DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 1/22/2024 is being considered by the examiner.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Species II in the reply filed on 3/16/2026 is acknowledged.
Claim 41 is allowable. The restriction requirement between Species I and Species II, as set forth in the Office action mailed on 1/16/2026, has been reconsidered in view of the allowability of claims to the elected invention pursuant to MPEP § 821.04(a). The restriction requirement is hereby withdrawn as to any claim that requires all the limitations of an allowable claim. Specifically, the restriction requirement of 1/16/2026 is partially withdrawn. Claim 43, directed to Species I ("integrated" battery backup cable modem system") is no longer withdrawn from consideration because the claim requires all the limitations of an allowable claim. However, claim 22, directed to Species I, is withdrawn from consideration because it does not require all the limitations of an allowable claim.
In view of the above noted withdrawal of the restriction requirement, applicant is advised that if any claim presented in a divisional application is anticipated by, or includes all the limitations of, a claim that is allowable in the present application, such claim may be subject to provisional statutory and/or nonstatutory double patenting rejections over the claims of the instant application.
Once a restriction requirement is withdrawn, the provisions of 35 U.S.C. 121 are no longer applicable. See In re Ziegler, 443 F.2d 1211, 1215, 170 USPQ 129, 131-32 (CCPA 1971). See also MPEP § 804.01.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 13-21 and 23-27 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 13 recites the limitation "the cable modem" in line 5. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
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 1-6, 10-11, 13-16, 20-21, 23, 28-34 and 38-39 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over McClennon et al (US 6,721,355) in view of Brandt et al (US 2013/0031037) and Stafford et al (US 2021/0367677).
1). With regard to claim 1, McClennon et al discloses a method comprising:
obtaining, at a monitoring server (e.g., the power mode controller 126 in Figures 3 and 3) of a network (column 1 lines 6-14, “a telecommunications network using a modem”), usage data (e.g., step 202 in Figure 5, “Monitor Data Traffics”) from a traffic sensor (Traffic Monitor 122 in Figure 4) associated with a device of interest (modem, Figure 3) of a network user (column 6 line 35 to column 7 line 26);
based on the obtained usage data, creating a traffic profile for the device of interest of the network user (Figure 2, and column 6 lines 46-51, “to generate a profile of data traffic entering a DMT modem transmitter”; and column 6 line 46 to column 7 line 26);
from time to time (column 10 lines 63-65, “permit a constant monitoring of data traffic), causing first signals to be sent (e.g., Tx rate control signals from Data traffic Predictor 120 to DSL Transceiver 20), based on the traffic profile (e.g., step 216 in Figure 6; or steps 230, 234/238/240 in Figure 7), to the device of interest (the modem), the first signals causing the device of interest to enter a low power mode during first times (Figure 5, and step 216 in Figure 6; or steps 210, 242 in Figure 7); and
from time to time (column 10 lines 63-65, “permit a constant monitoring of data traffic), causing second signals to be sent (e.g., Tx rate control signals from Data traffic Predictor 120), based on the traffic profile (e.g., step 212 in Figure 6; or steps 230/234, in Figure 7), to the device of interest, the second signals causing the device of interest to leave the low power mode for a normal power mode during second times (Figure 5, and step 214 in Figure 6; or step 236 in Figure 7).
But, in Figures 3-4 etc., McClennon et al shows one device of interest, not “a plurality of devices of interest”, and not create “a plurality of traffic profiles for the plurality of devices of interest of the plurality of network users”; and in Figures 3-4, McClennon et al shows the monitoring server (power mode controller 126) is in the modem, not a separated monitoring server.
However, to use a monitoring server to monitor/control a plurality of devices of interest of the plurality of network users is known in the art. E.g., Brandt et al discloses a system/method in which a controller (or monitoring server, e.g., 104 in Figure 1, or 1002 in Figure 10) can monitor/control a plurality of devices of interest of the plurality of network users (1012 and 1014 etc. in Figure 10; or 108 in Figure 1; and Figure 14), and can create traffic profile ([0084]-[0089]) and place devices in sleep mode based on the traffic monitored ([0089]). Another prior art, Stafford et al, discloses a system/method for controlling power consumption in optical modems; as shown in Figure 1, the optical line terminal (102) serves as a monitoring server that sends “commands” to a plurality of optical modems (108. Abstract etc.), and customer promise devices (105, 107 and 109 etc.) can be controlled to be in in normal mode of operations or in power saving mode of operation (claim 1, and Figures 6-8).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to apply the teachings of Brandt et al and Stafford et al to the system/method of McClennon et al so that one monitoring server can be used to control a plurality of devices of interest of a plurality of network users, and the function of the system/method is enhanced.
