Prosecution Insights
Last updated: May 29, 2026
Application No. 18/506,258

Wireless Automation Network Source and Destination Device

Non-Final OA §103§112
Filed
Nov 10, 2023
Priority
May 10, 2021 — EU 21173055.1 +1 more
Examiner
PATEL, HARESH N
Art Unit
2496
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
ABB Schweiz AG
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
78%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
5m
Est. Remaining
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 78% — above average
78%
Career Allowance Rate
640 granted / 824 resolved
+19.7% vs TC avg
Strong +22% interview lift
Without
With
+22.0%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 0m
Avg Prosecution
24 currently pending
Career history
862
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
1.3%
-38.7% vs TC avg
§103
66.8%
+26.8% vs TC avg
§102
24.1%
-15.9% vs TC avg
§112
1.3%
-38.7% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 824 resolved cases

Office Action

§103 §112
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 . DETAILED ACTION Status of Claims Claims 1-17 are subject to examination. Election/Restrictions Applicant’s remarks dated 12/22/25 are persuasive, accordingly previously withdrawn from consideration as a result of a restriction requirement, claims 1-17 are hereby rejoined and fully examined for patentability under 37 CFR 1.104. Because all claims previously withdrawn from consideration under 37 CFR 1.142 have been rejoined, the restriction requirement as set forth in the Office action mailed on 10/22/25 is hereby withdrawn. In view of the withdrawal of the restriction requirement as to the rejoined inventions, applicant(s) are 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 Once the restriction requirement is withdrawn, the provisions of 35 U.S.C. 121 are no longer applicable.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. Priority The claimed foreign priority (EP 21173055.1 05/10/2021) in this application under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d) or (f), is acknowledged. The claimed priority of PCT (PCT/EP2022/061033 04/26/2022) in this application under 35 U.S.C. 371, is acknowledged. Drawings The figures submitted on the filing date of this application are acknowledged. Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statement filed on 11/10/23 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97, and has been considered and a copy is enclosed with this Office Action. 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 7-17 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 7 recites the limitation " the received source and destination stamp”. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Claims 8-15 depend upon claim 7 and hence subject to same rejections. Claim 16 recites the limitation "a match”, which is indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter. “a match” refers to another matching. Claim 17 recites the limitation "they match”. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Claim contains, WAN data packet, WAN destination address, local WAN address, WAN communication protocol, payload, automation data, source location stamp, destination location stamp, etc. Claim 17 recites the limitations "if not”, “if yes”, “continuing”, which is indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter. It is not clear what is continued. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status. 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. Claim(s) 1, 2, is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cherubini EP 3429134 A1, filed 2018-06-29 in view of MIGNOT et al., CA 2779402 C, Kodam et al., 20200213146 and STRUHSAKER et al., EP 3535993 B1. Referring to claim(s) 1, Cherubini substantially discloses a wireless automation network (WAN), comprising: (provide a wireless automation network, abstract, 4th para page 2), a WAN source device, wherein the WAN source device is configured to generate a WAN data packet containing a payload with automation data according to a WAN communication protocol, and to transmit the data packet to a WAN destination device; wherein the WAN source device comprises an entity configured to generate information; and provide a wireless automation network, 4th para page 2, an automation network is provided, comprising a plurality of nodes. Each node comprises at least one actuator unit suitable for driving a load and/or at least one sensor unit suitable for receiving data from a sensor, a memory of module, and a communication module suitable for receiving and transmitting data via radio to and from at least some of the other nodes of the network according to a network protocol, abstract This communication module is programmed to receive from at least one nearby node an input data packet comprising command instructions for the actuator unit thereof or to the actuator unit of other nodes, and/or the status of the actuator unit and/or the sensor unit of all nodes, and to re-transmit an output data packet comprising the data of the input data packet updated with the status data of the respective actuator unit and/or of the respective sensor unit, abstract An updated copy of all the information regarding the status of the actuator units and/or sensor units of all modules, an updated copy of the command instructions sent, programming and configuration information for all nodes is stored in the module memory. The input and output data packets also include such programming and configuration information for all nodes, para 8, page 2. Cherubini does not specifically mention about, which is well-known in the art, which Mignot discloses, packet wrapper configured to insert data in the data packet (communication frame according to the invention being "encapsulated", 4th para, page 30). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention disclosed by Cherubini to implement these limitations and also one of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to do so because it could provide utilizing well-known packet wrapper. One of ordinary skilled in the art would readily know what a packet wrapper is. In computer networking, packet wrapper encapsulation refers to the process of adding protocol-specific headers as it moves down the network stack, so that it can be transmitted and understood by the receiving system. With the encapsulated packet, network and link layers would enable ensuring that the added data reaches the right place, 4th para, page 30. Cherubini and Mignot do not specifically mention about, which is well-known in the art, which Kodam discloses, a source location stamp ( [0007] coordination and collaboration between multiple devices to perform person or object identification, analysis, and tracking. For example, a network of devices may communicate location data and data relating to a