DETAILED ACTION
Brief Summary
This is a final Office action regarding reissue U.S. Application 18/388,422 (hereafter the “reissue ‘422 Application”), which is a reissue application of U.S. Patent 10,051,680 (hereafter “the ‘680 Patent”).
The ‘680 Patent originally issued on August 14, 2018, with original claims 1-20, being filed as U.S. Application 15/424,476 (hereafter “the original ’476 Application). Here, the original ‘476 Application was filed as a continuation of U.S. Application 13/973,404, filed on August 22, 2013, now U.S. Patent 9,591,675, and claims foreign priority to Korean Patent Application 10-2013-0018882, filed on February 21, 2013.
As noted above, the ‘680 Patent issued with claims 1-20. A preliminary amendment was filed with the reissue ‘422 Application on November 9, 2023, which amended claim 8, and added new claims 21-39, keeping claims 1-7 and 9-20 in their original patented form. A non-final Office action was mailed on February 20, 2026, which indicated that claims 1-39 were rejected. Subsequently, the Applicant filed the instant amendment dated May 19, 2026, which amends claims 21-26, and 29, and cancels claims 30-39. Thus, with the amendment dated May 19, 2026, claims 1-29 are now pending, with claims 1, 12, 17, and 21 being independent.
The present application is being examined under the pre-AIA first to invent provisions.
Reissue Declaration
The substitute reissue declaration was received on 5/19/2026, and is sufficient to overcome the prior rejection under 35 U.S.C. 251 of the claims based on a defective reissue declaration.
Rejection under 35 USC § 251
With the instant amendment dated May 19, 2026 to independent claim 21, the prior rejection of claims 21-29 as being improperly broadened is herein withdrawn, as claim 21 is now not seen to be broader in scope than the original claims.
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 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); 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 nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer.
Initially, the previously indicated rejection of claim 21 on the grounds of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 22, 25, and 27 of Jung et al. (U.S. Patent No. 9,591,675) in view of Kim et al. (U.S. Patent 9,092,812) is herein withdrawn. Upon review of claim 21, as amended, and the claims of the Jung’675 Patent and Kim, the combination of claims 22, 25, and 27 of Jung ‘675 Patent and Kim would fall short of at least teaching the functionality of “discover, using the Wi-Fi communication unit, one or more APs external to the terminal based on a beacon or a probe response received from the one or more APs by a scan operation while maintaining the first communication connection with the first AP, wherein the one or more APs are one or more electronic devices, respectively, determine, based on information included in the beacon or the probe response, whether at least one AP of the one or more APs supports Hotspot 2.0…”
However, claims 1, 6, 11, 12, and 17 remain rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 22, 24, 26-27, 29-30, 32, and 40-42 of Jung et al. (U.S. Patent No. 9,591,675, hereafter “Jung‘675”, being cited in the prior Office action dated February 20, 2026) in view of Kim et al. (U.S. Patent 9,092,812, hereafter “Kim”, being cited in the prior Office action dated February 20, 2026).
Claim 1 of the instant application (having similar features as those found in independent claims 12 and 17)
Claim 25 (which includes limitations in claim 22) of the Jung‘675 patent
1.An apparatus comprising:
a communication circuitry; and
a processor adapted to:
discover, via the communication circuitry, one or more electronic devices using a scan while maintaining a first communication connection with a first electronic device external to the apparatus;
obtain, via the communication circuitry, information related to the one or more electronic devices using an access network query protocol (ANQP);
select a second electronic device from the one or more electronic devices based at least in part on the information related to the one or more electronic device; and
establish, via the communication circuitry, a second communication connection with the second electronic device in replacement of the first communication connection.
22.An electronic device comprising:
a short-range wireless communication unit; and
at least one processor configured to:
connect to a specific external device among a plurality of external devices discovered by the scan operation; and
detect at least one other connectable external device including connection information matching connection information stored in the electronic device, among a plurality of other external devices while maintaining that the electronic device is connected with the specific external device,
wherein the detecting of the at least one other connectable external device comprises:
discovering, if an option to view the other connectable external devices is selected after connecting with the specific external device, the plurality of other external devices by the scan operation,
receiving network information for each of the plurality of other external devices through an Access Network Query Protocol (ANQP) procedure with an information server connected to each of the plurality of discovered external devices,
detecting network information including the connection information matching the connection information stored in the terminal, and
detecting another external device corresponding to the detected network information as the detected at least one other connectable external device.
25. The electronic device of claim 22, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:
display a network list that shows information about the detected at least one other connectable external device and connection status information for the detected at least one other connectable external device,
connect another external device corresponding to selected information on the network list, and disconnect the specific external device.
With this, regarding independent claims 1, 12, and 17, as shown above, claim 25 of Jung’675 discloses limitations very similar to those found in the instant claims 1, 12, and 17. However, claim 25 (and claim 22) of Jung’675 lacks the specific recitation of the claimed “select a second electronic device from the one or more electronic devices based at least in part on the information related to the one or more electronic device; and establish, via the communication circuitry, a second communication connection with the second electronic device in replacement of the first communication connection.”
But the reference of Kim teaches of an apparatus that function to select a second electronic device from the one or more electronic devices based at least in part on the information related to the one or more electronic device; and establish, via the communication circuitry, a second communication connection with the second electronic device in replacement of the first communication connection [see Figs. 1-2; also see col. 5, lines 25-48, whereby the mobile is connected with AP 120 while searching surrounding other APs with highest RSSI, then selects the AP with highest RSSI for connecting]. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to incorporate the teachings of Kim into the claim of Jung’675. Here, claim 25 of Jung’675 would easily be modified with the functionality, as described by Kim, whereby this modification would yield predictable results. Therefore, it would have been obvious to have the further teachings of Kim included in the invention defined in claim 25 of Jung’675 to obtain the invention of claims 1, 12, and 17 of the ‘680 Patent.
Regarding dependent claim 6, Jung’675 further teaches this limitation of the dependent claim in claim 26 of the Jung’675 patent.
Regarding dependent claim 11, Jung ‘675 further teaches this limitation of the dependent claim in claim 27 of the Jung’675 patent.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim(s) 1-8, 10, and 12-20 is/are rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102(e) as being anticipated by U.S. Patent Application Publication 2012/0076118, with the inventor of Montemurro et al. (hereafter “Montemurro”), being cited in the prior Office action dated February 20, 2026.