2). With regard to claim 2, McClennon et al and Brandt et al and Stafford et al disclose all of the subject matter as applied to claim 1 above, and the combination of McClennon et al and Brandt et al and Stafford et al further discloses wherein the low power mode uses fewer spectrum resources than are used in the normal power mode (Stafford: Figures 3-4; in normal operation as shown in Figure 3, four upstream laser frequencies UL1 to UL4 are used; but in power saving mode shown in Figure 5, only one laser frequency is used).
3). With regard to claim 3, McClennon et al and Brandt et al and Stafford et al disclose all of the subject matter as applied to claims 1-2 above, and the combination of McClennon et al and Brandt et al and Stafford et al further discloses wherein the low power mode consists of use of only a single channel and the normal power mode comprises use of at least two channels (Stafford: Figures 3-4; in normal operation as shown in Figure 3, four upstream laser frequencies UL1 to UL4 are used; but in power saving mode shown in Figure 5, only one laser frequency is used).
4). With regard to claim 4, McClennon et al and Brandt et al and Stafford et al disclose all of the subject matter as applied to claims 1-2 above, and the combination of McClennon et al and Brandt et al and Stafford et al further discloses wherein creating the plurality of traffic profiles comprises applying a binning procedure (McClennon: Figure 2, column 6 lines 46-61, “an example profile of data traffic received at a modem 20 in a given period. A series of substantially regular, isochronous data events 100, such as packetized voice or video data, arrive with a substantially steady average cell arrival rate. Generally, isochronous data events 100 can be considered as periodic or quasi-periodic, events”, and “measuring the user data input to the transmitter over a given period”; column 8 lines 2-4, “determine an average data arrival rate over a predetermined time interval”).
5). With regard to claim 5, McClennon et al and Brandt et al and Stafford et al disclose all of the subject matter as applied to claims 1-2 above, and the combination of McClennon et al and Brandt et al and Stafford et al further discloses wherein creating the plurality of traffic profiles comprises applying a machine learning procedure (Brandt: [0015], [0083], “This can include mathematical processes, statistical processes, functions, and/or algorithms, and can include more elaborate systems such as a neural network, for example. In addition, artificial intelligence functions, components and/or processes can be provided”; and Stafford).
6). With regard to claim 6, McClennon et al and Brandt et al and Stafford et al disclose all of the subject matter as applied to claims 1-2 above, and the combination of McClennon et al and Brandt et al and Stafford et al further discloses wherein creating the plurality of traffic profiles for the plurality of devices of interest of the plurality of network users comprises identifying the first times (McClennon: Figure 2, Small bursty data events 102) as less busy than the second times (a large asynchronous data event 104, such as a large file transfer, or a network backup. Such a large data event 104 is an infrequent occurrence, but it typically has a relatively high data rate. Brandt: “sleep mode” is less busy than normal operation mode, [0089], [0096]-[0099]).
7). With regard to claim 10, McClennon et al and Brandt et al and Stafford et al disclose all of the subject matter as applied to claims 1-2 above, and the combination of McClennon et al and Brandt et al and Stafford et al further discloses the method of claim 2, further comprising:
obtaining, at the monitoring server of the network, an indication of a power failure at one of the plurality of devices of interest (Stafford: “detecting a loss of main power availability”, steps 616 and 622 in Figure 6A, and [0065]-[0066]; also [0085]-[0089]); and
responsive to obtaining the indication of the power failure, the monitoring server of the network causing a fifth signal to be sent, the fifth signal causing the one of the plurality of devices of interest having the indicated power failure to enter another low power mode (Stafford: steps 624-626 in Figure 6A, and [0065]-[0066]; also [0085]-[0097]).
