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 § 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 applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 1, 2, 11, 12 recites “responsive to detecting a component temperature greater than or equal to the PTT, operating the component with a pre-throttling constraint to reduce power consumption of the component without constraining a throttling parameter” and “responsive to detecting a component temperature greater than or equal to a first thermal management temperature (TMT1), performing first stage throttling to limit the throttling parameter in accordance with a first stage value for the throttling parameter.” The claim requires that when the temperature exceeds the TMT1 (and therefore a scenario where PTT is also exceed), the component is operated both “without constraining a throttling parameter” and “throttling to limit the throttling parameter in accordance with a first stage value”. It is unclear how the component can operate in such a method where it is not throttling accord to a throttling parameter and also is throttled according to the throttling parameter at the same time.
Claim 1, 2, 11, 12 recites “responsive to detecting a component temperature less than a pre-throttling temperature (PTT), operating the component without thermal management constraints”. From the claim language, and without reading improper limitations from the specification, it is unclear from the claims the related relationship between PTT and TMT1, and therefore unclear whether the component could exceed TMT1 without exceeding PTT, whereby the claim requires both ‘without constraints’ and ‘throttled’ operation.
Claim 2, 12 recites “responsive to detecting a component temperature greater than or equal to a second TMT (TMT2)”. The claim does not provide any definition or relate relationship between PTT, TMT1, and TMT2. Therefore it is unclear how the claim is operating in accordance to ‘greater than or equal to’ TMT2, and whether this is greater, less than, equal to PTT or TMT1.
Claim 3, 13 recites “wherein the TMT1 is in the range of 73 C to 79 C, the TMT1 is in the range of 79 C to 83 C, and the TMT2 is in the range of 81 to 85 C.” It is unclear from the claims, how TMT1 can both be ‘the range of 73 C to 79 C’ and ‘in the range of 79 C to 83 C’ at the same time, and how the elements of the independent claims can operate a ‘less than, greater or equal to’ evaluation on these two ranges at the same time.
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.
Claim(s) 1-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fillingim et al [hereinafter Fill] (USPGPUB 20110060927), and further in view of Helmick (USPGPUB 20170300263).
As per Claim 1, 11, Fill discloses A thermal management method, comprising: monitoring a temperature of an information handling system component; responsive to detecting a component temperature less than a pre-throttling temperature (PTT), operating the component without thermal management constraints; “the method includes monitoring a temperature for the data storage device relative to a thermal ceiling. In another embodiment, the method includes adjusting execution of the one or more operations on the data storage device in response to the temperature approaching the thermal ceiling. In one embodiment, the method includes verifying whether the temperature is moving away from the thermal ceiling in response to adjusting the execution of the one or more operations” 0011 responsive to detecting a component temperature greater than or equal to a first thermal management temperature (TMT1), performing first stage throttling to limit the throttling parameter in accordance with a first stage value for the throttling parameter “In another embodiment, the target module 610 determines an appropriate thermal target for the corresponding component 530. The target module 610, in one embodiment, may determine the thermal target in substantially the same manner as the power consumption target. The thermal target, in one embodiment, sets temperature limits for the component 530. The thermal target, in various embodiments, may be expressed as degrees Celsius, degrees Fahrenheit, Kelvin units, or the like. As described above with regard to the power consumption target, the thermal target, in various embodiments, may be a thermal ceiling defining a maximum allowable temperature or thermal rating for the component 530, a thermal threshold set below a thermal ceiling, an average temperature for the component 530 with allowances for deviation, a range of allowable temperatures for the component 530, or another manner of expressing temperature limits for the component 530.” 0222
Helmick discloses, responsive to detecting a component temperature greater than or equal to the PTT, operating the component with a pre-throttling constraint to reduce power consumption of the component without constraining a throttling parameter; “The flash communication bus parameters 706 may be another example (s) of throttling parameter(s) 702 that are adjusted for throttling. In one embodiment, the communication bus parameters 706 may include different rates or bus speed for data and commands. The flash bus may include a communication pathway between the flash interface module and the flash. There may be a clock rate associated with it and this can be a power savings within the SSD. It may be a one-time change that determines that flash bus speed is reduced such that communication is slower. In an alternative embodiment, there may not be a one-time global setting for the throttling (such that the throttling