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 1,2,11,12,23-25,28-32, and 35-42 are pending.
Claims 3-10,13-22,26-27, and 33-34 are canceled.
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 1/19/2026 has been entered.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on September 4,2025 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
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.
Claim 37-42 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AlA), 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-AlA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claims 37-42 recite "N". Claim 1 recites "N bits of a hash value" and "N bits of a Flow Label field". The Examiner is unable to determine if "N" in claims 37-42 is refers "N bits of a hash value" or "N bits of a Flow Label field" or both. Therefore, the claim is indefinite and is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, second paragraph.
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.
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.
Claims 1,2,11,12, 31-32,37,39, and 41 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over as Wenzhuo et al, US 20150289303 A1, in view of Tilli et al, US 20200067836 A1, and in further view of Levy-Abegnoli et al, US 20080137659 A1.
Regarding claim 1, Wenzhuo discloses an Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) based wireless network communication method ([0005] the Internet Protocol version 6 (Internet Protocol Version 6, IPv6), comprising:
a Flow Label field in an IPv6 header of an IPv6 packet([0119] A flow label (Flow Label, FL) field of the IPv6 header has 20 bits),
wherein N is less than a quantity of bits included in the TEID field([0129] The 20 bit size of the FL field is less than the GTP-TEID which has 32 bits.).
the plaintext packet is a plaintext Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) packet or a plaintext IPv6 packet, and the TEID field indicates a bearer to which the plaintext packet belongs ([0211] When the user plane protocol stack uses a flow label to carry a user plane TEID, the second processing unit 1022 encapsulates the first user plane data with an IPv6 header, where a flow label of the IPv6 header carries the first bearer identity.);
determining a transmission path of the IPv6 packet based on the filled Flow Label field in the IPv6 header; and transmitting the IPv6 packet on the determined transmission path of the IPv6 packet ([0118] [0119] The IPv6 protocol is used at the network layer, including information about an IPv6 header, where a flow label of the IPv6 header carries a user plane tunnel endpoint identifier TEID. A flow label (Flow Label, FL) field of the IPv6 header has 20 bits, and is used to identify packets that belong to a same traffic flow. One traffic flow may be uniquely identified by using a flow label, a source IP address, and a destination IP address. A router device does not change this field in a packet in a forwarding process, and therefore this field may be used to transfer information, such as the TEID, from end to end.).
a tunnel endpoint identifier (TEID) field in a general packet radio service tunneling protocol (GTP) header of a plaintext packet ([0004], [0013], TEID is carried in a TEID field of a GTP-U header).
Wenzhou does not disclose performing hash calculation on a tunnel endpoint identifier (TEID) field and a first parameter to obtain a hash value;
However, Tilli does disclose performing hash calculation on a tunnel endpoint identifier (TEID) field and a first parameter to obtain a hash value ([0039][0066-0067] Controller input thread may update the global locked hash tables based on header values (e.g. Tunnel Endpoint Identifier (TEID) and Internet Protocol (IP)). ARP table 606 may be used to map the TEID and/or IP address based hash table(s) to MAC addresses. The hash table as described above may thus comprise IP address based hash and/or TEID based hash. It needs to be noted that the IP address based hash table 602 may comprise both IP address(es) and TEID(s). Similarly, the TEID based hash table 604 may comprise both IP address(es) and TEID(s). ARP table may include IP address to MAC address mapping.);
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Wenzhou with performing hash calculation on a tunnel endpoint identifier (TEID) field and a first parameter to obtain a hash value as taught by Tilli. The motivation for doing so would be to reduce number of locks required in a wireless network system utilizing the division of control plane and user plane. (Tilli, [0029])
Wenzhou and Tilli do not disclose filling N bits of the hash value into N bits of a Flow Label field in an IPv6 header of an IPv6 packet.