8). With regard to claim 11, McClennon et al and Brandt et al and Stafford et al disclose all of the subject matter as applied to claims 1-2 above, and the combination of McClennon et al and Brandt et al and Stafford et al further discloses method of claim 2, further comprising, from time to time, causing sixth signals to be sent, based on the plurality of traffic profiles, to the plurality of devices of interest, the sixth signals causing the plurality of devices of interest to enter an intermediate power mode during third times (Stafford: Figure 4, “intermediate power saving), wherein the intermediate power mode uses fewer spectrum resources (e.g., UL1, and/or UL2) than are used in the normal power mode (Figure 3, normal operation, UL1 to UL4) and more spectrum resources than are used in the low power mode (Figure 5, maximum power saving, only one frequency UL1 used).
9). With regard to claim 13, McClennon et al discloses a method comprising:
providing (e.g., by Traffic Monitor 122 in Figure 4), to a monitoring server (e.g., the power mode controller 126 in Figures 3 and 3) of a network (column 1 lines 6-14, “a telecommunications network using a modem”), usage data (e.g., step 202 in Figure 5, “Monitor Data Traffics”) from a traffic sensor (Traffic Monitor 122 in Figure 4) associated with a device of interest (modem, Figure 3) of a network user (column 6 line 35 to column 7 line 26);
from time to time (column 10 lines 63-65, “permit a constant monitoring of data traffic), obtaining at least a first signal (e.g., Tx rate control signals from Data traffic Predictor 120 to DSL Transceiver 20) from the monitoring server of the network, the at least first signal causing the cable modem (also refer to 112 rejection above) to enter a low power mode during at least a first time (Figure 5, and step 216 in Figure 6; or steps 210, 242 in Figure 7), based on a traffic profile created for the device of interest using the usage data (Figure 2, and column 6 lines 46-51, “to generate a profile of data traffic entering a DMT modem transmitter”; and column 6 line 46 to column 7 line 26); and
from time to time (column 10 lines 63-65, “permit a constant monitoring of data traffic), obtaining at least a second signal from the monitoring server of the network (e.g., Tx rate control signals from Data traffic Predictor 120), the at least second signal causing the device of interest to leave the low power mode for a higher power mode during at least a second time (Figure 5, and step 214 in Figure 6; or step 236 in Figure 7), based on the traffic profile (e.g., step 212 in Figure 6; or steps 230/234, in Figure 7).
But, in Figures 3-4, McClennon et al shows the monitoring server (power mode controller 126) is in the modem, not a separated monitoring server.
However, to use a separate monitoring server to monitor/control devices of interest of the plurality of network users is known in the art. E.g., Brandt et al discloses a system/method in which a controller (or monitoring server, e.g., 104 in Figure 1, or 1002 in Figure 10) can monitor/control multiple devices of interest (1012 and 1014 etc. in Figure 10; or 108 in Figure 1; and Figure 14), and can create traffic profile ([0084]-[0089]) and place devices in sleep mode based on the traffic monitored ([0089]). Another prior art, Stafford et al, discloses a system/method for controlling power consumption in optical modems; as shown in Figure 1, the optical line terminal (102) serves as a monitoring server that sends “commands” to optical modems (108. Abstract etc.), and customer promise devices (105, 107 and 109 etc.) can be controlled to being in normal mode of operations or in power saving mode of operation (claim 1, and Figures 6-8).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to apply the teachings of Brandt et al and Stafford et al to the system/method of McClennon et al so that a monitoring server can be installed outside the modem, and the monitoring server can control multiple devices of interest of a plurality of network users, and the function of the system/method is enhanced.
10). With regard to claim 14, McClennon et al and Brandt et al and Stafford et al disclose all of the subject matter as applied to claim 13 above, and the combination of McClennon et al and Brandt et al and Stafford et al further discloses wherein the low power mode uses fewer spectrum resources than are used for the higher power mode (Stafford: Figures 3-4; in normal operation as shown in Figure 3, four upstream laser frequencies UL1 to UL4 are used; but in power saving mode shown in Figure 5, only one laser frequency is used).
11). With regard to claim 15, McClennon et al and Brandt et al and Stafford et al disclose all of the subject matter as applied to claims 13-14 above, and the combination of McClennon et al and Brandt et al and Stafford et al further discloses wherein the low power mode consists of use of only a single channel and the higher power mode comprises use of at least two channels (Stafford: Figures 3-4; in normal operation as shown in Figure 3, four upstream laser frequencies UL1 to UL4 are used; but in power saving mode shown in Figure 5, only one laser frequency is used).
