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 Amendment
The Amendment filed January 4, 2026 has been entered. Claims 1, 3-9, and 11-18 are pending in the application. Applicant has submitted amendments to the claims along with other remarks. Claims 1, 3-9, and 11-16 are still rejected by prior art references, refer to the following rejection for details. Claims 17 and 18 are rejected in combination with a new reference.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments and amendments, see pp. 8-16 of the response, filed January 4, 2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1, 3-9, and 11-16 under § 103 have been fully considered but are not persuasive.
Regarding claim 1, Applicant has several arguments that will discussed in turn. First, Applicant states that Kim allows for use of the default port after the link is established and this does not meet the claim element “when the communication (or link) is established, the EMS 10 may change the port corresponding to the Agents.” Here, Applicant improperly restricts Kim. Kim states that the port number is changed ([0024] “allocating a unique port number range to the agent”) and Kim broadly allows for continued communication on the default port for some time after the link is established. Kim does not prohibit changing the port number when the communication (or link) is established and Kim covers both circumstances.
Applicant then points to [0045-46] of Kim, suggesting that these teachings preempt Kim from teaching “a command for changing port information is transmitted to the agent” because “the communication between the EMS 32 and the agent 30 has been established.” Here, Applicant is arguing for non-recited claim terms in that the term “command” is not recited in claim 1.
Applicant then states that the “SET R EQUEST” or “GET REQUEST” of Kim is “still used to correspond to ‘the first base station sends a first link request to the base station management device’ of claim 1 in the Final Office Action.” Remarks at 13. This assertion by the Applicant is incorrect because the Final Office Action of October 10, 2025 specifically states that “paragraph 14 of Kim states that ‘each agent (12, 14, 15, 18) sets up an interface with the EMS (10),’ which fulfills the clause, ‘wherein the first base station sends a first link request to the base station management device based on a default port number and a base station management device address through a communication interface.’” Final Office Action of October 10, 2025 at 2.
Lastly, Applicant individually attacks the OPENSSH reference, which is used in a combination with Kim. The MPEP prohibits attacking references individually when used in a combination. MPEP § 2145(IV).
Therefore, the rejection is maintained.
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.
Claims 1-5, 8-13, and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Korean Publication No. KR 100436136 B1 (hereinafter "Kim") in view of Non-patent Literature entitled “OpenBSD manual page server” (hereinafter "OpenSSH")
Regarding claim 1, ---Kim teaches: 1. A base station management system, comprising: a base station management device (EMS (10)) wherein the base station management device manages; and a first base station (Agents (12, 14, 16, 18)), wherein the first base station sends a first link request to the base station management device based on a default port number and a base station management device address through a communication interface ([14] Communication between EMS (10) and agents (12, 14, 16, 18) is performed using a preset default port. That is, when each agent (12, 14, 16, 18) sets up an interface with the EMS (10), it commonly accesses a specific port of the EMS (10), for example, port 161, which is set as a default port at the time of initial startup, and transmits boot occurrence information, normal operation status information, alarm occurrence information, etc. to the EMS (10), and the EMS (10) also distinguishes the IP address of each agent (12, 14, 16, 18) through port 161, and receives the information from the agent (12, 14, 16, 18) to process SNMP operations.), wherein after the base station management device receives the first link request, the base station management device establishes a link with the first base station based on the first link request ([15] And, if the information transmission and reception process of the communication execution process between EMS (10) and a specific agent (12) is explained in more detail, as shown in Fig. 2, EMS (10) performs a process for transmitting an information setting (SET REQUEST) message and an information collection (GET REQUEST) message for MIB during communication with the agent (12). At this time, the agent (12) opens the default port for the SNMP interface with the EMS (10) and receives the SNMP message from the EMS (10) through the default port.), and changes a port number corresponding to the first base station from the default number to an unused first port number to release the default port number ([23-24] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a multi-port allocation method in a network management system for allocating a port to an agent connected to the network management system, the method comprising: a process of receiving, through a default port, a fact that a network management system interface control process has been driven in an agent managed by the network management system; a process of reading port allocation information to be allocated to the agent by referencing a port allocation information database storing port allocation information; and a process of allocating a port to each functional process of the agent according to the port allocation information. Here, the process of allocating a port to each functional process of the agent is characterized by including the steps of: allocating a unique port number range to the agent; allocating a port for receiving an HMI command; allocating a port for transmitting a response to the HMI command when there is a response from the agent to the port allocation for receiving the HMI command; allocating a port for transmitting an HMI message when there is a response from the agent to the port allocation for transmitting the response to the HMI command; allocating a port for performing an SNMP operation when there is a response from the agent to the port allocation for transmitting the HMI message; and allocating a port for transmitting a trap when there is a response from the agent to the port allocation for performing the SNMP operation.), wherein the first base station establishes the link with the base station management device again based on the first port number.
