DETAILED ACTION
The action is responsive to claims filed on 02/19/2026. Claims 1-31 are pending for evaluation.
Note: The claims are presented with independent claims listed first in numerical order, followed by dependent claims also in numerical order; any dual or mirror claims are grouped with the lowest-numbered claim in their respective pairing.
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 .
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 02/19/2026 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
The Amendment filed on 02/19/2026 has been entered. Claims 1, 8, 19, and 23 have been amended. Claims 1-31 remain pending for evaluation.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see pg. 9-11, filed 02/19/2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of Claim(s) 1, 8, 16, and 23 under 35 U.S.C. §103 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Dai et al. (US 2022/0330362).
Applicant’s arguments, see pgs. 11, filed 02/19/2026, presented with respect to the dependent claims are substantively the same as those set forth for independent Claims 1, 8, 16, and 23. Accordingly, the same reasoning and supporting explanation provided for Claims 1, 8, 16, and 23 are equally applicable to the dependent claims.
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.
Claim(s) 1-5, 7-15, 23-27, and 29 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Schooler et al. (US 2023/0283471, previously presented), Schooler hereinafter, in view of Singh et al. (US 2014/0204834, previously presented), Singh hereinafter, Bangolae et al. (US 2024/0276290, previously presented), Bangolae hereinafter, and in further view of Dai et al. (US 2022/0330362), Dai hereinafter.
Regarding Claim 1, Schooler teaches an apparatus for distributed processing, comprising (Fig. 5, Para. [0064-0081]; See also Figs. 6-7, Para. [0082-0102]):
at least one memory (Fig. 5, element 560; Para. [0066, 0080-0081]; See also Figs. 6-7, Para. [0082-0102]);
and at least one processor coupled to the at least one memory and configured to (Fig. 5, element 552; Para. [0065-0069, 0075, 0078, 0081]; See also Figs. 6-7, Para. [0082-0102]):
transmit a discovery message (Fig. 11, step 1102; Para. [0121] - The vehicle 1110 may wish to offload at least some of its data to an RSU (e.g., 1120). The vehicle 1110 may do so, for example, when it detects that it has run out of storage or is about to run out of storage, in response to detecting the occurrence of an event, in response to a request to offload data associated with a particular event or events, or for another reason. The vehicle 1110 may accordingly look to offload its stored data to nearby storage resources. During this time, it may receive the advertisement from the RSU 1120, which is in the vicinity of the vehicle 1110. To do this, the vehicle 1110 may transmit a session establishment request to the RSU 1120 in response at 1102. The session establishment request may include a storage service discovery request, which may be sent to the RSU 1120 in real-time. In some cases, the session establishment request can be based on P2P service discovery mechanisms. The session establishment request may be received by the RSU with the availability, or by an elected leader RSU for the region.; See also Para. [0035, 0044, 0055, 0122, 0180, 0186]; Fig. 14A, Para. [0132-0137]);
The examiner interprets step 1110 in Fig. 11 described in Para. [0121] as transmission of a discovery message.
transmit data for processing to the neighboring device (Fig. 11, step 1106; Para. [0124] - After services are negotiated and the parties have authenticated, a data offload session is established at 1105, and the vehicle 1110 begins offloading sensor data at 1106; See also Fig. 12, Para. [0126-0127]; Fig. 13, Para. [0128-0131]; Fig. 14A, Para. [0132-0137]; Fig. 14B, Para. [0138-0142] );
receive, from the neighboring device, processed data (Fig. 11, step 1107; Para. [0125] - After the vehicle has offloaded its data to the RSU 1120, the RSU 1120 generates and transmits storage record information for the data offloaded at 1106. The storage record information may be a database-like record. For instance, the storage record information may include a metadata description of the data that includes identifying information for the RSU to which the data was offloaded (e.g., so the vehicle, a data consumer, or another entity may locate the data at a later point in time). The storage record information may also include other information about the RSU, such as information about the physical location of the RSU. In some instances, the storage record information may include an identifier for a particular event witnessed by the vehicle (e.g., where the vehicle offloads the data in response to the occurrence of the event), a time associated with the occurrence of the particular event, or other information related to the particular event, so that an investigatory entity may later locate and access the sensor data associated with the event. An example process for accessing sensor data offloaded to RSUs is shown in FIG. 13 and described further below; See also Fig. 12, Para. [0126-0127]; Fig. 13, Para. [0128-0131]; Fig. 14A, Para. [0132-0137]; Fig. 14B, Para. [0138-0142]);
and transmit an indication of an amount of completed offloaded processing (Fig. 11, step 1107; Para. [0125]; Fig. 14, step 1410; Para. [0137] - At 1410, the RSU generates storage record information for the data offloaded by the vehicle and transmits the storage record information to the vehicle (so the vehicle or other entity may later locate the offloaded data). In some cases, the data includes information (e.g., flags or other indicators) indicating an occurrence of a particular event witnessed by the vehicle, and the storage record information may accordingly include an identifier for the particular event, a time associated with the occurrence of the particular event, or other information about the event. In this manner, an entity may later search a set of storage record information provided by a number of vehicles to find matches for the particular event, and may use the storage record information to locate RSUs that are currently storing the sensor data associated with the particular event; See also Fig. 12, Para. [0126-0127]; Fig. 13, Para. [0128-0131]; Fig. 14A, Para. [0132-0137]; Fig. 14B, Para. [0138-0142]).
The examiner interprets the event details described in Para. [0137] as indication of completed offloaded processing.
Yet, Schooler does not expressly teach transmit an offloading request to an offloading server, the offloading request including the identifier of the neighboring device and receive, from the offloading server, an indication that the neighboring device is selected to perform offloaded processing. The examiner notes that Schooler teaches an offloading request that is transmitted to the RSU.
However, Singh teaches
transmit an offloading request to an offloading server, the offloading request including the identifier of the neighboring device (Fig. 4, step 430; Para. [0056] - Operation 430 can include the wireless communication device querying the offload coordination service server 116 to access offloading coordination information to use to facilitate offloading before initiating offloading traffic from a cellular connection to a wireless P2P connection. The offloading coordination information accessed by the wireless communication device can include a neighbor list for the wireless communication device, capabilities information for one or more neighboring wireless communication devices, a set of security credentials for one or more neighboring wireless communication devices, and/or the like; See also Para. [0023, 0028-0036, 0038, 0047, 0060, 0062]);
receive, from the offloading server, an indication that the neighboring device is selected to perform offloaded processing (Fig. 5, steps 500 and 510; Para. [0057] - Operation 500 can include a wireless communication device accessing offloading coordination information from the offload coordination service (e.g., from the offload coordination service server 116) about at least one neighboring wireless communication device being within sufficient proximity of the wireless communication device to establish a wireless peer-to-peer connection and having access to a WLAN access point. The offloading coordination information can, for example, include a neighbor list for the wireless communication device, capabilities information for one or more neighboring wireless communication devices, a set of security credentials for one or more neighboring wireless communication devices, and/or the like. Operation 510 can include the wireless communication device using the offloading coordination information to select a neighboring wireless communication device to function as a relay device, such as the relay device 112. In some embodiments, the wireless communication device selects the neighboring wireless communication device from the neighbor list for the wireless communication device. In some example embodiments, the offloading coordination information can include an indication of a neighboring wireless communication device selected by, or at least indicated as a preferred choice by the offload coordination service server 116. As such, in such example embodiments, a wireless communication device can select a relay device based on a preference or selection that can be made at least in part by the offload coordination service server 116, such as based on capabilities information, load balancing decisions, and/or the like; See also Para. [0023, 0028-0036, 0038, 0047, 0060, 0062]);
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill of the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Schooler’s invention of a road side unit (RSU) which establishes “a data offload session with a vehicle in the vicinity of the RSU based on a session establishment request sent by the vehicle, and stores data received from the vehicle during the data offload session in its memory” (Schooler §Abstract) with Singh’s invention of “a method for offloading data traffic from a cellular connection to a WLAN connection via a wireless P2P connection“ (Singh §Abstract) because Singh’s invention provides an offload coordination service server which can provide “a secure mechanism to allow registered service users and/or devices to access a network through their wireless communication devices” and “an incentive for users of wireless communication devices to allow their wireless communication devices to serve as relay devices for other wireless communication devices that do not have access to a WLAN access point” (Singh Para. [0023]).
Yet, Schooler nor Singh expressly teach wherein the offloading request includes an indication of processing tasks for processing by the neighboring device and based on the indication of processing tasks.
