DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
This Office Action is sent in response to Applicant’s Communication received 2/2/2025 for application number 19/043,507. The Office hereby acknowledges receipt of the following and placed of record in file: Specification, Drawings, Abstract, Oath/Declaration, and claims.
Claims 1 – 34 are presented for examination.
Drawings
Examiner contends that the drawings filed 2/2/2025 are acceptable for examination proceedings.
Claim Interpretation
Claim 1 recites a first limitation “an internal Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) for supplying power to either the entirety of the piece of equipment or a proper subset of subcomponents” which is a limitation written in the alternative form, and it suggests that the first limitation may be addressed by a UPS supplying power to the entire piece of equipment. Therefore, the limitation of “wherein an amount of power supplied to certain subcomponents, not in said proper subset of subcomponents, of the piece of equipment is reduced while maintaining to supply said proper subset of subcomponents” is a further limitation on only one of the alternatives of the first limitation, and would not further limit the UPS supplying power to the entire piece of equipment. In other words, these limitations may be addressed by a prior art that teaches a UPS supplying power to the full load/entirety of the piece of equipment.
Claim 19 contains similar limitations to that of claim 1 and are interpreted in a similar manner.
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 USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The 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/process/file/efs/guidance/eTD-info-I.jsp.
Claims 1-4, 7-15, 17-21, 23-31, and 33-34 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-19 of U.S. Patent No. 12,224,622. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because they are simple changes of a statutory category. Claim 1 of patent 12,224,622. include all the limitations of the instant claim 1 and therefore anticipates the instant claim. All features of instant dependent claims 2-4, 7-15, and 17-18 are covered by claims 1-13 of patent 12,224,622 and are therefore rejected accordingly. The other independent claim 19 of the instant application and their corresponding dependent claims are rejected under the same rationale and are covered by claims 14-19 and 4-7 of patent 12,224,622. Comparisons of selected claims are shown in the following table.
Instant Application 17/717,037
Patent 12,224,622
1. A piece of equipment having a specialized Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS), comprising: the piece of equipment, having an outer housing providing a hermetically sealed environment to the interior of the piece of equipment, comprising: a power input; a main power supply designed to supply an entirety of the piece of equipment with a particular amount of power continuously while there is external power supplied to the piece of equipment; and an internal Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) for supplying power to either the entirety of the piece of equipment or a proper subset of subcomponents within the piece of equipment when the piece of equipment is not supplied external power, wherein the energy storage element of the internal UPS is capable of supplying power for a duration no longer than one minute and consists of one or more capacitors and does not include a battery, wherein an amount of power supplied to certain subcomponents, not in said proper subset of subcomponents, of the piece of equipment is reduced while maintaining to supply said proper subset of subcomponents with said particular amount of power to conserve an amount of power remaining in said energy storage element.
1. A piece of cable television (CATV) equipment having a specialized Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS), comprising: the piece of CATV equipment, having an outer housing providing a hermetically sealed environment to the interior of the piece of CATV equipment and being deployed outdoors in-between a cable headend and a customer premises, comprising: a coaxial cable power input; a main power supply designed to supply an entirety of the piece of CATV equipment with a particular amount of power continuously while there is AC power supplied to the piece of CATV equipment over the coaxial cable power input; and an internal Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) for supplying power to either the entirety of the piece of CATV equipment or a proper subset of subcomponents within the piece of CATV equipment when the piece of CATV equipment is not supplied AC power over the coaxial cable power input, wherein the energy storage element of the internal UPS is capable of supplying power for a duration no longer than about an hour and consists of one or more capacitors and does not include a battery, wherein the internal UPS adjustably reduces how much power is supplied to certain subcomponents, not in said proper subset of subcomponents, of the piece of CATV equipment while maintaining to supply said proper subset of subcomponents with said particular amount of power to conserve an amount of power remaining in said energy storage element.
2. The piece of equipment of claim 1, wherein the internal UPS adjustably reduces the amount of power supplied to certain subcomponents to conserve the amount of power remaining in said energy storage element.
1. … wherein the internal UPS adjustably reduces how much power is supplied to certain subcomponents, not in said proper subset of subcomponents, of the piece of CATV equipment while maintaining to supply said proper subset of subcomponents with said particular amount of power to conserve an amount of power remaining in said energy storage element.
