig.1].
Regarding Claim 5, Byers discloses, wherein the computer system receives power through the at least one network adapter [“The aforementioned PSE/PD operations may be performed in accordance with the IEEE 802.3 specification/standard or USB standards or any other suitable standard as applicable ..”, col 6 lines 28-30; “The network device 28 may include a local Communication Center, implemented in the processor 38 or in a separate element, to monitor local power-related parameters (based on monitored currents and voltages), including a power consumption, a power need, battery charge state, current flows into and out of the summing node 22, and a measure of any excess power of the network device 28. If the local Communication Center is not implemented in the processor 38, the local Communication Center is operative to convey the monitored parameters as power-related information/data to the processor 38…”, col 6 lines 60-67; col 7 lines 1-10; col 8 lines 1-17] .
However, Byers does not expressly disclose the network adapter to provide 10 watts of power.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Byers to provide 10 watts of power, since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to provide the power on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of design choice.
Regarding Claim 6, Byers discloses , further comprising a power supply connected to the at least one network adapters [ “power supply 18..”, col 5 lines 1-27; Fig.2]
Regarding Claim 7, Byers discloses wherein the at least one network adapter is able to determine the minimum power requirements [ “the available power reserves of the network devices 12 and the devices 14 (FIG. 5) are collected. The minimum power consumption state (for example, to operate essential services) is gathered. Power is transferred from the network devices 12 with excess battery capacity to network devices 12 with critical need across the power links perhaps traversing a chain of many network devices to move power reserves from far away batteries..”, col 11 lines 62-67; col 12 lines 1-5;( i.e. Examiner interprets the network device/ computing system is determining the minimum power requirements as recited in the specification document para [0027])].
However, Byers does not expressly disclose a display and the power requirements of the display.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Byers to disclose a display and determine the power requirements of a display, as Byers discloses various devices connected to the network device via plurality of links/ interface [col 3 lines 8-16; Fig.1] to provide various services in a data center. Further Byres also discloses determining whether the power reserves are able to meet the minimum power required by a device to perform the essential/ critical services and negotiating with other network devices to move power from far away batteries[ col 11 lines 58-67; col 12 lines 1-30] in order to maximize an overall efficient power distribution and reserve run time to provide reliable operation of the mission critical applications.
Regarding Claims 8, 16, Byers discloses, A Power over Ethernet computer system, comprising[ Fig.1]:
a processing unit [‘”The network device 28 includes a processor 38 to process data including at least some of the data received from the connected network devices 12, 14..”, col 4 lines 16-19 ];
memory [col 4 lines 16-19];
at least one network adapter capable of receiving data and power[ “The data and power may be transferred between devices 12, 14 using an Ethernet cable using power over Ethernet (PoE) technology..”, col 5 lines 20-22; “Each power port unit 24 includes a port connector 30 to mate with a power cable (not shown) connecting the port connector with a network device 12, 14. ….col 4 lines 23-29;( i.e the power port unit corresponds to the network adapter);” Each power port unit 24 includes a port connector 30 to mate with a power cable (not shown) connecting the port connector with a network device 12, 14. Each power port unit 24 also includes a bi-directional power convertor 32 to selectively convert electrical power in either a first direction and to provide converted electrical power to the port connector 30 when the power port unit 24 is configured to operate as a PSE port unit, or in a second direction to convert electrical power received from the port connector 30 when the power port unit 24 is configured to operate as the PD port unit”; col 4 lines 24-36; “The network device 28 also includes a data bus 36 and a plurality of data port units 34 (only one shown for the sake of simplicity) to exchange data with the network devices 12, 14. ..the data port unit 34 may be incorporated into the port connector 30 for connection to a single combined data-power cable in which the port connector 30 directs the data component from the cable to the data bus 36 and the power component from the cable to the bi-directional power convertor 32”, col 4 lines 50-67]; and
a battery connected to the at least one network adapters[ “The local battery 20 may include a rechargeable battery operative to: receive electrical power from the power supply 18 via the power summing node 22; and to supply electrical power to the local loads 26 or to one or more network devices 12, 14 devices via the power summing node 22 and one or more power port units 24”, col 5 lines 15-20] ;
Bowers also discloses a housing, wherein the motherboard is contained within the housing and the at least one network adapter is accessible through the housing[ “..a housing 320..”, 0039; Fig.3A; “..The network IC 302 is thus disposed within the housing 320 insofar as the primary logic board 322 on which it is a part is disposed within the housing 320”, 0041] ( as recited in Claim 16).
However, Byers does not expressly disclose a motherboard, wherein the motherboard has a series of connectors; a processing unit connected to one of the series of connectors of the motherboard; memory connected to one of the series of connectors of the motherboard; at least one network adapter connected to one of the series of connectors of the motherboard; and a battery connected to the motherboard.
