DETAILED ACTION
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 .
Claims 1-14 are pending.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1, 5-7 and 9-14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a) (1) as being anticipated by Dasar et al. (hereinafter Dasar1) (US 20200301714 A1).
As to claim 1, Dasar teaches a method for configuring a Basic Input Output System (BIOS) configuration item [0005], wherein the method is applied to a server, the server comprises a Central Processing Unit (CPU) [FIG. 1: processor 102] and an out-of-band controller [FIG. 2: remote access controller device 206], and the method is executed by the out-of-band controller, comprising:
determining a content to be configured for a target configuration item in the BIOS configuration item [0024: “The method 300 then proceeds to block 304 where the OOB controller device generates BIOS setting modification information.”], wherein the target configuration item is a configuration item that supports online modification in the BIOS configuration item [0022: “at block 302, a BIOS setting modification request 400 may be provided to the remote access controller device 206 such that the BIOS setting modification request 400 is received by the server processing subsystem 206a…OOB controller devices such as the remote access controller device 206 may communicate with devices outside of the computing device 200 via OOB channels and/or OOB interfaces.”] [0023: “a network administrator or other user of the computing device 200 may use a management device (e.g., a desktop computing device, a laptop notebook computing device, a tablet computing device, a mobile phone, etc.) to establish an OOB connection with the remote access controller device 206 via an OOB channel (e.g., provided by a management network) coupled to an OOB interface (e.g., a NIC device (not illustrated) in the remote access controller device 206 that is separate from a NIC device (not illustrated) utilized by a CPU (not illustrated) in the computing device 200 to communicate during the computing device runtime) in the remote access controller device 206.”]; and
when the CPU is running an operating system (OS), sending a system management interrupt (SMI) signal to the CPU [0028: “the method 300 proceeds to block 310 where the OOB controller device causes the transmission of an SMI to a host processing subsystem.”];
wherein the SMI signal instructs the CPU to switch from running the OS to running a BIOS [0029: “The method 300 then proceeds to block 312 where an SMI handler subsystem retrieves the BIOS setting modification information that was generated by the OOB controller device.”] [0028: “an SMI may enable access to a System Management Mode (SMM) provided by of the host processing system 204, and may result in the SMI handler subsystem 204b provided by the host processing subsystem 204 executing SMM code to perform the BIOS setting modification functionality discussed below.”], the CPU acquires the content to be configured and configures the content of the target configuration item to the content to be configured when running the BIOS [0030: “The method 300 then proceeds to block 314 where the SMI handler subsystem applies the BIOS setting modification information to subsystem(s) such that the BIOS setting modification takes effect during runtime.”], and when the CPU completes the configuration of the target configuration item, the CPU resumes running the OS [0030: “As such, the method 300 may loop through blocks 302, 304, 306, 310, 312, and 314 to receive BIOS setting modification requests during a computing device runtime, generate BIOS setting modification information during that computing device runtime, and cause the transmission of an SMI during that computing device runtime that results in the retrieval of the BIOS setting modification information and its application to subsystem(s) that take effect during that computing device runtime when that BIOS setting is capable of modification during runtime.”].
As to claim 5, Dasar teaches the method according to claim 1, further comprising: receiving a configuration result of the target configuration item returned by the CPU, wherein the configuration result indicates whether the configuration of the target configuration item succeeds or fails, and the configuration result is sent by the CPU when the CPU is running the BIOS [0030: “ In an embodiment, at block 314, the SMI handler subsystem 204b provided by the host processing system 204 may operate to apply the BIOS setting modification information retrieved at block 312 to one or more subsystems in the computing device 200 such that the associated modification(s) to BIOS setting(s) take effect during the computing device runtime of the computing device 200 and without requiring a reboot of the computing device 200.”].