Regarding claim 1, Montemurro discloses an apparatus [see Figs. 1-2 and 5] comprising:
a communication circuitry [“wireless communication subsystem 518”, seen in Fig. 5]; and
a processor [“processor 502”, seen in Fig. 5] adapted to:
discover, via the communication circuitry, one or more electronic devices using a scan while maintaining a first communication connection with a first electronic device external to the apparatus [see paragraphs 0015-0018, wherein “An example ANQP exchange involves a requesting station (STA) (e.g., a wireless terminal) querying another STA (e.g., a WLAN access point (AP)) for information such as network capabilities information. The queried or receiving STA can respond to the received query with the requested information. The queried or receiving STA can generate the response information with or without proxying the query to a server in an external network (e.g., an SSP network). For example, an external network connected to a queried WLAN may have particular network capabilities accessible via the WLAN and of which a querying wireless terminal should be made aware.”; also see paragraphs 0023-0025, wherein “The example methods and apparatus described herein may also enable the wireless terminal 114 to join different APs (e.g., the APs 104a-c) based on different network capabilities profiles stored in the wireless terminal 114. That is, when the wireless terminal 114 is moved to a different one of the WLAN access locations 102a-c, the wireless terminal 114 can dynamically discover network capabilities available at the WLAN access locations 102a-c and join any suitable one of the APs 104a-c even when the wireless terminal 114 has not previously encountered the APs 104a-c or the network capabilities available via the APs 104a-c have changed since a previous connection between the wireless terminal 114 and the APs 104a-c.”; also see Fig. 2; also see step 702 in Fig. 7A; also see paragraph 0062, wherein “Turning now to FIG. 7A, the illustrated example process may be performed by the wireless terminal 114 during a network discovery process. Initially, the wireless terminal 114 performs a wireless network scan (block 702). For example, the wireless terminal 114 may perform a passive network scan in which it waits for one or more access points (e.g., one or more of the APs 104a-c of FIG. 1) to broadcast its SSID (e.g., the SSID 212 of FIG. 2) and encryption mode status (e.g., the encryption mode status 214 of FIG. 2), if applicable.”; also see paragraph 0075];
obtain, via the communication circuitry, information related to the one or more electronic devices using an access network query protocol (ANQP) [see Fig. 2; also see paragraphs 0036-0040, wherein “In the illustrated example of FIG. 2, the wireless terminal 114 uses the network capabilities profiles 210 during a network discovery process to determine whether any APs within a wireless communication vicinity of the wireless terminal 114 are suitable candidates for association. As shown in FIG. 2, during a network discovery process, the wireless terminal 114 may receive an SSID 212 and an encryption mode status 214 from the AP 104a. In the illustrated example, the encryption mode status 214 indicates whether an encryption mode (e.g., wireless encryption protocol (WEP), Wi-Fi protected access (WPA), etc.) is enabled on the AP 104a. … The access network A 106a forms the NETCAP RESPONSE 118 to include the network capabilities of the external network A 108a and any network capabilities provided by the access network A 106a. The AP 104a then sends the NETCAP RESPONSE 118 to the wireless terminal 114 to inform the wireless terminal 114 of the network capabilities that are available via the access network A 106a. The wireless terminal 114 may then compare the received network capabilities with network capabilities indicated in each of its network capabilities profiles 210 to determine whether minimum network capability requirements are met for any of the network capabilities profiles 210 to indicate that the access network A 106a is a suitable candidate for association.”; also see step 710 in Fig. 7A; also see paragraphs 0064-0070, wherein “The wireless terminal 114 uses an ANQP exchange to retrieve network capabilities for each WLAN selected at block 706 (block 710).”];
select a second electronic device from the one or more electronic devices based at least in part on the information related to the one or more electronic device [see step 714 in Fig. 7A and steps 718 and 722 in Fig. 7B; also see paragraphs 0066-0067, wherein “ If the wireless terminal 114 finds partial matches (block 716), the wireless terminal 114 selects the WLAN(s) that advertised network capabilities that matched at least all of the minimum capabilities (e.g., the minimum capabilities 312 of FIG. 3 or 404 of FIG. 4) of one or more network capabilities profile(s) (block 718). If the wireless terminal 114 selected any WLAN at block 720, the wireless terminal 114 then selects the WLAN that advertised network capabilities matching the minimum capabilities 312 (or the minimum capabilities 404) of a network capabilities profile with the highest ranking (block 722).”]; and
establish, via the communication circuitry, a second communication connection with the second electronic device in replacement of the first communication connection [see step 728 in Fig. 7B and step 742 in Fig. 7C; also see paragraphs 0068-0071, wherein “If the wireless terminal 114 receives a user selection of a WLAN (block 726) or if the wireless terminal 114 selects a WLAN at block 722 or if the wireless terminal 114 selects a WLAN at block 714 (FIG. 7A), the wireless terminal 114 joins with the selected WLAN (block 728). In some example implementations, after joining the selected WLAN (block 728), the wireless terminal 114 may also be registered with an external network (e.g., the external network A 108a of FIGS. 1 and 2). As shown in FIG. 7B, after joining the WLAN (block 728) or if the wireless terminal 114 did not receive a user selection of a WLAN (e.g., within a timeout period) at block 726, the example process of FIGS. 7A-7C ends. … If the wireless terminal 114 receives a user selection of a WLAN (block 740), the wireless terminal 114 joins the selected WLAN (block 742).”; also see paragraph 075].
Regarding claim 2, Montemurro discloses the apparatus described above in claim 1, and further comprising memory, wherein the processor is further adapted to:
select, based at least in part on matching a portion of the information with data stored in the memory, an electronic device corresponding to the portion among the one or more electronic devices, as the second electronic device [see steps 712 and 714 in Fig. 7A; also see paragraphs 0066-0067, wherein “If the wireless terminal 114 finds full matches (block 712), the wireless terminal 114 selects the WLAN that advertised network capabilities matching the network capabilities profile with the highest ranking relative to other matching profiles (block 714). In some example implementations, the wireless terminal 114 may be configured to select a WLAN based on the network capabilities profile that has the relatively highest ranking and the closest proximity.”].
Regarding claim 3, Montemurro discloses the apparatus described above in claim 1, and further teaches wherein the processor is further adapted to:
select a previously connected device among the one or more electronic devices, as the second electronic device [see paragraphs 0028-0030, wherein “In addition, network capabilities of different networks (e.g., the access networks 106a-c, 108a, and 108b) may be changed at any time because wireless terminals can discover the changed network capabilities anew each time the wireless terminals discover (or re-discover) the networks.”].
