DETAILED ACTION
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 .
Claims 1- 3, 5, 8-9, 11-13, 17 have been amended. Claims 19-20 are added.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 5, 17 objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim, any intervening claims, and overcoming the 112 rejections.
Specification
The specification is objected to as failing to provide proper antecedent basis for the claimed subject matter. See 37 CFR 1.75(d)(1) and MPEP § 608.01(o). Correction of the following is required:
Claim 19 “performing a transfer of the firmware image from the proxy device to at least one other node in the mesh network on a packet-by-packet basis thereby ensuring that redistribution of the firmware image is based on a verified and locally applied image” is not directly in the specification. The term “redistribution” is not explicitly in the specification.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claim 17, 19-20 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Furthermore claims 17 is rejected because “wherein the proxy device regenerates and retransmits the token if no request for a missing packet” is not in the written description. The closest written description to claim 17 is [0036] “Proxy device will maintain a timeout for a token. If no response is generated, then the token will be regenerated and sent to next device” which describes sending to the next device and not retransmitting the token, retransmitting is not the same as sending or transmitting as described in [0036].
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 17 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Furthermore claims 17 is rejected because “wherein the proxy device regenerates and retransmits the token if no request for a missing packet” is unclear what is trying to be described. In applicant specification [0036] describes sending to a next device instead of retransmitting the token.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 1, 8-10, 18, 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jalisatgi et al. (US20210240464 herein after Jali) in view of Lydecker et al. (US20210227404 herein after Lydecker) further in view of Bitrain et al. (US20200221542).
Regarding claim 1, Jali teaches A method of bulk data transfer, comprising: receiving, at a proxy device in a ([0042] “At operation 202, a head node, such as head node 104 shown in FIG. 1, sends an upgrade request with the routing list to several eligible nearby nodes. FIG. 2 shows a member node A (MNA), such as one of member nodes 102 shown in FIG. 1, receiving the upgrade request and routing list sent by the head node 104 and storing the routing list received from the head node. It can be understood that several other member nodes that are eligible nearby nodes received the upgrade request and routing list as well”, [0052] “The head node initiates an update process for a particular firmware update”);
confirming, ([0043] “At operation 206, MNA sends a status packet upstream to the head node to indicate that it successfully completed the upgrade as instructed”);
updating firmware of the ([0043] “At operation 204, MNA performs an upgrade based on instructions provided by the upgrade request”);
after confirming that the firmware ([0043] “At operation 206, MNA sends a status packet upstream to the head node to indicate that it successfully completed the upgrade as instructed”), performing a transfer of the firmware ([0045] “At operation 212, the MNA transmits the update request and the updated routing list to its eligible nearby nodes that it determined. MNA can store its target list and/or the eligible nearby nodes for reuse when forwarding a next update request, or perform the version check and/or establish the target list when triggered, periodically, and/or each time it forwards an update request. In the example shown, MNA transmits to eligible nearby nodes MNB-MNH, which is the maximum seven nodes to which it is capable of transmitting a repeated transmission when using BLE protocol. At operation 214, nodes MNB-MNH each perform an upgrade based on instructions provided by the upgrade request”, (Examiner’s Note: uses BLE protocol so it uses packets); and the transfer of the firmware
Jali does not explicitly teach mesh network, storing, at the proxy device, the firmware image bulk data as a complete firmware image; the stored complete firmware image, a unicast communication with the at least one other node in the mesh network to identify missing packets of the transferred firmware image bulk data.
Lydecker teaches mesh network ([0004] “Thereafter, delivery of the OTA update from one nodal device to another nodal device is triggered based on an update command. In a specific example, a mesh procedure for distribution of the firmware update is triggered based on an update command that is delivered via mesh networking between the wireless enabled nodes”), storing, at the proxy device, the firmware image bulk data ([0005] “The-Air (OTA) firmware update communication load includes multiple different wireless enabled node type device firmware images, where each image corresponds to one of the existing hardware versions and/or functionalities of the wireless enabled nodes reported to the manager in response to the query”) [0032] “The gateway 101 serving as the wireless enabled computing device includes a firmware (FW) storage device 103, such as a hard disk drive or high capacity semiconductor memory, [0034] “a node radio frequency transceiver, a node processor, memory, and firmware stored in the memory for execution by the node processor to implement operations of the respective wireless enabled node (as shown in later drawing FIGS. 4 and 5), [0091] “the wireless enabled node operating in the “Friend” mode may assist in distributing the update to other wireless enabled nodes. In the example, the wireless enabled node 110 at S42 receives packet response messages (e.g. as sent from the controller 107 in steps like S15 a to 515 c) and stores at least some number of such packets in RAM”, (Examiner’s Note: gateway, other nodes, friends nodes can be equivalent to proxy), a unicast communication with the at least one other node in the mesh network to identify missing packets of the transferred firmware image bulk data ([0024] “A node that has part of the software update, e.g. a node of a different type that will not execute the update of the identified type, may serve as a source of missing packets to other nodes in the network, if other nodes that have determined they are missing packets request them”, ([0073] “This packet request specifies the missing packet by packet ID or a range of packets by starting packet ID and fraction or number of packets. Acting as a “friend,” the node 1 (111 a) in step S8 can respond to each requests for a specific packet (or ranges of packets) that node 2 (111 b) has found it is missing”, [0102] “In these examples, the wireless transceiver circuitry is configured to operate in conformance with the Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) protocol in the 2.4 GHz radio frequency band assigned for use by the BLE protocol. In these examples, however, the BT1 type radio 430 and the BT2 type radio 530”, (Examiner’s Note: node 1 is sending packets to a specific node 2 using Bluetooth which is a point to point, this is equivalent to unicast )).
