DETAILED ACTION
This is a response to the Applicant’s Remarks and amendments filed 12/26/2024. Claims 1, 6, 9 and 10 are amended. Claims 2 and 8 are canceled. Claims 1, 3-7, 9-14 are pending.
Examiner acknowledges the Terminal Disclaimer submitted 04/02/2025 to obviate the non-statutory Double Patent rejection, posted in the nonfinal office action 09/30/2024. The Double Patent rejection is hereby withdrawn.
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 01/22/2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to Kang reference (Kang is not prior art to the present application) in the 103 rejection of claim(s) 2 and 8 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument. Newly cited prior art reference Chari (US 2019/0373675) is cited in the 103 rejection of claims 1 and 6, where claim 1 had been amended to include claim 2, and claim 6 has been amended to include claim 8. (See page 7.)
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 1, 3-7, 9-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C 103 as being unpatentable over Anderson et al. (US 2017/0279630) hereinafter “Anderson”, in view of Pan (US 9686404) hereinafter “Pan”, in further view of Dattagupta et al. (US 2012/0317619), hereinafter “Dattagupta”, in further view of Scahill et al. (US 2019/0387415) hereinafter “Scahill”, in further view of Jones (US 2013/0272146) hereinafter “Jones”, in further view of Chari et al. (US 2019/0373675), hereinafter “Chari”.
Regarding claims 1 and 6, Anderson teaches:
A method for operating a wireless network, the method comprising:
broadcasting, by a wireless network device (system controller 304, Fig. 3a [0017,0018]) … based upon a test wireless network identifier, a test wireless network signal (See Fig. 5, step 504: system controller broadcasts SSID signal (which equates to a test wireless network signal, e.g. beacon frames) [0100, 0116], using the SSID identified and associated with this network), within a premises;
communicating, by a wireless network device upon receiving the password, with a test wireless device via the test wireless network signal (System controller receives an SSID password that corresponds to the SSID [0112] from a network device (i.e. receives a connection request). Then (see Fig. 5, step 506) provide connection to network device, (i.e. send acceptance response))
Anderson does not teach:
network server, a test wireless network identifier and a password for connecting to a test wireless network;
However, Pan, in a similar endeavor for granting communication device access to a password-protected network connection, teaches:
receiving, by a wireless network device, via a network server, a test wireless network identifier and a password for connecting to a test wireless network (A first network name 322 may be an SSID for a password protected network connection that has a predetermined password. This name may be preloaded into memory 320 (of the wireless network device) at time of manufacture or some other time/manner, e.g. received from an external server (equates to wireless network broadcasting device) associated with the communication service [col 11: 57-67; col 12: 1-16] see Fig.3. The SSID equates to the test wireless network identifier, and SSID password is the password.);
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to incorporate the teachings of Pan into the method of Anderson in order to prescribe the specific source of the credentials for granting communication access, to improve onboarding efficiency.
Anderson in view of Pan does not teach:
…upon receiving a test initiation signal …
However, Dattagupta, in a similar endeavor that discloses initiating access to a new and/or second, virtual access point, teaches:
upon receiving a test initiation signal (See Fig. 3, step 304, [0061]: The host device 120 receives a request (initiation signal to trigger broadcast SSID signal) to transmit an SSID as well as authorization credentials (equates to connection credentials) associated with a second virtual access point (broadcast SSID and password))
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to incorporate the teachings of Dattagupta into the method of Anderson in view of Pan in order to create a mechanism to easily establish a second network and connection, that is alternate to the first network and connection, for another (or similar) purpose such as roaming outside of the first network or for maintenance/measurement of performance. The motivation is that applying a well know standard or protocol or machine to a system provides the system with significantly improved industrial applicability.
Anderson in view of Pan and Dattagupta does not teach:
obtaining, by a wireless network device from the test wireless device, transmission data of the test wireless device over the test wireless network signal
However, Scahill, in a similar endeavor that discloses method for placement of WiFi extender within a building or room environment using a test device, teaches:
obtaining, by a wireless network device from the test wireless device, transmission data of the test wireless device over the test wireless network signal (Scahill, Fig. 4 and 5 [0049 -0050] Tester device 31 can be configured with all the functionality of an AP to interface with devices in a network, such as an AP extender. [0065-0066]: the tester device includes WLAN radio interface/manager that communicates with each client, configured to estimate (equates to determine/measure the signal strength/RSSI/performance) the performance of an extender device 21 if it were placed at the user’s premises, and measures the RSSI for each client connected to it. Fig. 5, input section 51.);
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to incorporate the teachings of Scahill into the method of Anderson in view of Pan and Dattagupta in order to collect performance data to improve operational efficiency, to indicate that an efficient network connection was completed previously.
