DETAILED ACTION
Response to Amendment
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 .
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 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Grobelny et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication Number 2021/0225159) and Kwon et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication Number 2014/0223232).
Regarding Claim 1, Grobelny discloses a computing device comprising:
a chassis (Figure 4A, item 201, paragraph 0036) comprising a contact (Figure 4A, item 330, paragraph 0052; i.e., the reference does not expressly state that the post 330 is a conductive contact, however conductive materials [e.g., metal] were well known in the art for the purpose of providing a durable material that would be less prone to breaking);
a user interactive surface removably secured to the chassis (Figure 4A, item 301, paragraph 0045; i.e., the “user interactive surface” 203 contains user interactive components such as a keyboard 320; further, although Figure 4A depicts the bottom portion of the notebook computer being removed, the top portion, which contains the user interactive component 320 can instead be the removable portion [see paragraph 0051]);
a battery (Figure 4A, item 265, paragraph 0041);
a circuit board (Figure 4A, item 207) electrically coupled to the battery and comprising a conductive pad (Figure 4A, item 299 with item 303, paragraph 0050; i.e., pad 299/303 comprises conductive materials such as a spring and wiring [see paragraph 0063]); and
a memory (Figure 1, item 215) storing instructions executable by a processor (Figure 1, item 205, paragraph 0080) to detect when the chassis is separated from the user interactive surface (paragraph 0056), wherein the conductive pad of the circuit board is operatively configured to contact a corresponding conductive contact of the chassis when the chassis is removably secured to the user interactive surface (paragraph 0057; i.e., conductive contact 330 is configured to contact conductive pad 299/303 such that the button 303 is pressed down when the lid 301 is closed);
wherein the instructions are executable to:
when the battery is in a powered-on state:
determine that none of the conductive contacts are contacting a conductive pad of the plurality of conductive pads (paragraph 0057); and
on condition that none of the conductive contacts are contacting a conductive pad of the plurality of conductive pads, either disconnect the battery from providing power to the computing device or transition the battery to a powered-off state (paragraphs 0043-0044, 0048, and 0056-0057; i.e., when the conductive contact 330 of the chassis 201 is no longer pressing down on the conductive pad 299/303 of the circuit board 207, the Sys_Pres signal 291 is deactivated, which causes the battery 265 to be disconnected).
Grobelny does not expressly disclose the chassis comprises a plurality of conductive contacts;
the circuit board comprises a plurality of conductive pads;
determine that one or more of the conductive contacts but not all of the conductive contacts are contacting a conductive pad of the plurality of conductive pads;
on condition that one or more of the conductive contacts but not all of the conductive contacts are contacting a conductive pad of the plurality of conductive pads, maintain the battery in the powered-on state.
In the same field of endeavor (e.g., device opening detection), Kwon teaches a chassis (Figure 2C, item 210) comprises a plurality of contacts (paragraph 0043; i.e., the contacts on battery cover 210 that touch the plurality of conductive pads 220/222/224);
a board (Figure 2C, item 240) comprises a plurality of conductive pads (Figure 2C, item 220/222/224, paragraphs 0043-0044 and 0046);
determine that one or more of the conductive contacts but not all of the conductive contacts are contacting a conductive pad of the plurality of conductive pads (paragraph 0044; i.e., conductive pads 222 and 224 may still be touching their associated contacts on chassis 210);
on condition that one or more of the conductive contacts but not all of the conductive contacts are contacting a conductive pad of the plurality of conductive pads, maintain the battery in the powered-on state (paragraphs 0043-0044; i.e., the battery remains on when conductive pads 222 and 224 are still making contact with their associated contacts on the chassis 210 even if conductive pad 220 is no longer touching its associated contact on chassis 210).
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have combined Kwon’s teachings of device opening detection with the teachings of Grobelny, for the purpose of securing the stability of a file system by effectively obviating a situation where a file error occurs in case of the removal of a battery (see Kwon, paragraph 0007).
Regarding Claim 2, Grobelny discloses wherein the instructions are executable to, when the battery is in the powered-on state: determine that at least one conductive contact of the plurality of conductive contacts is contacting a conductive pad of the plurality of conductive pads; and on condition that the at least one conductive contact is contacting the conductive pad, maintain the battery in the powered-on state (paragraphs 0056-0057).
