DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
2. A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 04/14/2026 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
3. This communication is in response to the RCE filed on 04/14/2026. The Examiner has acknowledged the amended Claims 1-2, 5-6, 8, 11, 13 and 17. Claims 1-6, 8-15, 17-18, and 20 are pending, and Claims 1-6, 8-15, 17-18, and 20 are rejected.
Response to Arguments
4. Applicant's arguments (Remarks: Pages:7-8) filed on 04/14/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive and/or now moot in view of the new ground of rejection necessitated by applicant's amendment.
5. The rejection of Claim 13 under 35 U.S.C 112 (b) has been withdrawn in view of the amended corrections.
6. Applicant’s arguments (Remarks: Pages: 7-8) with respect to 35 U.S.C. 103 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive and/or now moot in view of the new ground of rejection necessitated by applicant's amendment.
Applicant argues in Remarks [Pages 7-8]:
“However, the cited portion of Rl appears to describe an automated IoT system in which target subscription services are determined based on requests fed back from terminal devices in a predeterminable area. The targeting in Rl is bottom-up and automated based on device subscription tables. In contrast, the present application employs a top-down approach in which a separate computing device, such as a client application, receives a list of available stations from a server and enables a user to manually select or deselect specific stations to define the target area.” And
“There is no motivation in Rl to provide a graphical user interface for manual station selection, as Rl is directed to automating service delivery based on existing terminal requests within a fixed broadcast range. In contrast, the present application employs a graphical user interface to allow user selection of stations, as illustrated in Figures 8 and 10, thereby introducing a human in the loop layer of operational control that R l avoids in favor of automated subscription-based routing” and
“R2 does not cure these deficiencies. R2 teaches broad geographic data selection, such as entering a region or demographic, through a general data input mechanism. R2 does not teach or suggest identifying a plurality of available radio broadcast stations using callsigns and presenting those stations to a user for specific selection. For at least these reasons, Rl and R2 fail to teach or suggest "receiving a selection from a list of selectable callsigns indicating one or more of the plurality of the available radio broadcast stations selected via a user interface of the client application for transmitting the encrypted message," as recited in amended claim 1.
Examiner respectfully disagrees. In response to applicant's argument that the references fail to show certain features of the invention, it is noted that the features upon which applicant relies (i.e., a graphical user interface for manual broadcast station selection and user manual selection) are not recited in the rejected claim(s). Therefore, the limitation does not require any manual selection by a user beyond indicating available stations and receiving a selection of the broadcast stations. Although the claims are interpreted in light of the specification, limitations from the specification are not read into the claims. See In re Van Geuns, 988 F.2d 1181, 26 USPQ2d 1057 (Fed. Cir. 1993).
R1 discloses use of the identity (channel ID) corresponding to the broadcast station (i.e. callsign) (R1: ¶ [0139]), and broadcast station pushes the data content to the subscription of the service according to the target service content in the target subscription service and the channel subscription table BT (R1: ¶ [0125], See also Fig. 3 subscription tables). In addition, R1 discloses determine a channel subscription table of the broadcasting station according to the service subscription table, and determine a target subscription service of the broadcasting station according to the channel subscription table (R1: ¶ [0112]), and when the network service program generates the corresponding data content according to the target subscription service of the broadcast station, the routing engine in the broadcast station pushes the data content to the subscription of the service according to the target service content in the target subscription service and the channel subscription table BT (R1: ¶ [0125]). Therefore, R1 teaches station identities in the form of Channel IDs (i.e. callsigns corresponding to broadcast stations), and the table BT represent a set of broadcast stations associated with corresponding services. Further, a routing engine selects among these available station entries to determine which station will receive or transmit content.
In addition, R2 discloses a user to select and input delivery parameters through a GUI, for example, R2 teaches a vendor is provided with the ability to post content data such as offers and coupons, determining the one or more destinations of the content and associating with the content data (R2: [Abstract]), and the content data can be delivered over a wireless broadcast channel if the device is equipped with a suitable broadcast receiver, such as television, radio, Digital Audio Broadcast (DAB), FM Radio Data Service(FMRDS) and Digital Video Broadcast (DVB) (R2: ¶ [0108]). R2 further discloses that the vendor can then use the data input mechanism on the input device to input vendor data, content data and delivery parameters which can include one or more of: (R2: ¶ [0134]), and Content data category or channel (R2: ¶ [0143]).
Therefore, the combination of R1 and R2 discloses the features applicant is arguing about and thus, applicant’s arguments are not persuasive.
Further, applicant’s arguments with respect to Claim 11 and the dependent claims are based on applicant’s arguments with respect to Claim 1 and are rejected using similar rationales discussed above with respect to Claim 1 and their dependency.
Applicant's amendment necessitated a new ground of rejection.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
7. 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.
8. The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied 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.
9. This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
10. Claims 1-6 and 8-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang et al. (CN 110 460 958 A, hereinafter R1) [As Disclosed in IDS] in view of XPED HOLDINGS PTY LTD (WO 2014/134670 A1, hereinafter R2) [As Disclosed in IDS].