Kim teaches that an agent connects, again, to the EMS using new port number based on the default port number ([46] Thereafter, the changed port information is transmitted to the agent (30) through the default port, and the agent (30) that receives the changed port information changes the port information database that stores the port information. And, according to the changed port information, the process related to the port where the failure occurred is terminated and the port where the failure occurred is blocked. Finally, a new process is created and made to operate based on the newly changed port information.). Kim does not explicitly teach that a “link” is used to connect the agents and the EMS—even though Kim discusses link failure ([16], [47]). Kim explicitly mentions using a stateless communications protocol ([9] UDP).
However, in the same field of endeavor, OpenSSH teaches: using a stateful connect (e.g., a link) between a client and a host over the TCP protocol (p. 6/16 Specifies that connections to the given TCP port or Unix socket on the remote(server) host are to be forwarded to the local side.).
Thus, Kim and OpenSSH each disclose communications over Internet protocols. A person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have recognized that the UDP communications of Kim could have been substituted for the TCP communications of OpenSSH because both perform the function of communications between entities. Furthermore, a person of ordinary skill in the art would have been able to carry out the substitution. Finally, the substitution achieves the predictable result of communications between known entities using the methods known in OpenSSH.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to substitute the communication techniques in OpenSSH for the techniques in Kim according to known methods to yield the predictable result of providing connections on distinct ports.
Regarding claim 2, Kim teaches: wherein after the base station management device changes the port number corresponding to the first base station from the default number to the first port number, the base station management device terminates the link with the first base station ([46] And, according to the changed port information, the process related to the port where the failure occurred is terminated and the port where the failure occurred is blocked.).
Regarding claim 3, Kim teaches: wherein after the base station management device terminates the link with the first base station, the first base station sends the first link request to the base station management device based on the first port number and the base station management device address through the communication interface ([46] Thereafter, the changed port information is transmitted to the agent (30) through the default port, and the agent (30) that receives the changed port information changes the port information database that stores the port information. And, according to the changed port information, the process related to the port where the failure occurred is terminated and the port where the failure occurred is blocked. Finally, a new process is created and made to operate based on the newly changed port information. EMS (32) also changes the port information database and creates a process related to the changed port to operate it.), and after the base station management device receives the first link request, the base station management device establishes the link with the first base station again based on the first link request ([47] Additionally, the agent (30) actively transmits information it has to the EMS (32) through the port for trap transmission defined in the multi-port. The information that the agent (30) transmits to the EMS (32) includes link failure information for notifying that a communication failure has occurred between the EMS (32) and the agent (30), boot occurrence information within the agent (30), normal operation status information indicating that the agent (30) is operating normally, MIB update information indicating that the MIB within the agent (30) has been updated, MIB deletion information indicating that a tuple of the MIB within the agent (30) has been deleted, MIB insertion information indicating that a tuple of the MIB within the agent (30) has been newly created, alarm occurrence information indicating that various alarms have occurred in the agent (30), and application version information.).
