`Case 3:14-cv-OO757-REP-DJN Document 1-9 Filed 11/04/14 Page 1 of 9 Page|D# 196
`
`EXHIBIT G
`EXHIBIT G
`
`
`
`Case 3:14-cv-00757-REP-DJN Document 1-9 Filed 11/04/14 Page 2 of 9 PageID# 197
`
`US007073054B2
`
`(12) United States Patent
`Kim et al.
`
`(io) Patent No.:
`(45) Date of Patent:
`
`US 7,073,054 B2
`Jul. 4,2006
`
`(54) COMPUTER SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR
`BOOTING UP THE SAME
`
`(75)
`
`Inventors:
`
`In-soo Kim, Seoul (KR); Kyung-young
`Kim, Suwon (KR)
`
`(73) Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.,
`Suwon-Si (KR)
`
`(*) Notice:
`
`Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this
`patent is extended or adjusted under 35
`U.S.C. 154(b) by 373 days.
`
`(21) Appl. No.: 10/219,276
`
`(22)
`
`Filed:
`
`Aug. 16, 2002
`
`(65)
`
`(30)
`
`Prior Publication Data
`
`US 2003/0126427 Al
`
`Jul. 3, 2003
`
`Foreign Application Priority Data
`
`6,304,405 Bl* 10/2001 Asano et al
`6,539,456 Bl*
`3/2003 Stewart
`6,721,885 Bl*
`4/2004 Freeman et al
`6,795,915 Bl*
`9/2004 Wang
`6,892,297 Bl*
`5/2005 Aguilar et al
`2004/0003223 Al
`1/2004 Fortin et al.
`2004/0064647 Al
`4/2004 DeWhitt et al.
`
`360/73.03
`711/113
`713/2
`713/2
`713/2
`
`FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`JP
`JP
`JP
`JP
`JP
`JP
`KR
`KR
`KR
`
`6-314177
`07-044325
`8-137622
`9-297659
`09-297659
`2000-173152
`0174711
`1999-607779
`2001-53904
`
`11/1994
`2/1995
`5/1996
`11/1997
`11/1997
`6/2000
`11/1998
`7/1999
`7/2001
`
`OTHER PUBLICATIONS
`
`Copy ofan office action issued by the Japanese Patent Office
`on April 5, 2005 for a corresponding application.
`
`Jan. 3, 2002
`
`(KR)
`
`2002-273
`
`* cited by examiner
`
`(51)
`
`InLCI.
`G06F15/177
`(52) U.S. CI
`
`(2006.01)
`713/2; 713/1; 713/100;
`713/191; 711/113
`713/1,
`(58) Field of Classification Search
`713/2,100,191; 711/113
`See application file for complete search history.
`
`(56)
`
`References Cited
`
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`4/1994 Feigenbaum et al
`5,307,497 A *
`5,581,785 A * 12/1996 Nakamura et al
`5,860,083 A *
`1/1999 Sukegawa
`5,907,713 A
`5/1999 Chen et al.
`6,073,232 A
`6/2000 Krocker et al.
`6,195,217 Bl
`2/2001 Park
`6,226,740 Bl
`5/2001 Iga
`
`713/1
`710/8
`711/103
`
`Primary Examiner—Thomas Lee
`Assistant Examiner—Vincent Tran
`(74) Attorney, Agent, or Firm—Staas & Halsey LLP
`
`(57)
`
`ABSTRACT
`
`A computer system with a main memory is equipped with an
`HDD that has a disk and a driving motor driving the disk, a
`non-volatile storage unit provided in the HDD storing
`therein a booting program of an operating system, and a
`control unit reading out the booting program stored in the
`non-volatile storage unit and loading the booting program
`onto the main memory before the driving motor reaches a
`normal speed as power is supplied to the computer system.
`With this configuration, there is provided a computer system
`capable of reducing the booting time of the HDD.
