DETAILED ACTION
Response to Amendment
The Applicant’s Amendment filed 05/26/2026 has been entered. Claims 21-40 are pending in the Application.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 05/26/2026 with respect to the double patenting rejection have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
The Applicant requests reconsideration of the double patenting rejection in view of the amendments. The Examiner submitted that the subject matter in the amended claims is at least fully disclosed in the reference patent. Please see below for the detailed rejection and claim comparison.
Applicant’s arguments filed 05/26/2026 with respect to the prior art rejection have been fully considered and are persuasive. The prior art rejection of the claims has been withdrawn.
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer.
Claims 21-40 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-37 of U.S. Patent No. 12,174,765. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the subject matter in the instant application is at least fully disclosed in the reference patent.
Claim 21 of the instant application is anticipated by the patent’s claims 1, 4 and 11 in that claims 1, 4 and 11 of the patent contain all the limitation of claim 21 of the instant application. Please see table below for the detailed claim comparison.
Further, the limitation of the other claims 22-40 are found with minor variations in the teaching of the patent claims 1-37.
Instant Application (18/988,345)
Patent No. 12,174,765
Claim 21: A system comprising:
a local driver to access a local interrupt configuration; and
Claim 1: An apparatus comprising:
a system bus driver;
electronic circuitry to emulate interrupt signal logic by:
Claim 1: electronic circuitry, wherein the electronic circuitry
Claim 11: the first interrupt signal comprises a PCI-compatible interrupt hardware support (INTx) emulation.
receiving, from a remote destination, a tunneled communication comprising a first interrupt signal; and
Claim 1: receives a first interrupt signal from a remote destination over a network protocol;
Claim 4: receives a tunneled communication from the remote destination, over the bridge connection, wherein the tunneled communication comprises the first interrupt signal, the data, or both.
generating a local interrupt signal based on the first interrupt signal and the local interrupt configuration provided by the local driver.
generates a second interrupt signal based at least in part on the first interrupt signal and a local interrupt configuration provided by the system bus driver, wherein the second interrupt signal comprises a local interrupt;
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 21-40 are regarded as comprising allowable subject matter and would be allowable upon filing and acceptance of the Terminal Disclaimer to overcome the set forth double patenting rejection above.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Kachare et al US 20210089477 discloses systems and methods for tunneling a message
Geddes et al US Patent No. 9,146,776 discloses generating an interrupt using an MSI-X table
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PHONG H DANG whose telephone number is (571)272-0470. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9:30AM - 6:00PM.
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, Henry Tsai can be reached at (571)272-4176. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/PHONG H DANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2184
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