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 .
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
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.
Claim(s) 1-11 and 17 is/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 1 recites the limitation “a wired telecommunication network” in the last line. It is unclear as to whether this is intended to refer to the previously claimed “a wired telecommunication network” of Line 10. For the purposes of evaluating prior art with respect to patentability, the Examiner has interpreted this limitation as “the wired telecommunication network”.
Dependent claims inherit the indefiniteness of their parent claims and are rejected under the same reasoning.
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) 1-17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WIPO International Publication Number WO 2021/170300 A1 to Brenguier (“Brenguier”) and US Patent Application Publication Number 2015/0372826 to Blaut et al. (“Blaut”).
In reference to Claim 1, Brenguier discloses a networking apparatus (See Figure 15 Number 120 and Page 21 Lines 29-31) comprising: power distribution bus (See Figure 15 Number 14, Page 7 Lines 5-8, Page 13 Lines 31-35, and Page 21 Lines 29-31) and a single powered device (PD) controller circuitry connected to the power distribution bus (See Figure 15 Number 10); a plurality of network interface circuits (See Figure 15 Numbers 4, 6, 7 coupled to 4, 7 coupled to 6, and 8 [first network interface circuit], Figure 15 Numbers 5, 9, 7 coupled to 5, 7 coupled to 9, and 8’ [second network interface circuit], Page 5 Line 18 – Page 7 Line 12, and Page 21 Lines 29-31) each connected to the single PD controller circuitry via a respective first output terminal (See Figure 15 Number 16, Page 6 Line 27, and Page 21 Lines 29-31) and a respective second output terminal (See Figure 15 Number 18, Page 6 Line 27, and Page 21 Lines 29-31), wherein each respective first output terminal and each respective second output terminal is connected to the power distribution bus (See Figure 15), wherein each network interface circuit comprises: connection portions adapted to connect the network interface circuit to a wired telecommunications network (See Figure 15 Numbers 4 and 6 and Numbers 5 and 9, Page 5 Lines 20-28, and Page 21 Lines 9-19); a rectifier connected to the power distribution bus and a communication portion and comprising a plurality of rectifier elements (See Figure 15 Numbers 8 and 8’, Page 6 Lines 14-18, and Page 21 Lines 20-31); and a single power source equipment (PSE) controller circuitry (See Figure 15 Number 12), wherein the plurality of the network interface circuits are each directly connected to the single PSE controller circuitry via a respective channel (See Figure 15 connection between Number 12 and SW2 [first channel] and Figure 15 connection between Number 12 and SW2’ [second channel]), and the single PD controller circuitry and the single PSE controller circuitry are mutually configured to control electrical power flow of each of the network interface circuits (See Page 8 Lines 7-15, Page 8 Line 34 – Page 9 Line 3, and Page 21 Lines 26-31), wherein the single PD controller circuitry is configured to control supply of electrical power to the power distribution bus when one of the network interface circuits is powered by a network (See Page 5 Lines 9-11, Page 7 Lines 23-24, Page 8 Lines 7-15, Page 10 Lines 17-28, Page 14 Lines 8-10, and Page 21 Lines 26-31), wherein the single PSE controller circuitry is configured to control supply of electrical power from the power distribution bus when at least one of the network interface circuits is self-powered (See Page 5 Lines 5-8, Page 7 Lines 25-27, Page 8 Line 34 – Page 9 Line 3, and Page 21 Lines 26-31), the networking apparatus being configured to transfer data and electrical power between the network interface circuits, each network interface circuit being capable of a bidirectional transmission of data and a selectively monodirectional electrical current over a wired telecommunications network (See Page 5 Lines 1-11, Page 14 Lines 5-10, Page 14 Lines 20-22, Page 15 Lines 18-19 and 27-30, and Page 21 Lines 26-31). Brenguier further discloses that each network interface circuit further comprises a voltage sensor connected to the connection portions to detect voltage input to the rectifier (See Page 7 Line 33 – Page 8 Line 6, and Page 21 Lines 29-34 [a rectifier equalizes the polarity of an input voltage signal, but does not change the absolute magnitude of the input voltage signal, and thus the voltage detector of Bruguier detects the voltage