It therefore would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time when instant application was filed, to modify Jali’s method/apparatus by adding the teachings of Lydecker in order to make a more effective method/apparatus by efficiently sending data.
Lydecker does not teach as a complete firmware image; the stored complete firmware image.
Bitrain teaches as a complete firmware image ([0032] “The gateway devices exchange the parts of the firmware image to recover the complete firmware image, and send the recovered firmware image, over the short-range network, to the wireless device. Alternatively, the gateway devices send the parts of the firmware image, over the short-range network to the wireless device, which recovers the firmware image from the firmware image parts”); complete firmware image ([0032] “The gateway devices exchange the parts of the firmware image to recover the complete firmware image, and send the recovered firmware image, over the short-range network, to the wireless device. Alternatively, the gateway devices send the parts of the firmware image, over the short-range network to the wireless device, which recovers the firmware image from the firmware image parts”).
It therefore would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time when instant application was filed, to modify the combination of Jali, Lydeckers’s method/apparatus by adding the teachings of Bitrain in order to make a more effective method/apparatus by increasing utilization.
Regarding claim 8, Jali does not teach wherein performing the transfer of the firmware image packet-by-packet to at least one other node in the mesh network comprises the proxy device publishing the firmware image packet-by-packet to a defined group of subscriber nodes identified by the proxy device in the mesh network.
Lydecker teaches wherein performing the transfer of the firmware image packet-by-packet to at least one other node in the mesh network comprises the proxy device publishing the firmware image packet-by-packet to a defined group of subscriber nodes identified by the proxy device in the mesh network ([0073] “In the example, however, the node 111 a has the missing packet(s), and the second node 111 b can transmit a request for any missing packet (or ranges of packets) that Node 2 has found it is missing, as shown at step S7, to the node 1 (111 a) through the network. This packet request specifies the missing packet by packet ID or a range of packets by starting packet ID and fraction or number of packets. Acting as a “friend,” the node 1 (111 a) in step S8 can respond to each requests for a specific packet (or ranges of packets) that node 2 (111 b) has found it is missing. This speeds receipt by node 2 of the missing packets, as compared to fetching from the controller, and reduces the controller's transactional load”).
It therefore would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time when instant application was filed, to modify Jali’s method/apparatus by adding the teachings of Lydecker in order to make a more effective method/apparatus by efficiently sending data.
Regarding claim 9, Jali does not teach wherein performing the unicast communication to identify missing packets comprises: after performing the transfer of the firmware image packet-by-packet, performing, by the proxy device, a unicast poll of each subscriber node to identify any missing packets; and upon receiving any identification of missing packets from a subscriber node, republishing, by the proxy device, the identified missing packets to the defined group of subscriber nodes.
Lydecker teaches wherein performing the unicast communication to identify missing packets comprises:after performing the transfer of the firmware image packet-by-packet, performing, by the proxy device, a unicast poll of each subscriber node to identify any missing packets; and upon receiving any identification of missing packets from a subscriber node, republishing, by the proxy device, the identified missing packets to the defined group of subscriber nodes ([0073] “In the example, however, the node 111 a has the missing packet(s), and the second node 111 b can transmit a request for any missing packet (or ranges of packets) that Node 2 has found it is missing, as shown at step S7, to the node 1 (111 a) through the network. This packet request specifies the missing packet by packet ID or a range of packets by starting packet ID and fraction or number of packets. Acting as a “friend,” the node 1 (111 a) in step S8 can respond to each requests for a specific packet (or ranges of packets) that node 2 (111 b) has found it is missing. This speeds receipt by node 2 of the missing packets, as compared to fetching from the controller, and reduces the controller's transactional load”).
It therefore would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time when instant application was filed, to modify Jali’s method/apparatus by adding the teachings of Lydecker in order to make a more effective method/apparatus by efficiently sending data.
Regarding claim 10, Jali teaches wherein the mesh network is a Bluetooth® low energy network ([0026] “All of the nodes 101 can communicate with at least one other node 101 that is included in the network 100 and is nearby. For example, when using Bluetooth low energy”).
Regarding claim 18, Jali teaches wherein the proxy device initiates distribution of the firmware ([0043] “At operation 204, MNA performs an upgrade based on instructions provided by the upgrade request”, ([0045] “At operation 212, the MNA transmits the update request and the updated routing list to its eligible nearby nodes that it determined. MNA can store its target list and/or the eligible nearby nodes for reuse when forwarding a next update request, or perform the version check and/or establish the target list when triggered, periodically, and/or each time it forwards an update request. In the example shown, MNA transmits to eligible nearby nodes MNB-MNH, which is the maximum seven nodes to which it is capable of transmitting a repeated transmission when using BLE protocol. At operation 214, nodes MNB-MNH each perform an upgrade based on instructions provided by the upgrade request”);
.
Jali does not explicitly teach firmware image, mesh network.