`
`19 Claims, 3 Drawing Sheets
`
`5—
`
`sura m owmi»
`swra m a m«
`
`swSb tie ranim
`20—1 rowi in a fust tsan
`
`so—Q
`
`40-—f_
`
`HS IS IKITIALI2ED
`
`nutans tie bootiib
`mm* TORE) II IK FUSI
`MO
`iBoir io tie srsioi
`LOWS 0W0 A WIN BOT
`
`has pitasws nai
`A 0IS AID TRMSin
`n« to -nc ststm
`
`
`
`Case 3:14-cv-00757-REP-DJN Document 1-9 Filed 11/04/14 Page 3 of 9 PageID# 198
`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Jul. 4,2006
`
`Sheet 1 of 3
`
`US 7,073,054 B2
`
`FIG. 1
`
`-i$
`
`?£
`
`40
`
`HDD
`
`|
`
`S Y S T E M B U S
`
`u
`
`/ \
`1 ROM BIOS ]Hr—
`
`MAIN MEMORY H—
`1 v
`
`20-
`
`30
`
`i «
`
`
`
`Case 3:14-cv-00757-REP-DJN Document 1-9 Filed 11/04/14 Page 4 of 9 PageID# 199
`
`BOB
`
`ROM
`
`50-
`
`44'
`
`COMPUTER
`MICRO
`
`DRIVINGUNIT
`SPINDLEMOTOR
`
`52
`
`l
`
`PRE-AMP
`
`CIRCUIT
`CHANNEL
`READ/WRITE
`
`DDC
`
`AV
`
`SYSTEMBUS
`/
`
`25*
`
`49
`
`BUFFERRAM\—5)
`
`48
`
`47
`
`53
`
`41
`
`i+o
`
`FIG.2
`
`
`
`Case 3:14-cv-00757-REP-DJN Document 1-9 Filed 11/04/14 Page 5 of 9 PageID# 200
`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Jul. 4,2006
`
`Sheet 3 of 3
`
`US 7,073,054 B2
`
`FIG. 3
`
`D 1 ^
`
`STORES AN OPERATING
`SYSTEM IN A DISK
`
`STORES THE BOOTING
`PROGRAM IN A FLASH MEMORY
`
`POWER IS ON
`
`HDD IS INITIALIZED
`
`TRANSMITS THE BOOTING
`PROGRAM STORED IN THE FLASH
`MEMORY TO THE SYSTEM
`AND
`LOADS ONTO A MAIN MEMORY
`
`ASCERTAINS
`WHETHER THE SPINDLE
`MOTOR HAS REACHED ITS
`NOMAL SPEED
`
`YES
`
`READ PROGRAMS FROM
`A DISK AND TRANSMIT
`THEM TO THE SYSTEM
`
`C^D
`
`10
`
`20
`
`30
`
`40
`
`50
`
`60
`
`70
`
`
`
`Case 3:14-cv-00757-REP-DJN Document 1-9 Filed 11/04/14 Page 6 of 9 PageID# 201
`
`US 7,073,054 B2
`
`COMPUTER SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR
`BOOTING UP THE SAME
`
`CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED
`APPLICATIONS
`
`This application claims the benefit of Korean Application
`No. 2002-273 filed Jan. 3, 2002, in the Korean Intellectual
`Property OflBce,
`the disclosure of which is incorporated
`herein by reference.
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`
`1. Field of the Invention
`to computer
`The present
`invention relates in general
`systems, and more particularly,
`to a computer system
`installed with an HDD and a method for booting up the
`
`same.
`2. Description of the Related Art
`Generally, to boot up a computer system, it takes time
`from when power is supplied to the computer system to
`when the computer system reaches an initial operating
`if power is
`environment
`for a user. In another words,
`supplied to a computer system, a central processing unit
`(CPU) starts to perform a POST (power on self test) routine
`by use of a BIOS (basic input output system). Thereafter,
`peripheral units of the computer system are activated for
`initializationand tests on the peripheral units are conducted.
`Subsequently, a booting program stored in a booting block
`of a hard disk drive (HDD) is loaded into a main memory.
`The CPU brings and reads the loaded booting program in the
`main memory, to thereby boot the computer system. There
`is a tendency that the booting time of a computer system is
`increased as an operating system of the computer system is
`converted into a Windows system.
