DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS), submitted on 12/06/2023, is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Specification
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
The lengthy specification, 34 pages, has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
The description of several Figures is identical, which is improper. Specification, page 8, lines 19-20, group figures 4a and 4b, together, which is improper. Each Figure needs to be described individually and uniquely, and, the descriptions of Figures may not be identical, they need to be different, from one another.
Proper language and format for an abstract of the disclosure:
The language should avoid using phrases which can be implied, such as, “The disclosure concerns,” “The disclosure defined by this invention,” “The disclosure describes,” etc.
The abstract of the disclosure is objected to because: The reference characters, in parenthesis, need to be deleted. In addition, in the first line, “The present invention relates to”, needs to be deleted. A corrected abstract of the disclosure is required and must be presented on a separate sheet, apart from any other text. See MPEP § 608.01(b).
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because: the unlabeled rectangular boxes shown in the drawings, FIG. 1-3 and 5, should be provided with descriptive text labels. FIG. 4a and 4b, the text, after SOF and before DATA, and, after DATA and before Code, is unreadable (six instances). Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Interpretation
Dependent Claim 9 is directed at “An embedded two-way communication system”, and depends on Claim 1, directed at “A two-way data communication method”. These are two different statutory classes. There is case law that permits a dependent Claim to depend on an independent Claim of a different statutory class. Dependent Claim 9 is interpreted under this case law.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 3-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the enablement requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to enable one skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and/or use the invention.
Claim 3 covers all possible known and not yet known implementations of “verification-field”. However, the disclosure is only enabled for the specific case of “verification-field” being CRC.
Dependent claim 4 does not cure the deficiency of the parent dependent claim 3.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 1-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "the N bits" in line 12. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 3 recites the limitation “the processing of”, “the verification-field“ in line 5; “the check” in line 4 from the bottom of the Claim. There is insufficient antecedent basis for these limitations in the claim.
Claim 5 recites the limitation " the at least second transfer module " in line 11, “the at least first transfer module” in line 4 from the bottom of the Claim, “the at least second media management module” in line 3 from the bottom of the Claim, “the at least first media management module” in line 1 from the bottom of the Claim. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 7 recites the limitation “the first transfer module”, “the second transfer module” in lines 3-4. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Dependent claims do not cure the deficiency of the independent claim.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-8 and 10-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Muller (US 6873630 B1).
Claim 1. Muller teaches a two-way data communication method of a two-way data communication system, the two-way data communication method comprising: receiving source data, wherein a first packet management module of a first communicating device, respectively a second packet management module of a second communicating device, receives a source packet to be transmitted to the second communicating device, respectively to the first communicating device (8:33-42, 8:55-65, 9:25-34); generating intermediate frames, wherein the first packet management module of the first communicating device, respectively the second packet management module of the second communicating device, generates: a first intermediate frame comprising M data bits as a function of the N bits of the source packet to be transmitted, and a second intermediate frame comprising P data bits as a function of the N bits of the source packet to be transmitted (9:34-44); transmitting intermediate frames, wherein: a first physical link management module of the first communicating device, respectively of the second communicating device, transmits the first intermediate frame on a first connector-module link, and a second physical link management module of the first communicating device, respectively of the second communicating device, transmits the second intermediate frame on a second connector-module link (9:44-56); receiving intermediate frames, wherein: the first physical link management module of the second communicating device, respectively of the first communicating device, receives the first intermediate frame on a first connector-module link, and the second physical link management module of the second communicating device, respectively of the first communicating device, receives the second intermediate frame on a second connector-module link (9:57-63); transmitting intermediate frames, wherein the first intermediate frame and the second intermediate frame are transmitted to the second packet management module of the second communicating device, respectively to the first packet management module of the first communicating device (9:64-10:8); and reconstituting source data, in which the second packet management module of the second communicating device, respectively the first packet management module of the first communicating device, reconstitutes the N data bits of the source packet as a function of the M data bits of the first intermediate frame and of the P data bits of the second intermediate frame (12:30-34).
Claim 2. Muller teaches the two-way communication method according to claim 1, wherein the M data bits of the first intermediate frame and the P data bits of the second intermediate frame are comprised between 1 and N, N being the number of bits of the source packet (7:6-26).
