DETAILED ACTION
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 11/21/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. The examiner has thoroughly reviewed Applicant’s amendment and arguments but firmly believes that the cited references reasonably and properly meet the claimed limitation as rejected.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 19, 23, 25-27, 31, 33-35 and 37 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Krampl et al (US 2023/0208542) in view of Bakhru et al (US 2012/0141139) and Seo et al (US 2019/0074910).
1). With regard to claim 19, Krampl et al discloses a preamble sending method performed by an optical network unit (ONU) (ONU in Figures 1a and 3a) in a passive optical network (PON) system (Figures 1a and 3a), the method comprising:
receiving, by the ONU and from an optical line terminal (OLT), configuration information (step 110 in Figure 1b, [0028]; or 310 in Figure 3b), wherein the configuration information indicates a first target length and a code pattern of a first code pattern sequence, and a second target length and a code pattern of a second code pattern sequence ([0028]-[0036], “such as 10101010 (with N repetitions)” and “at least one of a length of the repetitive signal pattern”; and [0058]-[0064], “according to a pre-defined ruleset. For example, the preamble configuration message may comprise at least one of information on an algorithm to be used to generate the preamble, a generator polynomial of the pseudorandom signal sequence/pseudorandom signal sequence, an initialization seed of the pseudorandom signal sequence/pseudorandom signal sequence, a length of the generator polynomial, and the length of the pseudorandom signal sequence/pseudorandom signal sequence”, and “2N−1 bits length can be defined”),
wherein the code patterns of the first code pattern sequence and the second code pattern sequence comprise a pseudo-random code (Abstract, [0024], [0031]-[0032], [0036] and [0047]-[0048] and [0059] etc.),
sending, by the ONU, a preamble comprising the first code pattern sequence of the first target length (step 120 in Figure 1b, [0017], [0020]-[0023], [0030]-[0032] and [0108]; “a length of the repetitive signal pattern”) and the second code pattern sequence of the second target length (step 130 in Figure 1b, [0017], [0020]-[0023], [0029]-[0039] and [0108] etc.; “the length of the pseudorandom signal sequence/pseudorandom signal sequence”, and “2N−1 bits length can be defined” etc.),
wherein the configuration information indicates a sending rule of the preamble, and wherein the sending rule indicates a sending order of the first code pattern sequence and the second code pattern sequence (Figure 2a-2c, [0024]-[0032], [0036]-[0038] and [0047]-[0050], “the proposed preamble structure consists of, or comprises, two or three parts/subsections 21; 23; 25 The first one 21, which may correspond to the first subsection, may comprise a repetitive signal pattern, which may be defined by a pattern of a fixed number of bits, e.g., 1-8 bits that is repeated N times. The second, optional part 23 (which may correspond to the third subsection) may use the structure of the first or the last part. In other words, the third subsection may comprise a predetermined signal sequence, such as a pseudorandom signal sequence, or a repetitive signal pattern. The third part 25 contains a predetermined (e.g., pseudorandom) pattern that is used to derive signal statistics. It is communicated e.g., in terms of a generator polynomial and the length of the sequence. In some examples, as shown in FIG. 2c, the third subsection 23 may be arranged subsequent to the first subsection 21 and the second subsection 25 may be arranged subsequent to the third subsection 23. Alternatively, the third subsection may follow the first and second subsections. In other words, the third subsection 25 may be arranged subsequent to the second subsection 23”, “predetermined signal sequence” and “repetitive signal pattern” etc.. Figure 2b-2c, different subsections (e.g., 21 and 23) in one preamble (e.g., 20a) separated by a delimiter (22); different subsections of the preamble can contain different bit patterns, and different subsection can be used for different purposes: clock data recovery ([0023], [0030], [0049] and [0065], first subsection), statistics/equalizer ([0031], [0035], [0049]-[0051], [0065]-[0066],second subsection), non-linear equalizer etc. ([0026], [0035] and [0065] etc., third subsection); and “While the first part is built as in the prior arts by a short repeating pattern such as 10101010, the second and the optional third part of the preamble can be pseudo-random sequences that do not have repetitions. Each preamble section may end with a delimiter pattern to simplify detection of the end of each preamble part” ([0047]), and “a first subsection 21 with a repetitive signal pattern and a second subsection 23; 25 of the preamble subsequent to the first subsection, with the second subsection comprising a predetermined signal sequence, such as a pseudorandom signal sequence” ([0048]); that is, a sending order of the subsections of the preamble is disclosed, e.g., the repeating pattern is sent first, and then a pseudorandom signal sequence. Also, as presented above, in [0050], the subsections are “arranged”, and “In any event, the part/subsection that contains a predetermined (e.g., pseudorandom) pattern that is used to derive signal statistics is subsequent the first part/subsection, either directly following the first part/subsection or with another subsection in between”, [0051]).