As to claim 6, Dasar teaches wherein the server further comprises a BIOS chip, and the BIOS chip stores configuration content of the BIOS configuration item, the method further comprises: receiving an acquisition request sent by the CPU, wherein the acquisition request is sent by the CPU during a BIOS boot process, and the acquisition request is configured to request the content to be configured for the target configuration item; and when a configuration result indicates that the configuration of the target configuration item succeeds, sending the content to be configured to the CPU, wherein the content to be configured is configured to modify the configuration content of the target configuration item in the BIOS chip to the content to be configured [0031: “Upon receiving the SMI, an SMI handler subsystem in the BIOS may either retrieve the BIOS setting modification information directly from the remote access controller device, or may retrieve the BIOS setting modification information from a Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) memory subsystem in which the BIOS setting modification information was stored by the remote access controller device after it was generated.”].
As to claim 7, Dasar teaches a method for configuring a Basic Input Output System (BIOS) configuration item [0005], wherein the method is applied to a server, the server comprises a Central Processing Unit (CPU) [FIG. 1: processor 102] and an out-of-band controller [FIG. 1: processor 102], and the method is executed by the CPU, the method comprising:
when the CPU is running an operating system (OS), receiving a system management interrupt (SMI) signal [0028: “the method 300 proceeds to block 310 where the OOB controller device causes the transmission of an SMI to a host processing subsystem.”] and performing the following operations by the CPU based on a system management interrupt signal:
switching, by the CPU, from running the OS to running a BIOS [0029: “The method 300 then proceeds to block 312 where an SMI handler subsystem retrieves the BIOS setting modification information that was generated by the OOB controller device.”] [0028: “an SMI may enable access to a System Management Mode (SMM) provided by of the host processing system 204, and may result in the SMI handler subsystem 204b provided by the host processing subsystem 204 executing SMM code to perform the BIOS setting modification functionality discussed below.”];
when the CPU is running the BIOS, acquiring, by the CPU, a content to be configured from the out-of-band controller and configuring, by the CPU, a content of a target configuration item based on the content to be configured, wherein the target configuration item is a configuration item that supports online modification in a BIOS configuration item [0030: “The method 300 then proceeds to block 314 where the SMI handler subsystem applies the BIOS setting modification information to subsystem(s) such that the BIOS setting modification takes effect during runtime.”]; and
when the CPU completes the configuring of the target configuration item, resuming, by the CPU, running the OS [0030: “As such, the method 300 may loop through blocks 302, 304, 306, 310, 312, and 314 to receive BIOS setting modification requests during a computing device runtime, generate BIOS setting modification information during that computing device runtime, and cause the transmission of an SMI during that computing device runtime that results in the retrieval of the BIOS setting modification information and its application to subsystem(s) that take effect during that computing device runtime when that BIOS setting is capable of modification during runtime.”].
As to claim 9, Dasar teaches when the CPU is running the BIOS, further comprising: sending, by the CPU, a configuration result of the target configuration item to the out-of-band controller, wherein the configuration result is configured to indicate whether the configuration of the target configuration item succeeds or fails [0030: “ In an embodiment, at block 314, the SMI handler subsystem 204b provided by the host processing system 204 may operate to apply the BIOS setting modification information retrieved at block 312 to one or more subsystems in the computing device 200 such that the associated modification(s) to BIOS setting(s) take effect during the computing device runtime of the computing device 200 and without requiring a reboot of the computing device 200.”].
As to claim 10, Dasar teaches wherein the server further comprises a BIOS chip, the BIOS chip stores configuration content of the BIOS configuration item, and during a boot process of the BIOS, the method further comprises: sending, by the CPU, an acquisition request to the out-of-band controller, wherein the acquisition request is configured to request the content to be configured for the target configuration item; receiving, by the CPU, the content to be configured returned by the out-of-band controller; and modifying, by the CPU, the configuration content of the target configuration item in the BIOS chip to the content to be configured [0031: “Upon receiving the SMI, an SMI handler subsystem in the BIOS may either retrieve the BIOS setting modification information directly from the remote access controller device, or may retrieve the BIOS setting modification information from a Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) memory subsystem in which the BIOS setting modification information was stored by the remote access controller device after it was generated.”].
