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 .
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory obviousness-type double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); and In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on a nonstatutory double patenting ground provided the conflicting application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with this application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement.
Effective January 1, 1994, a registered attorney or agent of record may sign a terminal disclaimer. A terminal disclaimer signed by the assignee must fully comply with 37 CFR 3.73(b).
Claims 21, 24 and 27 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory obviousness-type double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1, 11, 13 and 14 of the issued patent Amiri et al., US 11,039,487 B2 (Amiri’487 hereinafter), in view of disclosed prior art Horvitz et al., US 2016/0380820 A1 (Horvitz hereinafter). Although the conflicting claims are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the subject matter claimed in the instant application is covered by the subject matter of the issued patent 11,039,487.
The table below shows a side by side comparison of the instant application over the issued patent.
Instant Application
Issued patent US 11/039,487
21. (Currently Amended) A method comprising:
monitoring a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) for a wireless device to
generate current proximity metrics the wireless device being in communication with a wireless access point (WAP) on a first frequency band;
analyzing the current proximity metrics in view of a historical proximity record for the wireless device to predict a probability for a next future proximity state and a predicted dwell time; and
in response to the predicted dwell time exceeding a threshold, selecting a connectivity option to change a communication link between the wireless device and the WAP to a second frequency band.
24. (Currently Amended) The method of claim 21, wherein the connectivity option includes at least one of a transmit power, a communication channel, a modulation and coding schema (MCS), and a number of streams.
27. (Previously Presented) The method of claim 26, wherein the current proximity metrics added to the historical proximity record further includes a time of day and a day of week.
1. A method comprising:
13. The method of claim 1,
wherein the proximity metrics for the given wireless device are
determined based on a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) for the wireless device, wherein the beamsteering communication option includes a steering adjustment to a subsequent communication with the wireless device.
accessing current proximity metrics for a given wireless device within a proximity distance of a wireless access point (WAP);
analyzing the current proximity metrics in view of a historical proximity record to predict a probability for future proximity states based on a historical dwell time of the historical proximity records; and
selecting a communication option for the wireless device based on the historical dwell time and the future proximity state with a highest probability for a criterion,
the communication option including a beamsteering communication option.
14. The method of claim 1, the communication option relating to at least one of: a band, a channel, a power, a modulation and coding schema (MCS), or a number of streams.
11. The method of claim 1, wherein the criterion includes an actual dwell time indicative of the wireless device being located in a single location at a same time of day over a period of days.
Regarding claim 21, Amiri’487 discloses a method comprising:
monitoring a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) for a wireless device to generate current proximity metrics …analyzing the current proximity metrics in view of a historical proximity record for the wireless device to predict a probability for a next future proximity state and a predicted dwell time (see Amiri’487, claim 1 and 13);
Regarding claim 24, Amiri’487 discloses wherein the connectivity option includes at least one of a transmit power, a communication channel, a modulation and coding schema (MCS), and a number of streams (see Amiri’487, claim 14).
Regarding claim 27, Amiri’487 discloses wherein the current proximity metrics added to the historical proximity record further includes a time of day and a day of week (see Amiri’487, claim 11).
Regarding claim 21, Amiri’487 does not explicitly discloses the wireless device being in communication with a wireless access point (WAP) on a first frequency band; … in response to the predicted dwell time exceeding a threshold, selecting a connectivity option to change a communication link between the wireless device and the WAP to a second frequency band.
In the same field of endeavor (e.g., communication system) Horvitz discloses a method related to dynamically reconfiguring wireless network that comprises the wireless device being in communication with a wireless access point (WAP) on a first frequency band (Horvitz, paragraph [0023], FIG. 1 shows numerous user devices 102 located on different portions of a network 104. The user devices 102 are connected to the network 104 through base stations 108, small cells 106 and Wi-Fi networks 114. Base stations 108 may include base stations utilizing one or more mobile telecommunications technologies to provide voice and/or data services. The base stations 108 are representative of macro cells in this example. The mobile telecommunications technologies can include, but are not limited to … various other wireless standards for 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G and other current and future wireless standards (i.e., wireless device being in communication on a first frequency band)); … In response to the predicted dwell time exceeding a threshold (Horvitz, paragraph [0028], The network 104 may also include a location prediction module 110. The location prediction module 110 calculates predicted future locations of the user devices 102. The predicted future locations of the user devices may be associated with likelihoods or certainties that the user devices 102 will appear at the respective future locations. In some examples, predicted future locations over time can also be captured as assessed plans or committed contracts with people over time Also see paragraph [0037], In some examples, when the user device 102 is predicted to be within range of the small cell 106 longer than a threshold amount of time, the user device 102 may be offloaded to the small cell 106), selecting a connectivity option to change a communication link between the wireless device and the WAP to a second frequency band (Horvitz, paragraph [0033], The network 104 may utilize the predicted future locations of the user devices 102 in a variety of ways. The manner in which the network 104 utilizes the predicted future locations may include determining to offload traffic to one or more offload networks. Also see paragraph [0024], Offload networks may include small cells 106 and Wi-Fi networks 114. Small cells 106 may include picocells, microcells, femtocells and other network cells smaller than a macro cell. In some examples, various small cells have ranges of about ten meters up to about three kilometers. Wi-Fi networks 114 include networks implementing one or more Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers ("IEEE") 802.11 standards, such as IEEE 802.lla, 802.11 b, 802.llg, 802.lln, 802.llac and/or a future 802.11 standard (i.e., the communication link between the wireless device and WAP is change to a second frequency band)).
It would have thus been obvious to a person of the ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to incorporate the features of Horvitz regarding dynamically reconfiguring wireless network, into the method related to steering wireless access point and wireless stations of the Instant application. The motivation to do so is to provide a method for reconfiguring wireless network based on predicted future conditions (see Horvitz, abstract and paragraphs [0002]).
Claims 30, 33, 36, 37 and 38 reciting the similar features, are also rejected based on the similar rational.
Examiner’s Comments
Claims 21-40 are subjected to double patenting. The claims would be allowable if amended or file terminal disclaimer to overcome the rejections set forth in this Office action above.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to OBAIDUL HUQ whose telephone number is (571)270-7199. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 8:00-5:00.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Kwang Bin Yao can be reached at 571-272-3182. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/OBAIDUL HUQ/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2473 Dated: 11/26/2025