But, Krampl et al does not expressly disclose the configuration information is received by the ONU and from an optical line terminal (OLT) via at least one burst profile physical layer operation administration and management (PLOAM) message, wherein the code patterns of the first code pattern sequence and the second code pattern sequence are indicated via a first number and a second number in the configuration information, and wherein each of the first number and the second number indicates one of multiple predefined code patterns, and wherein the sending order comprises continuously sending the first code pattern sequence of a third target length, and sending the second code pattern sequence of a fourth target length after sending of the continuously sent first code pattern sequence is completed.
Regarding the PLOAM message, however, the PLOAM message is commonly used for management and control between an OLT and ONUs. E.g., Bakhru et al an PON system (Figures 1, 4 and 5 etc.), and discloses “the OLT transmits a broadcast PLOAM message (of the type "Upstream_Overhead message") to all of the ONUs in the system with updated information about operating parameters such as, but not limited to preamble size, preamble pattern, and delimiter patter” ([0056]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use a PLOAM as taught by Bakhru et al in the system/method of Krampl et al so that the configuration information can be conveniently sent from the OLT to ONUs.
Regarding indicating the code pattern via a first and a second numbers, first, Krampl et al discloses that multiple predefined code patterns can be used for the preamble sequences (“repetitive signal pattern”, “pseudo-random signal sequence”, “predetermined signal sequence”, and [0031], “While the pseudorandom signal sequence may appear random, it may be generated according to a pre-defined ruleset. For example, the preamble configuration message may comprise at least one of information on an algorithm to be used to generate the preamble, a generator polynomial of the pseudorandom signal sequence/pseudorandom signal sequence, an initialization seed of the pseudorandom signal sequence/pseudorandom signal sequence, a length of the generator polynomial, and the length of the pseudorandom signal sequence/pseudorandom signal sequence. These parameters may be used to define, in a compact manner, the pseudorandom signal sequence/pseudorandom signal sequence”).
Second, Krampl et al discloses “the preamble configuration message may define parameters for the generation of the preamble, in particular parameters for the predetermined/pseudorandom sequence being used for the second subsection, and optionally for the optional third subsection” ([0028]-[0029]), “These parameters may be used to generate the first subsection of the preamble” ([0030]), “this predetermined signal sequence may be predefined by a standard, or it may be parametrized via the preamble configuration message” and “These parameters may be used to define, in a compact manner, the pseudorandom signal sequence/pseudorandom signal sequence, which may reduce the amount of overhead required for instructing the ONUs with respect to the pseudorandom signal sequence” ([0031]), “the parameters included in the preamble configuration message for the first or second subsection, may be used to generate the repetitive signal pattern or the predetermined signal pattern, respectively” ([0036]), “the preamble configuration message may comprise various parameters defining the preamble” ([0082]).
That is, “parameters” in the configuration information are used to define subsections of the preamble. Krampl et al discloses that multiple parameters in the preamble configuration message are used to indicate code patterns of the code pattern sequences. Although Krampl et al does not expressly state that a parameter is “a number”, it is obvious to one skilled in the art that a number can be used as a parameter to define a code pattern. And a number is one type of parameter. Also, Krampl et al indicates that a digital signal processing is used in the system/method ([0041]-[0042] etc.). Therefore, based on Krampl’s disclosure, it is obvious to one skilled in the art that one parameter (e.g., a first number) can be used to indicated the code patterns of the first code pattern sequence, and another parameter (a second number) can be used to indicate the second code pattern sequence, and then the ONU can generate the desired code pattern sequences based on the parameters (numbers).
Regarding continuously sending the first code pattern sequence and the second code pattern sequence, Krampl et al discloses that the pattern can be repeated; and in Figure 2c, three preambles are sent. Another prior art, Seo et al, discloses a scheme to transmit preambles (Figure 13 etc.), as shown in Figure 13, the preambles of a first code pattern sequence and a second code pattern sequence are sent repeatedly (N times) and continuously ([0096]-[0097]), and the sending order comprises continuously sending the of a first code pattern sequence (the “0xBB521E26” in the “64bit preamble 2”) of a third target length (e.g., 32bit), and sending the second code pattern sequence (the “0xAB123456” in the “64bit preamble 2”) of a fourth target length (e.g., 32bit) after sending of the continuously sent first code pattern sequence (first “0xBB521E26” in the “64bit preamble 1”) is completed; that is, the preamble patterns are transmitted repeatedly: (1)AB-(2)AB-(3)AB-(4)AB-…-(N)AB (here: A corresponds to “0xBB521E26”, and B corresponds to “0xAB123456”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to apply the teachings of Seo et al to the system of Krampl et al and Bakhru et al so that the preambles can be continuously and repeatedly sent, and the functions of the system/method can be enhanced.