`The booting time is increased in a conventional computer
`system because it takes a long time to wake up the HDD. If
`power is supplied to a computer system by a user, the POST
`routine is performed to reset the HDD. At this time, the
`firmware installed within the HDD conducts a self test and
`then activates a spindle motor, which is a disk-driving motor
`of the HDD. Once the revolution per minute (RPM) of the
`spindle motor is at or beyond a proper predetermined
`number, the booting block in the HDD through the BIOS is
`read and loaded onto the main memory.
`However,as time for the spindle motor to reach the proper
`number of RPMs after reset of the HDD increases, time for
`reading the booting block of the HDD through the BIOS
`correspondingly increases, thereby resulting in extending
`the booting time of the computer system.
`
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`
`An object of the present invention is to provide a com
`puter system in which booting time of an HDD is reduced.
`Additional objects and advantages ofthe invention will be
`set forth in part in the descriptionwhich followsand, in part,
`will be obvious fromthe description, or may be learned by
`practice of the invention.
`The present invention may be achieved by providing a
`computer system comprising a main memory and an HDD,
`the HDD comprising a diskand a driving motordriving the
`disk, a non-volatile storage unit provided in the HDD and
`storing therein a booting program of an operating system,
`and a control unit reading the booting program stored in the
`non-volatile storage unit and loading the booting program
`
`into the main memory before the driving motor reaches its
`normal speed as power is supplied to the computer system.
`According to an aspect of the invention, the control unit
`allows the booting program to be stored in the non-volatile
`5 storage unit from the disk when installing the operating
`system.
`According to an aspect of the invention, the non-volatile
`storage unit is a flash memory.
`According to another embodiment, the present invention
`10 may also be achieved by providing a method of booting up
`a computer system comprising a main memory and an HDD,
`the HDD comprising a disk and a driving motor driving the
`disk, and a process of reading a booting program of an
`operating system from the disk and storing the booting
`is program in a predetermined storage unit provided in the
`HDD when installing the operating system on the disk ofthe
`HDD; reading the stored booting program and loading the
`bootingprogram into the main memory before.thedriving
`motor reaches its normal speed as power is supplied to the
`20 computer system; and booting up the computer system with
`the booting program loaded into the main memory.
`According to an aspect of the invention, the storage unit
`is a non-volatile storage unit provided in the HDD.
`
`25
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`
`These and other objects and advantages of the invention
`will be more fully appreciatedfrom the following descrip
`tion of the preferredembodiments taken in conjunction with
`30 the accompanying drawings, in which:
`FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a computer system
`according to an embodiment of the present invention;
`FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an HDD of the
`computer system shown in FIG. 1; and
`FIG. 3 is a flow chart explaining an operation of the
`computer system shown in FIG. 1.
`
`35
`
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE
`PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
`
`40
`
`Reference will now be made in detail to the present
`preferred embodiments of the present invention, examples
`of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings,
`wherein like reference numerals refer to the like elements
`45 throughout. The embodiments are described below in order
`to explain the present invention by referring to the figures.
`Referring to FIG. 1, which is a blockdiagram showing a
`computer system 15 according to an embodiment of the
`present invention, the computer system 15 comprises a
`50 central processing unit (CPU) 10 controlling the system, a
`ROM BIOS 20 storing a BIOS therein, a mainmemory 30
`which is a main storage unit, and an HDD 40, which is used
`as an auxiliary storageunit.TheCPU10, the ROMBIOS20,
`and the main memory 30 are examples of other system
`55 components 16 of the computer system 15 and are in
`communication with the HDD 40 via a system bus 25. All
`software, including an operating system for the computer
`system, can be executed only after the software are loaded
`intothemain memory30 and readby the CPU10. However,
`60 size of the main memory 30 is generally limited, and thus,
`most application programs and data are stored in the auxil
`iarystorage unit,thatis,theHDD 40.Theprograms anddata
`stored in the HDD 40 are loaded ontothe main memory 30
`and then executed.
`Referring to FIG.2, whichis a blockdiagram of the HDD
`40 according to the present
`invention,
`the HDD 40 is
`equipped with a head 41, a disk 42, a spindle motor 43, a
`
`65
`
`
`
`Case 3:14-cv-00757-REP-DJN Document 1-9 Filed 11/04/14 Page 7 of 9 PageID# 202
`
`US 7,073,054 B2
`
`microcomputer 44 controlling the HDD 40, a non-volatile
`storage unit/memory, such as flash memory 45, and a ROM
`50.