Regarding claim 4, Kim teaches: further comprising: a second base station ([9] e.g., term agent (12, 14, 16, 18)), wherein the second base station sends a second link request to the base station management device based on the default port number and the base station management device address through the communication interface ([14] Communication between EMS (10) and agents (12, 14, 16, 18) is performed using a preset default port. That is, when each agent (12, 14, 16, 18) sets up an interface with the EMS (10), it commonly accesses a specific port of the EMS (10), for example, port 161, which is set as a default port at the time of initial startup, and transmits boot occurrence information, normal operation status information, alarm occurrence information, etc. to the EMS (10), and the EMS (10) also distinguishes the IP address of each agent (12, 14, 16, 18) through port 161, and receives the information from the agent (12, 14, 16, 18) to process SNMP operations.), wherein after the base station management device receives the second link request, the base station management device establishes a link with the second base station based on the second link request ([15] And, if the information transmission and reception process of the communication execution process between EMS (10) and a specific agent (12) is explained in more detail, as shown in Fig. 2, EMS (10) performs a process for transmitting an information setting (SET REQUEST) message and an information collection (GET REQUEST) message for MIB during communication with the agent (12). At this time, the agent (12) opens the default port for the SNMP interface with the EMS (10) and receives the SNMP message from the EMS (10) through the default port.), and changes a port number corresponding to the second base station from the default number to an unused second port number to release the default port number ([23-24] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a multi-port allocation method in a network management system for allocating a port to an agent connected to the network management system, the method comprising: a process of receiving, through a default port, a fact that a network management system interface control process has been driven in an agent managed by the network management system; a process of reading port allocation information to be allocated to the agent by referencing a port allocation information database storing port allocation information; and a process of allocating a port to each functional process of the agent according to the port allocation information. Here, the process of allocating a port to each functional process of the agent is characterized by including the steps of: allocating a unique port number range to the agent; allocating a port for receiving an HMI command; allocating a port for transmitting a response to the HMI command when there is a response from the agent to the port allocation for receiving the HMI command; allocating a port for transmitting an HMI message when there is a response from the agent to the port allocation for transmitting the response to the HMI command; allocating a port for performing an SNMP operation when there is a response from the agent to the port allocation for transmitting the HMI message; and allocating a port for transmitting a trap when there is a response from the agent to the port allocation for performing the SNMP operation.), wherein the second base station establishes the link with the base station management device again based on the second port number.
Kim teaches that an agent connects, again, to the EMS using new port number based on the default port number ([46] Thereafter, the changed port information is transmitted to the agent (30) through the default port, and the agent (30) that receives the changed port information changes the port information database that stores the port information. And, according to the changed port information, the process related to the port where the failure occurred is terminated and the port where the failure occurred is blocked. Finally, a new process is created and made to operate based on the newly changed port information.). Kim does not explicitly teach that a “link” is used to connect the agents and the EMS—even though Kim discusses link failure ([16], [47]). Kim explicitly mentions using a stateless communications protocol ([9] UDP).
However, in the same field of endeavor, OpenSSH teaches: using a stateful connect (e.g., a link) between a client and a host over the TCP protocol (p. 6/16 Specifies that connections to the given TCP port or Unix socket on the remote(server) host are to be forwarded to the local side.).
Thus, Kim and OpenSSH each disclose communications over Internet protocols. A person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have recognized that the UDP communications of Kim could have been substituted for the TCP communications of OpenSSH because both perform the function of communications between entities. Furthermore, a person of ordinary skill in the art would have been able to carry out the substitution. Finally, the substitution achieves the predictable result of communications between known entities using the methods known in OpenSSH.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to substitute the communication techniques in OpenSSH for the techniques in Kim according to known methods to yield the predictable result of providing connections on distinct ports.