However, Bangolae teaches
wherein the offloading request includes an indication of processing tasks for processing by the neighboring device (Fig. 7, step 702; Para. [0085] - For example, the process may include, at 702, decoding a compute task request message received from a user equipment (UE), the compute task request message comprising an indication of a compute task to be offloaded to the RAN and data of the compute task; See also Para. [0142, 0151, 0160, 0169])
Bangolae is cited to teach that the “offloading request includes an indication of the processing tasks,” as shown in Fig. 7 and Para. [0085], where the compute-task request message (i.e., the offloading request) contains an explicit indication of the task to be offloaded and “data of the compute task.” Schooler provides the distributed offloading framework, and Singh teaches directing offloaded processing to a neighboring device. Thus, Bangolae supplies the “indication of processing tasks” portion of the limitation within the overall §103 combination.
based on the indication of processing tasks (Fig. 7; Para. [0085-0087]- … [0086] The process further includes, at 704, establishing a RAN compute service function (SF) based on support initiated by a service orchestration and chaining function (SOCF). [0087] The process further includes, at 706, establishing a RAN compute QoS flow with the UE, wherein the RAN compute QoS flow spans between the UE, the RAN, and the RAN compute SF; See also Para. [0142, 0151, 0160, 0169]))
Bangolae teaches that the UE transmits data for processing “based on the indication of processing tasks,” as the compute-task request message (i.e., the offloading request) includes an indication of the compute task, and step 704 and 706 in Fig. 7 show that the system establishes a RAN compute service function and a corresponding RAN compute QoS flow specifically in response to that indicated compute task (Bangolae Para. [0086-0087]). Singh then teaches that the selected neighboring device performs the offloaded processing and that the UE transmits data to the neighboring device for such processing. Accordingly, Bangolae provides the teaching that data transmission is performed based on the indicated processing tasks, while Singh supplies the teaching that this data is sent to the neighboring device, with Schooler providing the overall distributed offloading framework supporting the combination.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill of the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide wherein the offloading request includes an indication of processing tasks for processing by the neighboring device and based on the indication of processing tasks as taught by Bangolae, in the combined system of Schooler/Singh, so that it would provide task-indication and workload-offloading techniques to improve coordination and performance of offloaded processing (Bangolae Para. [0018-0022]).
Yet, Schooler, Singh, nor Bangolae expressly teach receive, from a neighboring device, a response to the discovery message, the response including an identifier of the neighboring device.
However, Dai teaches
receive, from a neighboring device, a response to the discovery message, the response including an identifier of the neighboring device (Fig. 6, step 602; Para. [0194-0225] - [0201] Step 602: Each second user equipment receives the discovery request message, and sends a response message to the first user equipment. [0202] The response message corresponds to the discovery request message, and the response message is used to indicate that the second user equipment is around the first user equipment. The response message includes a radio network identifier of the second user equipment, and further includes a sidelink identifier of the second user equipment and other information. This is not limited; See also: Fig. 1-2, Para. [0131-0138]; Fig. 5, Para. [0157-0193]; Fig. 7A-B, Para. [0227-0255]; Fig. 8A-B, Para. [0256-0277]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill of the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide receive, from a neighboring device, a response to the discovery message, the response including an identifier of the neighboring device as taught by Dai, in the combined system of Schooler/Singh/Bangolae, so that it would provide “a relay communication method and a communications apparatus” (Dai Para. [0005]) such that “performance of the selected relay user equipment is better, so that reliability of data transmission performed by remote user equipment via the relay user equipment is improved, and a performance condition of a network system is improved” (Dai Para. [0136]).
Regarding Claim 8, Schooler teaches a first device for distributed processing, comprising (Fig. 5, Para. [0064-0081]; See also Figs. 6-7, Para. [0082-0102]):
at least one memory (Fig. 5, element 560; Para. [0066, 0080-0081]; See also Figs. 6-7, Para. [0082-0102]);
and at least one processor coupled to the at least one memory and configured to (Fig. 5, element 552; Para. [0065-0069, 0075, 0078, 0081]; See also Figs. 6-7, Para. [0082-0102]):
receive, from a second device, a discovery message (Fig. 11, step 1102; Para. [0121]; See also Para. [0035, 0044, 0055, 0122, 0180, 0186]; Fig. 14A, Para. [0132-0137]);
receive, from the second device, data for processing (Fig. 11, step 1106; Para. [0124]; See also Fig. 12, Para. [0126-0127]; Fig. 13, Para. [0128-0131]; Fig. 14A, Para. [0132-0137]; Fig. 14B, Para. [0138-0142] );
process the data to obtain processed data (Fig. 11, step 1107; Para. [0125]; Fig. 14, step 1410; Para. [0137]; See also Fig. 12, Para. [0126-0127]; Fig. 13, Para. [0128-0131]; Fig. 14A, Para. [0132-0137]; Fig. 14B, Para. [0138-0142]).
and transmit the processed data to the second device (Fig. 11, step 1107; Para. [0125]; Fig. 14, step 1410; Para. [0137]; See also Fig. 12, Para. [0126-0127]; Fig. 13, Para. [0128-0131]; Fig. 14A, Para. [0132-0137]; Fig. 14B, Para. [0138-0142]).
Yet, Schooler does not expressly teach transmit an indication that the first device can provide compute offloading services to an offloading server and receive, from the offloading server, an indication that the first device is selected to provide compute offloading services.
However, Singh teaches
transmit an indication that the first device can provide compute offloading services to an offloading server (Fig. 4, steps 400, 410, and 420; Para. [0056] - … Operation 400 can include a wireless communication device (e.g., by a user thereof) registering the wireless communication device (and/or the user) to use the offload coordination service. For example, registration can be made to the offload coordination service server 116. Operation 410 can include the wireless communication device updating capabilities information and/or a security credential with the offload coordination service, e.g., to the offload coordination service server 116…In this regard, at least some capabilities information of wireless communication device (e.g., registered with the offload coordination service server 116 to use and/or provide capabilities for the offload coordination service) can be dynamic, and thus the capabilities information maintained for the offload coordination service, e.g., at the offload coordination service server 116, can be updated as capabilities of wireless communication devices change. Operation 420 can include the wireless communication device updating its neighbor list with the offload coordination service, e.g., providing incremental, new, or otherwise update information for its own neighbor list to the offload coordination service server 116; See also Para. [0023, 0028-0036, 0038, 0047, 0060, 0062]);
The examiner interprets registering, updating capabilities and/or security credential, and updating the neighbor list with the offload coordination service server as indication that the first device can provide compute offloading services.
receive, from the offloading server, an indication that the first device is selected to provide compute offloading services (Fig. 5, steps 500 and 510; Para. [0057]; See also Para. [0023, 0028-0036, 0038, 0047, 0060, 0062]);
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill of the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Schooler’s invention of a road side unit (RSU) which establishes “a data offload session with a vehicle in the vicinity of the RSU based on a session establishment request sent by the vehicle, and stores data received from the vehicle during the data offload session in its memory” (Schooler §Abstract) with Singh’s invention of “a method for offloading data traffic from a cellular connection to a WLAN connection via a wireless P2P connection“ (Singh §Abstract) because Singh’s invention provides an offload coordination service server which can provide “a secure mechanism to allow registered service users and/or devices to access a network through their wireless communication devices” and “an incentive for users of wireless communication devices to allow their wireless communication devices to serve as relay devices for other wireless communication devices that do not have access to a WLAN access point” (Singh Para. [0023]).
Yet, Schooler nor Singh expressly teach wherein the indication that the first device can provide compute offloading services includes an indication of processing tasks available for processing by the first device.
However, Bangolae teaches
wherein the indication that the first device can provide compute offloading services includes an indication of processing tasks available for processing by the first device (Fig. 7, step 702; Para. [0085]; See also Para. [0142, 0151, 0160, 0169])
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill of the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide wherein the indication that the first device can provide compute offloading services includes an indication of processing tasks available for processing by the first device as taught by Bangolae, in the combined system of Schooler/Singh, so that it would provide task-indication and workload-offloading techniques to improve coordination and performance of offloaded processing (Bangolae Para. [0018-0022]).
Yet, Schooler, Singh, nor Bangolae expressly teach transmit a response to the discovery message, the response including an identifier of the first device.
However, Dai teaches
transmit a response to the discovery message, the response including an identifier of the first device (Fig. 6, step 602; Para. [0194-0225]; See also: Fig. 1-2, Para. [0131-0138]; Fig. 5, Para. [0157-0193]; Fig. 7A-B, Para. [0227-0255]; Fig. 8A-B, Para. [0256-0277]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill of the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide transmit a response to the discovery message, the response including an identifier of the first device as taught by Dai, in the combined system of Schooler/Singh/Bangolae, so that it would provide “a relay communication method and a communications apparatus” (Dai Para. [0005]) such that “performance of the selected relay user equipment is better, so that reliability of data transmission performed by remote user equipment via the relay user equipment is improved, and a performance condition of a network system is improved” (Dai Para. [0136]).