As to claim 11, Dasar teaches a server, comprising a processor; wherein the processor is connected to a memory, the memory is configured to store a computer-executable instruction, and the processor executes the computer-executable instruction stored in the memory, thereby enabling the server to implement the method according to claim 1 [0005] [FIG. 1].
As to claim 12, Dasar teaches A server, comprising a processor; wherein the processor is connected to a memory, the memory is configured to store a computer-executable instruction, and the processor executes the computer-executable instruction stored in the memory, thereby enabling the server to implement the method according to claim 7 [0005] [FIG. 1].
As to claim 13, Dasar teaches A system for configuring a Basic Input Output System (BIOS) configuration item, comprising: a central processing unit (CPU) and an out-of-band controller, wherein the CPU is connected to the out-of-band controller; wherein the out-of-band controller is configured to implement the method according to claim 1 [FIG.1] [FIG.2].
As to claim 14, Dasar teaches A system for configuring a Basic Input Output System (BIOS) configuration item, comprising: a central processing unit (CPU) and an out-of-band controller, wherein the CPU is connected to the out-of-band controller; wherein the out-of-band controller is configured to implement the method according to claim 7 [FIG.1] [FIG.2].
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) 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dasar et al. (hereinafter Dasar) (US 20200301714 A1) in view of Fong et al. (hereinafter Fong) (US 20240248729 A1).
As to claim 2, Dasar does not teach wherein the determining of the content to be configured for the target configuration item in the BIOS configuration item comprises: sending interface configuration information to a terminal device, wherein the interface configuration information is configured to display a configuration interface by the terminal device, and the configuration interface comprises the target configuration item; and receiving the content to be configured for the target configuration item sent by the terminal device, wherein the content to be configured is determined by the terminal device in response to a configuration operation for the target configuration item on the configuration interface.
Fong teaches sending interface configuration information to a terminal device, wherein the interface configuration information is configured to display a configuration interface by the terminal device, and the configuration interface comprises the target configuration item; and receiving the content to be configured for the target configuration item sent by the terminal device, wherein the content to be configured is determined by the terminal device in response to a configuration operation for the target configuration item on the configuration interface [0039: “FIG. 5 shows a sequence diagram illustrating an example method of managing settings of a computing device, for example computing device 2 of FIG. 1, using a remote device, for example remote device 1 of FIG. 1. According to the example of FIG. 5, the management application 22 sends 502 a current BIOS setting value to the remote application 12 using the first message queue 32. The current BIOS setting value may be displayed to a user of the remote device using a display of the remote device. The display may be a display panel on the remote device, or may be a display device separate from and communicatively coupled to the remote device. The remote application then generates 504 a new BIOS setting value. The new BIOS setting value may be generated in response to a user input, an automatic change to the BIOS setting value determined by the remote application 12, or a combination thereof.”].
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to incorporate the teaching of remotely configuring BIOS settings as suggested in Fong into Dasar to implement BIOS configuration in the same filed of endeavor. One having ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make such modification to improve flexibility and user experience in BIOS configuration.
Claim(s) 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dasar et al. (hereinafter Dasar) (US 20200301714 A1) in view of Taniguchi (US 20150220349 A1).
As to claim 3, Dasar does not teach wherein the determining of the content to be configured for the target configuration item in the BIOS configuration item comprises: in response to a request from the terminal device, sending an identifier of the target configuration item to the terminal device; and receiving the content to be configured for the target configuration item sent by the terminal device, wherein the content to be configured is determined by the terminal device based on the identifier of the target configuration item.
Taniguchi teaches selecting BIOS confirmation information based on identifier [0073: “The BIOS ID column 142 stores identification information (an ID or the like) that uniquely identifies a BIOS 17 assigned to the corresponding computer 3.”] [FIG. 6].
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to incorporate the teaching of selecting corresponding BIOS configuration based on identifier as suggested in Taniguchi into Dasar to implement BIOS configuration in the same filed of endeavor. One having ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make such modification to improve efficiency and user experience in BIOS configuration.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4 and 8 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
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/XUXING CHEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2176
1 Dasar was cited in the IDS filed on 04/30/2025.
Prosecution Insights