12). With regard to claim 16, McClennon et al and Brandt et al and Stafford et al disclose all of the subject matter as applied to claims 13-14 above, and the combination of McClennon et al and Brandt et al and Stafford et al further discloses wherein, in the steps of obtaining the at least first and second signals, the first times (McClennon: Figure 2, Small bursty data events 102) are projected by the monitoring server as less busy than the second times (a large asynchronous data event 104, such as a large file transfer, or a network backup. Such a large data event 104 is an infrequent occurrence, but it typically has a relatively high data rate. Brandt: “sleep mode” is less busy than normal operation mode, [0089], [0096]-[0099]).
13). With regard to claim 20, McClennon et al and Brandt et al and Stafford et al disclose all of the subject matter as applied to claims 13-14 above, and the combination of McClennon et al and Brandt et al and Stafford et al further discloses wherein:
the network comprises a fiber network (McClennon: telecommunications network. Stafford: optical fiber network, Figure 1);
the devices of interest comprise at least one of optical network units (Stafford: ONUs in Figure 1) and optical network terminals; and
the first and second signals are obtained via an optical line terminal (Stafford: OLT 102. Abstract etc.: “control commands … from an optical line terminal (OLT)”) of the fiber network.
14). With regard to claim 21, McClennon et al and Brandt et al and Stafford et al disclose all of the subject matter as applied to claims 13-14 above, and the combination of McClennon et al and Brandt et al and Stafford et al further discloses the method of claim 14, further comprising:
obtaining an indication of a power failure at the device of interest (Stafford: “detecting a loss of main power availability”, steps 616 and 622 in Figure 6A, and [0065]-[0066]; also [0085]-[0089]); and
responsive to obtaining the indication of the power failure:
the device of interest entering a battery backup mode (Stafford: [0053], “The battery 244 is coupled to power supply via power cable 279, providing the power supply 242 with a backup source of input power, e.g., to be used if AC power fails or is unacceptable”; [0077], “due to loss of line power relying on battery back power”);
the device of interest advising the monitoring server of the power failure (Stafford: e.g., step 810 in Figure 8A, “the customer premises device communicates to an optical line terminal (OLT) that the customer premises device is switching to the first power saving mode of operation”); and
the device of interest entering another low power mode (Stafford: steps 624-626 in Figure 6A, and [0065]-[0066]; also [0085]-[0097]) responsive to a fifth signal caused to be sent by the monitoring server based on the monitoring server being advised of the power failure (e.g., steps 812 including 814/816, and [0096], “ the customer premises device receives from the OLT scheduling information corresponding to more or more additional lasers used for upstream communications, e.g. information indicating when each of the additional lasers used for upstream communications is to be powered off” so to enter power saving mode).
15). With regard to claim 23, McClennon et al and Brandt et al and Stafford et al disclose all of the subject matter as applied to claims 13-14 and 21 above, and the combination of McClennon et al and Brandt et al and Stafford et al further disclose wherein the battery backup mode comprises obtaining power from an external battery (Stafford: [0047], “it should be appreciated that in some embodiments the battery backup power source is external to the ONU. The processor of the ONU and the battery back up source, whether internal or external, has a communication channel with the processor of the ONU allowing the processor of the ONU to determine the overall health of the battery and if the battery has lost commercial, e.g., external line power”).
