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 .
Teleconference
Applicant’s representative, H. Kenneth Prol (Reg. No. 50809), called and spoke with the Examiner on 02/24/2026. The Examiner addressed the Applicant’s concerns regarding the Lin reference and the objection to the drawings. No agreement was reached.
Response to Amendment
This office action is in reply to Applicant’s Response dated 02/24/2026. Claims 1, 5, 13 and 17 are amended. Claims 1-20 remain pending in the application.
Response to Arguments
The Applicant argues (see page 13) that Applicant amends FIG. 1 and FIG. 1
(continued) as well as FIG. 5 and FIG. 5 (continued) to instead recite FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B as well as FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B respectively.
In response to the Applicant’s argument, the objection to the drawings has been withdrawn in view of the replacement sheets submitted on 02/24/2026.
In response to the Applicant’s argument (see page 14) with respect to the rejection under 35 U.S.C. 112(b), the rejection under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) has been withdrawn in view of the amendments made to the claims.
The Applicant argues (see pages 14-16), with respect to claims 1, 9 and 13 that Lin does not describe actual physical proximity distances between candidate host information handling system devices (e.g., based on RSSI measurements) and a wireless peripheral device for pairing and that similarity assessments using key features for a Bluetooth device performance characteristics (such as with word tokens describing performance characteristics) is not the same and does not teach this aspect of claims 1, 9 and 13
In response to the Applicant’s argument, the Examiner respectfully disagrees. The limitation in which Lin is relied upon to teach is “the peripheral device hardware microcontroller configured to select a first candidate host information handling system from among the remaining plurality of candidate host information handling systems when the first proximity distance of the first candidate host information handling system to the wireless peripheral device is more than a threshold difference amount of proximity distance closer than other of the remaining plurality of candidate host information handling systems”. The Examiner submits the term “actual physical proximity distance” is not recited in the claim. In other words, the claim does not require the proximity distance to be an actual physical proximity distance. Therefore, the Applicant argues a limitation that is not recited in the claim.
In addition, Lin teaches that the process involves sequencing all the devices according to the distance from the target device, and the device closest to the distance is considered to be most similar to the target device (Lin, see page 17, paragraph 3). Lin clarifies that to ensure that the optimization process not only refers to the physical distance between the nodes, but also refers to the communication efficiency, according to the mapped characteristic (Lin, see page 9, paragraph 3). Clearly, Lin describes actual physical distance between devices.
Claim Objections
Claim 7 objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
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 1-5 and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pierson et al. (U.S. PGPub 2023/0136293) in view of Kaye et al. (U.S. PGPub 2015/0112748) further in view of Lin (CN 118573610, see the English translated copy mailed on 09/24/2025).
Regarding claim 1, Pierson teaches A wireless peripheral device operatively couplable to a first host candidate information handling system among a plurality of host candidate information handling systems comprising: a peripheral device hardware microcontroller, a peripheral device storage device, and a peripheral device wireless radio; (Pierson, see figs. 3, 5 and 8; see paragraph 0059 physical aspects of the pairing protocol of FIG. 4, at block 405 the user places a pair of wireless devices, D.sub.1 and D.sub.2, that they want to pair together a distance d apart from one another...; see paragraph 0033 where at some position (d.sub.1, d.sub.2) between R.sub.1 and R.sub.2, at a height h above the radios...)
the peripheral device radio configured to transmit an instruction to cease pairing to a non-responding candidate host information handling system among the plurality of candidate host information handling systems that fails to respond to the first pairing proximity beacon; (Pierson, see paragraph 0065 each frame that D.sub.1 and D.sub.2 exchange is indexed, with its index (here, a number) included in the payload of the frame. Indexing is used to help D.sub.1 synchronize the exchange as the PR. If D.sub.2 fails to respond within a short time window (possibly because the frame was dropped), D.sub.1 may resend a new frame with the same index one or more times, for example, three times. If D.sub.2 fails to respond after the last (e.g., third) resend, D.sub.1 deduces that D.sub.2 has stopped trying to pair and also terminates pairing...)
the peripheral device hardware microcontroller configured to receive a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) value from each of a remaining plurality of candidate host information handling systems for each of the first pairing proximity discovery beacon and the second pairing proximity beacon to determine a proximity distance of each of the remaining plurality of candidate host information handling systems; (Pierson, see figs. 1 and 6; see paragraph 0017 each of received signal strength indicator (RSSI) versus frame index for frames received by a corresponding one of the wireless devices D.sub.1 and D.sub.2 (primary radio (PR) and secondary radio (SR); see paragraph 0067 RSSI patterns recorded by the PR and the SR during a sample pairing session using the example pairing protocol 400 of FIG. 4. As shown in FIG. 6, each of D.sub.1 and D.sub.2 records extreme RSSI values because these wireless devices are nearby one another (as the Fresnel-zone theory suggests)...; see figs. 7A and 7B and paragraph 0018 RSSI versus distance; see paragraph 0031 the radius, r.sub.n, of each Fresnel zone is calculated to achieve this effect. Let d=d.sub.1+d.sub.2, where d is the total (fixed) distance between R.sub.1 and R.sub.2, d.sub.1 and d.sub.2 are distances from R.sub.1 and R.sub.2, respectively, to a point along the horizontal between the two radios. Let (d.sub.1, d.sub.2) denote a position along the horizontal between the two radios; see also paragraph 0090)
the peripheral device hardware microcontroller configured to execute code instructions to commence pairing with the first candidate host information handling system and instruct user prompts for pairing to be displayed at the first candidate host information handling system. (Pierson, see figs. 1 and 4; see paragraph 0072 where D.sub.1 and D.sub.2 bootstrap a secure communications channel between themselves using a suitable bootstrapping protocol...wireless protocol that D.sub.1 and D.sub.2 operate under for the pairing and the processing speeds of D.sub.1 and D.sub.2...; see paragraph 0055 perform the pairing...provide the instructions to a user, for example, via a graphical display or an aural display...)