Regarding Claim 23, Schooler teaches an apparatus for distributed processing, comprising (Fig. 11, Para. [0120-0125]; See also Fig. 12, Para. [0126-0127]; Fig. 13, Para. [0128-0131]; Fig. 14A, Para. [0132-0137]; Fig. 14B, Para. [0138-0142]):
transmitting a discovery message (Fig. 11, step 1102; Para. [0121]; See also Para. [0035, 0044, 0055, 0122, 0180, 0186]; Fig. 14A, Para. [0132-0137]);
transmitting data for processing to the neighboring device (Fig. 11, step 1106; Para. [0124]; See also Fig. 12, Para. [0126-0127]; Fig. 13, Para. [0128-0131]; Fig. 14A, Para. [0132-0137]; Fig. 14B, Para. [0138-0142] );
receiving, from the neighboring device, processed data (Fig. 11, step 1107; Para. [0125]; See also Fig. 12, Para. [0126-0127]; Fig. 13, Para. [0128-0131]; Fig. 14A, Para. [0132-0137]; Fig. 14B, Para. [0138-0142]);
and transmitting an indication of an amount of completed offloaded processing (Fig. 11, step 1107; Para. [0125]; Fig. 14, step 1410; Para. [0137]; See also Fig. 12, Para. [0126-0127]; Fig. 13, Para. [0128-0131]; Fig. 14A, Para. [0132-0137]; Fig. 14B, Para. [0138-0142]).
Yet, Schooler does not expressly teach transmit an offloading request to an offloading server, the offloading request including the identifier of the neighboring device and receive, from the offloading server, an indication that the neighboring device is selected to perform offloaded processing. The examiner notes that Schooler teaches an offloading request that is transmitted to the RSU.
However, Singh teaches
transmitting an offloading request to an offloading server, the offloading request including the identifier of the neighboring device (Fig. 4, step 430; Para. [0056]; See also Para. [0023, 0028-0036, 0038, 0047, 0060, 0062]);
receiving, from the offloading server, an indication that the neighboring device is selected to perform offloaded processing (Fig. 5, steps 500 and 510; Para. [0057]; See also Para. [0023, 0028-0036, 0038, 0047, 0060, 0062]);
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill of the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Schooler’s invention of a road side unit (RSU) which establishes “a data offload session with a vehicle in the vicinity of the RSU based on a session establishment request sent by the vehicle, and stores data received from the vehicle during the data offload session in its memory” (Schooler §Abstract) with Singh’s invention of “a method for offloading data traffic from a cellular connection to a WLAN connection via a wireless P2P connection“ (Singh §Abstract) because Singh’s invention provides an offload coordination service server which can provide “a secure mechanism to allow registered service users and/or devices to access a network through their wireless communication devices” and “an incentive for users of wireless communication devices to allow their wireless communication devices to serve as relay devices for other wireless communication devices that do not have access to a WLAN access point” (Singh Para. [0023]).
Yet, Schooler nor Singh expressly teach wherein the offloading request includes an indication of processing tasks for processing by the neighboring device and based on the indication of processing tasks.
However, Bangolae teaches
wherein the offloading request includes an indication of processing tasks for processing by the neighboring device (Fig. 7, step 702; Para. [0085]; See also Para. [0142, 0151, 0160, 0169])
based on the indication of processing tasks (Fig. 7; Para. [0085-0087]; See also Para. [0142, 0151, 0160, 0169]))
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill of the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide wherein the offloading request includes an indication of processing tasks for processing by the neighboring device and based on the indication of processing tasks as taught by Bangolae, in the combined system of Schooler/Singh, so that it would provide task-indication and workload-offloading techniques to improve coordination and performance of offloaded processing (Bangolae Para. [0018-0022]).
Yet, Schooler, Singh, nor Bangolae expressly teach receiving, from a neighboring device, a response to the discovery message, the response including an identifier of the neighboring device.
However, Dai teaches
receiving, from a neighboring device, a response to the discovery message, the response including an identifier of the neighboring device (Fig. 6, step 602; Para. [0194-0225]; See also: Fig. 1-2, Para. [0131-0138]; Fig. 5, Para. [0157-0193]; Fig. 7A-B, Para. [0227-0255]; Fig. 8A-B, Para. [0256-0277]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill of the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide receiving, from a neighboring device, a response to the discovery message, the response including an identifier of the neighboring device as taught by Dai, in the combined system of Schooler/Singh/Bangolae, so that it would provide “a relay communication method and a communications apparatus” (Dai Para. [0005]) such that “performance of the selected relay user equipment is better, so that reliability of data transmission performed by remote user equipment via the relay user equipment is improved, and a performance condition of a network system is improved” (Dai Para. [0136]).
Regarding Claims 2 and 24, Schooler in view of Singh, Bangolae, and Dai teaches Claims 1 and 23.
Yet, Schooler nor Singh expressly teach wherein the offloading request includes an indication of computational modules for offloading, wherein the computational modules indicate the processing tasks for processing.
However, Bangolae teaches
wherein the offloading request includes an indication of computational modules for offloading, wherein the computational modules indicate the processing tasks for processing (Fig. 7, step 702; Para. [0085]; Para. [0017-0020] - [0017] With the trend of telecommunications network cloudification, the cellular network is foreseen to be built with flexibility and scalability by virtualized network functions (VNFs) or containerized network functions (CNFs) running on general-purpose hardware. Heterogenous computing capabilities provided by hardware and software, naturally coming with this trend, can be leveraged to provide augmented computing to end devices across devices and networks. These computing tasks generally have different requirements in resources and dependencies in different scenarios. For example, it can be an application instance either standalone or serving one or more UEs. It can also be a generic function like artificial intelligence (AI) training or inference or a micro-service function using specific accelerators. In addition, the computing task can be semi-static or dynamically launched. To enable these scenarios, this disclosure proposes solutions to support QoS for augmented computing across the device and RAN in order to dynamically offload workloads and execute compute tasks at the network computing infrastructure with desired QoS characteristics e.g. low latency; See also Para. [0142, 0151, 0160, 0169]).
The examiner interprets the computing tasks described in Bangolae Para. [0017] of application instances, AI training or inference, or a micro-service function as “computational modules” that define particular processing tasks to be offloaded.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill of the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide wherein the offloading request includes an indication of computational modules for offloading, wherein the computational modules indicate the processing tasks for processing as taught by Bangolae, in the combined system of Schooler/Singh, so that it would provide task-indication and workload-offloading techniques to improve coordination and performance of offloaded processing (Bangolae Para. [0018-0022]).
Regarding Claims 3 and 25, Schooler in view of Singh, Bangolae, and Dai teaches Claims 2 and 24.
Yet, Schooler does not expressly teach wherein the offloading request includes an estimate of an amount of compute offloading services for processing the computational modules.
However, Singh teaches
wherein the offloading request includes an estimate of an amount of compute offloading services for processing the computational modules (Fig. 4, step 430; Para. [0056] - In some embodiments, the offload coordination service server 116 selects an appropriate neighboring wireless communication device to act as a relay device for a wireless communication device, e.g., based on selection criteria provided by the wireless communication device and/or based on information stored and maintained by the offload coordination service server 116; See also Fig. 5, Para. [0057]; Fig. 6, Para. [0058-0062]).
The examiner interprets “selection criteria provided by the wireless communication device” as an indication of computational modules for offloading.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill of the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Schooler’s invention of a road side unit (RSU) which establishes “a data offload session with a vehicle in the vicinity of the RSU based on a session establishment request sent by the vehicle, and stores data received from the vehicle during the data offload session in its memory” (Schooler §Abstract) with Singh’s invention of “a method for offloading data traffic from a cellular connection to a WLAN connection via a wireless P2P connection“ (Singh §Abstract) because Singh’s invention provides an offload coordination service server which can provide “a secure mechanism to allow registered service users and/or devices to access a network through their wireless communication devices” and “an incentive for users of wireless communication devices to allow their wireless communication devices to serve as relay devices for other wireless communication devices that do not have access to a WLAN access point” (Singh Para. [0023]).
Regarding Claims 4, 11, and 26, Schooler in view of Singh, Bangolae, and Dai teaches Claims 1, 8, and 23.