16). With regard to claim 28, McClennon et al discloses a method comprising:
obtaining, at a monitoring server (e.g., the power mode controller 126 in Figures 3 and 3) of a network (column 1 lines 6-14, “a telecommunications network using a modem”), usage data (e.g., step 202 in Figure 5, “Monitor Data Traffics”) from a traffic sensor (Traffic Monitor 122 in Figure 4) associated with a device of interest (modem, Figure 3) of a network user (column 6 line 35 to column 7 line 26);
based on the obtained usage data, creating a traffic profile for the device of interest of the network user (Figure 2, and column 6 lines 46-51, “to generate a profile of data traffic entering a DMT modem transmitter”; and column 6 line 46 to column 7 line 26);
from time to time (column 10 lines 63-65, “permit a constant monitoring of data traffic), causing first signals to be sent (e.g., Tx rate control signals from Data traffic Predictor 120 to DSL Transceiver 20), based on the traffic profile (e.g., step 216 in Figure 6; or steps 230, 234/238/240 in Figure 7), to the device of interest (the modem), the first signals causing the device of interest to enter a low power mode during first times (Figure 5, and step 216 in Figure 6; or steps 210, 242 in Figure 7); and
from time to time (column 10 lines 63-65, “permit a constant monitoring of data traffic), causing second signals to be sent (e.g., Tx rate control signals from Data traffic Predictor 120), based on the traffic profile (e.g., step 212 in Figure 6; or steps 230/234, in Figure 7), to the device of interest, the second signals causing the device of interest to leave the low power mode for a normal power mode during second times (Figure 5, and step 214 in Figure 6; or step 236 in Figure 7).
But, in Figures 3-4 etc., McClennon et al shows one device of interest, not “a plurality of devices of interest”, and not create “a plurality of traffic profiles for the plurality of devices of interest of the plurality of network users”; and in Figures 3-4, McClennon et al shows the monitoring server (power mode controller 126) is in the modem, not a separated monitoring server; and McClennon et al also does not expressly disclose a non-transitory computer readable medium comprising computer executable instructions which when executed by a computer cause the computer to perform the method.
Regarding the plurality of devices of interest, however, to use a monitoring server to monitor/control a plurality of devices of interest of the plurality of network users is known in the art. E.g., Brandt et al discloses a system/method in which a controller (or monitoring server, e.g., 104 in Figure 1, or 1002 in Figure 10) can monitor/control a plurality of devices of interest of the plurality of network users (1012 and 1014 etc. in Figure 10; or 108 in Figure 1; and Figure 14), and can create traffic profile ([0084]-[0089]) and place devices in sleep mode based on the traffic monitored ([0089]). Another prior art, Stafford et al, discloses a system/method for controlling power consumption in optical modems; as shown in Figure 1, the optical line terminal (102) serves as a monitoring server that sends “commands” to a plurality of optical modems (108. Abstract etc.), and customer promise devices (105, 107 and 109 etc.) can be controlled to be in in normal mode of operations or in power saving mode of operation (claim 1, and Figures 6-8).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to apply the teachings of Brandt et al and Stafford et al to the system/method of McClennon et al so that one monitoring server can be used to control a plurality of devices of interest of a plurality of network users, and the function of the system/method is enhanced.
Regarding the computer executable instructions etc., Brandt et al discloses computer-readable medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions that, in response to execution, direct a computer system to perform operations related to monitor data traffic, obtain traffic profile and to control power modes etc. ([0128]-[0134] and claim 20 etc.); and Stafford et al also discloses “a computer program product comprising a computer-readable medium, e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable medium, comprising code for causing a computer, or multiple computers, to implement various functions, steps, acts and/or operations” ([0178]-[0179] and [0184]-[0185]). A computer-readable medium is an electronic, magnetic, optical, or other tangible physical device or means that can contain or store a computer program/instruction for use by or in connection with a computer-related system or method. One skilled in the art would have clearly recognized that the method of combined McClennon et al and Brandt et al and Stafford et al would have been implemented in a software (or computer program) for less expense, adaptability, and flexibility. Therefore, it would have been obvious to have used a computer program (instruction) stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium in McClennon et al and Brandt et al and Stafford et al in order to reduce cost and improve the adaptability and flexibility of the network system.