However, Pierson does not explicitly teach the peripheral device hardware microcontroller configured to execute computer-readable program code of a pre-pairing host contention and arbitration module to transmit, via the peripheral device radio, a first pairing proximity discovery beacon and a second pairing proximity beacon to each of the plurality of candidate host information handling systems in wireless range of the wireless peripheral device, where the first pairing proximity beacon has a lower signal power than the second pairing proximity beacon;
Kaye teaches the peripheral device hardware microcontroller configured to execute computer-readable program code of a pre-pairing host contention and arbitration module to transmit, via the peripheral device radio, a first pairing proximity discovery beacon and a second pairing proximity beacon to each of the plurality of candidate host information handling systems in wireless range of the wireless peripheral device, where the first pairing proximity beacon has a lower signal power than the second pairing proximity beacon; (Kaye, see figs. 1, 3 and 7; see paragraph 0083 a scan is initiated seeking the first beacon signal 621; see paragraphs 0091-0092 scanning for a second trigger beacon...the trigger beacon 612 can be a very low power beacon capable of detection from only a very short distance from the beacon 612...the second trigger beacon 612 can have a UUID enabling unique identification...)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time the invention was filed, to combine Pierson and Kaye to provide the technique of the peripheral device hardware microcontroller configured to execute computer-readable program code of a pre-pairing host contention and arbitration module to transmit, via the peripheral device radio, a first pairing proximity discovery beacon and a second pairing proximity beacon to each of the plurality of candidate host information handling systems in wireless range of the wireless peripheral device, where the first pairing proximity beacon has a lower signal power than the second pairing proximity beacon of Kaye in the system of Pierson in order to conserve power (Kaye, see paragraph 0055).
However, Pierson-Kaye does not explicitly teach the peripheral device hardware microcontroller configured to select a first candidate host information handling system from among the remaining plurality of candidate host information handling systems when the first proximity distance of the first candidate host information handling system to the wireless peripheral device is more than a threshold difference amount of proximity distance closer than other of the remaining plurality of candidate host information handling systems; and
Lin teaches the peripheral device hardware microcontroller configured to select a first candidate host information handling system from among the remaining plurality of candidate host information handling systems when the first proximity distance of the first candidate host information handling system to the wireless peripheral device is more than a threshold difference amount of proximity distance closer than other of the remaining plurality of candidate host information handling systems; and (Lin, see page 17, paragraph 3 sequencing all the devices according to the distance from the target device, and the device closest to the distance is considered to be most similar…setting a threshold value, only referring to the device whose distance is lower than the threshold value as the candidate device of the optimal pairing...selected candidate device is highly matched with the target device...optimized candidate list for the device pairing...; see also page 9, paragraph 3)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time the invention was filed, to combine Pierson-Kaye and Lin to provide the technique of the peripheral device hardware microcontroller configured to select a first candidate host information handling system from among the remaining plurality of candidate host information handling systems when the first proximity distance of the first candidate host information handling system to the wireless peripheral device is more than a threshold difference amount of proximity distance closer than other of the remaining plurality of candidate host information handling systems of Lin in the system of Pierson-Kaye in order to ensure high efficiency and accuracy of the pairing (Lin, see page 17, paragraph 2).
Regarding claim 2, Pierson-Kaye-Lin teaches wherein the peripheral device radio transmits the instruction to cease pairing to the remaining plurality of candidate host information handling systems that are not the selected first candidate host information handling system. (Pierson, see paragraph 0065 each frame that D.sub.1 and D.sub.2 exchange is indexed, with its index (here, a number) included in the payload of the frame. Indexing is used to help D.sub.1 synchronize the exchange as the PR. If D.sub.2 fails to respond within a short time window (possibly because the frame was dropped), D.sub.1 may resend a new frame with the same index one or more times, for example, three times. If D.sub.2 fails to respond after the last (e.g., third) resend, D.sub.1 deduces that D.sub.2 has stopped trying to pair and also terminates pairing...)
Regarding claim 3, Pierson-Kaye-Lin teaches further comprising: select a second candidate host information handling system from the remaining plurality of candidate host information handling systems when the first proximity distance of the first candidate host information handling system and a second proximity distance of the second candidate host information handling system are both within the threshold difference amount of proximity distance from the wireless peripheral device; and (Lin, see page 17, paragraph 3 sequencing all the devices according to the distance from the target device, and the device closest to the distance is considered to be most similar…setting a threshold value, only referring to the device whose distance is lower than the threshold value as the candidate device of the optimal pairing...selected candidate device is highly matched with the target device...optimized candidate list for the device pairing...)
the peripheral device hardware microcontroller executing code instructions of the pairing module to commence pairing with the second candidate host information handling system and instruct the user prompts for pairing to be displayed at the second candidate host information handling system in addition to the first candidate host information handling system for a user to select between the first candidate host information handling system and the user second candidate host information handling system for pairing. (Pierson, see figs. 1 and 4; see paragraph 0072 where D.sub.1 and D.sub.2 bootstrap a secure communications channel between themselves using a suitable bootstrapping protocol...wireless protocol that D.sub.1 and D.sub.2 operate under for the pairing and the processing speeds of D.sub.1 and D.sub.2...; see paragraph 0055 perform the pairing...provide the instructions to a user, for example, via a graphical display or an aural display...) The motivation regarding to the obviousness to claim 1 is also applied to claim 3.
