DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the claim(s) have been considered but are moot because of the new grounds of rejection. See the rejection below, as to how the previously applied references teach the claimed limitations and how the new references teach the amendments to the claims. The amendments to the claims has changed scope of all the claims.
Previous Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 06/13/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant argues in the remarks that the present application in contrast to Budhikot requires vehicular devices to collect interferences information and provide interference free frequencies or subranges to personal communications devices based on a request from a personal communications device.
The Examiner respectfully disagrees. Even if the applied reference is not exactly like the instant application, it still reads on the claims. In amending the claims, the applicant has amended the first clause by adding the term “mobile communication” to amend “the plurality of devices” to be the plurality of mobile communication devices. This is not a change of scope, as the amended term reads on any cellphone, mobile, smartphone, or a personal communication device. Budhikott clearly discloses a plurality of mobile communications devices.
The applicant refers to the plurality of mobile communication devices as vehicular device. 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., vehicular devices) are not recited in the rejected claim(s). 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).
Applicant argues that Buddhikot does not disclose satisfying a request for bandwidth allocation.
The Examiner respectfully disagrees. Buddhikot discloses satisfying a request for bandwidth allocation. The system claim of claim 10 requires an analytics logic to satisfy the request for bandwidth allocation, by reassigning devices to a different spectrum.
Please see the rejection below to see how the applied reference(s) still disclose or teach the amended claims.
Thus, all the claimed and argues limitations have been met.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claim 18 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to non-statutory subject matter. The claim(s) does/do not fall within at least one of the four categories of patent eligible subject matter because the claim(s) is/are directed to a software product. The claim is only directed to software per se, which is not one of the statutory categories of invention. (See In re Nuijten, 500 F.3d 1346,1356-57 (Fed. Cir. 2007) and Interim Examination Instructions for Evaluating Subject Matter Eligibility Under 35 USC 101, Aug. 24, 2009; p.2. The Examiner recommends amending the claim limitation to state: A non-transitory computer readable storage medium comprising a computer program embodying program code that, when executed by a processor…”.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
Claims 1, 10 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2016/0066214 A1 herein Buddhikot in view of US 2013/0165131 A1 herein Garcia Martin and further in view of US 2013/0252657 A1 herein Kafle and further in view of US 2022/0094390 A1 herein Dennis and further in view of US 2004/0190451 A1 herein Dacosta.
Claim 1, Buddhikot discloses a method for identifying interference in a shared spectrum environment of wireless devices (Title, Method), the method comprising:
gathering interference information including bandwidth ranges and locations from a plurality of mobile communication devices (0076; 0057, users and client devices periodically collect data on the interference observed in the entire CAB or the adjacent bands and on interference temperature at the location of the client device, and communicate the collected data back to the SPIM server; 0051, the Spectrum-info daemon records the number of end-users using each portion of spectrum together with per user geo-location and a temporal snapshot of respective interference temperatures);
storing an indication of a plurality of the locations, each within a region of a plurality of regions, and interference at each region of the plurality of locations based on the interference information (0042; 0044; FIG. SA, the SPIM server maintains a complete topographical map of the region R divided into cells, the region comprising microcells each including at least one base station; 0043, each SAM entry maintains spectrum section boundaries, a maximum transmission power allowed and an interference temperature with an associated time stamp), and
mapping the location information to interference detected at each of a plurality of bandwidth ranges at the region corresponding to the respective location (0044; FIG. 58, a SAM and associated interference temperatures plotted as a function of frequency for the spectrum of the third microcell; 0076, the SPIM server constructs a dynamic map of radio usage and interference temperature for the region);
the interference based on transmissions competing in a bandwidth licensure (0045, the SPIM server allows a primary lease holder and a secondary lease holder per allotted spectrum band, the secondary operating at lower power and ensuring its interference stays below an amount predetermined by the SPEL protocol so as to ensure minimum interference with the primary lease holder; 0076, users experience adjacent channel interference caused by uplink transmitters using an adjacent spectrum portion, and significant variability in interference levels is observed where multiple operators in the same band operate at different power levels);