Schooler further teaches
wherein the discovery message comprises a sidelink discovery message (Fig. 11, step 1102; Para. [0121] - To do this, the vehicle 1110 may transmit a session establishment request to the RSU 1120 in response at 1102. The session establishment request may include a storage service discovery request, which may be sent to the RSU 1120 in real-time. In some cases, the session establishment request can be based on P2P service discovery mechanisms; See also Fig. 13, Para. [0128-0131]; Fig. 14A, Para. [0132-0137]; Fig. 14B, Para. [0138-0142]).
The examiner interprets peer-to-peer (P2P) communication as a form of sidelink communication.
Regarding Claims 5, 12, and 27, Schooler in view of Singh, Bangolae, and Dai teaches Claims 4, 11, and 26.
Schooler further teaches
establish a sidelink connection with the neighboring device (Fig. 11, Steps 1103-1105; Para. [0122] - The vehicle 1110 and RSU 1120 may then perform storage service advertisement and discovery processes at 1103, wherein certain capabilities are exchanged for storage service negotiation. For example, the RSU 1120 may advertise an amount of available storage, a maximum duration of storage for the data, a type of data accepted for storage, a service charge for storing the data, and privacy information related to storage of the data, and the vehicle 1110 may determine which data it may offload to the RSU 1120 based on the advertised information; See also Para. [0123-0124]; Fig. 13, Para. [0128-0131]; Fig. 14A, Para. [0132-0137]; Fig. 14B, Para. [0138-0142]);
transmit the data for processing via the sidelink connection (Fig. 11, Step 1106; Para. [0124] - After services are negotiated and the parties have authenticated, a data offload session is established at 1105, and the vehicle 1110 begins offloading sensor data at 1106; See also Fig. 13, Para. [0128-0131]; Fig. 14A, Para. [0132-0137]; Fig. 14B, Para. [0138-0142]);
and receive the processed data via the sidelink connection (Fig. 11, Step 1107; Para. [0125] - After the vehicle has offloaded its data to the RSU 1120, the RSU 1120 generates and transmits storage record information for the data offloaded at 1106. The storage record information may be a database-like record. For instance, the storage record information may include a metadata description of the data that includes identifying information for the RSU to which the data was offloaded (e.g., so the vehicle, a data consumer, or another entity may locate the data at a later point in time). The storage record information may also include other information about the RSU, such as information about the physical location of the RSU. In some instances, the storage record information may include an identifier for a particular event witnessed by the vehicle (e.g., where the vehicle offloads the data in response to the occurrence of the event), a time associated with the occurrence of the particular event, or other information related to the particular event, so that an investigatory entity may later locate and access the sensor data associated with the event; See also Fig. 13, Para. [0128-0131]; Fig. 14A, Para. [0132-0137]; Fig. 14B, Para. [0138-0142]).
The examiner interprets the storage record information as the processed data.
Regarding Claims 7 and 29, Schooler in view of Singh, Bangolae, and Dai teach Claims 1 and 23.
Yet, Schooler does not expressly teach use/using a first radio access technology to communicate with the offloading server; and use/using a second radio access technology to communicate with the neighboring device.
However, Singh teaches
use/using a first radio access technology to communicate with the offloading server (Fig. 1; Para. [0025] - The client device 102 can connect to a cellular network via a cellular base station 104. The cellular network can use any of a variety of cellular radio access technologies (RATs), including, by way of non-limiting example, a fourth generation (4G) RAT, such as a long term evolution (LTE) RAT (e.g., LTE, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), or other LTE technology); a third generation (3G) RAT, such as a Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) RAT or a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) RAT; a second generation (2G) RAT, such as a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) RAT; and/or other cellular RAT that is in existence and/or that may be developed in the future. The cellular base station 104 can be any type of cellular base station, depending on a type of RAT that can be implemented on the cellular network. By way of non-limiting example, the cellular base station 104 can be an evolved node B (eNB), a node B, a base transceiver station (BTS), and/or another type of cellular access point or base station; See also Para. [0026]; Fig. 4, Para. [0056]; Fig. 5, Para. [0057]; Fig. 6, Para. [0058-0062]);
The examiner notes that the Client Device 102 can communicate to the Offload Coordination Service Server through the cellular base station 104 and RAN/core network 106 as Para. [0026] states that the RAN/core Network 106 can be interfaced with network 108.
and use/using a second radio access technology to communicate with the neighboring device (Fig. 1, element 110; Para. [0027] - In accordance with some example embodiments, the client device 102 can establish a wireless P2P connection 110 with a neighboring device, such as the relay device 112. The wireless P2P connection 110 can be established using any WLAN protocol or other networking protocol that provides for P2P connections between wireless communication devices, including, for example, Wi-Fi direct, AWDL, and/or the like; See also Para. [0026] See also Para. [0026]; Fig. 4, Para. [0056]; Fig. 5, Para. [0057]; Fig. 6, Para. [0058-0062]).
The examiner interprets the wireless P2P connection 110 as a second radio access technology.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill of the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Schooler’s invention of a road side unit (RSU) which establishes “a data offload session with a vehicle in the vicinity of the RSU based on a session establishment request sent by the vehicle, and stores data received from the vehicle during the data offload session in its memory” (Schooler §Abstract) with Singh’s invention of “a method for offloading data traffic from a cellular connection to a WLAN connection via a wireless P2P connection“ (Singh §Abstract) because Singh’s invention provides an offload coordination service server which can provide “a secure mechanism to allow registered service users and/or devices to access a network through their wireless communication devices” and “an incentive for users of wireless communication devices to allow their wireless communication devices to serve as relay devices for other wireless communication devices that do not have access to a WLAN access point” (Singh Para. [0023]).
Regarding Claim 15, Schooler in view of Singh, Bangolae, and Dai teach Claim 8.
Yet, Schooler does not expressly teach use a first radio access technology to communicate with the offloading server; and use a second radio access technology to communicate with the second device.
However, Singh teaches
use a first radio access technology to communicate with the offloading server (Fig. 1; Para. [0025]; See also Para. [0026]; Fig. 4, Para. [0056]; Fig. 5, Para. [0057]; Fig. 6, Para. [0058-0062]);
The examiner notes that the Client Device 102 can communicate to the Offload Coordination Service Server through the cellular base station 104 and RAN/core network 106 as Para. [0026] states that the RAN/core Network 106 can be interfaced with network 108.
and use a second radio access technology to communicate with the second device (Fig. 1, element 110; Para. [0027]; See also Para. [0026] See also Para. [0026]; Fig. 4, Para. [0056]; Fig. 5, Para. [0057]; Fig. 6, Para. [0058-0062]).
The examiner interprets the wireless P2P connection 110 as a second radio access technology.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill of the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Schooler’s invention of a road side unit (RSU) which establishes “a data offload session with a vehicle in the vicinity of the RSU based on a session establishment request sent by the vehicle, and stores data received from the vehicle during the data offload session in its memory” (Schooler §Abstract) with Singh’s invention of “a method for offloading data traffic from a cellular connection to a WLAN connection via a wireless P2P connection“ (Singh §Abstract) because Singh’s invention provides an offload coordination service server which can provide “a secure mechanism to allow registered service users and/or devices to access a network through their wireless communication devices” and “an incentive for users of wireless communication devices to allow their wireless communication devices to serve as relay devices for other wireless communication devices that do not have access to a WLAN access point” (Singh Para. [0023]).
Regarding Claim 9, Schooler in view of Singh, Bangolae, and Dai teaches Claim 8.
Yet, Schooler does not expressly teach wherein the at least one processor is further configured to receive a credit for processing the data.