Regarding claim 4, Pierson-Kaye-Lin teaches wherein transmitting the first pairing proximity discovery beacon and the second pairing proximity beacon to each of the plurality of candidate host information handling systems in wireless range of the wireless peripheral device is sequentially staggered by the wireless peripheral device to conduct an RSSI collection at each candidate host information handling system sequentially. (Kaye, see figs. 1, 3 and 7; see paragraph 0083 a scan is initiated seeking the first beacon signal 621; see paragraphs 0091-0092 scanning for a second trigger beacon...the trigger beacon 612 can be a very low power beacon capable of detection from only a very short distance from the beacon 612...the second trigger beacon 612 can have a UUID enabling unique identification...; see paragraph 0009 mobile electronic device is further configured to obtain a measurement of a signal strength of the beacon signal, and determine whether the device is located at the meeting location based on the measurement and a predetermined threshold value) The motivation regarding to the obviousness to claim 1 is also applied to claim 4.
Regarding claim 5, Pierson-Kaye-Lin teaches further comprising: the peripheral device radio configured to receive a third pairing proximity discovery beacon transmitted from each of the remaining plurality of candidate host information handling systems for further determination of proximity distances for each of the remaining plurality of candidate host information handling systems. (Pierson, see figs. 1 and 6; see paragraph 0017 each of received signal strength indicator (RSSI) versus frame index for frames received by a corresponding one of the wireless devices D.sub.1 and D.sub.2 (primary radio (PR) and secondary radio (SR); see paragraph 0067 RSSI patterns recorded by the PR and the SR during a sample pairing session using the example pairing protocol 400 of FIG. 4. As shown in FIG. 6, each of D.sub.1 and D.sub.2 records extreme RSSI values because these wireless devices are nearby one another (as the Fresnel-zone theory suggests)...; see figs. 7A and 7B and paragraph 0018 RSSI versus distance; see paragraph 0031 the radius, r.sub.n, of each Fresnel zone is calculated to achieve this effect. Let d=d.sub.1+d.sub.2, where d is the total (fixed) distance between R.sub.1 and R.sub.2, d.sub.1 and d.sub.2 are distances from R.sub.1 and R.sub.2, respectively, to a point along the horizontal between the two radios. Let (d.sub.1, d.sub.2) denote a position along the horizontal between the two radios; see also paragraph 0090)
Regarding claim 8, Pierson-Kaye-Lin teaches wherein the peripheral device radio establishes generic attribute profile (GATT) communications under the Bluetooth ® Low Energy (BLE) protocol to transmit the first pairing proximity discovery beacon and the second pairing proximity beacon to each of the plurality of candidate host information handling systems in wireless range of the wireless peripheral device. (Kaye, see figs. 1, 3 and 7; see paragraph 0044 receiving a beacon signal and determining a signal strength thereof. The mobile electronic devices may employ wireless communication technologies such as Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy....; see paragraph 0083 a scan is initiated seeking the first beacon signal 621; see paragraphs 0091-0092 scanning for a second trigger beacon...the trigger beacon 612 can be a very low power beacon capable of detection from only a very short distance from the beacon 612...the second trigger beacon 612 can have a UUID enabling unique identification...) The motivation regarding to the obviousness to claim 1 is also applied to claim 8.
Claim 6 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pierson-Kaye-Lin in view of Badic et al. (U.S. PGPub 2019/0305903).
Regarding claim 6, Pierson-Kaye-Lin teaches all of the features of claim 5. However, Pierson-Kaye-Lin does not explicitly teach wherein the proximity distance of each candidate host information handling systems is determined based on a three-factor pathloss value determinations from RSSI values of transmission of the first pairing proximity discovery beacon and the second pairing proximity beacon to each of the remaining plurality of candidate host information handling systems and receipt of the third pairing proximity discovery beacon from each of the remaining plurality of candidate host information handling systems to eliminate large object reflections and other proximity distance errors.
Badic teaches wherein the proximity distance of each candidate host information handling systems is determined based on a three-factor pathloss value determinations from RSSI values of transmission of the first pairing proximity discovery beacon and the second pairing proximity beacon to each of the remaining plurality of candidate host information handling systems and receipt of the third pairing proximity discovery beacon from each of the remaining plurality of candidate host information handling systems to eliminate large object reflections and other proximity distance errors. (Badic, see paragraph 0051 where the reporting information may include radio measurements such as signal strength measurements by terminal devices 402-410...a signal transmitted by terminal device 410. As signal strength measurements may generally scale inversely with distance (e.g., when disregarding other attenuation factors),...; see paragraph 0054 where use signal strength measurements between terminal devices in groupings as representative of the distance between groupings and/or may estimate the distance between groupings based on the signal strength measurements between terminal devices in the groupings (e.g., by using a free-space pathloss model to approximate distance based on received signal strength))
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time the invention was filed, to combine Pierson-Kaye-Lin and Badic to provide the technique of the proximity distance of each candidate host information handling systems is determined based on a three-factor pathloss value determinations from RSSI values of transmission of the first pairing proximity discovery beacon and the second pairing proximity beacon to each of the remaining plurality of candidate host information handling systems and receipt of the third pairing proximity discovery beacon from each of the remaining plurality of candidate host information handling systems to eliminate large object reflections and other proximity distance errors of Badic in the system of Pierson-Kaye-Lin in order to minimize information signal corruption when receiving and decoding information signals (Badic, see paragraph 0002).