input to the rectifier]). Brenguier further discloses that other types and other locations of voltage detectors may be used (See Page 8 Lines 1-7). However, Brenguier does not explicitly discloses that the voltage sensory is directly connected to the connection portions and connected between the connection portions and the rectifier to detect the voltage input to the rectifier. Blaut discloses a PoE PD device network interface circuit (See Figure 4 Number 510 and Paragraph 49) comprising: a plurality of connection portions adapted to connect the network interface circuit to a wired telecommunications network (See Figure 4 Numbers 20 and 30 and Paragraph 49); a rectifier connected to the power distribution bus and a communication portion and comprising a plurality of rectifier elements (See Figure 4 Number 40 and Paragraph 49 [a diode bridge is a rectifier comprising a plurality of diode rectifier elements]); and a voltage sensor (See Figure 4 Numbers 70 and 330, together, and Paragraph 49) directly connected to the connection portions and connected between the connection portions and rectifier (See Figure 4 and Paragraph 49) to detect the voltage input to the rectifier (See Paragraphs 51-52).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to construct the device of Brenguier using the voltage sensor of Blaut, resulting in the invention of Claim 1, because Brenguier is not limited as to the type or location of voltage sensor used (See Page 8 Lines 1-7 of Brenguier), and the simple substitution of the voltage sensor directly connected to the connection portions and connected between the connection portions and the rectifier of Blaut in place of the voltage sensor of Brenguier would have yielded the predictable result of detecting the voltage input to the rectifier (See Page 7 Lines 33-35 of Brenguier and Page 52 of Blaut).
Furthermore, it would have been obvious to try the voltage sensor of Blaut connected between the connection portions and the rectifier as the voltage sensor of Brenguier, as there are a finite number of locations in which the voltage sensor can be located (between the connection portions and the rectifier, between the rectifier and the PD controller, and as part of the PD controller), one of ordinary skill would recognize that the particular location of the voltage sensor would not affect the functionality of Brenguier, and one of ordinary skill in the art has good reason to try the known options within their technical grasp in an effort to provide and improved construction of the device of Brenguier.
In reference to Claim 2, Brenguier and Blaut disclose the limitations as applied to Claim 1 above. Brenguier further discloses that each network interface circuit comprises: a first rectifier switch (See Figure 15 Numbers SW2) and a second rectifier switch (See Figure 15 Numbers SW2’) each respectively coupled to a channel of the single PSE controller and configured to selectively prevent electrical current from flowing from the bus to the connection portion (See Figure 15, Page 8 Line 24 – Page 9 Line 3, and Page 21 Lines 26-31).
In reference to Claim 3, Brenguier and Blaut disclose the limitations as applied to Claim 2 above. Brenguier further discloses that the first rectifier switch is connected in parallel with a first rectifier element of the rectifier (See Figure 15 D3), and the second rectifier switch is connected in parallel with a second rectifier element of the rectifier (See Figure 15 D3’).
In reference to Claim 4, Brenguier and Blaut disclose the limitations as applied to Claim 2 above. Brenguier further discloses electronics circuitry comprising a PD controller switch operatively coupled to or part of the single PD controller (See Figure 15 Number SW1) and configured to selectively prevent electrical currents from flowing from the connection portion of each interface circuit to the power distribution bus (See Page 8 Lines 9-15 and Page 21 Lines 29-31), and wherein the networking apparatus is configured to: activate the single PD controller to close the PD controller switch when an input volage received from the voltage sensor at the connection portion of one network interface circuit of the plurality of interface circuits receiving electrical power exceeds a predefined threshold (See Page 10 Lines 17-23 and Page 21 Lines 29-31), and deactivate the channel of the single PSE controller circuitry connected to said one network interface circuit to prevent closure of the first and second rectifier switches of the currently powered network interface circuit (See Page 9 Lines 1-3 and 23-26, Page 11 Lines 24-26, and Page 21 Lines 29-31).