particular target object (e.g., target location, size, movement, and properties). Based on communications between devices, a 3D object profile may be generated, and a particular object may be tracked and monitored by a plurality of devices. In such embodiments, devices may transmit messages to nearby devices, including device identifier data, location data, object identification data and object information, timestamp data, and the like. [0039] location sensors capable of determining the location of device 180 and nearby devices 180-190. [0040] The automation system 190 may collect such location data and transmit the data to the receiver 140 and/or other devices within the system 100 Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention disclosed by Cherubini to implement these limitations and also one of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to do so because it could provide utilizing well-known location information of a device. One of ordinary skilled in the art would readily know what a location information of a device is. With the location information in the packet, network and link layers would enable ensuring that the data is coming from the right place, para 7, 40. Cherubini, Kodam and Mignot do not specifically mention about, which is well-known in the art, which STRUHSAKER discloses, a wireless localization engine ( generate (434) a geolocation of the mobile asset based at least on the TDOA, and generate (436) a quality assessment of the geolocation based on a comparison between the geolocation and a supplemental geolocation of the mobile asset generated based on at least the RSSI data item, wherein the quality assessment generated indicates that the geolocation is qualified if it is determined that the geolocation and the supplemental geolocation match each other within a predetermined range. The monitoring system (110) of claim 1, wherein the IoT receiver (201) is further configured to convert the IoT signal into a digitized signal comprising a preamble and a payload, wherein the TOA module (202) generates the time stamp based on the preamble without decoding the payload, and wherein the processing engine (204) extracts the RSSI data item from the payload. In one or more embodiments of the invention, the access point (300) further includes a tag sensor localization engine (344). The tag sensor localization engine may be used to determine the locations of tag sensors that are within the coverage region of the access point. The localization may be performed, for example, using TDOA methods. Using the TDOA method, triangulation, based on the differences in time delay of a data transmission by a tag sensor, received by at least three access points, may be performed. The tag sensor localization engine of an access point may use this time delay information to determine the location of the tag sensor responsible for the data transmission. Because TDOA methods depend on the availability of an accurate time base to the tag sensors whose location is to be determined, communication protocol extensions that enable dissemination of an accurate time base to the tag sensors (and other sensors) via the IoT link, as discussed with reference to FIG. 3, are used by the access point. Alternatively, the tag sensor localization engine may extract the location of a tag sensor from a message provided by a sensor equipped with a GPS unit. Further, the tag sensor localization engine may also determine a location of a tag sensor based on the signal strength of a data transmission obtained from the tag sensor, using the RSSI method. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that, although the method performed by the tag sensor localization engine is described with regard to tag sensors, any device that is equipped with an IoT interface, and that is capable to communicate with the access points, may be localized by the tag sensor localization engine. The method of claim 13, further comprising: receiving, by the network aggregation system from the plurality of network nodes receiving the IoT signal, a plurality of RSSI data items generated by the plurality of network nodes based on the IoT signal, wherein the plurality of RSSI data items comprise the RSSI data item, wherein the supplemental geolocation of the mobile asset is generated based at least on the plurality of RSSI data items; and determining that the geolocation and the supplemental geolocation match each other within a pre-determined range, wherein the quality assessment generated indicates that the geolocation is qualified if it is determined that the geolocation and the supplemental geolocation match each other within the predetermined range. coupled to the IoT receiver and the TOA module and configured to extract an RSSI data item embedded in the IoT signal, and transmit the time stamp and the RSSI data item, 2nd last para, page 15. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention disclosed by Cherubini to implement these limitations and also one of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to do so because it could provide utilizing well-known wireless localization engine. One of ordinary skilled in the art would readily know what a localization engine is. The localization engine would enable generating information of a location of an entity that can enable ensuring that the data is coming from the right place, 2nd last para, page 15. Referring to claim(s) 2, Kodam also the destination location stamp , a destination location generator configured to generate a destination location stamp; para 7, 39, 40. Mignot discloses wherein the packet wrapper is configured to insert information in the data packet, 4th para, page 30. Claim(s) 3, is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cherubini in view of MIGNOT, Kodam, STRUHSAKER and PANG et al, EP 3364687 A1. Referring to claim(s) 3, Mignot discloses an application packet wrapper as a first data wrapper configured to generate an application packet comprising the payload (2nd and 4th para, page 30). Cherubini, MIGNOT, Kodam, STRUHSAKER do not specifically mention about, which is well-known in the art, which Pang discloses, a WAN communication layer (WCL), 3rd para, page 4, and an Automation Application Layer (AAL), 4th para, page 4. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention disclosed by Cherubini to implement these limitations and also one of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to do so because it could provide utilizing well-known WAN communication layer (WCL). One of ordinary skilled in the art would readily know what a packet wrapper is. In wireless networking, the WAN Communication Layer (WCL) refers to the part of a Wireless LAN Controller (WLC) that manages communication over wide area networks, especially when Lightweight Access Points (LAPs) are deployed in remote locations. Hence, the packet would be sent to devices across wide area networks using the implemented protocol and ensuring that the added data reaches the right place, 3rd, 4th, para, page 4. Claim(s) 4, 5, is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cherubini in view of MIGNOT, STRUHSAKER, Kodam, PANG and NAVALI et al., CN 107534683 B. Referring to claim(s) 4, Cherubini in view of MIGNOT, STRUHSAKER, Kodam, PANG disclose wrapper configured to wrap the application packet and to generate the WAN data packet, as rejected above. Cherubini, Pang, MIGNOT, Kodam, STRUHSAKER do not specifically mention about, which is well-known in the art, which Navali discloses, WAN packet wrapper as a second data wrapper, 2nd para, page 17 Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention disclosed by Cherubini to implement these limitations and also one of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to do so because it could provide utilizing well-known WAN packet wrapper. One of ordinary skilled in the art would readily know what a packet wrapper is. Hence, the packet would be sent to devices across wide area networks using the encapsulated packet with needed headers for communication across WAN and ensuring that the added data reaches the right place, 2nd para, page 17. Referring to claim(s) 5, Kodam discloses the source location stamp and the destination location stamp (as cited in claim 1). Mignot discloses wherein the application packet wrapper is configured to insert information in the application packet (as cited in claim 1). Navali discloses the WAN packet wrapper is configured to insert information in the WAN data packet. (as cited in claim 4). Claim(s) 6, is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cherubini in view of MIGNOT, Kodam, PANG, STRUHSAKER and Sachs et al., 20170139388. Referring to claim(s) 6, Pang, Cherubini, MIGNOT, Kodam, STRUHSAKER do not specifically mention about, which is well-known in the art, which Sachs discloses, a source location authorizer configured to authorize access to the wireless localization engine from the AAL Automation Application Layer and/or the WAN communication layer WCL. (para 21, 14, 40). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention disclosed by Cherubini to implement these limitations and also one of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to do so because it could provide utilizing well-known authorize access to the wireless localization engine. One of ordinary skilled in the art would readily know what a wireless localization engine is. Hence, the wireless localization engine would enable processing of the data from a remote device and ensuring that the remote device is a trusted device, para 21, 14, 40. Claim(s) 1, 2, is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Loebs, 20140314062 in view of MIGNOT et al., CA 2779402 C, STRUHSAKER and Kodam et al., 20200213146. Referring to claim(s) 1, Loebs substantially discloses a wireless automation network (WAN), comprising: (para 24), a WAN source device, wherein the WAN source device is configured to generate a WAN data packet containing a payload with automation data according to a WAN communication protocol, and to transmit the data packet to a WAN destination device; wherein the WAN source device comprises an entity configured to generate information; and provide a wireless automation network (para 22, 24) [0022] The wireless automation system may comprise one or more gateway controllers (known as Air:Hubs herein) and one or more network sensors, switches, controls, or other input or output hardware devices (known as Smart:Nodes herein). Smart:Nodes may include fully wireless nodes (known as Air:Nodes herein) and hybrid, semi-wireless nodes that combine wireless communication and control with a wired power source (known as Bridge:Nodes herein). Bridge:Nodes may be an alternate product choice for indoor installations, retrofit installations, generic control applications, and new installations with special site constraints. The network may also include software that may integrate with devices specially designed to operate in the pool environment. The network described herein may be known by its trade name VERV.TM. and may be so referred herein. [0024] VERV operates via mesh network topology, which allows Smart:Node to Smart:Node communication and Smart:Node to Air:Hub controllers within the wireless automation network. The gateway controller and/or Smart:Nodes may deploy common RF communication protocols to ensure interoperability with most home automation networks and devices, without the need for special adapters or other hardware. [0031] 2. Transport Layer: Controls message transfer, ensuring error-free communication between two wireless nodes. [0032] 3. Routing Layer: Manages Z-Wave's "Mesh" capabilities to maximize network range and ensure messages get to their destination node. This layer will use additional nodes to re-send the message if the destination is outside of the "direct" range of the transmitting node. [0033] The Z-Wave Protocol Application Layer defines which messages need to be handled by specific applications in order to accomplish particular tasks such as switching a light or changing the temperature of a heating device. [0034] Each node in the Z-Wave network has a unique identification to distinguish it from other nodes in the same network. [0035] Z-Wave networks include two basic types of devices: Controllers (devices that control other Z-Wave devices) and slaves (devices that are controlled by other Z-Wave devices). Controllers are generally factory-programmed with a Home ID, that cannot be changed by the user. Slaves generally do not have a pre-programmed Home ID as they take the Home ID assigned to them by the network. [0036] In the Z-Wave network setup, the primary controller incorporates other nodes into the network by assigning them its own Home ID. If a node accepts the Home ID of the primary controller this node becomes part of the network. The primary controller also assigns an individual Node ID to each new device that is added to the network. Proper receipt of messages through the network is ensured because every command sent is acknowledged by the receiver which sends a return receipt to the sender. Loebs does not specifically mention about, which is well-known in the art, which Mignot discloses, packet wrapper configured to insert data in the data packet (communication frame according to the invention being "encapsulated", 4th para, page 30). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention disclosed by Loebs to implement these limitations and also one of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to do so because it could provide utilizing well-known packet wrapper. One of ordinary skilled in the art would readily know what a packet wrapper is. In computer networking, packet wrapper encapsulation refers to the process of adding protocol-specific headers as it moves down the network stack, so that it can be transmitted and understood by the receiving system. With the encapsulated packet, network and link layers would enable ensuring that the added data reaches the right place, 4th para, page 30. Loebs and Mignot do not specifically mention about, which is well-known in the art, which Kodam discloses, a source location stamp ( [0007] coordination and collaboration between multiple devices to perform person or object identification, analysis, and tracking. For example, a network of devices may communicate location data and data relating to a particular target object (e.g., target location, size, movement, and properties). Based on communications between devices, a 3D object profile may be generated, and a particular object may be tracked and monitored by a plurality of devices. In such embodiments, devices may transmit messages to nearby devices, including device identifier data, location data, object identification data and object information, timestamp data, and the like. [0039] location sensors capable of determining the location of device 180 and nearby devices 180-190. [0040] The automation system 190 may collect such location data and transmit the data to the receiver 140 and/or other devices within the system 100 Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention disclosed by Loebs to implement these limitations and also one of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to do so because it could provide utilizing well-known location information of a device. One of ordinary skilled in the art would readily know what a location information of a device is. With the location information in the packet, network and link layers would enable ensuring that the data is coming from the right place, para 7, 40. Loebs, Kodam and Mignot do not specifically mention about, which is well-known in the art, which STRUHSAKER discloses, a wireless localization engine ( generate (434) a geolocation of the mobile asset based at least on the TDOA, and generate (436) a quality assessment of the geolocation based on a comparison between the geolocation and a supplemental geolocation of the mobile asset generated based on at least the RSSI data item, wherein the quality assessment generated indicates that the geolocation is qualified if it is determined that the geolocation and the supplemental geolocation match each other within a predetermined range. The monitoring system (110) of claim 1, wherein the IoT receiver (201) is further configured to convert the IoT signal into a digitized signal comprising a preamble and a payload, wherein the TOA module (202) generates the time stamp based on the preamble without decoding the payload, and wherein the processing engine (204) extracts the RSSI data item from the payload. In one or more embodiments of the invention, the access point (300) further includes a tag sensor localization engine (344). The tag sensor localization engine may be used to determine the locations of tag sensors that are within the coverage region of the access point. The localization may be performed, for example, using TDOA methods. Using the TDOA method, triangulation, based on the differences in time delay of a data transmission by a tag sensor, received by at least three access points, may be performed. The tag sensor localization engine of an access point may use this time delay information to determine the location of the tag sensor responsible for the data transmission. Because TDOA methods depend on the availability of an accurate time base to the tag sensors whose location is to be determined, communication protocol extensions that enable dissemination of an accurate time base to the tag sensors (and other sensors) via the IoT link, as discussed with reference to FIG. 3, are used by the access point. Alternatively, the tag sensor localization engine may extract the location of a tag sensor from a message provided by a sensor equipped with a GPS unit. Further, the tag sensor localization engine may also determine a location of a tag sensor based on the signal strength of a data transmission obtained from the tag sensor, using the RSSI method. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that, although the method performed by the tag sensor localization engine is described with regard to tag sensors, any device that is equipped with an IoT interface, and that is capable to communicate with the access points, may be localized by the tag sensor localization engine. The method of claim 13, further comprising: receiving, by the network aggregation system from the plurality of network nodes receiving the IoT signal, a plurality of RSSI data items generated by the plurality of network nodes based on the IoT signal, wherein the plurality of RSSI data items comprise the RSSI data item, wherein the supplemental geolocation of the mobile asset is generated based at least on the plurality of RSSI data items; and determining that the geolocation and the supplemental geolocation match each other within a pre-determined range, wherein the quality assessment generated indicates that the geolocation is qualified if it is determined that the geolocation and the supplemental geolocation match each other within the predetermined range. coupled to the IoT receiver and the TOA module and configured to extract an RSSI data item embedded in the IoT signal, and transmit the time stamp and the RSSI data item, 2nd last para, page 15. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention disclosed by Loebs to implement these limitations and also one of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to do so because it could provide utilizing well-known wireless localization engine. One of ordinary skilled in the art would readily know what a localization engine is. The localization engine would enable generating information of a location of an entity that can enable ensuring that the data is coming from the right place, 2nd last para, page 15. Referring to claim(s) 2, Kodam also the destination location stamp , a destination location generator configured to generate a destination location stamp; para 7, 39, 40. Mignot discloses wherein the packet wrapper is configured to insert information in the data packet, 4th para, page 30. Claim(s) 3, is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Loebs in view of MIGNOT, Kodam, STRUHSAKER and PANG et al, EP 3364687 A1. Referring to claim(s) 3, Mignot discloses an application packet wrapper as a first data wrapper configured to generate an application packet comprising the payload (2nd and 4th para, page 30). Loebs, MIGNOT, Kodam, STRUHSAKER do not specifically mention about, which is well-known in the art, which Pang discloses, a WAN communication layer (WCL), 3rd para, page 4, and an Automation Application Layer (AAL), 4th para, page 4. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention disclosed by Loebs to implement these limitations and also one of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to do so because it could provide utilizing well-known WAN communication layer (WCL). One of ordinary skilled in the art would readily know what a packet wrapper is. In wireless networking, the WAN Communication Layer (WCL) refers to the part of a Wireless LAN Controller (WLC) that manages communication over wide area networks, especially when Lightweight Access Points (LAPs) are deployed in remote locations. Hence, the packet would be sent to devices across wide area networks using the implemented protocol and ensuring that the added data reaches the right place, 3rd, 4th, para, page 4. Claim(s) 4, 5, is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Loebs in view of MIGNOT, Kodam, PANG, STRUHSAKER and NAVALI et al., CN 107534683 B. Referring to claim(s) 4, Loebs in view of MIGNOT, Kodam, PANG, STRUHSAKER disclose wrapper configured to wrap the application packet and to generate the WAN data packet, as rejected above. Loebs, Pang, MIGNOT, Kodam, STRUHSAKER do not specifically mention about, which is well-known in the art, which Navali discloses, WAN packet wrapper as a second data wrapper, 2nd para, page 17 Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention disclosed by Loebs to implement these limitations and also one of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to do so because it could provide utilizing well-known WAN packet wrapper. One of ordinary skilled in the art would readily know what a packet wrapper is. Hence, the packet would be sent to devices across wide area networks using the encapsulated packet with needed headers for communication across WAN and ensuring that the added data reaches the right place, 2nd para, page 17. Referring to claim(s) 5, Kodam discloses the source location stamp and the destination location stamp (as cited in claim 1). Mignot discloses wherein the application packet wrapper is configured to insert information in the application packet (as cited in claim 1). Navali discloses the WAN packet wrapper is configured to insert information in the WAN data packet. (as cited in claim 4). Claim(s) 6, is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Loebs in view of MIGNOT, Kodam, PANG, STRUHSAKER and Sachs et al., 20170139388. Referring to claim(s) 6, Pang, Loebs, MIGNOT, Kodam, STRUHSAKER do not specifically mention about, which is well-known in the art, which Sachs discloses, a source location authorizer configured to authorize access to the wireless localization engine from the AAL Automation Application Layer and/or the WAN communication layer WCL. (para 21, 14, 40). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention disclosed by Loebs to implement these limitations and also one of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to do so because it could provide utilizing well-known authorize access to the wireless localization engine. One of ordinary skilled in the art would readily know what a wireless localization engine is. Hence, the wireless localization engine would enable processing of the data from a remote device and ensuring that the remote device is a trusted device, para 21, 14, 40. Claim(s) 7, 16, is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cherubini EP 3429134 A1, filed 2018-06-29 in view of Kodam et al., 20200213146 and DU, WO 2018233041 A1. Referring to claim(s) 7, Cherubini substantially discloses the wireless automation network (WAN), comprising: (provide a wireless automation network, abstract, 4th para page 2) a WAN destination device configured to receive a WAN data packet according to a WAN communication protocol comprising a payload with automation data; wherein the WAN data packet contains further information; and wherein the WAN destination device is configured to perform processing and provide the payload to an automation data consumer, 4th para page 2, an automation network is provided, comprising a plurality of nodes. Each node comprises at least one actuator unit suitable for driving a load and/or at least one sensor unit suitable for receiving data from a sensor, a memory of module, and a communication module suitable for receiving and transmitting data via radio to and from at least some of the other nodes of the network according to a network protocol, abstract This communication module is programmed to receive from at least one nearby node an input data packet comprising command instructions for the actuator unit thereof or to the actuator unit of other nodes, and/or the status of the actuator unit and/or the sensor unit of all nodes, and to re-transmit an output data packet comprising the data of the input data packet updated with the status data of the respective actuator unit and/or of the respective sensor unit, abstract An updated copy of all the information regarding the status of the actuator units and/or sensor units of all modules, an updated copy of the command instructions sent, programming and configuration information for all nodes is stored in the module memory. The input and output data packets also include such programming and configuration information for all nodes, para 8, page 2. Cherubini do not specifically mention about, which is well-known in the art, which Kodam discloses, a source location stamp and/or a destination location stamp ( [0007] coordination and collaboration between multiple devices to perform person or object identification, analysis, and tracking. For example, a network of devices may communicate location data and data relating to a particular target object (e.g., target location, size, movement, and properties). Based on communications between devices, a 3D object profile may be generated, and a particular object may be tracked and monitored by a plurality of devices. In such embodiments, devices may transmit messages to nearby devices, including device identifier data, location data, object identification data and object information, timestamp data, and the like. [0039] location sensors capable of determining the location of device 180 and nearby devices 180-190. [0040] The automation system 190 may collect such location data and transmit the data to the receiver 140 and/or other devices within the system 100 Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention disclosed by Cherubini to implement these limitations and also one of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to do so because it could provide utilizing well-known location information of a device. One of ordinary skilled in the art would readily know what a location information of a device is. With the location information in the packet, network and