However, Levy-Abegnoli does disclose filling N bits of the hash value into N bits of a Flow Label field in an IPv6 header of an IPv6 packet([0041] [0042] The IPv6 triggering node 14 configured to set the flow label field value 70 to equal a hash (e.g., an SHA-1 hash) of the IPv6 CGA address 58' of the IPv6 traffic source. The ICMP SEND message 24 also specifies a modified flow label field value 70', where the flow label field value 70' may be set by the IPv6 triggering node 14 calculating a hash of the source address value 102 used by the IPv6 traffic source 16'.),
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Wenzhou and Tilli with filling N bits of the hash value into N bits of a Flow Label field in an IPv6 header of an IPv6 packet as taught by Levy-Abegnoli. The motivation for doing so would be to reduce the priority of the non-priority packets relative to the preempting packets in case there remains sufficient network resources for lower priority traffic. (Levy-Abegnoli, [0045])
Regarding claim 2, Wenzhou and Tilli do not disclose the method wherein the determining the transmission path of the IPv6 packet comprises: performing hash calculation based on the filled Flow Label field and the first parameter to obtain another hash value; and determining the transmission path of the IPv6 packet based on the another hash value.
However, Levy-Abegnoli does disclose the method wherein the determining the transmission path of the IPv6 packet comprises: performing hash calculation based on the filled Flow Label field and the first parameter to obtain another hash value; and determining the transmission path of the IPv6 packet based on the another hash value([0041] In this specific example of using differential services and a hash of the source address, however, the access router 12 should be configured to prevent a low-priority packet from obtaining high-priority service in the WAN 20, by configuring the access router 12 to reject any packet having a flow label field value 70 that equals a hash of the source address of the packet, but where the flow label field value 70 has not been explicitly authorized by the IPv6 triggering node 14.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Wenzhou and Tilli with the method wherein the determining the transmission path of the IPv6 packet comprises: performing hash calculation based on the filled Flow Label field and the first parameter to obtain another hash value; and determining the transmission path of the IPv6 packet based on the another hash value as taught by Levy-Abegnoli. The motivation for doing so would be to reduce the priority of the non-priority packets relative to the preempting packets in case there remains sufficient network resources for lower priority traffic. (Levy-Abegnoli, [0045])
Regarding claim 11, Wenzhuo discloses a communication apparatus, comprising a processor ([0217] FIG. 11 a processor);
and a memory coupled to the processor, wherein the memory comprises instructions that, when executed by the processor ([0220] FIG. 11 these software components are loaded to the memory 53 and then are accessed by the processor 52, and the processor 52 executes the following instructions.), cause the communication apparatus to perform operations comprising:
a Flow Label field in an IPv6 header of an IPv6 packet([0119] A flow label (Flow Label, FL) field of the IPv6 header has 20 bits),
wherein N is less than a quantity of bits included in the TEID field([0129] The 20 bit size of the FL field is less than the GTP-TEID which has 32 bits.),
the plaintext packet is a plaintext Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) packet or a plaintext IPv6 packet, and the TEID field indicates a bearer to which the plaintext packet belongs ([0211] When the user plane protocol stack uses a flow label to carry a user plane TEID, the second processing unit 1022 encapsulates the first user plane data with an IPv6 header, where a flow label of the IPv6 header carries the first bearer identity.);
determining a transmission path of the IPv6 packet based on the filled Flow Label field in the IPv6 header; and transmitting the IPv6 packet on the determined transmission path of the IPv6 packet([0118] [0119] The IPv6 protocol is used at the network layer, including information about an IPv6 header, where a flow label of the IPv6 header carries a user plane tunnel endpoint identifier TEID. A flow label (Flow Label, FL) field of the IPv6 header has 20 bits, and is used to identify packets that belong to a same traffic flow. One traffic flow may be uniquely identified by using a flow label, a source IP address, and a destination IP address. A router device does not change this field in a packet in a forwarding process, and therefore this field may be used to transfer information, such as the TEID, from end to end.).