a transmission technology and a transmitted power (0043, each SAM entry maintains a current waveform or network access method used, for example GSM, and a maximum transmission power allowed; 0052, a command may specify a maximum power of 30 watts, a carrier frequency of 1.923 GHz, a bandwidth of 1.25 MHz and a CDMA Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum waveform);
generating an interference map, the interference map having, for each of a plurality of subregions of a geographic region, the interference information for the respective subregion (0075, the allocation algorithm maintains state information for each sub region in the region such as the spectrum allocation map, interference temperature map, network load and spectral utilization; 0046; FIG. 12A; FIG. 128, the region R is segmented into quadrants represented by children of the root node, the segmentation continuing until each quadrant contains all of the coverage areas and is represented by leaf nodes); and
allocating a non-interfering bandwidth to the first personal communication device based on the stored indications (0066, the SPIM server consults its topographic data structures and associated SAM tables and other dynamic information such as interference temperature in the region to determine if the requested spectrum portion allocation is feasible, and checks for alternate available spectrum possibilities; 0076, a RAN Manager causes the interfering base station to reassign a different part of the spectrum to the users in a region who are experiencing the intolerable interference).
Buddhikot may not explicitly disclose including coalescing the locations based on GPS (Global Positioning System) information and WiFi positioning information of each location; receiving a request for a bandwidth allocation, the request emanating from a first personal communication device at a remote location; to include a duration of the requested allocation; a transmitted distant; training a model using features indicative of the interference level of a bandwidth at the location for the time the interference was detected; satisfying the request by computing a probability of interference at the location for a future time, and packet length.
Garcia Martin discloses including coalescing the locations based on GPS (Global Positioning System) information and WiFi positioning information of each location (0037; 0038, for each observed access network technology and frequency the PUE collects the SSID in WLAN, accurate geographical information supplied by a GPS receiver and observed quality of signal including interference, and samples the observed access networks at a number of geographical points; 0056; 0057, the PUE computes each observation by applying clustering techniques to determine those geographical points where at least one access network shares similar characteristics, the result being a consolidated area within which any point has given network characteristics for at least one access network). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Buddhikot to include consolidating observed geographical points into areas sharing common network characteristics, as taught by Garcia Martin, so as to reduce the bandwidth consumed in reporting the observations (0069).
Buddhikot in view of Garcia Martin may not explicitly disclose receiving a request for a bandwidth allocation, the request emanating from a first personal communication device at a remote location; to include a duration of the requested allocation; a transmitted distant; training a model using features indicative of the interference level of a bandwidth at the location for the time the interference was detected; satisfying the request by computing a probability of interference at the location for a future time, and packet length.
Kafle discloses receiving a request for a bandwidth allocation, the request emanating from a first personal communication device at a remote location (0138; 0128, the FCC has categorized Personal/Portable Mode II and Personal/Portable Mode I device types, and during the geo-location database control enablement process a dependent station of the personal/portable device type sends its device identification information for verification and receives a list of channels available for its use; 0150; 0151, the slave device sends device information including device identification, type of device and location during enablement and Channel Availability Query request, and the master device passes that information to the database in order to receive the corresponding operating parameters such as permissible range of frequencies and permissible channels);
to include a duration of the requested allocation (0151, the operating parameters for a slave device include a permitted maximum regulatory transmit power level for a channel which is valid for a period T_max in minutes; 0141, the allocated power is permitted until expiration of a specific time validity period; 0158, the local maximum transmit power is periodically recomputed when new information is obtained from the database after the end of a current validity period);
a transmitted distant [sic: distance] (0007, the maximum allowed transmission power for an unlicensed device depends on the device geo-location, that is, the distance from the primary users; 0214, the database employs computations to estimate the possible interference and coverage range of the slave device). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Buddhikot in view of Garcia Martin to include a personal or portable device requesting and obtaining an allocation of permitted channels valid for a stated period on the basis of its reported device information and location, as taught by Kafle, so as to prevent interference to primary users and coordinate coexistence among overlapping networks of greater coverage area (0147).