3. The piece of equipment of claim 1, wherein said piece of equipment is deployed in one or more of: a cable television (CATV) network, a Passive Optical Network (PON), a cellular network, and a fixed wireless network
1. … the piece of CATV equipment, having an outer housing providing a hermetically sealed environment to the interior of the piece of CATV equipment and being deployed outdoors in-between a cable headend and a customer premises, comprising: a coaxial cable power input; a main power supply designed to supply an entirety of the piece of CATV equipment with a particular amount of power continuously while there is AC power supplied to the piece of CATV equipment over the coaxial cable power input
4. The piece of equipment of claim 1, wherein said power input is a coaxial power input.
1. … a coaxial cable power input…
7. The piece of equipment of claim 1, wherein the internal UPS adjusts how power is supplied in response to determining that a configurable amount of time has passed since the interruption in AC power to the piece of equipment.
3. The piece of CATV equipment of claim 1, wherein the internal UPS adjusts how power is supplied in response to determining that a configurable amount of time has passed since the interruption in AC power to the piece of CATV equipment.
8. The piece of equipment of claim 1, wherein the internal UPS adjusts how power is supplied between the entirety of the piece of equipment and the set of subcomponents within the piece of equipment.
4. The piece of CATV equipment of claim 1, wherein the internal UPS adjusts how power is supplied between the entirety of the piece of CATV equipment and the set of subcomponents within the piece of CATV equipment.
9. The piece of equipment of claim 1, wherein the set of subcomponents within the piece of equipment may be independently configured to receive power by the internal UPS.
5. The piece of CATV equipment of claim 1, wherein the set of subcomponents within the piece of CATV equipment may be independently configured to receive power by the internal UPS.
10. The piece of equipment of claim 1, wherein the piece of equipment comprises a first set of physical power distribution lines for delivering power to the entirety of the piece of equipment, and wherein the piece of equipment comprises a second set of physical power distribution lines, separate from the first set of physical power distribution lines, for delivering power to the set of subcomponents within the piece of equipment.
6. The piece of CATV equipment of claim 1, wherein the piece of CATV equipment comprises a first set of physical power distribution lines for delivering power to the entirety of the piece of CATV equipment, and wherein the piece of CATV equipment comprises a second set of physical power distribution lines, separate from the first set of physical power distribution lines, for delivering power to the set of subcomponents within the piece of CATV equipment.
11. The piece of equipment of claim 1, wherein the energy storage element of the internal UPS recharges from the external power supplied to the piece of equipment when available.
7. The piece of CATV equipment of claim 1, wherein the energy storage element of the internal UPS recharges from the power supplied to the piece of CATV equipment over the coaxial cable power input when available.
12. The piece of equipment of claim 1, wherein the energy storage element of the internal UPS recharges from power supplied by the main power supply.
8. The piece of CATV equipment of claim 1, wherein the energy storage element of the internal UPS recharges from power supplied by the main power supply.
13. The piece of equipment of claim 1, wherein the internal UPS employs a configuration used in determining how long to supply power to the entirety of the piece of equipment.
9. The piece of CATV equipment of claim 1, wherein the internal UPS employs a configuration used in determining how long to supply power to the entirety of the piece of CATV equipment.
14. The piece of equipment of claim 1, wherein the internal UPS employs a configuration that adjusts the behavior of internal UPS, and wherein the configuration considers observed environmental conditions of the piece of equipment.
10. The piece of CATV equipment of claim 1, wherein the internal UPS employs a configuration that adjusts the behavior of internal UPS, and wherein the configuration considers observed environmental conditions of the piece of CATV equipment.
15. The piece of equipment of claim 1, wherein the internal UPS informs at least one of the subcomponents within the piece of equipment that portions of the piece of equipment will soon lose power to allow the piece of equipment to power-down certain subcomponents thereof.
11. The piece of CATV equipment of claim 1, wherein the internal UPS informs at least one of the subcomponents within the piece of CATV equipment that portions of the piece of CATV equipment will soon lose power to allow the piece of CATV equipment to power-down certain subcomponents thereof.
17. The piece of equipment of claim 1, wherein the internal UPS comprises at least one capacitor, and wherein an expected lifespan of said at least one capacitor is determined by a computer component based, at least in part, upon temperatures measured at or near said at least one capacitor by said piece of equipment, and wherein said computer components resides internal or external to the piece of equipment.
12. The piece of CATV equipment of claim 1, wherein the internal UPS comprises at least one capacitor, and wherein an expected lifespan of said at least one capacitor is determined by a computer component based, at least in part, upon temperatures measured at or near said at least one capacitor by said piece of CATV equipment, and wherein said computer components resides internal or external to the piece of CATV equipment.