a tunnel endpoint identifier (TEID) field in a general packet radio service tunneling protocol (GTP) header of a plaintext packet ([0004], [0013] TEID is carried in a TEID field of a GTP-U header)
Wenzhou does not disclose performing hash calculation on a tunnel endpoint identifier (TEID) field and a first parameter to obtain a hash value;
However, Tilli does disclose performing hash calculation on a tunnel endpoint identifier (TEID) field and a first parameter to obtain a hash value ([0039][0066-0067] Controller input thread may update the global locked hash tables based on header values (e.g. Tunnel Endpoint Identifier (TEID) and Internet Protocol (IP)). ARP table 606 may be used to map the TEID and/or IP address based hash table(s) to MAC addresses. The hash table as described above may thus comprise IP address based hash and/or TEID based hash. It needs to be noted that the IP address based hash table 602 may comprise both IP address(es) and TEID(s). Similarly, the TEID based hash table 604 may comprise both IP address(es) and TEID(s). ARP table may include IP address to MAC address mapping.);
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Wenzhou with performing hash calculation on a tunnel endpoint identifier (TEID) field and a first parameter to obtain a hash value as taught by Tilli. The motivation for doing so would be to reduce number of locks required in a wireless network system utilizing the division of control plane and user plane. (Tilli, [0029])
Wenzhou and Tilli do not disclose filling N bits of the hash value into N bits of a Flow Label field in an IPv6 header of an IPv6 packet,
However, Levy-Abegnoli does disclose filling N bits of the hash value into N bits of a Flow Label field in an IPv6 header of an IPv6 packet([0041] [0044] In this specific example of using differential services and a hash of the source address, however, the access router 12 should be configured to prevent a low-priority packet from obtaining high-priority service in the WAN 20, by configuring the access router 12 to reject any packet having a flow label field value 70 that equals a hash of the source address of the packet, but where the flow label field value 70 has not been explicitly authorized by the IPv6 triggering node 14. Since the source address 102 is not a cryptographically generated address, the security services resource 34 can be configured to attempt to determine in step 104 whether the IPv6 packet 26 satisfies a prescribed security condition by determining whether the flow label field value 70' matches a prescribed hash of the unsecured IPv6 source address 102, and/or whether the IPv6 packet 26 is received within a prescribed time limit set for the flow label field value 70'. ),
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Wenzhou and Tilli with filling N bits of the hash value into N bits of a Flow Label field in an IPv6 header of an IPv6 packet as taught by Levy-Abegnoli. The motivation for doing so would be to reduce the priority of the non-priority packets relative to the preempting packets in case there remains sufficient network resources for lower priority traffic. (Levy-Abegnoli, [0045])
Regarding claim 12, Wenzhou and Tilli do not disclose the apparatus wherein the instructions cause the communication apparatus to determine the transmission path of the IPv6 packet based on the TEID field of the IPv6 packet by:performing hash calculation based on the filled Flow Label field and the first parameter to obtain a another hash value; and determining the transmission path of the IPv6 packet based on another hash value.
However, Levy-Abegnoli does disclose the apparatus wherein the instructions cause the communication apparatus to determine the transmission path of the IPv6 packet based on the TEID field of the IPv6 packet by:performing hash calculation based on the filled Flow Label field and the first parameter to obtain a another hash value; and determining the transmission path of the IPv6 packet based on another hash value([0041] In this specific example of using differential services and a hash of the source address, however, the access router 12 should be configured to prevent a low-priority packet from obtaining high-priority service in the WAN 20, by configuring the access router 12 to reject any packet having a flow label field value 70 that equals a hash of the source address of the packet, but where the flow label field value 70 has not been explicitly authorized by the IPv6 triggering node 14.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Wenzhou and Tilli with the method wherein the determining the transmission path of the IPv6 packet comprises: performing hash calculation based on the filled Flow Label field and the first parameter to obtain another hash value; and determining the transmission path of the IPv6 packet based on the another hash value as taught by Levy-Abegnoli. The motivation for doing so would be to reduce the priority of the non-priority packets relative to the preempting packets in case there remains sufficient network resources for lower priority traffic. (Levy-Abegnoli, [0045])
Regarding claim 31, Wenzhuo discloses a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, comprising a computer program for execution by a processor ([0256] [0264] After the processor accesses the software components in the memory 53, the processor executes the following instructions. The computer-readable medium includes a computer storage medium and a
communications medium.), the computer program comprising computer instructions for:
a Flow Label field in an Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) header of an IPv6 packet([0119] A flow label (Flow Label, FL) field of the IPv6 header has 20 bits),
wherein N is less than a quantity of bits included in the TEID field([0129] The 20 bit size of the FL field is less than the GTP-TEID which has 32 bits.).