Buddhikot in view of Garcia Martin and Katie may not explicitly disclose training a model using features indicative of the interference level of a bandwidth at the location for the time the interference was detected; satisfying the request by computing a probability of interference at the location for a future time, and packet length.
Dennis discloses training a model using features indicative of the interference level of a bandwidth at the location for the time the interference was detected (0022; 0068, the frequency interference prediction data structure is used to train a machine learning model usable to predict whether there will be interference on the frequency at a future time; 0058, the artificial neural network is trained using a dataset including determinations of whether there is interference on a frequency channel, signal strengths, packet error rates and the times frequencies are detected, and is retrained as additional signal data is obtained);
satisfying the request by: computing a probability of interference at the location for a future time (0015, the system utilizes a machine learning model to predict whether there will be interference on the frequency at a future time and is configured to predict whether a specific frequency channel will have interference at a future time; 0048, the system prioritizes assigning frequencies with frequency channels that have a lower probability of having interference; 0059, the system identifies which frequency channels are predicted not to have interference at the future time and instructs a device to transmit at the future time using those channels). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Buddhikot in view of Garcia Martin and Katie to include training a model on collected interference data and computing from that model the likelihood of interference at a future time, as taught by Dennis, so as to identify channels with little to no interference rather than shifting channels according to a set routine (0014).
Buddhikot in view of Garcia Martin and Katie and Dennis may not explicitly disclose packet length.
Dacosta discloses packet length (0042, increasing the packet size may also increase the probability of transmission failure for reasons such as interference or noise in the radio channels, and contention in unreliable contention-based access channels, so that packet size has a dynamic effect on system performance and can be used as a parameter to be adaptively controlled; 0004, the performance of data transmission is a function of parameters including modulation technique, data rate, channel interference, channel noise and packet size; 0035; 0057; 0058, the parameters controlling the communication are the packet size, the modulation method and the transmit power, the queue being indexed by all three). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Buddhikot in view of Garcia Martin and Kafle and Dennis to include accounting for packet size together with modulation method and transmit power in assessing the likelihood of transmission failure from interference, as taught by Dacosta, so as to dynamically adjust performance in the presence of changing system conditions rather than relying on a fixed value selected in advance (0040).
Claim 2, Buddhikot discloses the method of claim 1 further comprising receiving the interference information from personal wireless devices, the personal wireless devices having nomadic and vehicular mobility for transmitting interference information from a plurality of locations (0010, 0043, client devices, since clients of varying mobilities exist in every cellular system, thus nomadic and vehicular mobility).
Claim 3, Buddhikot discloses the method of claim 1 further comprising: deploying an app in a plurality of personal wireless devices (0007, SDRs); recording, by each app of the personal wireless devices, the interference information (0057); and downloading the recorded interference information from each of the personal wireless devices (0057).
Claim 4, Buddhikot discloses the method of claim 1 further comprising: retrieving the interference information from a fleet of mobile monitors, the mobile monitors gathering the interference information over a predetermined coverage region (0057, individual and aggregate interference data is transferred from a region).
Claim 7, Buddhikot discloses the method of claim 1 further comprising rendering the interference map in a tangible medium of expression (0043).
Claim 8, Buddhikot discloses the method of claim 1 wherein gathering retrieves information from mobile locations, further comprising: updating the stored indications based on receiving revised interference information, the revised information pertaining to a different location (0057, map/remapping based on mobility and interference).
Claim 9, Buddhikot discloses the method of claim 7 wherein the geographic region has a radius around the server between 1-100 miles (0082).
Claim 10, as analyzed with respect to the limitations as discussed in claim 1.