Claim 3. Muller teaches the two-way communication method according to claim 1, wherein, in the reconstitution of source data, the second packet management module of the second communicating device, respectively the first packet management module of the first communicating device, performs the processing of the verification-field of the first intermediate frame and of the second intermediate frame, wherein the verification-field is calculated on all the bits of the first intermediate frame and the second intermediate frame; wherein the method further comprises verifying the transmission integrity by the check of the verification-field of the first intermediate frame and of the second intermediate frame; and wherein the reconstitution of the source data is validated only if the verification of the transmission integrity is positive (13:38-46).
Claim 4. Muller teaches the two-way communication method according to claim 3, wherein, in the reconstitution step, the second packet management module of the second communicating device, respectively the first packet management module of the first communicating device, performs the comparison of the data bits of the first intermediate frame and of the second intermediate frame, and wherein the reconstitution of the source data is validated only if the comparison of the data bits of the first intermediate frame and of the second intermediate frame is consistent (14:19-29).
Claim 5. Muller teaches the two-way communication method according to claim 1, wherein: receiving the source data includes: encapsulating the source packet in a source frame by at least a first media management module of the first communicating device, respectively at least a second media management module of the second communicating device, and generating the first intermediate frame and of the second intermediate frame as a function of the source frame by at least a first two-way transfer module of the first communicating device, respectively by the at least second transfer module of the at least communicating device; reconstituting source data includes the reconstitution of the source frame by the at least second transfer module of the second communicating device, respectively by the at least first transfer module of the first communicating device; and transmitting the source frame to the at least second media management module of the second communicating device, respectively, to the at least first media management module of the at least first communicating device (Fig. 3A).
Claim 6. Muller teaches the two-way communication method according to claim 1, wherein, in the reception of the intermediate frames, reconstitution is triggered only if the two frames are received by the first physical link management module and the second physical link management module of the second communicating device, respectively by the first physical link management module and the second physical link management module of the at least first communicating device, in a time window of predefined maximum duration (9:56-64).
Claim 7. Muller teaches the two-way communication method according to claim 1, wherein: receiving the source data includes: generating, by the first transfer module of the at least first communicating device, respectively by the second transfer module of the second communicating device: a first intermediate data packet comprising M data bits extracted from the N bits of the source packet, and, a second intermediate data packet comprising P data bits extracted from the N bits of the source packet, and encapsulating the first intermediate packet in the first intermediate frame by first media management modules of the at least first communicating device respectively by a second media management modules of the second device communicating, and encapsulating the second intermediate packet in the second intermediate frame by another first media management module of the at least first communicating device, respectively by another second media management module of the second communicating device; and wherein reconstituting the source data includes, by the transfer module, receipt of the first intermediate packet and of the second intermediate data packet respectively extracted from the first and the second intermediate frame, and reconstitution of the source packet as a function of the first and of the second intermediate data packet (7:6-26).
Claim 8. Muller teaches the two-way communication method according to claim 7, wherein, in the reception of each of the intermediate packets by the second transfer module of the second communicating device, respectively by the first transfer module of the at least first communicating device, the reconstitution is triggered only if the two intermediate packets are received within a time window of predefined maximum duration (9:56-64).
Claim 10. Muller teaches the two-way data communication method according to claim 1, wherein intermediate frames are generated from each source packet or source frame (11:40-12:3).
Claim 11. Muller teaches the two-way communication method according to claim 2, wherein the M data bits of the first intermediate frame and the P data bits of the second intermediate frame are equal to N or N/2 (7:6-26) (Examiner note: consider when there are two channels, each channel would carry half of the bits).
Claim 12. Muller teaches the two-way communication method according to claim 2, wherein the M data bits of the first intermediate frame and the P data bits of the second intermediate frame are comprised between 1 and N/2 (7:6-26) (Examiner note: consider when there are two channels, each channel would carry half of the bits).
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Muller as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Yu (US 20210058268 A1).
Claim 9. Muller teaches an embedded two-way communication system (figure 2), comprising: at least a first communicating device configured to implement a single pair Ethernet protocol and comprising a first packet management module connected to a first physical link management module and to a second physical link management module, the first physical link management module and the second physical link management module being linked by a separate single pair link to a first common connector of the first communicating device, and a second communicating device configured to implement a single pair Ethernet protocol and comprising a second packet management module connected to a first physical link management module and to a second physical link management module, the first physical link management module and the second physical link management module being linked by a separate single pair link to a second common connector of the second communicating device (5:24-32), the first connector of the first communicating device being linked to the second connector of the second communicating device by an inter-device link, in particular a two pair link, wherein the least one first communicating device and the second communicating device are configured for the implementation of the two-way data communication method according to claim 1 (4:11-26).
