Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
Claim(s) 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li, US PGPUB 20130282947 in view of Shand, US PGPUB 20050203923.
As to claim 1, Li discloses an electronic device, comprising: a first interface, connected to a first device (e.g., first interface 710, fig. 7);
a second interface, connected to a second device (e.g., second interface 720, fig. 7); and
a processing module, connected to the first interface and the second interface and is capable of determining a data transmission mode of the first interface based on a connection status of the first interface and the first device ([0090], The control unit 750 may be connected to each of the obtaining unit 740, the first interface 710 and the second interface 720, and configured to transmit the input information obtained by the obtaining unit 740 to the first and second interfaces 710, 720),
wherein in response to the first interface being in a first data transmission mode, the processing module is configured to adjust the second interface to be in a second data transmission mode ([0090] The control unit 750 may be connected to each of the obtaining unit 740, the first interface 710 and the second interface 720, and configured to transmit the input information obtained by the obtaining unit 740 to the first and second interfaces 710, 720, and control according to a predetermined policy one of the first and second interfaces 710, 720 to be in an enabled state and the other one to be in a disabled state), and
the first data transmission mode and the second data transmission mode have opposite data transmission direction, such that one of the first data transmission mode and the second data transmission mode is for receiving data and another one of the first data transmission mode and the second data transmission mode is for sending data ([0054] By enabling different interfaces as the portable terminal is in different connection states, it is possible to meet the requirements of different systems and reduce the system power consumption).
Li does not specifically disclose the first data transmission mode and the second data transmission mode have opposite data transmission directions such that one of the first data transmission mode and the second data transmission mode is for receiving data and another one of the first data transmission mode and the second data transmission mode is for sending data ([0054] By enabling different interfaces as the portable terminal is in different connection states, it is possible to meet the requirements of different systems and reduce the system power consumption).
However, in the same endeavor, Shand the first data transmission mode and the second data transmission mode have opposite data transmission directions such that one of the first data transmission mode and the second data transmission mode is for receiving data and another one of the first data transmission mode and the second data transmission mode is for sending data ([0022] If the second device 104 is the desired recipient of the data and the network link adapter 106 is configured to operate in the second mode described above, the data is forwarded to one or more predetermined addresses of the memory 108. During PHASE 2, the monitoring unit 110 detects that data is being written to the one or more predetermined addresses and forwards the data to the second device 104. The second device 104 may then process the data as requested by the first device 102. During PHASE 3, the processed data is returned to the first device 102 via the second interface 122, the network link adapter 106, and the first interface 120. In at least some embodiments, the PHASES described above may occur substantially simultaneously such that the first device 102 may still be outputting a data process request to the second device 104 while receiving processed data back from the second device 102).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the disclosure of Li to further include Shand’s data transmitting and receiving path arrangement, in order to improve the system performance.
As to claim 10, Li discloses a control method, performed by an electronic device, the method comprising: obtaining a connection status of a first interface and a second interface of the electronic device (e.g., first interface 710 and second interface 720, fig. 7),
wherein the first interface is connected to a first device and the second interface is connected to a second device (e.g., first interface 710 and second interface 720, fig. 7);
based on the connection status of the first interface and the first device ([0090], The control unit 750 may be connected to each of the obtaining unit 740, the first interface 710 and the second interface 720, and configured to transmit the input information obtained by the obtaining unit 740 to the first and second interfaces 710, 720),
determining a data transmission mode of the first interface through the processing module, wherein the processing module is connected to the first interface and the second interface ([0090], The control unit 750 may be connected to each of the obtaining unit 740, the first interface 710 and the second interface 720, and configured to transmit the input information obtained by the obtaining unit 740 to the first and second interfaces 710, 720); and
adjusting the second interface to be in a second data transmission mode when the first interface is in a first data transmission mode ([0090] The control unit 750 may be connected to each of the obtaining unit 740, the first interface 710 and the second interface 720, and configured to transmit the input information obtained by the obtaining unit 740 to the first and second interfaces 710, 720, and control according to a predetermined policy one of the first and second interfaces 710, 720 to be in an enabled state and the other one to be in a disabled state).
Li does not specifically disclose the first data transmission mode and the second data transmission mode have opposite data transmission directions such that one of the first data transmission mode and the second data transmission mode is for receiving data and another one of the first data transmission mode and the second data transmission mode is for sending data ([0054] By enabling different interfaces as the portable terminal is in different connection states, it is possible to meet the requirements of different systems and reduce the system power consumption).