Regarding Claim 3, Grobelny discloses wherein the instructions are executable to, when the battery is in the powered-off state: determine that all conductive contacts of the plurality of conductive contacts are contacting a corresponding conductive pad of the plurality of conductive pads; and on condition that all conductive contacts are contacting the corresponding conductive pad, transition the battery to the powered-on state (paragraphs 0056-0057).
Regarding Claim 4, Grobelny discloses wherein determining that one or more of the conductive contacts are contacting a conductive pad comprises receiving a ground signal from the one or more conductive contacts (paragraph 0048).
Regarding Claim 5, Grobelny discloses wherein determining that one or more of the conductive contacts are contacting a conductive pad comprises detecting a voltage level change at the one or more conductive contacts (paragraph 0048).
Regarding Claim 6, Grobelny discloses wherein at least one conductive contact of the plurality of conductive contacts is located adjacent to a first side of the chassis, and at least one other conductive contact of the plurality of conductive contacts is located adjacent to a second side opposite to the first side of the chassis (Figure 4A, items 317 and 415).
Regarding Claim 7, Kwon teaches wherein at least one conductive pad of the plurality of conductive pads is located adjacent to a first side of the circuit board (Figure 2C, item 222), and at least one other conductive pad of the plurality of conductive pads is located adjacent to a second side opposite to the first side of the circuit board (Figure 2C, item 224).
Regarding Claim 8, Grobelny discloses a bypass feature, wherein the instructions are executable to, when the battery is in the powered-off state: determine that none of the conductive contacts are contacting a conductive pad of the plurality of conductive pads; determine that the bypass feature is actuated; and at least on condition of (1) determining that none of the conductive contacts are contacting a conductive pad of the plurality of conductive pads and (2) determining that the bypass feature is actuated, transition the battery to the powered-on state (paragraphs 0075 and 0078; i.e., even when the lid 301 is removed [thereby resulting in “none of the conductive contacts are contacting a conductive pad of the plurality of conductive pads”], a user 802 [Figure 8] could simply press down the button 303 to transition the battery to the powered-on state [equivalent to the “bypass feature”]; this action would be useful when the user is replacing a component inside the laptop [see paragraph 0078] and wants to ensure the system works normally prior to placing the lid 301 back on).
Regarding Claim 9, Grobelny discloses wherein the computing device is a laptop computing device (paragraph 0036; i.e., a notebook device).
Regarding Claim 10, Grobelny discloses wherein the instructions are executable to: when the battery is in the powered-on state: determine that none of the conductive contacts are contacting a conductive pad of the plurality of conductive pads for at least a threshold period of time; and on condition that none of the conductive contacts are contacting a conductive pad of the plurality of conductive pads at least a threshold period of time, either disconnect the battery from providing power to the computing device or transition the battery to the powered-off state (paragraphs 0056-0057; i.e., the “threshold period of time” is an instantaneous time).
Regarding Claim 11, Grobelny discloses a method for determining when a chassis (Figure 4A, item 201, paragraph 0036) of a computing device is separated from a user interactive surface (Figure 4A, item 301, paragraph 0045; i.e., the “user interactive surface” 203 contains user interactive components such as a keyboard 320; further, although Figure 4A depicts the bottom portion of the notebook computer being removed, the top portion, which contains the user interactive component 320 can instead be the removable portion [see paragraph 0051]) of the computing device, the chassis being removably securable to the user interactive surface and comprising a contact (Figure 4A, item 330, paragraph 0052; i.e., the reference does not expressly state that the post 330 is a conductive contact, however conductive materials [e.g., metal] were well known in the art for the purpose of providing a durable material that would be less prone to breaking), the computing device further comprising a battery (Figure 4A, item 265, paragraph 0041) and a circuit board (Figure 4A, item 207) electrically coupled to the battery and comprising a conductive pad (Figure 4A, item 299 with item 303, paragraph 0050; i.e., pad 299/303 comprises conductive materials such as a spring and wiring [see paragraph 0063]), the method comprising:
when the battery is in a powered-on state:
determining that none of the conductive contacts are contacting a conductive pad of the circuit board (paragraph 0057); and
on condition that none of the conductive contacts are contacting a conductive pad, either disconnecting the battery from providing power to the computing device or transitioning the battery to a powered-off state (paragraphs 0043-0044, 0048, and 0056-0057; i.e., when the conductive contact 330 of the chassis 201 is no longer pressing down on the conductive pad 299/303 of the circuit board 207, the Sys_Pres signal 291 is deactivated, which causes the battery 265 to be disconnected).