Muller does not explicitly teach the combination of the underlined feature, above.
Muller does not explicitly teach the combination of these features: pair.
The missing elements are disclosed by Yu ([0028] 10SPE (i.e., 10 Mbps Single Pair Ethernet) is a network technology specification currently under development by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers as IEEE 802.3 cg™. 10SPE may be used to provide a collision free, deterministic transmission on a multi-drop network. The IEEE802.3cg™ is defining 10BASE-T1S (also known as “cg”) for use with automotive sensors, audio, other devices, or combinations thereof. The 10BASE-T1S may also be used in backplanes and Internet of Things (IoT) networks. The cg specification targets a 10 megabits per second (Mbps) multi-drop bus that uses Carrier Sense Multiple Access (CSMA) with Physical Layer Collision Avoidance (PLCA). [0039] PHY 102 also interfaces with shared transmission medium 106, a physical medium that is a communication path for nodes that are part of network segment 100 or a network of which network segment 100 is a part, including nodes that include respective PHY 102 and MAC 104. As a non-limiting example, shared transmission medium 106 may be a single twisted pair such as used for single pair Ethernet).
(AIA ) 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, because: e.g., see Yu ([0027] A vehicle, such as an automobile, a truck, a bus, a ship, and/or an aircraft, may include a vehicle communication network. The complexity of a vehicle communication network may vary depending on a number of electronic devices within the network. For example, an advanced vehicle communication network may include various control modules for, for example, engine control, transmission control, safety control (e.g., antilock braking), and emissions control. To support these modules, the automotive industry relies on various communication protocols. [0028] 10SPE (i.e., 10 Mbps Single Pair Ethernet) is a network technology specification currently under development by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers as IEEE 802.3 cg™. 10SPE may be used to provide a collision free, deterministic transmission on a multi-drop network. The IEEE802.3cg™ is defining 10BASE-T1S (also known as “cg”) for use with automotive sensors, audio, other devices, or combinations thereof. The 10BASE-T1S may also be used in backplanes and Internet of Things (IoT) networks. The cg specification targets a 10 megabits per second (Mbps) multi-drop bus that uses Carrier Sense Multiple Access (CSMA) with Physical Layer Collision Avoidance (PLCA). [0029] In some instances it may be desirable to provide Signal Quality Indicators (SQI) of signals received through a communication bus of a wired Local Area Network (LAN) (e.g., Ethernet). Examples of SQIs may include a Bit Error Rate (BER), a Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR), other indicators, or combinations thereof. Conventionally, SQI for point-to-point links depend on complex Digital Signal Processing (DSP) techniques that involve relatively large chip area to implement and relatively high power expenditures to operate. Where the BER is known, the SNR may be estimated).
Therefore, the combination of references, discloses the combination of the claimed limitations.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure and Claims:
TOILLON (US 20190312777 A1)
([0040] each user terminal configuration is also subdivided into sub-configurations, the switch 105 thus being arranged to process the various sub-configurations within a given configuration independently and simultaneously. each sub-configuration is associated with a particular type of communication. for a given configuration, one sub-configuration is associated with Ethernet communications and another sub-configuration is associated with A664 standard communications).
LIU (US 20170277152 A1)
([0033] The first and second processing units 1 and 2 may use the protocol Ethernet IEEE 802.3 or HLDC or SDLC or any other protocol having a function for detecting or correcting errors for communicating with each other via both links 3 and 4. An Ethernet link notably gives the possibility of ensuring high performances, great environmental robustness, notably towards lightning resistance and electromagnetic compatibility (“CEM”) and a high functional robustness by applying the mechanism of data integrity control and of flow control. Further, the Ethernet protocol is an industrial standard consistent with avionic communication technologies, such as AFDX (“Avionics Full DupleX switched ethernet”) or μAFDX, and with maintenance).
Toillon (US 5954810 A)
Abstract: To establish communications between a plurality of functional modules installed in a local unit and at least one Ethernet type external, multiplexed, multi-transmitter and multi-receiver bus enabling communications with other local units, the device according to the invention comprises as many internal buses as there are functional modules of the local unit, each internal bus being of the multiplexed, multi-transmitter and multi-receiver type, complying with the format of the information elements travelling through the external bus, said functional modules being coupled to the internal buses so that access to each internal bus is controlled by only one module; and at least one coupling module designed to provide for the transfer of information elements between the internal buses and the external bus.
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/H.H/Examiner, Art Unit 2465
/AYMAN A ABAZA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2465