In the same field of endeavor (e.g. power management of a computing server through a network adapter card to perform remote power cycling of the device ), Bower teaches ,
a motherboard, wherein the motherboard has a series of connectors; a processing unit connected to one of the series of connectors of the motherboard; memory connected to one of the series of connectors of the motherboard; at least one network adapter connected to one of the series of connectors of the motherboard; [ 0014; “The computing device 100 of FIG. 3A includes a housing 320 in which the power supply 104 and a primary logic board 322 are disposed. The primary logic board 322 includes a primary processor 326 and primary memory 328, among other hardware components,..”, 0039;” the network hardware 102 is implemented as a network IC 302 disposed on the primary logic board 322. The network IC 302 may be soldered onto the primary logic board 322, ..”, 0041; “The power supply 104 has a corresponding connector 332 that mates with the connector 330 of the primary logic board 322.”, 0042; 0044; Fig.3A-3C; ( i.e a series of connectors of the primary and secondary logic board , connecting the various components); “the network hardware 102 may be a discrete network adapter card or a network integrated circuit (IC) integrated within the mainboard of the computing device 100. The network hardware 102 connects the computing device 100 to a network 110. For example, the network hardware 102 can include a network jack into which one end of a network cable is inserted, where the other end of the cable is connected to a network switch or other network device that is part of the network 110. The network 110 can thus be or include an Ethernet network, ..”, 0023;0025]; and
a battery connected to the motherboard [ “..the power supply 104 includes a battery 416, such as a capacitor, that can provide power to the circuitry 412..”, 0057; Fig.4C].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Byers with Bower. Bower’s teaching of implementing a network adapter card on a primary logic board of the computing device to perform power cycling will substantially improve Byers system to perform a secured reboot of the device during abnormal conditions by authenticating the network packet received by the network adapter card.
Regarding Claim 12, Byers discloses, wherein the processor determines a minimum power requirement based the connected display and the connected external device, wherein if it is determined that the minimum power requirement is beyond the computer systems ability, selecting one of the to turn off until the power requirements are met [“the available power reserves of the network devices 12 and the devices 14 (FIG. 5) are collected. The minimum power consumption state (for example, to operate essential services) is gathered. Power is transferred from the network devices 12 with excess battery capacity to network devices 12 with critical need across the power links perhaps traversing a chain of many network devices to move power reserves from far away batteries..”, col 11 lines 62-67; “ …As the network's batteries become nearly depleted, the local loads 26 (FIG. 5) of some network devices 12 may totally shut down, but the power port units 24 and summing nodes 22 stay operational to shuttle power across the network devices 12..”, col 12 lines 1-8( i.e. Examiner interprets the network device/ computing system is determining the minimum power requirements as recited in the specification document para [0027])].
Byers also discloses connected external devices connected [col 3 lines 8-16; Fig.1].
However Byers does not expressly disclose a display , the power requirements of the display and external devices, selecting one of the display or external devices to turn off .
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Byers to disclose a display and determine the power requirements of a display and external devices, as Byers discloses various devices connected to the network device via plurality of links/ interface [col 3 lines 8-16; Fig.1] to provide various services in a data center. Further Byres also discloses determining whether the power reserves are able to meet the minimum power required by a device to perform the essential/ critical services and negotiating with other network devices to move power from far away batteries[ col 11 lines 58-67; col 12 lines 1-30] in order to maximize an overall efficient power distribution and reserve run time to provide reliable operation of the mission critical applications.
Regarding Claim 13, Byers discloses wherein the at least one network adapter is able to convert the power received [“bi-directional power convertor 32..”, col 4 lines 63-67; col 5 lines 1-25 ].
Regarding Claim 14, Byers discloses wherein the at least one network adapter is able to receive a wireless and a wired connection [ col 3 lines 1-20; Fig.1].
Regarding claim 15, Bower teaches a housing, wherein the motherboard is contained within the housing [ “..a housing 320..”, 0039; Fig.3A].
Regarding Claim 17, Bower teaches, at least one I/0 interface connector integrated into the motherboard and accessible through the housing [ 0050; “..the power-cycling interface 406 may be a connector to which the connector 352 of the cable 348 that implements the power line 108 in FIG. 3C…”, 0055; 0058 ; Fig.4B].
Regarding Claim 18, Byers discloses a battery connected to the at least one network adapters [ “The local battery 20 may include a rechargeable battery operative to: receive electrical power from the power supply 18 via the power summing node 22; and to supply electrical power to the local loads 26 or to one or more network devices 12, 14 devices via the power summing node 22 and one or more power port units 24”, col 5 lines 15-20].
Bower teaches a battery connected to the motherboard[ 0057; Fig.4B]
Regarding Claim 19, Byers discloses the at least one network adapter converts the power received[“bi-directional power convertor 32..”, col 4 lines 63-67; col 5 lines 1-25 ].
Regarding Claim 20, Byers discloses there are two or more of the network adapters[“..The network device 28 includes a plurality of power port units 24 for connection to a plurality of network devices 12, 14 (FIG. 1)… , col 4 lines 20-37; Fig.2].
However Byers does not expressly disclose the power received is multiplied by the number of connections .
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Byers to teach the power received is multiplied by the number of connections as Byers discloses “the available power reserves of the network devices 12 and the devices 14 (FIG. 5) are collected. The minimum power consumption state (for example, to operate essential services) is gathered. Power is transferred from the network devices 12 with excess battery capacity to network devices 12 with critical need..”[ col 11 lines 58-67; col 12 lines 1-30; i.e. gathering or collecting the power from the plurality of network devices connected via the power port units], in order to maximize an overall efficient power distribution and reserve run time to provide reliable operation of the mission critical applications.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Faraz et al., U.S Patent Application Publication 2021/0325950, teaches improving availability of a power plane in a network device by using a PoE manager that is separate from an operating system in the network device. For example, when the operating system (or a PoE application executing in the operating system) becomes unavailable, either because of failure or system upgrade, the PoE manager continues managing a power plane in the network device such that connected PDs continue to receive DC power.
Mukadam U.S Patent Application Publication 2016/0299767, teaches a method of a storage area network (SAN) includes storing and communicating data received from a server at a host bus adapter via a bus controller of the adapter and generally relate to network interfaces of servers in storage area networks.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GAYATHRI SAMPATH whose telephone number is (571)272-5489. The examiner can normally be reached on Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jaweed Abbaszadeh can be reached on 5712701640. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/GAYATHRI SAMPATH/ Examiner, Art Unit 2176
/JAWEED A ABBASZADEH/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2176