Regarding claim 4, Montemurro discloses the apparatus described above in claim 1, and further teaches wherein the processor is further adapted to:
request the information related to the one or more electronic devices using the ANQP prior to the obtaining [see paragraph 0016, wherein “In this manner, a wireless terminal may obtain information on network capabilities made available by WLANs to determine, based on the network capabilities information, whether to continue with a connection process to join the wireless terminal with a WLAN. In accordance with the example techniques described herein, wireless terminals may request network capabilities information from WLANs using an Access Network Query Protocol (ANQP). The ANQP supports information retrieval from an Advertisement Server that supports a Generic Advertisement Service (GAS).”; also see paragraphs 0036-0040].
Regarding claim 5, Montemurro discloses the apparatus described above in claim 1, and further teaches wherein the processor is further adapted to:
perform the selecting based at least in part on a determination that status information with respect to the first communication connection satisfies a specified condition [see paragraphs 0039-0049, wherein “In some example implementations, WLANs may be selected for association based on rankings of network capabilities profiles. In the illustrated example, the network capabilities profiles are assigned ranking values 310 to indicate their order of preference for use when selecting a WLAN from more than one suitable association candidate. The ranking values 310 may be specified by the wireless terminal 114 or by a SSP based on rules or criteria related to preferable wireless connections. … For example, if network capabilities available via the access network A 106a align with the minimum capabilities 312 of the profile ID 0003 and the network capabilities of the access network B 106b align with the minimum capabilities 312 of the profile ID 0005, both of the access networks A 106a and B 106b are suitable association candidates, but the wireless terminal 114 selects the access network A 106a because the network capabilities profile (profile ID 0003) satisfied by the network capabilities of the access network A 106a has the higher capability ranking”; also see Figs. 3 and 4, which illustrates the “minimum capabilities” 312 and 404; also see step 718 in Fig. 7B; also see paragraphs 0062-0074].
Regarding claim 6, Montemurro discloses the apparatus described above in claim 5, and further teaches wherein the status information comprises a received signal strength indication (RSSI), a data rate, a billing status, a network provider type, or a combination thereof [see paragraphs 0014-0015, wherein “For example, known techniques for associating a wireless terminal with a WLAN involve the wireless terminal passively or actively scanning to discover one or more WLANs. The wireless terminal then selects a WLAN to join (e.g., based on advertised WLAN network properties such as a service set identifier (SSID), an encryption mode (e.g., wireless encryption protocol (WEP), Wi-Fi protected access (WPA), etc.), received signal strength indication (RSSI) and joins the selected WLAN.”].
Regarding claim 7, Montemurro discloses the apparatus described above in claim 1, and further comprising a display [display 524, seen in Fig. 5], wherein the processor is further adapted to:
present, via the display, an indication of status information corresponding to the second communication connection [see paragraph 0056; also see paragraphs 0069-0071, wherein “The wireless terminal 114 presents the available WLAN(s) discovered at block 702 via a display of the wireless terminal 114 (block 730). If the wireless terminal 114 receives a user selection of one or more WLANs (block 732) that the user would like to attempt to join, the wireless terminal 114 selects the WLAN(s) that support(s) GAS (block 734). … The wireless terminal 114 presents the network capabilities retrieved at block 736 for each WLAN via a display of the wireless terminal 114 (block 738). If the wireless terminal 114 receives a user selection of a WLAN (block 740), the wireless terminal 114 joins the selected WLAN (block 742).”].
Regarding claim 8, Montemurro discloses the apparatus described above in claim 1, and further teaches wherein the information is provided from a server to the one or more electronic devices using the ANQP, prior to the obtaining [see paragraphs 0016-0019, wherein “In this manner, a wireless terminal may obtain information on network capabilities made available by WLANs to determine, based on the network capabilities information, whether to continue with a connection process to join the wireless terminal with a WLAN. In accordance with the example techniques described herein, wireless terminals may request network capabilities information from WLANs using an Access Network Query Protocol (ANQP). The ANQP supports information retrieval from an Advertisement Server that supports a Generic Advertisement Service (GAS). … In some example implementations, the network capability discovery techniques described herein may be used for network discovery instead of SSID-based network discovery. For example, rather than using SSIDs as the primary mode for network discovery, a wireless terminal may use network capabilities information received from APs and its stored WLAN profiles to determine when it is in the vicinity of WLANs suitable for association.”; also see paragraphs 0036-0040].
Regarding claim 10, Montemurro discloses the apparatus described above in claim 1, and further teaches wherein the communication circuitry comprises a Wi-Fi communication circuitry [see paragraph 0015, wherein “For example, known techniques for associating a wireless terminal with a WLAN involve the wireless terminal passively or actively scanning to discover one or more WLANs. The wireless terminal then selects a WLAN to join (e.g., based on advertised WLAN network properties such as a service set identifier (SSID), an encryption mode (e.g., wireless encryption protocol (WEP), Wi-Fi protected access (WPA), etc.), received signal strength indication (RSSI) and joins the selected WLAN.”; also see paragraph 0036, wherein “As shown in FIG. 2, during a network discovery process, the wireless terminal 114 may receive an SSID 212 and an encryption mode status 214 from the AP 104a. In the illustrated example, the encryption mode status 214 indicates whether an encryption mode (e.g., wireless encryption protocol (WEP), Wi-Fi protected access (WPA), etc.) is enabled on the AP 104a.”; also see Figs. 1 and 2].