Regarding claim 5, Kim teaches: wherein an unused port number interval comprises the first port number and the second port number ([27] The above multi-port configuration uses different ports for each functional process or data unit of the agent (30) in addition to the fixed default port. When the agent (30) transmits boot occurrence information to the EMS (32) through the default port at the time of initial booting, the EMS (32) assigns a unique port number range different from that of other agents to the agent (30). Thereafter, the agent (30) is assigned an independent port number for each process performing multiple functions or for each data unit.).
Regarding claim 8, Kim does not teach: wherein the links between the base station management device and the base stations are established based on Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and Secure Shell (SSH) protocol. Kim does not explicitly teach that a “link” is used to connect the agents and the EMS—even though Kim discusses link failure ([16], [47]). Kim explicitly mentions using a stateless communications protocol ([9] UDP).
However, in the same field of endeavor, OpenSSH teaches: using a stateful connect (e.g., a link) between a client and a host over the TCP protocol (p. 6/16 Specifies that connections to the given TCP port or Unix socket on the remote(server) host are to be forwarded to the local side.).
Thus, Kim and OpenSSH each disclose communications over Internet protocols. A person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have recognized that the UDP communications of Kim could have been substituted for the TCP communications of OpenSSH because both perform the function of communications between entities. Furthermore, a person of ordinary skill in the art would have been able to carry out the substitution. Finally, the substitution achieves the predictable result of communications between known entities using the methods known in OpenSSH.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to substitute the communication techniques in OpenSSH for the techniques in Kim according to known methods to yield the predictable result of providing connections on distinct ports.
Regarding claim 9, Kim teaches: A base station management method, applied to a base station management system (EMS (10)), comprising: sending, by a first base station (Agents (12, 14, 16, 18)) of the base station management system, a first link request to a base station management device of the base station management system based on a default port number and a base station management device address through a communication interface ([14] Communication between EMS (10) and agents (12, 14, 16, 18) is performed using a preset default port. That is, when each agent (12, 14, 16, 18) sets up an interface with the EMS (10), it commonly accesses a specific port of the EMS (10), for example, port 161, which is set as a default port at the time of initial startup, and transmits boot occurrence information, normal operation status information, alarm occurrence information, etc. to the EMS (10), and the EMS (10) also distinguishes the IP address of each agent (12, 14, 16, 18) through port 161, and receives the information from the agent (12, 14, 16, 18) to process SNMP operations.); after the base station management device receives the first link request, establishing, by the base station management device, a link with the first base station based on the first link request ([15] And, if the information transmission and reception process of the communication execution process between EMS (10) and a specific agent (12) is explained in more detail, as shown in Fig. 2, EMS (10) performs a process for transmitting an information setting (SET REQUEST) message and an information collection (GET REQUEST) message for MIB during communication with the agent (12). At this time, the agent (12) opens the default port for the SNMP interface with the EMS (10) and receives the SNMP message from the EMS (10) through the default port.); changing, by the base station management device, a port number corresponding to the first base station from the default number to an unused first port number to release the default port number ([23-24] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a multi-port allocation method in a network management system for allocating a port to an agent connected to the network management system, the method comprising: a process of receiving, through a default port, a fact that a network management system interface control process has been driven in an agent managed by the network management system; a process of reading port allocation information to be allocated to the agent by referencing a port allocation information database storing port allocation information; and a process of allocating a port to each functional process of the agent according to the port allocation information. Here, the process of allocating a port to each functional process of the agent is characterized by including the steps of: allocating a unique port number range to the agent; allocating a port for receiving an HMI command; allocating a port for transmitting a response to the HMI command when there is a response from the agent to the port allocation for receiving the HMI command; allocating a port for transmitting an HMI message when there is a response from the agent to the port allocation for transmitting the response to the HMI command; allocating a port for performing an SNMP operation when there is a response from the agent to the port allocation for transmitting the HMI message; and allocating a port for transmitting a trap when there is a response from the agent to the port allocation for performing the SNMP operation.); establishing, by the first base station, the link with the base station management device again based on the first port number.