18. The piece of equipment of claim 1, wherein the internal UPS is capable of issuing a message, over a network, that indicates that said one or more capacitors are experiencing a reduced performance.
13. The piece of CATV equipment of claim 1, wherein the internal UPS is capable of issuing a message, over a network, that indicates that said one or more capacitors are experiencing a reduced performance.
19. A method for ensuring power is supplied to at least a portion of a piece of equipment having a specialized Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS), comprising: a main power supply supplying an entirety of the piece of equipment with a particular amount of power continuously while there is external power supplied to the piece of equipment, wherein said piece of equipment has an outer housing providing a hermetically sealed environment to the interior of the piece of equipment; and an internal Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) supplying power to either the entirety of the piece of equipment or a proper subset of subcomponents within the piece of equipment when the piece of equipment is not supplied external power, wherein the energy storage element of the internal UPS is capable of supplying power for a duration no longer than one minute and consists of one or more capacitors and does not include a battery, and wherein an amount of power supplied to certain subcomponents, not in said proper subset of subcomponents, of the piece of equipment is reduced while maintaining to supply said proper subset of subcomponents with said particular amount of power to conserve an amount of power remaining in said energy storage element.
14. A method for ensuring power is supplied to at least a portion of a piece of cable television (CATV) equipment having a specialized Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS), comprising: a main power supply supplying an entirety of the piece of CATV equipment with a particular amount of power continuously while there is AC power supplied to the piece of CATV equipment over a coaxial cable power; and an internal Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) supplying power to either the entirety of the piece of CATV equipment or a proper subset of subcomponents thereof when the piece of CATV equipment is not supplied AC power over the coaxial cable power input, wherein an energy storage element of the internal UPS is capable of supplying power for a duration no longer than about an hour and includes one or more capacitors but not a battery, wherein the piece of CATV equipment has an outer housing that provides a hermetically sealed environment to the interior of the piece of CATV equipment, and wherein the piece of CATV equipment is deployed outdoors in-between a cable headend and a customer premises, wherein the internal UPS adjustably reduces how much power is supplied to certain components, not in said proper subset of subcomponents, of the piece of CATV equipment while maintaining to supply said proper subset of components with said particular amount of power to conserve an amount of power remaining in said energy storage element.
20. The method of claim 19, wherein the internal UPS adjustably reduces the amount of power supplied to certain subcomponents to conserve the amount of power remaining in said energy storage element.
14. …internal UPS adjustably reduces how much power is supplied to certain components, not in said proper subset of subcomponents, of the piece of CATV equipment while maintaining to supply said proper subset of components with said particular amount of power to conserve an amount of power remaining in said energy storage element.
21. The method of claim 19, wherein said piece of equipment is deployed in one or more of: a cable television (CATV) network, a Passive Optical Network (PON), a cellular network, and a fixed wireless network.
14. …A method for ensuring power is supplied to at least a portion of a piece of cable television (CATV) equipment having a specialized Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS), comprising: a main power supply supplying an entirety of the piece of CATV equipment with a particular amount of power continuously while there is AC power supplied to the piece of CATV equipment over a coaxial cable power…
23. The method of claim 19, wherein the internal UPS adjusts how power is supplied in response to determining that a configurable amount of time has passed since the interruption in AC power to the piece of equipment.
15. The method of claim 14, further comprising: the internal UPS adjusting how power is supplied in response to determining that a configurable amount of time has passed since the interruption in power to the entirety of the piece of CATV equipment.
24. The method of claim 19, wherein the internal UPS adjusts how power is supplied between the entirety of the piece of equipment and the set of subcomponents within the piece of equipment.
4. The piece of CATV equipment of claim 1, wherein the internal UPS adjusts how power is supplied between the entirety of the piece of CATV equipment and the set of subcomponents within the piece of CATV equipment.
25. The method of claim 19, wherein the set of subcomponents within the piece of equipment may be independently configured to receive power by the internal UPS.
5. The piece of CATV equipment of claim 1, wherein the set of subcomponents within the piece of CATV equipment may be independently configured to receive power by the internal UPS.
26. The method of claim 19, wherein the piece of equipment comprises a first set of physical power distribution lines for delivering power to the entirety of the piece of equipment, and wherein the piece of equipment comprises a second set of physical power distribution lines, separate from the first set of physical power distribution lines, for delivering power to the set of subcomponents within the piece of equipment.