the plaintext packet is a plaintext Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) packet or a plaintext IPv6 packet, and the TEID field indicates a bearer to which the plaintext packet belongs ([0211] When the user plane protocol stack uses a flow label to carry a user plane TEID, the second processing unit 1022 encapsulates the first user plane data with an IPv6 header, where a flow label of the IPv6 header carries the first bearer identity.);
determining a transmission path of the IPv6 packet based on the filled Flow Label field in the IPv6 header;and transmitting the IPv6 packet on the determined transmission path of the IPv6 packet([0118] [0119] The IPv6 protocol is used at the network layer, including information about an IPv6 header, where a flow label of the IPv6 header carries a user plane tunnel endpoint identifier TEID. A flow label (Flow Label, FL) field of the IPv6 header has 20 bits, and is used to identify packets that belong to a same traffic flow. One traffic flow may be uniquely identified by using a flow label, a source IP address, and a destination IP address. A router device does not change this field in a packet in a forwarding process, and therefore this field may be used to transfer information, such as the TEID, from end to end.).
a tunnel endpoint identifier (TEID) field in a general packet radio service tunneling protocol (GTP) header of a plaintext packet ([0004], [0013], TEID is carried in a TEID field of a GTP-U header)
Wenzhou does not disclose performing hash calculation on a tunnel endpoint identifier (TEID) field and a first parameter to obtain a hash value;
However, Tilli does disclose performing hash calculation on a tunnel endpoint identifier (TEID) field and a first parameter to obtain a hash value ([0039][0066-0067] Controller input thread may update the global locked hash tables based on header values (e.g. Tunnel Endpoint Identifier (TEID) and Internet Protocol (IP)). ARP table 606 may be used to map the TEID and/or IP address based hash table(s) to MAC addresses. The hash table as described above may thus comprise IP address based hash and/or TEID based hash. It needs to be noted that the IP address based hash table 602 may comprise both IP address(es) and TEID(s). Similarly, the TEID based hash table 604 may comprise both IP address(es) and TEID(s). ARP table may include IP address to MAC address mapping.);
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Wenzhou with performing hash calculation on a tunnel endpoint identifier (TEID) field in a general packet radio service tunneling protocol (GTP) header of a plaintext packet and a first parameter to obtain a hash value as taught by Tilli. The motivation for doing so would be to reduce number of locks required in a wireless network system utilizing the division of control plane and user plane. (Tilli, [0029])
Wenzhou and Tilli do not disclose filling N bits of the hash value into N bits of based on a tunnel endpoint identifier (TEID) field of a plaintext packet, wherein N is less than a quantity of bits included in the TEID field,
However, Levy-Abegnoli does disclose filling N bits of the hash value into N bits of based on a tunnel endpoint identifier (TEID) field of a plaintext packet, ([0041] [0044] In this specific example of using differential services and a hash of the source address, however, the access router 12 should be configured to prevent a low-priority packet from obtaining high-priority service in the WAN 20, by configuring the access router 12 to reject any packet having a flow label field value 70 that equals a hash of the source address of the packet, but where the flow label field value 70 has not been explicitly authorized by the IPv6 triggering node 14. Since the source address 102 is not a cryptographically generated address, the security services resource 34 can be configured to attempt to determine in step 104 whether the IPv6 packet 26 satisfies a prescribed security condition by determining whether the flow label field value 70' matches a prescribed hash of the unsecured IPv6 source address 102, and/or whether the IPv6 packet 26 is received within a prescribed time limit set for the flow label field value 70'. ),
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Wenzhou and Tilli with filling N bits of the hash value into N bits of a Flow Label field in an IPv6 header of an IPv6 packet, wherein N is less than a quantity of bits included in the TEID field as taught by Levy-Abegnoli. The motivation for doing so would be to reduce the priority of the non-priority packets relative to the preempting packets in case there remains sufficient network resources for lower priority traffic. (Levy-Abegnoli, [0045])
Regarding claim 32, Wenzhou and Tilli do not disclose the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium the determining the transmission path of the IPv6 packet comprising: performing hash calculation based on the filled Flow Label field and the first parameter to obtain a first hash value; and determining the transmission path of the IPv6 packet based on the first hash value.
