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Nintendo's Supplemental Computing Devices patent almost granted, issue fee paid

R

Rösti

Unconfirmed Member
Update: Two new events yesterday on July 14

07-14-2016 Dispatch to FDC (Final Data Capture)
07-14-2016 Application Is Considered Ready for Issue

scdz4z78.png

We have known since April 2016 that Nintendo's Supplemental Computing Devices For Game Consoles patent, US Application Number 14/294,704, has been allowed by USPTO. However, issue fee for the application has not been payed until just recently, in fact yesterday on July 13, 2016. Deadline for payment of issue fee was July 18, 2016.

Payment of issue fee marks that the application is now very close to be granted (mature into a "full" patent). Below is an image of the Issue Fee Payment (PTO-85B), submitted 07-13-2016:

14294704pulp3.png


Source: http://portal.uspto.gov/pair/view/BrowsePdfServlet?objectId=IQLFK5CKRXEAPX3&lang=DINO

USPTO's Manual of Patent Examining Procedure has this to say about Issue of Patent:

1309 Issue of Patent [R-07.2015]
Under the current publication process, electronic capture of most of the information to be printed in a patent will begin as soon as an electronic message concerning the allowed application is received in the Office of Data Management, immediately after the Notice of Allowance has been mailed. The application is then electronically exported to Initial Data Capture (IDC) for electronic capture of the patent filed. This process takes approximately 6 weeks. Upon IDC completion, an electronic message is then sent to the File Maintenance Facility to ensure that all post allowance correspondence, fees and drawings have been updated. The application may stay in FMF for 1-2 weeks or until all post-allowance requirements are met.

When the issue fee is paid and all other requirements have been met (e.g., drawings) for issuance as a patent, the application is then electronically exported to the Final Data Capture (FDC) stage. The FDC makes any updates necessary to the electronic file and places the allowed patent application in an issue. The average time that an allowed application is in the FDC process is 5 weeks (2 weeks of processing time for assignment of issue date). The "Issue Notification" is mailed approximately 3 weeks prior to the issue date of the patent.

A bond paper copy of the patent grant is ribboned, sealed, and mailed by the Office of Data Management.

All allowed applications ready for printing will be selected by chronological sequence based on the date the issue fee was paid. Special handling will be given to the following applications in these categories:

(A) Allowed cases which were made special by the Director.
(B) Allowed cases that have a U.S. effective filing date more than 5 years old.
(C) Allowed reissue applications.
(D) Allowed applications having an effective filing date earlier than that required for declaring an interference with a copending application claiming the same subject matter.
(E) Allowed application of a party involved in a terminated interference.
Source: http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/mpep/s1309.html

Lastly, a small summary of the SCD patent:


  • Supplemental computing device(s) configured to detachably couple to a game console in order to provide processing resources for an increase of speed or quality of a user's gaming experience.
  • The supplemental computing device includes one or more processors, memory and one or more communication interfaces.
  • In some instances, the functionality of the device may be basic in order to keep a cost of the device relatively low. As such, the device may be free from drivers, video cards, user-control interfaces, and the like.
  • Users may share processing resources. Doing so can compensate a user in form of access to other supplemental computing devices maintained by other users, discounts on games, access to certain game content, points for redemption for digital or physical goods, social network badges, any form of value really.
More comprehensive descriptions are of course available directly via the patent text. Search 14/294704 here.

Congratulations to Nintendo and Joe Bentdahl.
 

cw_sasuke

If all DLC came tied to $13 figurines, I'd consider all DLC to be free
NX will be able to tap into the power of every Smartphone that has Pokemon GO installed. Poor Scorpio...

Nah honestly that sounds interesting - lets see how they adapt it.
 

maxcriden

Member
Local devices connecting over high speed local wifi or direct connection (eg USB) is different from local devices connecting to remote servers via internet communications.

Which one is SCDs? The former?

Also, with this idea, per the patent, users get rewarded for using them.
 
Local devices connecting over high speed local wifi or direct connection (eg USB) is different from local devices connecting to remote servers via internet communications.