Regarding claim 12, Montemurro discloses an apparatus [see Figs. 1-2 and 5] comprising:
a short-range wireless communication circuitry [“wireless communication subsystem 518”, seen in Fig. 5]; and
a processor [“processor 502”, seen in Fig. 5] adapted to:
establish, via the short-range wireless communication circuitry, a first communication connection with a first electronic device external to the apparatus [see paragraph 0036, wherein “In the illustrated example of FIG. 2, the wireless terminal 114 uses the network capabilities profiles 210 during a network discovery process to determine whether any APs within a wireless communication vicinity of the wireless terminal 114 are suitable candidates for association. As shown in FIG. 2, during a network discovery process, the wireless terminal 114 may receive an SSID 212 and an encryption mode status 214 from the AP 104a. In the illustrated example, the encryption mode status 214 indicates whether an encryption mode (e.g., wireless encryption protocol (WEP), Wi-Fi protected access (WPA), etc.) is enabled on the AP 104a. Although not shown, the wireless terminal 114 may also simultaneously receive other SSIDs and encryption mode statuses from other nearby APs.”; also see Fig. 2];
determine that status information related to the first communication connection with the first electronic device satisfies a specified condition [see paragraphs 0036-0038, wherein “In some example implementations, the AP 104a may also communicate a GAS support indicator 216 (typically implemented as an Interworking element in the beacon or probe response of an IEEE.RTM. 802.11 WLAN) to the wireless terminal 114, as shown in FIG. 2. The GAS support indicator 216 indicates that the access network A 106a supports GAS. The wireless terminal 114 may use this information to communicate with the AP 104a using protocols transported over GAS (e.g., ANQP messages). If a WLAN does not support GAS, it will not transmit the GAS support indicator 216. … In some example implementations, after receiving the SSID 212 and the encryption mode status 214 (and the GAS support indicator 216, if applicable), the wireless terminal 114 sends the NETCAP REQUEST 116 to the AP 104a to request network capabilities that are available via the access network A 106a. In the illustrated example, the network capabilities may be provided by the access network A 106a and/or the external network A 108a.”];
discover, via the short-range wireless communication circuitry, one or more electronic devices by using a scan while maintaining the first communication connection, based at least in part on the determining that the status information satisfies the specified condition [see paragraphs 0015-0018, wherein “An example ANQP exchange involves a requesting station (STA) (e.g., a wireless terminal) querying another STA (e.g., a WLAN access point (AP)) for information such as network capabilities information. The queried or receiving STA can respond to the received query with the requested information. The queried or receiving STA can generate the response information with or without proxying the query to a server in an external network (e.g., an SSP network). For example, an external network connected to a queried WLAN may have particular network capabilities accessible via the WLAN and of which a querying wireless terminal should be made aware.”; also see paragraphs 0023-0025, wherein “The example methods and apparatus described herein may also enable the wireless terminal 114 to join different APs (e.g., the APs 104a-c) based on different network capabilities profiles stored in the wireless terminal 114. That is, when the wireless terminal 114 is moved to a different one of the WLAN access locations 102a-c, the wireless terminal 114 can dynamically discover network capabilities available at the WLAN access locations 102a-c and join any suitable one of the APs 104a-c even when the wireless terminal 114 has not previously encountered the APs 104a-c or the network capabilities available via the APs 104a-c have changed since a previous connection between the wireless terminal 114 and the APs 104a-c.”; also see Fig. 2; also see step 702 in Fig. 7A; also see paragraph 0062, wherein “Turning now to FIG. 7A, the illustrated example process may be performed by the wireless terminal 114 during a network discovery process. Initially, the wireless terminal 114 performs a wireless network scan (block 702). For example, the wireless terminal 114 may perform a passive network scan in which it waits for one or more access points (e.g., one or more of the APs 104a-c of FIG. 1) to broadcast its SSID (e.g., the SSID 212 of FIG. 2) and encryption mode status (e.g., the encryption mode status 214 of FIG. 2), if applicable.”; also see paragraph 0075];
transmit a request signal, with respect to network information related to the one or more electronic devices, to the one or more electronic devices, the network information being stored in a server operatively connected to the one or more electronic devices, wherein the one or more electronic devices can request the network information from the server using the request signal [see paragraphs 0036-0040, wherein “In the illustrated example of FIG. 2, the wireless terminal 114 uses the network capabilities profiles 210 during a network discovery process to determine whether any APs within a wireless communication vicinity of the wireless terminal 114 are suitable candidates for association. As shown in FIG. 2, during a network discovery process, the wireless terminal 114 may receive an SSID 212 and an encryption mode status 214 from the AP 104a. In the illustrated example, the encryption mode status 214 indicates whether an encryption mode (e.g., wireless encryption protocol (WEP), Wi-Fi protected access (WPA), etc.) is enabled on the AP 104a. … The access network A 106a forms the NETCAP RESPONSE 118 to include the network capabilities of the external network A 108a and any network capabilities provided by the access network A 106a. The AP 104a then sends the NETCAP RESPONSE 118 to the wireless terminal 114 to inform the wireless terminal 114 of the network capabilities that are available via the access network A 106a. The wireless terminal 114 may then compare the received network capabilities with network capabilities indicated in each of its network capabilities profiles 210 to determine whether minimum network capability requirements are met for any of the network capabilities profiles 210 to indicate that the access network A 106a is a suitable candidate for association.”; also see steps 704 and 706 in Fig. 7A; also see paragraphs 0064-0070, wherein “The wireless terminal 114 uses an ANQP exchange to retrieve network capabilities for each WLAN selected at block 706 (block 710).”];
receive the network information from the one or more electronic devices, in response to the request signal, the network information being provided from the server to the one or more electronic devices [see paragraphs 0036-0040, wherein “In the illustrated example of FIG. 2, the wireless terminal 114 uses the network capabilities profiles 210 during a network discovery process to determine whether any APs within a wireless communication vicinity of the wireless terminal 114 are suitable candidates for association. As shown in FIG. 2, during a network discovery process, the wireless terminal 114 may receive an SSID 212 and an encryption mode status 214 from the AP 104a. In the illustrated example, the encryption mode status 214 indicates whether an encryption mode (e.g., wireless encryption protocol (WEP), Wi-Fi protected access (WPA), etc.) is enabled on the AP 104a. … The access network A 106a forms the NETCAP RESPONSE 118 to include the network capabilities of the external network A 108a and any network capabilities provided by the access network A 106a. The AP 104a then sends the NETCAP RESPONSE 118 to the wireless terminal 114 to inform the wireless terminal 114 of the network capabilities that are available via the access network A 106a. The wireless terminal 114 may then compare the received network capabilities with network capabilities indicated in each of its network capabilities profiles 210 to determine whether minimum network capability requirements are met for any of the network capabilities profiles 210 to indicate that the access network A 106a is a suitable candidate for association.”; also see step 710 in Fig. 7A; also see paragraphs 0064-0070, wherein “The wireless terminal 114 uses an ANQP exchange to retrieve network capabilities for each WLAN selected at block 706 (block 710).”];
select a second electronic device from the one or more electronic devices based at least in part on the network information [see step 714 in Fig. 7A and steps 718 and 722 in Fig. 7B; also see paragraphs 0066-0067, wherein “ If the wireless terminal 114 finds partial matches (block 716), the wireless terminal 114 selects the WLAN(s) that advertised network capabilities that matched at least all of the minimum capabilities (e.g., the minimum capabilities 312 of FIG. 3 or 404 of FIG. 4) of one or more network capabilities profile(s) (block 718). If the wireless terminal 114 selected any WLAN at block 720, the wireless terminal 114 then selects the WLAN that advertised network capabilities matching the minimum capabilities 312 (or the minimum capabilities 404) of a network capabilities profile with the highest ranking (block 722).”]; and
establish, via the short-range wireless communication circuitry, a second communication connection with the second electronic device in replacement of the first communication connection [see step 728 in Fig. 7B and step 742 in Fig. 7C; also see paragraphs 0068-0071, wherein “If the wireless terminal 114 receives a user selection of a WLAN (block 726) or if the wireless terminal 114 selects a WLAN at block 722 or if the wireless terminal 114 selects a WLAN at block 714 (FIG. 7A), the wireless terminal 114 joins with the selected WLAN (block 728). In some example implementations, after joining the selected WLAN (block 728), the wireless terminal 114 may also be registered with an external network (e.g., the external network A 108a of FIGS. 1 and 2). As shown in FIG. 7B, after joining the WLAN (block 728) or if the wireless terminal 114 did not receive a user selection of a WLAN (e.g., within a timeout period) at block 726, the example process of FIGS. 7A-7C ends. … If the wireless terminal 114 receives a user selection of a WLAN (block 740), the wireless terminal 114 joins the selected WLAN (block 742).”; also see paragraph 0075].