Regarding Claim 1,
R1 discloses a server (R1: ¶ [080] the broadcasting station may be a digital
broadcasting base station or a digital server device, ¶ [084] the network interface 1004 is mainly used to connect to the background server and perform data communication with the background server) comprising:
a communication port connected to an internet of things (IoT) cloud (R1: ¶ [081] the broadcasting station may include: a processor 1001, such as a CPU, a network interface 1004, ¶ [0160] IoT base stations, providing two-way communication capabilities between the location service cloud platform and IoT terminals);
at least one hardware processor connected to the communication port (R1: ¶ [081] the broadcasting station may include: a processor 1001, such as a CPU, a network interface 1004, a user interface 1003, a memory 1005, and a communication bus 1002); and
memory including instructions that, when performed by the at least one hardware processor, cause the at least one hardware processor to perform operations comprising (R1: ¶ [081] the broadcasting station may include: a processor 1001, such as a CPU, a network interface 1004, a user interface 1003, a memory 1005, and a communication bus 1002, ¶ [0235]):
identifying, to a client application of a separate computing device, a plurality of targeted end devices of an IoT located in one or more targeted geographical areas and a plurality of available radio broadcast stations available for transmitting a message in a radio broadcast signal to the plurality of targeted end devices of the IoT (R1: ¶ [0186] The data broadcasting cloud platform creates a publish-subscribe channel for digital broadcasting base stations to facilitate the push of location service data for the Internet of Things. It uses a location-based routing mechanism internally to allocate location service information frames to corresponding digital broadcast base stations for broadcast. The location service cloud platform uses the network interface provided by the data platform to call the publish and subscribe channel that it implements, and pushes the location service information frame to the IoT terminal in a specific area, which can realize rich location service applications, ¶ [0100] In step S30, broadcast station sends the target subscription service to a network service program, ¶ [0114] Referring to FIG. 3, C of the service subscription table CT represents a terminal identifier, and T represents a service. A value of 1 indicates that the terminal corresponding to the column is subscribed to the service corresponding to the row, and 0 indicates that the terminal is not subscribed. The subscription table CT in the figure above shows the subscription of m services from T1 to Tm by n terminals C1 to Cn. For a service Tj, as long as one terminal subscribes to the service, the corresponding channel Bi needs to subscribe to the service, ¶ [0120] broadcasting station only serves as the information intermediary of the terminal and the network service program, ¶[0157] spatial position parameter is an expression of geographic space, ¶¶ [0101, 0131, 0160, 0235]), the plurality of the available radio broadcast stations covering the one or more targeted geographical areas (R1: ¶ [0186] The data broadcasting cloud platform creates a publish-subscribe channel for digital broadcasting base stations to facilitate the push of location service data for the Internet of Things. It uses a location-based routing mechanism internally to allocate location service information frames to corresponding digital broadcast base stations for broadcast. The location service cloud platform uses the network interface provided by the data platform to call the publish and subscribe channel that it implements, and pushes the location service information frame to the IoT terminal in a specific area, which can realize rich location service applications, ¶ [0104] Each broadcast station is created as a downlink publish and subscribe channel to form a distributed publish and subscribe overlay network based on spatial location information. The IoT service provides an operating environment based on regional location (broadcast station signal coverage area), ¶ [0157] spatial position parameter is an expression of geographic space, ¶¶ [0113, 0131-0132, 0139, 0185]);
receiving the message as an encrypted message from the client application (R1: ¶ [0101] In step S40, if the broadcast station receives the target service content fed back by the network service program based on the target subscription service, it sends the target service content to a terminal in the preset area in the form of digital broadcasting, ¶ [0117] send the remote call parameters and the service subscription request to the network service program, and obtain the network service program based on the remote call parameters and remote service content that is fed back in the form of digital broadcast with the service subscription request, ¶ [0186] the push of location service data for the Internet of Things. It uses a location-based routing mechanism internally to allocate location service information frames to corresponding digital broadcast base stations for broadcast…, and pushes the location service information frame to the IoT terminal in a specific area, which can realize rich location service applications,¶ [0175]);
receiving a selection from a list of selectable callsigns indicating one or more radio broadcast stations of the plurality of the available radio broadcast stations selected via a user interface of the client application for transmitting the encrypted message (R1: ¶ [0029] the broadcast station receives the target service content fed back by the network service program based on the target subscription service, sending the target service content to a terminal in the preset area, ¶ [0104] Each broadcast station is created as a downlink publish and subscribe channel to form a distributed publish and subscribe overlay network based on spatial location information, ¶ [0139] use the identity (channel ID) corresponding to the broadcast station (i.e. callsign), ¶ [0114] For a service Tj, as long as one terminal subscribes to the service, the corresponding channel Bi needs to subscribe to the service, ¶ [0186] creates a publish-subscribe channel for digital broadcasting base stations to facilitate the push of location service data for the Internet of Things. It uses a location-based routing mechanism internally to allocate location service information frames to corresponding digital broadcast base stations for broadcast, ¶ [084] the user interface 1003 is mainly used to connect to the client (user) and perform data communication with the client; and the processor 1001 may be used to call an Internet of Things broadcast program stored in the memory 1005, and perform operations, ¶[061-064, 0117, 0151] See also Fig. 3 tables B1…Bk); and
sending the encrypted message via the IoT cloud to one or more other servers included with radio broadcast automation equipment of the plurality of the available radio broadcast stations (R1: ¶ [0101] In step S40, if the broadcast station receives the target service content fed back by the network service program based on the target subscription service, it sends the target service content to a terminal in the preset area in the form of digital broadcasting ¶ [0125] broadcast station pushes the data content to the subscription of the service according to the target service content in the target subscription service and the channel subscription table BT, ¶¶ [062, 080, 0103, 0114, 0126, 0162]).
It is noted that R1 does not explicitly disclose:
identifying, to a client application of a separate computing device, a plurality of targeted end devices of an IoT located in one or more targeted geographical areas and a plurality of available radio broadcast stations available for transmitting a message in a radio broadcast signal to the plurality of targeted end devices of the IoT, the plurality of the available radio broadcast stations covering the one or more targeted geographical areas;
receiving the message as an encrypted message from the client application;
receiving a selection from a list of selectable callsigns indicating one or more radio broadcast stations of the plurality of the available radio broadcast stations selected via a user interface of the client application for transmitting the encrypted message; and
sending the encrypted message via the IoT cloud to one or more other servers included with radio broadcast automation equipment of the plurality of available radio broadcast stations.
