Ex Parte Hempelmann et al

Patent Trials and Appeals Board

Sep 25, 2014

12724121 - (D) (P.T.A.B. Sep. 25, 2014)

UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
United States Patent and Trademark Office
Address: COMMISSIONER FOR PATENTS
P.O. Box 1450
Alexandria, Virginia 22313-1450
www.uspto.gov
APPLICATION NO. FILING DATE FIRST NAMED INVENTOR ATTORNEY DOCKET NO. CONFIRMATION NO.
12/724,121 03/15/2010 Henrik Hempelmann 2005P00858US01 6700
52025 7590 09/26/2014
SAP SE c/o BUCKLEY, MASCHOFF & TALWALKAR LLC
50 LOCUST AVENUE
NEW CANAAN, CT 06840
EXAMINER
YEN, SYLING
ART UNIT PAPER NUMBER
2166
MAIL DATE DELIVERY MODE
09/26/2014 PAPER
Please find below and/or attached an Office communication concerning this application or proceeding.
The time period for reply, if any, is set in the attached communication.
PTOL-90A (Rev. 04/07)
UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
____________

BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
____________

Ex parte HENRIK HEMPELMANN and TORSTEN STRAHL
____________

Appeal 2012-004565
Application 12/724,121
Technology Center 2100
____________

Before JEAN R. HOMERE, CARLA M. KRIVAK, and
JEFFREY S. SMITH, Administrative Patent Judges.

SMITH, Administrative Patent Judge.

DECISION ON APPEAL
Appeal 2012-004565
Application 12/724,121

2
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
This is an appeal under 35 U.S.C. § 134(a) from the Examiner’s final
rejection of claims 1–29, which are all the claims pending in the application.
We have jurisdiction under 35 U.S.C. § 6(b).
We affirm.

Representative Claim
1. A method for managing a data volume of a data area, the method
comprising:
storing a plurality of data pages into a cache, wherein each of the
stored plurality of data pages is a copy of a respective one of a plurality of
data pages of the data volume;
preventing writing of data pages to the data volume;
designating each of the plurality of data pages stored in the cache as
modified with respect to a respective data page stored in the data volume,
wherein each one of a plurality of the data pages stored in the cache is
identical to the respective data page stored in the data volume when the
designating of that one as modified with respect to the respective data page
stored in the data volume is initiated;
writing all data pages in the cache that are designated as modified to a
respective location in one or more other data volumes of the data area; and
for each of the written data pages, updating a converter page of the
cache to associate the written data page with its respective location in the
one or more other data volumes.

Appeal 2012-004565
Application 12/724,121

3
Prior Art
Stringer 5,341,429 Aug. 23, 1994
Mohan 5,455,942 Oct. 3, 1995
Kanai US 2004/0210713 A1 Oct. 21, 2004
Mogi US 6,944,711 B2 Sept. 13, 2005

Examiner’s Rejections
Claims 1–3, 5, 8–10, 12, 15–17, 19, and 22–29 stand rejected under
35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as unpatentable over Kanai and Mohan.
Claims 4, 6, 11, 13, 18, and 20 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C.
§ 103(a) as unpatentable over Kanai, Mohan, and Mogi.
Claims 7, 14, and 21 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C.
§ 103(a) as unpatentable over Kanai, Mohan, and Stringer.

ANALYSIS
Double patenting rejection
Because Appellants do not appeal the Examiner’s double patenting
rejection of claims 1–29 made in the Final Rejection, we summarily affirm
the rejection.

Section 103 rejections of claims 1–29
We adopt the findings of fact made by the Examiner in the Final
Rejection and Examiner’s Answer as our own. We concur with the decision
by the Examiner to reject claims 1–29 as obvious for the reasons given in the
Answer. We highlight the following for emphasis.
Appeal 2012-004565
Application 12/724,121

4
Appellants contend the combination of Kanai and Mohan does not
teach “each one of a plurality of the data pages stored in the cache is
identical to the respective data page stored in the data volume when the
designating of that one as modified with respect to the respective data page
stored in the data volume is initiated,” as recited in claim 1. App. Br. 7–11;
Reply Br. 6–12.
The scope of “designating [a data page stored in cache] as modified
with respect to the respective data page stored in the data volume is
initiated,” when read in light of Appellants’ Specification, encompasses
performing some type of “designating” when the data page stored in cache is
not modified. Spec. 8:17-18, 12:23-25. Mohan teaches setting a change bit
to 1 when corresponding data in cache is changed, and setting the bit to 0
when corresponding data in cache is not changed. Col. 4, ll. 26–35.
Appellants have not presented persuasive evidence or argument to
distinguish setting the change bit to 0 when data in cache is not changed as
taught by Mohan, from “each one of a plurality of the data pages stored in
the cache is identical to the respective data page stored in the data volume
when the designating of that one as modified with respect to the respective
data page stored in the data volume is initiated,” as recited in claim 1. We
therefore sustain the rejection of claim 1 under 35 U.S.C. § 103.
Appellants present arguments for the patentability of independent
claims 8, 15, and 22 similar to those presented for claim 1, which we find
unpersuasive. Appellants do not present arguments for separate patentability
of dependent claims 2–7, 9–14, 16–21, and 23–29, which fall with their
corresponding independent claims.

Appeal 2012-004565
Application 12/724,121

5
DECISION
The rejection of claims 1–3, 5, 8–10, 12, 15–17, 19, and 22–29 under
35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as unpatentable over Kanai and Mohan is affirmed.
The rejection of claims 4, 6, 11, 13, 18, and 20 under 35 U.S.C.
§ 103(a) as unpatentable over Kanai, Mohan, and Mogi is affirmed.
The rejection of claims 7, 14, and 21 under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as
unpatentable over Kanai, Mohan, and Stringer is affirmed.
No time period for taking any subsequent action in connection with
this appeal may be extended under 37 C.F.R. § 1.136(a). See 37 C.F.R.
§ 41.50(f).

AFFIRMED

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