Kim teaches that an agent connects, again, to the EMS using new port number based on the default port number ([46] Thereafter, the changed port information is transmitted to the agent (30) through the default port, and the agent (30) that receives the changed port information changes the port information database that stores the port information. And, according to the changed port information, the process related to the port where the failure occurred is terminated and the port where the failure occurred is blocked. Finally, a new process is created and made to operate based on the newly changed port information.). Kim does not explicitly teach that a “link” is used to connect the agents and the EMS—even though Kim discusses link failure ([16], [47]). Kim explicitly mentions using a stateless communications protocol ([9] UDP).
However, in the same field of endeavor, OpenSSH teaches: using a stateful connect (e.g., a link) between a client and a host over the TCP protocol (p. 6/16 Specifies that connections to the given TCP port or Unix socket on the remote(server) host are to be forwarded to the local side.).
Thus, Kim and OpenSSH each disclose communications over Internet protocols. A person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have recognized that the UDP communications of Kim could have been substituted for the TCP communications of OpenSSH because both perform the function of communications between entities. Furthermore, a person of ordinary skill in the art would have been able to carry out the substitution. Finally, the substitution achieves the predictable result of communications between known entities using the methods known in OpenSSH.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to substitute the communication techniques in OpenSSH for the techniques in Kim according to known methods to yield the predictable result of providing connections on distinct ports.
Regarding claim 10, Kim teaches: further comprising: after the base station management device changes the port number corresponding to the first base station from the default number to the first port number, terminating, by the base station management device, the link with the first base station ([46] And, according to the changed port information, the process related to the port where the failure occurred is terminated and the port where the failure occurred is blocked.).
Regarding claim 11, Kim teaches: further comprising: after the base station management device terminates the link with the first base station, sending, by the first base station, the first link request to the base station management device based on the first port number and the base station management device address through the communication interface ([46] Thereafter, the changed port information is transmitted to the agent (30) through the default port, and the agent (30) that receives the changed port information changes the port information database that stores the port information. And, according to the changed port information, the process related to the port where the failure occurred is terminated and the port where the failure occurred is blocked. Finally, a new process is created and made to operate based on the newly changed port information. EMS (32) also changes the port information database and creates a process related to the changed port to operate it.);and after the base station management device receives the first link request, establishing, by the base station management device, the link with the first base station again based on the first link request ([47] Additionally, the agent (30) actively transmits information it has to the EMS (32) through the port for trap transmission defined in the multi-port. The information that the agent (30) transmits to the EMS (32) includes link failure information for notifying that a communication failure has occurred between the EMS (32) and the agent (30), boot occurrence information within the agent (30), normal operation status information indicating that the agent (30) is operating normally, MIB update information indicating that the MIB within the agent (30) has been updated, MIB deletion information indicating that a tuple of the MIB within the agent (30) has been deleted, MIB insertion information indicating that a tuple of the MIB within the agent (30) has been newly created, alarm occurrence information indicating that various alarms have occurred in the agent (30), and application version information.).