However, in the same endeavor, Shand the first data transmission mode and the second data transmission mode have opposite data transmission directions such that one of the first data transmission mode and the second data transmission mode is for receiving data and another one of the first data transmission mode and the second data transmission mode is for sending data ([0022] If the second device 104 is the desired recipient of the data and the network link adapter 106 is configured to operate in the second mode described above, the data is forwarded to one or more predetermined addresses of the memory 108. During PHASE 2, the monitoring unit 110 detects that data is being written to the one or more predetermined addresses and forwards the data to the second device 104. The second device 104 may then process the data as requested by the first device 102. During PHASE 3, the processed data is returned to the first device 102 via the second interface 122, the network link adapter 106, and the first interface 120. In at least some embodiments, the PHASES described above may occur substantially simultaneously such that the first device 102 may still be outputting a data process request to the second device 104 while receiving processed data back from the second device 102).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the disclosure of Li to further include Shand’s data transmitting and receiving path arrangement, in order to improve the system performance.
As to claim 19, Li discloses a non-transitory computer readable storage medium containing a computer program that, when being executed, causes at least one processor of an electronic device to perform: obtaining a connection status of a first interface and a second interface of the electronic device (e.g., first interface 710 and second interface 720, fig. 7),
wherein the first interface is connected to a first device and the second interface is connected to a second device ([0090], The control unit 750 may be connected to each of the obtaining unit 740, the first interface 710 and the second interface 720, and configured to transmit the input information obtained by the obtaining unit 740 to the first and second interfaces 710, 720);
based on the connection status of the first interface and the first device, determining a data transmission mode of the first interface through the processing module ([0091] based on instruction of the key enable command, control one of the first and second interfaces to be in an enabled state and the other one to be in a disabled state),
wherein the processing module is connected to the first interface and the second interface; and adjusting the second interface to be in a second data transmission mode when the first interface is in a first data transmission mode ([0090] The control unit 750 may be connected to each of the obtaining unit 740, the first interface 710 and the second interface 720, and configured to transmit the input information obtained by the obtaining unit 740 to the first and second interfaces 710, 720, and control according to a predetermined policy one of the first and second interfaces 710, 720 to be in an enabled state and the other one to be in a disabled state),
wherein the first data transmission mode and the second data transmission mode have opposite data transmission direction such that one of the first data transmission mode and the second data transmission mode is for receiving data and another one of the first data transmission mode and the second data transmission mode is for sending data ([0054] By enabling different interfaces as the portable terminal is in different connection states, it is possible to meet the requirements of different systems and reduce the system power consumption).
Li does not specifically disclose the first data transmission mode and the second data transmission mode have opposite data transmission directions such that one of the first data transmission mode and the second data transmission mode is for receiving data and another one of the first data transmission mode and the second data transmission mode is for sending data ([0054] By enabling different interfaces as the portable terminal is in different connection states, it is possible to meet the requirements of different systems and reduce the system power consumption).
However, in the same endeavor, Shand the first data transmission mode and the second data transmission mode have opposite data transmission directions such that one of the first data transmission mode and the second data transmission mode is for receiving data and another one of the first data transmission mode and the second data transmission mode is for sending data ([0022] If the second device 104 is the desired recipient of the data and the network link adapter 106 is configured to operate in the second mode described above, the data is forwarded to one or more predetermined addresses of the memory 108. During PHASE 2, the monitoring unit 110 detects that data is being written to the one or more predetermined addresses and forwards the data to the second device 104. The second device 104 may then process the data as requested by the first device 102. During PHASE 3, the processed data is returned to the first device 102 via the second interface 122, the network link adapter 106, and the first interface 120. In at least some embodiments, the PHASES described above may occur substantially simultaneously such that the first device 102 may still be outputting a data process request to the second device 104 while receiving processed data back from the second device 102).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the disclosure of Li to further include Shand’s data transmitting and receiving path arrangement, in order to improve the system performance.
As to claim 2, the combination of Li and Shand discloses the electronic device according to claim 1. The combination further discloses a display module, connected to the processing module and outputting display data from the first device connected to the first interface and/or display data from the second device connected to the second interface (Li, e.g., first interface 710 and second interface 720, fig. 7).