link layers would enable ensuring that the data is coming from the right place, para 7, 40. Cherubini and Kodam do not specifically mention about, which is well-known in the art, which DU discloses, match the received source and destination stamp with a locally generated destination stamp and, in case of a match ( The terminal device is further configured to send the first data packet to the access device; The access device is further configured to: according to the first data packet, identify whether the location information of the terminal device matches the location information of the convergence unit; The access device is further configured to: when determining that the location information of the terminal device matches the location information of the convergence unit, obtain a unique serial number of the access device, where the access device is Based on the unique serial number, the second authentication information is generated based on the saved key generation algorithm, para 4-6, page 4 Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention disclosed by Cherubini to implement these limitations and also one of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to do so because it could provide utilizing well-known matching of location information. One of ordinary skilled in the art would readily know why location information matching is necessary. With the location information in the packet, network would enable ensuring that the data is coming from the right place, para 4-6, page 4. Referring to claim 16, the method is similarly analyzed and rejected for the same rationale as the network claim 7. Claim(s) 8, is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cherubini EP 3429134 A1, filed 2018-06-29 in view of Kodam et al., 20200213146 and DU, WO 2018233041 A1 and STRUHSAKER et al., EP 3535993 B1. Referring to claim(s) 8, Cherubini, Kodam, and DU, do not disclose a wireless localization engine configured to generate a destination location stamp, which STRUHSAKER discloses, a wireless localization engine ( generate (434) a geolocation of the mobile asset based at least on the TDOA, and generate (436) a quality assessment of the geolocation based on a comparison between the geolocation and a supplemental geolocation of the mobile asset generated based on at least the RSSI data item, wherein the quality assessment generated indicates that the geolocation is qualified if it is determined that the geolocation and the supplemental geolocation match each other within a predetermined range. The monitoring system (110) of claim 1, wherein the IoT receiver (201) is further configured to convert the IoT signal into a digitized signal comprising a preamble and a payload, wherein the TOA module (202) generates the time stamp based on the preamble without decoding the payload, and wherein the processing engine (204) extracts the RSSI data item from the payload. In one or more embodiments of the invention, the access point (300) further includes a tag sensor localization engine (344). The tag sensor localization engine may be used to determine the locations of tag sensors that are within the coverage region of the access point. The localization may be performed, for example, using TDOA methods. Using the TDOA method, triangulation, based on the differences in time delay of a data transmission by a tag sensor, received by at least three access points, may be performed. The tag sensor localization engine of an access point may use this time delay information to determine the location of the tag sensor responsible for the data transmission. Because TDOA methods depend on the availability of an accurate time base to the tag sensors whose location is to be determined, communication protocol extensions that enable dissemination of an accurate time base to the tag sensors (and other sensors) via the IoT link, as discussed with reference to FIG. 3, are used by the access point. Alternatively, the tag sensor localization engine may extract the location of a tag sensor from a message provided by a sensor equipped with a GPS unit. Further, the tag sensor localization engine may also determine a location of a tag sensor based on the signal strength of a data transmission obtained from the tag sensor, using the RSSI method. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that, although the method performed by the tag sensor localization engine is described with regard to tag sensors, any device that is equipped with an IoT interface, and that is capable to communicate with the access points, may be localized by the tag sensor localization engine. The method of claim 13, further comprising: receiving, by the network aggregation system from the plurality of network nodes receiving the IoT signal, a plurality of RSSI data items generated by the plurality of network nodes based on the IoT signal, wherein the plurality of RSSI data items comprise the RSSI data item, wherein the supplemental geolocation of the mobile asset is generated based at least on the plurality of RSSI data items; and determining that the geolocation and the supplemental geolocation match each other within a pre-determined range, wherein the quality assessment generated indicates that the geolocation is qualified if it is determined that the geolocation and the supplemental geolocation match each other within the predetermined range. coupled to the IoT receiver and the TOA module and configured to extract an RSSI data item embedded in the IoT signal, and transmit the time stamp and the RSSI data item, 2nd last para, page 15. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention disclosed by Cherubini to implement these limitations and also one of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to do so because it could provide utilizing well-known wireless localization engine. One of ordinary skilled in the art would readily know what a localization engine is. The localization engine would enable generating information of a location of an entity that can enable ensuring that the data is coming from the right place, 2nd last para, page 15. Claim(s) 9, is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cherubini in view of Kodam, DU, STRUHSAKER and Uddin et al., 20200053190. Referring to claim 9, DU discloses, wherein the WAN destination device further comprises and the source location stamp and/or a destination location stamp, and to provide the payload to the automation data consumer only when a source location value of the source location stamp of the parsed data packet matches a configured source location value, and/or a destination location value of the location stamp of the parsed data packet matches the destination location value generated by the wireless localization engine in the destination device, para 4-6, page 4. Cherubini, Kodam, DU do not disclose, at least one packet parser configured to parse the WAN data packet to extract the payload, which Uddin discloses, para 69). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention disclosed by Cherubini to implement these limitations and also one of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to do so because it could provide utilizing well-known packet parser. One of ordinary skilled in the art would readily know what a packet parser is. The parser would enable extracting information from the payload of the received packet. The information would enable performing an action based on the received information, para 69. Claim(s) 10, 11, is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cherubini in view of Kodam, DU, STRUHSAKER, Uddin and Pang Referring to claim 10, Cherubini in view of Kodam, DU, STRUHSAKER and Uddin do not disclose, which is well-known in the art, which Pang discloses, a WAN communication layer (WCL), 3rd para, page 4, and an Automation Application Layer (AAL), 4th para, page 4. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention disclosed by Cherubini to implement these limitations and also one of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to do so because it could provide utilizing well-known WAN communication layer (WCL). One of ordinary skilled in the art would readily know what a packet wrapper is. In wireless networking, the WAN Communication Layer (WCL) refers to the part of a Wireless LAN Controller (WLC) that manages communication over wide area networks, especially when Lightweight Access Points (LAPs) are deployed in remote locations. Hence, the packet would be sent to devices across wide area networks using the implemented protocol and ensuring that the added data reaches the right place, 3rd, 4th, para, page 4. Referring to claim 11, Uddin discloses wherein the WCL comprises a WAN packet parser as a first packet parser configured to parse the WAN packet and to extract an application data packet; and wherein the AAL comprises an application packet parser as a second packet parser configured to parse the application packet and to extract the payload and the source location stamp and/or a destination location stamp, para 69. Claim(s) 12, is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cherubini in view of Kodam, DU, STRUHSAKER, Uddin, Pang and Sachs et al., 20170139388 Referring to claim 12, Cherubini in view of Kodam, DU, STRUHSAKER, Uddin, Pang do not disclose, which is well-known in the art, which Sachs discloses, the WAN destination device further comprises a destination location authorizer configured to authorize access to the wireless localization engine from the AAL and/or the WCL (para 21, 14, 40) Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention disclosed by Cherubini to implement these limitations and also one of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to do so because it could provide utilizing well-known authorize access to the wireless localization engine. One of ordinary skilled in the art would readily know what a wireless localization engine is. Hence, the wireless localization engine would enable processing of the data from a remote device and ensuring that the remote device is a trusted device, para 21, 14, 40. Claim(s) 13, 17, is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cherubini in view of Kodam, DU, STRUHSAKER, Uddin, Pang, Sachs and KR 101871715 B1. Referring to claim 13, Cherubini in view of Kodam, DU, STRUHSAKER, Uddin, Sachs, Pang do not disclose, which is well-known in the art, which KR 101871715 B1 discloses, a location value, and the destination location value and/or the source location value are only accessed when the validity information is true, 4th para, page 19. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention disclosed by Cherubini to implement these limitations and also one of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to do so because it could provide utilizing well-known location value and validity information. One of ordinary skilled in the art would readily know what a location value and validity information is. The location value would enable knowing of whether the location information is of a trusted device and the validity information would ensure that the obtained location information is not fake or obsolete, 4th para, page 19. Referring to claim 17, KR 101871715 B1 discloses, after receiving a WAN data packet: comparing a WAN destination address with a local WAN address, and checking whether they match; if not, continuing according to the communication protocol; if yes, comparing the WAN destination location value of the location stamp with a location value of the device, and checking whether they match; if not, discarding the WAN data packet; if yes, comparing the WAN source location value with a configured source location value, and checking whether they match; if not, discarding the WAN data packet, 4th – 6th para, page 19. Pang discloses, if yes, forwarding the payload as application packet to the AA, 4th para, page 4. Claim(s) 14, is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cherubini in view of Kodam, DU, STRUHSAKER, Uddin, Pang, Sachs and KR 102134506 B1. Referring to claim 14, Cherubini in view of Kodam, DU, STRUHSAKER, Uddin, Sachs, Pang do not disclose, which is well-known in the art, which KR 102134506 B1 discloses, wherein the received source location stamp and destination location stamp each comprise an accuracy information, wherein the accuracy information specifies an accuracy to be taken into account for determining a match of the source location values and / or destination location values, 3rd para, page 9. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention disclosed by Cherubini to implement these limitations and also one of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to do so because it could provide utilizing well-known location value and validity information. One of ordinary skilled in the art would readily know what a location value and accuracy information is. The location value would enable knowing of whether the location information is of a trusted device and the accuracy information would ensure that the obtained location information is accurate and can be used for performing actions, 3rd para, page 9. Claim(s) 15, is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cherubini in view of Kodam, Mignot and DU, and STRUHSAKER. Referring to claim(s) 15, Cherubini discloses a WAN source device, wherein the WAN source device is configured to generate a WAN data packet containing a payload with automation data according to a WAN communication protocol, and to transmit the data packet to a WAN destination device, wherein the WAN source device comprises an entity configured to generate an information, 4th para page 2, para 8, page 2, abstract, Kodam discloses, a