Buddhikot discloses a system (title) for identifying interference and allocating bandwidth in a share spectrum environment (see analysis of claim 1). Buddhikot discloses a server (0010, 0043, 0076; SPIM gathers information on interference at locations); a database (0010, 0043, 0076; SPIM stores information and maps information, thus database); a network interface (0010, 0043, 0076; the system/SPIM receives requests from remote RANs and base stations for channels/resources; also receives interference information; thus network interface); analytics logic (0010, 0043, 0076; based on gathered information on interference, provides resources/channels to requesting devices; thus analytics logic).
Claim 11, as analyzed with respect to the limitations as discussed in claim 2.
Claim 12, as analyzed with respect to the limitations as discussed in claim 3.
Claim 13, as analyzed with respect to the limitations as discussed in claim 4.
Claim 16, as analyzed with respect to the limitations as discussed in claim 7.
Claim 17, as analyzed with respect to the limitations as discussed in claim 8.
Claim 18, as analyzed with respect to the limitations as discussed in claim 1. Buddhikot discloses A computer program embodying program code on a non-transitory computer readable storage medium (0040, processor and memory or SPIM server) that, when executed by a processor, performs steps for implementing a method for method for identifying interference in a shared spectrum environment of wireless devices (0041).
Claim 19, Buddhikot discloses The method in claim 4. Buddhikot discloses wherein the mobile monitors are equipped with multiband scanning devices (0010, 0043, since scanning information on adjacent bands and current band thus multiband scanning), wherein the multiband scanning devices measure the interference information in the predetermined coverage region and include a location estimate in the interference information (0010, 0043, 0076, interference collection in region and sending location information).
Claim 20, as analyzed with respect to the limitations as discussed in claim 4.
Claim 21, Buddhikot in view of Garcia Martin in view of Kafle in view of Dennis and Dacosta disclose claim 1. Buddhikot in view of Garcia Martin in view of Kafle may not explicitly disclose computing a probability of interference at the remote location on the bandwidth ranges; wherein the non-interfering bandwidth has a lowest probability of encountering interference.
Dennis computing a probability of interference at the remote location on the bandwidth ranges (0015, the system utilizes a machine leaning model to predic whether there will be interference on the frequency at a future time and is configured to predict whether a specific frequency channel will have interference at a future time; 0001, devices are unable to predict the likelihood that a new frequency channel will have less interference that the current channel); wherein the non-interfering bandwidth has a lowest probability of encountering interference (0048, the system prioritizes assigning frequencies with frequency channels that a lower probability of having interference; 0059, the system predicts which channels will not have interference at a future time, and instructs devices to use those channels). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Buddhikot in view of Garcia Martin and Katie to include training a model on collected interference data and computing from that model the likelihood of interference at a future time, as taught by Dennis, so as to identify channels with little to no interference rather than shifting channels according to a set routine (0014).
Claim 22, Buddhikot discloses The method of claim 3 wherein receiving a request for a bandwidth allocation includes: requesting, by each app of the personal wireless devices, an interference-free frequency at the remote location (0056, requesting less interference area by sending interference information of the current region).
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US 20170265189 A1 - Systems and methods are described herein relating to building and using one or more databases storing position-pair-dependent and/or node-dependent interference related information in a cellular communications system. In some embodiments, a method of operation of a node associated with one or more cellular communications networks comprises obtaining position-pair-dependent interference related information for pairs of positions. The position-pair-dependent interference related information comprises, for each pair of positions comprising a first position and a second position, information regarding interference caused by wireless transmissions originating at the first position to wireless receptions at the second position. The method further comprises storing interference related information comprising the position-pair-dependent interference related information in one or more databases and providing access to the one or more databases. The database(s) enable, for example, improved location-based Radio Resource Management (RRM).
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 Mehmood B. Khan whose telephone number is (571)272-9277. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:30 am-6:30 pm.
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, Asad Nawaz can be reached on (571) 272-3988. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Mehmood B. Khan/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2468
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