Grobelny does not expressly disclose the chassis comprises a plurality of conductive contacts;
the circuit board comprises a plurality of conductive pads;
determine that one or more of the conductive contacts but not all of the conductive contacts are contacting a conductive pad of the plurality of conductive pads;
on condition that one or more of the conductive contacts but not all of the conductive contacts are contacting a conductive pad of the plurality of conductive pads, maintain the battery in the powered-on state.
In the same field of endeavor, Kwon teaches a chassis (Figure 2C, item 210) comprises a plurality of contacts (paragraph 0043; i.e., the contacts on battery cover 210 that touch the plurality of conductive pads 220/222/224);
a board (Figure 2C, item 240) comprises a plurality of conductive pads (Figure 2C, item 220/222/224, paragraphs 0043-0044 and 0046);
determine that one or more of the conductive contacts but not all of the conductive contacts are contacting a conductive pad of the plurality of conductive pads (paragraph 0044; i.e., conductive pads 222 and 224 may still be touching their associated contacts on chassis 210);
on condition that one or more of the conductive contacts but not all of the conductive contacts are contacting a conductive pad of the plurality of conductive pads, maintain the battery in the powered-on state (paragraphs 0043-0044; i.e., the battery remains on when conductive pads 222 and 224 are still making contact with their associated contacts on the chassis 210 even if conductive pad 220 is no longer touching its associated contact on chassis 210).
The motivation discussed above with regards to Claim 1 applies equally as well to Claim 11.
Regarding Claim 12, Grobelny discloses when the battery is in the powered-on state: determining that at least one conductive contact of the plurality of conductive contacts is contacting a conductive pad of the plurality of conductive pads; and on condition that the at least one conductive contact is contacting the conductive pad, maintaining the battery in the powered-on state (paragraphs 0056-0057).
Regarding Claim 13, Grobelny discloses when the battery is in the powered-off state: determining that all conductive contacts of the plurality of conductive contacts are contacting a corresponding conductive pad of the plurality of conductive pads; and on condition that all conductive contacts are contacting the corresponding conductive pad, transitioning the battery to the powered-on state (paragraphs 0056-0057).
Regarding Claim 14, Grobelny discloses wherein determining that one or more of the conductive contacts are contacting a conductive pad comprises receiving a ground signal from the one or more conductive contacts (paragraph 0048).
Regarding Claim 15, Grobelny discloses wherein determining that one or more of the conductive contacts are contacting a conductive pad comprises detecting a voltage level change at the one or more conductive contacts (paragraph 0048).
Regarding Claim 16, Grobelny discloses wherein at least one conductive contact of the plurality of conductive contacts is located adjacent to a first side of the chassis, and at least one other conductive contact of the plurality of conductive contacts is located adjacent to a second side opposite to the first side of the chassis (Figure 4A, items 317 and 415).
Regarding Claim 17, Kwon teaches wherein at least one conductive pad of the plurality of conductive pads is located adjacent to a first side of the circuit board (Figure 2C, item 222), and at least one other conductive pad of the plurality of conductive pads is located adjacent to a second side opposite to the first side of the circuit board (Figure 2C, item 224).
Regarding Claim 18, Grobelny discloses wherein the computing device further comprises a bypass feature, the method further comprising, when the battery is in the powered-off state: determining that none of the conductive contacts are contacting a conductive pad of the plurality of conductive pads; determining that the bypass feature is actuated; and at least on condition of (1) determining that none of the conductive contacts are contacting a conductive pad of the plurality of conductive pads and (2) determining that the bypass feature is actuated, transitioning the battery to the powered-on state (paragraphs 0075 and 0078; i.e., even when the lid 301 is removed [thereby resulting in “none of the conductive contacts are contacting a conductive pad of the plurality of conductive pads”], a user 802 [Figure 8] could simply press down the button 303 to transition the battery to the powered-on state [equivalent to the “bypass feature”]; this action would be useful when the user is replacing a component inside the laptop [see paragraph 0078] and wants to ensure the system works normally prior to placing the lid 301 back on).
Regarding Claim 19, Grobelny discloses when the battery is in the powered-on state: determining that none of the conductive contacts are contacting a conductive pad of the plurality of conductive pads of the circuit board for at least a threshold period of time; and on condition that none of the conductive contacts are contacting a conductive pad of the plurality of conductive pads for at least a threshold period of time, either disconnecting the battery from providing power to the computing device or transitioning the battery to the powered-off state (paragraphs 0056-0057; i.e., the “threshold period of time” is an instantaneous time).
