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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on December 31, 2025 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-16 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.
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 (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.
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.
Claims 1-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ergen (2021/0409976, of record) in view of Soro et al. (2019/0349929, of record) [Soro] and Ibrahim et al. (2024/0113833) [Ibrahim].
Regarding claims 1, 15, and 16, Ergen discloses a control apparatus comprising: a control part configured to determine a channel selection order in frequency hopping (console application paragraph 0036);
a transmitter configured to transmit transmission data at a frequency corresponding to a selected channel selected based on the selection order (push mechanism, paragraph 0037);
and a receiver configured to receive, in response to the transmission, reception data from a communication target device at a frequency corresponding to the selected channel, wherein the reception data includes radio field strength information on a measurement channel of a measurement target that is a channel used for the frequency hopping (paragraphs 0038, 0045, and 0048).
Ergen fails to disclose the channel selection order is a channel hopping pattern specified in a code included the reception data and transmission data, and the determination is among a plurality of channels designated in valid information included in the transmission data.
In an analogous art, Soro teaches it was common practice in the art at the time of effective filing to specify valid channels in a transmission prior to performing channel scanning (paragraph 0084) for the conventional benefit of expediting the scanning process to be limited to a list of designated valid channels.
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art at the time of effective filing to modify the control apparatus of Ergen to include the determination is among a plurality of channels designated in valid information included in the transmission data, as suggested by Soro, for the benefit of expediting the scanning process to be limited to a list of designated valid channels.
Ergen and Soro fail to disclose the channel selection order is a channel hopping pattern specified in a code included the reception data and transmission data.
In an analogous art, Ibrahim teaches it was common practice in the art at the time of effective filing to specify a channel hopping pattern with a code in communications between devices (control signaling, paragraphs 0150, 0179, 0216) for the conventional benefit of avoiding signal collision and interference over a network.
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art at the time of effective filing to modify the control apparatus of Ergen and Soro to include utilizing a channel hopping pattern specified in a code included the reception data and transmission data, as suggested by Ibrahim, for the conventional benefit of avoiding signal collision and interference over a network.
Regarding claim 2, Ergen, Soro, and Ibrahim disclose the control apparatus of claim 1, wherein the transmission data transmitted by the transmitter includes control information for controlling an operation of the communication target device, and the reception data received by the receiver includes telemetry information on the communication target device and the radio field strength information (target device is a client device, Ergen paragraphs 0038 and 0045).
Regarding claim 3, Ergen, Soro, and Ibrahim disclose the control apparatus of claim 1, wherein the reception data includes a radio field strength information measured after the transmission corresponding to the reception (Ergen, paragraphs 0045 and 0048).
Regarding claim 4, Ergen, Soro, and Ibrahim disclose the control apparatus of claim 3, wherein the measurement channel is the current selected channel (measures across spectrum, Ergen paragraphs 0038 and 0045).
Regarding claim 5, Ergen, Soro, and Ibrahim disclose the control apparatus of claim 3, wherein the measurement channel is a channel other than the current selected channel (measures across spectrum, Ergen paragraphs 0038 and 0045).
Regarding claim 6, Ergen, Soro, and Ibrahim discloses the control apparatus of claim 5, wherein the measurement channel is a channel to be selected after the current selected channel (measures across spectrum, Ergen paragraphs 0038 and 0045).
Regarding claim 7, Ergen, Soro, and Ibrahim disclose the control apparatus of claim 1, wherein the control part determines whether or not to invalidate the measurement channel where the radio field strength information is measured based on the radio field strength information, and selects a channel other than the invalid channel determined to be invalid in the selection of the selected channel (determining a channel is not "clean", Ergen paragraph 0111).
Regarding claim 8, Ergen, Soro, and Ibrahim disclose the control apparatus of claim 7, wherein the control part determines whether or not to validate the invalid channel when the reception data including the radio field strength information on the invalid channel is received again (determining a channel is not "clean", Ergen paragraph 0111).
Regarding claim 9, Ergen, Soro, and Ibrahim disclose the control apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: a display part configured to present information based on the radio field strength information (indication of signal/channel characteristics, Ergen paragraph 0036).
Regarding claim 10, Ergen, Soro, and Ibrahim disclose the control apparatus of claim 1, wherein the control part calculates an interference wave intensity for the measurement channel based on the radio field strength information (interference detected by Al model, paragraphs 0028 and 0045).
Regarding claim 11, Ergen, Soro, and Ibrahim disclose the control apparatus of claim 10, wherein the control part performs a warning process depending on a calculated degree of interference (indication of signal/channel characteristics, Ergen paragraph 0036).
Regarding claim 12, Ergen, Soro, and Ibrahim disclose the control apparatus of claim 11, wherein the control part sets a warning condition by manipulation of a manipulation part, and performs the warning process corresponding to the warning condition (indication of signal/channel characteristics, Ergen paragraph 0036).
Regarding claim 13, Ergen, Soro, and Ibrahim disclose the control apparatus of claim 11, wherein the control part determines whether or not to invalidate the measurement channel where the radio field strength information is measured based on the radio field strength information (paragraph 0045), and executes the warning process when the number of invalid channels determined to be invalid by the determination is greater than or equal to a predetermined number (Ergen paragraph 0056).
Regarding claim 14, Ergen, Soro, and Ibrahim disclose the control apparatus of claim 1, wherein the reception data includes information on the selected channel in addition to the radio field strength information on the measurement channel (Ergen paragraph 0045).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DOMINIC D SALTARELLI whose telephone number is (571)272-7302. The examiner can normally be reached 9:00 am - 5:00 pm EST.
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/DOMINIC D SALTARELLI/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2421