One is a patent and one is a PR statement....?
I literally don't see any point of confusion here....?

it just seems strange
Nintendo downplays specs all the time and they now have a patent for extra computing thingy

yeah I understand the Xbox stuff has been mostly PR chatter with scorpio coming I doubt MS will ever use the cloud as they talked about before

just wondering if Nintendo will actually make use of this patent at all
 

Yukinari

Member
The extra computing power will allow for more amiibo data to be stored and read with the power of the Lakitu Cloud™
 

jblank83

Member
Which one is SCDs? The former?

Also, with this idea, per the patent, users get rewarded for using them.

Correct

Cloud - local computer, remote server, remote communication
SCD - local computer, local supplementary device, local communication (wifi/direct)

Confusion over this is why obfuscating certain technical details behind flowery language ("cloud)" is bad for users.
 
R

Rösti

Unconfirmed Member
Which one is SCDs? The former?

Also, with this idea, per the patent, users get rewarded for using them.
Indeed. And that's something I feel goes well with Nintendo's ecosystem/image.
 

maxcriden

Member
Correct

Cloud - local computer, remote server, remote communication
SCD - local computer, local supplementary device, local communication (wifi/direct)

Thanks, thought so but the moment things get HI-technical it gets ready for me. ☺
 

cw_sasuke

If all DLC came tied to $13 figurines, I'd consider all DLC to be free
it just seems strange
Nintendo downplays specs all the time and they now have a patent for extra computing thingy

yeah I understand the Xbox stuff has been mostly PR chatter with scorpio coming I doubt MS will ever use the cloud as they talked about before

just wondering if Nintendo will actually make use of this patent at all

There is nothing strange about that at all.Nintendo invest in a lot of technologies all the time. Just because they dont go out and try to outperform MS/Sony when it comes to horsepower doesnt mean that they arent always looking for new opportunities to improve their systems.
 
it just seems strange
Nintendo downplays specs all the time and they now have a patent for extra computing thingy

Like theoretically they can still have an Xbox One-level console, but use the supplementary devices to keep to pace of other console powers for years to come for cheap by just swapping out modules instead of creating entirely new consoles.
 

Aostia

El Capitan Todd
it just seems strange
Nintendo downplays specs all the time and they now have a patent for extra computing thingy

yeah I understand the Xbox stuff has been mostly PR chatter with scorpio coming I doubt MS will ever use the cloud as they talked about before

just wondering if Nintendo will actually make use of this patent at all

that would help in providing to a (smaller) userbase the chance to up-play the specs through the purchase of additional (optional) devices.
I see this exactly in line with Nintendo downplaying the hw (for the vast majority of their family-oriented userbase)
 
Like theoretically they can still have an Xbox One-level console, but use the supplementary devices to keep to pace of other console powers for years to come for cheap by just swapping out modules instead of creating entirely new consoles.

that would help in providing to a (smaller) userbase the chance to up-play the specs through the purchase of additional (optional) devices.
I see this exactly in line with Nintendo downplaying the hw (for the vast majority of their family-oriented userbase)

the duct tape meme is about to have a whole new meaning

I just want to know how much it will cost me to have the max power
 
A patent is a legal protection to stop people stealing a technology you've invented, its not them trying to 'big anything up'.

the interesting thing is Nintendo often uses these techs not just sit on an idea like a patent troll does so it is very interesting since it has to do with specs boost for base hardware
 

KingBroly

Banned
I still don't understand the premise of this.

The N64 Ram Expansion, but for everything else (maybe).

If I had to guess...

Imagine buying a PS4, but Sony offering like...a $100 add-on to connect to your PS4 to give you PS4K specs instead of going out and buying a PS4K, which is also an option.


But I'll reiterate: I have ZERO clue here.
 
Didn't Sega do this with the Genesis and Nintendo with the 64DD? Why would it suddenly work now?

Because the process would be more viable and easier than it used to be. Also those old peripherals cost as much if not more than the console itself was when they launched.
 

Kimawolf

Member
How it was explained in the prior thread, basically this would allow Nintendo to sell you a box of modest power and allow the user to choose how much power/money they want to spend.

Physical connections would allow direct full upgrades of processing power. Wifi/cloud stuff would work for physics, a.i. things which dont require a really fast connection, like a skybox or weather for instance.

It could also work like the fold@home stuff for the handheld, giving handheld some extra oomph and paying people to let their devices run like that.