However, R2 from the same field of endeavor as the claimed invention discloses a vendor of goods and/or services and their many customers and potential customers, a vendor is provided with the ability to post content data such as offers and coupons, determining the one or more destinations of the content and associating with the content data (R2: [Abstract]), the content data can be delivered over a wireless broadcast channel if the device is equipped with a suitable broadcast receiver, such as television, radio, Digital Audio Broadcast (DAB), FM Radio Data Service(FMRDS) and Digital Video Broadcast (DVB) (R2: ¶ [0108]), the vendor can then use the data input mechanism on the input device to input vendor data, content data and delivery parameters which can include one or more of: (R2: ¶ [0134]), Content data category or channel (R2: ¶ [0143]), Devices can be addresses through a series of "device data fields". Device data fields can be used to form an addressing scheme to determine the delivery of content data to one or more devices (R2: ¶ [0179]), Feature class: This could represent a class of device, such as devices equipped with 802.15.4 or Wi-Fi radios (R2: ¶ [0186], also see ¶ [0461]), and well known and standard security methods should be used to secure data over communication channels, secure server log in and memory data integrity. However, additional security elements might also be employed such as ensuring devices are equipped with a secure element that can be used to authenticate a device or server identity, hash or encrypt data files, data transfers (R2: ¶ [0612], also see ¶¶ [0145-0146]).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teachings of R2 in the teachings of R1. A person having ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to do so to minimize man in the middle attacks, hackers trying to intercept data or publish malware causing undesirable results (R2: ¶ [0611]).
Regarding Claim 2,
Claim 2 is dependent on Claim 1, and the combination of R1 and R2 discloses all the limitations of Claim 1. R1 further discloses wherein the memory stores a radio station database of the plurality of the available radio broadcast stations available to transmit the message as the encrypted message in a digitally modulated subcarrier of the radio broadcast signal of the one or more radio broadcast stations (R1: ¶ [0061] the broadcasting station includes: a memory, a processor, and an Internet of Things broadcasting program stored on the memory and operable on the processor, ¶ [0161] digital broadcasting base station receives data (such as differential data) pushed by a cloud platform, modulates and transmits the digital broadcasting signal, ¶ [0183] obtaining the mapping relationship between the current location service information frame and the digital broadcast base station, ¶ [0114] the channel subscription table BT, ¶ [0168], See Fig. 3) .
R1 does not explicitly disclose wherein the memory stores a radio station database of the plurality of the available radio broadcast stations available to transmit the message as the encrypted message in a digitally modulated subcarrier of the radio broadcast signal of the one or more radio broadcast stations.
R2 further discloses the content data can be delivered over a wireless broadcast channel if the device is equipped with a suitable broadcast receiver, such as television, radio, Digital Audio Broadcast (DAB), FM Radio Data Service(FMRDS) and Digital Video Broadcast (DVB) (R2: ¶ [0108]), and well known and standard security methods should be used to secure data over communication channels, secure server log in and memory data integrity. However, additional security elements might also be employed such as ensuring devices are equipped with a secure element that can be used to authenticate a device or server identity, hash or encrypt data files, data transfers (R2: ¶ [0612]).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teachings of R2 in the teachings of R1. A person having ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to do so to minimize man in the middle attacks, hackers trying to intercept data or publish malware causing undesirable results (R2: ¶ [0611]).
Regarding Claim 3,
Claim 3 is dependent on Claim 1, and the combination of R1 and R2 discloses all the limitations of Claim 1. R1 further discloses wherein the instructions cause the at least one hardware processor to: establish a secure connection with the client application (R1: ¶ [081] the broadcasting station may include: a processor 1001, such as a CPU, a network interface 1004, a user interface 1003, a memory 1005, ¶ [084] the user interface 1003 is mainly used to connect to the client (user) and perform data communication with the client, ¶ [0100] broadcast station sends the target subscription service to a network service program, ¶¶ [0120, 0231]); and
establish secure connections with the one or more other servers of the radio broadcast automation equipment (R1: ¶ [080] the broadcasting station may be a digital broadcasting base station or a digital server device, ¶ [0156] output management module takes the service content from the output queue, reads the channel ID array Gdest in its spatial position parameter, and sends it to the specified channel, ¶ [0163] build a publish and subscribe channel between the location service cloud platform and digital broadcast base stations, implement a routing mechanism based on location information, and allocate the location service information frames (see below) issued by the location service cloud platform to the corresponding numbers Broadcast base station, ¶ [0186]).
R1 does not explicitly disclose:
establish a secure connection with the client application; and
establish secure connections with the one or more other servers of the radio broadcast automation equipment.
R2 further discloses the content data can be delivered over a wireless broadcast channel if the device is equipped with a suitable broadcast receiver, such as television, radio, Digital Audio Broadcast (DAB), FM Radio Data Service(FMRDS) and Digital Video Broadcast (DVB) (R2: ¶ [0108]), and well known and standard security methods should be used to secure data over communication channels, secure server log in and memory data integrity. However, additional security elements might also be employed such as ensuring devices are equipped with a secure element that can be used to authenticate a device or server identity, hash or encrypt data files, data transfers (R2: ¶ [0612]).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teachings of R2 in the teachings of R1. A person having ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to do so as a secure channel needs to be established to minimize man in the middle attacks, hackers trying to intercept data or publish malware causing undesirable results (R2: ¶ [0611]).