Anderson in view of Pan, Dattagupta and Scahill do not teach:
transmitting, by a wireless network device to a mobile device and based on a request from an application of the mobile device, the transmission data of the test wireless device
However, Jones, teaches:
transmitting, by a wireless network device to a mobile device and based on a request from an application of the mobile device, the transmission data of the test wireless device (Jones, [0023]: ACS 220, test control server 230 and test execution server 240 (equates to wireless network broadcasting device) may be implemented within a single device. [0022]: the CPE/AP may send test results data or location data to the test control server/ACS (Fig, 6, step 680 Test results packet, Step 690 Test location packet).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to incorporate the teachings of Jones into the method of Anderson in view of Pan, Dattagupta and Scahill in order to return the test requestor the test results for analysis and recommended action. The motivation is that by applying a well-known standard of protocol or machine to a system provides the system with significantly improved industrial applicability.
Anderson, Pan, Dattagupta, Scahill and Jones do not teach:
wherein the application of the mobile device is configured to:
generate, based on the transmission data of the test wireless device, a wireless network installation action; and
display, on a display device associated with the mobile device, an indication of the wireless network installation action.
However, Chari in a similar endeavor discloses determining and configuring a new WiFi extender based on measurements of the multimedia service in a particular environment, teaches:
wherein the application of the mobile device is configured to (Abstract: determine, configure a new WiFi extender, based on measurements of the service in the particular environment):
generate, based on the transmission data of the test wireless device, a wireless network installation action (Chari [0132-0143], See Fig. 8:Method for configuring a new extender device(s) 180 via a user interface (UI) [0132], based on physical layer and application layer measurements of the multimedia service in the particular environment (abstract). Steps 805 through 875 illustrate the sequential steps of scanning of unconfigured extender devices in the WiFi network (805) [0133], identify and present unconfigured devices to UI (810) [0134], UI may indicate “New extender devices associated with the multimedia service have been detected, Please select the extender device to be added to your network” (i.e. a new extender added equates to installing a new extender into the network), receive a selection of unconfigured devices (815) [0135], request code (817 [0136], receive confirmation of selection (820) [0137], detect credentialed extender (S865) [0140], associate with new extender (S870) [0143]) ; and
display, on a display device associated with the mobile device, an indication of the wireless network installation action (Chari [0135]: Selection of unconfigured extender device is on display device 105; [0136]: Receives access code on display; [0137]: confirmation of selection of unconfirmed selection may be received via display; [0143]: indication of extender device is configured may be on display.) .
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to incorporate the teachings of Chari into the method of Anderson, Pan, Dattagupta, Scahill and Jones in order to efficiently and easily add hardware to address poor signal reception, by relying on the mobile user to accurately indicate its own selection and configuration of desired extender, to improve on network operations.
Particularly for claim 6, Anderson teaches:
A wireless network device comprising:
one or more processors (See Fig. 9, 902 control circuit includes processors [0132])
a wireless transmitter/receiver (906 and 908 Communication circuits [0136]) in communication with the one or more processors (Fig. 9: bus structure connecting 908 to 902 control circuit); and
a memory (904 Memory) comprising instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors ([0132]: control circuit 902 with functionality to perform functions as described), perform the operations of:
Regarding claim 3 and 12, Anderson, Pan and Dattagupta do not teach:
the wireless network installation action comprises an installation of a wireless network extender device
However, Scahill teaches: the wireless network installation action comprises an installation of a wireless network extender device (Scahill [0066-0070] RSSI data collected is associated with the grid references (location info) by signal mapper 55, and stored. Action is repeated for each location/client location, and tabulated. Historical measured statistics are also associated and tabulated (Table 2). [0073]: Once the set of data has been collected for the user premises, the processing section 71 (Fig. 5) is responsible for analyzing and determining a recommended location for the placement of the extender.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to incorporate the teachings of Scahill into the method of Anderson in view of Pan and Dattagupta in order to improve operational efficiency by providing additional access and communication paths that are selected for improved performance.
Regarding claim 4 and 14, Anderson, Pan and Dattagupta do not teach:
the transmission data comprises Received Signal Strength Signal (RSSI) data
However, Scahill teaches:
the transmission data comprises Received Signal Strength Signal (RSSI) data (Scahill [0059]: tester device, simulating an extender, measures the RSSI for each of the clients connected to it. RSSI is the transmission data parameter measured).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to incorporate the teachings of Scahill into the method of Anderson in view of Pan and Dattagupta in order to collect performance data to improve operational efficiency, to indicate that an efficient network connection was completed previously.
Regarding claim 5, Anderson, Pan and Dattagupta do not teach:
associating the transmission data of the test wireless device with an indicator of the premises; and
transmitting, to a network storage device, the associated transmission data of the test wireless device and the indicator of the premises
However, Scahill teaches:
associating the transmission data of the test wireless device with an indicator of the premises; (Scahill [0066-0070] RSSI data collected is associated with the grid references (location info) by signal mapper 55, and stored. Action is repeated for each location/client location, and tabulated. Historical measured statistics are also associated and tabulated (Table 2). [0073]: Once the set of data has been collected for the user premises, the processing section 71 (Fig. 5) is responsible for analyzing and determining a recommended location for the placement of the extender.) and
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to incorporate the teachings of Scahill into the method of Anderson in view of Pan and Dattagupta in order to collect performance data to improve operational efficiency, to indicate that an efficient network connection was completed previously.
