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 .
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.
Claim(s) 1-7, 10-16, 18, and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Teeter et al. (US 2010/0130124) and Malackowski et al. (US 2019/0142525), and further in view of Narasimhan (US 7,577,085).
Referring to Claim 1, Teeter teaches a method comprising:
communicating at least two wireless communication channels in parallel (see paragraph 57 which shows HOT/EOT channels communicating in parallel format), between a first wireless transceiver and a second wireless transceiver, the at least two wireless communication channels operating at different radio carrier frequencies, and wherein the first wireless transceiver is part of a first vehicle (see paragraph 32 which shows DP and HOT/EOT communicating on different channels and fig. 2 which shows a HOT transceiver 49 and a EOT transceiver 44); and
transmitting, by the first wireless transceiver, common information in parallel on the at least two wireless communication channels to the second wireless transceiver (see paragraph 57 which shows common information transmitted to the other cars of the train in parallel data format and paragraph 32 which shows DP and HOT/EOT communicating on different channels)
Teeter does not teach activating at least two wireless communication channels in parallel and deactivating the at least two wireless communication channels. Malackowski teaches activating at least two wireless communication channels in parallel and deactivating the at least two wireless communication channels (see paragraph 119 which shows the activation and deactivation of trackers which have RF transmitters 74 and paragraph 131 which shows the activated tracker transmitting common information on two different channels using an antenna diversity scheme which is known in the art to be transmission of data in multiple channels in parallel and since the trackers transmit the multiple channels, deactivating the trackers also deactivates the communication channels). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to provide the teachings of Malackowski to the device of Teeter in order to provide a more reliable simulcast or diversity communications system in vehicles to where proper operability ensures the safety of all aboard.
The combination of Teeter and Malackowski does not teach the common information including at least some identical information transmitted in parallel. Narasimhan teaches the common information including at least some identical information transmitted in parallel (see col. 2, lines 18-33 which shows diversity transmission which is known in the art as the transmission of the same information in different frequencies and where the diversity transmission is shown to be in parallel). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to provide the teachings of Narasimhan to the modified device of Teeter and Malackowski in order to better ensure all transmitted common information promptly reaches all parties involved.
Referring to Claim 10, Teeter teaches a system comprising:
a first wireless transceiver configured to be operably disposed onboard a first vehicle and to communicate at least two wireless communication channels in parallel (see paragraph 57 which shows HOT/EOT channels communicating in parallel format) between a first wireless transceiver and a second wireless transceiver, the at least two wireless communication channels operating at different radio carrier frequencies (see paragraph 32 which shows DP and HOT/EOT communicating on different channels and fig. 2 which shows a HOT transceiver 49 and a EOT transceiver 44); and
the first wireless transceiver further configured to transmit common information in parallel on the at least two wireless communication channels to the second wireless transceiver (see paragraph 57 which shows common information transmitted to the other cars of the train in parallel data format and paragraph 32 which shows DP and HOT/EOT communicating on different channels).
Teeter does not teach activating at least two wireless communication channels in parallel and deactivating the at least two wireless communication channels following transmission of the common information in parallel on the at least two wireless communication channels. Malackowski teaches activating at least two wireless communication channels in parallel and deactivating the at least two wireless communication channels following transmission of the common information in parallel on the at least two wireless communication channels (see paragraph 119 which shows the activation and deactivation of trackers which have RF transmitters 74 and paragraph 131 which shows the activated tracker transmitting common information on two different channels using an antenna diversity scheme which is known in the art to be transmission of data in multiple channels in parallel and since the trackers transmit the multiple channels, deactivating the trackers also deactivates the communication channels). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to provide the teachings of Malackowski to the device of Teeter in order to provide a more reliable simulcast or diversity communications system in vehicles to where proper operability ensures the safety of all aboard.
The combination of Teeter and Malackowski does not teach the common information including at least some identical information transmitted in parallel. Narasimhan teaches the common information including at least some identical information transmitted in parallel (see col. 2, lines 18-33 which shows diversity transmission which is known in the art as the transmission of the same information in different frequencies and where the diversity transmission is shown to be in parallel). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to provide the teachings of Narasimhan to the modified device of Teeter and Malackowski in order to better ensure all transmitted common information promptly reaches all parties involved.
Referring to Claim 18, Teeter teaches a system comprising:
a wireless head-of-train (HOT) transceiver configured to be operably disposed onboard a first rail vehicle and to communicate at least two wireless communication channels in parallel between the HOT transceiver and a wireless transceiver that is part of a remote device (see paragraph 57 which shows HOT/EOT channels communicating in parallel format), each of the at least two wireless communication channels operating at a different radio carrier frequency (see paragraph 32 which shows DP and HOT/EOT communicating on different channels and fig. 2 which shows a HOT transceiver 49 and a EOT transceiver 44), the HOT transceiver further configured to transmit common information in parallel on the at least two wireless communication channels to the wireless transceiver of the remote device (see paragraph 57 which shows common information transmitted to the other cars of the train in parallel data format and paragraph 32 which shows DP and HOT/EOT communicating on different channels).
Teeter does not teach the HOT transceiver configured to activate at least two wireless communication channels in parallel and further configured to deactivate the at least two wireless communication channels. Malackowski teaches the HOT transceiver configured to activate at least two wireless communication channels in parallel and further configured to deactivate the at least two wireless communication channels (see paragraph 119 which shows the activation and deactivation of trackers which have RF transmitters 74 and paragraph 131 which shows the activated tracker transmitting common information on two different channels using an antenna diversity scheme which is known in the art to be transmission of data in multiple channels in parallel and since the trackers transmit the multiple channels, deactivating the trackers also deactivates the communication channels). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to provide the teachings of Malackowski to the device of Teeter in order to provide a more reliable simulcast or diversity communications system in vehicles to where proper operability ensures the safety of all aboard.