Regarding Claim 4,
Claim 4 is dependent on Claim 1, and the combination of R1 and R2 discloses all the limitations of Claim 1. R1 further discloses wherein the instructions cause the at least one hardware processor of the server to: receive encrypted messages from multiple client applications (R1: ¶ [0151] receives the service content and selects the target input queue cache according to the real-time parameters. The contents of real-time application services (such as differential data) are placed in the first priority queue, ¶ [0114] the subscription of m services from T1 to Tm);
schedule sending of the encrypted messages to the one or more other servers of the radio broadcast automation equipment (R1: ¶¶ [0180-0182] High-priority input queue buffer to store location service information frame data for real-time application services; Low-priority input queue buffer to store location service information frame data for nonreal-time application services; Priority scheduling module, which can be configured with multiple scheduling methods such as absolute priority, scheduled polling, and weight allocation, ¶¶ [0152, 0154]); and
initiate sending the encrypted messages according to the scheduling (R1: ¶ [0228] send the target service content to a terminal in the preset area in the form of digital broadcasting in order according to the first priority queue and the second priority queue, ¶[0185] output management module extracts the location service information frame from the output queue buffer, and sends the location service information frame to the corresponding digital broadcast base station according to the digital broadcast base station mapping information therein, ¶ [059]).
R1 does not explicitly disclose:
receive encrypted messages from multiple client applications;
schedule sending of the encrypted messages to the one or more other servers of the radio broadcast automation equipment; and
initiate sending the encrypted messages according to the scheduling.
R2 further discloses the content data can be delivered over a wireless broadcast channel if the device is equipped with a suitable broadcast receiver, such as television, radio, Digital Audio Broadcast (DAB), FM Radio Data Service(FMRDS) and Digital Video Broadcast (DVB)
(R2: ¶ [0108]), system allows for vendors to post and deliver multiple types of content data (R2: ¶ [0157]), and well known and standard security methods should be used to secure data over communication channels, secure server log in and memory data integrity. However, additional security elements might also be employed such as ensuring devices are equipped with a secure element that can be used to authenticate a device or server identity, hash or encrypt data files, data transfers (R2: ¶ [0612]).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teachings of R2 in the teachings of R1. A person having ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to do so to minimize man in the middle attacks, hackers trying to intercept data or publish malware causing undesirable results (R2: ¶ [0611]).
Regarding Claim 5,
Claim 5 is dependent on Claim 1, and the combination of R1 and R2 discloses all the limitations of Claim 1. R1further discloses wherein the instructions cause the at least one hardware processor of the server to: receive multiple messages from the client application and time requirements for sending of the multiple messages by the plurality of the available radio broadcast stations (R1: ¶ [0175] automatically search and access CDRadio broadcasting signals, obtain the broadcasting station identification and broadcasting service data, and provide it to the MCU microprocessor, ¶ [0142] broadcast station receives the target service content based on the target subscription service feedback from the network service program);
schedule sending of the multiple messages to the one or more other servers of the radio broadcast automation equipment according to the received time requirements (R1: ¶¶ [0180-0182] High-priority input queue buffer to store location service information frame data for real-time application services; Low-priority input queue buffer to store location service information frame data for nonreal-time application services; Priority scheduling module, which can be configured with multiple scheduling methods such as absolute priority, scheduled polling, and weight allocation, ¶¶ [0152, 0154]); and
initiate sending the multiple messages according to the scheduling (R1: ¶ [0228] send the target service content to a terminal in the preset area in the form of digital broadcasting in order according to the first priority queue and the second priority queue, ¶[0185] output management module extracts the location service information frame from the output queue buffer, and sends the location service information frame to the corresponding digital broadcast base station according to the digital broadcast base station mapping information therein, ¶ [059]).
R1 does not explicitly disclose receive multiple messages from the client application and time requirements for sending of the multiple messages by the plurality of the available radio broadcast stations; and
schedule sending of the multiple messages to the one or more other servers of the radio broadcast automation equipment according to the received time requirements.
R2 further discloses the content data can be delivered over a wireless broadcast channel if the device is equipped with a suitable broadcast receiver, such as television, radio, Digital Audio Broadcast (DAB), FM Radio Data Service(FMRDS) and Digital Video Broadcast (DVB) (R2: ¶ [0108]), and a vendor can specify by entering parameters into an input device; validity dates and times associated with the content; delivery dates and times; and trigger dates and times. The triggering of the content data can be nominated by the vendor to be displayed in the display area of the screen of a destination device (R2: ¶ [0532]).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teachings of R2 in the teachings of R1. A person having ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to do so because devices such as IOT devices can save power by waking up at specific receiving times, and it further helps balancing heavy traffic volumes by distributing data evenly at different time slots.
Regarding Claim 6,
Claim 6 is dependent on Claim 1, and the combination of R1 and R2 discloses all the limitations of Claim 1. R1 further discloses wherein the instructions cause the at least one hardware processor of the server to: receive multiple messages from multiple client applications and time requirements for sending of the multiple messages by the plurality of the available radio broadcast stations (R1: ¶ [0175] automatically search and access CDRadio broadcasting signals, obtain the broadcasting station identification and broadcasting service data, and provide it to the MCU microprocessor, ¶ [0142] broadcast station receives the target service content based on the target subscription service feedback from the network service program);
schedule sending of the multiple messages to the one or more other servers of the radio broadcast automation equipment according to the received time requirements (R1: ¶¶ [0180-0182] High-priority input queue buffer to store location service information frame data for real-time application services; Low-priority input queue buffer to store location service information frame data for nonreal-time application services; Priority scheduling module, which can be configured with multiple scheduling methods such as absolute priority, scheduled polling, and weight allocation, ¶¶ [0152, 0154]).