2). With regard to claim 23, Krampl et al and Bakhru et al and Seo et al disclose all of the subject matter as applied to claim 19 above. But, Krampl et al and Bakhru et al and Seo et al do not expressly disclose wherein code patterns of the first code pattern sequence and the second code pattern sequence comprise a pseudo-random code of a length of (2^7 - 1) or a pseudo-random code of a length of (2^15- 1).
However, Krampl et al discloses “the pseudorandom signal sequence, and in particular the pseudorandom signal sequence, may be generated based on a generator polynomial and based on an initialization seed, e.g., as defined by the preamble generation message. For example, pseudorandom pattern of the pseudorandom signal sequence can be defined by, e.g., generated based on, the generator polynomial and/or the seed. With an N-bit polynomial, a sequence of 2N−1 bits length can be defined” ([0032]), Krampl et al does not specifically define the value of the “N”. However, Krampl et al also states “conventional 10G PON allows the configuration of the preamble pattern by a bit pattern of e.g., 64 bit and the number of repetitions of the bit pattern. For 25G PON, e.g., IEEE 802.3ca, where an LDPC is used for forward error correction, the complete preamble pattern, consisting of 3 different 257-bit patterns, may be communicated to the transmitter” ([0087]). Then it is obvious to one skilled in the art that the N can be 2^7. Therefore, based on the disclosure of Krampl et al, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use a pseudo-random code of a length of (2^7 - 1) or a pseudo-random code of a length of (2^15- 1) in the system/method of Krampl et al to yield the predictable result of clock recovery, error correction and training equalizer etc.
3). With regard to claim 25, Krampl et al and Bakhru et al and Seo et al disclose all of the subject matter as applied to claim 19 above. But, Krampl et al and Bakhru et al and Seo et al do not expressly disclose wherein the configuration information comprises a field representing whether a preamble comprising multiple code pattern sequences is supported.
However, Krampl et al discloses “the preamble configuration message may define parameters for the generation of the preamble, in particular parameters for the predetermined/pseudorandom sequence being used for the second subsection, and optionally for the optional third subsection” ([0028]-[0029]), “These parameters may be used to generate the first subsection of the preamble” ([0030]), “this predetermined signal sequence may be predefined by a standard, or it may be parametrized via the preamble configuration message” and “These parameters may be used to define, in a compact manner, the pseudorandom signal sequence/pseudorandom signal sequence, which may reduce the amount of overhead required for instructing the ONUs with respect to the pseudorandom signal sequence” ([0031]), “the parameters included in the preamble configuration message for the first or second subsection, may be used to generate the repetitive signal pattern or the predetermined signal pattern, respectively” ([0036]), “the preamble configuration message may comprise various parameters defining the preamble” ([0082]), “the preamble configuration message may comprise information on a number of subsections of the preamble, and information on a signal pattern being used for the respective subsection” ([0083]).
That is, parameters are used to define multiple code pattern sequences. Also, as shown in Figures 2a-2c of Krampl, different types of code pattern sequences can be transmitted, and Figure 1a indicates that two code pattern sequences or three code pattern sequences can be implemented. Therefore, it would be obvious to one skilled in the art that the configuration information contains a field representing whether a preamble comprising multiple code pattern sequences is supported so that two code pattern sequences or three code pattern sequences can be transmitted.
4). With regard to claim 26, Krampl et al and Bakhru et al and Seo et al disclose all of the subject matter as applied to claim 19 above. And the combination of Krampl et al and Bakhru et al and Seo et al further discloses wherein the first target length (Seo: e.g., 32bit of the first preamble in “64bit preamble 1”, Figures 8 and 13-15) is a third target length (e.g., the length 32bits of the first preamble in “64bit preamble 2”) of six target lengths (six target lengths in the three “64bit preamble 1” “64bit preamble 2” “64bit preamble 3”), and wherein the second target length (e.g., 32bit of the second preamble in “64bit preamble 1”) is a fourth target length (e.g., the length 32bits of the second preamble in “64bit preamble 2”) of the six target lengths (Figures 8 and 13-15; N can be 3 or more).