Claims 9-18 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pierson et al. (U.S. PGPub 2023/0136293) in view of Kaye et al. (U.S. PGPub 2015/0112748) further in view of Badic et al. (U.S. PGPub 2019/0305903) further in view Lin (CN 118573610, see the English translated copy).
Regarding claim 9, Pierson teaches A method of arbitration for pairing a wireless peripheral device within a congested workspace having a plurality of candidate host information handling systems comprising: receiving, via the peripheral device radio, a third pairing proximity discovery beacon transmitted from each of the plurality of candidate host information handling systems for further determination of proximity distances for each of the plurality of candidate host information handling systems; and (Pierson, see figs. 1 and 6; see paragraph 0017 each of received signal strength indicator (RSSI) versus frame index for frames received by a corresponding one of the wireless devices D.sub.1 and D.sub.2 (primary radio (PR) and secondary radio (SR); see paragraph 0067 RSSI patterns recorded by the PR and the SR during a sample pairing session using the example pairing protocol 400 of FIG. 4. As shown in FIG. 6, each of D.sub.1 and D.sub.2 records extreme RSSI values because these wireless devices are nearby one another (as the Fresnel-zone theory suggests)...; see figs. 7A and 7B and paragraph 0018 RSSI versus distance; see paragraph 0031 the radius, r.sub.n, of each Fresnel zone is calculated to achieve this effect. Let d=d.sub.1+d.sub.2, where d is the total (fixed) distance between R.sub.1 and R.sub.2, d.sub.1 and d.sub.2 are distances from R.sub.1 and R.sub.2, respectively, to a point along the horizontal between the two radios. Let (d.sub.1, d.sub.2) denote a position along the horizontal between the two radios; see also paragraph 0090)
executing computer-readable program code of a pre-pairing host contention and arbitration module via a hardware processor to compare candidate host information handling system proximity distances of each of the plurality of candidate host information handling systems from the wireless peripheral device, (Pierson, see figs. 1 and 6; see paragraph 0017 each of received signal strength indicator (RSSI) versus frame index for frames received by a corresponding one of the wireless devices D.sub.1 and D.sub.2 (primary radio (PR) and secondary radio (SR); see paragraph 0067 RSSI patterns recorded by the PR and the SR during a sample pairing session using the example pairing protocol 400 of FIG. 4. As shown in FIG. 6, each of D.sub.1 and D.sub.2 records extreme RSSI values because these wireless devices are nearby one another (as the Fresnel-zone theory suggests)...; see figs. 7A and 7B and paragraph 0018 RSSI versus distance; see paragraph 0031 the radius, r.sub.n, of each Fresnel zone is calculated to achieve this effect. Let d=d.sub.1+d.sub.2, where d is the total (fixed) distance between R.sub.1 and R.sub.2, d.sub.1 and d.sub.2 are distances from R.sub.1 and R.sub.2, respectively, to a point along the horizontal between the two radios. Let (d.sub.1, d.sub.2) denote a position along the horizontal between the two radios; see also paragraph 0090)
executing code instructions of a pairing module, via the peripheral device hardware microcontroller, to commence pairing with the first candidate host information handling system and instruct user prompts for pairing to be displayed at the first candidate host information handling system. (Pierson, see figs. 1 and 4; see paragraph 0072 where D.sub.1 and D.sub.2 bootstrap a secure communications channel between themselves using a suitable bootstrapping protocol...wireless protocol that D.sub.1 and D.sub.2 operate under for the pairing and the processing speeds of D.sub.1 and D.sub.2...; see paragraph 0055 perform the pairing...provide the instructions to a user, for example, via a graphical display or an aural display...)
However, Pierson does not explicitly teach transmitting, via the peripheral device radio, a first pairing proximity discovery beacon and a second pairing proximity beacon to each of the plurality of candidate host information handling systems in wireless range of the wireless peripheral device, where the first pairing proximity beacon has a lower signal power than the second pairing proximity beacon;
Kaye teaches transmitting, via the peripheral device radio, a first pairing proximity discovery beacon and a second pairing proximity beacon to each of the plurality of candidate host information handling systems in wireless range of the wireless peripheral device, where the first pairing proximity beacon has a lower signal power than the second pairing proximity beacon; (Kaye, see figs. 1, 3 and 7; see paragraph 0083 a scan is initiated seeking the first beacon signal 621; see paragraphs 0091-0092 scanning for a second trigger beacon...the trigger beacon 612 can be a very low power beacon capable of detection from only a very short distance from the beacon 612...the second trigger beacon 612 can have a UUID enabling unique identification...)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time the invention was filed, to combine Pierson and Kaye to provide the technique of transmitting, via the peripheral device radio, a first pairing proximity discovery beacon and a second pairing proximity beacon to each of the plurality of candidate host information handling systems in wireless range of the wireless peripheral device, where the first pairing proximity beacon has a lower signal power than the second pairing proximity beacon of Kaye in the system of Pierson in order to conserve power (Kaye, see paragraph 0055).