17). With regard to claim 29, McClennon et al discloses a monitoring server e.g., the power mode controller 126 in Figures 3 and 3) of a network (column 1 lines 6-14, “a telecommunications network using a modem”), the monitoring server comprising:
a memory (device 126 is a power mode controller, which determines power modes and control the transition of power mode; it is obvious to one skilled in the art that the power mode controller 126 has a processor and memory stored instructions etc.); and
at least one processor (device 126 is a power mode controller, which determine power modes and control the transition of power mode; it is obvious to one skilled in the art that the power mode controller 126 has memory stored instruction etc. and a processor executes the instruction), coupled to the memory, and operative to:
obtain usage data (e.g., step 202 in Figure 5, “Monitor Data Traffics”) from a traffic sensor (Traffic Monitor 122 in Figure 4) associated with a device of interest (modem, Figure 3) of a network user (column 6 line 35 to column 7 line 26);
based on the obtained usage data, create a plurality of traffic profiles for the device of interest of the network user (Figure 2, and column 6 lines 46-51, “to generate a profile of data traffic entering a DMT modem transmitter”; and column 6 line 46 to column 7 line 26);
from time to time (column 10 lines 63-65, “permit a constant monitoring of data traffic), cause first signals to be sent (e.g., Tx rate control signals from Data traffic Predictor 120 to DSL Transceiver 20), based on the traffic profile (e.g., step 216 in Figure 6; or steps 230, 234/238/240 in Figure 7), to the device of interest (the modem), the first signals causing the device of interest to enter a low power mode during first times (Figure 5, and step 216 in Figure 6; or steps 210, 242 in Figure 7); and
from time to time (column 10 lines 63-65, “permit a constant monitoring of data traffic), cause second signals to be sent (e.g., Tx rate control signals from Data traffic Predictor 120), based on the traffic profile (e.g., step 212 in Figure 6; or steps 230/234, in Figure 7), to the device of interest, the second signals causing the device of interest to leave the low power mode for a normal power mode during second times (Figure 5, and step 214 in Figure 6; or step 236 in Figure 7).
But, in Figures 3-4 etc., McClennon et al shows one device of interest, not “a plurality of devices of interest”, and not create “a plurality of traffic profiles for the plurality of devices of interest of the plurality of network users”; and in Figures 3-4, McClennon et al shows the monitoring server (power mode controller 126) is in the modem, not a separated monitoring server; and McClennon et al also does not expressly show a memory and processor in the power mode controller.
Regarding the plurality of devices of interest, however, to use a monitoring server to monitor/control a plurality of devices of interest of the plurality of network users is known in the art. E.g., Brandt et al discloses a system/method in which a controller (or monitoring server, e.g., 104 in Figure 1, or 1002 in Figure 10) can monitor/control a plurality of devices of interest of the plurality of network users (1012 and 1014 etc. in Figure 10; or 108 in Figure 1; and Figure 14), and can create traffic profile ([0084]-[0089]) and place devices in sleep mode based on the traffic monitored ([0089]). Another prior art, Stafford et al, discloses a system/method for controlling power consumption in optical modems; as shown in Figure 1, the optical line terminal (102) serves as a monitoring server that sends “commands” to a plurality of optical modems (108. Abstract etc.), and customer promise devices (105, 107 and 109 etc.) can be controlled to be in in normal mode of operations or in power saving mode of operation (claim 1, and Figures 6-8).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to apply the teachings of Brandt et al and Stafford et al to the system/method of McClennon et al so that one monitoring server can be used to control a plurality of devices of interest of a plurality of network users, and the function of the system/method is enhanced.
Regarding the memory and processor, first, as discussed above, since the power mode controller determines power modes and control the transition of power mode, it is obvious to one skilled in the art that the power mode controller 126 has a processor and memory stored instructions etc. Second, Brandt et al discloses computer-readable medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions that, in response to execution, direct a computer system to perform operations related to monitor data traffic, obtain traffic profile and to control power modes etc. ([0128]-[0134] and claim 20 etc.); and Stafford et al also discloses “a computer program product comprising a computer-readable medium, e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable medium, comprising code for causing a computer, or multiple computers, to implement various functions, steps, acts and/or operations” ([0178]-[0179] and [0184]-[0185]). A computer-readable medium or memory is an electronic, magnetic, optical, or other tangible physical device or means that can contain or store a computer program/instruction for use by or in connection with a processor/computer. One skilled in the art would have clearly recognized that the procedures (obtaining usage data, creating profiles, sending signals etc.) of combined McClennon et al and Brandt et al and Stafford et al would have been executed by a processor for less expense, adaptability, and flexibility. Therefore, it would have been obvious to have used a computer program (instruction) stored in memory and executed by a processor in McClennon et al and Brandt et al and Stafford et al in order to reduce cost and improve the adaptability and flexibility of the network system.