5). With regard to claim 27, Krampl et al discloses a preamble receiving method performed by an optical line terminal (OLT) (OLT in Figures 1a and 3a) in a passive optical network (PON) system (Figures 1a and 3a), the method comprising:
sending, by the OLT and to an optical network unit (ONU), configuration information (step 110 in Figure 1b, [0028]; or 310 in Figure 3b), wherein the configuration information indicates a first target length and a code pattern of a first code pattern sequence, and a second target length and a code pattern of a second code pattern sequence ([0028]-[0036], “such as 10101010 (with N repetitions)” and “at least one of a length of the repetitive signal pattern”; and [0058]-[0064], “according to a pre-defined ruleset. For example, the preamble configuration message may comprise at least one of information on an algorithm to be used to generate the preamble, a generator polynomial of the pseudorandom signal sequence/pseudorandom signal sequence, an initialization seed of the pseudorandom signal sequence/pseudorandom signal sequence, a length of the generator polynomial, and the length of the pseudorandom signal sequence/pseudorandom signal sequence”, and “2N−1 bits length can be defined”),
wherein code patterns of the first code pattern sequence and the second code pattern sequence comprise a pseudo-random code (Abstract, [0024], [0031]-[0032], [0036] and [0047]-[0048] and [0059] etc.); and
receiving, by the OLT (steps 120-160 in Figure 1b, the ONU sending the preamble, and OLT receives the preamble; Figure 3a shows a receiver 30 in the OLT; [0058], “The receiver/transmitter and/or OLT of FIG. 3a is the counterpart to the preamble generation apparatus/device and ONU of FIG. 1a - on the one hand, the receiver 30 receives a data burst with the preamble, as generated by the preamble generation apparatus 10 of FIG. 1a. On the other hand, the preamble being received by the receiver may be based on a preamble configuration message provided by the transmitter 35”), a preamble comprising the first code pattern sequence of the first target length ([0017], [0020]-[0023], [0030]-[0032] and [0108]; “a length of the repetitive signal pattern”) and the second code pattern sequence of the second target length ([0017], [0020]-[0023], [0029]-[0039] and [0108] etc.; “the length of the pseudorandom signal sequence/pseudorandom signal sequence”, and “2N−1 bits length can be defined” etc., “such as 10101010 (with N repetitions)” and “at least one of a length of the repetitive signal pattern”; and [0058]-[0064], “according to a pre-defined ruleset. For example, the preamble configuration message may comprise at least one of information on an algorithm to be used to generate the preamble, a generator polynomial of the pseudorandom signal sequence/pseudorandom signal sequence, an initialization seed of the pseudorandom signal sequence/pseudorandom signal sequence, a length of the generator polynomial, and the length of the pseudorandom signal sequence/pseudorandom signal sequence”),
wherein the configuration information comprises a sending rule of the preamble, and wherein the sending rule indicates a sending order of the first code pattern sequence and the second code pattern sequence (Figure 2a-2c, [0024]-[0032], [0036]-[0038] and [0047]-[0050], “the proposed preamble structure consists of, or comprises, two or three parts/subsections 21; 23; 25 The first one 21, which may correspond to the first subsection, may comprise a repetitive signal pattern, which may be defined by a pattern of a fixed number of bits, e.g., 1-8 bits that is repeated N times. The second, optional part 23 (which may correspond to the third subsection) may use the structure of the first or the last part. In other words, the third subsection may comprise a predetermined signal sequence, such as a pseudorandom signal sequence, or a repetitive signal pattern. The third part 25 contains a predetermined (e.g., pseudorandom) pattern that is used to derive signal statistics. It is communicated e.g., in terms of a generator polynomial and the length of the sequence. In some examples, as shown in FIG. 2c, the third subsection 23 may be arranged subsequent to the first subsection 21 and the second subsection 25 may be arranged subsequent to the third subsection 23. Alternatively, the third subsection may follow the first and second subsections. In other words, the third subsection 25 may be arranged subsequent to the second subsection 23”, “predetermined signal sequence” and “repetitive signal pattern” etc.. Figure 2b-2c, different subsections (e.g., 21 and 23) in one preamble (e.g., 20a) separated by a delimiter (22); different subsections of the preamble can contain different bit patterns, and different subsection can be used for different purposes: clock data recovery ([0023], [0030], [0049] and [0065], first subsection), statistics/equalizer ([0031], [0035], [0049]-[0051], [0065]-[0066],second subsection), non-linear equalizer etc. ([0026], [0035] and [0065] etc., third subsection); and “While the first part is built as in the prior arts by a short repeating pattern such as 10101010, the second and the optional third part of the preamble can be pseudo-random sequences that do not have repetitions. Each preamble section may end with a delimiter pattern to simplify detection of the end of each preamble part” ([0047]), and “a first subsection 21 with a repetitive signal pattern and a second subsection 23; 25 of the preamble subsequent to the first subsection, with the second subsection comprising a predetermined signal sequence, such as a pseudorandom signal sequence” ([0048]); that is, a sending order of the subsections of the preamble is disclosed, e.g., the repeating pattern is sent first, and then a pseudorandom signal sequence. Also, as presented above, in [0050], the subsections are “arranged”, and “In any event, the part/subsection that contains a predetermined (e.g., pseudorandom) pattern that is used to derive signal statistics is subsequent the first part/subsection, either directly following the first part/subsection or with another subsection in between”, [0051]).
But, Krampl et al does not expressly disclose the configuration information is received by the ONU and from an optical line terminal (OLT) via at least one burst profile physical layer operation administration and management (PLOAM) message, wherein the code patterns of the first code pattern sequence and the second code pattern sequence are indicated via a first number and a second number in the configuration information, and wherein each of the first number and the second number indicates one of multiple predefined code patterns, and wherein each of the first number and the second number indicates one of multiple predefined code patterns, and wherein the sending order comprises continuously sending the first code pattern sequence of a third target length, and sending the second code pattern sequence of a fourth target length after sending of the continuously sent first code pattern sequence is completed.
