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 § 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) 1-2,4-5,8,10-11 and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by McNamara (US 10,608,433).
Regarding claims 1 and 20, McNamara discloses a cryptocurrency mining system (Column 33, Lines 19-31; Column 34, Lines 36-49; FIG 6A) and a method comprising:
a housing (602, Column 34, Lines 36-49; FIG 6A);
a plurality of hashboards received into slots (racks 604) within the housing, wherein the plurality of hashboards each include a plurality of hashing chips that perform hash calculations (Column 33, Lines 19-31; Column 34, Lines 36-49; FIG 6A; “cryptocurrency mining” implies);
a control board (Column 32, Lines 17-46) in the housing, wherein the control board allocates the hash calculations among the plurality of hashboards (Column 33, Lines 19-31; Column 34, Lines 36-49; “cryptocurrency mining” implies);
a fan (508) that directs a fluid through an interior of the housing (Column 32, Lines 47-58);
a power supply unit (502, 506) that supplies power to at least the control board, the fan, and the plurality of hashboards, wherein an amount of power inputs of the power supply unit is aligned to an amount of phases of power (Column 31, Lines 24-26).
Regarding claim 2, McNamara discloses the cryptocurrency mining system wherein the hash calculations are used for mining a cryptocurrency (Column 33, Lines 19-31; Column 34, Lines 36-49 “cryptocurrency mining” implies).
Regarding claim 4, McNamara discloses a system (FIG 1-14) comprising: a plurality of hashboards, wherein the plurality of hashboards include a plurality of hashing chips that perform hash calculations (Column 33, Lines 19-31; Column 34, Lines 36-49; FIG 6A “cryptocurrency mining” implies); a control board that allocates the hash calculations among the plurality of hashboards (Column 33, Lines 19-31; Column 34, Lines 36-49; FIG 6A “cryptocurrency mining” implies); and
a power supply unit (502, 506) that supplies power to at least the control board and the plurality of hashboards, wherein an amount of power inputs of the power supply unit is aligned to an amount of phases of power (Column 31, Lines 24-26).
Regarding claim 5, McNamara discloses the system wherein the hash calculations are used for mining a cryptocurrency (Column 33, Lines 19-31; Column 34, Lines 36-49 “cryptocurrency mining” implies).
Regarding claim 8, McNamara discloses the system wherein the power supply unit staggers the amount of phases (three phases) of power to smoothen the power supplied from the power supply unit to at least the control board and the plurality of hashboards (Column 33, Lines 19-31; Column 34, Lines 36-49 “cryptocurrency mining” implies).
Regarding claim 10, McNamara discloses the system further comprising: a housing (602), wherein the control board (Column 32, Lines 17-46) is in the housing, wherein the power supply unit (502, 506) is in the housing, and wherein the plurality of hashboards are received into slots (racks 604) within the housing .
Regarding claim 11, McNamara discloses the system further comprising: a fan (508), wherein the fan directs a fluid through an interior of a housing, wherein the fluid is one of a gas or a liquid.
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.
Claim(s) 3,6,7,9,12-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over McNamara.
Regarding claims 3, 6, McNamara discloses the cryptocurrency mining system except wherein the plurality of power inputs of the power supply unit being aligned to the plurality of phases of power reduces triple harmonics. As recognized by one of ordinary skill in the art, the power supply unit of McNamara is capable of reduce triple harmonic and therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art.
Regarding claim 7, McNamara discloses the system except wherein the power supply unit includes a low dropout regulator (LDO). As known in the art, such LDO is used in power supply units for stability and therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use such regulator for stability.
Regarding claim 9, McNamara discloses the system except wherein the power supply unit is part of at least one of the plurality of hashboards. As known in the art, such power supply unit is used in cryptocurrency mining and therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use such configuration for stable and safe for sensitive electronics.
Regarding claim 12, McNamara discloses the system except wherein the control board predictively switches a configuration of the plurality of hashboards based on a predicted event, wherein the predicted event is at least one of a weather event or an electrical grid event. As known in the art, such predictively switching control board is used in cryptocurrency mining and therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use such configuration because such a modification would have been a mere substitution of art recognized equivalent power supply scheme.
Regarding claim 13, McNamara discloses the system except wherein the control board predictively switching the configuration of the plurality of hashboards includes the control board modifying which of the plurality of hashboards receives power from the power supply unit. As known in the art, such predictively switching control board is used in cryptocurrency mining and therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use such configuration because such a modification would have been a mere substitution of art recognized equivalent power supply scheme.
Regarding claim 14, McNamara discloses the system except wherein the control board predictively switching the configuration of the plurality of hashboards includes the control board modifying which hashing chips receive power from the power supply unit. As known in the art, such predictively switching control board is used in cryptocurrency mining and therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use such configuration because such a modification would have been a mere substitution of art recognized equivalent power supply scheme.
Regarding claim 15, McNamara discloses the system except wherein the power supply unit includes a phase-locked loop (PLL) and a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO). As known in the art, such power supply unit is used for stability and therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use such power supply for stability.
Regarding claim 16, McNamara discloses the system except wherein the plurality of hashboards includes a phase-locked loop (PLL) and a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO). As known in the art, such hashboards are used for stability and therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use such hashboards for stability.
Regarding claim 17, McNamara discloses the system except wherein the plurality of hashing chips is a plurality of application specific integrated circuits (ASICs). As known in the art, such ASIC chips are used in cryptocurrency mining for speed and therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use such chips for speed.
Regarding claim 18, McNamara discloses the system except further comprising: a sensor that measures a characteristic of at least a subset of the plurality of hashing chips of the plurality of hashboards. As known in the art, such sensor is used for monitoring and measuring for stability and therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use such sensor for monitoring for stability.
Regarding claim 19, McNamara discloses the system except further comprising: an indicator interface with a plurality of light sources, wherein an illumination characteristic of at least one of the plurality of light sources changes in response to identification of a condition associated with at least one of the control board, the power supply unit, or the plurality of hashboards. As known in the art, such indicator interface is used cryptocurrency mining and therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use such interface for stability.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
L’ecuyer (US 2023/0389237) discloses a power distribution unit showing a housing, power supply, cooling system which may be used for cryptocurrency mining.
Anokhin (US 2020/0012579) discloses a power supply unit for cryptocurrency mining showing hashboards, sensors, a control microcomputer.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Joseph Chang whose telephone number is (571)272-1759. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:00- 17:00.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Menatoallah M Youssef can be reached at 571-270-3684. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JOSEPH CHANG/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2836
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