R1 does not explicitly disclose:
receive multiple messages from multiple client applications and time requirements for sending of the multiple messages by the plurality of the available radio broadcast stations;
schedule sending of the multiple messages to the one or more other servers of the radio broadcast automation equipment according to the received time requirements;
identify a conflict in the scheduling; and
select one or more radio broadcast stations among the plurality of the available radio broadcast stations for sending a message in response to the identified conflict.
R2 further discloses the content data can be delivered over a wireless broadcast channel if the device is equipped with a suitable broadcast receiver, such as television, radio, Digital Audio Broadcast (DAB), FM Radio Data Service(FMRDS) and Digital Video Broadcast (DVB) (R2: ¶ [0108]), system allows for vendors to post and deliver multiple types of content data (R2: ¶ [0157]), a vendor can specify by entering parameters into an input device; validity dates and times associated with the content; delivery dates and times; and trigger dates and times. The triggering of the content data can be nominated by the vendor to be displayed in the display area of the screen of a destination device (R2: ¶ [0532]), and whether a single or multiple vendor system is used for time slots, a system is needed to present to vendors when a slot is available or not available…, Fully booked time slots could be marked red, or crossed out to show they are not available, while available slots may be vacant or green for example. The vendor then simply selects the most appropriate available time slot (R2: ¶ [0241], also see ¶ [0240]).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teachings of R2 in the teachings of R1. A person having ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to do so because devices such as IOT devices can save power by waking up at specific receiving times, and it further helps balancing heavy traffic volumes by distributing data evenly at different time slots.
Regarding Claim 8,
Claim 8 is dependent on Claim 1, and the combination of R1 and R2 discloses all the limitations of Claim 1. R1 further discloses wherein the instructions cause the at least one hardware processor to: receive registered of one or more radio broadcast stations (R1: ¶ [0112] Determine a channel subscription table of the broadcasting station according to the service subscription table, and determine a target subscription service of the broadcasting station according to the channel subscription table, ¶ [0114] the channel subscription table BT); and
identify the one or more registered radio broadcast stations to the client application as the plurality of the available radio broadcast stations (R1: ¶ [0114] as long as one terminal subscribes to the service, the corresponding channel Bi needs to subscribe to the service, and the i-th column and the j-th column of the channel subscription table BT need to be set to 1. The number of columns k (the number of broadcasting stations) of the channel subscription table BT, ¶ [0125] When the network service program generates the corresponding data content according to the target subscription service of the broadcast station, the routing engine in the broadcast station pushes the data content to the subscription of the service according to the target service content in the target subscription service and the channel subscription table BT. Channel (broadcasting station), ¶ [0163]).
Regarding Claim 9,
Claim 9 is dependent on Claim 1, and the combination of R1 and R2 discloses all the limitations of Claim 1. R1 further discloses wherein the instructions cause the at least one hardware processor to send a software update for the plurality of the targeted end devices of the IoT to the one or more other servers of the radio broadcast automation equipment (R1: ¶ [0096] Through the digital broadcast channel, the multi-terminal-oriented homogeneous control data is issued (such as traffic light control in a certain urban area), which can well solve the real-time and synchronization problems of many terminal operations, ¶ [0186] The data broadcasting cloud platform creates a publish-subscribe channel for digital broadcasting base stations to facilitate the push of location service data for the Internet of Things. It uses a location-based routing mechanism internally to allocate location service information frames to corresponding digital broadcast base stations for broadcast. The location service cloud platform uses the network interface provided by the data platform to call the publish and subscribe channel that it implements, and pushes the location service information frame to the IoT terminal in a specific area, which can realize rich location service applications, ¶ [0100] In step S30, broadcast station sends the target subscription service to a network service program).
R1 does not explicitly disclose send a software update for the plurality of the targeted end devices of the IoT to the one or more other servers of the radio broadcast automation equipment.
R2 further discloses the content data can be delivered over a wireless broadcast channel if the device is equipped with a suitable broadcast receiver, such as television, radio, Digital Audio Broadcast (DAB), FM Radio Data Service(FMRDS) and Digital Video Broadcast (DVB) (R2: ¶ [0108]), and system can also be used for manufacturers to deliver content data and firmware updates to devices (R2: ¶ [0178], see also ¶ [0189]).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teachings of R2 in the teachings of R1. A person having ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to do so to allow additional services and functionality to be offered to the users of their equipment post sale (R2: ¶ [0178]).
Regarding Claim 10,
Claim 10 is dependent on Claim 1, and the combination of R1 and R2 discloses all the limitations of Claim 1. R1 further discloses wherein the instructions cause the at least one hardware processor to send a message including control data for control of the plurality of the targeted end devices of the IoT to the one or more other servers of the radio broadcast automation equipment (R1: ¶ [0130] broadcasting station sends the local target service content to a terminal in the preset area in the form of digital broadcasting, ¶ [0131] target service contents naturally have location attributes, such as weather forecast, real-time traffic conditions, differential data, street light control,…, When the broadcasting station routing engine publishes the data content of the weather forecast service, it is allocated to the specific publish and subscribe channel (broadcast station) according to the local location parameters (such as the city) of the broadcast station, so that the terminals within the signal coverage area of the broadcast station can obtain Local weather information, ¶ [0132] the routing engine in the present invention uses a location-based routing mechanism to divide the target service content according to the local location parameters. The broadcast station will send these target service content data to all subscribers in the signal coverage area (Internet of Things terminals), ¶¶ [0186, 0096, 0100]).
11. Claims 11-15, 17-18 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over XPED HOLDINGS PTY LTD (WO 2014/134670 A1, hereinafter R2) [As Disclosed in IDS] in view of Zhang et al. (CN 110 460 958 A, hereinafter R1) [As Disclosed in IDS].