Regarding claim 12, Kim teaches: sending, by a second base station of the base station management system ([9] e.g., term agent (12, 14, 16, 18)), a second link request to the base station management device based on the default port number and the base station management device address through the communication interface ([14] Communication between EMS (10) and agents (12, 14, 16, 18) is performed using a preset default port. That is, when each agent (12, 14, 16, 18) sets up an interface with the EMS (10), it commonly accesses a specific port of the EMS (10), for example, port 161, which is set as a default port at the time of initial startup, and transmits boot occurrence information, normal operation status information, alarm occurrence information, etc. to the EMS (10), and the EMS (10) also distinguishes the IP address of each agent (12, 14, 16, 18) through port 161, and receives the information from the agent (12, 14, 16, 18) to process SNMP operations.); after the base station management device receives the second link request, establishing, by the base station management device, a link with the second base station based on the second link request ([15] And, if the information transmission and reception process of the communication execution process between EMS (10) and a specific agent (12) is explained in more detail, as shown in Fig. 2, EMS (10) performs a process for transmitting an information setting (SET REQUEST) message and an information collection (GET REQUEST) message for MIB during communication with the agent (12). At this time, the agent (12) opens the default port for the SNMP interface with the EMS (10) and receives the SNMP message from the EMS (10) through the default port.); changing, by the base station management device, a port number corresponding to the second base station from the default number to an unused second port number to release the default port number ([23-24] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a multi-port allocation method in a network management system for allocating a port to an agent connected to the network management system, the method comprising: a process of receiving, through a default port, a fact that a network management system interface control process has been driven in an agent managed by the network management system; a process of reading port allocation information to be allocated to the agent by referencing a port allocation information database storing port allocation information; and a process of allocating a port to each functional process of the agent according to the port allocation information. Here, the process of allocating a port to each functional process of the agent is characterized by including the steps of: allocating a unique port number range to the agent; allocating a port for receiving an HMI command; allocating a port for transmitting a response to the HMI command when there is a response from the agent to the port allocation for receiving the HMI command; allocating a port for transmitting an HMI message when there is a response from the agent to the port allocation for transmitting the response to the HMI command; allocating a port for performing an SNMP operation when there is a response from the agent to the port allocation for transmitting the HMI message; and allocating a port for transmitting a trap when there is a response from the agent to the port allocation for performing the SNMP operation.); and establishing, by the second base station, the link with the base station management device again based on the second port number.
Kim teaches that an agent connects, again, to the EMS using new port number based on the default port number ([46] Thereafter, the changed port information is transmitted to the agent (30) through the default port, and the agent (30) that receives the changed port information changes the port information database that stores the port information. And, according to the changed port information, the process related to the port where the failure occurred is terminated and the port where the failure occurred is blocked. Finally, a new process is created and made to operate based on the newly changed port information.). Kim does not explicitly teach that a “link” is used to connect the agents and the EMS—even though Kim discusses link failure ([16], [47]). Kim explicitly mentions using a stateless communications protocol ([9] UDP).
However, in the same field of endeavor, OpenSSH teaches: using a stateful connect (e.g., a link) between a client and a host over the TCP protocol (p. 6/16 Specifies that connections to the given TCP port or Unix socket on the remote(server) host are to be forwarded to the local side.).
Thus, Kim and OpenSSH each disclose communications over Internet protocols. A person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have recognized that the UDP communications of Kim could have been substituted for the TCP communications of OpenSSH because both perform the function of communications between entities. Furthermore, a person of ordinary skill in the art would have been able to carry out the substitution. Finally, the substitution achieves the predictable result of communications between known entities using the methods known in OpenSSH.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to substitute the communication techniques in OpenSSH for the techniques in Kim according to known methods to yield the predictable result of providing connections on distinct ports.
Regarding claim 13, Kim teaches: wherein an unused port number interval comprises the first port number and the second port number ([27] The above multi-port configuration uses different ports for each functional process or data unit of the agent (30) in addition to the fixed default port. When the agent (30) transmits boot occurrence information to the EMS (32) through the default port at the time of initial booting, the EMS (32) assigns a unique port number range different from that of other agents to the agent (30). Thereafter, the agent (30) is assigned an independent port number for each process performing multiple functions or for each data unit.).
Regarding claim 16, Kim does not teach: wherein the links between the base station management device and the base stations are established based on Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and Secure Shell (SSH) protocol. Kim does not explicitly teach that a “link” is used to connect the agents and the EMS—even though Kim discusses link failure ([16], [47]). Kim explicitly mentions using a stateless communications protocol ([9] UDP).
Claims 6 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim in view of OpenSSH and further in view of U.S. Publication No. 2023/0246677 (hereinafter “LIU”).