In reference to Claim 5, Brenguier and Blaut disclose the limitations as applied to Claim 4 above. Brenguier further discloses that said electronics circuitry further comprises: a first resistor which is connected in parallel with the single PD controller circuitry (See Page 10 Lines 11-28 and Page 11 Lines 8-16 [a PoE power receiving device is required by the PoE standard to provide a 25kΩ resistor between the two voltage pins of the network connection {terminals 16 and 18 of Brenguier} in order to provide a signature resistance that signals a remote PSE that a valid PD is present and is ready to receive power; such a resistor between terminals 16 and 18 would necessarily be in parallel to the single PD controller circuitry 10]), and a second resistor which is operatively connected to the single PSE controller circuitry (See Figure 15 R2, Page 8 Lines 20-23, and Page 21 Lines 29-31).
In reference to Claim 6, Brenguier and Blaut disclose the limitations as applied to Claim 4 above. Brenguier further discloses that the PD controller switch is connected between the connection portion of each network interface circuit and the power distribution bus (See Figure 15).
In reference to Claim 7, Brenguier and Blaut disclose the limitations as applied to Claim 2 above. Brenguier further discloses that the rectifier of each network interface circuit comprises a diode bridge rectifier, wherein the plurality of rectifier elements comprises a plurality of diodes (See Figure 15 Numbers 8 and 8’, Page 6 Lines 14-18, and Page 21 Lines 20-31).
In reference to Claim 8, Brenguier and Blaut disclose the limitations as applied to Claim 7 above. Brenguier further discloses that the rectifier of each network interface circuit comprises a first input terminal and a second input terminal, and a first output terminal and a second output terminal, wherein a cathode of a first diode of each network interface circuit is connected to a corresponding first output terminal and an anode of each first diode is connected to the corresponding first input terminal, and wherein a cathode of a second diode of each network interface circuit is connected to the second input terminal and the anode of each second diode is connected to the corresponding second output terminal (See Figure 15, Page 6 Line 24 – Page 7 Line 2, and Page 21 Lines 20-31).
In reference to Claim 9, Brenguier and Blaut disclose the limitations as applied to Claim 2 above. Brenguier further discloses that one or more of the first rectifier switch, the second rectifier switch, or a PD controller switch of the networking apparatus comprise electrical switches or transistor-based switches, and wherein the electrical switches or the transistor-based switches comprises one or more of Mosfets, Insulated Gate Bipolar transistors, or bipolar transistors (See Page 8 Lines 16-19, Page 9 Lines 4-8 and 27-30, and Page 21 Lines 29-31).
In reference to Claim 10, Brenguier and Blaut disclose the limitations as applied to Claim 2 above. Brenguier further discloses that the single PSE controller circuitry is configured to close the first rectifier switch or the second rectifier switch of one of the plurality of network interface circuits when the power distribution bus has excess power that can be delivered to a remote device through the wired telecommunications network (See Page 9 Lines 31-33 and Page 21 Lines 29-31).
In reference to Claim 11, Brenguier and Blaut disclose the limitations as applied to Claim 1 above. Brenguier further discloses that the single PD controller circuitry is configured to be automatically switched into a low power consumption mode when the single PSE controller circuitry is attempting to determine electrical properties of a remote load (See Page 12 Lines 5-10 and Page 21 Lines 29-31).