18). With regard to claim 30, McClennon et al and Brandt et al and Stafford et al disclose all of the subject matter as applied to claim 29 above, and the combination of McClennon et al and Brandt et al and Stafford et al further discloses wherein the low power mode uses fewer spectrum resources than are used in the normal power mode (Stafford: Figures 3-4; in normal operation as shown in Figure 3, four upstream laser frequencies UL1 to UL4 are used; but in power saving mode shown in Figure 5, only one laser frequency is used).
19). With regard to claim 31, McClennon et al and Brandt et al and Stafford et al disclose all of the subject matter as applied to claims 29-30 above, and the combination of McClennon et al and Brandt et al and Stafford et al further discloses wherein the low power mode consists of use of only a single channel and the normal power mode comprises use of at least two channels (Stafford: Figures 3-4; in normal operation as shown in Figure 3, four upstream laser frequencies UL1 to UL4 are used; but in power saving mode shown in Figure 5, only one laser frequency is used).
20). With regard to claim 32, McClennon et al and Brandt et al and Stafford et al disclose all of the subject matter as applied to claims 29-30 above, and the combination of McClennon et al and Brandt et al and Stafford et al further discloses wherein the at least one processor is operative to create the plurality of traffic profiles by applying a binning procedure (McClennon: Figure 2, column 6 lines 46-61, “an example profile of data traffic received at a modem 20 in a given period. A series of substantially regular, isochronous data events 100, such as packetized voice or video data, arrive with a substantially steady average cell arrival rate. Generally, isochronous data events 100 can be considered as periodic or quasi-periodic, events”, and “measuring the user data input to the transmitter over a given period”; column 8 lines 2-4, “determine an average data arrival rate over a predetermined time interval”).
21). With regard to claim 33, McClennon et al and Brandt et al and Stafford et al disclose all of the subject matter as applied to claims 29-30 above, and the combination of McClennon et al and Brandt et al and Stafford et al further discloses wherein the at least one processor is operative to create the plurality of traffic profiles by applying a machine learning procedure (Brandt: [0015], [0083], “This can include mathematical processes, statistical processes, functions, and/or algorithms, and can include more elaborate systems such as a neural network, for example. In addition, artificial intelligence functions, components and/or processes can be provided”; and Stafford).
22). With regard to claim 34, McClennon et al and Brandt et al and Stafford et al disclose all of the subject matter as applied to claims 29-30 above, and the combination of McClennon et al and Brandt et al and Stafford et al further discloses wherein the at least one processor is operative to create the plurality of traffic profiles by identifying the first times (McClennon: Figure 2, Small bursty data events 102) as less busy than the second times (a large asynchronous data event 104, such as a large file transfer, or a network backup. Such a large data event 104 is an infrequent occurrence, but it typically has a relatively high data rate. Brandt: “sleep mode” is less busy than normal operation mode, [0089], [0096]-[0099]).
23). With regard to claim 38, McClennon et al and Brandt et al and Stafford et al disclose all of the subject matter as applied to claims 29-30 above, and the combination of McClennon et al and Brandt et al and Stafford et al further discloses wherein the at least one processor is further operative to:
obtain an indication of a power failure at one of the plurality of devices of interest (Stafford: “detecting a loss of main power availability”, steps 616 and 622 in Figure 6A, and [0065]-[0066]; also [0085]-[0089]); and
responsive to obtaining the indication of the power failure, cause a fifth signal to be sent, the fifth signal causing the one of the plurality of devices of interest having the indicated power failure to enter another low power mode (Stafford: steps 624-626 in Figure 6A, and [0065]-[0066]; also [0085]-[0097]).
24). With regard to claim 39, McClennon et al and Brandt et al and Stafford et al disclose all of the subject matter as applied to claims 29-30 above, and the combination of McClennon et al and Brandt et al and Stafford et al further discloses wherein the at least one processor is further operative to,
from time to time, to cause sixth signals to be sent, based on the plurality of traffic profiles, to the plurality of devices of interest, the sixth signals causing the plurality of devices of interest to enter an intermediate power mode during third times (Stafford: Figure 4, “intermediate power saving), wherein the intermediate power mode uses fewer spectrum resources (e.g., UL1, and/or UL2) than are used in the normal power mode (Figure 3, normal operation, UL1 to UL4) and more spectrum resources than are used in the low power mode (Figure 5, maximum power saving, only one frequency UL1 used).