Regarding the PLOAM message, however, the PLOAM message is commonly used for management and control between an OLT and ONUs. E.g., Bakhru et al an PON system (Figures 1, 4 and 5 etc.), and discloses “the OLT transmits a broadcast PLOAM message (of the type "Upstream_Overhead message") to all of the ONUs in the system with updated information about operating parameters such as, but not limited to preamble size, preamble pattern, and delimiter patter” ([0056]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use a PLOAM in the system/method of Krampl et al so that the configuration information can be conveniently sent from the OLT to ONUs.
Regarding indicating the code pattern via a first and a second numbers, first, Krampl et al discloses that multiple predefined code patterns can be used for the preamble sequences (“repetitive signal pattern”, “pseudo-random signal sequence”, “predetermined signal sequence”, and [0031], “While the pseudorandom signal sequence may appear random, it may be generated according to a pre-defined ruleset. For example, the preamble configuration message may comprise at least one of information on an algorithm to be used to generate the preamble, a generator polynomial of the pseudorandom signal sequence/pseudorandom signal sequence, an initialization seed of the pseudorandom signal sequence/pseudorandom signal sequence, a length of the generator polynomial, and the length of the pseudorandom signal sequence/pseudorandom signal sequence. These parameters may be used to define, in a compact manner, the pseudorandom signal sequence/pseudorandom signal sequence”).
Second, Krampl et al discloses “the preamble configuration message may define parameters for the generation of the preamble, in particular parameters for the predetermined/pseudorandom sequence being used for the second subsection, and optionally for the optional third subsection” ([0028]-[0029]), “These parameters may be used to generate the first subsection of the preamble” ([0030]), “this predetermined signal sequence may be predefined by a standard, or it may be parametrized via the preamble configuration message” and “These parameters may be used to define, in a compact manner, the pseudorandom signal sequence/pseudorandom signal sequence, which may reduce the amount of overhead required for instructing the ONUs with respect to the pseudorandom signal sequence” ([0031]), “the parameters included in the preamble configuration message for the first or second subsection, may be used to generate the repetitive signal pattern or the predetermined signal pattern, respectively” ([0036]), “the preamble configuration message may comprise various parameters defining the preamble” ([0082]).
That is, “parameters” in the configuration information are used to define subsections of the preamble. Krampl et al discloses that multiple parameters in the preamble configuration message are used to indicate code patterns of the code pattern sequences. Although Krampl et al does not expressly state that a parameter is “a number”, it is obvious to one skilled in the art that a number can be used as a parameter to define a code pattern. And a number is one type of parameter. Also, Krampl et al indicates that a digital signal processing is used in the system/method ([0041]-[0042] etc.). Therefore, based on Krampl’s disclosure, it is obvious to one skilled in the art that one parameter (e.g., a first number) can be used to indicated the code patterns of the first code pattern sequence, and another parameter (a second number) can be used to indicate the second code pattern sequence, and then the ONU can generate the desired code pattern sequences based on the parameters (numbers).
Regarding continuously sending the first code pattern sequence and the second code pattern sequence, Krampl et al discloses that the pattern can be repeated; and in Figure 2c, three preambles are sent. Another prior art, Seo et al, discloses a scheme to transmit preambles (Figure 13 etc.), as shown in Figure 13, the preambles of a first code pattern sequence and a second code pattern sequence are sent repeatedly (N times) and continuously ([0096]-[0097]), and the sending order comprises continuously sending the of a first code pattern sequence (the “0xBB521E26” in the “64bit preamble 2”) of a third target length (e.g., 32bit), and sending the second code pattern sequence (the “0xAB123456” in the “64bit preamble 2”) of a fourth target length (e.g., 32bit) after sending of the continuously sent first code pattern sequence (first “0xBB521E26” in the “64bit preamble 1”) is completed; that is, the preamble patterns are transmitted repeatedly: (1)AB-(2)AB-(3)AB-(4)AB-…-(N)AB (here: A corresponds to “0xBB521E26”, and B corresponds to “0xAB123456”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to apply the teachings of Seo et al to the system of Krampl et al and Bakhru et al so that the preambles can be continuously and repeatedly sent, and the functions of the system/method can be enhanced.
6). With regard to claim 31, Krampl et al and Bakhru et al and Seo et al disclose all of the subject matter as applied to claim 27 above. But, Krampl et al and Bakhru et al and Seo et al do not expressly disclose wherein code patterns of the first code pattern sequence and the second code pattern sequence comprise a pseudo-random code of a length of (2^7 - 1) or a pseudo-random code of a length of (2^15- 1).