Lydecker teaches firmware image ([0005] “The-Air (OTA) firmware update communication load includes multiple different wireless enabled node type device firmware images, where each image corresponds to one of the existing hardware versions and/or functionalities of the wireless enabled nodes reported to the manager in response to the query”),
mesh network ([0004] “Thereafter, delivery of the OTA update from one nodal device to another nodal device is triggered based on an update command. In a specific example, a mesh procedure for distribution of the firmware update is triggered based on an update command that is delivered via mesh networking between the wireless enabled nodes”).
It therefore would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time when instant application was filed, to modify Jali’s method/apparatus by adding the teachings of Lydecker in order to make a more effective method/apparatus by efficiently sending data.
Regarding claim 19, Jali teaches A method of bulk data transfer, comprising: receiving, ([0042] “At operation 202, a head node, such as head node 104 shown in FIG. 1, sends an upgrade request with the routing list to several eligible nearby nodes. FIG. 2 shows a member node A (MNA), such as one of member nodes 102 shown in FIG. 1, receiving the upgrade request and routing list sent by the head node 104 and storing the routing list received from the head node. It can be understood that several other member nodes that are eligible nearby nodes received the upgrade request and routing list as well”, [0052] “The head node initiates an update process for a particular firmware update”);
confirming, by the proxy device, that the firmware image has been received in its entirety ([0043] “At operation 206, MNA sends a status packet upstream to the head node to indicate that it successfully completed the upgrade as instructed”);
([0043] “At operation 206, MNA sends a status packet upstream to the head node to indicate that it successfully completed the upgrade as instructed”)
performing a transfer of the firmware([0045] “At operation 212, the MNA transmits the update request and the updated routing list to its eligible nearby nodes that it determined. MNA can store its target list and/or the eligible nearby nodes for reuse when forwarding a next update request, or perform the version check and/or establish the target list when triggered, periodically, and/or each time it forwards an update request. In the example shown, MNA transmits to eligible nearby nodes MNB-MNH, which is the maximum seven nodes to which it is capable of transmitting a repeated transmission when using BLE protocol. At operation 214, nodes MNB-MNH each perform an upgrade based on instructions provided by the upgrade request”, (Examiner’s Note: uses BLE protocol so it uses packets)
Jali does not teach at a proxy device in a mesh network, firmware image, storing, at the proxy device, the firmware image as a complete firmware image, updating firmware of the proxy device using the stored complete firmware image; and completing the update of the proxy device, and completing the update of the proxy device.
Lydecker teaches at a proxy device in a mesh network, firmware image, storing, at the proxy device, the firmware image as a ([0005] “The-Air (OTA) firmware update communication load includes multiple different wireless enabled node type device firmware images, where each image corresponds to one of the existing hardware versions and/or functionalities of the wireless enabled nodes reported to the manager in response to the query”) ([0032] “The gateway 101 serving as the wireless enabled computing device includes a firmware (FW) storage device 103, such as a hard disk drive or high capacity semiconductor memory, [0034] “a node radio frequency transceiver, a node processor, memory, and firmware stored in the memory for execution by the node processor to implement operations of the respective wireless enabled node (as shown in later drawing FIGS. 4 and 5), [0091] “the wireless enabled node operating in the “Friend” mode may assist in distributing the update to other wireless enabled nodes. In the example, the wireless enabled node 110 at S42 receives packet response messages (e.g. as sent from the controller 107 in steps like S15 a to 515 c) and stores at least some number of such packets in RAM”, (Examiner’s Note: gateway, other nodes, friends nodes can be equivalent to proxy), updating firmware of the proxy device using the stored [0032] “The gateway 101 serving as the wireless enabled computing device includes a firmware (FW) storage device 103, such as a hard disk drive or high capacity semiconductor memory, [0034] “a node radio frequency transceiver, a node processor, memory, and firmware stored in the memory for execution by the node processor to implement operations of the respective wireless enabled node (as shown in later drawing FIGS. 4 and 5), [0091] “the wireless enabled node operating in the “Friend” mode may assist in distributing the update to other wireless enabled nodes. In the example, the wireless enabled node 110 at S42 receives packet response messages (e.g. as sent from the controller 107 in steps like S15 a to 515 c) and stores at least some number of such packets in RAM”, (Examiner’s Note: gateway, other nodes, friends nodes can be equivalent to proxy);
and completing the update of the proxy device, and completing the update of the proxy device ([0032] “The gateway 101 serving as the wireless enabled computing device includes a firmware (FW) storage device 103, such as a hard disk drive or high capacity semiconductor memory, [0034] “a node radio frequency transceiver, a node processor, memory, and firmware stored in the memory for execution by the node processor to implement operations of the respective wireless enabled node (as shown in later drawing FIGS. 4 and 5), [0091] “the wireless enabled node operating in the “Friend” mode may assist in distributing the update to other wireless enabled nodes. In the example, the wireless enabled node 110 at S42 receives packet response messages (e.g. as sent from the controller 107 in steps like S15 a to 515 c) and stores at least some number of such packets in RAM”, (Examiner’s Note: gateway, other nodes, friends nodes can be equivalent to proxy).
It therefore would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time when instant application was filed, to modify Jali’s method/apparatus by adding the teachings of Lydecker in order to make a more effective method/apparatus by efficiently sending data.
Lydecker does not teach complete firmware image.
Bitrain teaches complete firmware image complete firmware image ([0032] “The gateway devices exchange the parts of the firmware image to recover the complete firmware image, and send the recovered firmware image, over the short-range network, to the wireless device. Alternatively, the gateway devices send the parts of the firmware image, over the short-range network to the wireless device, which recovers the firmware image from the firmware image parts”).