16. The method of claim 14, wherein the piece of CATV equipment comprises a first set of power distribution lines for delivering power to the entirety of the piece of CATV equipment, and wherein the piece of CATV equipment comprises a second set of power distribution lines, separate from the first set of power distribution lines, for delivering power to the set of one or more subcomponents of the piece of CATV equipment.
27. The method of claim 19, wherein the energy storage element of the internal UPS recharges from the external power supplied to the piece of equipment when available.
7. The piece of CATV equipment of claim 1, wherein the energy storage element of the internal UPS recharges from the power supplied to the piece of CATV equipment over the coaxial cable power input when available.
28. The method of claim 19, wherein the energy storage element of the internal UPS recharges from power supplied by the main power supply.
8. The piece of CATV equipment of claim 1, wherein the energy storage element of the internal UPS recharges from power supplied by the main power supply.
29. The method of claim 19, wherein the internal UPS employs a configuration used in determining how long to supply power to the entirety of the piece of equipment.
9. The piece of CATV equipment of claim 1, wherein the internal UPS employs a configuration used in determining how long to supply power to the entirety of the piece of CATV equipment.
30. The method of claim 19, wherein the internal UPS employs a configuration that adjusts the behavior of internal UPS, and wherein the configuration considers observed environmental conditions of the piece of equipment.
10. The piece of CATV equipment of claim 1, wherein the internal UPS employs a configuration that adjusts the behavior of internal UPS, and wherein the configuration considers observed environmental conditions of the piece of CATV equipment.
31. The method of claim 19, wherein the internal UPS informs at least one of the subcomponents within the piece of equipment that portions of the piece of equipment will soon lose power to allow the piece of equipment to power-down certain subcomponents thereof.
17. The method of claim 14, further comprising: the internal UPS informing at least one of the one or more subcomponents of the piece of CATV equipment that portions of the piece of CATV equipment will soon lose power to allow said at least one subcomponent to power-down certain components thereof.
33. The method of Claim 19, wherein the internal UPS comprises at least one capacitor, and wherein an expected lifespan of said at least one capacitor is determined by a computer component based, at least in part, upon temperatures measured at or near said at least one capacitor by said piece of equipment, and wherein said computer components resides internal or external to the piece of equipment.
18. The method of claim 14, wherein an expected lifespan of at least one capacitor of the energy storage element is determined by a computer component based, at least in part, upon temperatures measured at or near said at least one capacitor.
34. The method of Claim 19, wherein the internal UPS is capable of issuing a message, over a network, that indicates that said one or more capacitors are experiencing a reduced performance.
19. The method of claim 14, further comprising: the internal UPS issuing a message, over a network, that indicates that said one or more capacitors of the energy storage element are experiencing a reduced performance.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 1-6, 11-12, 16, 19-22, 27-28, and 32 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park et al. (hereinafter as Park) PGPUB 2018/0364928, and further in view of Soto et al. (hereinafter as Soto)1 PGPUB 2010/0150556.
As per claim 1, Park teach a piece of equipment having a specialized Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) [0010, 0024, and 0038: (computing device (equipment) has a UPS inside of it)], comprising:
a power input [0025: (receive main power or primary power)];
a main power supply designed to supply an entirety of the piece of equipment with a particular amount of power continuously while there is external power supplied to the piece of equipment [0025 and 0043: (power supply unit (PSU) converts AC to DC power for the computing device to use) ]; and
an internal Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) for supplying power to either the entirety of the piece of equipment [0010 and 0024: (UPS may provide full load)] or a proper subset of subcomponents within the piece of equipment when the piece of equipment is not supplied external power [this is a second alternative limitation; the first alternative limitation has already been addressed], wherein the energy storage element of the internal UPS is capable of supplying power for a duration no longer than one minute and consists of one or more capacitors and does not include a battery [0010, 0015, and 0024: (UPS may be capacitors (instead of a battery), and may provide full load for about 60 seconds or less)],
wherein an amount of power supplied to certain subcomponents, not in said proper subset of subcomponents, of the piece of equipment is reduced while maintaining to supply said proper subset of subcomponents with said particular amount of power to conserve an amount of power remaining in said energy storage element [this limitation further limits the second alternative limitation, but the first alternative limitation has been addressed].
Park does not explicitly teach the piece of equipment, having an outer housing providing a hermetically sealed environment to the interior of the piece of equipment. Park teaches a computing device (that can be any type of computing device) having a housing, but Park does not mention a hermetically sealed enclosure.