Regarding claim 13, Montemurro discloses the apparatus described above in claim 12, and further teaches wherein the processor is further adapted to:
perform the transmitting or the receiving, based at least in part on an 802.11u standard [see paragraphs 0016-0019, wherein “In accordance with the example techniques described herein, wireless terminals may request network capabilities information from WLANs using an Access Network Query Protocol (ANQP). The ANQP supports information retrieval from an Advertisement Server that supports a Generic Advertisement Service (GAS). ANQP and GAS are defined in IEEE 802.11u.”; also see paragraph 0055].
Regarding claim 14, Montemurro discloses the apparatus described above in claim 12, and further comprising memory, wherein the processor is further adapted to:
select, based at least in part on matching a portion of the network information with data stored in the memory, an electronic device corresponding to the portion among the one or more electronic devices, as the second electronic device [see steps 712 and 714 in Fig. 7A; also see paragraphs 0066-0067, wherein “If the wireless terminal 114 finds full matches (block 712), the wireless terminal 114 selects the WLAN that advertised network capabilities matching the network capabilities profile with the highest ranking relative to other matching profiles (block 714). In some example implementations, the wireless terminal 114 may be configured to select a WLAN based on the network capabilities profile that has the relatively highest ranking and the closest proximity.”].
Regarding claim 15, Montemurro discloses the apparatus described above in claim 12, and further teaches wherein the processor is further adapted to:
perform the selecting further based at least in part on location information of the apparatus [see paragraphs 0040-0041, wherein “In the illustrated example of FIG. 3, each network capabilities profile in the network capabilities profile data structure 302 is assigned a unique profile ID 308 and includes rankings 310, minimum capabilities 312, and additional capabilities 314. Turning to the discovered network capabilities 304, during wireless network scans performed by the wireless terminal 114 to discover available WLANs (e.g., the access networks 106a-c of FIG. 1) in its vicinity, the wireless terminal 114 caches discovered SSIDs 316.”].
Regarding claim 16, Montemurro discloses the apparatus described above in claim 12, and further comprising a display [display 524, seen in Fig. 5], wherein the processor is further adapted to:
present, via the display, a user interface including a first indication of the one or more electronic devices and a second indication of connection status information corresponding to the second electronic device [see paragraph 0056; also see paragraphs 0069-0071, wherein “The wireless terminal 114 presents the available WLAN(s) discovered at block 702 via a display of the wireless terminal 114 (block 730). If the wireless terminal 114 receives a user selection of one or more WLANs (block 732) that the user would like to attempt to join, the wireless terminal 114 selects the WLAN(s) that support(s) GAS (block 734). … The wireless terminal 114 presents the network capabilities retrieved at block 736 for each WLAN via a display of the wireless terminal 114 (block 738). If the wireless terminal 114 receives a user selection of a WLAN (block 740), the wireless terminal 114 joins the selected WLAN (block 742).”].
Regarding claim 17, Montemurro discloses an apparatus [see Figs. 1-2 and 5] comprising:
a short-range wireless communication circuitry [“wireless communication subsystem 518”, seen in Fig. 5]; and
a processor [“processor 502”, seen in Fig. 5] adapted to:
discover, via the short-range wireless communication circuitry, one or more electronic devices including a second electronic device external to the apparatus by using a scan while maintaining a first communication connection with a first electronic device external to the apparatus via the short-range wireless communication circuitry [see step 702 in Fig. 7A; also see paragraph 0062, wherein “Turning now to FIG. 7A, the illustrated example process may be performed by the wireless terminal 114 during a network discovery process. Initially, the wireless terminal 114 performs a wireless network scan (block 702). For example, the wireless terminal 114 may perform a passive network scan in which it waits for one or more access points (e.g., one or more of the APs 104a-c of FIG. 1) to broadcast its SSID (e.g., the SSID 212 of FIG. 2) and encryption mode status (e.g., the encryption mode status 214 of FIG. 2), if applicable.”; also see paragraph 0075],
the first electronic device corresponding to a first service set identifier (SSID), the second electronic device corresponding to a second SSID different from the first SSID [see paragraph 0062, wherein “Turning now to FIG. 7A, the illustrated example process may be performed by the wireless terminal 114 during a network discovery process. Initially, the wireless terminal 114 performs a wireless network scan (block 702). For example, the wireless terminal 114 may perform a passive network scan in which it waits for one or more access points (e.g., one or more of the APs 104a-c of FIG. 1) to broadcast its SSID (e.g., the SSID 212 of FIG. 2) and encryption mode status (e.g., the encryption mode status 214 of FIG. 2), if applicable.”];
obtain, via the short-range wireless communication circuitry, information related to the second electronic device from one or more electronic devices, the information provided from a server operatively connected to the second electronic device [see Fig. 2; also see paragraphs 0036-0040, wherein “In the illustrated example of FIG. 2, the wireless terminal 114 uses the network capabilities profiles 210 during a network discovery process to determine whether any APs within a wireless communication vicinity of the wireless terminal 114 are suitable candidates for association. As shown in FIG. 2, during a network discovery process, the wireless terminal 114 may receive an SSID 212 and an encryption mode status 214 from the AP 104a. In the illustrated example, the encryption mode status 214 indicates whether an encryption mode (e.g., wireless encryption protocol (WEP), Wi-Fi protected access (WPA), etc.) is enabled on the AP 104a. … The access network A 106a forms the NETCAP RESPONSE 118 to include the network capabilities of the external network A 108a and any network capabilities provided by the access network A 106a. The AP 104a then sends the NETCAP RESPONSE 118 to the wireless terminal 114 to inform the wireless terminal 114 of the network capabilities that are available via the access network A 106a. The wireless terminal 114 may then compare the received network capabilities with network capabilities indicated in each of its network capabilities profiles 210 to determine whether minimum network capability requirements are met for any of the network capabilities profiles 210 to indicate that the access network A 106a is a suitable candidate for association.”; also see step 710 in Fig. 7A; also see paragraphs 0064-0070, wherein “The wireless terminal 114 uses an ANQP exchange to retrieve network capabilities for each WLAN selected at block 706 (block 710).”];