It therefore would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time when instant application was filed, to modify the combination of Jali, Lydeckers’s method/apparatus by adding the teachings of Bitrain in order to make a more effective method/apparatus by increasing utilization.
Claim(s) 2-7, 11-16, 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jali in view of Lydecker further in view of Bitrain, further in view of Bohge (US20200359294).
Regarding claim 2, Jali does not teach wherein performing the transfer of the firmware image packet-by-packet to at least one other node in the mesh network comprises performing a cascade transfer of the firmware image packet-by-packet to a next available node in the mesh network that itself passes a received packet to its next available node in the mesh network.
Lydecker teaches wherein performing the transfer of the firmware image packet-by-packet to at least one other node in the mesh network comprises ([0024] “A node that has part of the software update, e.g. a node of a different type that will not execute the update of the identified type, may serve as a source of missing packets to other nodes in the network, if other nodes that have determined they are missing packets request them”, ([0073] “This packet request specifies the missing packet by packet ID or a range of packets by starting packet ID and fraction or number of packets. Acting as a “friend,” the node 1 (111 a) in step S8 can respond to each requests for a specific packet (or ranges of packets) that node 2 (111 b) has found it is missing”, [0102] “In these examples, the wireless transceiver circuitry is configured to operate in conformance with the Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) protocol in the 2.4 GHz radio frequency band assigned for use by the BLE protocol. In these examples, however, the BT1 type radio 430 and the BT2 type radio 530”, (Examiner’s Note: node 1 is sending packets to a specific node 2 using Bluetooth which is a point to point, this is equivalent to unicast )).
It therefore would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time when instant application was filed, to modify Jali’s method/apparatus by adding the teachings of Lydecker in order to make a more effective method/apparatus by efficiently sending data.
Lydecker, Bitrain does not explicitly teach performing a cascade transfer.
Bohge teaches performing a cascade transfer ([0047] “The communication system 10 may be a token-passing based wireless network where a token T is passed from one node to a subsequent node according to the communication sequence S”, (Examiner’s Note: sequence is broadly equivalent to cascade), by directly transmitting bulk data to the next available node in the mesh network, the next available node itself directly transmitting a received packet to its next available node in the mesh network ([0012] “The token is preferably formed by a single and/or unique token packet”).
It therefore would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time when instant application was filed, to modify the combination Jali’s, Lydecker, Bitrain method/apparatus by adding the teachings of Bohge in order to make a more effective method/apparatus by minimizing collision.
Regarding claim 3, Jali does not teach wherein performing the unicast communication to identify missing packets comprises, after performing the cascade transfer of the firmware image,
providing to each node in the mesh network any missing packets by: creating a token packet; and passing the token packet from the proxy device to the next available node in the mesh network,
each node receiving the token packet checking whether there are any missing packets and while in possession of the token packet, responding responding to the proxy device with a request for a missing packet,
the proxy device resending the missing packet to the node in response to the request for the missing packet.
Lydecker teaches wherein performing the unicast communication to identify missing packets ([0073] “This packet request specifies the missing packet by packet ID or a range of packets by starting packet ID and fraction or number of packets. Acting as a “friend,” the node 1 (111 a) in step S8 can respond to each requests for a specific packet (or ranges of packets) that node 2 (111 b) has found it is missing”, [0102] “In these examples, the wireless transceiver circuitry is configured to operate in conformance with the Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) protocol in the 2.4 GHz radio frequency band assigned for use by the BLE protocol. In these examples, however, the BT1 type radio 430 and the BT2 type radio 530”, (Examiner’s Note: node 1 is sending packets to a specific node 2 using Bluetooth which is a point to point, this is equivalent to unicast ) comprises, after performing the firmware image ([0004] “hereafter, delivery of the OTA update from one nodal device to another nodal device is triggered based on an update command. In a specific example, a mesh procedure for distribution of the firmware update is triggered based on an update command that is delivered via mesh networking between the wireless enabled nodes. Upon receipt of the update command, each wireless enabled node determines whether or not the respective node has previously received and stored the revision of the firmware”),
providing to each node in the mesh network any missing packets by ([0073] “This packet request specifies the missing packet by packet ID or a range of packets by starting packet ID and fraction or number of packets. Acting as a “friend,” the node 1 (111 a) in step S8 can respond to each requests for a specific packet (or ranges of packets) that node 2 (111 b) has found it is missing”):
([0073] “This packet request specifies the missing packet by packet ID or a range of packets by starting packet ID and fraction or number of packets. Acting as a “friend,” the node 1 (111 a) in step S8 can respond to each requests for a specific packet (or ranges of packets) that node 2 (111 b) has found it is missing”),
the proxy device resending the missing packet to the node in response to the request for the missing packet ([0073] “This packet request specifies the missing packet by packet ID or a range of packets by starting packet ID and fraction or number of packets. Acting as a “friend,” the node 1 (111 a) in step S8 can respond to each requests for a specific packet (or ranges of packets) that node 2 (111 b) has found it is missing”).
It therefore would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time when instant application was filed, to modify Jali’s method/apparatus by adding the teachings of Lydecker in order to make a more effective method/apparatus by efficiently sending data.
Lydecker, Bitrain does not teach cascade transfer, creating a token packet; and passing the token packet from the proxy device to the next available node in the mesh network, each node receiving the token packet, while in possession of the token packet, responding.