`The head 41 is installed on an arm 46 extended from an
`arm assembly 53 of a voice coil motor (not shown). The 5
`head 41 is located above a surface of the disk 42, recording
`and reproducing data.
`The disk 42 is installed on a driving shaft of the spindle
`motor 43 which is a driving motor driving the disk 42, and
`each surface of the disk 42 corresponds with the head 41. 10
`Accordingly, if a control signal
`is supplied to a spindle
`motor driving unit 52 from the microcomputer 44 provided
`in the HDD 40, the spindle motor driving unit 52 activates
`the spindle motor 43 in response to the control signal from
`the microcomputer 44. Conventionally, the disk 42 is com- 15
`prised of a plurality of tracks, which are arranged concen
`trically, and a booting block formed on the tracks store a
`booting program of an operating system. Also, the disk 42
`includes a parking zone in which the head resides when the
`HDD 40 is not in use.
`A preamplifier (Pre-Amp) 47 is, as shown in FIG. 2,
`provided adjacent to the head 41 so as to reduce distortion
`ofa signal due to noise. In case of reading data from the disk
`42,
`the preamplifier 47 amplifies in advance the signal
`picked up by the head 41 and supplies the amplified signal
`to a read/write channel circuit 48. Also, in case of writing
`data to the disk, the preamplifier 47 transmits to the head 41
`encoded write data supplied from the read/write channel
`circuit 48 and records the encoded write data on the disk 42.
`When reading from the disk 42, the read/write channel
`circuit 48 decodes the read signal supplied from the pream
`plifier 47 to thereby generate the read data and then transmits
`the read data to a disk data controller 49 (hereinafter referred
`to as "DDC"). When writing to the disk 42, the read/write
`channel circuit 48 encodes data supplied from the DDC 49
`and supplies the encoded data to the preamplifier 47. The
`DDC 49 interfaces communications between the other sys
`tem components 16 of the computer system 15 and the
`microcomputer 44 of the HDD 40 through the system bus
`
`20
`
`25
`
`30
`
`The DDC 49 records the data received from the other
`system components 16 of the computer system 15 on the
`disk 42 through the read/write channel circuit 48 and the
`preamplifier 47, or transmits the data reproduced from the 45
`disk 42 to the other system components 16.
`The microcomputer 44 controls the HDD 40. The micro
`computer 44 controls the DDC 49 in response to a command
`of reading and writing the data received from the other
`system components 16 hosting the microcomputer 44, and so
`controls track search and track trace of the disk 42. There
`fore, the microcomputer 44 controls the DDC 49 to store the
`booting program in the booting block of the disk 42 when
`the operating system is installed, and then store the booting
`program in the flash memory 45. The microcomputer 44 can 55
`determine whether the spindle motor 43 has reached its
`normal speed when the system is booted up. In a case where
`the microcomputer 44 determines that the spindle motor 43
`has not reached its normal speed, the booting program stored
`in the flash memory 45 is transmitted to the other system 60
`components 16 through the system bus 25 and then loaded
`onto the main memory 30. Here, a control program for the
`microcomputer 44 is stored in the ROM 50.
`A buffer RAM 51 connected to the DDC 49 can tempo
`rarily store therein the data transmitted between the disk 42 65
`and the other system components 16 under control of the
`DDC 49 to thereby increase transmission efficiency.
`
`The flash memory 45 stores therein the booting program.
`Flash memory 45 size may vary depending upon size of the
`booting program ofthe operating system. The flash memory
`45 can be a non-volatile memory, for which the booting
`program can be stored in a safe manner even ifpower of the
`computer system 15 is abruptly turned off.