Regarding Claim 11,
R2 discloses a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium including instructions of a client application that, when executed by one or more processors of a machine, configure the machine to perform operations comprising (R2: ¶ [0089] a "vendor" is represented by at least an "input device" containing a processor and memory, running software or capable of performing digital forms of algorithms to process "input data", where the input data includes at least "data representative of content data" and "data representative of one or more trigger conditions, ¶¶ [0027, 0038]):
identifying a plurality of targeted end devices of Internet of Things (IoT) in one or more targeted geographical areas and a plurality of available radio broadcast stations covering the one or more targeted geographical areas (R2: ¶ [0098] a "destination device" will represent one or more delivery destinations which may be an Internet destination such as a web site, email, drop box, etc. or an electronic device such as a computer, tablet, mobile phone, server, smart remote,
television, set top box, air conditioner, light switch, sensor, router, or the like, ¶ [0134] The vendor can then use the data input mechanism on the input device to input vendor data,
content data and delivery parameters which can include one or more of:, ¶ [0145] Destination geographic and demographic details, ¶[0146] Destination device parameters,¶ [0097]);
presenting, using a display of the machine, the plurality of the available radio broadcast stations to a user, wherein the presenting comprises presenting a graphical user interface (GUI) using the display of the machine (R2: ¶ [0089] a "vendor" is represented by at least an "input device" containing a processor and memory, running software or capable of performing digital forms of algorithms to process "input data", ¶ [0090] input device can be a computer, server, tablet, mobile phone, remote control, gateway device or some other form of electronic digital device. The input device may also interface and communicate to one or more of a server or other data retrieval mechanism, or an "operator" which can be represented by an individual, company, device manufacturer, retailer, distributor, service provider, establishment or the like. The operator of the input device can be also referred to as a vendor), wherein the GUI includes a plurality of selectable callsigns representing the one or more targeted geographical areas to indicate the plurality of available radio broadcast stations targeted for a message (R2: ¶ [0091] The input device is equipped with a "data input mechanism" such as a web page or form, software application ("app")…, to determine delivery conditions and destinations of the data representative of the content data and data representative of one or more trigger conditions, ¶ [0223] server can be connected to a broadcast transmitter for content data transmission over the air. The destination device will receive the content data using the broadcast receiver and store it in memory for processing, ¶ [0134] The vendor can then use the data input mechanism on the input device to input vendor data, content data and delivery parameters which can include one or more of:, ¶[0143] Content data category or channel, ¶ [0145] Destination geographic and demographic details, ¶[0146] Destination device parameters);
receiving a selection of one or more radio broadcast stations identified by the call signs among the plurality of available radio broadcast stations selected via the GUI for transmitting the message (R2: ¶ [0091] The input device is equipped with a "data input mechanism" such as a web page or form, software application ("app")…,to determine delivery conditions and destinations, ¶ [0433] an operator of an input device/vendor would enter data fields into a data entry form where the form is customized to receive data and parameters associated with delivering content data to an end device using device addressing, ¶ [0134] The vendor can then use the data input mechanism on the input device to input vendor data, content data and delivery parameters which can include one or more of:, ¶[0143] Content data category or channel, ¶ [0223] server can be connected to a broadcast transmitter for content data transmission over the air. The destination device will receive the content data using the broadcast receiver and store it in memory for processing, ¶ [0187] Using device data fields, a manufacturer or device developer can refine and target the delivery scope of the content data to devices, ¶¶ [0179, 0186]);
sending the message to a network server, wherein the message identifies the plurality of the targeted end devices of the IoT (R2: ¶ [0095] the input data can include "delivery parameters" which can be used to determine how the content data is made accessible by the destination device and can include destination or device addresses, demographics data, delivery times, text messages, icons, call to action directives, content data action to signal synchronization details, content data validity times, message dwell times, ¶ [0134] The vendor can then use the data input mechanism on the input device to input vendor data, content data and delivery parameters which can include one or more of:, ¶[0146] Destination device parameters, ¶ [0351] input device A 701 that has been adapted to input and store data representative of content data and data representative of one or more trigger conditions associated with the content data and communicate that data using a communication channel 702 using the Internet 703 connecting server 710. Server 710 stores this input data in memory and runs processes on the data representative of content data and data representative of one or more trigger conditions to determine the trigger conditions, ¶ [0433] an operator of an input device/vendor would enter data fields into a data entry form where the form is customized to receive data and parameters associated with delivering content data to an end device using device addressing, ¶ [0130] trigger data can be communicated from the input device to the destination device, or to a server which can then forward the trigger data to the destination device or process the trigger data which then causes the content data to be triggered in the destination device, ¶ [0098] a "destination device" will represent one or more delivery destinations which may be an Internet destination such as a web site, email, drop box, etc. or an electronic device such as a computer, tablet, mobile phone, server, smart remote, television, set top box, air conditioner, light switch, sensor, router, or the like, ¶ [0278]); and
indicating the selected one or more radio broadcast stations for sending the message using a radio broadcast signal (R2: ¶ [0020] data representative of content data delivery time or date, content data valid times, geographic data, demographic data, ¶ [0223] destination device may not need to be Internet connected if it is equipped with a wireless receiver. This could be in the form of a broadcast receiver such as FM RDS (FM Radio Data Service), DVB (Digital Video Broadcast) or DAB (Digital Audio Broadcast) receiver or the like. The server can be connected to a broadcast transmitter for content data transmission over the air. The destination device will receive the content data using the broadcast receiver, ¶ [0420] various parameters entered define the geographic destination of the content data where the
content data is delivered only to destination devices with matching geographic data, ¶¶[0145, 0179, 0186, 0417-0419]).