wherein the at least one processor is further configured to receive a credit for processing the data (Para. [0023] - The offload coordination service server can further provide an incentive for users of wireless communication devices to allow their wireless communication devices to serve as relay devices for other wireless communication devices that do not have access to a WLAN access point, as users of the wireless communication devices that offer relay capabilities can receive reciprocal privileges from other users/devices when, in turn, they do not have access to a WLAN access point…In some embodiments, when the first wireless communication device is unable to offload all or a portion of the "credited" allocation of a comparable or proportional amount of data through other wireless communication devices, the offload coordination service server can provide another form of compensation to a user of the wireless communication device, e.g., credits for a service to which the wireless communication device and/or the user subscribes. In some embodiments, the allocation of a comparable or proportional amount of data can be associated with a time period, and upon expiration of the time period, the comparable or proportional amount of data (or a remaining unused amount) can be converted to another form of compensation for the wireless communication device and/or the user thereof…Different mechanisms to compensate "fairly" for providing offloading capabilities can be used in different deployment scenarios. In some embodiments, the offload coordination service server can prevent or disallow direct access (e.g., via a Wi-Fi access point) or indirect access (e.g., via another wireless communication device connected to a Wi-Fi access point) for wireless communication devices and/or users thereof to offloading data under certain circumstances. For example, the offload coordination service server can seek to ensure that wireless communication devices do not unreasonably affect available bandwidth, throughput rates, or availability of other shared resources of a service through which offloading takes place to other users and/or devices that share the service. The offload coordination service server can provide accounting mechanisms to determine resource usage by wireless communication devices and/or users through one or more different wireless service providers, including e.g., cellular service providers and/or Wi-Fi service providers. In some embodiments, the offload coordination service server can implement policies and/or compensation mechanisms to compensate wireless service providers that are used by wireless communication devices for offloading purposes, e.g., a highly used service of a service provider can be provided a form of compensation for the additional usage incurred by offloading. In this regard, the offload coordination service server can provide a platform by which various interested users can leverage each other's wireless communication devices and Internet services to support offloading of data traffic for mutual benefit; See also Para. [ 0028-0036, 0038, 0047, 0060, 0062]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill of the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Schooler’s invention of a road side unit (RSU) which establishes “a data offload session with a vehicle in the vicinity of the RSU based on a session establishment request sent by the vehicle, and stores data received from the vehicle during the data offload session in its memory” (Schooler §Abstract) with Singh’s invention of “a method for offloading data traffic from a cellular connection to a WLAN connection via a wireless P2P connection“ (Singh §Abstract) because Singh’s invention provides an offload coordination service server which can provide “a secure mechanism to allow registered service users and/or devices to access a network through their wireless communication devices” and “an incentive for users of wireless communication devices to allow their wireless communication devices to serve as relay devices for other wireless communication devices that do not have access to a WLAN access point” (Singh Para. [0023]).
Regarding Claim 10, Schooler in view of Singh, Bangolae, and Dai teaches Claim 8.
Yet, Schooler does not expressly teach wherein the indication that the first device can provide compute offloading services includes an indication of compute resources of the first device available for use.
However, Singh teaches
wherein the indication that the first device can provide compute offloading services includes an indication of compute resources of the first device available for use (Fig. 4, steps 400, 410, and 420; Para. [0056] - … Operation 400 can include a wireless communication device (e.g., by a user thereof) registering the wireless communication device (and/or the user) to use the offload coordination service. For example, registration can be made to the offload coordination service server 116. Operation 410 can include the wireless communication device updating capabilities information and/or a security credential with the offload coordination service, e.g., to the offload coordination service server 116…In this regard, at least some capabilities information of wireless communication device (e.g., registered with the offload coordination service server 116 to use and/or provide capabilities for the offload coordination service) can be dynamic, and thus the capabilities information maintained for the offload coordination service, e.g., at the offload coordination service server 116, can be updated as capabilities of wireless communication devices change. Operation 420 can include the wireless communication device updating its neighbor list with the offload coordination service, e.g., providing incremental, new, or otherwise update information for its own neighbor list to the offload coordination service server 116; See also Para. [0023, 0028-0036, 0038, 0047, 0060, 0062]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill of the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Schooler’s invention of a road side unit (RSU) which establishes “a data offload session with a vehicle in the vicinity of the RSU based on a session establishment request sent by the vehicle, and stores data received from the vehicle during the data offload session in its memory” (Schooler §Abstract) with Singh’s invention of “a method for offloading data traffic from a cellular connection to a WLAN connection via a wireless P2P connection“ (Singh §Abstract) because Singh’s invention provides an offload coordination service server which can provide “a secure mechanism to allow registered service users and/or devices to access a network through their wireless communication devices” and “an incentive for users of wireless communication devices to allow their wireless communication devices to serve as relay devices for other wireless communication devices that do not have access to a WLAN access point” (Singh Para. [0023]).
Regarding Claim 13, Schooler in view of Singh, Bangolae, and Dai teaches Claim 8.
Yet, Schooler does not expressly teach wherein the indication that the first device is selected to provide compute offloading services includes an indication of computational modules for processing.
However, Singh teaches
wherein the indication that the first device is selected to provide compute offloading services includes an indication of computational modules for processing (Fig. 4, step 430; Para. [0056] - In some embodiments, the offload coordination service server 116 selects an appropriate neighboring wireless communication device to act as a relay device for a wireless communication device, e.g., based on selection criteria provided by the wireless communication device and/or based on information stored and maintained by the offload coordination service server 116; See also Fig. 5, Para. [0057]; Fig. 6, Para. [0058-0062]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill of the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Schooler’s invention of a road side unit (RSU) which establishes “a data offload session with a vehicle in the vicinity of the RSU based on a session establishment request sent by the vehicle, and stores data received from the vehicle during the data offload session in its memory” (Schooler §Abstract) with Singh’s invention of “a method for offloading data traffic from a cellular connection to a WLAN connection via a wireless P2P connection“ (Singh §Abstract) because Singh’s invention provides an offload coordination service server which can provide “a secure mechanism to allow registered service users and/or devices to access a network through their wireless communication devices” and “an incentive for users of wireless communication devices to allow their wireless communication devices to serve as relay devices for other wireless communication devices that do not have access to a WLAN access point” (Singh Para. [0023]).
Yet, Schooler nor Singh expressly teach wherein the computational modules indicate the processing tasks for processing.
However, Bangolae teaches
wherein the computational modules indicate the processing tasks for processing (Fig. 7, step 702; Para. [0085]; Para. [0017-0020] - [0017] With the trend of telecommunications network cloudification, the cellular network is foreseen to be built with flexibility and scalability by virtualized network functions (VNFs) or containerized network functions (CNFs) running on general-purpose hardware. Heterogenous computing capabilities provided by hardware and software, naturally coming with this trend, can be leveraged to provide augmented computing to end devices across devices and networks. These computing tasks generally have different requirements in resources and dependencies in different scenarios. For example, it can be an application instance either standalone or serving one or more UEs. It can also be a generic function like artificial intelligence (AI) training or inference or a micro-service function using specific accelerators. In addition, the computing task can be semi-static or dynamically launched. To enable these scenarios, this disclosure proposes solutions to support QoS for augmented computing across the device and RAN in order to dynamically offload workloads and execute compute tasks at the network computing infrastructure with desired QoS characteristics e.g. low latency; See also Para. [0142, 0151, 0160, 0169]).
The examiner interprets the computing tasks described in Bangolae Para. [0017] of application instances, AI training or inference, or a micro-service function as “computational modules” that define particular processing tasks to be offloaded.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill of the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide wherein the computational modules indicate the processing tasks for processing as taught by Bangolae, in the combined system of Schooler/Singh, so that it would provide task-indication and workload-offloading techniques to improve coordination and performance of offloaded processing (Bangolae Para. [0018-0022]).
Regarding Claim 14, Schooler in view of Singh, Bangolae, and Dai teaches Claim 13.
Yet, Schooler does not expressly teach wherein the indication that the first device is selected to provide compute offloading services includes an indication of computational modules for processing.
However, Singh teaches
wherein the indication that the first device is selected to provide compute offloading services includes an indication of computational modules for processing (Fig. 4, step 430; Para. [0056] - In some embodiments, the offload coordination service server 116 selects an appropriate neighboring wireless communication device to act as a relay device for a wireless communication device, e.g., based on selection criteria provided by the wireless communication device and/or based on information stored and maintained by the offload coordination service server 116; See also Fig. 5, Para. [0057]; Fig. 6, Para. [0058-0062]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill of the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Schooler’s invention of a road side unit (RSU) which establishes “a data offload session with a vehicle in the vicinity of the RSU based on a session establishment request sent by the vehicle, and stores data received from the vehicle during the data offload session in its memory” (Schooler §Abstract) with Singh’s invention of “a method for offloading data traffic from a cellular connection to a WLAN connection via a wireless P2P connection“ (Singh §Abstract) because Singh’s invention provides an offload coordination service server which can provide “a secure mechanism to allow registered service users and/or devices to access a network through their wireless communication devices” and “an incentive for users of wireless communication devices to allow their wireless communication devices to serve as relay devices for other wireless communication devices that do not have access to a WLAN access point” (Singh Para. [0023]).
Claim(s) 16-20 and 22 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Schooler et al. (US 2023/0283471, previously presented), Schooler hereinafter, in view of Singh et al. (US 2014/0204834, previously presented), Singh hereinafter, and Bangolae et al. (US 2024/0276290, previously presented), Bangolae hereinafter.