Soto teaches a computing device that may have a UPS. Soto is thus similar to Park because they both teach the use of a UPS to provide power to computing equipment. Soto further teaches the piece of equipment, having an outer housing providing a hermetically sealed environment to the interior of the piece of equipment [0009, 0083, 0087, FIG. 1, FIG. 3-4, and FIG. 14b: (equipment may be in an environmentally hardened enclosure and located outside; it is obvious that enclosures placed outside is a sealed environment because otherwise, weather and rain would get inside and damage the components)]. Soto teaches places equipment in an cabinet/enclosure outdoors.
The combination of Park and Soto leads to Park’s computing device that contains the UPS being placed outside in a sealed enclosure.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use Soto’s teachings of placing computing components in a sealed enclosure outside in Park. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to place Park’s computing device outside because certain applications may require the computing device to be located outdoors for accessibility or connectivity reasons, and having the computing device and UPS in a sealed enclosure would protect the equipment from weather damage.
As per claim 2, Park and Soto teach the piece of equipment of claim 1, wherein the internal UPS adjustably reduces the amount of power supplied to certain subcomponents to conserve the amount of power remaining in said energy storage element [Park 0019, 0036, 0038: (tasks are prioritized and power is provided to the components to perform copying of contents; meanwhile tasks that are not a priority are deprioritized and given a reduced amount of power so as to not rob the UPS power from the action of copying data; thus certain components receive a reduced amount of power compared to others)].
As per claim 3, Park and Soto teach The piece of equipment of claim 1, wherein said piece of equipment is deployed in one or more of: a cable television (CATV) network, a Passive Optical Network (PON), a cellular network, and a fixed wireless network [Soto 0014, 0018, 0045].
As per claim 4, Park and Soto teach the piece of equipment of claim 1, wherein said power input is a coaxial power input [Soto 0077-0078, 0099: (AC power may be transmitted by way of coax)].
As per claim 5, Park and Soto teach the piece of equipment of claim 1, wherein said power input is a direct current (DC) power input [Soto 0077 and 0099: (power input may be DC)].
As per claim 6, Park and Soto teach the piece of equipment of claim 1, wherein said main power supply and said internal UPS are separate components that are both comprised within a housing as a singular unit within the piece of equipment [Park FIG. 1 and 0024: (power supply and UPS are different components inside the computing device) or Soto FIG. 14b and 0056: (UPS and DC power supply 138 are different components in same outdoor enclosure)].
As per claim 11, Park and Soto teach the piece of equipment of claim 1, wherein the energy storage element of the internal UPS recharges from the external power supplied to the piece of equipment when available [Soto 0083 and 0087 and Park 0024; (it is well known in the art that UPS charges its energy storage device from an external power source when the external power source is available)].
As per claim 12, Park and Soto teach the piece of equipment of claim 1, wherein the energy storage element of the internal UPS recharges from power supplied by the main power supply [Park 0024: (UPS are capacitors that art part of the power supply; thus the capacitors are recharged from provide provided by the power supply)].
As per claim 16, Park and Soto teach the piece of equipment of claim 1, wherein the internal UPS informs at least one of the subcomponents within the piece of equipment that the external power has ceased to be supplied to the piece of equipment to permit the at least one of the subcomponents to issue a message, over a network, indicating that the external power has ceased to be supplied to the piece of equipment [Soto 0097: (dying gasp)].
Claim 19 is similar in scope to claim 1 as addressed above and is thus rejected under the same rationale.
Claim 20 is similar in scope to claim 2 as addressed above and is thus rejected under the same rationale.
Claim 21 is similar in scope to claim 3 as addressed above and is thus rejected under the same rationale.
Claim 22 is similar in scope to claim 6 as addressed above and is thus rejected under the same rationale.
Claim 27 is similar in scope to claim 11 as addressed above and is thus rejected under the same rationale.
Claim 28 is similar in scope to claim 12 as addressed above and is thus rejected under the same rationale.
Claim 32 is similar in scope to claim 16 as addressed above and is thus rejected under the same rationale.
Claim(s) 7-9, and 23-25 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park et al. (hereinafter as Park) PGPUB 2018/0364928 in view of Soto et al. (hereinafter as Soto) PGPUB 2010/0150556, and further in view of Fallon et al. (hereinafter as Fallon)1 PGPUB 2016/0054771.
As per claim 7, Park and Soto teach the piece of equipment of claim 1.