In reference to Claim 12, Brenguier discloses a wired telecommunications network, comprising a plurality of networking apparatuses (See Figure 11, Figure 15 Number 120, Page 14 Lines 14-22, Page 19 Lines 1-11, and Page 21 Lines 29-31), wherein at least one networking apparatus (See Figure 15 Number 120) comprises: a power distribution bus (See Figure 15 Number 14, Page 7 Lines 5-8, Page 13 Lines 31-35, and Page 21 Lines 29-31) and a single powered device (PD) controller circuitry connected to the power distribution bus (See Figure 15 Number 10); a plurality of network interface circuits (See Figure 15 Numbers 4, 6, 7 coupled to 4, 7 coupled to 6, and 8 [first network interface circuit], Figure 15 Numbers 5, 9, 7 coupled to 5, 7 coupled to 9, and 8’ [second network interface circuit], Page 5 Line 18 – Page 7 Line 12, and Page 21 Lines 29-31) each connected to the single PD controller circuitry via a respective first output terminal (See Figure 15 Number 16, Page 6 Line 27, and Page 21 Lines 29-31) and a respective second output terminal (See Figure 15 Number 18, Page 6 Line 27, and Page 21 Lines 29-31), wherein each respective first output terminal and each respective second output terminal is connected to the power distribution bus (See Figure 15), wherein each network interface circuit comprises: connection portions adapted to connect the network interface circuit to a wired telecommunications network (See Figure 15 Numbers 4 and 6 and Numbers 5 and 9, Page 5 Lines 20-28, and Page 21 Lines 9-19); a rectifier connected to the power distribution bus and a communication portion and comprising a plurality of rectifier elements (See Figure 15 Numbers 8 and 8’, Page 6 Lines 14-18, and Page 21 Lines 20-31); and a single power source equipment (PSE) controller circuitry (See Figure 15 Number 12), wherein the plurality of the network interface circuits are each directly connected to the single PSE controller circuitry via a respective channel (See Figure 15 connection between Number 12 and SW2 [first channel] and Figure 15 connection between Number 12 and SW2’ [second channel]), and the single PD controller circuitry and the single PSE controller circuitry are mutually configured to control electrical power flow of each of the network interface circuits (See Page 8 Lines 7-15, Page 8 Line 34 – Page 9 Line 3, and Page 21 Lines 26-31), wherein the single PD controller circuitry is configured to control supply of electrical power to the power distribution bus when one of the network interface circuits is powered by a network (See Page 5 Lines 9-11, Page 7 Lines 23-24, Page 8 Lines 7-15, Page 10 Lines 17-28, Page 14 Lines 8-10, and Page 21 Lines 26-31), wherein the single PSE controller circuitry is configured to control supply of electrical power from the power distribution bus when at least one of the network interface circuits is self-powered (See Page 5 Lines 5-8, Page 7 Lines 25-27, Page 8 Line 34 – Page 9 Line 3, and Page 21 Lines 26-31), the networking apparatus being configured to transfer data and electrical power between the network interface circuits, each network interface circuit being capable of a bidirectional transmission of data and a selectively monodirectional electrical current over a wired telecommunications network (See Page 5 Lines 1-11, Column 14 Lines 5-10, Page 14 Lines 20-22, Page 15 Lines 18-19 and 27-30, and Page 21 Lines 26-31). Brenguier further discloses that each network interface circuit further comprises a voltage sensor connected to the connection portions to detect voltage input to the rectifier (See Page 7 Line 33 – Page 8 Line 6, and Page 21 Lines 29-34 [a rectifier equalizes the polarity of an input voltage signal, but does not change the absolute magnitude of the input voltage signal, and thus the voltage detector of Bruguier detects the voltage input to the rectifier]). Brenguier further discloses that other types and other locations of voltage detectors may be used (See Page 8 Lines 1-7). However, Brenguier does not explicitly discloses that the voltage sensory is directly connected to the connection portions and connected between the connection portions and the rectifier to detect the voltage input to the rectifier. Blaut discloses a PoE PD device network interface circuit (See Figure 4 Number 510 and Paragraph 49) comprising: a plurality of connection portions adapted to connect the network interface circuit to a wired telecommunications network (See Figure 4 Numbers 20 and 30 and Paragraph 49); a rectifier connected to the power distribution bus and a communication portion and comprising a plurality of rectifier elements (See Figure 4 Number 40 and Paragraph 49 [a diode bridge is a rectifier comprising a plurality of diode rectifier elements]); and a voltage sensor (See Figure 4 Numbers 70 and 330, together, and Paragraph 49) directly connected to the connection portions and connected between the connection portions and rectifier (See Figure 4 and Paragraph 49) to detect the voltage input to the rectifier (See Paragraphs 51-52).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to construct the device of Brenguier using the voltage sensor of Blaut, resulting in the invention of Claim 12, because Brenguier is not limited as to the type or location of voltage sensor used (See Page 8 Lines 1-7 of Brenguier), and the simple substitution of the voltage sensor directly connected to the connection portions and connected between the connection portions and the rectifier of Blaut in place of the voltage sensor of Brenguier would have yielded the predictable result of detecting the voltage input to the rectifier (See Page 7 Lines 33-35 of Brenguier and Page 52 of Blaut).
