DETAILED ACTION
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1, 2, 4-7, and 12-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Dvortsov et al. (US 2017/0003931, “Dvortsov”).
Regarding claim 1, Dvortsov discloses an electronic apparatus (See 205 Fig.2 ) comprising:
- a plurality of communication circuits (See Fig.5, ¶.70, and ¶.73, one or more integrated circuits), wherein each of the communication circuits is configured to provide support for at least one wireless communication protocol (See Fig.2 and ¶.73, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and NFC, etc.); and
- a control circuit coupled to the communication circuits and configured to (See ¶.66, control circuit; See ¶.73, RF interface and digital signal processing circuits; See 502 Fig.5 and ¶.70, processing subsystem can be implemented as one or more integrated circuits):
- obtain first service data (See 805 Fig.8, receive initial input; See ¶.39, input includes a plurality of service signal/data); and
- distribute the first service data to at least one of the communication circuits based on the support (See 830 & 840 Fig.8, send play information to new player device and send play-action information to player device; See Fig.2 and ¶.73, the intermediate devices 205a-e support wireless protocols such as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi).
Regarding claim 2, Dvortsov discloses “the communication circuits support different wireless communication protocols (See Fig.2 and ¶.73, a plurality of wireless protocols).”
Regarding claim 4, Dvortsov discloses “an application processor (See 532 & 534 Fig.5, OS for app(s)), wherein the control circuit is integrated with the application processor, wherein the application processor further comprises an application circuit configured to generate the first service data, and wherein the control circuit is further configured to obtain the first service data from the application circuit (See 536 Fig.5 and ¶.72, execute play-transfer be part of OS for applications).”
Regarding claim 5, Dvortsov discloses “at least one communication chip, wherein each of the at least one communication chip comprises at least one of the communication circuits (See ¶.70, integrated circuits (ICs) or microprocessors, i.e. chips).”
Regarding claim 6, Dvortsov discloses “the electronic apparatus is a communication chip, and wherein the control circuit and the communication circuits are integrated with the communication chip (See ¶.70, integrated circuits (ICs) or microprocessors, i.e. chips).”
Regarding claim 7, Dvortsov discloses “the at least one wireless communication protocol comprises a BLUETOOTH protocol, a WI-FI protocol, an ultra-wide band (UWB) protocol, a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) protocol, a ZIGBEE protocol, a near-field communication (NFC) protocol, a home internet of things (IoT) communication protocol technology (Thread) protocol, or an infrared protocol (See Fig.2 and ¶.73, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and NFC, etc.).”
Regarding claim 12, Dvortsov discloses “the control circuit is further configured to: screen the communication circuits; determine that a first communication circuit is configured to transmit the first service data to a second electronic apparatus; and instruct the first communication circuit to transmit the first service data to the second electronic apparatus (See Fig.1-2, Fig.6, data transfer between a first device and a second device; See ¶.18, detect nearby devices via Bluetooth or BTLE protocol; See further Figs.7-9 for the transfer procedures).”
Regarding claim 13, Dvortsov discloses “the control circuit is further configured to: obtain second service data; determine that a second communication circuit is configured to transmit the first service data and the second service data when the first service data and the second service data meet a combination transmission condition; and instruct the second communication circuit to transmit the first service data and the second service data (See 635 Fig.6, 730 Fig.7, 825 Fig.8 for decision conditions for transfer service signals/data).”
Regarding claim 14, Dvortsov discloses “the first communication circuit is configured to: establish, based on a first communication protocol supported by the first communication circuit, a first communication connection to transmit the first service data after the control circuit instructs the first communication circuit to transmit the first service data; and release the first communication connection when the control circuit instructs the second communication circuit to transmit the first service data and the second service data (See Fig.1, Fig.2, Figs.6-9 for the procedures including “end’ step).”
Regarding claim 15, Dvortsov discloses “the control circuit is further configured to: obtain the first service data from a second communication circuit; determine, from the communication circuits, that a first communication circuit is configured to transmit the first service data to a second electronic apparatus; and instruct the first communication circuit to transmit the first service data to the second electronic apparatus (See Fig.6-9 for the data/command transfer procedures).”
Regarding claim 16, it is a method claim corresponding to the apparatus claim and is therefore rejected for the similar reasons set forth in the rejection of the claim.
Regarding claims 17-19, they are claims corresponding to claims 12-14, respectively and are therefore rejected for the similar reasons set forth in the rejection of the claims.
Regarding claim 20, Dvortsov discloses a method implemented by a first electronic apparatus, wherein the method comprises:
- receiving a transmission request requesting to transmit service data to a second electronic apparatus (See ¶.28, receiving a request of song from another device; See ¶.39, input includes a plurality of service signal/data);
- screening at least two communication systems supported by the first electronic apparatus, wherein the at least two communication systems correspond to different communication protocols (See Fig.2 and ¶.73, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and NFC, etc.);
- determining that a first communication system of the at least two communication systems is configured to transmit the service data (See Fig.5, a plurality of system to receiving, processing, and transferring the requested data; See ¶.39, input includes a plurality of service signal/data; See Figs.6-9 for the procedures); and
- sending the transmission request to the first communication system (See Figs.1-2 and Figs.6-8 for sending the requested service signal/data).