Bohge teaches cascade transfer, creating a token packet; and passing the token packet from the proxy device to the next available node in the mesh network, each node receiving the token packet ([0047] “The communication system 10 may be a token-passing based wireless network where a token T is passed from one node to a subsequent node according to the communication sequence S” ) while in possession of the token packet, responding (Fig. 3 [0059] “It is assumed that the sequence utilized is initially N1→N2→N3→N4→N1 etc. and again that each of the communication nodes N1-N4 measures the channel quality with respect to signals received from each of the other communication nodes. The respective measured quality values are forwarded to the corresponding subsequent communication node”).
It therefore would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time when instant application was filed, to modify the combination Jali’s, Lydecker, Bitrain method/apparatus by adding the teachings of Bohge in order to make a more effective method/apparatus by minimizing collision.
Regarding claim 4, Jali, Lydecker, Bitrain does not teach wherein the token packet is passed by the proxy device to each next available node in the mesh network.
Bohge teaches wherein the token packet is passed by the proxy device to each next available node in the mesh network ([0047] “The communication system 10 may be a token-passing based wireless network where a token T is passed from one node to a subsequent node according to the communication sequence S”.
It therefore would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time when instant application was filed, to modify the combination Jali’s, Lydecker, Bitrain method/apparatus by adding the teachings of Bohge in order to make a more effective method/apparatus by minimizing collision.
Regarding claim 6, Jali does not teach wherein communication between nodes, including between the proxy device and the next available node during the cascade transfer, is unicast.
Lydecker teaches wherein communication between nodes, including between the proxy device and the next available node during [0102] “In these examples, the wireless transceiver circuitry is configured to operate in conformance with the Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) protocol in the 2.4 GHz radio frequency band assigned for use by the BLE protocol. In these examples, however, the BT1 type radio 430 and the BT2 type radio 530”, [0004] “Thereafter, delivery of the OTA update from one nodal device to another nodal device is triggered based on an update command”).
It therefore would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time when instant application was filed, to modify Jali’s method/apparatus by adding the teachings of Lydecker in order to make a more effective method/apparatus by efficiently sending data.
Lydecker, Bitrain does not teach the cascade transfer ([0047] “The communication system 10 may be a token-passing based wireless network where a token T is passed from one node to a subsequent node according to the communication sequence S”).
Bohge teaches the cascade transfer ([0047] “The communication system 10 may be a token-passing based wireless network where a token T is passed from one node to a subsequent node according to the communication sequence S”.
It therefore would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time when instant application was filed, to modify the combination Jali’s, Lydecker, Bitrain method/apparatus by adding the teachings of Bohge in order to make a more effective method/apparatus by minimizing collision.
Regarding claim 7, Jali does not teach before performing the cascade transfer of the firmware image, passing an over-the-air (OTA) command to the next available node to direct the next available node to enter OTA mode and pass the OTA command to its next available node.
Lydecker teaches before performing the cascade transfer of the firmware image, passing an over-the-air (OTA) command to the next available node to direct the next available node to enter OTA mode and pass the OTA command to its next available node ”, [0004] “Thereafter, delivery of the OTA update from one nodal device to another nodal device is triggered based on an update command”).
It therefore would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time when instant application was filed, to modify Jali’s method/apparatus by adding the teachings of Lydecker in order to make a more effective method/apparatus by efficiently sending data.
Regarding claim 11, Jali teaches A method of bulk data transfer, comprising: receiving, ([0042] “At operation 202, a head node, such as head node 104 shown in FIG. 1, sends an upgrade request with the routing list to several eligible nearby nodes. FIG. 2 shows a member node A (MNA), such as one of member nodes 102 shown in FIG. 1, receiving the upgrade request and routing list sent by the head node 104 and storing the routing list received from the head node. It can be understood that several other member nodes that are eligible nearby nodes received the upgrade request and routing list as well”, [0052] “The head node initiates an update process for a particular firmware update”);
confirming, to a source of the bulk data, that the bulk data is received; in its entirety; ([0043] “At operation 206, MNA sends a status packet upstream to the head node to indicate that it successfully completed the upgrade as instructed”);
after confirming that the bulk data is received in its entirety, performing a transfer of the bulk data packet- by-packet from the proxy device to a plurality of other nodes in the ([0045] “At operation 212, the MNA transmits the update request and the updated routing list to its eligible nearby nodes that it determined. MNA can store its target list and/or the eligible nearby nodes for reuse when forwarding a next update request, or perform the version check and/or establish the target list when triggered, periodically, and/or each time it forwards an update request. In the example shown, MNA transmits to eligible nearby nodes MNB-MNH, which is the maximum seven nodes to which it is capable of transmitting a repeated transmission when using BLE protocol. At operation 214, nodes MNB-MNH each perform an upgrade based on instructions provided by the upgrade request”, (Examiner’s Note: uses BLE protocol so it uses packets);
Jali does not teach at a proxy device in a mesh network ([0004] “Thereafter, delivery of the OTA update from one nodal device to another nodal device is triggered based on an update command. In a specific example, a mesh procedure for distribution of the firmware update is triggered based on an update command that is delivered via mesh networking between the wireless enabled nodes”),
storing, at the proxy device, the bulk data as a