parameter is changed during throttling). There may be a throttling that is on a command basis rather than a global setting. The throttling may be for a certain time period and/or specific to a particular channel and/or a particular die that is specifically throttled. Flash bus data transfer size may be another flash communication bus parameter 706 that is adjusted for throttling. Small data transfers mean the die is busy transferring more data packets to the controller. This burns more time and delays future activity for that NAND die.” 0062 “The command queue at the back end (e.g. back end module 110, FTL 138, or throttle circuitry 112) of the non-volatile memory system 100 may include all commands from the front end (e.g. front end module 108) queue. In other words, the front end of the memory system 100 may pass all commands to the back end even during a throttle mode. When the memory system 100 is in throttle mode, the front end does not perform the throttling (i.e. the front end does not maintain a stalled queue) and the back end performs the throttling with the entire queue. FIG. 3 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the front end and back end functionality. FIGS. 4-5 illustrate queues within the memory system. In FIG. 2A, the memory interface 130 may perform the throttling rather than the host interface 120.” 0043.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that applying the known technique of Helmick with the known techniques of Fill namely, specifics of using various methods of throttling at different temperatures, would have yielded predictable results and resulted in an improved system. Accordingly, applying the teachings of Helmick with the teachings of Fill would have been recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art as resulting in a use of a commonly known type of power/temperature reduction in various methods and stages. The use of dynamic methods of throttling various memory components at various temperatures in the back end prior to increased levels of throttling is explained by Helmick “command throttling for a variety of reasons such as to control power usage, protect from overheating, or modify performance. The throttling may be based on modifications of certain memory parameters, such as a reduction in clock rate, bus speed, operating voltage, or command type changes. The throttling may be performed at a back end or memory interface of the storage device such that the memory interface receives un-throttled commands and can optimally throttle all of the commands from the front end. In particular, the throttling may be moved away from a host interface to a back end of the memory device. In particular, for NAND memory, the host does not perform the throttling, rather, it is the NAND memory processor that controls the throttling. Accordingly, the memory device can control the flow of commands without the host. In other words, the host interface may not perform the throttling and passes the commands to the memory, which can then throttle (if necessary) on the back end.” 0004
As per Claim 2, 12, Fill discloses, responsive to detecting a component temperature greater than or equal to a second TMT (TMT2), performing second stage throttling to constrain the performance throttling parameter in accordance with a second stage value for the throttling parameter “The target module 610, in one embodiment, may determine the thermal target in substantially the same manner as the power consumption target. The thermal target, in one embodiment, sets temperature limits for the component 530. The thermal target, in various embodiments, may be expressed as degrees Celsius, degrees Fahrenheit, Kelvin units, or the like. As described above with regard to the power consumption target, the thermal target, in various embodiments, may be a thermal ceiling defining a maximum allowable temperature or thermal rating for the component 530, a thermal threshold set below a thermal ceiling, an average temperature for the component 530 with allowances for deviation, a range of allowable temperatures for the component 530, or another manner of expressing temperature limits for the component 530.” 0222
As per Claim 3, 13, Fill discloses, wherein the TMT1 is in the range of 73 C to 79 C, the TMT1 is in the range of 79 C to 83 C, and the TMT2 is in the range of 81 to 85 C “ a thermal rating for a consumer grade component 530 may be around about 85 degrees Celsius, or for an industrial grade component 530 around about 100 degrees Celsius. In one embodiment, the thermal ceiling for the component 530 is set at the thermal rating for the component 530. A thermal threshold, in various embodiments, may be set at a number of degrees below the thermal ceiling, such as about 1 to 15 degrees below the thermal ceiling. In one embodiment, a thermal threshold is set at about 7 degrees below the thermal ceiling, to account for thermal inertia. In the example embodiments, the thermal threshold for the consumer grade component 530 may be set at around 78 degrees Celsius and the thermal threshold for the industrial grade component 530 may be set at around 93 degrees Celsius, or the like.” 0224 “a thermal threshold set below a thermal ceiling, an average temperature for the component 530 with allowances for deviation, a range of allowable temperatures for the component 530, or another manner of expressing temperature limits for the component 530” 0222. It would have been an obvious design choice to modify or select a thermal range appropriate for the component in which various degrees or ranges of throttle is desired as disclosed by Fill.