select the second electronic device from the one or more electronic devices based at least in part on the information related to the second electronic device [see step 714 in Fig. 7A and steps 718 and 722 in Fig. 7B; also see paragraphs 0066-0067, wherein “ If the wireless terminal 114 finds partial matches (block 716), the wireless terminal 114 selects the WLAN(s) that advertised network capabilities that matched at least all of the minimum capabilities (e.g., the minimum capabilities 312 of FIG. 3 or 404 of FIG. 4) of one or more network capabilities profile(s) (block 718). If the wireless terminal 114 selected any WLAN at block 720, the wireless terminal 114 then selects the WLAN that advertised network capabilities matching the minimum capabilities 312 (or the minimum capabilities 404) of a network capabilities profile with the highest ranking (block 722).”]; and
establish, via the short-range wireless communication circuitry, a second communication connection with the second electronic device in replacement of the first communication connection [see step 728 in Fig. 7B and step 742 in Fig. 7C; also see paragraphs 0068-0071, wherein “If the wireless terminal 114 receives a user selection of a WLAN (block 726) or if the wireless terminal 114 selects a WLAN at block 722 or if the wireless terminal 114 selects a WLAN at block 714 (FIG. 7A), the wireless terminal 114 joins with the selected WLAN (block 728). In some example implementations, after joining the selected WLAN (block 728), the wireless terminal 114 may also be registered with an external network (e.g., the external network A 108a of FIGS. 1 and 2). As shown in FIG. 7B, after joining the WLAN (block 728) or if the wireless terminal 114 did not receive a user selection of a WLAN (e.g., within a timeout period) at block 726, the example process of FIGS. 7A-7C ends. … If the wireless terminal 114 receives a user selection of a WLAN (block 740), the wireless terminal 114 joins the selected WLAN (block 742).”; also see paragraph 0075].
Regarding claim 18, Montemurro discloses the apparatus described above in claim 17, and further teaches wherein the processor is further adapted to: communicate, as part of the obtaining, with the one or more electronic devices using an access network query protocol (ANQP) [see paragraph 0016; also see paragraphs 0036-0040].
Regarding claim 19, Montemurro discloses the apparatus described above in claim 17, and further teaches wherein the first electronic device is operated by a home provider and the second electronic device is operated by a roaming partner [see Figs. 1 and 2; also see paragraphs 0031-0032; also see paragraph 0049, wherein “Although not shown, the minimum capabilities 404 of FIG. 4 (and/or the minimum capabilities 312 of FIG. 3) may specify credentials for particular network services. For example, a roaming credential may be specified in a network capabilities profile indicating that, for that particular profile, a roaming network service of a wireless network must support roaming access to roam onto a network of an SSP indicated by the roaming credential. In such example implementations, if a network capabilities profile specifies a roaming credential as a minimum capability, the wireless terminal 114 must confirm that a WLAN supports roaming access to a SSP specified by the roaming credential of that profile. Otherwise, if roaming access corresponding to that roaming credential is not supported by a particular WLAN, the wireless terminal 114 will not consider that WLAN as a suitable candidate for joining”].
Regarding claim 20, Montemurro discloses the apparatus described above in claim 17, and further teaches wherein the processor is further adapted to:
perform the selecting based at least in part on a determination that status information with respect to the first communication connection satisfies a specified condition [see paragraphs 0039-0049, wherein “In some example implementations, WLANs may be selected for association based on rankings of network capabilities profiles. In the illustrated example, the network capabilities profiles are assigned ranking values 310 to indicate their order of preference for use when selecting a WLAN from more than one suitable association candidate. The ranking values 310 may be specified by the wireless terminal 114 or by a SSP based on rules or criteria related to preferable wireless connections. … For example, if network capabilities available via the access network A 106a align with the minimum capabilities 312 of the profile ID 0003 and the network capabilities of the access network B 106b align with the minimum capabilities 312 of the profile ID 0005, both of the access networks A 106a and B 106b are suitable association candidates, but the wireless terminal 114 selects the access network A 106a because the network capabilities profile (profile ID 0003) satisfied by the network capabilities of the access network A 106a has the higher capability ranking”; also see Figs. 3 and 4, which illustrates the “minimum capabilities” 312 and 404; also see step 718 in Fig. 7B; also see paragraphs 0062-0074].
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim 9 is/are rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Application Publication 2012/0076118, with the inventor of Montemurro et al. (hereafter “Montemurro”) in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication 2013/0223340, with the inventor of Jeong (hereafter “Jeong”), with both of these references being cited in the prior Office action dated February 20, 2026.
Regarding claim 9, Montemurro discloses the apparatus described above in claim 1, abut fails to expressly disclose if the processor is further adapted to:
release the first communication connection, in relation with the establishing of the second communication connection.
But Jeong discloses an apparatus [see Fig. 1] comprising:
a communication circuitry [“wireless LAN communication unit 10”, seen in Fig. 1]; and
a processor [“control unit 50” seen in Fig. 1] adapted to:
discover, via the communication circuitry, one or more electronic devices using a scan while maintaining a first communication connection with a first electronic device external to the apparatus [see step S100 in Fig. 5];
…
establish, via the communication circuitry, a … communication connection with the second electronic device in replacement of the first communication connection [see step S200 in Fig. 5].