However, Pierson-Kaye does not explicitly teach where proximity distances of each candidate host information handling system is determined based on a three-factor pathloss value determinations from received signal strength indicator (RSSI) values of transmission of the first pairing proximity discovery beacon and a second pairing proximity beacon to each candidate host information handling system and
receipt of the third pairing proximity discovery beacon from each candidate host the information handling system to eliminate large object reflections and other proximity distance errors in pathloss determinations;
Badic teaches where proximity distances of each candidate host information handling system is determined based on a three-factor pathloss value determinations from received signal strength indicator (RSSI) values of transmission of the first pairing proximity discovery beacon and a second pairing proximity beacon to each candidate host information handling system and (Badic, see paragraph 0051 where the reporting information may include radio measurements such as signal strength measurements by terminal devices 402-410...a signal transmitted by terminal device 410. As signal strength measurements may generally scale inversely with distance (e.g., when disregarding other attenuation factors),...; see paragraph 0054 where use signal strength measurements between terminal devices in groupings as representative of the distance between groupings and/or may estimate the distance between groupings based on the signal strength measurements between terminal devices in the groupings (e.g., by using a free-space pathloss model to approximate distance based on received signal strength))
receipt of the third pairing proximity discovery beacon from each candidate host the information handling system to eliminate large object reflections and other proximity distance errors in pathloss determinations; (Badic, see paragraph 0051 where the reporting information may include radio measurements such as signal strength measurements by terminal devices 402-410...a signal transmitted by terminal device 410. As signal strength measurements may generally scale inversely with distance (e.g., when disregarding other attenuation factors),...; see paragraph 0054 where use signal strength measurements between terminal devices in groupings as representative of the distance between groupings and/or may estimate the distance between groupings based on the signal strength measurements between terminal devices in the groupings (e.g., by using a free-space pathloss model to approximate distance based on received signal strength))
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time the invention was filed, to combine Pierson-Kaye and Badic to provide the technique of proximity distances of each candidate host information handling system is determined based on a three-factor pathloss value determinations from received signal strength indicator (RSSI) values of transmission of the first pairing proximity discovery beacon and a second pairing proximity beacon to each candidate host information handling system and receipt of the third pairing proximity discovery beacon from each candidate host the information handling system to eliminate large object reflections and other proximity distance errors in pathloss determinations of Badic in the system of Pierson-Kaye in order to minimize information signal corruption when receiving and decoding information signals (Badic, see paragraph 0002).
However, Pierson-Kaye-Badic does not explicitly teach selecting, via the peripheral device hardware microcontroller, a first candidate host information handling system from among the plurality of candidate host information handling systems when the first proximity distance of the first candidate host information handling system to the wireless peripheral device is more than a threshold difference amount of proximity distance closer than other of the plurality of candidate host information handling systems; and
Lin teaches selecting, via the peripheral device hardware microcontroller, a first candidate host information handling system from among the plurality of candidate host information handling systems when the first proximity distance of the first candidate host information handling system to the wireless peripheral device is more than a threshold difference amount of proximity distance closer than other of the plurality of candidate host information handling systems; and (Lin, see page 17, paragraph 3 sequencing all the devices according to the distance from the target device, and the device closest to the distance is considered to be most similar…setting a threshold value, only referring to the device whose distance is lower than the threshold value as the candidate device of the optimal pairing...selected candidate device is highly matched with the target device...optimized candidate list for the device pairing...)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time the invention was filed, to combine Pierson-Kaye-Badic and Lin to provide the technique of selecting, via the peripheral device hardware microcontroller, a first candidate host information handling system from among the plurality of candidate host information handling systems when the first proximity distance of the first candidate host information handling system to the wireless peripheral device is more than a threshold difference amount of proximity distance closer than other of the plurality of candidate host information handling systems of Lin in the system of Pierson-Kaye-Badic in order to ensure high efficiency and accuracy of the pairing (Lin, see page 17, paragraph 2).
Regarding claim 10, Pierson-Kaye-Badic-Lin teaches further comprising: transmitting, via the peripheral device radio, an instruction to cease pairing to a nonresponding candidate host information handling system among the plurality of candidate host information handling systems that fails to respond to the first pairing proximity beacon. (Pierson, see paragraph 0065 each frame that D.sub.1 and D.sub.2 exchange is indexed, with its index (here, a number) included in the payload of the frame. Indexing is used to help D.sub.1 synchronize the exchange as the PR. If D.sub.2 fails to respond within a short time window (possibly because the frame was dropped), D.sub.1 may resend a new frame with the same index one or more times, for example, three times. If D.sub.2 fails to respond after the last (e.g., third) resend, D.sub.1 deduces that D.sub.2 has stopped trying to pair and also terminates pairing...)