R2 does not explicitly disclose:
identifying a plurality of targeted end devices of Internet of Things (IoT) in one or more targeted geographical areas and a plurality of available radio broadcast stations covering the one or more targeted geographical areas;
presenting, using a display of the machine, the plurality of the available radio broadcast stations to a user, wherein the presenting comprises presenting a graphical user interface (GUI) using the display of the machine, wherein the GUI includes a plurality of selectable callsigns representing the one or more targeted geographical areas to indicate the plurality of available radio broadcast stations targeted for a message; and
receiving a selection of one or more radio broadcast stations identified by the callsigns among the plurality of available radio broadcast stations selected via the GUI for transmitting the message.
However, R1 from the same field of endeavor as the claimed invention discloses provide an Internet of Things broadcasting method, device, broadcasting station and storage medium, which aim to solve the technical problem that the Internet of Things terminal equipment cannot obtain an effective location service function in the communication network of an existing base station (R1: ¶ [06]), the broadcasting station may include: a processor 1001, such as a CPU, a network interface 1004, a user interface 1003 (R1: ¶ [081]), Each broadcast station is created as a downlink publish and subscribe channel to form a distributed publish and subscribe overlay network based on spatial location information. The IoT service provides an operating environment based on regional location (broadcast station signal coverage area) (R1: ¶ [0104]), determine a channel subscription table of the broadcasting station according to the service subscription table, and determine a target subscription service of the broadcasting station according to the channel subscription table (R1: ¶ [0112], ¶[0114] the channel subscription table BT), when the network service program generates the corresponding data content according to the target subscription service of the broadcast station, the routing engine in the broadcast station pushes the data content to the subscription of the service according to the target service content in the target subscription service and the channel subscription table BT (R1: ¶ [0125]), the identity (channel ID) corresponding to the broadcast station (i.e. callsign) (R1: ¶ [0139]), and broadcast station pushes the data content to the subscription of the service according to the target service content in the target subscription service and the channel subscription table BT (R1: ¶ [0125], See also Fig. 3 subscription tables), and the data broadcasting cloud platform creates a publish-subscribe channel for digital broadcasting base stations to facilitate the push of location service data for the Internet of Things. It uses a location-based routing mechanism internally to allocate location service information frames to corresponding digital broadcast base stations for broadcast. The location service cloud platform uses the network interface provided by the data platform to call the publish and subscribe channel that it implements, and pushes the location service information frame to the IoT terminal in a specific area, which can realize rich location service applications (R1: ¶ [0186], also see ¶¶ [0101, 084, 0109, 0113, 0131-0132, 0160, 0164, 0179, 0190-0191]).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teachings of R1 in the teachings of R2. A person having ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to do so as content can be delivered from a radio broadcast station closer to an IOT device reducing the latency, and further the network can dynamically choose from different available radio broadcast stations based on the demand and network traffic conditions.
Regarding Claim 12,
Claim 12 is dependent on Claim 11, and the combination of R2 and R1 discloses all the limitations of Claim 11. R2 further discloses further including instructions that configure the machine to perform operations including:
sending an encrypted message to the network server, wherein the encrypted message identifies the plurality of targeted end devices of the IoT (R2: ¶ [0612] well known and standard security methods should be used to secure data over communication channels, secure server log in and memory data integrity. However, additional security elements might also be employed such as ensuring devices are equipped with a secure element that can be used to authenticate a device or server identity, hash or encrypt data files, data transfers, ¶ [0108] the content data can be delivered over a wireless broadcast channel if the device is equipped with a suitable broadcast receiver, such as television, radio, Digital Audio Broadcast (DAB), FM Radio Data Service(FMRDS) and Digital Video Broadcast (DVB), ¶ [303] establish links to content data, process data associated with demographics, location, data associated with end devices, etc., to determine destination addresses of the one or more destination devices, ¶ [0098] a "destination device" will represent one or more delivery destinations which may be an Internet destination such as a web site, email, drop box, etc. or an electronic device such as a computer, tablet, mobile phone, server, smart remote,
television, set top box, air conditioner, light switch, sensor, router, or the like, ¶ [0290]); and
indicating the selected one or more radio broadcast stations for sending the encrypted message (R2: ¶ [0108] the content data can be delivered over a wireless broadcast channel if the device is equipped with a suitable broadcast receiver, such as television, radio, Digital Audio Broadcast (DAB), FM Radio Data Service(FMRDS) and Digital Video Broadcast (DVB), ¶ [0179] Devices can be addresses through a series of "device data fields". Device data fields can be used to form an addressing scheme to determine the delivery of content data to one or more devices…, examples of device data fields are: ¶ [0186] Feature class: This could represent a class of device, such as devices equipped with 802.15.4 or Wi-Fi radios, ¶ [0223] destination device may not need to be Internet connected if it is equipped with a wireless receiver. This could be in the form of a broadcast receiver such as FM RDS (FM Radio Data Service), DVB (Digital Video Broadcast) or DAB (Digital Audio Broadcast) receiver or the like. The server can be connected to a broadcast transmitter for content data transmission over the air. The destination device will receive the content data using the broadcast receiver).
Regarding Claim 13,
Claim 13 is dependent on Claim 11, and the combination of R2 and R1 discloses all the limitations of Claim 11. R2 further discloses further including instructions that configure the machine to perform operations including: sending a second message to the network server, wherein the second message identifies a geographical target for the message (R2: ¶ [0108] the content data can be delivered over a wireless broadcast channel if the device is equipped with a suitable broadcast receiver, such as television, radio, Digital Audio Broadcast (DAB), FM Radio Data Service(FMRDS) and Digital Video Broadcast (DVB), ¶ [0179] Devices can be addresses through a series of "device data fields". Device data fields can be used to form an addressing scheme to determine the delivery of content data to one or more devices…, ¶ [0418] an operator of an input device/vendor would enter data fields into a data entry form where the form is customized to receive data and parameters associated with geographic data, ¶¶ [0134-0149]).