Park and Soto do not teach, wherein the internal UPS adjusts how power is supplied in response to determining that a configurable amount of time has passed since the interruption in AC power to the piece of equipment. Although it may be obvious that Park’s UPS adjusts how its power is supplied after 60 seconds because its charge is only rated for 60 seconds, Park does not explicitly teach tracking the amount of time that has passed since the interruption in AC power.
Fallon teaches a UPS having outlet groups that are configured for different priorities that provides power to computing devices or networking devices. Fallon is thus similar to Park and Soto because they teach the use of a UPS to provide power to computing equipment. Fallon further teaches wherein the internal UPS adjusts how power is supplied in response to determining that a configurable amount of time has passed since the interruption in AC power to the piece of equipment [0060, 0069, and table 1: (when operating on UPS power as a result of a loss of power, devices that can be turned off immediately have a turn off delay of 0 seconds and are turned off immediately, whereas devices that can be turned off with minimal delay are turned off 60 seconds after the loss of power, and critical devices are turned off 180 seconds or 1200 seconds after the loss of power depending on whether graceful shutdown is needed)]. Fallon teaches delays ranging from 0-1200 seconds for turning off equipment after main AC power is lost.
The combination of Fallon with Park and Soto yields the UPS adjusting how power is supplied to different components in response to configurable amounts of time that has passed since the interruption in AC power to the piece of CATV equipment.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use Fallon’s teachings of a providing a configurable amount of time since interruption of AC power to control how power is supplied to CATV components in Park and Soto. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to provide a configurable amount of time since the loss of AC power to adjust how power is controlled in Park and Soto because it allows for components to be prioritized and for low priority components to be turned off while allowing high priority components to remain on for longer period of times, thereby improving system reliability.
As per claim 8, Park and Soto teach the piece of equipment of claim 1.
Park and Soto do not explicitly teach wherein the internal UPS adjusts how power is supplied between the entirety of the piece of equipment and the set of subcomponents within the piece of equipment.
Fallon teaches a UPS having outlet groups that are configured for different priorities that provides power to computing devices or networking devices. Fallon is thus similar to Park and Soto because they teach the use of a UPS to provide power to computing equipment. Fallon further teaches wherein the internal UPS adjusts how power is supplied between the entirety of the piece of equipment and the set of subcomponents within the piece of equipment [0069, 0075-0076, and 0105-0107: (UPS may classify some loads as low priority loads that may be turned off immediately when operating on UPS power, and classify other higher priority loads as critical that needs to stay on as long as possible)]. Fallon teaches turning off power to some subcomponents while keeping power to other higher priority subcomponents.
The combination of Park and Soto with Fallon leads to the UPS turning off power to some lower priority subcomponents while keeping power to other higher priority subcomponents.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use Fallon’s teachings of supplying power from the UPS to only some of the subcomponents instead of the entire load in Park and Soto. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to only provide power to the high priority critical loads instead of the entirety in Park and Soto because it better preserves the energy stored in the capacitor to ensure the high priority tasks be finished before starting lower priority tasks.
As per claim 9, Park and Soto teach the piece of equipment of claim 1.
Park and Soto do not explicitly teach wherein the set of subcomponents within the piece of equipment may be independently configured to receive power by the internal UPS.
Fallon teaches a UPS having outlet groups that are configured for different priorities that provides power to computing devices or networking devices. Fallon is thus similar to Park and Soto because they teach the use of a UPS to provide power to computing equipment. Fallon further teaches wherein the set of subcomponents within the piece of equipment may be independently configured to receive power by the internal UPS [0069, 0075-0076, and 0105-0107: (components are independently configured by the UPS on whether they receive power)].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use Fallon’s teachings of the UPS independently supplying power to subcomponents in the computing device in Park and Soto. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to have the UPS independently supply power to subcomponents in Park and Soto because it better controls preserves the energy stored in the capacitor to ensure the high priority tasks be finished before starting lower priority tasks.
Claim 23 is similar in scope to claim 7 as addressed above and is thus rejected under the same rationale.
Claim 24 is similar in scope to claim 8 as addressed above and is thus rejected under the same rationale.
Claim 25 is similar in scope to claim 9 as addressed above and is thus rejected under the same rationale.
Claim(s) 10 and 26 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park et al. (hereinafter as Park) PGPUB 2018/0364928 in view of Soto et al. (hereinafter as Soto) PGPUB 2010/0150556, and further in view of Taylor et al. (hereinafter as Taylor)1 PGPUB 2007/0145828.