The combination of Teeter and Malackowski does not teach the common information including at least some identical information transmitted in parallel. Narasimhan teaches the common information including at least some identical information transmitted in parallel (see col. 2, lines 18-33 which shows diversity transmission which is known in the art as the transmission of the same information in different frequencies and where the diversity transmission is shown to be in parallel). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to provide the teachings of Narasimhan to the modified device of Teeter and Malackowski in order to better ensure all transmitted common information promptly reaches all parties involved.
Referring to Claim 2, Teeter also teaches receiving, by the second wireless transceiver, the common information transmitted in parallel on the plural wireless communication channels (see paragraph 57 which shows the HOT/EOT message embedded with the DP message sent in parallel format to the EOT transceiver).
Referring to Claims 3 and 11, Teeter also teaches changing one or more of a throttle setting or a brake setting of the first vehicle using the common information that is transmitted (see paragraph 57 which shows an emergency brake application message).
Referring to Claims 4 and 12, Teeter also teaches the common information as first information, and further comprising: subsequently activating only one but not multiple of the wireless communication channels; and transmitting, by the first wireless transceiver to the second wireless transceiver, second information on the one wireless communication channel that is activated (see paragraph 13 which shows the HOT device transmitting status requests over the HOT/EOT channel which is different information transmitted on a frequent basis including after the emergency brake message is transmitted and over specifically the HOT/EOT channel).
Referring to Claims 5 and 13, Teeter also teaches the vehicles included in a rail vehicle system (see locomotive in fig. 1), the first wireless transceiver is included in a head-of-train (HOT) unit (see HOT transceiver 49 in fig. 2), the second wireless transceiver is included in an end-of-train (EOT) unit (see EOT transceiver 44 in fig. 2), and transmitting the common information in parallel on the plural wireless communication channels includes transmitting the common information from the HOT unit to the EOT unit (see paragraph 57 which shows the HOT/EOT message embedded with the DP message sent in parallel format to the EOT transceiver).
Referring to Claims 6 and 14, Teeter also teaches the second wireless transceiver part of a back-office computer (see paragraph 36 which shows the EOT transceiver handing identification information of the locomotives which signifies the device as part of a back-office computer).
Referring to Claims 7 and 15, Teeter also teaches the first vehicle part of a first consist of a vehicle system and the second wireless transceiver part of a second vehicle that is part of a second consist of the vehicle system (see paragraph 35 which shows the brake system of both the HOT and EOT vehicles connected to the transceivers of both vehicles which implies both vehicles part of a consist of both vehicle systems).
Referring to Claim 16, Teeter also teaches the first vehicle as a first automobile, and the second wireless transceiver part of a second vehicle that is a second automobile (see locomotives 14 and 12A in fig. 1 each with its own transceivers 29 and further noting that since those locomotives are self propelled vehicles with wheels, they are by definition, automobiles).
Referring to Claim 20, Teeter also teaches the HOT transceiver is configured to subsequently transmit additional information to the EOT transceiver via a single wireless communication channel of the plural wireless communication channels (see paragraph 13 which shows the HOT device transmitting status requests over the HOT/EOT channel which is different information transmitted on a frequent basis including after the emergency brake message is transmitted and over specifically the HOT/EOT channel).
Claim(s) 9 and 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Teeter, Malackowski, and Narasimhan, and further in view of Jordan et al. (US 2012/0142397).
Referring to Claims 9 and 17, the combination of Teeter, Malackowski, and Narasimhan does not teach the different radio carrier frequencies including a center frequency of 450 MHz and a cellular telephone frequency. Jordan teaches the different radio carrier frequencies including a center frequency of 450 MHz and acellular telephone frequency (see paragraph 19 which shows antennas on a moving vehicle communicating on 450 MHz and on cellular frequencies). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to provide the teachings of Jordan to the modified device of Teeter, Malackowski, and Narasimhan in order to expand the capabilities of in-vehicle communication units.
Claim(s) 8 and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Teeter, Malackowski, and Narasimhan, and further in view of Su et al. (US 2014/0086209).
Referring to Claim 8, the combination of Teeter, Malackowski, and Narasimhan does not teach the activating plural wireless communication channels in parallel including switching at least one of the first wireless transceiver or the second wireless transceiver from a low power, stand-by, or sleep mode to an active or fully operational mode via a carrier frequency associated with at least one of the at least two wireless communication channels. Su teaches the activating plural wireless communication channels in parallel including switching at least one of the first wireless transceiver or the second wireless transceiver from a low power, stand-by, or sleep mode to an active or fully operational mode via a carrier frequency associated with at least one of the at least two wireless communication channels (see paragraph 41 which shows parallel communication of different frequency channels with periodic waking from sleep mode). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to provide the teachings of Su to the modified device of Teeter, Malackowski, and Narasimhan in order to conserve power while using in-vehicle communication.
Referring to Claim 19, Su also teaches the HOT transceiver is configured to deactivate the plural wireless communication channels by entering a low power, stand-by or sleep mode (see paragraph 41 which shows parallel communication of different frequency channels with the entering into a DRX mode or sleep state). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to provide the teachings of Su to the modified device of Teeter, Malackowski, and Narasimhan in order to conserve power while using in-vehicle communication.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-20 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to EUGENE YUN whose telephone number is (571)272-7860. The examiner can normally be reached 9am-5pm.
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/EUGENE YUN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2648