However, Krampl et al discloses “the pseudorandom signal sequence, and in particular the pseudorandom signal sequence, may be generated based on a generator polynomial and based on an initialization seed, e.g., as defined by the preamble generation message. For example, pseudorandom pattern of the pseudorandom signal sequence can be defined by, e.g., generated based on, the generator polynomial and/or the seed. With an N-bit polynomial, a sequence of 2N−1 bits length can be defined” ([0032]), Krampl et al does not specifically define the value of the “N”. However, Krampl et al also states “conventional 10G PON allows the configuration of the preamble pattern by a bit pattern of e.g., 64 bit and the number of repetitions of the bit pattern. For 25G PON, e.g., IEEE 802.3ca, where an LDPC is used for forward error correction, the complete preamble pattern, consisting of 3 different 257-bit patterns, may be communicated to the transmitter” ([0087]). Then it is obvious to one skilled in the art that the N can be 2^7. Therefore, based on the disclosure of Krampl et al, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use a pseudo-random code of a length of (2^7 - 1) or a pseudo-random code of a length of (2^15- 1) in the system/method of Krampl et al to yield the predictable result of clock recovery, error correction and training equalizer etc.
7). With regard to claim 33, Krampl et al and Bakhru et al and Seo et al disclose all of the subject matter as applied to claim 27 above. But, Krampl et al and Bakhru et al and Seo et al do not expressly disclose wherein the configuration information comprises a field representing whether a preamble comprising multiple code pattern sequences is supported.
However, Krampl et al discloses “the preamble configuration message may define parameters for the generation of the preamble, in particular parameters for the predetermined/pseudorandom sequence being used for the second subsection, and optionally for the optional third subsection” ([0028]-[0029]), “These parameters may be used to generate the first subsection of the preamble” ([0030]), “this predetermined signal sequence may be predefined by a standard, or it may be parametrized via the preamble configuration message” and “These parameters may be used to define, in a compact manner, the pseudorandom signal sequence/pseudorandom signal sequence, which may reduce the amount of overhead required for instructing the ONUs with respect to the pseudorandom signal sequence” ([0031]), “the parameters included in the preamble configuration message for the first or second subsection, may be used to generate the repetitive signal pattern or the predetermined signal pattern, respectively” ([0036]), “the preamble configuration message may comprise various parameters defining the preamble” ([0082]), “the preamble configuration message may comprise information on a number of subsections of the preamble, and information on a signal pattern being used for the respective subsection” ([0083]).
That is, parameters are used to define multiple code pattern sequences. Also, as shown in Figures 2a-2c of Krampl, different types of code pattern sequences can be transmitted, and Figure 1a indicates that two code pattern sequences or three code pattern sequences can be implemented. Therefore, it would be obvious to one skilled in the art that the configuration information contains a field representing whether a preamble comprising multiple code pattern sequences is supported so that two code pattern sequences or three code pattern sequences can be transmitted
8). With regard to claim 34, Krampl et al and Bakhru et al and Seo et al disclose all of the subject matter as applied to claim 27 above. And the combination of Krampl et al and Bakhru et al and Seo et al further discloses wherein the first target length (Seo: e.g., 32bit of the first preamble in “64bit preamble 1”, Figures 8 and 13-15) is a third target length (e.g., the length 32bits of the first preamble in “64bit preamble 2”) of six target lengths (six target lengths in the three “64bit preamble 1” “64bit preamble 2” “64bit preamble 3”), and wherein the second target length (e.g., 32bit of the second preamble in “64bit preamble 1”) is a fourth target length (e.g., the length 32bits of the second preamble in “64bit preamble 2”) of the six target lengths (Figures 8 and 13-15; N can be 3 or more).