As per Claim 4, 14, Fill and Hemlick disclose, “wherein the PTT is less than the TMT1 and the TMT1 is less than the TMT2” “a thermal threshold set below a thermal ceiling, an average temperature for the component 530 with allowances for deviation, a range of allowable temperatures for the component 530, or another manner of expressing temperature limits for the component 530” 0222 “the application of these techniques may require an inverse adjustment such as activating a cooling system instead of, or in addition to, terminating certain operations, and/or adjusting the operating speed in completing queued operations. Similarly, the audit module 616 may monitor the actual temperature and adjust the thermal characteristics as necessary to ensure the component 530 is providing the expected level of thermal energy for the given thermal characteristics.” Fill 0249 “ The verification module 624, in the depicted embodiment, verifies 1206 whether the temperature for the storage device 102 is moving away from the thermal ceiling in response to the throttle module 622 adjusting 1204 execution of operations. In the depicted embodiment, if the verification module 624 determines 1106 that the temperature for the storage device 102 is not moving away from the thermal ceiling, the throttle module 622 readjusts 1204 execution of operations on the storage device 102 and the method 1200 continues” Fill 0308. Here Fill teaches a continued monitoring and adjustments at various temperature thresholds. “In other words, the front end of the memory system 100 may pass all commands to the back end even during a throttle mode. When the memory system 100 is in throttle mode, the front end does not perform the throttling (i.e. the front end does not maintain a stalled queue) and the back end performs the throttling with the entire queue. FIG. 3 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the front end and back end functionality.” Helmick 0043. Here Helmik teaches that back end throttling can occur with or prior to front end throttling at various determined temperatures or levels of desired temperature/power reduction.
As per Claim 5, 15, Fill discloses, wherein the throttling parameter is selected from: component clock frequency and minimum inserted time delay “adjusts operations on the corresponding component 530 by reducing a frequency with which the operations are executed on the component 530. In certain embodiments, the throttle module 622 reduces the frequency of operations by reducing a clock rate, clock speed, or clock frequency of a synchronous circuit of the component 530. In one embodiment, the throttle module 622 reduces the frequency of operations by setting a timer value specifying a frequency with which operations are submitted to the component 530 for execution. In another embodiment, the throttle module 622 reduces the frequency of operations by setting a timer value specifying a frequency with which hardware of the component 530 polls to verify that an operation has completed.” 0210
As per Claim 6, 16, Helmick discloses, wherein the pre-throttling constraint comprises a constraint on a link speed for a communication link over which the component communicates with another component of the information handling system “The flash communication bus parameters 706 may be another example (s) of throttling parameter(s) 702 that are adjusted for throttling. In one embodiment, the communication bus parameters 706 may include different rates or bus speed for data and commands. The flash bus may include a communication pathway between the flash interface module and the flash” 0062
As per Claim 7, 17, Helmick discloses, wherein the communication link comprises a peripheral component interface express (PCIe) communication link “NVMe is merely one example of a host controller interface with a register interface and command set which may be applicable to systems that use Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe) solid state discs (SSDs).” 0055
As per Claim 8, 18, Helmick discloses, wherein the component comprises a PCIe solid state drive (SSD) “NVMe is merely one example of a host controller interface with a register interface and command set which may be applicable to systems that use Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe) solid state discs (SSDs).” 0055
As per Claim 9, 19, Fill discloses, wherein the component comprises peripheral communication interface express (PCIe) component communicatively coupled to a central processing unit (CPU) of the information handling system via a PCIe bus. “In one embodiment, the storage device 102 is connected to the computing system 114 by a PCI connection such as PCI express (“PCI-e”). The storage device 102 may be a card that plugs into a PCI-e connection on the computing system 114.” 0059
As per Claim 10, 20, Fill discloses, wherein the thermal management constraint includes a constraint on a parameter selected from: a link speed of the PCIe bus, a clock speed of the PCIe component, and a minimum inserted time delay. “adjusts operations on the corresponding component 530 by reducing a frequency with which the operations are executed on the component 530. In certain embodiments, the throttle module 622 reduces the frequency of operations by reducing a clock rate, clock speed, or clock frequency of a synchronous circuit of the component 530. In one embodiment, the throttle module 622 reduces the frequency of operations by setting a timer value specifying a frequency with which operations are submitted to the component 530 for execution. In another embodiment, the throttle module 622 reduces the frequency of operations by setting a timer value specifying a frequency with which hardware of the component 530 polls to verify that an operation has completed.” 0210
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KENNETH M LO whose telephone number is (571)272-9774. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 830a - 6pm.
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KENNETH M. LO
Supervisory Patent Examiner
Art Unit 2136
/KENNETH M LO/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2116
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