As per claim 10, Park and Soto teach the piece of equipment of claim 1.
Park and Soto does not teach wherein the piece of equipment comprises a first set of physical power distribution lines for delivering power to the entirety of the piece of equipment, and wherein the piece of equipment comprises a second set of physical power distribution lines, separate from the first set of physical power distribution lines, for delivering power to the set of subcomponents within the piece of equipment.
Taylor teaches computing equipment using a UPS. Taylor is thus similar to Park and Soto. Taylor further teaches wherein the piece of equipment comprises a first set of physical power distribution lines for delivering power to the entirety of the piece of equipment [FIG. 1: (coax cable 108 delivers power to the entire right half)], and wherein the piece of equipment comprises a second set of physical power distribution lines, separate from the first set of physical power distribution lines, for delivering power to the set of subcomponents within the piece of equipment [FIG. 1: (output of SPSM line provides power to subcomponents of the right half)]. Taylor teaches circuitry lines for delivering power to the entirety of equipment and separate circuitry lines for delivering power to subset of subcomponents.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use Taylor’s teachings of using different lines for power delivery from input lines and from UPS in Park and Soto. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to have separate connections to provide power to the computing loads under full load than compared to operation under UPS power because it allows power to be provided from UPS to only critical components without circuitry reconfiguration or real-time determination of what components should receive power, thus reducing the power draw of the energy storage.
Claim(s) 13 and 29 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park et al. (hereinafter as Park) PGPUB 2018/0364928 in view of Soto et al. (hereinafter as Soto) PGPUB 2010/0150556, and further in view of further in view of Uehara1 PGPUB 2015/0363132.
As per claim 13, Park and Soto teach the piece of equipment of claim 1.
Park and Soto do not teach wherein the internal UPS employs a configuration used in determining how long to supply power to the entirety of the piece of equipment. They do not describe a certain amount of time to supply power to the entirety of its equipment.
Uehara teaches a UPS providing power to a computing device during a power outage. Uehara is therefore similar to Park and Soto because they use UPS. Uehara further teaches wherein the internal UPS employs a configuration used in determining how long to supply power to the entirety of the piece of equipment [0036, 0044, 0094-0095, and 0104: (when a certain time duration has elapsed after commencement of the outage, UPS unit stops supplying power)]. Uehara teaches a configurable time set by the user that specifies how long power is to be supplied from the UPS.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use Uehara’s teachings of setting a time indicating how long a UPS should provide power in Park and Soto. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to provide a time limit for use of UPS energy storage in Park and Soto in order to prevent the energy storage from reaching a zero state of charge and causing an unexpected shutdown.
Claim 29 is similar in scope to claim 13 as addressed above and is thus rejected under the same rationale.
Claim(s) 14 and 30 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park et al. (hereinafter as Park) PGPUB 2018/0364928 in view of Soto et al. (hereinafter as Soto) PGPUB 2010/0150556, and further in view of Manuell et al. (hereinafter as Manuell) 1 PGPUB 2005/0086543.
As per claim 14, Park and Soto teach the piece of equipment of claim 1.
Park and Soto do not teach wherein the internal UPS employs a configuration that adjusts the behavior of internal UPS, and wherein the configuration considers observed environmental conditions of the piece of equipment. Park and Soto do not explicitly describe different behaviors of the UPS based on the environmental conditions.
Manuell teaches a UPS that provides power to devices when AC power is lost. Manuell is therefore similar to Park and Soto because they teach the use of a UPS to provide backup power. Manuell further teaches wherein the internal UPS employs a configuration that adjusts the behavior of internal UPS, and wherein the configuration considers observed environmental conditions [0032: (UPS has a different load shedding behavior based on remaining UPS battery level (observed battery measurements) or temperature (environmental condition)]. Manuell teaches different load shedding priorities, and shedding loads by priority level based on the ambient temperature of the UPS.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use Manuell’s teachings of providing different load shedding behaviors of the UPS based on the ambient temperature in Park and Soto. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to provide different load shedding behaviors by priority level based on the ambient temperature because it prevents overheating and damaging components and the UPS.
Claim 30 is similar in scope to claim 14 as addressed above and is thus rejected under the same rationale.
Claim(s) 15 and 31 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park et al. (hereinafter as Park) PGPUB 2018/0364928 in view of Soto et al. (hereinafter as Soto) PGPUB 2010/0150556, and further in view of Egan et al. (hereinafter as Egan) 1 PGPUB 2005/0086544.
