Office Action Predictor
Application No. 18/041,395

NETWORK DISTRIBUTION METHOD AND APPARATUS

Final Rejection §103
Filed
Feb 10, 2023
Examiner
CHOUDHURY, FAISAL
Art Unit
2478
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Beijing Unisoc Communications Technology Co., LTD.
OA Round
2 (Final)
85%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
2y 9m
To Grant
93%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

85%
Career Allow Rate
665 granted / 783 resolved
Without
With
+7.7%
Interview Lift
avg trend
2y 9m
Avg Prosecution
39 pending
822
Total Applications
career history

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
4.4%
-35.6% vs TC avg
§103
51.5%
+11.5% vs TC avg
§102
19.1%
-20.9% vs TC avg
§112
14.1%
-25.9% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data

Office Action

§103
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 . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 1. 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 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. 2. 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 of this title, 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. 3. Claims 1, 6-7 and 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WIPO Publication WO 2019233311 to Xiao et al. (hereinafter Xiao) in view of US Publication US 2018/0220476 to Jung et al. (hereinafter Jung) As to claims 1, 6 and 9, Xiao discloses a network distribution method, applied to a first terminal and comprising: obtaining network distribution data of a target router sent from a second terminal (Xiao; Page 2, summery of the invention; Page 10, Step 101 discloses a user terminal obtaining a service set identifier and password of the network hotpot device and sending it to the network equipment) and; accessing the target router according to the SSID of the target router encoded in the first encoding method and the SSID of the target router encoded in the second encoding method (Page 11; Step 104 discloses of accessing to the hotspot based on the SSID and password encoded in the different type of encoded method) Xiao discloses the SSID and password encoded in the different type of encoded method, but fails to disclose of receiving SSID in wireless fidelity target frame. However, Jung discloses obtaining network distribution data of a target router from a wireless fidelity (WiFi) target frame and target sequence of the target router (Jung; [0068] discloses a smart device access portion 230 acquires SSIDs of routers (=target router) that can be accessed by the IoT gateway 120 by scanning routers around the IoT gateway 120. When the SSIDs of the accessible routers are acquired, the smart device access portion 230 generates a list of accessible routers using the acquired SSIDs of the routers. In an exemplary embodiment, the smart device access portion 230 may generate a list of accessible routers by arranging SSIDs of routers in alphabetical order. [0007] discloses connect a gateway to a router in a wireless manner such as wireless fidelity (WiFi). However, to connect a gateway to a router in a wireless manner, it is necessary for the gateway to additionally have an input device or a display device for inputting or displaying a service set identification (SSID) and a password of the router [0075] discloses the router access portion 240 accesses the target router 110 in a wireless fidelity (WiFi) manner using the assigned IP band); obtaining auxiliary information from the target frame, wherein the auxiliary information comprises at least one of: a string length of the target sequence, a check value of a service set identifier (SSID), and indicative information of an encoding method of the SSID (Jung; [0071]-[0072] discloses wherein the gateway terminal 120 can determine that acquired SSID of a router is in Korean or Extended Unix Code-Korean (EUC-KR) (= a encoded method) corresponding to auxiliary information wherein the auxiliary information comprises indicative information of an encoding method of the SSID. Here Jung is applied); determining, according to the auxiliary information, the SSID of the target router encoded in a first encoding method and the SSID of the target router encoded in a second encoding method from the target (Jung; [0071]-[0072] discloses when a Korean SSID of a router acquired by the smart device access portion 230 is written in Extended Unix Code-Korean (EUC-KR) and the smart device 130 supports a Korean notation format of Unicode Transformation Format-8 (UTF-8), the smart device access portion 230 converts the acquired Korean SSID of the router into UTF-8 format and generate a list of accessible routers using the converted Korean SSID means a gateway terminal can determine first encoding method Extended Unix Code-Korean (EUC-KR) and second encoding method Unicode Transformation Format-8 (UTF-8)) It is obvious for a person of ordinary skilled in the art to combine the teachings before the effective filing date of the invention. One would be motivated to combine the teachings so that the gateway terminal can provide a method that is supported by the smart device and based on the provided method, the smart device can select a target router. As to claim 7, the rejection of claim 6 as listed above is incorporated herein. In addition, Xiao-Jung discloses wherein the generating determining network distribution data of a target router, comprises: obtaining an SSID of the target router stored in the second terminal (Xiao; pages 11-12, step 201-206); determining whether an encoding method of the SSID of the target router stored in the second terminal is the first encoding method or not (Xiao; pages 11-12, step 201-206);; and in the response to a determination that the encoding method of the SSID of the target router stored in the second terminal is not the first encoding method, generating the network distribution data of the target router according to the SSID of the target router encoded in the first encoding method and the SSID of the target router encoded in the second encoding method (Xiao; pages 11-12, step 201-206). 4. Claims 2-3 and 11-12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WIPO Publication WO 2019233311 to Xiao et al. (hereinafter Xiao) in view of US Publication US 2018/0220476 to Jung et al. (hereinafter Jung) in view of CN 107797976 to Yu et al. (hereinafter Yu) As to claims 2 and 11, Xiao-Jung discloses of sending SSID based on the first and second encoding method, but fails to disclose of sending second encoding method based on the feedback. However, Yu discloses wherein the network distribution data further comprises a password of the target router; and the accessing the target router, comprises: sending a first access request to the target router, wherein the first access request comprises the SSID of the target router encoded in the first encoding method and the password of the target router (Yu; Abstract, pages 3-4 step 110); and receiving an access feedback sent from the target router, wherein the access feedback is used to indicate a successful access to the target router (Yu; Abstract, pages 3-4 step 110). It is obvious for a person of ordinary skilled in the art to combine the teachings. One would be motivated to combine the teachings in order to make a decision based on the feedback As to claims 3 and 12, the rejection of claim 2 as listed above is incorporated herein. In addition, Xiao-Yu discloses wherein after the sending a first access request to the target router, the method further comprises: receiving an error feedback sent from the router, wherein the error feedback is used to indicate that the target router fails to identify the SSID of the target router encoded in the first encoding method (Yu; Abstract, pages 3-4 step 110).; sending a second access request to the target router, wherein the second access request comprises the SSID of the target router encoded in the second encoding method and the password of the target router (Yu; Abstract, pages 3-4 step 110).; and receiving an access feedback sent from the target router, wherein the access feedback is used to indicate a successful access to the target router (Yu; Abstract, pages 3-4 step 110). Conclusion THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a). A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FAISAL CHOUDHURY whose telephone number is (571)270-3001. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8AM-6P.M. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Joseph Avellino can be reached at 5712723905. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /FAISAL CHOUDHURY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2478
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Feb 10, 2023
Application Filed
Apr 25, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §103
Jul 30, 2025
Response Filed
Aug 14, 2025
Final Rejection — §103
Apr 03, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action

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Prosecution Projections

3-4
Expected OA Rounds
85%
Grant Probability
93%
With Interview (+7.7%)
2y 9m
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 783 resolved cases by this examiner