Regarding claim 11, Pierson-Kaye-Badic-Lin teaches further comprising: transmitting, via the peripheral device radio, an instruction to cease pairing to each of the remaining plurality of candidate host information handling systems that are not the selected first candidate host information handling system. (Pierson, see paragraph 0065 each frame that D.sub.1 and D.sub.2 exchange is indexed, with its index (here, a number) included in the payload of the frame. Indexing is used to help D.sub.1 synchronize the exchange as the PR. If D.sub.2 fails to respond within a short time window (possibly because the frame was dropped), D.sub.1 may resend a new frame with the same index one or more times, for example, three times. If D.sub.2 fails to respond after the last (e.g., third) resend, D.sub.1 deduces that D.sub.2 has stopped trying to pair and also terminates pairing...)
Regarding claim 12, Pierson-Kaye-Badic-Lin teaches further comprising: selecting a second candidate host information handling system from the plurality of candidate host information handling systems when the first proximity distance of the first candidate host information handling system and a second proximity distance of the second candidate host information handling system are both within the threshold difference amount of proximity distance from the wireless peripheral device; and (Lin, see page 17, paragraph 3 sequencing all the devices according to the distance from the target device, and the device closest to the distance is considered to be most similar…setting a threshold value, only referring to the device whose distance is lower than the threshold value as the candidate device of the optimal pairing...selected candidate device is highly matched with the target device...optimized candidate list for the device pairing...)
executing code instructions of a pairing module, via the peripheral device hardware microcontroller, to commence pairing with the second candidate host information handling system and instructing the user prompts for pairing to be displayed at the second candidate host information handling system in addition to the first candidate host information handling system for a user to select between the first candidate host information handling system and the user second candidate host information handling system for pairing. (Pierson, see figs. 1 and 4; see paragraph 0072 where D.sub.1 and D.sub.2 bootstrap a secure communications channel between themselves using a suitable bootstrapping protocol...wireless protocol that D.sub.1 and D.sub.2 operate under for the pairing and the processing speeds of D.sub.1 and D.sub.2...; see paragraph 0055 perform the pairing...provide the instructions to a user, for example, via a graphical display or an aural display...) The motivation regarding to the obviousness to claim 9 is also applied to claim 12.
Regarding claim 13, Pierson teaches A wireless peripheral device operatively couplable to a first candidate host information handling system among a plurality of candidate host information handling systems comprising: a peripheral device hardware microcontroller, a peripheral device storage device, and a peripheral device wireless radio; (Pierson, see figs. 3, 5 and 8; see paragraph 0059 physical aspects of the pairing protocol of FIG. 4, at block 405 the user places a pair of wireless devices, D.sub.1 and D.sub.2, that they want to pair together a distance d apart from one another...; see paragraph 0033 where at some position (d.sub.1, d.sub.2) between R.sub.1 and R.sub.2, at a height h above the radios...)
the peripheral device radio configured to transmit an instruction to cease pairing to a non-responding candidate host information handling system among the plurality of candidate host information handling systems that fails to respond to the first pairing proximity beacon; (Pierson, see paragraph 0065 each frame that D.sub.1 and D.sub.2 exchange is indexed, with its index (here, a number) included in the payload of the frame. Indexing is used to help D.sub.1 synchronize the exchange as the PR. If D.sub.2 fails to respond within a short time window (possibly because the frame was dropped), D.sub.1 may resend a new frame with the same index one or more times, for example, three times. If D.sub.2 fails to respond after the last (e.g., third) resend, D.sub.1 deduces that D.sub.2 has stopped trying to pair and also terminates pairing...)
where each of the remaining plurality of candidate host information handling systems is operatively coupled to the secure local network; (Pierson, see figs. 2-3 and 5; see paragraph 0072 D.sub.1 and D.sub.2 bootstrap a secure communications channel between themselves…; see paragraphs 0081-0082 two wireless devices (D.sub.1, D.sub.2) to trade 440 frames, from which m=24 extrema could be reliably extracted to build an authentication key...generate a long symmetric key for secure communications...)
the peripheral device hardware microcontroller configured to execute code instructions of a pairing module to commence pairing with the first candidate host information handling system and instruct user prompts for pairing to be displayed at the first candidate host information handling system. (Pierson, see figs. 1 and 4; see paragraph 0072 where D.sub.1 and D.sub.2 bootstrap a secure communications channel between themselves using a suitable bootstrapping protocol...wireless protocol that D.sub.1 and D.sub.2 operate under for the pairing and the processing speeds of D.sub.1 and D.sub.2...; see paragraph 0055 perform the pairing...provide the instructions to a user, for example, via a graphical display or an aural display...)
However, Pierson does not explicitly teach the peripheral device hardware microcontroller configured to execute computer-readable program code of a pre-pairing host contention and arbitration module to begin transmitting, via the peripheral device radio, a first pairing proximity discovery beacon and a second pairing proximity beacon to each of the plurality of candidate host information handling systems in wireless range of the wireless peripheral device, where the first pairing proximity beacon has a signal power level lower than the second pairing proximity beacon;
Kaye teaches the peripheral device hardware microcontroller configured to execute computer-readable program code of a pre-pairing host contention and arbitration module to begin transmitting, via the peripheral device radio, a first pairing proximity discovery beacon and a second pairing proximity beacon to each of the plurality of candidate host information handling systems in wireless range of the wireless peripheral device, where the first pairing proximity beacon has a signal power level lower than the second pairing proximity beacon; (Kaye, see figs. 1, 3 and 7; see paragraph 0083 a scan is initiated seeking the first beacon signal 621; see paragraphs 0091-0092 scanning for a second trigger beacon...the trigger beacon 612 can be a very low power beacon capable of detection from only a very short distance from the beacon 612...the second trigger beacon 612 can have a UUID enabling unique identification...)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time the invention was filed, to combine Pierson and Kaye to provide the technique of the peripheral device hardware microcontroller configured to execute computer-readable program code of a pre-pairing host contention and arbitration module to begin transmitting, via the peripheral device radio, a first pairing proximity discovery beacon and a second pairing proximity beacon to each of the plurality of candidate host information handling systems in wireless range of the wireless peripheral device, where the first pairing proximity beacon has a signal power level lower than the second pairing proximity beacon of Kaye in the system of Pierson in order to conserve power (Kaye, see paragraph 0055).