However, Levy-Abegnoli does disclose the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium the determining the transmission path of the IPv6 packet comprising: performing hash calculation based on the filled Flow Label field and the first parameter to obtain a first hash value; and determining the transmission path of the IPv6 packet based on the first hash value([0041] In this specific example of using differential services and a hash of the source address, however, the access router 12 should be configured to prevent a low-priority packet from obtaining high-priority service in the WAN 20, by configuring the access router 12 to reject any packet having a flow label field value 70 that equals a hash of the source address of the packet, but where the flow label field value 70 has not been explicitly authorized by the IPv6 triggering node 14.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Wenzhou and Tilli with the method wherein the determining the transmission path of the IPv6 packet comprises: performing hash calculation based on the filled Flow Label field and the first parameter to obtain another hash value; and determining the transmission path of the IPv6 packet based on the another hash value as taught by Levy-Abegnoli. The motivation for doing so would be to reduce the priority of the non-priority packets relative to the preempting packets in case there remains sufficient network resources for lower priority traffic. (Levy-Abegnoli, [0045])
Regarding claims 37,39, and 41 Wenzhou does disclose the method/communication apparatus(as cited in claim 39)/non-transitory computer-readable storage medium (as cited in claim 41) wherein N is less than or equal to 20 and the quantity of bits included in the TEID field is 32([0119] [0129] A flow label (Flow Label, FL) field of the IPv6 header has 20 bits, and is used to identify packets that belong to a same traffic flow. One traffic flow may be uniquely identified by using a flow label, a source IP address, and a destination IP address. Generally, the S1_FL has 24 bits, while the GTP-TEID has 32 bits. ).
Claims 23-25,28-30, and 35-36 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over as Wenzhuo et al, US 20150289303 A1, in view of Tilli et al, US 20200067836 A1, in view of Levy-Abegnoli et al, US 20080137659 A1, as applied to claims 1 11, and 31 above, and in further view of in view of Kempf et al, US 20140241247 A1.
Regarding claims 23 and 28, Wenzhuo does disclose the method/communication apparatus (as cited in claim 28) wherein the plaintext packet is the plaintext IPv6 packet, the IPv6 packet is a ciphertext IPv6 packet, and the filling the Flow Label field in the IPv6 header of the IPv6 packet comprises:filling a first Flow Label field in a first IPv6 header of the plaintext IPv6 packet based on the TEID field of the plaintext IPv6 packet([0012] Where a flow label of the IPv6 header carries a user plane tunnel endpoint identifier TEID.);
Wenzhou, Tilli, and Levy-Abegnoli do not disclose and generating the ciphertext IPv6 packet by encrypting the plaintext IPv6 packet filled with the first Flow Label field and by filling a second Flow Label field in a second IPv6 header after encrypting the plaintext IPv6 packet, wherein the second Flow Label field is filled based on the first Flow Label field in the first IPv6 header, and the ciphertext IPv6 packet includes the first IPv6 header as an inner IPv6 header and the second IPv6 header as an outer IPv6 header.