9). With regard to claim 35, Krampl et al discloses an electronic apparatus (ONU in Figures 1a and 3a) in a passive optical network (PON) system (Figures 1a and 3a), the electronic apparatus comprising a memory (16 in Figure 1a) and a processor (14 in Figure 1a), wherein the memory stores a computer program ([0015], “by the corresponding method or computer program”, [0021], [0044], [0063], [0088] and [0177]), and the processor is configured to execute the computer program to:
receive, from an optical line terminal (OLT), configuration information (step 110 in Figure 1b, [0028]; or 310 in Figure 3b), wherein the configuration information indicates a first target length and a code pattern of a first code pattern sequence, and a second target length and a code pattern of a second code pattern sequence ([0028]-[0036], “such as 10101010 (with N repetitions)” and “at least one of a length of the repetitive signal pattern”; and [0058]-[0064], “according to a pre-defined ruleset. For example, the preamble configuration message may comprise at least one of information on an algorithm to be used to generate the preamble, a generator polynomial of the pseudorandom signal sequence/pseudorandom signal sequence, an initialization seed of the pseudorandom signal sequence/pseudorandom signal sequence, a length of the generator polynomial, and the length of the pseudorandom signal sequence/pseudorandom signal sequence”, and “2N−1 bits length can be defined”),
wherein code patterns of the first code pattern sequence and the second code pattern sequence comprise a pseudo-random code (Abstract, [0024], [0031]-[0032], [0036] and [0047]-[0048] and [0059] etc.); and
send a preamble comprising the first code pattern sequence of the first target length (step 120 in Figure 1b, [0017], [0020]-[0023], [0030]-[0032] and [0108]; “a length of the repetitive signal pattern”) and the second code pattern sequence of the second target length (step 130 in Figure 1b, [0017], [0020]-[0023], [0029]-[0039] and [0108] etc.; “the length of the pseudorandom signal sequence/pseudorandom signal sequence”, and “2N−1 bits length can be defined” etc.),
wherein the configuration information indicates a sending rule of the preamble, and wherein the sending rule indicates a sending order of the first code pattern sequence and the second code pattern sequence (Figure 2a-2c, [0024]-[0032], [0036]-[0038] and [0047]-[0050], “the proposed preamble structure consists of, or comprises, two or three parts/subsections 21; 23; 25 The first one 21, which may correspond to the first subsection, may comprise a repetitive signal pattern, which may be defined by a pattern of a fixed number of bits, e.g., 1-8 bits that is repeated N times. The second, optional part 23 (which may correspond to the third subsection) may use the structure of the first or the last part. In other words, the third subsection may comprise a predetermined signal sequence, such as a pseudorandom signal sequence, or a repetitive signal pattern. The third part 25 contains a predetermined (e.g., pseudorandom) pattern that is used to derive signal statistics. It is communicated e.g., in terms of a generator polynomial and the length of the sequence. In some examples, as shown in FIG. 2c, the third subsection 23 may be arranged subsequent to the first subsection 21 and the second subsection 25 may be arranged subsequent to the third subsection 23. Alternatively, the third subsection may follow the first and second subsections. In other words, the third subsection 25 may be arranged subsequent to the second subsection 23”, “predetermined signal sequence” and “repetitive signal pattern” etc.. Figure 2b-2c, different subsections (e.g., 21 and 23) in one preamble (e.g., 20a) separated by a delimiter (22); different subsections of the preamble can contain different bit patterns, and different subsection can be used for different purposes: clock data recovery ([0023], [0030], [0049] and [0065], first subsection), statistics/equalizer ([0031], [0035], [0049]-[0051], [0065]-[0066],second subsection), non-linear equalizer etc. ([0026], [0035] and [0065] etc., third subsection); and “While the first part is built as in the prior arts by a short repeating pattern such as 10101010, the second and the optional third part of the preamble can be pseudo-random sequences that do not have repetitions. Each preamble section may end with a delimiter pattern to simplify detection of the end of each preamble part” ([0047]), and “a first subsection 21 with a repetitive signal pattern and a second subsection 23; 25 of the preamble subsequent to the first subsection, with the second subsection comprising a predetermined signal sequence, such as a pseudorandom signal sequence” ([0048]); that is, a sending order of the subsections of the preamble is disclosed, e.g., the repeating pattern is sent first, and then a pseudorandom signal sequence. Also, as presented above, in [0050], the subsections are “arranged”, and “In any event, the part/subsection that contains a predetermined (e.g., pseudorandom) pattern that is used to derive signal statistics is subsequent the first part/subsection, either directly following the first part/subsection or with another subsection in between”, [0051]).
But, Krampl et al does not expressly disclose the configuration information is received by the ONU and from an optical line terminal (OLT) via at least one burst profile physical layer operation administration and management (PLOAM) message, wherein the code patterns of the first code pattern sequence and the second code pattern sequence are indicated via a first number and a second number in the configuration information, and wherein each of the first number and the second number indicates one of multiple predefined code patterns, and wherein the sending order comprises continuously sending the first code pattern sequence of a third target length, and sending the second code pattern sequence of a fourth target length after sending of the continuously sent first code pattern sequence is completed.
Regarding the PLOAM message, however, the PLOAM message is commonly used for management and control between an OLT and ONUs. E.g., Bakhru et al an PON system (Figures 1, 4 and 5 etc.), and discloses “the OLT transmits a broadcast PLOAM message (of the type "Upstream_Overhead message") to all of the ONUs in the system with updated information about operating parameters such as, but not limited to preamble size, preamble pattern, and delimiter patter” ([0056]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use a PLOAM in the system/method of Krampl et al so that the configuration information can be conveniently sent from the OLT to ONUs.