source location stamp ( [0007] coordination and collaboration between multiple devices to perform person or object identification, analysis, and tracking. For example, a network of devices may communicate location data and data relating to a particular target object (e.g., target location, size, movement, and properties). Based on communications between devices, a 3D object profile may be generated, and a particular object may be tracked and monitored by a plurality of devices. In such embodiments, devices may transmit messages to nearby devices, including device identifier data, location data, object identification data and object information, timestamp data, and the like. [0039] location sensors capable of determining the location of device 180 and nearby devices 180-190. [0040] The automation system 190 may collect such location data and transmit the data to the receiver 140 and/or other devices within the system 100 STRUHSAKER discloses, a wireless localization engine ( generate (434) a geolocation of the mobile asset based at least on the TDOA, and generate (436) a quality assessment of the geolocation based on a comparison between the geolocation and a supplemental geolocation of the mobile asset generated based on at least the RSSI data item, wherein the quality assessment generated indicates that the geolocation is qualified if it is determined that the geolocation and the supplemental geolocation match each other within a predetermined range. The monitoring system (110) of claim 1, wherein the IoT receiver (201) is further configured to convert the IoT signal into a digitized signal comprising a preamble and a payload, wherein the TOA module (202) generates the time stamp based on the preamble without decoding the payload, and wherein the processing engine (204) extracts the RSSI data item from the payload. In one or more embodiments of the invention, the access point (300) further includes a tag sensor localization engine (344). The tag sensor localization engine may be used to determine the locations of tag sensors that are within the coverage region of the access point. The localization may be performed, for example, using TDOA methods. Using the TDOA method, triangulation, based on the differences in time delay of a data transmission by a tag sensor, received by at least three access points, may be performed. The tag sensor localization engine of an access point may use this time delay information to determine the location of the tag sensor responsible for the data transmission. Because TDOA methods depend on the availability of an accurate time base to the tag sensors whose location is to be determined, communication protocol extensions that enable dissemination of an accurate time base to the tag sensors (and other sensors) via the IoT link, as discussed with reference to FIG. 3, are used by the access point. Alternatively, the tag sensor localization engine may extract the location of a tag sensor from a message provided by a sensor equipped with a GPS unit. Further, the tag sensor localization engine may also determine a location of a tag sensor based on the signal strength of a data transmission obtained from the tag sensor, using the RSSI method. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that, although the method performed by the tag sensor localization engine is described with regard to tag sensors, any device that is equipped with an IoT interface, and that is capable to communicate with the access points, may be localized by the tag sensor localization engine. The method of claim 13, further comprising: receiving, by the network aggregation system from the plurality of network nodes receiving the IoT signal, a plurality of RSSI data items generated by the plurality of network nodes based on the IoT signal, wherein the plurality of RSSI data items comprise the RSSI data item, wherein the supplemental geolocation of the mobile asset is generated based at least on the plurality of RSSI data items; and determining that the geolocation and the supplemental geolocation match each other within a pre-determined range, wherein the quality assessment generated indicates that the geolocation is qualified if it is determined that the geolocation and the supplemental geolocation match each other within the predetermined range. coupled to the IoT receiver and the TOA module and configured to extract an RSSI data item embedded in the IoT signal, and transmit the time stamp and the RSSI data item, 2nd last para, page 15. Cherubini in view of Kodam, DU, STRUHSAKER does not specifically mention about, which is well-known in the art, which Mignot discloses, packet wrapper configured to insert data in the data packet (communication frame according to the invention being "encapsulated", 4th para, page 30). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention disclosed by Cherubini to implement these limitations and also one of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to do so because it could provide utilizing well-known packet wrapper. One of ordinary skilled in the art would readily know what a packet wrapper is. In computer networking, packet wrapper encapsulation refers to the process of adding protocol-specific headers as it moves down the network stack, so that it can be transmitted and understood by the receiving system. With the encapsulated packet, network and link layers would enable ensuring that the added data reaches the right place, 4th para, page 30. Conclusion Pertinent prior art: VANG 20120302219, discloses, MONITORING AND AUTOMATING A NETWORK OF INDEPENDENT WIRELESS REMOTE DEVICES BASED ON A MOBILE DEVICE LOCATION [0057] An advantage of the embodiments provided herein is that each of the plurality of independent wireless remote devices are directly controlled by the at least one mobile device and not via a wired or wireless centralized main controller between the at least one mobile device and the plurality of independent wireless remote device. Another advantage of the embodiments provided herein is that the wireless automation network is portable and not limited to a fixed location or installation setup. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HARESH PATEL whose telephone number is (571)272-3973. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F 9-5:30. 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, Jorge L. Ortiz-Criado, can be reached at (571) 272-7624. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is (571) 273-8300. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /HARESH N PATEL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2496
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Prosecution Timeline

Nov 10, 2023
Application Filed
May 19, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103, §112 (current)

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