Jeong further discloses that wherein the processor is further adapted to:
release the first communication connection, in relation with the establishing of the second communication connection [see paragraph 0105, wherein “In operation S440, the wireless LAN terminal releases or terminates the connection with the AP whose available state is determined and proceeds to operation S500.”; also see paragraph 0142, wherein “If the available state of the AP is determined in operation S435, the wireless LAN terminal releases or terminates the connection to the AP whose available state is determined.”; also see Figs. 5, 7, and 13].
Montemurro and Jeong are combinable because they are both from the same field of endeavor, both being Wi-Fi based wireless communication apparatuses that identify available an access point (“AP”) in scanned list and establish a connection with a selected AP. At the time of the invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have the apparatus described in Montemurro have the functionality that includes the processor being further adapted to “release the first communication connection, in relation with the establishing of the second communication connection”, as recognized by Jeong. The suggestion/motivation for doing so would be that the apparatus of Montemurro would have a more efficient operation, allowing the apparatus to release a first connection, in relation to establishing of the second connection, which would be needed in the roaming functionality described in Montemurro in paragraphs 0020-0027. Here, Montemurro states in paragraph 0027 that “[t]he example methods and apparatus described herein can be advantageously used to configure, design, or otherwise engineer mobile wireless terminals to operate more efficiently (i.e., do more with fewer processor cycles) and, thus, reduce battery power use.” Here, Montemurro would conform with the well-known protocols, such as that described in IEEE 802.11, as described in Montemurro, as well as Jeong, whereby Montemurro would easily be modified with these known protocols, yielding predictable results. Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine the teachings of Jeong with the apparatus defined in Montemurro to obtain the invention specified in claim 9.
Claim 11 is/are rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Application Publication 2012/0076118, with the inventor of Montemurro et al. (hereafter “Montemurro”) in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication 2014/0185598, with the inventor of Canpolat et al. (hereafter “Canpolat”), with both of these references being cited in the prior Office action dated February 20, 2026.
Regarding claim 11, Montemurro discloses the apparatus described above in claim 1, and further teaches wherein the one or more electronic devices comprise an access point (AP) supporting hotspot protocols [see paragraphs 0015-0016, wherein “The ANQP supports information retrieval from an Advertisement Server that supports a Generic Advertisement Service (GAS). ANQP and GAS are defined in IEEE.RTM. 802.11u. Additionally or alternatively, other query protocols (e.g., Registered Location Query Protocol (RLQP) as defined in IEEE.RTM. 802.11af, Hotspot Query Protocol (HSQP), and Online Signup Advertisement Protocol (OSAP) as defined in the Wi-Fi Alliance) may also be used in a similar manner to ANQP.”]
With this, however, Montemurro fails to expressly disclose that an access point (AP) supporting Hotspot 2.0.
But Canpolat discloses an apparatus [see Fig. 7] comprising:
a communication circuitry [transceiver 708, seen in Fig. 7]; and
a processor [processor 704, seen in Fig. 7] adapted to:
discover, via the communication circuitry, one or more electronic devices using a scan [see Abstract; also see steps 106 and 108 in Fig. 1; also see paragraphs 0011-0013, wherein “In FIG. 1, as part of the active scan process, STA 102 transmits a scan request 106 to a selected access point, such as AP 104. The selected access point, such as AP 104, responds with scan request response 108. The process is repeated for each available responder. FIG. 1 illustrates the time to scan each responder as ts 110. After STA 102 builds the scan list of all available responders, it analyzes the list to discover if it "knows" any of the responders (e.g., associated with the wireless network, or has a stored profile of the wireless network).”; also see step 302 in Fig. 3] …;
obtain, via the communication circuitry, information related to the one or more electronic devices using an access network query protocol (ANQP) [see steps 114 and 116 in Fig. 1; also see paragraphs 0014-0017; also see steps 316 and 318 in Fig. 3; also see paragraphs 0025-0028; also see paragraphs 0032-0033];
select a second electronic device from the one or more electronic devices based at least in part on the information related to the one or more electronic device [see paragraphs 0017-0018; also see step 320 in Fig. 3; also see paragraphs 0026-0027, wherein “After station 300 receives all needed information, station 300 will process the responses and select a responder for association. In FIG. 3, station 300 selects responder 310 and transmits an Association Request (AQ) message 320 to responder 310.”]; and
establish, via the communication circuitry, a second communication connection with the second electronic device in replacement of the first communication connection [see paragraphs 0020-0021, wherein “FIG. 2 illustrates a network environment, according to some embodiments. In FIG. 2, a station 200 wants to establish a link with an appropriate responder.”; also see Fig. 3; also see paragraphs 0027-0028, wherein “In FIG. 3, station 300 selects responder 310 and transmits an Association Request (AQ) message 320 to responder 310. …As illustrated in FIG. 3, the procedure can result in significant time and energy savings for station 300 to establish an initial link with a responder. Rather than initiating individual GAS Request/Response exchanges with all available responders one by one, the broadcast GAS Request message allows all responders to consider the information at once.”].
Canpolat further teaches that wherein the one or more electronic devices comprise an access point (AP) supporting Hotspot 2.0 [see paragraph 0011, wherein “The IEEE 802.11u standard (IEEE Std 802.11u-2011) has defined GAS and Access Network Query Protocol (ANQP), which are used by the Wi-Fi Alliance (WFA) Hotspot 2.0 program and WFA Wi-Fi Direct (Wi-Fi Peer-to-Peer) program, which allow a Station (STA) to discover and establish a link to a responder (such as an Access Point (AP), STA, or other responder).”].
Montemurro and Canpolat are combinable because they are both from the same field of endeavor, both being wireless communication apparatuses that identify available an access point (“AP”) in scanned list and establish a connection with a selected AP. At the time of the invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have the apparatus described in Montemurro have the one or more electronic devices comprise “an access point (AP) supporting Hotspot 2.0”, as recognized by Canpolat. The suggestion/motivation for doing so would be that the apparatus of Montemurro would conform with the well-known protocols, such as that described in IEEE 802.11u, as described in Montemurro, as well as in Canpolat, whereby Montemurro would easily be modified with these known protocols, yielding predictable results. Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine the teachings of Canpolat with the apparatus defined in Montemurro to obtain the invention specified in claim 11.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments filed May 19, 2026, with respect to the rejection of claims 17, 19, and 20 under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102(e) as being anticipated by Choi et al. (U.S. Patent 8,805,279), as read on pages 21-28, have been fully considered and are persuasive. Here, the Examiner agrees that Choi is not unclear of teaching the limitations that require “a scan while maintaining a first communication connection with a first electronic device external to the apparatus …establish via the communication circuitry , a second communication connection with the second electronic device in replacement of the first communication connection”. Thus, the rejection of claims 17, 19, and 20 as being anticipated by Choi has been withdrawn.