Regarding Claim 16, Schooler teaches an apparatus for distributed processing, comprising (Fig. 5, Para. [0064-0081]; See also Figs. 6-7, Para. [0082-0102]):
at least one memory (Fig. 5, element 560; Para. [0066, 0080-0081]; See also Figs. 6-7, Para. [0082-0102]);
and at least one processor coupled to the at least one memory and configured to (Fig. 5, element 552; Para. [0065-0069, 0075, 0078, 0081]; See also Figs. 6-7, Para. [0082-0102]):
Yet, Schooler does not expressly teach receive, from a first device, an offloading request, the offloading request including an identifier of a second device; receive, from the second device, an indication that the second device can provide compute offloading services; select the second device to perform compute offloading services; transmit an indication that the second device is selected to provide compute offloading services; receive an indication of an amount of completed offloaded processing from the first device; charge a first account associated with the first device based on the indication of the amount of completed offloaded processing; and credit a second account associated with the second device based on the indication of the amount of completed offloaded processing.
However, Singh teaches
receive, from a first device, an offloading request, the offloading request including an identifier of a second device (Fig. 4, steps 400, 410, and 420; Para. [0056]; See also Para. [0023, 0028-0036, 0038, 0047, 0060, 0062]);
receive, from the second device, an indication that the second device can provide compute offloading services (Fig. 4, steps 400, 410, and 420; Para. [0056] - In this regard, FIG. 4 illustrates operations that can be performed by a wireless communication device, such as the client device 102 and/or relay device 112, which can participate in the offload coordination service of one or more example embodiments; See also Para. [0023, 0028-0036, 0038, 0047, 0060, 0062]);
The examiner interprets “FIG. 4 illustrates operations that can be performed by a wireless communication device, such as the client device 102 and/or relay device 112, which can participate in the offload coordination service of one or more example embodiments” in Para. [0056] that both the first device and second device can communicate capability information and register with the Offload Coordination Service Server.
select the second device to perform compute offloading services (Fig. 4, step 430; Para. [0056] - Operation 430 can include the wireless communication device querying the offload coordination service server 116 to access offloading coordination information to use to facilitate offloading before initiating offloading traffic from a cellular connection to a wireless P2P connection….The offloading coordination information accessed by the wireless communication device can accordingly be used to select a neighboring wireless communication device to serve as a relay device, to facilitate accessing a selected neighboring wireless communication device, and/or the like. In some embodiments, the wireless communication device selects an appropriate neighboring wireless communication device to act as a relay device, e.g., based on information provided by the offload coordination service server 116. In some embodiments, the offload coordination service server 116 selects an appropriate neighboring wireless communication device to act as a relay device for a wireless communication device, e.g., based on selection criteria provided by the wireless communication device and/or based on information stored and maintained by the offload coordination service server 116. In some embodiments, the offload coordination service server 116 provides a set of candidate relay devices selected from a neighbor list for the wireless communication device to the wireless communication device. In some embodiments, the wireless communication device selects a particular wireless communication device in the set of candidate relay devices to serve as a relay device for offloading data traffic from the wireless communication device; See also Para. [0023, 0028-0036, 0038, 0047, 0060, 0062]);
transmit an indication that the second device is selected to provide compute offloading services (Fig. 5, steps 500 and 510; Para. [0057]; See also Para. [0023, 0028-0036, 0038, 0047, 0060, 0062]);
receive an indication of an amount of completed offloaded processing from the first device (Para. [0023] - … The offload coordination service server can provide accounting mechanisms to determine resource usage by wireless communication devices and/or users through one or more different wireless service providers, including e.g., cellular service providers and/or Wi-Fi service providers. In some embodiments, the offload coordination service server can implement policies and/or compensation mechanisms to compensate wireless service providers that are used by wireless communication devices for offloading purposes, e.g., a highly used service of a service provider can be provided a form of compensation for the additional usage incurred by offloading; See also Para. [ 0028-0036, 0038, 0047, 0060, 0062]);
charge a first account associated with the first device based on the indication of the amount of completed offloaded processing (Para. [0023] - The offload coordination service server can further provide an incentive for users of wireless communication devices to allow their wireless communication devices to serve as relay devices for other wireless communication devices that do not have access to a WLAN access point, as users of the wireless communication devices that offer relay capabilities can receive reciprocal privileges from other users/devices when, in turn, they do not have access to a WLAN access point…In some embodiments, when the first wireless communication device is unable to offload all or a portion of the "credited" allocation of a comparable or proportional amount of data through other wireless communication devices, the offload coordination service server can provide another form of compensation to a user of the wireless communication device, e.g., credits for a service to which the wireless communication device and/or the user subscribes. In some embodiments, the allocation of a comparable or proportional amount of data can be associated with a time period, and upon expiration of the time period, the comparable or proportional amount of data (or a remaining unused amount) can be converted to another form of compensation for the wireless communication device and/or the user thereof…Different mechanisms to compensate "fairly" for providing offloading capabilities can be used in different deployment scenarios. In some embodiments, the offload coordination service server can prevent or disallow direct access (e.g., via a Wi-Fi access point) or indirect access (e.g., via another wireless communication device connected to a Wi-Fi access point) for wireless communication devices and/or users thereof to offloading data under certain circumstances. For example, the offload coordination service server can seek to ensure that wireless communication devices do not unreasonably affect available bandwidth, throughput rates, or availability of other shared resources of a service through which offloading takes place to other users and/or devices that share the service. The offload coordination service server can provide accounting mechanisms to determine resource usage by wireless communication devices and/or users through one or more different wireless service providers, including e.g., cellular service providers and/or Wi-Fi service providers. In some embodiments, the offload coordination service server can implement policies and/or compensation mechanisms to compensate wireless service providers that are used by wireless communication devices for offloading purposes, e.g., a highly used service of a service provider can be provided a form of compensation for the additional usage incurred by offloading. In this regard, the offload coordination service server can provide a platform by which various interested users can leverage each other's wireless communication devices and Internet services to support offloading of data traffic for mutual benefit; See also Para. [ 0028-0036, 0038, 0047, 0060, 0062]);
and credit a second account associated with the second device based on the indication of the amount of completed offloaded processing (Para. [0023] - The offload coordination service server can further provide an incentive for users of wireless communication devices to allow their wireless communication devices to serve as relay devices for other wireless communication devices that do not have access to a WLAN access point, as users of the wireless communication devices that offer relay capabilities can receive reciprocal privileges from other users/devices when, in turn, they do not have access to a WLAN access point…In some embodiments, when the first wireless communication device is unable to offload all or a portion of the "credited" allocation of a comparable or proportional amount of data through other wireless communication devices, the offload coordination service server can provide another form of compensation to a user of the wireless communication device, e.g., credits for a service to which the wireless communication device and/or the user subscribes. In some embodiments, the allocation of a comparable or proportional amount of data can be associated with a time period, and upon expiration of the time period, the comparable or proportional amount of data (or a remaining unused amount) can be converted to another form of compensation for the wireless communication device and/or the user thereof. The offload coordination service server can apply various forms of compensation to wireless communication devices and/or users thereof that offer offloading capabilities for other wireless communication devices to ensure "fairness" for providing the offloading capabilities. In some embodiments, the offload coordination service server can provide for credits and/or monetary compensation for a carrier based service to which the wireless communication device and/or a user thereof subscribe in exchange for offering offloading capabilities to other wireless communication devices…In some embodiments, the offload coordination service server can implement policies and/or compensation mechanisms to compensate wireless service providers that are used by wireless communication devices for offloading purposes, e.g., a highly used service of a service provider can be provided a form of compensation for the additional usage incurred by offloading. In this regard, the offload coordination service server can provide a platform by which various interested users can leverage each other's wireless communication devices and Internet services to support offloading of data traffic for mutual benefit; See also Para. [0028-0036, 0038, 0047, 0060, 0062]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill of the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Schooler’s invention of a road side unit (RSU) which establishes “a data offload session with a vehicle in the vicinity of the RSU based on a session establishment request sent by the vehicle, and stores data received from the vehicle during the data offload session in its memory” (Schooler §Abstract) with Singh’s invention of “a method for offloading data traffic from a cellular connection to a WLAN connection via a wireless P2P connection“ (Singh §Abstract) because Singh’s invention provides an offload coordination service server which can provide “a secure mechanism to allow registered service users and/or devices to access a network through their wireless communication devices” and “an incentive for users of wireless communication devices to allow their wireless communication devices to serve as relay devices for other wireless communication devices that do not have access to a WLAN access point” (Singh Para. [0023]).
Yet, Schooler nor Singh expressly teach wherein the offloading request includes an indication of processing tasks for processing by the second device and based on the processing tasks for processing by the second device.
However, Bangolae teaches
wherein the offloading request includes an indication of processing tasks for processing by the second device (Fig. 7, step 702; Para. [0085]; See also Para. [0142, 0151, 0160, 0169])
based on the processing tasks for processing by the second device (Fig. 7; Para. [0085-0087]; See also Para. [0142, 0151, 0160, 0169]))
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill of the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide wherein the offloading request includes an indication of processing tasks for processing by the second device and based on the processing tasks for processing by the second device as taught by Bangolae, in the combined system of Schooler/Singh, so that it would provide task-indication and workload-offloading techniques to improve coordination and performance of offloaded processing (Bangolae Para. [0018-0022]).