([0032] “The gateway 101 serving as the wireless enabled computing device includes a firmware (FW) storage device 103, such as a hard disk drive or high capacity semiconductor memory, [0034] “a node radio frequency transceiver, a node processor, memory, and firmware stored in the memory for execution by the node processor to implement operations of the respective wireless enabled node (as shown in later drawing FIGS. 4 and 5), [0091] “the wireless enabled node operating in the “Friend” mode may assist in distributing the update to other wireless enabled nodes. In the example, the wireless enabled node 110 at S42 receives packet response messages (e.g. as sent from the controller 107 in steps like S15 a to 515 c) and stores at least some number of such packets in RAM”, (Examiner’s Note: gateway, other nodes, friends nodes can be equivalent to proxy);
updating firmware of the proxy device using the stored [0091] “the wireless enabled node operating in the “Friend” mode may assist in distributing the update to other wireless enabled nodes. In the example, the wireless enabled node 110 at S42 receives packet response messages (e.g. as sent from the controller 107 in steps like S15 a to 515 c) and stores at least some number of such packets in RAM”, (Examiner’s Note: gateway, other nodes, friends nodes can be equivalent to proxy);
and ([0024] “A node that has part of the software update, e.g. a node of a different type that will not execute the update of the identified type, may serve as a source of missing packets to other nodes in the network, if other nodes that have determined they are missing packets request them”, ([0073] “This packet request specifies the missing packet by packet ID or a range of packets by starting packet ID and fraction or number of packets. Acting as a “friend,” the node 1 (111 a) in step S8 can respond to each requests for a specific packet (or ranges of packets) that node 2 (111 b) has found it is missing”, [0102] “In these examples, the wireless transceiver circuitry is configured to operate in conformance with the Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) protocol in the 2.4 GHz radio frequency band assigned for use by the BLE protocol. In these examples, however, the BT1 type radio 430 and the BT2 type radio 530”, (Examiner’s Note: node 1 is sending packets to a specific node 2 using Bluetooth which is a point to point, this is equivalent to unicast )).
It therefore would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time when instant application was filed, to modify Jali’s method/apparatus by adding the teachings of Lydecker in order to make a more effective method/apparatus by efficiently sending data.
Lydecker does not teach complete firmware image and passing a token from the proxy device to each of the plurality of nodes in sequence, wherein possession of the token is a required for each of the nodes.
Bitrain teaches complete firmware image ([0032] “The gateway devices exchange the parts of the firmware image to recover the complete firmware image, and send the recovered firmware image, over the short-range network, to the wireless device. Alternatively, the gateway devices send the parts of the firmware image, over the short-range network to the wireless device, which recovers the firmware image from the firmware image parts”).
It therefore would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time when instant application was filed, to modify the combination of Jali, Lydeckers’s method/apparatus by adding the teachings of Bitrain in order to make a more effective method/apparatus by increasing utilization.
Bohge teaches and passing a token from the proxy device to each of the plurality of nodes in sequence, wherein possession of the token is a required for each of the nodes ([0047] “The communication system 10 may be a token-passing based wireless network where a token T is passed from one node to a subsequent node according to the communication sequence S”.
It therefore would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time when instant application was filed, to modify the combination Jali’s, Lydecker, Bitrain method/apparatus by adding the teachings of Bohge in order to make a more effective method/apparatus by minimizing collision.
Regarding claim 12, Jali does not teach wherein the passing further comprises: passing the token from a first node of the plurality of nodes in the sequence; while the first node possesses the token, receiving a request for a set of missing packets of the bulk data from the first node; and responsive to the request, the proxy device conveying the set of missing packets to the first node, which is in possession of the token.
Lydecker teaches ([0024] “A node that has part of the software update, e.g. a node of a different type that will not execute the update of the identified type, may serve as a source of missing packets to other nodes in the network, if other nodes that have determined they are missing packets request them”, ([0073] “This packet request specifies the missing packet by packet ID or a range of packets by starting packet ID and fraction or number of packets. Acting as a “friend,” the node 1 (111 a) in step S8 can respond to each requests for a specific packet (or ranges of packets) that node 2 (111 b) has found it is missing”, [0102] “In these examples, the wireless transceiver circuitry is configured to operate in conformance with the Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) protocol in the 2.4 GHz radio frequency band assigned for use by the BLE protocol. In these examples, however, the BT1 type radio 430 and the BT2 type radio 530”, (Examiner’s Note: node 1 is sending packets to a specific node 2 using Bluetooth which is a point to point, this is equivalent to unicast )).
It therefore would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time when instant application was filed, to modify Jali’s method/apparatus by adding the teachings of Lydecker in order to make a more effective method/apparatus by efficiently sending data.
Lydecker, Bitrain does not teach wherein the passing further comprises: passing the token from a first node of the plurality of nodes in the sequence; while the first node possesses the token, , which is in possession of the token
Bohge teaches wherein the passing further comprises: passing the token from a first node of the plurality of nodes in the sequence; while the first node possesses the token, , which is in possession of the token ([0047] “The communication system 10 may be a token-passing based wireless network where a token T is passed from one node to a subsequent node according to the communication sequence S”.
It therefore would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time when instant application was filed, to modify the combination Jali’s, Lydecker, Bitrain method/apparatus by adding the teachings of Bohge in order to make a more effective method/apparatus by minimizing collision.
Regarding claim13, Jali does not teach further comprising: passing the token to a second node of the plurality of nodes in the sequence; while the second node possesses the token, receiving a second request for a second set of missing packets of the bulk data from the second node; and responsive to the second request, the proxying device conveying the second set of missing packets to the second node, which is in possession of the token.