As to claim 3, the combination of Li and Shand discloses the electronic device according to claim 1. The combination further discloses the processing module includes a first processing unit and a second processing unit; a first channel is provided between the first processing unit and the second processing unit, and the first channel is configured to transmit status signals sent from the first processing unit to the second processing unit; and in response to the status signals, the second processing unit is configured to adjust status of a first pin and/or a second pin in the second processing unit (Li, [0064] Upon receipt of a level signal transmitted from the interface connector, the portable terminal is determined to be in the first state if the level signal is high, and to be in the second state if the level signal is low).
As to claim 4, the combination of Li and Shand discloses the electronic device according to claim 3. The combination further discloses the first processing unit is connected to the first interface and the second interface; the first processing unit is configured to adjust data transmission modes of the first interface and the second interface; and in response to a handshake signal of the first device, the first processing unit is configured to establish a communication connection between the electronic device and the first device; and/or to transmit the handshake signal to the second device to establish a communication connection between the electronic device and the second device (Li, [0065] For example, the shared device may be connected to each of the first and second interfaces provided on the slave device via a control unit within the slave device, or the first and second interfaces may be provided on the shared device).
As to claim 5, the combination of Li and Shand discloses the electronic device according to claim 3. The combination further discloses the first pin of the second processing unit is connected to the first interface; the second pin of the second processing unit is connected to the second interface; the second processing unit controls the first interface to receive data transmitted from the first device to the electronic device; and the second processing unit controls the second interface to transmit data to the second device or receive data transmitted from the second device to the electronic device (Li, [0090] For example, the first interface 710 may be configured to connect with a first electronic device. The second interface 720 may be configured to connect with a second electronic device).
As to claim 6, the combination of Li and Shand discloses the electronic device according to claim 3. The combination further discloses a second channel is provided between the first processing unit and the second processing unit; in response to the second interface being connected to the second device, the second processing unit obtains an attribute information of the second device and sends a reset signal to the first processing unit through the second channel; the first processing unit responds to the reset signal and adjusts the data transmission mode of the first interface to enable the second processing unit to transmit the attribute information of the second device to the first device (Shand, [0036] It should be mentioned that, accompanying with the address mapping table established by the controller 342, a bus switch, for example, may be further disposed in the second master apparatus 34 so as to switch data routing among the first master apparatus 32, the second master apparatus 34 and the second-type interface apparatus 38).
As to claim 7, the combination of Li and Shand discloses the electronic device according to claim 1. The combination further discloses in response to the second interface being connected to the second device and the second device transmitting data to the electronic device, the processing module adjusts the second interface to switch from the second data transmission mode to the first data transmission mode (Li, [0078] FIG. 4A is a schematic diagram showing an overall architecture of a slave device implementing interface switching control according to an embodiment of the present application, and FIG. 4B is a schematic diagram showing an overall architecture of a master device implementing interface switching control according to an embodiment of the present application).
As to claim 8, the combination of Li and Shand discloses the electronic device according to claim 7. The combination further discloses in response to the first interface and the second interface both being in the first data transmission mode, the processing module identifies priority levels of the first device and the second device and, the processing module controls the display module to output display data from the first device and the second device according to the priority levels of the first device and the second device (Li, [0082] The portable terminal has a first state in which the first device 510 and the second device 520 are connected, and a second state in which the first device 510 and the second device 520 are disconnected).
As to claim 9, the combination of Li and Shand discloses the electronic device according to claim 2. The combination further discloses in response to the first interface being in the first data transmission mode and the second interface being in the second transmission mode, the processing unit controls the display module to output display data from the first device and to transmit the display data to the second device (Li, [0090], The control unit 750 may be connected to each of the obtaining unit 740, the first interface 710 and the second interface 720, and configured to transmit the input information obtained by the obtaining unit 740 to the first and second interfaces 710, 720).
As to claim 11, the combination of Li and Shand discloses the electronic device according to claim 1. The combination further discloses outputting display data from the first device connected to the first interface and/or display data from the second device connected to the second interface (Li, e.g., first interface 710 and second interface 720, fig. 7).
