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 .
Drawings
New corrected drawings in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in this application because they are missing. Applicant is advised to employ the services of a competent patent draftsperson outside the Office, as the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office no longer prepares new drawings. The corrected drawings are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. The requirement for corrected drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1 - 3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Hundal et al. (US Pub. No. 20160125838), hereinafter referred to as Hundal.
Referring to claim 1, Hundal discloses a KVM system, comprising:
a network (extension medium / network 90, Fig. 3)
b) multiple remote devices (multiple remote devices 514/516, fig. 5B) each having:
a USB communication interface (USB downstream facing port 404, Fig. 4)
for communication with a USB peripheral device (connection to USB device 308 via DFP port, Fig. 3);
a network communication interface (network interface 704, Fig. 7) for communication with the network (link between DFP device 702 and UFP device 602 over network 90, Fig. 3);
a processing unit (USB extension engine 706, Fig. 7)
connected to the USB communication interface (interface to downstream facing port 710, Fig. 7)
and the network communication interface (interface to network interface 704, Fig. 7)
for receiving data from the USB peripheral device via the USB communication interface (receives USB data from attached device 308 through DFP port, Fig. 7) embedding it into network data packets (USB extension engine performing encapsulation using network interface 704 linked through USB extension engine 706, Fig. 7) and sending it over the network (transmits encapsulated USB packets to UFP via network 90, Fig. 3) or conversely (reverse direction supported between UFP and DFP, Fig. 7) receiving network data packets intended for the respective remote device (DFP receives USB-over-network packets via network interface 704, Fig. 7)
extracting the USB data (decapsulation by USB extension engine 706 to recover USB payload, Fig. 7)
and sending it to the respective USB peripheral device (forwards USB transactions to USB device 308 through port 710, Fig. 7);
c) multiple local devices (UFP device 602/522 serving as host side adapter, Figs. 5A-6) each having:
a USB communication interface (USB upstream facing port 402, Fig. 4) for communication with a USB host (connects to USB host controller 212 of host device 302, Fig. 3);
a network communication interface (network interface 612, Fig. 6) for communication with the network (couples UFP device 602 to network 90 for link to DFP, Fig. 3);
a processing unit (repeater/forwarder engine 606, Fig. 6) connected to the USB communication interface (interface with USB upstream port 604, Fig. 6) and the network communication interface (interface with network interface 612, Fig. 6) for receiving network data packets intended for the respective local device via the network communication interface (receives USB-over-network packets from DFP via network 90, Fig. 6) extracting the USB data (decapsulation logic in repeater/forwarder engine 606, Fig. 6) and sending it to the USB host via the USB communication interface (transmits USB data to USB host controller 212 through upstream port 604, Fig. 6) or conversely (bidirectional path supported for USB traffic, Fig. 6) receiving data from the USB host via the USB communication interface (host-to-device USB transactions captured by UFP 602, Fig. 6) embedding it into network data packets (encapsulation of USB packets into network protocol by USB extension engine 610 / repeater 606, Fig. 6) and sending it over the network (transmits to DFP device via network interface 612 and network 90, Fig. 3);
wherein the hosts assign a USB address to each USB peripheral device when establishing a USB connection according to the USB standard (USB host controller 212 performs standard enumeration and address assignment for connected USB devices, Fig. 2), the remote devices independently establish connections to the USB peripheral devices and assign USB addresses (DFP device 702 acts as USB host for attached USB devices 514, 516 and assigns local USB addresses before forwarding over network, Fig. 5A);
a management device is provided which stores the USB addresses assigned by the hosts and the USB addresses assigned by the remote devices and assigns a unique identifier to each USB peripheral device in the system (repeater/forwarder engine 606 maintains mapping of USB addresses to network addresses (MAC/IP) representing unique identifiers for each device, para. [0053], Fig. 6);
at least one mapping table is provided in the management device, in which each address assigned by the hosts is mapped to the unique identifier of a USB peripheral device (USB-to-network address mapping table in repeater/forwarder engine 606 used for routing USB packets between host and remote devices, para. [0053], Fig. 6);
during data transmission from the USB peripheral device to the host, the USB data is manipulated either in the remote devices or in the local devices such that the USB addresses assigned by the remote devices are replaced by the USB addresses assigned by the hosts (address translation using mapping table in repeater/forwarder engine 606 to replace remote DFP-assigned USB address with host-assigned address before delivery to USB host, para. [0054], Fig. 6) and during data transmission from the host to the USB peripheral device, the USB data is manipulated either in the remote devices or in the local devices such that the USB addresses assigned by the hosts are replaced by the USB addresses assigned by the remote devices (reverse translation in mapping table to restore DFP USB addresses for downstream delivery, para. [0054], Fig. 6).
As to claim 2, Hundal discloses the KVM system according to claim 1, wherein each USB peripheral device (USB device 308, Fig. 3) is associated with a respective information unit (entry record in mapping table of repeater/forwarder engine 606, Fig. 6) that specifies whether it is included in the mapping table(s) (mapping table contains valid entries linking host USB addresses to specific device identifiers used for routing determination, para. [0053], Fig. 6).
As to claim 3, Hundal discloses the KVM system according to claim 1, wherein multiple preconfigured mapping tables (distinct address-translation tables maintained for different USB routing modes or route-string levels in repeater/forwarder engine 606, Fig. 6) are provided in the management device (management logic within UFP device 602 storing USB-to-network address maps, Fig. 6) between which switching can occur (dynamic selection of address mappings based on route strings or port numbers for different DFP devices, paras. [0053]–[0055], Fig. 6).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Panesar et al. (US Pub. No. 20070043928) A method of improving USB device virtualization is proposed that allows giving virtual machines (VMs) direct access to USB devices with a combination hardware and software solutions.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JUANITO C BORROMEO whose telephone number is (571)270-1720. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday - Friday 9 - 5.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Henry Tsai can be reached on 5712724176. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/J.C.B/ Assistant Examiner, Art Unit 2184
/HENRY TSAI/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2184