CTNF 19/009,779 CTNF 73112 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. This application has been examined. Claims 1-14 are pending. The Group and/or Art Unit location of your application in the PTO has changed. To aid in correlating any papers for this application, all further correspondence regarding this application should be directed to Group Art Unit 2175. Specification 06-11 AIA The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-20-aia AIA 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 t which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made. Claims 1-14 are rejected under AIA 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Belson et al. (“Belson” (US Pub No. 20030080624) in view of Schmitz (“Schmitz”) (US No. 9,871,445). In order to expedite and avoid piecemeal prosecution, the following rejection is made to the extent that the claims are understood, by considering those elements which are understood and interpreting their function in a manner which is consistent with the recited goals of the claims, and then applying the best available art. The examiner relies on the entire teachings of Belson and Schmitz references; the applicant should carefully consider the entire teachings of the above-mentioned references to better understand the examiner’s position. In regard to claim 1, Belson discloses power supply control circuitry configured to control a plurality of power supply units connected to a load, the power supply control circuitry comprising: a storing device configured to store information indicating a correspondence relationship between load rates for the load and power conversion efficiencies of the plurality of power supply units at the load rates, for each input voltage input to a voltage converter provided in each of the plurality of power supply units and configured to output an output voltage to the load, and for each number of power supply units in a power supplying state for supplying power to the load (as shown in Fig. 2, which is reproduced below for ease of reference and convenience, Belson discloses: ¶ [0010]-[0012]: controller 102/204 controls N+1 PSUs connected in parallel to a DC power bus serving the load (server/telecom system). Abstract: the number of supplies providing current is controlled to improve overall system efficiency. Controller receives input voltage signal from each PSU. Threshold varies with power supply efficiency characteristics, and other system parameters including voltage. Controller stores thresholds); PNG media_image1.png 1022 621 media_image1.png Greyscale control circuitry configured to determine a trigger for increasing or decreasing a number of power supply units in the power supplying state, based on the load rates and the input voltages obtained from the plurality of power supply units and the correspondence relationship (in Belson, ¶ [0010]: controller receives input voltage signals from each PSU. ¶ [0013], Fig. 3 steps 302-308: controller polls each PSU output current (load rate proxy), compares to threshold, and determines trigger to activate/deactivate PSUs), and to send, in response to determining that the trigger for increasing or decreasing the number of units is met, an instruction to turn on or off the power supplying state to each of the plurality of power supply units so that the number of power supply units in the power supplying state matches a number of units identified based on the load rates and the input voltages obtained and the correspondence relationship (in Belson ¶ [0013], Fig. 3, steps 304 and 308: controller sends standby command (off) or operational mode command (on) to individual PSUs after threshold analysis; the resulting number of active PSUs matches the identified optimum). But Belson does not explicitly disclose a multi-dimensional LUT indexed by [input voltage] x [number of active units] x [load rate] mapping to efficiency values. In the same field of endeavor, Schmitz discloses a lookup table storing pre-measured values indexed by combinations of sensed input voltage, output voltage, and output current (load rate proxy), from which efficiency is derived. Schmitz discloses lookup table storing values for input power or input current, each corresponding to a combination of sensed input voltage, output voltage, and output current. Schmitz discloses LUT derived from pre-operation measurements across combinations of input voltage, output voltage, and output current that directly teaching stored correspondence between operating conditions and power values from which efficiency is derived (as shown in Fig. 2, which is reproduced below for ease of reference and convenience, Schmitz discloses Claim 1: efficiency measure derived from sensed input voltage + output voltage + output current via the LUT which is providing the voltage-indexed efficiency relationship that refines Belson's trigger to account for actual input voltage. By applying Schmitz's LUT to Belson's controller yields a trigger determined from both load rate and input voltage per the correspondence relationship. Claim 1: efficiency measure derived from sensed