Lydecker teaches ([0024] “A node that has part of the software update, e.g. a node of a different type that will not execute the update of the identified type, may serve as a source of missing packets to other nodes in the network, if other nodes that have determined they are missing packets request them”, ([0073] “This packet request specifies the missing packet by packet ID or a range of packets by starting packet ID and fraction or number of packets. Acting as a “friend,” the node 1 (111 a) in step S8 can respond to each requests for a specific packet (or ranges of packets) that node 2 (111 b) has found it is missing”, [0102] “In these examples, the wireless transceiver circuitry is configured to operate in conformance with the Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) protocol in the 2.4 GHz radio frequency band assigned for use by the BLE protocol. In these examples, however, the BT1 type radio 430 and the BT2 type radio 530”, (Examiner’s Note: node 1 is sending packets to a specific node 2 using Bluetooth which is a point to point, this is equivalent to unicast )).
It therefore would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time when instant application was filed, to modify Jali’s method/apparatus by adding the teachings of Lydecker in order to make a more effective method/apparatus by efficiently sending data.
Lydecker, Bitrrain does not teach comprising: passing the token to a second node of the plurality of nodes in the sequence; while the second node possesses the token, which is in possession of the token.
Bohge teaches comprising: passing the token to a second node of the plurality of nodes in the sequence; while the second node possesses the token, which is in possession of the token ([0047] “The communication system 10 may be a token-passing based wireless network where a token T is passed from one node to a subsequent node according to the communication sequence S”.
It therefore would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time when instant application was filed, to modify the combination Jali’s, Lydecker, Bitrain method/apparatus by adding the teachings of Bohge in order to make a more effective method/apparatus by minimizing collision.
Regarding claim 14, Jali does not teach further comprising: performing a set of unicast communications between the proxy device and the plurality of nodes to identify missing packets.
Lydecker teaches comprising: performing a set of unicast communications between the proxy device and the plurality of nodes to identify missing packets ([0024] “A node that has part of the software update, e.g. a node of a different type that will not execute the update of the identified type, may serve as a source of missing packets to other nodes in the network, if other nodes that have determined they are missing packets request them”, ([0073] “This packet request specifies the missing packet by packet ID or a range of packets by starting packet ID and fraction or number of packets. Acting as a “friend,” the node 1 (111 a) in step S8 can respond to each requests for a specific packet (or ranges of packets) that node 2 (111 b) has found it is missing”, [0102] “In these examples, the wireless transceiver circuitry is configured to operate in conformance with the Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) protocol in the 2.4 GHz radio frequency band assigned for use by the BLE protocol. In these examples, however, the BT1 type radio 430 and the BT2 type radio 530”, (Examiner’s Note: node 1 is sending packets to a specific node 2 using Bluetooth which is a point to point, this is equivalent to unicast )).
It therefore would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time when instant application was filed, to modify Jali’s method/apparatus by adding the teachings of Lydecker in order to make a more effective method/apparatus by efficiently sending data.
Regarding claim 15, Jali does not teach wherein the proxy device retransmits missing packets only in response to a request received from a node in possession of the token.
Lydecker teaches wherein the proxy device retransmits missing packets only in response to a request received from a node ([0024] “A node that has part of the software update, e.g. a node of a different type that will not execute the update of the identified type, may serve as a source of missing packets to other nodes in the network, if other nodes that have determined they are missing packets request them”, ([0073] “This packet request specifies the missing packet by packet ID or a range of packets by starting packet ID and fraction or number of packets. Acting as a “friend,” the node 1 (111 a) in step S8 can respond to each requests for a specific packet (or ranges of packets) that node 2 (111 b) has found it is missing”).
It therefore would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time when instant application was filed, to modify Jali’s method/apparatus by adding the teachings of Lydecker in order to make a more effective method/apparatus by efficiently sending data.
Lydecker, Bitrain does not teach in possession of the token.
Bohge teaches in possession of the token ([0047] “The communication system 10 may be a token-passing based wireless network where a token T is passed from one node to a subsequent node according to the communication sequence S”.
It therefore would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time when instant application was filed, to modify the combination Jali’s, Lydecker, Bitrain method/apparatus by adding the teachings of Bohge in order to make a more effective method/apparatus by minimizing collision.
Regarding claim 16, Jali does not teach wherein the token is passed sequentially among the plurality of nodes until each node has had an opportunity to request any missing packets.
Lydecker teaches ([0024] “A node that has part of the software update, e.g. a node of a different type that will not execute the update of the identified type, may serve as a source of missing packets to other nodes in the network, if other nodes that have determined they are missing packets request them”, ([0073] “This packet request specifies the missing packet by packet ID or a range of packets by starting packet ID and fraction or number of packets. Acting as a “friend,” the node 1 (111 a) in step S8 can respond to each requests for a specific packet (or ranges of packets) that node 2 (111 b) has found it is missing”).
It therefore would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time when instant application was filed, to modify Jali’s method/apparatus by adding the teachings of Lydecker in order to make a more effective method/apparatus by efficiently sending data.
Lydecker, Bitrain does not teach wherein the token is passed sequentially among the plurality of nodes until each node has had an opportunity.
Boghe teaches wherein the token is passed sequentially among the plurality of nodes until each node has had an opportunity ([0047] “The communication system 10 may be a token-passing based wireless network where a token T is passed from one node to a subsequent node according to the communication sequence S”.