`Referring to FIG. 3, an operation of the computer system
`15 equipped with the HDD 40 along with the configuration
`as described so far will be described. At operation 10, if an
`operating system is installed as power is applied to the
`computer system 15, the microcomputer 44 stores the oper
`ating system program in a specified block on the disk 42
`according to a control signal from the other system compo
`nents 16. Of the stored/installed operating system program,
`any portion relevant to booting ofthe computer system 15 is
`stored in a booting block on the disk 42. The microcomputer
`44 determines whether the booting program is stored in the
`flash memory 45. Because the microcomputer 44 is capable
`of locating the booting block of the disk 42, in a case where
`the booting program is not stored in the flash memory 45, at
`operation 20,
`the microcomputer 44 stores the booting
`program, stored in the disk 42 during the installation of the
`operating system,
`in the flash memory 45. The booting
`program stored in the flash memory 45 is not changed as
`long as the booting program of the operating system is not
`changed. If the booting program of the operating system is
`changed,
`the microcomputer 44 can update the booting
`program stored in the flash memory 45.
`At operation 30, when power is supplied to the computer
`system 15 after the booting program is stored in the flash
`memory 45, at operation 40 the HDD 40 is first initialized
`by the ROM BIOS 20. Accordingly, the microcomputer 44
`reads the booting program stored in the flash memory 45 and
`transmits the read booting program to the other system
`components 16 through the system bus 25, and then at
`operation 50 the booting program is loaded into the main
`memory 30.
`In a conventional computer system, when a conventional
`HDD is initialized after power is applied to the computer
`system, a spindle motor (not shown) inherently installed in
`the conventional HDD is driven. After the spindle motor
`reaches its normal speed, a microcomputer (not shown)
`reads the booting program from a disk (not shown) and
`transmits the booting program to the computer system,
`thereby booting up the computer system. However, in the
`computer system 15 according to the present
`invention,
`since the booting program to be read from the disk 42 has
`been stored in a flash memory 45 provided inside the HDD
`40, the user does not need to wait until the spindle motor 43
`of the HDD40 reachesits normal speed, therebyshortening
`the booting time of the computer system 15. More particu
`larly,because in case ofWindowsoperating systems booting
`times tend to be long and HDD wake up times further
`increase the booting times, bypassing HDD wake up times
`advantageously helps shorten the booting times in case of
`Windows operating systems. More particularly, at operation
`60, the microcomputer 44 determines whether the spindle
`motor 43 has reached its normal speed. At operation 60,
`when the spindle motor 43 reaches its normal speed, at
`operation 70 the microcomputer 44 reads any other neces
`sary programs and data from the disk 42 and transmits them
`to the other system components 16 of the computer system
`15.
`With this configuration, the computer system 15 accord
`ing to the present invention enables the time consumed in
`reading the booting program after power is supplied to the
`computer system to be innovatively reduced. More particu-
`
`
`
`Case 3:14-cv-00757-REP-DJN Document 1-9 Filed 11/04/14 Page 8 of 9 PageID# 203
`
`US 7,073,054 B2
`
`10
`
`30
`
`35
`
`larly, as described above, to boot up the computer system 15
`quicker than the conventional computer system, a booting
`program is stored in the flash memory 45 and the booting
`program stored in the flash memory 45 is transmitted to the
`other system components 16 of the computer system 15 5
`through the system bus 25 before the spindle motor 43
`reaches its normal speed, thereby allowing the booting time
`to be shortened. As described above, according to the
`present invention a computer system capable ofreducing the
`booting time of the HDD is provided.
`In an embodiment with regard to the computer system
`according to the present invention, the flash memory has
`been described to be a non-volatile storage unit as a way of
`example. However, the present invention can be applied to
`a storage unit as long as it can retain the contents stored 15
`therein although power is abruptly off.
`In an embodiment with regard to the computer system
`according to the present invention, the spindle motor has
`been described to be a driving motor ofthe disk as a way of
`example. However, the present invention can also be applied 20
`to a different motor installed with a disk.
`Although the preferred embodiment of the present inven
`tion has been disclosed for
`illustrative purposes,
`those
`skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications,
`additions and substitutions are possible, without departing 25
`from the scope and spirit of the invention, the scope which
`is defined in the claims and their equivalents.
`What is claimed is:
`1. A computer system, comprising:
`a main memory; and
`a disk drive in communication with the main memory and
`comprising:
`a driving motor driving a disk of the disk drive;
`a non-volatile storage unit storing a booting program of
`an operating system; and
`a control unit reading the booting program stored in the
`non-volatile storage unit and loading the booting
`program onto the main memory before the driving
`motor reaches a normal speed as power is supplied to
`the computer system.
