CTNF 18/985,856 CTNF 84777 Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. DETAILED ACTION Claims 1 – 20 are presented for examination. Information Disclosure Statement 06-52 The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 12/18/2024 was received. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner. Specification The abstract of the disclosure is objected to because the language “may be configured”, “may include”, “may be determined”, and “may be applied” is speculative and therefore fails to provide a concise statement of the technical disclosure of the patent. Applicant is reminded of the proper content of an abstract of the disclosure. A patent abstract is a concise statement of the technical disclosure of the patent and should include that which is new in the art to which the invention pertains. The abstract should not refer to purported merits or speculative applications of the invention and should not compare the invention with the prior art. 06-16 AIA The abstract should be in narrative form and generally limited to a single paragraph on a separate sheet within the range of 50 to 150 words in length. The abstract should describe the disclosure sufficiently to assist readers in deciding whether there is a need for consulting the full patent text for details. The language should be clear and concise and should not repeat information given in the title. It should avoid using phrases which can be implied, such as, “The disclosure concerns,” “The disclosure defined by this invention,” “The disclosure describes,” etc. In addition, the form and legal phraseology often used in patent claims, such as “means” and “said,” should be avoided. A corrected abstract of the disclosure is required and must be presented on a separate sheet, apart from any other text. See MPEP § 608.01(b). Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 07-30-02 AIA 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. 07-34-01 Claims 1 – 11 and 18 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. Regarding claim 1, the limitation “the memory location contained in a word” is 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. One of ordinary skill in the art would be unclear the relationship between the disclosed memory location and the disclosed word. Specifically, the language implies the value of the disclosed word comprise a memory location value. However, the claim additionally discloses “the word stored at the memory location”. One of ordinary skill in the art would be unclear if the word stores a memory location, or the word is stored at the memory location, or an alternate relationship between the disclosed memory location and the disclosed word. Regarding claim 8, the limitation “downloading, from a fuse” is 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. One of ordinary skill in the art would be unclear the scope of “downloading” in relation to a fuse. Specifically, paragraph 0067 – 0069, disclose accessing fuse data, however one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of filing, would understand fuse to be a memory element that is set (blown), and read. Regarding claim 8, the limitation “overwriting, with automatic test equipment, word data” is 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. One of ordinary skill in the art would be unclear the scope of “overwriting”. One of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of filing, would understand fuse to be a memory element that is set (blown), and read, but once set, cannot be “overwritten”. Regarding claims 9 – 11, the limitation “overwriting” is 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. One of ordinary skill in the art would be unclear the scope of “overwriting”. One of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of filing, would understand fuse to be a memory element that is set (blown), and read, but once set, cannot be “overwritten”. Regarding claim 18, the limitation “a word” is 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. One of ordinary skill in the art would be unclear if applicant intended to refer to the word previously disclosed or an additional word. Any claim not addressed above is rejected due to its dependency on a rejected claim. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 07-07-aia AIA 07-07 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 – 07-08-aia AIA (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. 07-15 AIA Claim s 1 – 5 and 8 – 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102( a)(1 ) as being anticipated by Seok et al., U.S. Publication 2022/0208296 (herein Seok) . Regarding claim 1, Seok discloses: A method comprising: determining a memory location in need of repair, the memory location contained in a word and being already located within fuse data (figure 1, element 210; figure 17, element 720; paragraph 0081, 0174, 0175); determining a repair-word to be applied to the word stored at the memory location within the fuse data, the repair-word including a first portion indicating a memory subsystem of the memory location in need of repair, a second portion indicating a specific memory within the memory subsystem of the memory location, and a third portion indicating built-in signature register data for the memory location (figure 13; figure 14; figure 18, element 900); and applying the repair-word, by a repair controller, to the word stored at the memory location within the fuse data, the applying effective to invalidate the word stored at the memory location within the fuse data by modifying the first portion, the second portion, or the first, second, and third portions of the repair-word (figure 14, element S250; figure 13). Regarding claim 2, Seok discloses: writing the word to a built-in signature register (paragraph 0134 – 0136). Regarding claim 3, Seok discloses: the first portion of the repair-word is used to invalidate the word (paragraph 0134 – 0136). Regarding claim 4, Seok discloses: the second portion of the repair-word is used to invalidate the word (paragraph 0134 – 0136). Regarding claim 5, Seok discloses: the first portion of the repair-word, the second portion of the repair-word, and the third portion of the repair-word are used to invalidate the word (paragraph 0134 – 0136). Regarding claim 8, Seok discloses: A method comprising: downloading, from a fuse, at least a portion of fuse data to a shadow storage (figure 1, element 210; figure 17, element 720; paragraph 0081, 0174, 0175); determining a memory location in need of repair, the memory location identified within fuse data downloaded to the shadow storage (figure 13; figure 14; figure 18, element 900); and overwriting, with automatic test equipment, word data within the memory location in need of repair (figure 14, element S250; figure 13). Regarding claim 9, Seok discloses: overwriting the word data comprises invalidating the word data (paragraph 0134 – 0136). Regarding claim 10, Seok discloses: overwriting the word data comprises erasing the word data (paragraph 0134 – 0136). Regarding claim 11, Seok discloses: overwriting the word data comprises modifying the word data (paragraph 0134 – 0136). Regarding claim 12, Seok discloses: A system comprising: a fuse having a plurality of memory locations, each memory location of the plurality of memory locations containing a word (figure 1, element 210; figure 17, element 720; paragraph 0081, 0174, 0175); a fuse controller coupled with the fuse, the fuse controller configured to access the plurality of memory locations (figure 17, element 610; figure 18, element 900); and a repair controller coupled with the fuse controller, the repair controller configured to individually repair the word of a selected location of the plurality of memory locations (figure 17, element 610; figure 18, element 900). Regarding claim 13, Seok discloses: the repair controller is configured to generate a repair-word to individually repair the word of the selected location (figure 14, element S250; figure 13) . Allowable Subject Matter 07-43-02 Claims 6, 7, and 14 – 20 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejections under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. Conclusion 07-96 AIA The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure : Gorman; Kevin William et al. US 20120230136 A1 Varadarajan; Devanathan et al. US 20170184662 A1 Kim; Jongcheol et al. US 20240221860 A1 Wilson; Alan J. US 20200117558 A1 Grohoski; Gregory F. et al. US 7795899 B1 Wieduwilt; Christopher G. et al. US 10600496 B1 Park; San-Ha US 10998081 B1 Morgan; Donald M. et al. US 11804281 B2 applying the repair-word, by a repair controller, to the word stored at the memory location within the fuse data, the applying effective to invalidate the word stored at the memory location within the fuse data by modifying the first portion, the second portion, or the first, second, and third portions of the repair-word. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DANIEL F MCMAHON whose telephone number is (571)270-3232. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 9am - 5pm EST. 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, Mark Featherstone can be reached at (571)270-3750. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /Daniel F. McMahon/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2111 Application/Control Number: 18/985,856 Page 2 Art Unit: 2111 Application/Control Number: 18/985,856 Page 3 Art Unit: 2111 Application/Control Number: 18/985,856 Page 5 Art Unit: 2111
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