As to claim 12, the combination of Li and Shand discloses the method according to claim 10. The combination further discloses the processing module includes a first processing unit and a second processing unit; a first channel is provided between the first processing unit and the second processing unit, and the first channel is configured to transmit status signals sent from the first processing unit to the second processing unit; and in response to the status signals, the second processing unit is configured to adjust status of a first pin and/or a second pin in the second processing unit (Shand, [0015] In some embodiments, the mode signal may be a user-controlled signal that permits the network link adapter to operate in one of multiple modes. Alternatively, the mode signal may be implicit in an address associated with the data received by the network link adapter 106).
As to claim 13, the combination of Li and Shand discloses the method according to claim 12. The combination further discloses the first processing unit is connected to the first interface and the second interface; the first processing unit is configured to adjust data transmission modes of the first interface and the second interface; and in response to a handshake signal of the first device, the first processing unit is configured to establish a communication connection between the electronic device and the first device; and/or to transmit the handshake signal to the second device to establish a communication connection between the electronic device and the second device (Li, [0065] For example, the shared device may be connected to each of the first and second interfaces provided on the slave device via a control unit within the slave device, or the first and second interfaces may be provided on the shared device).
As to claim 14, the combination of Li and Shand discloses the method according to claim 12. The combination further discloses the first pin of the second processing unit is connected to the first interface; the second pin of the second processing unit is connected to the second interface; the second processing unit controls the first interface to receive data transmitted from the first device to the electronic device; and the second processing unit controls the second interface to transmit data to the second device or receive data transmitted from the second device to the electronic device (Li, [0090] For example, the first interface 710 may be configured to connect with a first electronic device. The second interface 720 may be configured to connect with a second electronic device).
As to claim 15, the combination of Li and Shand discloses the method according to claim 12. The combination further discloses a second channel is provided between the first processing unit and the second processing unit; in response to the second interface being connected to the second device, the second processing unit obtains an attribute information of the second device and sends a reset signal to the first processing unit through the second channel; the first processing unit responds to the reset signal and adjusts the data transmission mode of the first interface to enable the second processing unit to transmit the attribute information of the second device to the first device (Shand, [0015] In some embodiments, the mode signal may be a user-controlled signal that permits the network link adapter to operate in one of multiple modes. Alternatively, the mode signal may be implicit in an address associated with the data received by the network link adapter 106).
As to claim 16, the combination of Li and Shand discloses the method according to claim 10. The combination further discloses in response to the second interface being connected to the second device and the second device transmitting data to the electronic device, the processing module adjusts the second interface to switch from the second data transmission mode to the first data transmission mode (Li, [0094] The embodiments of the present application implement a real-time switching control over the interfaces for the shard device. This can optimize the interface control for the hybrid-system portable terminal).
As to claim 17, the combination of Li and Shand discloses the method according to claim 16. The combination further discloses in response to the first interface and the second interface both being in the first data transmission mode, the processing module identifies priority levels of the first device and the second device and, the processing module controls the display module to output display data from the first device and the second device according to the priority levels of the first device and the second device (Li, [0078] FIG. 4A is a schematic diagram showing an overall architecture of a slave device implementing interface switching control according to an embodiment of the present application, and FIG. 4B is a schematic diagram showing an overall architecture of a master device implementing interface switching control according to an embodiment of the present application).
As to claim 18, the combination of Li and Shand discloses the method according to claim 11. The combination further discloses in response to the first interface being in the first data transmission mode and the second interface being in the second transmission mode, the processing unit controls the display module to output display data from the first device and to transmit the display data to the second device (Li, [0090], The control unit 750 may be connected to each of the obtaining unit 740, the first interface 710 and the second interface 720, and configured to transmit the input information obtained by the obtaining unit 740 to the first and second interfaces 710, 720).
As to claim 20, the combination of Li and Shand discloses the storage medium according to claim 19. The combination further discloses the at least one processor is further configured to performing: outputting display data from the first device connected to the first interface and/or display data from the second device connected to the second interface (Li, e.g., first interface 710 and second interface 720, fig. 7).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Kim, US PGPUB 20200311011 discloses a method and electronic device for communicating multi devices that use universal serial bus (USB) type-C are provided. The electronic device includes at least one or more interfaces formed as USB type-C, and at least one control circuit electrically connected to the interface. The control circuit may be configured to form a communication path, through chosen terminals of the interfaces, between at least two or more external devices connected to the interfaces.
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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/SAHLU OKEBATO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2625 4/23/2026
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