input voltage + output voltage + output current via the LUT which is providing the voltage-indexed efficiency relationship that refines Belson's trigger to account for actual input voltage. By applying Schmitz’s LUT to Belson's controller yields a trigger determined from both load rate and input voltage per the correspondence relationship. PNG media_image2.png 846 582 media_image2.png Greyscale It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to combine the teaching of Schmitz with the teaching of Belson because both teachings are directed to optimizing efficiency in multi-unit power supply systems. Belson provides detailed efficiency mapping across load rates, input voltages, and unit counts, while Schmitz provides the dynamic control logic needed to act on such information in real time. Combining them solves the common problem of maintaining optimal efficiency as load and input conditions fluctuate, which is a routine improvement in the art. In regard to claims 2, 7, 11, Schmitz discloses wherein the control circuitry is configured to: identify the power conversion efficiency for each number of units corresponding to the obtained input voltages and the obtained load rates, based on the correspondence relationship (in Schmitz, provides the explicit mechanism: the LUT outputs efficiency-enabling values for given [input voltage, load rate] combinations. Parameterized per number of active units (each affecting per-unit load rate), Schmitz's LUT directly supports identifying efficiency for each possible unit count at each input voltage level. Claim 1: LUT maps {input voltage, output voltage, output current} to input power; efficiency = output power/input power, computed explicitly. Parameterized per number of active units (each affecting per-unit load rate and thus efficiency), the LUT directly supports identifying efficiency for each possible unit count), and determine that the trigger for increasing or decreasing the number of units is met when a number of units corresponding to a given power conversion efficiency among the identified plurality of power conversion efficiencies differs from the number of power supply units in the power supplying state (in Schmitz, LUT, the comparison is made against identified efficiency values rather than raw current thresholds but the functional outcome is identical. Claim 1: continuous efficiency monitoring against LUT provides the efficiency comparison step; when the identified optimal unit count differs from the active count, the trigger condition is met. It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to combine the teaching of Schmitz with Belson to achieve higher overall power conversion efficiency across varying load conditions and input voltages. In regard to claims 3, 8, 12, Belson discloses wherein the control circuitry is configured to send, in response to determining that the trigger for increasing or decreasing the number of units is met, the instruction to each of the plurality of power supply units so that the number of power supply units in the power supplying state matches the number of units corresponding to the given power conversion efficiency (in Belson, ¶ [0013], Fig. 3, steps 304 & 308: after threshold breach, controller sends on/off commands so active PSUs operate at the target efficiency point. The resulting count matches the identified optimum). In regard to claims 4, 9, 13, Schmitz discloses wherein the correspondence relationship is set so that the trigger for increasing or decreasing the number of units varies according to the input voltage (in Schmitz, efficiency is indexed by input voltage, the threshold at which a different number of units becomes optimal necessarily shifts with input voltage. Claim 1 & 3: LUT indexed by sensed input voltage; different input voltages produce different efficiency readings, directly causing the trigger threshold (the efficiency-comparison point) to vary as a function of input voltage. Expressly teaches that trigger varies with input voltage). It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to combine the teaching of Schmitz with Belson to achieve higher overall power conversion efficiency across varying load conditions and input voltages. In regard to claims 5, 14, Schmitz discloses wherein the information further indicates the correspondence relationship for each temperature of the voltage converter, and the control circuitry is configured to determine the trigger for increasing or decreasing the number of units further based on the temperatures obtained from the plurality of power supply units, and to send, in response to determining that the trigger for increasing or decreasing the number of units is met, the instruction to each of the plurality of power supply units so that the number of power supply units in the power supplying state matches the number of unit identified further based on the obtained temperatures (in Schmitz, extending Schmitz's LUT to include temperature as a dimension which is given universal recognition in power electronics that converter efficiency varies significantly with temperature. Claim 3: LUT derived from pre-operation measurements across combinations of operating conditions. Temperature is a well-known variable affecting converter efficiency. A POSITA would extend Schmitz's LUT to include temperature as an indexing dimension, motivated by Belson's explicit temperature data collection. In regard to claim 6, Belson discloses power supply control circuitry configured to control a plurality of power supply units connected to a load, the power supply control circuitry comprising: a storing device configured to store information indicating a correspondence relationship between load rates for the load and power conversion efficiencies of the plurality of power supply units at the load rates, for each temperature of a voltage converter provided in each of the plurality of power supply units and configured to output an output voltage to the load, and for each number of power supply units in a power supplying state supplying power to the load (as shown in Fig. 2, which is reproduced below for ease of reference and convenience, Belson discloses ¶ [0010]-[0012]: controller 102/204 controls N+1 PSUs connected in parallel to a DC power bus serving the load (server/telecom system). Abstract: the number of supplies providing current is controlled to improve overall system efficiency. Temperature signals collected from each PSU. The efficiency threshold varies with system parameters including temperature-dependent efficiency characteristics); PNG media_image1.png 1022 621 media_image1.png Greyscale control circuitry configured to determine a trigger for increasing or decreasing a number of power supply units in the power supplying state, based on the load rates and the input voltages obtained from the plurality of power supply units and the correspondence relationship (in Belson, ¶ [0010]: controller receives input voltage signals from each PSU. ¶ [0013], Fig. 3 steps 302-308: controller polls each PSU output current (load rate proxy), compares to threshold, and determines trigger to activate/deactivate PSUs), and to send, in response to determining that the trigger for increasing or decreasing the number of units is met, an instruction to turn on or off the power supplying state to each of the plurality of power supply units so that the number of power supply units in the power supplying state matches a number of units identified based on the load rates and the input voltages obtained and the correspondence relationship (in Belson ¶ [0013], Fig. 3, steps 304 and 308: controller determines trigger (steps 302-308) from monitored PSU conditions including temperature; sends on/off commands (steps 304, 308) resulting in the optimum number of active units). But Belson does not explicitly disclose a multi-dimensional LUT indexed by [input voltage] x [number of active units] x [load rate] mapping to efficiency values. In the same field of endeavor, Schmitz discloses a lookup table storing pre-measured values indexed by combinations of sensed input voltage, output voltage, and output current (load rate proxy), from which efficiency is derived. Schmitz Claim 1: lookup table storing values for input power or input current, each corresponding to a combination of sensed input voltage, output voltage, and output current. Claim 3: LUT derived from pre-operation measurements across combinations of input voltage, output voltage, and output current which is directly teaching stored correspondence between operating conditions and power values from which efficiency is derived (as shown in Fig. 2, which is reproduced below for ease of reference and convenience, Schmitz discloses Claim 1: efficiency measure derived from sensed input voltage + output voltage + output current via the LUT which is providing the voltage-indexed efficiency relationship that refines Belson's trigger to account for actual input voltage. By applying Schmitz's LUT to Belson's controller yields a trigger determined from both load rate and input voltage per the correspondence relationship. Claim 1: efficiency measure derived from sensed input voltage + output voltage + output current via the LUT which is providing the voltage-indexed efficiency relationship that refines Belson's trigger to account for actual input voltage. By applying Schmitz's LUT to Belson's controller yields a trigger determined from both load rate and input voltage per the correspondence relationship. PNG media_image2.png 846 582 media_image2.png Greyscale It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to combine the teaching of Schmitz with the teaching of Belson because both teachings are directed to optimizing efficiency in multi-unit power supply systems. Belson provides detailed efficiency mapping across load rates, input voltages, and unit counts, while Schmitz provides the dynamic control logic needed to act on such information in real time. Combining them solves the common problem of maintaining optimal efficiency as load and input conditions fluctuate, which is a routine improvement in the art. Independent claim 10 (information processing apparatus) recites the same operative limitations as power