Furthermore, it would have been obvious to try the voltage sensor of Blaut connected between the connection portions and the rectifier as the voltage sensor of Brenguier, as there are a finite number of locations in which the voltage sensor can be located (between the connection portions and the rectifier, between the rectifier and the PD controller, and as part of the PD controller), one of ordinary skill would recognize that the particular location of the voltage sensor would not affect the functionality of Brenguier, and one of ordinary skill in the art has good reason to try the known options within their technical grasp in an effort to provide and improved construction of the device of Brenguier.
In reference to Claim 13, Brenguier and Blaut disclose the limitations as applied to Claim 12 above. Brenguier further discloses that the wired telecommunications network has a closed ring topology (See Figure 11, Page 3 Lines 22-23, Page 15 Lines 15-17, Page 19 Lines 8-11, and Page 21 Lines 26-31).
In reference to Claim 14, Brenguier and Blaut disclose the limitations as applied to Claim 12 above. Brenguier further discloses that the wired telecommunications network comprises an Ethernet network (See Figure 11, Page 14 Lines 14-22, and Page 21 Lines 26-31).
In reference to Claim 15, Brenguier and Blaut disclose the limitations as applied to Claim 13 above. Brenguier further discloses that the closed ring topology comprises a closed daisy chain topology (See Figure 11, Page 3 Lines 22-23, Page 15 Lines 15-17, Page 19 Lines 8-11, and Page 21 Lines 26-31).
In reference to Claim 16, Brenguier and Blaut disclose the limitations as applied to Claim 12 above. Brenguier further discloses that the single PD controller circuitry, the single PSE controller circuitry, and the plurality of network interface circuits are mutually arranged and configured to: put or maintain a first network interface circuit of the plurality of network interface circuits into a powered mode (See Page 5 Lines 1-4 and 9-11 and Page 21 Lines 26-31), where the networking apparatus receives feeding power from the wired telecommunications network when a voltage received in input by said first network interface circuit exceeds a predefined threshold (See Page 10 Lines 17-28 and Page 21 Lines 29-31), and deactivates the channel of the single PSE controller circuitry connected to said first interface circuit receiving power to prevent flow of power from the power distribution bus towards the wired telecommunications network (See Page 9 Lines 1-3 and 23-26, Page 11 Lines 24-26, and Page 21 Lines 29-31); and put or maintain the interface circuits of the plurality of interface circuits other than said first interface circuit in a power supplying equipment mode enabling feeding power to flow from the power distribution bus towards the wired telecommunications network (See Page 5 Lines 1-8, Page 18 Lines 19-21, and Page 21 Lines 26-31).
In reference to Claim 17, Brenguier and Blaut disclose the limitations as applied to Claim 1 above. Brenguier further discloses that the single PD controller circuitry, the single PSE controller circuitry, and the plurality of network interface circuits are mutually arranged and configured to: put or maintain a first network interface circuit of the plurality of network interface circuits into a powered mode (See Page 5 Lines 1-4 and 9-11 and Page 21 Lines 26-31), where the networking apparatus receives feeding power from the wired telecommunications network when a voltage received in input by said first network interface circuit exceeds a predefined threshold (See Page 10 Lines 17-28 and Page 21 Lines 29-31), and deactivate the channel of the single PSE controller circuitry connected to said first interface circuit receiving power to prevent flow of power from the power distribution bus towards the wired telecommunications network (See Page 9 Lines 1-3 and 23-26, Page 11 Lines 24-26, and Page 21 Lines 29-31); and put or maintain the interface circuits of the plurality of interface circuits other than said first interface circuit in a power supplying equipment mode enabling feeding power to flow from the power distribution bus towards the wired telecommunications network (See Page 5 Lines 1-8, Page 18 Lines 19-21, and Page 21 Lines 26-31).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 28 May 2026 have been fully considered but are moot in view of the new grounds of rejection.
Conclusion
The art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 THOMAS J CLEARY whose telephone number is (571)272-3624. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8AM-5PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Andrew Jung can be reached at 571-270-3779. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/THOMAS J. CLEARY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2175
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