As per claim 15, Park and Soto teach the piece of equipment of claim 1.
Park and Soto do not teach wherein the internal UPS informs at least one of the subcomponents within the piece of equipment that portions of the piece of equipment will soon lose power to allow the piece of equipment to power-down certain subcomponents thereof.
Egan teaches a UPS that provides power to computing components. Egan is thus similar to Park and Soto. Egan further teaches wherein the internal UPS informs at least one of the subcomponents within the piece of equipment that portions of the piece of equipment will soon lose power to allow the piece of equipment to power-down certain subcomponents thereof [claim 5: (UPS notifies service processor of impending power failure and the service processor performs a controlled shutdown of at least one system resources)]. Egan teaches the UPS issuing a warning about impending loss of power, and the devices performing a controlled shutdown based on receiving such warning.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use Egan’s teachings of a UPS warning of an impending power failure to cause a controlled shutdown in Park and Soto. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to provide such a message in Park and Soto because it allows the devices to be notified to finish their operations, save their information, and prepare for shutdown, thereby preventing loss of data from an unexpected shutdown due to loss of power.
Claim 31 is similar in scope to claim 15 as addressed above and is thus rejected under the same rationale.
Claim(s) 17-18 and 33-34 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park et al. (hereinafter as Park) PGPUB 2018/0364928 in view of Soto et al. (hereinafter as Soto) PGPUB 2010/0150556, and further in view of Nordin1 PGPUB 2014/0015321
As per claim 17, Park and Soto teach the piece of equipment of claim 1, wherein the internal UPS comprises at least one capacitor [Park 0024], and wherein said computer components resides internal or external to the piece of equipment [Park FIG. 1A: (components are inside computing device equipment [FIG. 1].
Park and Soto do not teach wherein an expected lifespan of said at least one capacitor is determined by a computer component based, at least in part, upon temperatures measured at or near said at least one capacitor by said piece of equipment Park and Soto teach the UPS being inside computing device and an enclosure, but do not track the temperature of a capacitor associated with the UPS.
Nordin teaches a UPS to provide backup power when AC power is lost. Nordin is thus similar to Park and Soto. Nordin further teaches wherein the internal UPS comprises at least one capacitor, and wherein a lifespan of said at least one capacitor is determined by a computer component based, at least in part, upon temperatures measured at or near said at least one capacitor by said equipment, and wherein said computer components resides internal or external to the equipment [0057: (a temperature sensor is connected to the microcontroller 200 (computer component) of the UPS); and 0059: (optimize energy storage system of the UPS by tracking the capacitor temperature and adjusting the capacitor voltage to maintain the preset desired lifetime)]. Nordin teaches monitoring the temperature of a capacitor within the UPS to maintain a desired lifespan of the capacitor and the UPS.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use Nordin’s teachings of monitoring the temperature of a capacitor in the UPS of Park and Soto. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to monitor the temperature of the capacitor in Park and Soto because it maintains a desired lifetime of the capacitor and the UPS.
As per claim 18, Park and Soto teach the piece of equipment of claim 1.
Park and Soto do not teach wherein the internal UPS is capable of issuing a message, over a network, that indicates that said one or more capacitors are experiencing a reduced performance. Nordin teaches a UPS to provide backup power when AC power is lost. Nordin is thus similar to Park and Soto. Nordin further teaches wherein the internal UPS comprises at least one capacitor [0059: capacitor], and wherein the internal UPS is capable of issuing a message, over a network [0055: (UPS may display information of the UPS to the user; such information may be communicated with the user over an Ethernet LAN network)], that indicates that said at least one capacitor is experiencing a reduced performance [0059: (capacitor temperature or capacity are monitored and reported to user so that user can optimize the system based on lifetime and energy storage capacity requirements)]. Nordin teaches the display of UPS information to a user over a network concerning the health and performance of the UPS and its capacitors.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use Nordin’s teachings of monitoring UPS capacitor information and communicating data to the user remotely over a network in Park and Soto. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to do so in Park and Soto in order to be aware of the condition of the UPS and decide whether replacement of components is necessary to ensure that the UPS will provide the necessary power during an outage.
Claim 33 is similar in scope to claim 17 as addressed above and is thus rejected under the same rationale.
Claim 34 is similar in scope to claim 18 as addressed above and is thus rejected under the same rationale.
Conclusion
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/DANNY CHAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2175
1 Cited in IDS on 3/04/2025
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