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 .
Response to Amendment
Applicant’s amendment, filed 11 December 2025, has been entered and carefully considered.
Claims 1-3, 8-10, 13 and 14 are amended.
Claims 1-14 are currently pending.
Response to Arguments
Regarding the outstanding rejection of Claims 1-14 under 35 U.S.C. 112(b), Applicant solely states “Claims 1-14 were rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) as allegedly being indefinite. The claims have been amended to overcome the rejection under 35 U.S.C. 112(b).” Applicant has not provided any further remarks; as such, this amounts to an allegation of patentability. The Office notes that Applicant’s amendment has resolved the previously identified issues related to the invocation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f). However, for the reasons detailed in the rejection below, the rejection of Claims 1-14 under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) is maintained.
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 1-14 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.
Regarding Claims 1, 13 and 14, these claims are indefinite due to the contradiction between the first two clauses in the claim body. Claim 1 recites a communication apparatus comprising a processor that executes instructions “to: be able to receive a predetermined packet from a time synchronization master terminal” followed by “in a case where the predetermined packet is not able to be received within a predetermined time.” Claims 13 and 14 recite similar language (“causing the communication apparatus to be able to receive a predetermined packet from a time synchronization master terminal; causing the communication apparatus to, in a case where the communication apparatus is not able to receive the predetermined packet within a predetermined time”).
However, while the first clause indicates that the apparatus is able to receive a predetermined packet, the claim does not require that the predetermined packet is ever received. The claims, in the second clause where the predetermined packet “is not able to be received” (i.e., the “predetermined packet” is not received), indicate that header information included in the predetermined packet received from the initial time synchronization master is then is inserted into a (second) predetermined packet received from a separate terminal (that is newly a time synchronization master). However, if the (first) predetermined packet (from the initial time synchronization master terminal) is not received (having not been received in the first clause and subsequently “not able to be received” in the second clause), it is unclear how header information from this non-received predetermined packet can be used for a further operation with a (second) predetermined packet. Turning to Applicant’s specification, the time synchronization processing flow of Figure 8A shows that a timer is started (S802), followed by determining whether an Announce packet is received (S803). Upon receipt of the packet, further determinations and operations are performed in order to transfer the announce packet to a port other than the port by which it was received (s811). Only after that process is complete does the device wait for another packet to be received. This is similar to the processing flow shown in Figure 13A. Alternatively, considering the synchronous packet processing flow in Figure 9A, the camera adapter determines whether the received synchronous packet is a Sync packet (S901). This step is followed by the camera adapter acquiring the received time of the packet. In both processing flows, the packet is received and subsequently processed.
Therefore, the scope of Claims 1, 13 and 14 is indefinite, as it is not clear how the operations occurring in a case where the predetermined packet is not able to be received (and is never claimed as having been received) can utilize header information included in a packet that is never claimed as having been received. Dependent claims 2-12 fail to resolve the deficiencies described above in the independent claims, and are therefore also rejected for being indefinite.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Chen et al (United States Pre-Grant Publication 2021/0006344) discloses a primary and backup grandmaster clock in an IEEE 1588-2008 precision time protocol.
Zheng et al (United States Pre-Grant Publication 2015/0318941) discloses reacquiring synchronization to a new master for PTP clocks (paragraph 0035).
Spada et al (United States Pre-Grant Publication 2014/0281037) discloses a backup grandmaster device generating a backup synchronization message (refer to Claim 19 of the document).
Steiner et al (United States Pre-Grant Publication 2014/0185632) discloses redundant grandmaster clocks (paragraph 0015).
Ruffini et al (United States Pre-Grant Publication 2013/0039220) discloses changing a master in the event of failure (paragraph 0186).
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 ANDREW W. CHRISS whose telephone number is (571)272-1774. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 8am-4pm ET.
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/ANDREW W CHRISS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2472