Regarding claim 6, the combination of Kim and OpenSSH does not teach: wherein the base station management device adds a value to the first port number to generate the second port number.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Liu teaches: wherein the base station management device adds a value to the first port number to generate the second port number ([0159] The DMRS port identifier may be a DMRS port number. When the other one or more DMRS port numbers are derived based on one DMRS port number a, a value may be added to or subtracted from the DMRS port number, to obtain the other DMRS port numbers.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kim to include the feature of adding a number to get a new port number and a combination of Kim and OpenSSH with Liu renders the claim prima facie obvious within the described scope of the prior art and any indicated differences within the level of one of ordinary skill in the art (e.g., telecommunications engineer) according to a combination of known prior art elements with known methods to yield predictable results. MPEP 2143(I)(A) (e.g., generating a new port number through addition).
Regarding claim 14, the combination of Kim and OpenSSH does not teach: wherein the base station management device adds a value to the first port number to generate the second port number.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Liu teaches: wherein the base station management device adds a value to the first port number to generate the second port number ([0159] The DMRS port identifier may be a DMRS port number. When the other one or more DMRS port numbers are derived based on one DMRS port number a, a value may be added to or subtracted from the DMRS port number, to obtain the other DMRS port numbers.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kim to include the feature of adding a number to get a new port number and a combination of Kim and OpenSSH with Liu renders the claim prima facie obvious within the described scope of the prior art and any indicated differences within the level of one of ordinary skill in the art (e.g., telecommunications engineer) according to a combination of known prior art elements with known methods to yield predictable results. MPEP 2143(I)(A) (e.g., generating a new port number through addition).
Claims 7 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim in view of OpenSSH and further in view of U.S. Publication No. 20220232419 (hereinafter “Osterling”).
Regarding claim 7, the combination of Kim and OpenSSH does not teach: wherein the communication interface is an O1 interface.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Osterling teaches: wherein the communication interface is an O1 interface wherein the communication interface is an O1 interface (FIG. 3, [0053] FIG. 1 illustrates a system 100 according to some embodiments. In some embodiments, the system 100 may include one or more radio units (RUs) 102, one or more distributed units (DUs) 104, and one or more manager nodes 106. In some embodiments, an RU 102 may be, for example and without limitation, a remote radio head (RRH) or a remote radio unit (RRU). In some embodiments, the RU 102 may be an O-RAN RU (ORU). In some embodiments, a DU 104 may be, for example and without limitation, a baseband unit (BBU) or baseband processing part. In some embodiments, the DU 104 may be an O-RAN DU (ODU). In some embodiments, one or more of the RUs 102 and one or more of the DUs 104 may be part of a base station, which may be, for example and without limitation, a Next Generation (NG) RAN (NG-RAN) base station (denoted “gNB”). In some embodiments, a DU 104 may serve one or more RUs 102. In some embodiments, a fronthaul interface may link an RU 102 and a DU 104. In some embodiments, an RU 102 may have multiple source ports (e.g., two, four, or more source ports, and a DU 104 may have multiple destination ports (e.g., two, four, or more destination ports). In some embodiments, a management node 106 may communicate with a DU 104 over a management plane (M-plane). In some embodiments, the management node 106 may communicate with an RU 102 directly (e.g., under a hybrid M-plane model) and/or indirectly (e.g., via a DU 104 under a hierarchical M-plane model).).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kim to include the feature of an O1 interface of an O-RAN interface, which is a logical connection between all O-RAN Managed Elements (MEs) and the management entities within the SMO framework” and a combination of Kim and OpenSSH with Osterling renders the claim prima facie obvious within the described scope of the prior art and any indicated differences within the level of one of ordinary skill in the art (e.g., telecommunications engineer) according to a combination of known prior art elements with known methods to yield predictable results. MPEP 2143(I)(A) (e.g., implementing the techniques described within an O1 interface of an O-RAN network).