Regarding Claim 14,
Claim 14 is dependent on Claim 11, and the combination of R2 and R1 discloses all the limitations of Claim 11. R2 further discloses further including instructions that configure the machine to perform operations including: establishing a secure channel with the network server (R2: ¶ [0612] well known and standard security methods should be used to secure data over communication channels, secure server log in and memory data integrity. However, additional security elements might also be employed such as ensuring devices are equipped with a secure element that can be used to authenticate a device or server identity, hash or encrypt data files, data transfer, ¶ [0108]); and
sending the message to the network server using the secure channel (R2: ¶ [0612] well known and standard security methods should be used to secure data over communication channels, secure server log in and memory data integrity. However, additional security elements might also be employed such as ensuring devices are equipped with a secure element that can be used to authenticate a device or server identity, hash or encrypt data files, data transfer, ¶ [0108]).
Regarding Claim 15,
Claim 14 is dependent on Claim 11, and the combination of R2 and R1 discloses all the limitations of Claim 11. R2 further discloses further including instructions that configure the machine to perform operations including: sending multiple messages to the network server, wherein the multiple messages indicate the plurality of targeted end devices of the IoT (R2: ¶ [0532] a vendor can specify by entering parameters into an input device; validity dates and times associated with the content; delivery dates and times; and trigger dates and times. The triggering of the content data can be nominated by the vendor to be displayed in the display area of the screen of a destination device, ¶ [0098] a "destination device" will represent one or more delivery destinations which may be an Internet destination such as a web site, email, drop box, etc. or an electronic device such as a computer, tablet, mobile phone, server, smart remote, television, set top box, air conditioner, light switch, sensor, router, or the like); and
indicating time requirements for sending the multiple messages by the selected one or more radio broadcast stations (R2: ¶ [0108] the content data can be delivered over a wireless broadcast channel if the device is equipped with a suitable broadcast receiver, such as television, radio, Digital Audio Broadcast (DAB), FM Radio Data Service(FMRDS) and Digital Video Broadcast (DVB), ¶ [0532] a vendor can specify by entering parameters into an input device; validity dates and times associated with the content; delivery dates and times; and trigger dates and times. The triggering of the content data can be nominated by the vendor to be displayed in the display area of the screen of a destination device, ¶¶ [0408-409]).
Regarding Claim 17,
Claim 17 is dependent on Claim 11, and the combination of R2 and R1 discloses all the limitations of Claim 11. R2 further discloses further including instructions that configure the machine to perform operations including: receiving a message status indicating sending of the message from the network server (R2: ¶ [0329] The server then runs processes to moderate the content data at step 503. This step involves a decision box 504 to test if the content data stored in memory passes a moderation test. If it does not, path 505 is taken which halts any content data progress to the destination device. At this point the content data may be flagged as failed, stored in a separate memory and the vendor who input the content data can be notified of the non-delivery status and the reasons for the content moderation failure); and
presenting, using the display of the machine, the message status to the user (R2: ¶ [0329] The server then runs processes to moderate the content data at step 503. This step involves a decision box 504 to test if the content data stored in memory passes a moderation test. If it does not, path 505 is taken which halts any content data progress to the destination device. At this point the content data may be flagged as failed, stored in a separate memory and the vendor who input the content data can be notified of the non-delivery status and the reasons for the content moderation failure).
Regarding Claim 18,
Claim 18 is dependent on Claim 11, and the combination of R2 and R1 discloses all the limitations of Claim 11. R2 further discloses further including instructions that configure the machine to perform operations including: encoding the message to include control data for controlling the plurality of targeted end devices (R2: ¶ [0109] vendor can specify under what conditions the sleeper content data is activated, or triggered. At the point of activation, the sleeper content data is processed by the microprocessor of the destination device and the sleeper content data is executed to perform the function it was originally designed to perform, ¶ [0150] the vendor content data is delivered along with the triggers for the content data activation, ¶ [0098] a "destination device" will represent one or more delivery destinations which may be an Internet destination such as a web site, email, drop box, etc. or an electronic device such as a computer, tablet, mobile phone, server, smart remote,
television, set top box, air conditioner, light switch, sensor, router, or the like,).
Regarding Claim 20,
Claim 20 is dependent on Claim 11, and the combination of R2 and R1 discloses all the limitations of Claim 11. R2 further discloses further including instructions that configure the machine to perform operations including: presenting a payload management field of the GUI to configure a payload of the message to the plurality of target end devices of the IoT (R2: ¶ [0385] an operator of an input device/vendor, would enter data fields into a data entry form where the form is customized to receive data and parameters associated with delivering message type of content data, ¶ [0388] The banner message 1005 is a short message that is entered into the banner message field 1006 and is displayed in a visible area of the display of the destination device to convey to a user of the device the content of the main or offer message that will be revealed when the user selects the banner message, ¶ [0389] The offer message 1007 is entered into the offer message field 1008, ¶ [0098] a "destination device" will represent one or more delivery destinations which may be an Internet destination such as a web site, email, drop box, etc. or an electronic device such as a computer, tablet, mobile phone, server, smart remote, television, set top box, air conditioner, light switch, sensor, router, or the like).
Conclusion
12. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US-20180324740-A1
US-20200008044-A1
US-20180270895-A1
US-20210067958-A1
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SAMEERA WICKRAMASURIYA whose telephone number is (571)272-1507. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F 9:45am - 6:15pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jung W. Kim can be reached on 571-272-3804. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/SAMEERA WICKRAMASURIYA/
Examiner, Art Unit 2494
/JUNG W KIM/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2494
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