Regarding indicating the code pattern via a first and a second numbers, first, Krampl et al discloses that multiple predefined code patterns can be used for the preamble sequences (“repetitive signal pattern”, “pseudo-random signal sequence”, “predetermined signal sequence”, and [0031], “While the pseudorandom signal sequence may appear random, it may be generated according to a pre-defined ruleset. For example, the preamble configuration message may comprise at least one of information on an algorithm to be used to generate the preamble, a generator polynomial of the pseudorandom signal sequence/pseudorandom signal sequence, an initialization seed of the pseudorandom signal sequence/pseudorandom signal sequence, a length of the generator polynomial, and the length of the pseudorandom signal sequence/pseudorandom signal sequence. These parameters may be used to define, in a compact manner, the pseudorandom signal sequence/pseudorandom signal sequence”).
Second, Krampl et al discloses “the preamble configuration message may define parameters for the generation of the preamble, in particular parameters for the predetermined/pseudorandom sequence being used for the second subsection, and optionally for the optional third subsection” ([0028]-[0029]), “These parameters may be used to generate the first subsection of the preamble” ([0030]), “this predetermined signal sequence may be predefined by a standard, or it may be parametrized via the preamble configuration message” and “These parameters may be used to define, in a compact manner, the pseudorandom signal sequence/pseudorandom signal sequence, which may reduce the amount of overhead required for instructing the ONUs with respect to the pseudorandom signal sequence” ([0031]), “the parameters included in the preamble configuration message for the first or second subsection, may be used to generate the repetitive signal pattern or the predetermined signal pattern, respectively” ([0036]), “the preamble configuration message may comprise various parameters defining the preamble” ([0082]).
That is, “parameters” in the configuration information are used to define subsections of the preamble. Krampl et al discloses that multiple parameters in the preamble configuration message are used to indicate code patterns of the code pattern sequences. Although Krampl et al does not expressly state that a parameter is “a number”, it is obvious to one skilled in the art that a number can be used as a parameter to define a code pattern. And a number is one type of parameter. Also, Krampl et al indicates that a digital signal processing is used in the system/method ([0041]-[0042] etc.). Therefore, based on Krampl’s disclosure, it is obvious to one skilled in the art that one parameter (e.g., a first number) can be used to indicated the code patterns of the first code pattern sequence, and another parameter (a second number) can be used to indicate the second code pattern sequence, and then the ONU can generate the desired code pattern sequences based on the parameters (numbers).
Regarding continuously sending the first code pattern sequence and the second code pattern sequence, Krampl et al discloses that the pattern can be repeated; and in Figure 2c, three preambles are sent. Another prior art, Seo et al, discloses a scheme to transmit preambles (Figure 13 etc.), as shown in Figure 13, the preambles of a first code pattern sequence and a second code pattern sequence are sent repeatedly (N times) and continuously ([0096]-[0097]), and the sending order comprises continuously sending the of a first code pattern sequence (the “0xBB521E26” in the “64bit preamble 2”) of a third target length (e.g., 32bit), and sending the second code pattern sequence (the “0xAB123456” in the “64bit preamble 2”) of a fourth target length (e.g., 32bit) after sending of the continuously sent first code pattern sequence (first “0xBB521E26” in the “64bit preamble 1”) is completed; that is, the preamble patterns are transmitted repeatedly: (1)AB-(2)AB-(3)AB-(4)AB-…-(N)AB (here: A corresponds to “0xBB521E26”, and B corresponds to “0xAB123456”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to apply the teachings of Seo et al to the system of Krampl et al and Bakhru et al so that the preambles can be continuously and repeatedly sent, and the functions of the system/method can be enhanced.
10). With regard to claim 37, Krampl et al and Bakhru et al and Seo et al disclose all of the subject matter as applied to claim 35 above. But, Krampl et al and Bakhru et al and Seo et al do not expressly disclose wherein code patterns of the first code pattern sequence and the second code pattern sequence comprise a pseudo-random code of a length of (2^7 - 1) or a pseudo-random code of a length of (2^15- 1).
However, Krampl et al discloses “the pseudorandom signal sequence, and in particular the pseudorandom signal sequence, may be generated based on a generator polynomial and based on an initialization seed, e.g., as defined by the preamble generation message. For example, pseudorandom pattern of the pseudorandom signal sequence can be defined by, e.g., generated based on, the generator polynomial and/or the seed. With an N-bit polynomial, a sequence of 2N−1 bits length can be defined” ([0032]), Krampl et al does not specifically define the value of the “N”. However, Krampl et al also states “conventional 10G PON allows the configuration of the preamble pattern by a bit pattern of e.g., 64 bit and the number of repetitions of the bit pattern. For 25G PON, e.g., IEEE 802.3ca, where an LDPC is used for forward error correction, the complete preamble pattern, consisting of 3 different 257-bit patterns, may be communicated to the transmitter” ([0087]). Then it is obvious to one skilled in the art that the N can be 2^7. Therefore, based on the disclosure of Krampl et al, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use a pseudo-random code of a length of (2^7 - 1) or a pseudo-random code of a length of (2^15- 1) in the system/method of Krampl et al to yield the predictable result of clock recovery, error correction and training equalizer etc.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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/LI LIU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2634