Invalidity dossier
US 10203985
Information processing apparatus, method and non-transitory computer-readable medium for managing a number of concurrently executing subtasks based on a threshold and priorities of subtask queues
Current assignee: Canon Inc
Added 9/23/2026, 10:28:50 PM
Active provider: DeepSeek · deepseek-flash
Patent summary
Title, assignee, inventors, filing/issue dates, abstract, and a plain-language overview of the claims.
Patent Overview — US10203985B2
Title: Information processing apparatus, method and non-transitory computer-readable medium for managing a number of concurrently executing subtasks based on a threshold and priorities of subtask queues
Assignee: Canon Inc (originally Canon Kabushiki Kaisha; assignment recorded 2017-02-02, inventor Toshiyuki Nakazawa).
Key dates: Priority date 2015-11-02; filing date 2016-10-26; publication of US20170123850A1 on 2017-05-04; granted 2019-02-12. Listed status is Active with an adjusted expiration of 2037-02-04 (the source states legal status is an assumption, not a legal conclusion).
Purpose and plain-language scope: The patent concerns managing how many subtasks run at once in an information processing apparatus. A first controller controls execution of multiple tasks. Queues hold subtasks generated from a task running in the first controller; the queues include a first queue and a second, lower-priority queue. A second controller takes subtasks from the queues and runs them by creating threads.
For each queue, an upper limit is defined on how many of its own subtasks may execute simultaneously. The second controller manages a threshold for the total number of subtasks executing simultaneously in the apparatus. If the currently executing count does not exceed the threshold, the second controller takes a subtask from one of the queues and runs it in a newly created thread; if the count exceeds the threshold (per the excerpt), it does not. The same scheme is claimed as a control method and as a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a program.
Context in the excerpt: A host computer acting as the information processing apparatus runs a management application managing network devices (image forming apparatuses) over a network. Hardware includes a CPU, RAM, ROM, and external storage. Figures describe enqueuing/dequeuing subtasks, thread execution, and task/subtask class definitions, including second-embodiment class definitions.
What the excerpt does not establish: It omits the full claims, the complete specification, detailed figure content, and the precise behavior when the executing count equals or exceeds the threshold. It does not establish prior art, validity, enforceability, or litigation history.
Source: https://patents.google.com/patent/[US10203985](/patent/US10203985)/en
Generated 10/1/2026, 9:33:21 PM
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Litigation summary
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Proceedings on file (0)
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PTAB challenges
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Assignment history
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Prior art
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Obviousness
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Extensions
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Derivative works
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