Claims 24-26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over McClennon et al and Brandt et al and Stafford et al as applied to claims 13-14, 21 and 23 above, and further in view of Dumas et al (US 2007/0200914).
1). With regard to claim 24, McClennon et al and Brandt et al and Stafford et al disclose all of the subject matter as applied to claims 13-14, 21 and 23 above. But, McClennon et al and Brandt et al and Stafford et al do not expressly disclose wherein the battery backup mode comprises obtaining power from the external battery over an Ethernet cable having a length no more than 10 meters.
However, to use an Ethernet cable for power-over-Ethernet (PoE) is well known in the art. E.g., Dumas et al discloses that a 12-voltage battery can supply power to a camera over an Ethernet cable (to an Ethernet port of the camera 165 in Figure 12C, [0088], “Camera 165 may comprise an Ethernet port for communicating with the network and a power source, such as 12-volt battery”). Dumas et al does not expressly state that the Ethernet cable has a length no more than 10 meters; but, it is obvious to one skilled in the art that an Ethernet cable no more than 33 ft (or 10 meters) can be used to provide power to the camera, and a longer Ethernet cable may introduce signal/power loss.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to apply the power-over-Ethernet as widely used in the art and disclosed by Dumas et al to the system/method of McClennon et al and Brandt et al and Stafford et al so that the battery power can be conveniently supplied to the device of interest.
2). With regard to claim 25, McClennon et al and Brandt et al and Stafford et al and Dumas et al disclose all of the subject matter as applied to claims 13-14, 21 and 23-24 above. And, the combination of McClennon et al and Brandt et al and Stafford et al and Dumas et al further discloses wherein the battery backup mode comprises obtaining power from the external battery over the Ethernet cable having the length no more than 10 meters at a voltage of no more than 12 volts (Dumas: 12 volts used).
3). With regard to claim 26, McClennon et al and Brandt et al and Stafford et al and Dumas et al disclose all of the subject matter as applied to claims 13-14, 21 and 23-25 above. And, the combination of McClennon et al and Brandt et al and Stafford et al and Dumas et al further discloses wherein the battery backup mode comprises obtaining power from the external battery over the Ethernet cable having the length no more than 10 meters at the voltage of no more than 12 volts, without the use of DC-to-DC converters (Dumas: 12-volt is applied to the camera, no DC-to-DC conversion).
Claim 27 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over McClennon et al and Brandt et al and Stafford et al as applied to claim 13 above, and further in view of Campton (US 2021/0168173).
McClennon et al and Brandt et al and Stafford et al disclose all of the subject matter as applied to claim 13 above. But, McClennon et al and Brandt et al and Stafford et al do not expressly disclose wherein the traffic sensor is implemented using at least one processor, further comprising carrying out deep packet inspection with the at least one processor.
However, as disclosed by McClennon et al, the traffic sensor (traffic monitor) “monitors data arriving at modem 20 to determine a data arrival rate” and “monitor PDUs as they arrive, and associate an arrival time T with each packet. If the PDUs are variable length packets, such as IP packets, a packet size K is also associated with each PDU. The arrival times can then be processed to determine an average data arrival rate over a predetermined time interval” (column 7 line 50 to column 8 line 4. PDU is Protocol Data Unit), then it is obvious to one skilled in the art that processor is in the traffic monitor so that the arrival time and arrival rate etc. can be determined. Another prior art, Campton discloses that a deep packet inspection can be used to monitor network traffic ([0112] and claim 8). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to apply the deep packet inspection as taught by Campton to the system/method of McClennon et al and Brandt et al and Stafford et al so that the traffic profile and data usage can be better determined, and the different power modes can be more conveniently applied.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 41-45 are allowed.
Claims 7-9, 12, 35-37 and 40 objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Claims 17-19 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US 20210216131
US 7523329
US 20040057576
US 8937896
US 20100180139
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LI LIU whose telephone number is (571)270-1084. The examiner can normally be reached 9 am - 8 pm.
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, Kenneth Vanderpuye can be reached at (571)272-3078. 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.
/LI LIU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2634 May 2, 2026
Prosecution Insights