Regarding Claim 17, Schooler in view of Singh and Bangolae teaches Claim 16.
Yet, Schooler nor Singh expressly teach wherein the offloading request includes an indication of computational modules for offloading, wherein the computational modules indicate the processing tasks for processing.
However, Bangolae teaches
wherein the offloading request includes an indication of computational modules for offloading, wherein the computational modules indicate the processing tasks for processing (Fig. 7, step 702; Para. [0085]; Para. [0017-0020] - [0017] With the trend of telecommunications network cloudification, the cellular network is foreseen to be built with flexibility and scalability by virtualized network functions (VNFs) or containerized network functions (CNFs) running on general-purpose hardware. Heterogenous computing capabilities provided by hardware and software, naturally coming with this trend, can be leveraged to provide augmented computing to end devices across devices and networks. These computing tasks generally have different requirements in resources and dependencies in different scenarios. For example, it can be an application instance either standalone or serving one or more UEs. It can also be a generic function like artificial intelligence (AI) training or inference or a micro-service function using specific accelerators. In addition, the computing task can be semi-static or dynamically launched. To enable these scenarios, this disclosure proposes solutions to support QoS for augmented computing across the device and RAN in order to dynamically offload workloads and execute compute tasks at the network computing infrastructure with desired QoS characteristics e.g. low latency; See also Para. [0142, 0151, 0160, 0169]).
The examiner interprets the computing tasks described in Bangolae Para. [0017] of application instances, AI training or inference, or a micro-service function as “computational modules” that define particular processing tasks to be offloaded.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill of the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide wherein the offloading request includes an indication of computational modules for offloading, wherein the computational modules indicate the processing tasks for processing as taught by Bangolae, in the combined system of Schooler/Singh, so that it would provide task-indication and workload-offloading techniques to improve coordination and performance of offloaded processing (Bangolae Para. [0018-0022]).
Regarding Claim 18, Schooler in view of Singh and Bangolae teaches Claim 17.
Yet, Schooler does not expressly teach wherein the indication that the second device can provide compute offloading services includes an indication of compute resources available for use on the second device
However, Singh teaches
wherein the indication that the second device can provide compute offloading services includes an indication of compute resources available for use on the second device (Fig. 4, steps 400, 410, and 420; Para. [0056] - In this regard, FIG. 4 illustrates operations that can be performed by a wireless communication device, such as the client device 102 and/or relay device 112, which can participate in the offload coordination service of one or more example embodiments; See also Para. [0023, 0028-0036, 0038, 0047, 0060, 0062]).
The examiner interprets Para. [0056] that the relay device (i.e., the second device) can share its capability information (i.e., compute resources available for use).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill of the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Schooler’s invention of a road side unit (RSU) which establishes “a data offload session with a vehicle in the vicinity of the RSU based on a session establishment request sent by the vehicle, and stores data received from the vehicle during the data offload session in its memory” (Schooler §Abstract) with Singh’s invention of “a method for offloading data traffic from a cellular connection to a WLAN connection via a wireless P2P connection“ (Singh §Abstract) because Singh’s invention provides an offload coordination service server which can provide “a secure mechanism to allow registered service users and/or devices to access a network through their wireless communication devices” and “an incentive for users of wireless communication devices to allow their wireless communication devices to serve as relay devices for other wireless communication devices that do not have access to a WLAN access point” (Singh Para. [0023]).
Regarding Claim 19, Schooler in view of Singh and Bangolae teaches Claim 18.
Schooler further teaches
and select the second device based on a comparison between the computational modules for offloading and the compute resources available for use. (Fig. 11, steps 1103 and 1105; Para. [0120-0125] – [0122] The vehicle 1110 and RSU 1120 may then perform storage service advertisement and discovery processes at 1103, wherein certain capabilities are exchanged for storage service negotiation. For example, the RSU 1120 may advertise an amount of available storage, a maximum duration of storage for the data, a type of data accepted for storage, a service charge for storing the data, and privacy information related to storage of the data, and the vehicle 1110 may determine which data it may offload to the RSU 1120 based on the advertised information… [0124] After services are negotiated and the parties have authenticated, a data offload session is established at 1105, and the vehicle 1110 begins offloading sensor data at 1106; See also Para. [0023, 0028-0036, 0038, 0047, 0060, 0062]).
Yet, Schooler does not expressly teach identify the second device based on the identifier of the second device.
However, Singh teaches
identify the second device based on the identifier of the second device (Fig. 5, steps 500 and 510; Para. [0057] - …Operation 500 can include a wireless communication device accessing offloading coordination information from the offload coordination service (e.g., from the offload coordination service server 116) about at least one neighboring wireless communication device being within sufficient proximity of the wireless communication device to establish a wireless peer-to-peer connection and having access to a WLAN access point. The offloading coordination information can, for example, include a neighbor list for the wireless communication device, capabilities information for one or more neighboring wireless communication devices, a set of security credentials for one or more neighboring wireless communication devices, and/or the like. Operation 510 can include the wireless communication device using the offloading coordination information to select a neighboring wireless communication device to function as a relay device, such as the relay device 112. In some embodiments, the wireless communication device selects the neighboring wireless communication device from the neighbor list for the wireless communication device. In some example embodiments, the offloading coordination information can include an indication of a neighboring wireless communication device selected by, or at least indicated as a preferred choice by the offload coordination service server 116. As such, in such example embodiments, a wireless communication device can select a relay device based on a preference or selection that can be made at least in part by the offload coordination service server 116, such as based on capabilities information, load balancing decisions, and/or the like...; See also Para. [0023, 0028-0036, 0038, 0047, 0060, 0062]; Fig. 4, Para. [0056]; Fig. 6, Para. [0058-0062]; Fig. 7, Para. [0063]; Fig. 8, Para. [0064]; Fig. 9, Para. [0065]);
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill of the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Schooler’s invention of a road side unit (RSU) which establishes “a data offload session with a vehicle in the vicinity of the RSU based on a session establishment request sent by the vehicle, and stores data received from the vehicle during the data offload session in its memory” (Schooler §Abstract) with Singh’s invention of “a method for offloading data traffic from a cellular connection to a WLAN connection via a wireless P2P connection“ (Singh §Abstract) because Singh’s invention provides an offload coordination service server which can provide “a secure mechanism to allow registered service users and/or devices to access a network through their wireless communication devices” and “an incentive for users of wireless communication devices to allow their wireless communication devices to serve as relay devices for other wireless communication devices that do not have access to a WLAN access point” (Singh Para. [0023]).
Regarding Claim 20, Schooler in view of Singh and Bangolae teaches Claim 17.
Yet, Schooler does not expressly teach wherein, to transmit the indication that the second device is selected, the at least one processor is configured to transmit, to the second device, the indication of computational modules for offloading.
However, Singh teaches
wherein, to transmit the indication that the second device is selected, the at least one processor is configured to transmit, to the second device, the indication of computational modules for offloading. (Fig. 4, step 430; Para. [0056] - Operation 430 can include the wireless communication device querying the offload coordination service server 116 to access offloading coordination information to use to facilitate offloading before initiating offloading traffic from a cellular connection to a wireless P2P connection….The offloading coordination information accessed by the wireless communication device can accordingly be used to select a neighboring wireless communication device to serve as a relay device, to facilitate accessing a selected neighboring wireless communication device, and/or the like. In some embodiments, the wireless communication device selects an appropriate neighboring wireless communication device to act as a relay device, e.g., based on information provided by the offload coordination service server 116. In some embodiments, the offload coordination service server 116 selects an appropriate neighboring wireless communication device to act as a relay device for a wireless communication device, e.g., based on selection criteria provided by the wireless communication device and/or based on information stored and maintained by the offload coordination service server 116. In some embodiments, the offload coordination service server 116 provides a set of candidate relay devices selected from a neighbor list for the wireless communication device to the wireless communication device. In some embodiments, the wireless communication device selects a particular wireless communication device in the set of candidate relay devices to serve as a relay device for offloading data traffic from the wireless communication device; See also Para. [0023, 0028-0036, 0038, 0047, 0057-0058, 0060, 0062]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill of the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Schooler’s invention of a road side unit (RSU) which establishes “a data offload session with a vehicle in the vicinity of the RSU based on a session establishment request sent by the vehicle, and stores data received from the vehicle during the data offload session in its memory” (Schooler §Abstract) with Singh’s invention of “a method for offloading data traffic from a cellular connection to a WLAN connection via a wireless P2P connection“ (Singh §Abstract) because Singh’s invention provides an offload coordination service server which can provide “a secure mechanism to allow registered service users and/or devices to access a network through their wireless communication devices” and “an incentive for users of wireless communication devices to allow their wireless communication devices to serve as relay devices for other wireless communication devices that do not have access to a WLAN access point” (Singh Para. [0023]).
