DETAILED ACTION
This office action is in response to the reply filed on 02/19/2026.
Claims 1-20 are pending in the application and have been examined.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 17-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Bhandaru (U.S. Patent 9,436,254).
Regarding claim 17, Bhandaru discloses a system, comprising: a plurality of cores each having: an execution unit to operate at a selected frequency [col. 2, lines 38-51; the system includes a plurality of cores that operate at selected frequencies], a context register to store a priority value for a thread to run on the execution unit [col. 3, lines 40-52; the cores execute threads, and each thread has an associated register that stores a performance state request value], and combinational logic circuitry to engage the selected frequency based on the priority value [col. 3, line 53 – col. 4, line 29; the performance state requests are consolidated and used to select and implement a frequency at which the core will operate]; and an interconnect fabric to couple the plurality of cores to one another [Fig. 2; the cores are coupled to each other through an interconnect].
Regarding claim 18, Bhandaru discloses the system of claim 17, wherein the selected frequency is to be engaged without using a system management control circuit outside of the core to effectuate the frequency selection [col. 3, lines 40-61; a selection of the frequency occurs internally in the processing core].
Regarding claim 19, Bhandaru discloses the system of claim 17, wherein the combinational logic circuitry includes a priority to weight conversion circuit to convert the priority value to a selected one of a set of weights for selection of the selected frequency [col. 3, line 53 – col. 4, line 29; the performance state requests are consolidated to a resolved performance state request value].
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-16 are allowed.
Claim 20 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 02/19/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant argues that Bhandaru discloses a register holding a frequency request value for each thread rather than a priority value for a thread. The examiner’s position is that the frequency request value is a priority value in that it is indicative of the priority with which the thread is executed. If applicant’s intent is for the term “priority value” to mean something more specific than this, the examiner respectfully suggests amending the claims to include such subject matter.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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.
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/COREY S FAHERTY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2183
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