However, Pierson-Kaye does not explicitly teach the peripheral device hardware microcontroller configured to receive a proximity distance of each of a remaining plurality of candidate host information handling systems from a secure local network peer to peer networked device determining pathloss values from a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) value from each of the remaining plurality of candidate host information handling systems for each of the first pairing proximity discovery beacon and the second pairing proximity beacon,
Badic teaches the peripheral device hardware microcontroller configured to receive a proximity distance of each of a remaining plurality of candidate host information handling systems from a secure local network peer to peer networked device determining pathloss values from a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) value from each of the remaining plurality of candidate host information handling systems for each of the first pairing proximity discovery beacon and the second pairing proximity beacon, (Badic, see fig. 10; see paragraph 0026 provides a radio access network with which terminal devices … communication devices can act as both terminal devices and network access nodes, such as a terminal device that provides network connectivity for other terminal devices.; see paragraph 0051 where the reporting information may include radio measurements such as signal strength measurements by terminal devices 402-410...a signal transmitted by terminal device 410. As signal strength measurements may generally scale inversely with distance (e.g., when disregarding other attenuation factors),...; see paragraph 0054 where use signal strength measurements between terminal devices in groupings as representative of the distance between groupings and/or may estimate the distance between groupings based on the signal strength measurements between terminal devices in the groupings (e.g., by using a free-space pathloss model to approximate distance based on received signal strength))
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time the invention was filed, to combine Pierson-Kaye and Badic to provide the technique of the peripheral device hardware microcontroller configured to receive a proximity distance of each of a remaining plurality of candidate host information handling systems from a secure local network peer to peer networked device determining pathloss values from a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) value from each of the remaining plurality of candidate host information handling systems for each of the first pairing proximity discovery beacon and the second pairing proximity beacon of Badic in the system of Pierson-Kaye in order to minimize information signal corruption when receiving and decoding information signals (Badic, see paragraph 0002).
However, Pierson-Kaye-Badic does not explicitly teach the peripheral device hardware microcontroller configured to select the first candidate host information handling system from among the remaining plurality of candidate host information handling systems when the first proximity distance of the first candidate host information handling system to the wireless peripheral device is more than a threshold difference amount of proximity distance closer than other of the remaining plurality of candidate host information handling systems; and
Lin teaches the peripheral device hardware microcontroller configured to select the first candidate host information handling system from among the remaining plurality of candidate host information handling systems when the first proximity distance of the first candidate host information handling system to the wireless peripheral device is more than a threshold difference amount of proximity distance closer than other of the remaining plurality of candidate host information handling systems; and (Lin, see page 17, paragraph 3 sequencing all the devices according to the distance from the target device, and the device closest to the distance is considered to be most similar…setting a threshold value, only referring to the device whose distance is lower than the threshold value as the candidate device of the optimal pairing...selected candidate device is highly matched with the target device...optimized candidate list for the device pairing...)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time the invention was filed, to combine Pierson-Kaye-Badic and Lin to provide the technique of the peripheral device hardware microcontroller configured to select the first candidate host information handling system from among the remaining plurality of candidate host information handling systems when the first proximity distance of the first candidate host information handling system to the wireless peripheral device is more than a threshold difference amount of proximity distance closer than other of the remaining plurality of candidate host information handling systems of Lin in the system of Pierson-Kaye-Badic in order to ensure high efficiency and accuracy of the pairing (Lin, see page 17, paragraph 2).
Regarding claim 14, Pierson-Kaye-Badic-Lin teaches wherein the peripheral device radio transmits the instruction to cease pairing to the remaining candidate host information handling systems that are not the selected first candidate host information handling system. (Pierson, see paragraph 0065 each frame that D.sub.1 and D.sub.2 exchange is indexed, with its index (here, a number) included in the payload of the frame. Indexing is used to help D.sub.1 synchronize the exchange as the PR. If D.sub.2 fails to respond within a short time window (possibly because the frame was dropped), D.sub.1 may resend a new frame with the same index one or more times, for example, three times. If D.sub.2 fails to respond after the last (e.g., third) resend, D.sub.1 deduces that D.sub.2 has stopped trying to pair and also terminates pairing...)