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 of this title, 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 3 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dvortsov in view of Chilla et al. (US 2021/0409999, “Chilla”).
Regarding claim 3, Dvortsov discloses “an application processor coupled to the control circuit and configured to generate the first service data, wherein the control circuit is a bus, and wherein the communication circuits are separately coupled to the bus (See 532 & 534 Fig.5 and ¶.71, OS for applications), but does not explicitly disclose what Chilla discloses the limitation “bus” (Chilla, See 226 Fig.2 and ¶.68, interconnection bus).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to apply “the interconnection bus” as taught by Chilla into the system of Dvortsov, so that it provides a way of interconnecting units/circuits to be physically connected (Chilla, See ¶.60).
Regarding claim 11, Dvortsov and Chilla disclose “the application processor comprises a first circuit configured to implement a logical function of at least one of the following: an application system, a high-layer transmission protocol system, and a host system corresponding to the at least one wireless communication protocol; a first host system corresponding to a BLUETOOTH protocol and comprising a BLUETOOTH host (BTH); a second host system corresponding to a WI-FI protocol and comprising a WI-FI media access control (MAC) (WMAC); a third host system corresponding to each of a ultra-wide band (UWB) protocol, a ZIGBEE protocol, a near-field communication (NFC) protocol, a home internet of things (IoT) communication protocol technology (Thread) protocol, and an infrared protocol and comprising a host MAC (HMAC); or a fourth host system corresponding to a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) protocol and comprising a location based service (LBS) (Dvortsov, See ¶.37, host device/system; See ¶.81, a virtual serial port for Bluetooth standards; Chilla, See ¶.88, the software architecture may include a network layer (e.g., IP layer). In some embodiments, the software architecture may include an application layer in which a logical connection terminates at another device (e.g., end user device, server, etc.)). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to apply the method of “the application processor comprises a first circuit configured to implement a logical function of at least one of the following: a plurality of systems such as an application system, a high-layer transmission protocol system, and a host system” as taught by Chilla into the system of Dvortsov, so that it provides a way for the host system/layer to provide data transfer services to various applications in the wireless wearable device (Dvortsov, See ¶.37; Chilla, See ¶.87).
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dvortsov in view of Guo et al. (US 2019/0124055, “Guo”).
Regarding claim 8, Dvortsov does not explicitly disclose what Guo discloses “each of the communication circuits comprises a first media access control (MAC) system corresponding to the at least one supported wireless communication protocol or a first MAC layer processing system corresponding to the at least one supported wireless communication protocol (Guo, See 10 Fig.1 and ¶.16, MAC system includes short range radio such as Bluetooth, NFC, and Wi-Fi).”
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to apply “each of the communication circuits comprises a first media access control (MAC) system corresponding to the at least one supported wireless communication protocol or a first MAC layer processing system corresponding to the at least one supported wireless communication protocol” as taught by Guo into the system of Dvortsov, so that it provides a way of providing various of wireless interfaces (Guo, See ¶.16).
Claims 9 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dvortsov in view of Guo and further in view of Thanayankizil et al. (US 2022/0150966, “Thanayankizil”).
Regarding claim 9, Guo discloses a MAC system comprising a plurality of wireless communication protocols as shown in claim 8, but Dvortsov and Guo do not explicitly disclose what Thanayankizil discloses “a second MAC system corresponding to the BLUETOOTH protocol comprises a BLUETOOTH host (BTH) and a BLUETOOTH control (BTC), wherein a third MAC system corresponding to the WI-FI protocol is a WI-FI MAC (WMAC), wherein a fourth MAC system corresponding to each of the UWB protocol, the ZIGBEE protocol, the NFC protocol, the Thread protocol, and the infrared protocol is a universal operation and automation controller MAC (UMAC), and wherein a fifth MAC system corresponding to the GNSS protocol is a position velocity temperature (PVT) (Thanayankizil, See ¶.36, Wi-Fi MAC, Bluetooth MAC, etc.).”
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to apply “a plurality of MAC systems for each of the protocols” as taught by Thanayankizil into the system of Dvortsov and Chilla, so that it provides a way of having a plurality of MAC system/sub-layer for each of the plurality of protocols (Thanayankizil, See Fig.1 and ¶.36; Examiner’s Note: it is obvious to have two or more MAC systems for a plurality of other communication protocols).
Regarding claim 10, Guo discloses a MAC system comprising a plurality of wireless communication protocols as shown in claim 8, but Dvortsov and Guo do not explicitly disclose what Thanayankizil discloses “a second MAC layer processing system corresponding to the BLUETOOTH protocol comprises a BLUETOOTH control (BTC), wherein a third MAC layer processing system corresponding to each of the WI-FI protocol, the UWB protocol, the ZIGBEE protocol, the NFC protocol, the Thread protocol, and the infrared protocol is a device MAC (DMAC), and wherein a fourth MAC layer processing system corresponding to the GNSS protocol is a position velocity temperature (PVT) (Thanayankizil, See Fig.1 and ¶.36; Examiner’s Note: it is obvious to have two or more MAC systems for a plurality of communication protocols).” Therefore, this claim is rejected with the similar reasons and motivation set forth in the rejection of claim 9.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Jung H Park whose telephone number is 571-272-8565. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 7:00 AM-3:00 PM.
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/JUNG H PARK/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2411