However, Kempf does disclose and generating the ciphertext IPv6 packet by encrypting the plaintext IPv6 packet filled with the first Flow Label field and by filling a second Flow Label field in a second IPv6 header after encrypting the plaintext IPv6 packet([0101] [0121] [0161] The OpenFlow controller programs the gateway switch to install rules, actions, and TEID hash table entries for routing packets into GTP tunnels via a fast path GTP encapsulation virtual port. The OpenFlow flow match structure of ofp_match, contains two fields, type and length, that allow the flow match structure to be extended. A service card may be used to terminate IPsec tunnels and execute the attendant authentication and encryption algorithms.),
wherein the second Flow Label field is filled based on the first Flow Label field in the first IPv6 header ([0121] [0189] The OpenFlow flow match structure of ofp_match, contains two fields, type and length, that allow the flow match structure to be extended. A flow may be defined as a set of packets whose headers match a given pattern of bits. Traditional IP forwarding is also flow--based forwarding where the flows are defined by the destination IP address for example.),
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Wenzhou, Tilli, and Levy-Abegnoli with and generating the ciphertext IPv6 packet by encrypting the plaintext IPv6 packet filled with the first Flow Label field and by filling a second Flow Label field in a second IPv6 header after encrypting the plaintext IPv6 packet, wherein the second Flow Label field is filled based on the first Flow Label field in the first IPv6 header, and the ciphertext IPv6 packet includes the first IPv6 header as an inner IPv6 header and the second IPv6 header as an outer IPv6 header as taught by Kempf. The motivation for doing so would be to increases operating expenses for the managed services companies and the mobile operator network due to the additional equipment, power and cooling requirements. (Kempf, [0044])
Regarding claims 24 and 29, Wenzhuo does disclose the method/communication apparatus (as cited in claim 29) wherein the plaintext packet is the plaintext IPv6 packet, and the filling the Flow Label field in the IPv6 header of in IPv6 packet comprises: filling a first Flow Label field in the IPv6 header of the plaintext IPv6 packet based on the TEID field of the plaintext IPv6 packet ([0012] Where a flow label of the IPv6 header carries a user plane tunnel endpoint identifier TEID.);
Wenzhou, Tilli, and Levy-Abegnoli do not disclose fragmenting the plaintext IPv6 packet filled with the first Flow Label field into a plurality of chips, with each chip including the first Flow Label field; encrypting each of the plurality of chips to obtain a ciphertext packet of each chip; and filling a second Flow Label field of the ciphertext packet of each chip based on the first Flow Label field of each chip.
However, Kempf does disclose fragmenting the plaintext IPv6 packet filled with the first Flow Label field into a plurality of chips, with each chip including the first Flow Label field ([0064] [0161] There are four different types of groups: All, which execute all actions in the bucket list, this is used for broadcast or multicast forwarding; Select, which execute one bucket per packet, based on an algorithm determined by the switch which is outside the OpenFlow protocol. A service card may be used to terminate IPsec tunnels and execute the attendant authentication and encryption algorithms.);
encrypting each of the plurality of chips to obtain a ciphertext packet of each chip ([0064] [0161] Execute one bucket per packet, based on an algorithm determined by the switch which is outside the OpenFlow protocol. A service card may be used to terminate IPsec tunnels and execute the attendant authentication and encryption algorithms.);
and filling a second Flow Label field of the ciphertext packet of each chip based on the first Flow Label field of each chip ([0121][0161] [0189] The OpenFlow flow match structure of ofp_match, contains two fields, type and length, that allow the flow match structure to be extended. A flow may be defined as a set of packets whose headers match a given pattern of bits. A service card may be used to terminate IPsec tunnels and execute the attendant authentication and encryption algorithms. Traditional IP forwarding is also flow--based forwarding where the flows are defined by the destination IP address for example.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Wenzhou, Tilli, and Levy-Abegnoli with fragmenting the plaintext IPv6 packet filled with the first Flow Label field into a plurality of chips, with each chip including the first Flow Label field; encrypting each of the plurality of chips to obtain a ciphertext packet of each chip; and filling a second Flow Label field of the ciphertext packet of each chip based on the first Flow Label field of each chip as taught by Kempf. The motivation for doing so would be to increases operating expenses for the managed services companies and the mobile operator network due to the additional equipment, power and cooling requirements. (Kempf, [0044])
Regarding claims 25 and 30, Wenzhuo does disclose the method/communication apparatus (as cited in claim 30) wherein the plaintext packet is the plaintext IPv4 packet, the IPv6 packet is a ciphertext IPv6 packet, and the filling the Flow Label field in the IPv6header of in IPv6 packet comprises: filling the Flow Label field in the IPv6 header of the ciphertext IPv6 packet based on the TEID field of the plaintext IPv4 packet ([0012] Where a flow label of the IPv6 header carries a user plane tunnel endpoint identifier TEID.);
Wenzhou, Tilli, and Levy-Abegnoli do not disclose wherein the Flow Label field comprises at least part of bits included in the TEID field, or at least part of bits of a hash value derived from the TEID field.