Regarding Claim 22, Schooler in view of Singh and Bangolae teach Claim 16.
Yet, Schooler does not expressly teach use a first radio access technology to communicate with the first device; and use a second radio access technology to communicate with the second device.
However, Singh teaches
use a first radio access technology to communicate with the first device (Fig. 1; Para. [0025] See also Para. [0026]; Fig. 4, Para. [0056]; Fig. 5, Para. [0057]; Fig. 6, Para. [0058-0062]);
and use a second radio access technology to communicate with the second device (Fig. 1, element 110; Para. [0027]; See also Para. [0026] See also Para. [0026]; Fig. 4, Para. [0056]; Fig. 5, Para. [0057]; Fig. 6, Para. [0058-0062]).
The examiner interprets the wireless P2P connection 110 as a second radio access technology.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill of the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Schooler’s invention of a road side unit (RSU) which establishes “a data offload session with a vehicle in the vicinity of the RSU based on a session establishment request sent by the vehicle, and stores data received from the vehicle during the data offload session in its memory” (Schooler §Abstract) with Singh’s invention of “a method for offloading data traffic from a cellular connection to a WLAN connection via a wireless P2P connection“ (Singh §Abstract) because Singh’s invention provides an offload coordination service server which can provide “a secure mechanism to allow registered service users and/or devices to access a network through their wireless communication devices” and “an incentive for users of wireless communication devices to allow their wireless communication devices to serve as relay devices for other wireless communication devices that do not have access to a WLAN access point” (Singh Para. [0023]).
Claim(s) 6 and 28 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Schooler in view of Singh, Bangolae, and Dai, and further in view of Badic et al. (US 2022/0360645, previously presented), Badic hereinafter.
Regarding Claims 6 and 28, Schooler in view of Singh, Bangolae, and Dai teaches Claims 1 and 23.
Yet, Schooler, Singh, Bangolae, nor Dai teaches wherein the offloading server is hosted on a core network, and wherein the apparatus and the neighboring device are connected to the core network.
However, Badic teaches
wherein the offloading server is hosted on a core network (Para. [0118] - The Offloading Controller Unit can be located within (implemented within) the UE or may be implemented in another device, such as a base station (gNB), or at a service provider (SP) site. In some embodiments, portions of the Offloading Controller Unit may be distributed across multiple devices. For example, in some embodiments the Service Discovery Unit may be implemented in a network element in the core network, or a server outside of the core network, while some or all of the APU, SPU and DSU may be implemented in the UE (and/or the base station). Various other implementation configurations are also contemplated; See also Fig. 6, Para. [0016]),
and wherein the apparatus and the neighboring device are connected to the core network (Fig. 6; Para. [0115] - FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a portion of a cellular network implementing Multi-access Edge Computing (MEC) according to embodiments described herein. As shown in FIG. 6, the UE communicates in a wireless fashion with a cellular base station, referred to as gNB. The base station in turn communicates to a cellular network, and in particular to a user plane function (UPF) of the core network. The UPF in turn connects to a Local Area Data Network (LADN). The LADN hosts MEC servers and applications, and computational tasks that would otherwise be performed by the UE may be offloaded to, or performed by, these MEC servers and applications within the LADN; See also Para. [0082, 0097, 0111, 0120, 0125, 0127, 0134-0138, 0140-0142, 0165]).
The UE in Para. [0115] is interpreted as connected to the core network as it is connected to a base station which is connected to the core network.
The MEC server is interpreted as a neighboring device.
The MEC Server is connected to the UPF function which is a part of the core network; thus, the MEC Server is connected to the core network.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill of the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide wherein the offloading server is hosted on a core network, and wherein the apparatus and the neighboring device are connected to the core network as taught by Badic, in the combined system of Schooler/Singh/Bangolae/Dai, so that it would provide “apparatuses, systems, and methods for a device, such as a UE, base station or server, to perform service discovery of edge computing resources in a cellular network system” to perform “dynamic offloading of UE application tasks to discovered edge computing resources” (Badic Para. [0006]).
Claim(s) 21 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Schooler in view of Singh and Bangolae, and further in view of Badic.
Regarding Claim 21, Schooler in view of Singh and Bangolae teach Claims 16.
Yet, Schooler, Singh, nor Bangolae teaches wherein the apparatus is hosted on a core network, and wherein the first device and the second device are connected to the core network.
However, Badic teaches
wherein the apparatus is hosted on a core network (Para. [0118] - The Offloading Controller Unit can be located within (implemented within) the UE or may be implemented in another device, such as a base station (gNB), or at a service provider (SP) site. In some embodiments, portions of the Offloading Controller Unit may be distributed across multiple devices. For example, in some embodiments the Service Discovery Unit may be implemented in a network element in the core network, or a server outside of the core network, while some or all of the APU, SPU and DSU may be implemented in the UE (and/or the base station). Various other implementation configurations are also contemplated; See also Fig. 6, Para. [0016]),
and wherein the first device and the second device are connected to the core network (Fig. 6; Para. [0115] - FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a portion of a cellular network implementing Multi-access Edge Computing (MEC) according to embodiments described herein. As shown in FIG. 6, the UE communicates in a wireless fashion with a cellular base station, referred to as gNB. The base station in turn communicates to a cellular network, and in particular to a user plane function (UPF) of the core network. The UPF in turn connects to a Local Area Data Network (LADN). The LADN hosts MEC servers and applications, and computational tasks that would otherwise be performed by the UE may be offloaded to, or performed by, these MEC servers and applications within the LADN; See also Para. [0082, 0097, 0111, 0120, 0125, 0127, 0134-0138, 0140-0142, 0165]).
The UE in Para. [0115] is interpreted as connected to the core network as it is connected to a base station which is connected to the core network.
The MEC server is interpreted as a neighboring device.
The MEC Server is connected to the UPF function which is a part of the core network; thus, the MEC Server is connected to the core network.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill of the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide wherein the offloading server is hosted on a core network, and wherein the apparatus and the neighboring device are connected to the core network as taught by Badic, in the combined system of Schooler/Singh/Bangolae, so that it would provide “apparatuses, systems, and methods for a device, such as a UE, base station or server, to perform service discovery of edge computing resources in a cellular network system” to perform “dynamic offloading of UE application tasks to discovered edge computing resources” (Badic Para. [0006]).
Claim(s) 30 and 31 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Schooler in view of Singh, Bangolae, and Dai, and further in view of Saxena et al. (US 2022/0245904), Saxena hereinafter. Saxena was presented in the IDS submitted on 06/10/2024.
Regarding Claims 30 and 31, Schooler in view of Singh, Bangolae, and Dai teach Claim 1 and Claim 26.
Yet, Schooler, Singh, Bangolae, nor Dai teaches generate/generating an image for display based on the processed data.
However, Saxena teaches
generate/generating an image for display based on the processed data (Fig. 10, Steps 1012-1022; Para. [0177] - Blocks 1016-1022 of process 1015 represent the flow for an edge system. At block 1016, process 1015 can receive or retrieve workload resources and software components for performing data services on streaming visual frames. For example, the edge system can be preloaded with workload resources and software components (e.g., effects engine) for performing computing workloads that correspond to data services. Example data services can include object tracking for objects in the visual frames, generating overlays, masks, images, or three-dimensional volumes for augmenting the visual frames, artificial reality video processing for the processed visual frames, three-dimensional mapped environment video processing for the processed visual frames, generative adversarial network (“GAN”) processing, and any other suitable data service for processing offloaded visual frames. The edge system can be preloaded with one or more workload resources (e.g., trained machine learning models) that correspond to one or more of these data services; See also Para. [0019, 0029, 0066, 0084, 0100, 0142, 0171, 0173]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill of the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide generate/generating an image for display based on the processed data as taught by Saxena, in the combined system of Schooler/Singh/Bangolae/Dai, so that it would provide implementations that support “edge system discovery for client devices” such that “communications between the edge system and the client device can meet certain latency requirements” (Saxena Para. [0021]).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RAENITA ANN FENNER whose telephone number is (571)270-0880. The examiner can normally be reached 8:00 - 5:30 PM.
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/R.A.F./Examiner, Art Unit 2468
/Thomas R Cairns/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2468
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