`2. The computer system according to claim 1, wherein the
`control unit stores the booting program in the non-volatile
`storage unit from the disk when installing the operating
`system.
`3. The computer system according to claim 1, wherein the 45
`non-volatile storage unit is a flash memory.
`4. A method of booting up a computer system, compris
`ing:
`reading a booting program of an operating system from a
`disk of the disk drive;
`storing the booting program in a predetermined storage
`unit
`in the disk drive when installing an operating
`system on the disk of the disk drive;
`reading the stored booting program and loading the boot
`ing program onto a main memory of the computer 55
`system before a driving motor ofthe disk drive reaches
`a normal speed as power is supplied to the computer
`system; and
`booting up the computer system with the booting program
`loaded onto the main memory.
`5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the storage
`unit is a non-volatile storage unit.
`6. A computer system, comprising:
`a main memory; and
`a disk drive in communication with the main memory and 65
`comprising:
`
`40
`
`50
`
`60
`
`a driving motor driving a disk of the disk drive;
`a storage unit storing a booting program of the com
`puter system; and
`a control unit loading the booting program stored in the
`storage unit into the main memory before the driving
`motor reaches abnormal speed when power is sup
`plied to the computer system.
`7. The computer system of claim 6, wherein the storage
`unit is non-volatile.
`8. The computer system of claim 7, wherein the non
`volatile storage unit is flash memory.
`9. The computer system of claim 6, wherein the control
`unit updates the booting program stored in the storage unit.
`10. The computer system of claim 6, wherein the control
`unit stores the booting program in the storage unit during
`installation ofan operating system for the computer system.
`11. A computer hard disk drive having a disk, comprising:
`a driving motor driving the disk;
`a storage unit storing a booting program of a computer
`system controlling the disk drive;
`a controller in communication with the computer system
`and transmitting the booting program to the computer
`system before the driving motor reaches a normal speed
`when power is supplied to the computer system.
`12. The computer hard disk drive ofclaim 11, wherein the
`storage unit is nonvolatile.
`13. The computer hard disk drive ofclaim 12, wherein the
`non-volatile storage unit is flash memory.
`14. The computer hard disk drive ofclaim 12, wherein the
`controller updates the booting program stored in the storage
`unit.
`15. The computer hard disk drive ofclaim 14, wherein the
`controller stores the booting program on the disk and the
`controller updates the booting program in the storage unit
`responsive to changes in the booting program stored on the
`disk.
`16. The computer hard disk drive ofclaim 12, wherein the
`controller stores the booting program in the storage unit
`during installation of an operating system for the computer
`system on the disk of the disk drive.
`17. The computer hard disk drive ofclaim 16, wherein the
`controller installs the operating system on the disk of the
`disk drive responsive to commands from the computer
`system.
`18. A controller controlling a computer-system hard disk
`drive having a disk and in communication with other com
`ponents of the computer system, the controller storing a
`process of:
`storing a booting program in a memory in the hard disk
`drive; and
`loading the booting program into a main memory of the
`computer system before a driving motor driving the
`disk of the hard disk drive reaches a normal speed as
`power is supplied to the computer system.
`19. The controller ofclaim 18, wherein the process further
`comprises:
`storing the booting program of the computer system on
`the disk of the hard disk drive responsive to commands
`from the other components ofthe computer system; and
`updating the booting program in the memory from the
`disk.
`
`
`
`Case 3:14-cv-00757-REP-DJN Document 1-9 Filed 11/04/14 Page 9 of 9 PageID# 204
`
`UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
`CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION
`
`PATENT NO.
`APPLICATION NO.
`DATED
`INVENTOR(S)
`
`7,073,054 B2
`10/219276
`July 4,2006
`In-soo Kim et al.
`
`Page 1 of 1
`
`It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent is
`hereby corrected as shown below:
`
`Column 6, Line 6, change "abnormal" to -a normal-.
`
`Column 6, Line 27, change "nonvolatile." to -non-volatile-.
`
`Signed and Sealed this
`
`Sixteenth Day of January, 2007
`
`JON W. DUDAS
`Directorof theUnited StatesPatent and Trademark Office
`
`