However, Kempf does disclose wherein the Flow Label field comprises at least part of bits included in the TEID field, or at least part of bits of a hash value derived from the TEID field ([0093] [0098] An OpenFlow switch that supports TEID routing matches on the 2 byte (16 bit) collection of header fields and the 4 byte (32 bit) GTP TEID, in addition to other OpenFlow header fields, in at least one flow table. The TEID hash keys are calculated using a suitable hash algorithm with low collision frequency, for example SHA-1.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Wenzhou, Tilli, and Levy-Abegnoli with wherein the Flow Label field comprises at least part of bits included in the TEID field, or at least part of bits of a hash value derived from the TEID field as taught by Kempf. The motivation for doing so would be to increases operating expenses for the managed services companies and the mobile operator network due to the additional equipment, power and cooling requirements. (Kempf, [0044])
Regarding claim 35, Wenzhuo does disclose the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium wherein the plaintext packet is the plaintext IPv6 packet, the IPv6 packet is a ciphertext IPv6 packet, and the filling the Flow Label field in the IPv6 header of the IPv6 packet comprises: filling a first Flow Label field in a first IPv6 header of the plaintext IPv6 packet based on the TEID field of the plaintext IPv6 packet([0012] Where a flow label of the IPv6 header carries a user plane tunnel endpoint identifier TEID.);
Wenzhou, Tilli, and Levy-Abegnoli do not disclose and generating the ciphertext IPv6 packet by encrypting the plaintext IPv6 packet filled with the first Flow Label field and by filling a second Flow Label field in a second IPv6 header after encrypting the plaintext IPv6 packet, wherein the second Flow Label field is filled based on the first Flow Label field in the first IPv6 header, and the ciphertext IPv6 packet includes the first IPv6 header as an inner IPv6 header and the second IPv6 header as an outer IPv6 header.
However, Kempf does disclose and generating the ciphertext IPv6 packet by encrypting the plaintext IPv6 packet filled with the first Flow Label field and by filling a second Flow Label field in a second IPv6 header after encrypting the plaintext IPv6 packet ([0101] [0121] [0161] The OpenFlow controller programs the gateway switch to install rules, actions, and TEID hash table entries for routing packets into GTP tunnels via a fast path GTP encapsulation virtual port. The OpenFlow flow match structure of ofp_match, contains two fields, type and length, that allow the flow match structure to be extended. A service card may be used to terminate IPsec tunnels and execute the attendant authentication and encryption algorithms.),
wherein the second Flow Label field is filled based on the first Flow Label field in the first IPv6 header ([0121] [0189] The OpenFlow flow match structure of ofp_match, contains two fields, type and length, that allow the flow match structure to be extended. A flow may be defined as a set of packets whose headers match a given pattern of bits. Traditional IP forwarding is also flow--based forwarding where the flows are defined by the destination IP address for example.),
and the ciphertext IPv6 packet includes the first IPv6 header as an inner IPv6 header and the second IPv6 header as an outer IPv6 header ([0098] [0189] The gateway maintains one such flow table row for each GTP TEID/bearer. The TEID field contains the GTP TEID for the tunnel. The tunnel origin source IP address contains the address on the encapsulating gateway to which any control traffic involving the tunnel should be directed. A flow may be defined as a set of packets whose headers match a given pattern of bits.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Wenzhou, Tilli, and Levy-Abegnoli with and generating the ciphertext IPv6 packet by encrypting the plaintext IPv6 packet filled with the first Flow Label field and by filling a second Flow Label field in a second IPv6 header after encrypting the plaintext IPv6 packet, wherein the second Flow Label field is filled based on the first Flow Label field in the first IPv6 header, and the ciphertext IPv6 packet includes the first IPv6 header as an inner IPv6 header and the second IPv6 header as an outer IPv6 header as taught by Kempf. The motivation for doing so would be to increases operating expenses for the managed services companies and the mobile operator network due to the additional equipment, power and cooling requirements. (Kempf, [0044])
Regarding claim 36, Wenzhuo does disclose the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium wherein the plaintext packet is the plaintext IPv6 packet, and the filling the Flow Label field in thelPv6 header of in IPv6 packet comprises: filling a first Flow Label field in the IPv6 header of the plaintext IPv6 packet based on the TEID field of the plaintext IPv6 packet ([0012] Where a flow label of the IPv6 header carries a user plane tunnel endpoint identifier TEID.);
Wenzhou, Tilli, and Levy-Abegnoli do not disclose fragmenting the plaintext IPv6 packet filled with the first Flow Label field into a plurality of chips, with each chip including the first Flow Label field; encrypting each of the plurality of chips to obtain a ciphertext packet of each chip; and filling a second Flow Label field of the ciphertext packet of each chip based on the first Flow Label field of each chip.