supply control circuitry of claim 6 in the apparatus form. The circuitry/apparatus distinction does not impart patentability where the underlying operative steps are the same. See MPEP § 2114. Therefore, claim 10 is rejected on the same basis and mapping as claim 6 above. Examiner's note : Examiner has cited particular columns and line numbers in the references applied to the claims above for the convenience of the Applicant. Although the specified citations are representative of the teachings of the art and are applied to specific limitations within the individual claim, other passages and figures may apply as well. It is respectfully requested from the Applicant in preparing responses, to fully consider the references in entirety as potentially teaching all or part of the claimed invention, as well as the context of the passages as taught by the prior art or disclosed by the Examiner. Conclusion All claims are rejected. 07-96 The prior arts made of record and not relied upon are considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Humphrey et al. (US No. 8,067,857) disclose a method includes communicatively coupling a load to a first source via a plurality of first power supplies and to a second source via a plurality of second power supplies. The method further includes bi-directionally communicatively coupling a controller to the plurality of first power supplies and to the plurality of second power supplies. The method includes activating a first portion of the plurality of first power supplies to supply power to the load, wherein the controller determines the number ("N") of first power supplies activated, and activating at least one of the plurality of second power supplies to supply power to the load. Majd et al. (US No. 11,050,294) disclose the systems and methods for managing a collection of power supply units (PSUs), such as those used in a datacenter environment, can include detecting changes in an output load on the PSUs to less than a target output load that is based on a target efficiency of the PSUs. Livescu et al. (US No. 8,037,330) disclose the first power supply unit is adapted to activate if a load is below a predetermined level, and adapted to deactivate if the load is above the predetermined level. The second power supply unit is adapted to activate if the load is above the predetermined level, and adapted to deactivate if the load is below the predetermined level. Franz et al. (US Pub No. 2011/0254383) disclose the method (100) can include the steps of: detecting (110) a current parameter at a load node; determining (120) whether a current parameter threshold has been reached; and disabling (13) power delivery based on determining whether the current parameter threshold has been reached. Fung (US Pub No. 2006/0248360) discloses the network architecture, computer system and/or server, circuit, device, apparatus, method, and computer program and control mechanism for managing power consumption and workload in computer system and data and information servers. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to examiner Raymond Phan, whose telephone number is (571) 272-3630. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday from 6:30AM- 3:00PM. The Group Fax No. (571) 273-8300. Communications via Internet e-mail regarding this application, other than those under 35 U.S.C. 132 or which otherwise require a signature, may be used by the applicant and should be addressed to [ raymond.phan@uspto.gov ]. 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, Andrew 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. All Internet e-mail communications will be made of record in the application file. PTO employees do not engage in Internet communications where there exists a possibility that sensitive information could be identified or exchanged unless the record includes a properly signed express waiver of the confidentiality requirements of 35 U.S.C. 122. This is more clearly set forth in the Interim Internet Usage Policy published in the Official Gazette of the Patent and Trademark on February 25, 1997 at 1195 OG 89. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see hop://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). Any inquiry of a general nature or relating to the status of this application should be directed to the TC 2100 central telephone number is (571) 272-2100. /RAYMOND N PHAN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2175 Application/Control Number: 19/009,779 Page 2 Art Unit: 2175 Application/Control Number: 19/009,779 Page 3 Art Unit: 2175 Application/Control Number: 19/009,779 Page 4 Art Unit: 2175 Application/Control Number: 19/009,779 Page 5 Art Unit: 2175 Application/Control Number: 19/009,779 Page 6 Art Unit: 2175 Application/Control Number: 19/009,779 Page 7 Art Unit: 2175 Application/Control Number: 19/009,779 Page 8 Art Unit: 2175 Application/Control Number: 19/009,779 Page 9 Art Unit: 2175 Application/Control Number: 19/009,779 Page 10 Art Unit: 2175 Application/Control Number: 19/009,779 Page 11 Art Unit: 2175
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