However, Applicant's arguments filed May 19, 2026, with respect to the rejection of claims 1-8, 10, and 12-20 under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102(e) as being anticipated by Montemurro et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication 2012/0076118), as well as the rejection of claim 9 under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Montemurro in view of Jeong (U.S. Patent Application Publication 2013/0223340), and the rejection of claim 11 under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Montemurro in view of Canpolat et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication 2014/0185598), have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Particularly, regarding the rejection of claims 1-8, 10, and 12-20 under 35 U.S.C. 102(e) as being anticipated by Montemurro, the Applicant begins arguing on pages 15 and 16 of the Remarks dated May 19, 2026 (hereafter “the Remarks”) that Montemurro fails to teach the limitations reciting “a scan while maintaining a first communication connection with a first electronic device external to the apparatus …establish via the communication circuitry , a second communication connection with the second electronic device in replacement of the first communication connection”.
With this, on page 20 of the Remarks, the Applicant argues that “MONTEMURRO is strictly limited to the procedure for establishing a new communication connection with a selected WLAN . Noticeably absent in MONTEMURRO is any description of a new communication connection while replacing an existing active communication connection. …Specifically, MONTEMURRO does not describe a process of searching for another electronic device while a ‘first communication connection ‘ is being maintained, and subsequently transitioning (e.g., handover) to a ‘second communication connection’ by terminating or replacing the pre-existing connection.”
But in response, in review of Montemurro, the reference discloses in paragraph 0014, that “Although the example methods and apparatus described herein may be implemented in any environment providing WLAN access for network connectivity, the example methods and apparatus can be advantageously implemented in WLAN access locations or environments in which it is expected that one or more users carrying respective wireless terminals will frequently connect to (or join) and disconnect from a WLAN as they enter and exit the WLAN access locations or environments. WLAN locations or environments are sometimes known as "hotspots" in reference to a location or environment that is within communication reach of WLAN signals. Such example WLAN locations or environments include coffee shops, retail stores, educational facilities, office environments, airports, public transportation stations and vehicles, hotels, etc. Such WLANs are often implemented as access networks that provide access to the Internet and may be associated with, or support access to, external networks (or WLAN-supported networks) owned and/or operated by subscription-based service providers.” Also, Montemurro states in paragraph 0019 that “For example, rather than using SSIDs as the primary mode for network discovery, a wireless terminal may use network capabilities information received from APs and its stored WLAN profiles to determine when it is in the vicinity of WLANs suitable for association.”
In addition, in paragraphs 0024 and 0025, Montemurro also states “The network capabilities may include roaming relationships, network services, multi-media access services, supported authentication and/or security methods, emergency services, etc. The network capabilities may be selected by respective owners or operators of the networks 106a-c, 108a, and 108b based on different factors such as, for example, subscription usage plans, desired security levels, business objectives, roaming agreements, supported emergency services, supported multi-media access, available Internet access, etc. For instance, if an SSP associated with the external network A 108a only allows access by subscribers of its services, the external network A 108a may advertise that it does not support roaming connections. … That is, when the wireless terminal 114 is moved to a different one of the WLAN access locations 102a-c, the wireless terminal 114 can dynamically discover network capabilities available at the WLAN access locations 102a-c and join any suitable one of the APs 104a-c even when the wireless terminal 114 has not previously encountered the APs 104a-c or the network capabilities available via the APs 104a-c have changed since a previous connection between the wireless terminal 114 and the APs 104a-c.”
Further, Montemurro expressly discloses in paragraph 0075, with reference to Fig. 8, that “At some time after joining the WLAN at block 814, the wireless terminal 114 may determine whether it should discover other available networks (block 816). For example, the network capabilities needs of the wireless terminal 114 may change or the wireless terminal 114 may become disconnected from the WLAN that it joined at block 814. Additionally, the wireless terminal 114 may determine whether to discover other available networks at block 816 in instances when the wireless terminal 114 does not discover a network at block 804 or one or more services are not selected at block 812. If the wireless terminal 114 determines that it should discover another network (block 816), control passes back to block 804.”
Thus, looking at Figs. 7A-8, and the corresponding descriptions in the reference of Montemurro, these sections are seen to describe a process of “a scan while maintaining a first communication connection with a first electronic device external to the apparatus …; and establish via the communication circuitry, a second communication connection with the second electronic device in replacement of the first communication connection”, as currently required in independent claim 1, and similarly in independent claims 12 and 17.
Therefore, for the above reasons, the rejection of independent claims 1, 12, and 17, as being anticipated by Montemurro, is maintained and repeated herein. Similarly, for the same reasons, the rejection of dependent claims 2-8, 10, 13-16, and 18-20, as being anticipated by Montemurro, is also maintained and repeated herein. Additionally, for the above reasons, the rejection of claim 9, as being unpatentable over Montemurro in view of Jeong, and the rejection of claim 11, as being unpatentable over Montemurro in view of Canpolat, are maintained and repeated herein.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 21-29 are deemed to be allowable over the art of record.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
The prior art of record falls short of teaching a terminal that comprises:
“a Wi-Fi communication unit;
a display; and
a processor configured to:
establish, using the Wi-Fi communication unit, a first communication connection with a first access point (AP),
discover, using the Wi-Fi communication unit, one or more APs external to the terminal based on a beacon or a probe response received from the one or more APs by a scan operation while maintaining the first communication connection with the first AP, wherein the one or more APs are one or more electronic devices, respectively,
determine, based on information included in the beacon or the probe response, whether at least one AP of the one or more APs supports Hotspot 2.0,
based on a determination that the at least one AP supports the Hotspot 2.0, receive, using the Wi-Fi communication unit, network information for the at least one AP supporting the Hotspot 2.0 through an access network query protocol (ANQP) procedure with an information server connected to the at least one AP,
control the display to display information corresponding to one or more APs of the at least one AP supporting the Hotspot 2.0 based on a determination that connection information included in the network information corresponding to the one or more APs matches connection information stored in a memory of the terminal, …”
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 Joseph R. Pokrzywa, whose telephone number is (571) 272-7410. The Examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday, 9:00am-5:00pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's supervisor, Michael Fuelling can be reached on (571) 270-1367. The fax number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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Signed:
/JOSEPH R POKRZYWA/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3992
Conferees:
/ERON J SORRELL/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3992 /M.F/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3992
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