However, Kempf does disclose fragmenting the plaintext IPv6 packet filled with the first Flow Label field into a plurality of chips, with each chip including the first Flow Label field ([0064] [0161] There are four different types of groups: All, which execute all actions in the bucket list, this is used for broadcast or multicast forwarding; Select, which execute one bucket per packet, based on an algorithm determined by the switch which is outside the OpenFlow protocol. A service card may be used to terminate IPsec tunnels and execute the attendant authentication and encryption algorithms.);
encrypting each of the plurality of chips to obtain a ciphertext packet of each chip ([0064] [0161] Execute one bucket per packet, based on an algorithm determined by the switch which is outside the OpenFlow protocol. A service card may be used to terminate IPsec tunnels and execute the attendant authentication and encryption algorithms.);
and filling a second Flow Label field of the ciphertext packet of each chip based on the first Flow Label field of each chip ([0121][0161] [0189] The OpenFlow flow match structure of ofp_match, contains two fields, type and length, that allow the flow match structure to be extended. A flow may be defined as a set of packets whose headers match a given pattern of bits. A service card may be used to terminate IPsec tunnels and execute the attendant authentication and encryption algorithms. Traditional IP forwarding is also flow--based forwarding where the flows are defined by the destination IP address for example.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Wenzhou, Tilli, and Levy-Abegnoli with fragmenting the plaintext IPv6 packet filled with the first Flow Label field into a plurality of chips, with each chip including the first Flow Label field; encrypting each of the plurality of chips to obtain a ciphertext packet of each chip; and filling a second Flow Label field of the ciphertext packet of each chip based on the first Flow Label field of each chip as taught by Kempf. The motivation for doing so would be to increases operating expenses for the managed services companies and the mobile operator network due to the additional equipment, power and cooling requirements. (Kempf, [0044])
Claims 38,40, and 42 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over as Wenzhuo et al, US 20150289303 A1, in view of Tilli et al, US 20200067836 A1, in view of Levy-Abegnoli et al, US 20080137659 A1, and in further view of Kloberdans et al, US 20200128114 A1.
Regarding claim 38, Wenzhou, Tilli, and Levy-Abegnoli do not disclose the method/communication apparatus(as cited in claim 40)/non-transitory computer-readable storage (as cited in claim 42) wherein the Flow Label field is 20-bit field, and N is 18.
However, Kloberdans does disclose the method/communication apparatus(as cited in claim 40)/non-transitory computer-readable storage (as cited in claim 42) wherein the Flow Label field is 20-bit field, and N is 18([0131][0133] One or more embodiments employ IPv6 and repurpose a field in the header called the ‘Flow Label.’ The Flow Label field has a 20-bit length that defaults to all zeros. Hashing—A hash value that fits within the 20-bit limit of the Flow Label header. The Examiner interprets “fits within the 20-bit limit” to mean N could be 20 or less bits in length which includes N=18.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Wenzhou, Tilli, and Levy-Abegnoli with the method/communication apparatus(as cited in claim 40)/non-transitory computer-readable storage (as cited in claim 42) wherein the Flow Label field is 20-bit field, and N is 18 as taught by Kloberdans. The motivation for doing so would be to reduce the cost of this equipment and to simplify the upgrade of the broadcast cable for two-way digital traffic. (Kloberdans, [0003])
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1,2,11,12,23-25,28-32, and 35-42 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
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/RYA TEON NELSON/Examiner, Art Unit 2419
/Nishant Divecha/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2419