Regarding Claim 20, Grobelny discloses a laptop computing device (paragraph 0036; i.e., a notebook device) comprising a memory (Figure 1, item 215) storing instructions executable by a processor (Figure 1, item 205, paragraph 0080) to detect when a chassis (Figure 4A, item 201, paragraph 0036) is separated from a user interactive surface (Figure 4A, item 301, paragraph 0045; i.e., the “user interactive surface” 203 contains user interactive components such as a keyboard 320; further, although Figure 4A depicts the bottom portion of the notebook computer being removed, the top portion, which contains the user interactive component 320 can instead be the removable portion [see paragraph 0051]) of the laptop computing device (paragraph 0057; i.e., conductive contact 330 is configured to contact conductive pad 299/303 such that the button 303 is pressed down when the lid 301 is closed), the laptop computing device comprising:
a display substrate rotatably coupled to the chassis (Figure 1, item 225, paragraph 0036; i.e., there may be a hinge that allows the display to rotate around the chassis);
a battery between the user interactive surface and the chassis (Figure 4A, item 265, paragraph 0041); and
a circuit board (Figure 4A, item 207) electrically coupled to the battery and comprising a conductive pad (Figure 4A, item 299 with item 303, paragraph 0050; i.e., pad 299/303 comprises conductive materials such as a spring and wiring [see paragraph 0063]),
wherein the chassis comprises a contact (Figure 4A, item 330, paragraph 0052; i.e., the reference does not expressly state that the post 330 is a conductive contact, however conductive materials [e.g., metal] were well known in the art for the purpose of providing a durable material that would be less prone to breaking) extending from an interior base surface of the chassis, and the conductive contact of the is operatively configured to contact a corresponding conductive pad of the circuit board when the chassis is removably secured to the user interactive surface (paragraph 0057; i.e., conductive contact 330 is configured to contact conductive pad 299/303 such that the button 303 is pressed down when the lid 301 is closed);
wherein the instructions executable to:
when the battery is in a powered-on state:
determine that none of the conductive contacts are contacting a conductive pad of the plurality of conductive pads (paragraph 0057); and
on condition that none of the conductive contacts are contacting a conductive pad of the plurality of conductive pads, either disconnect the battery from providing power to the computing device or transition the battery to a powered-off state (paragraphs 0043-0044, 0048, and 0056-0057; i.e., when the conductive contact 330 of the chassis 201 is no longer pressing down on the conductive pad 299/303 of the circuit board 207, the Sys_Pres signal 291 is deactivated, which causes the battery 265 to be disconnected).
Grobelny does not expressly disclose the chassis comprises a plurality of conductive contacts;
the circuit board comprises a plurality of conductive pads;
determine that one or more of the conductive contacts but not all of the conductive contacts are contacting a conductive pad of the plurality of conductive pads;
on condition that one or more of the conductive contacts but not all of the conductive contacts are contacting a conductive pad of the plurality of conductive pads, maintain the battery in the powered-on state.
In the same field of endeavor, Kwon teaches a chassis (Figure 2C, item 210) comprises a plurality of contacts (paragraph 0043; i.e., the contacts on battery cover 210 that touch the plurality of conductive pads 220/222/224);
a board (Figure 2C, item 240) comprises a plurality of conductive pads (Figure 2C, item 220/222/224, paragraphs 0043-0044 and 0046);
determine that one or more of the conductive contacts but not all of the conductive contacts are contacting a conductive pad of the plurality of conductive pads (paragraph 0044; i.e., conductive pads 222 and 224 may still be touching their associated contacts on chassis 210);
on condition that one or more of the conductive contacts but not all of the conductive contacts are contacting a conductive pad of the plurality of conductive pads, maintain the battery in the powered-on state (paragraphs 0043-0044; i.e., the battery remains on when conductive pads 222 and 224 are still making contact with their associated contacts on the chassis 210 even if conductive pad 220 is no longer touching its associated contact on chassis 210).
The motivation discussed above with regards to Claim 1 applies equally as well to Claim 20.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure because each reference discloses a device that detects separation of a computer chassis and disconnects a battery.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim 1 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FAISAL M ZAMAN whose telephone number is (571)272-6495. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 8 am - 5 pm, alternate Fridays.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Andrew J. Jung can be reached at 571-270-3779. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/FAISAL M ZAMAN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2175
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