It therefore would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time when instant application was filed, to modify the combination Jali’s, Lydecker, Bitrain method/apparatus by adding the teachings of Bohge in order to make a more effective method/apparatus by minimizing collision.
Regarding claim 20, Jali does not teach further comprising: passing a token among the at least one other node in the mesh network, wherein possession of the token controls communication of requests for missing packets of the firmware image to the proxy device
Lydecker teaches communication of requests for missing packets of the firmware image to the proxy device ([0024] “A node that has part of the software update, e.g. a node of a different type that will not execute the update of the identified type, may serve as a source of missing packets to other nodes in the network, if other nodes that have determined they are missing packets request them”, ([0073] “This packet request specifies the missing packet by packet ID or a range of packets by starting packet ID and fraction or number of packets. Acting as a “friend,” the node 1 (111 a) in step S8 can respond to each requests for a specific packet (or ranges of packets) that node 2 (111 b) has found it is missing”, [0102] “In these examples, the wireless transceiver circuitry is configured to operate in conformance with the Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) protocol in the 2.4 GHz radio frequency band assigned for use by the BLE protocol. In these examples, however, the BT1 type radio 430 and the BT2 type radio 530”, (Examiner’s Note: node 1 is sending packets to a specific node 2 using Bluetooth which is a point to point, this is equivalent to unicast )).
It therefore would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time when instant application was filed, to modify Jali’s method/apparatus by adding the teachings of Lydecker in order to make a more effective method/apparatus by efficiently sending data.
Lydecker, Bitrain does not teach further comprising: passing a token among the at least one other node in the mesh network, wherein possession of the token controls.
Bohge teaches further comprising: passing a token among the at least one other node in the mesh network, wherein possession of the token controls ([0047] “The communication system 10 may be a token-passing based wireless network where a token T is passed from one node to a subsequent node according to the communication sequence S”.
It therefore would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time when instant application was filed, to modify the combination Jali’s, Lydecker, Bitrain method/apparatus by adding the teachings of Bohge in order to make a more effective method/apparatus by minimizing collision.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 03/18/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant’s Argument 1
Accordingly, in view of the foregoing, claims 1, 8-10, and 18, as amended, are not properly rejected over Jali in view of Lydecker. The cited references, whether considered individually or in combination, fail to disclose or suggest the claimed sequence in which a proxy device (i) receives and stores a firmware image as a complete firmware image, (ii) confirms receipt of the firmware image in its entirety, (iii) updates itself using the stored complete firmware image, and only thereafter (iv) performs controlled, packet-by-packet redistribution with identification and recovery of missing packets. At best, Jali and Lydecker are silent with respect to any requirement that an intermediate device first obtain and verify a complete firmware image prior to further transmission and therefore cannot provide the required teaching, suggestion, or motivation to modify the cited systems to arrive at the claimed sequence. Instead, Jali is directed to propagation of upgrade instructions, in which nodes act upon and forward an upgrade request without any requirement for complete firmware image receipt or staging, while Lydecker relies on flooding- based dissemination in which packets are distributed opportunistically and nodes may possess only partial data at any given time. Neither reference discloses, teaches, or suggests conditioning downstream transmission on prior complete-image receipt, nor do they provide any mechanism for confirming completeness before redistribution.
Examiner’s Response 1
Examiner respectfully disagrees. See updated rejection new reference Bitrain is added. Both Jali and Lydecker do not specific whether it is a complete firmware image. However, Bitrain shown above clearly shows a method that a proxy device receives a complete firmware image. Applicant argument regarding redistribution is not claim 1, 11.
Applicant’s Argument 2
As such, even if Bohge were combined with Jali and Lydecker, the resulting system would at most provide transmission-order control layered onto fundamentally different underlying communication models-namely, Jali's instruction-propagation framework and Lydecker's flooding-based packet dissemination. The combination still fails to disclose or suggest the claimed architecture in which redistribution of firmware data is conditioned on prior complete-image receipt, local update, and subsequent controlled packet-by-packet transfer with identification and recovery of missing packets. Nor does Bohge remedy the structural deficiencies of Jali and Lydecker, as it does not address data staging, completeness verification, or conditional redistribution logic.
Examiner’s Response 2
In response to applicant’s argument that there is no teaching, suggestion, or motivation to combine the references, the examiner recognizes that obviousness may be established by combining or modifying the teachings of the prior art to produce the claimed invention where there is some teaching, suggestion, or motivation to do so found either in the references themselves or in the knowledge generally available to one of ordinary skill in the art. See In re Fine, 837 F.2d 1071, 5 USPQ2d 1596 (Fed. Cir. 1988), In re Jones, 958 F.2d 347, 21 USPQ2d 1941 (Fed. Cir. 1992), and KSR International Co. v. Teleflex, Inc., 550 U.S. 398, 82 USPQ2d 1385 (2007). In this case, Bohge ([0047] “The communication system 10 may be a token-passing based wireless network where a token T is passed from one node to a subsequent node according to the communication sequence S”.
It therefore would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time when instant application was filed, to modify the combination Jali’s, Lydecker, Bitrain method/apparatus by adding the teachings of Bohge in order to make a more effective method/apparatus by minimizing collision.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
De Smet (US20200059538) also [0051] teaches storing, updating firmware in a mesh network
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/K.T.F./Examiner, Art Unit 2411
/DERRICK W FERRIS/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2411
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