Regarding claim 15, the combination of Kim and OpenSSH does not teach: wherein the communication interface is an O1 interface.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Osterling teaches: wherein the communication interface is an O1 interface wherein the communication interface is an O1 interface (FIG. 3, [0053] FIG. 1 illustrates a system 100 according to some embodiments. In some embodiments, the system 100 may include one or more radio units (RUs) 102, one or more distributed units (DUs) 104, and one or more manager nodes 106. In some embodiments, an RU 102 may be, for example and without limitation, a remote radio head (RRH) or a remote radio unit (RRU). In some embodiments, the RU 102 may be an O-RAN RU (ORU). In some embodiments, a DU 104 may be, for example and without limitation, a baseband unit (BBU) or baseband processing part. In some embodiments, the DU 104 may be an O-RAN DU (ODU). In some embodiments, one or more of the RUs 102 and one or more of the DUs 104 may be part of a base station, which may be, for example and without limitation, a Next Generation (NG) RAN (NG-RAN) base station (denoted “gNB”). In some embodiments, a DU 104 may serve one or more RUs 102. In some embodiments, a fronthaul interface may link an RU 102 and a DU 104. In some embodiments, an RU 102 may have multiple source ports (e.g., two, four, or more source ports, and a DU 104 may have multiple destination ports (e.g., two, four, or more destination ports). In some embodiments, a management node 106 may communicate with a DU 104 over a management plane (M-plane). In some embodiments, the management node 106 may communicate with an RU 102 directly (e.g., under a hybrid M-plane model) and/or indirectly (e.g., via a DU 104 under a hierarchical M-plane model).).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kim to include the feature of an O1 interface of an O-RAN interface, which is a logical connection between all O-RAN Managed Elements (MEs) and the management entities within the SMO framework” and a combination of Kim and OpenSSH with Osterling renders the claim prima facie obvious within the described scope of the prior art and any indicated differences within the level of one of ordinary skill in the art (e.g., telecommunications engineer) according to a combination of known prior art elements with known methods to yield predictable results. MPEP 2143(I)(A) (e.g., implementing the techniques described within an O1 interface of an O-RAN network).
Claims 17 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim in view of OpenSSH and further in view of Non-patent Literature entitled, “NETCONF Call Home and RESTCONF Call Home” (hereinafter “Watsen”)
Regarding claim 17, the combination of Kim and OpenSSH does not explicitly teach: wherein the default number is 4334.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Watsen teaches: wherein the default number is 4334 (p. 7/13, the SSH server protocol is used after connecting to the remote port 4334).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination of Kim and OpenSSH to include the feature of a default port number of 4334 and a combination of Kim and OpenSSH with Watsen renders the claim prima facie obvious within the described scope of the prior art and any indicated differences within the level of one of ordinary skill in the art (e.g., telecommunications engineer) according to a combination of known prior art elements with known methods to yield predictable results. MPEP 2143(I)(A) (e.g., providing a default port number of 4334).
Regarding claim 18, the combination of Kim and OpenSSH does not explicitly teach: wherein the default number is 4334.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Watsen teaches: wherein the default number is 4334 (p. 7/13, the SSH server protocol is used after connecting to the remote port 4334).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination of Kim and OpenSSH to include the feature of a default port number of 4334 and a combination of Kim and OpenSSH with Watsen renders the claim prima facie obvious within the described scope of the prior art and any indicated differences within the level of one of ordinary skill in the art (e.g., telecommunications engineer) according to a combination of known prior art elements with known methods to yield predictable results. MPEP 2143(I)(A) (e.g., providing a default port number of 4334).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
WIPO Publication No. 2022/179500 (Guo) related to a communication method and apparatus
U.S. Publication No. 2024/0215017 (Panwar) related to uplink transmission port selection
Non-patent Literature entitled, “3GPP TS 24.250 version 16.2.0 Release 16” related to LTE; Protocol for Reliable Data Service; Stage 3
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/JAB/
/JINSONG HU/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2643