The original patent mentioned using any kind of device, wonder if thats still in.

I imagine using my PC with its graphics card...*dies*


I think the laptop graphics card external hookup Razer does may be one way it may function?
 

Ck1

Banned
it just seems strange
Nintendo downplays specs all the time and they now have a patent for extra computing thingy

yeah I understand the Xbox stuff has been mostly PR chatter with scorpio coming I doubt MS will ever use the cloud as they talked about before

just wondering if Nintendo will actually make use of this patent at all


It's not that Nintendo downplays specs, they just don't put them front and center above all else like Sony and Microsoft does! These companies get more powerful systems and don't do anything other than increase the visual aspects of games because to them that's a major selling point to their fanbase. Neither are pushing the boundaries for physics and Ai on these new consoles, so the systems are starting to look stale fairly quickly compared to the last generation...
 

Taker666

Member
Didn't Sega do this with the Genesis and Nintendo with the 64DD? Why would it suddenly work now?

I'd assume the idea for this is similar to the PlayStation Neo...the console plays the same games but allows people to have an improved visual experience. The big difference being that with Nintendo you could buy an add-on for the NX for a power upgrade, as opposed to needing a whole new console.
 

ajjow

Member
What i get from this...


You have wii u and 3ds. Use the wii u processor for graphics only and use your 3ds for the music and AI.

Eventually, if you buy new 3ds, the improvement will be bigger.
.
They can even say that if you wanna play multiplayer local, you can only do it if you have the wii u and the 3ds. Wii u mak the graphics that will be send to your 3ds, wich will be responsable for the frame rate and sound.


The idea is basically this. Force the consumer to buy handheld and console.
 

ajjow

Member
If this interpretation is correct, sounds like a recipe for disaster.


It wont be obligatory. Just for some games. Its like creating some excuse to sell the portable machine for console players and vice-versa. They can lock content in the games for players who have both cconsle and portable. They did that with gameboy advance and gamecube.


It will appear e some games. If this idea cat h, like amiibos, they will have something to market.
 

Plinko

Wildcard berths that can't beat teams without a winning record should have homefield advantage
Solid chance this is the "gimmick" of the NX.

Wouldn't this also in theory eliminate "download play," allowing any handheld to link up and play the same full version of the game through multi-player?

That would be a colossal benefit for me and my 4 kids.
 

Eradicate

Member
Very awesome! Closer to patent reality! (I hope they use it! If done cleverly it could be awesome!)

Arise RAM Pak, ARISE!

LOL!!!

Solid chance this is the "gimmick" of the NX.

Wouldn't this also in theory eliminate "download play," allowing any handheld to link up and play the same full version of the game through multi-player?

That would be a colossal benefit for me and my 4 kids.

I'd think so, but I'm no real expert or anything. But, if you're kind of creating your own beefed up personal "game network," it seems like it! You'd all be in the same game, as opposed to each having your own "version" that you have to connect to. (Again, just a guess!)
 

blu

Wants the largest console games publisher to avoid Nintendo's platforms.
So it's one of those external GPU boxes you can buy from Alienware/Razer?
Close, but not exactly (which, ironically, is why the patent was returned for ironing out, in the first place).

The external-GPU products like the one you mentioned sit on a standard high-bandwidth peripheral interconnect, like Thunderbolt, just a rather long one. That means that the GPU connected that way is just another system device from the POV of the kernel, drivers, apps, etc.

The patent discussed here does not mandate that the SCD was attached on such a high-bandwidth bus. IIRC, the patent talks about 'network interface', and that's as much as it states. That means the SCD and core unit behave much more like a distributed computing platform; essentially, they're just that, but in the context of game consoles.
 

Plinko

Wildcard berths that can't beat teams without a winning record should have homefield advantage
Another benefit here would be in multiplayer. If the console can utilize the power of the handhelds as well, we might finally be at a point where we see absolutely no difference in framerate/graphics between single-player and multiplayer--if you can use the handhelds as controllers for the system, which I fully expect.
 
I getting an mental image of someone having bookshelves beside their tv stand filled with networked amiibos(obviously newer variant with cpu included), eyes glowing terminator red when booting up...
 
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