However, Jones teaches:
transmitting, to a network storage device, the associated transmission data of the test wireless device and the indicator of the premises (Jones [0054]: CPE may generate test results packet 680 (Fig. 6, Step 680), and may store test results packet 680 and provide test results packet 680 to test control server 230.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to incorporate the teachings of Jones into the method of Anderson in view of Pan and Dattagupta in order to preserve measured statistics for review and for use as historical statistics. The motivation would to improve the data base of measured transmission data (or RSSI) so that more complete analysis and data interpolation can be performed for missing measurements.
Regarding claim 7, Anderson, Pan and Dattagupta do not teach:
accessing the wireless network broadcasting device; and
receiving, from the wireless network broadcasting device, a plurality of signal strengths associated with a plurality of wireless devices in communication with the wireless network broadcasting device
However, Scahill teaches:
accessing the wireless network broadcasting device (Scahill [0066-0070] RSSI data collected is associated with the grid references (location info) by signal mapper 55, and stored. Implies accessing server source for data.); and
receiving, from the wireless network broadcasting device, a plurality of signal strengths associated with a plurality of wireless devices in communication with the wireless network broadcasting device (Scahill [0066-0070] RSSI data collected is associated with the grid references (location info) by signal mapper 55, and stored. Action is repeated for each location/client location, and tabulated. Historical measured statistics are also associated and tabulated (Table 2). [0073]: Once the set of data has been collected for the user premises, the processing section 71 (Fig. 5) is responsible for analyzing and determining a recommended location for the placement of the extender.) and
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to incorporate the teachings of Scahill into the method of Anderson in view of Pan and Dattagupta in order to collect performance data to improve operational efficiency, to indicate that an efficient network connection was completed previously.
Regarding claim 9, Anderson, Pan and Dattagupta do not teach:
classifying the plurality of signal strengths associated with the plurality of wireless devices, the wireless network installation action based on the classification of the plurality of signal strengths associated with the plurality of wireless devices
However, Scahill teaches:
classifying the plurality of signal strengths associated with the plurality of wireless devices, the wireless network installation action based on the classification of the plurality of signal strengths associated with the plurality of wireless devices (Scahill [0073-0083]: Processing section. RSSI measurements are tabulated and combined to determine a table with estimate of end-to-end link quality. Calculations comparing the estimate with the actual, to decide on selecting the original AP or the extender AP (i.e. categorize with if …then…else computation).)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to incorporate the teachings of Scahill into the method of Anderson in view of Pan and Dattagupta in order to improve operational efficiency by providing additional access and communication paths that are selected for improved performance.
Regarding claim 10, Anderson, Pan and Dattagupta do not teach:
correlating, with the plurality of signal strengths associated with the plurality of wireless devices, information of a premises associated with the wireless network broadcasting device.
However, Scahill teaches:
correlating, with the plurality of signal strengths associated with the plurality of wireless devices, information of a premises associated with the wireless network broadcasting device. (Scahill [0073-0083]: Create tables 1 -3 comprise of RSSI measurements by STA (device) by scan (readings) by measurement location. Data collected is merged with current and historical data)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to incorporate the teachings of Scahill into the method of Anderson in view of Pan and Dattagupta in order to improve operational efficiency by providing additional access and communication paths that are selected for improved performance.
Regarding claim 11, Anderson, Pan and Dattagupta do not teach:
the wireless network installation action comprises an indication of a location within the premises for installation of the wireless network broadcasting device.
However, Scahill teaches:
the wireless network installation action comprises an indication of a location within the premises for installation of the wireless network broadcasting device. (Scahill, [0066-0067]: RSSI data collected is associated with grid references. [0073]: Once the set of data has been collected for the user premises, the processing section 71 (Fig. 5) is responsible for analyzing and determining a recommended location for the placement of the extender. [0084]: Fig. 5, Output section 81: a floorplan visualizer 83 is configured to visually display the results of the processing overlaid on the user provided map of the users premises.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to incorporate the teachings of Scahill into the method of Anderson in view of Pan and Dattagupta in order to improve operational efficiency by providing additional access and communication paths that are selected for improved performance.
Regarding claim 13, Anderson does not teach:
transmitting, to the wireless network broadcasting device, a test initiation communication,
However, Dattagupta teaches:
transmitting, to the wireless network broadcasting device, a test initiation communication, (See Fig. 3, step 304, [0061]: The host device 120 receives a request (initiation signal to trigger broadcast SSID signal) to transmit an SSID as well as authorization credentials associated with a second virtual access point.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to incorporate the teachings of Dattagupta into the method of Anderson in order to create a mechanism to easily establish a second network and connection, that is alternate to the first network and connection, for another (or similar) purpose such as roaming outside of the first network or for maintenance/measurement of performance. The motivation is that applying a well know standard or protocol or machine to a system provides the system with significantly improved industrial applicability.
Conclusion
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/R.M./Examiner, Art Unit 2461 /HUY D VU/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2461
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