Regarding claim 15, Pierson-Kaye-Badic-Lin teaches further comprising: select a second candidate host information handling system from the remaining plurality of candidate host information handling systems when the first proximity distance of the first candidate host information handling system from the wireless peripheral device and a second proximity distance of the second candidate host information handling system from the wireless peripheral device are both within the threshold difference amount of each other; and (Lin, see page 17, paragraph 3 sequencing all the devices according to the distance from the target device, and the device closest to the distance is considered to be most similar…setting a threshold value, only referring to the device whose distance is lower than the threshold value as the candidate device of the optimal pairing...selected candidate device is highly matched with the target device...optimized candidate list for the device pairing...)
the peripheral device hardware microcontroller executing code instructions of the pairing module to commence pairing with the second candidate host information handling system and instruct the user prompts for pairing to be displayed at the second candidate host information handling system in addition to the first candidate host information handling system for a user to select between the first candidate host information handling system and the user second candidate host information handling system for pairing. (Pierson, see figs. 1 and 4; see paragraph 0072 where D.sub.1 and D.sub.2 bootstrap a secure communications channel between themselves using a suitable bootstrapping protocol...wireless protocol that D.sub.1 and D.sub.2 operate under for the pairing and the processing speeds of D.sub.1 and D.sub.2...; see paragraph 0055 perform the pairing...provide the instructions to a user, for example, via a graphical display or an aural display...) The motivation regarding to the obviousness to claim 13 is also applied to claim 15.
Regarding claim 16, Pierson-Kaye-Badic-Lin teaches wherein transmitting the first pairing proximity discovery beacon and the second pairing proximity beacon to each of the plurality of candidate host information handling systems in wireless range of the wireless peripheral device is sequentially staggered by the wireless peripheral device to conduct RSSI collection at each candidate host information handling system sequentially. (Kaye, see figs. 1, 3 and 7; see paragraph 0083 a scan is initiated seeking the first beacon signal 621; see paragraphs 0091-0092 scanning for a second trigger beacon...the trigger beacon 612 can be a very low power beacon capable of detection from only a very short distance from the beacon 612...the second trigger beacon 612 can have a UUID enabling unique identification...; see paragraph 0009 mobile electronic device is further configured to obtain a measurement of a signal strength of the beacon signal, and determine whether the device is located at the meeting location based on the measurement and a predetermined threshold value) The motivation regarding to the obviousness to claim 13 is also applied to claim 16.
Regarding claim 17, Pierson-Kaye-Badic-Lin teaches further comprising: the peripheral device radio configured to receive a third pairing proximity discovery beacon transmitted from each of the plurality of candidate host information handling systems to determine RSSI values for the third pairing proximity discovery beacon for further determination of proximity distances for each of the remaining plurality of candidate host information handling systems. (Pierson, see figs. 1 and 6; see paragraph 0017 each of received signal strength indicator (RSSI) versus frame index for frames received by a corresponding one of the wireless devices D.sub.1 and D.sub.2 (primary radio (PR) and secondary radio (SR); see paragraph 0067 RSSI patterns recorded by the PR and the SR during a sample pairing session using the example pairing protocol 400 of FIG. 4. As shown in FIG. 6, each of D.sub.1 and D.sub.2 records extreme RSSI values because these wireless devices are nearby one another (as the Fresnel-zone theory suggests)...; see figs. 7A and 7B and paragraph 0018 RSSI versus distance; see paragraph 0031 the radius, r.sub.n, of each Fresnel zone is calculated to achieve this effect. Let d=d.sub.1+d.sub.2, where d is the total (fixed) distance between R.sub.1 and R.sub.2, d.sub.1 and d.sub.2 are distances from R.sub.1 and R.sub.2, respectively, to a point along the horizontal between the two radios. Let (d.sub.1, d.sub.2) denote a position along the horizontal between the two radios; see also paragraph 0090)
Regarding claim 18, Pierson-Kaye-Badic-Lin teaches wherein the proximity distance of each candidate host information handling systems is determined based on a three-factor pathloss value determinations from RSSI values of transmission of the first pairing proximity discovery beacon and the second pairing proximity beacon to each candidate host information handling system and receipt of the third pairing proximity discovery beacon from each candidate host the information handling system to eliminate large object reflections and other proximity distance errors. (Badic, see paragraph 0051 where the reporting information may include radio measurements such as signal strength measurements by terminal devices 402-410...a signal transmitted by terminal device 410. As signal strength measurements may generally scale inversely with distance (e.g., when disregarding other attenuation factors),...; see paragraph 0054 where use signal strength measurements between terminal devices in groupings as representative of the distance between groupings and/or may estimate the distance between groupings based on the signal strength measurements between terminal devices in the groupings (e.g., by using a free-space pathloss model to approximate distance based on received signal strength)) The motivation regarding to the obviousness to claim 13 is also applied to claim 18.
Regarding claim 20, Pierson-Kaye-Badic-Lin teaches wherein the peripheral device radio establishes generic attribute profile (GATT) communications under the Bluetooth ® Low Energy (BLE) protocol to transmit the first pairing proximity discovery beacon and the second pairing proximity beacon to each of the plurality of candidate host information handling systems in wireless range of the wireless peripheral device. (Kaye, see figs. 1, 3 and 7; see paragraph 0044 receiving a beacon signal and determining a signal strength thereof. The mobile electronic devices may employ wireless communication technologies such as Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy....; see paragraph 0083 a scan is initiated seeking the first beacon signal 621; see paragraphs 0091-0092 scanning for a second trigger beacon...the trigger beacon 612 can be a very low power beacon capable of detection from only a very short distance from the beacon 612...the second trigger beacon 612 can have a UUID enabling unique identification...) The motivation regarding to the obviousness to claim 13 is also applied to claim 20.
Claim 19 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pierson-Kaye-Badic-Lin in view of Devol et al. (U.S. PGPub 2011/0305337).
Regarding claim 19, Pierson-Kaye-Badic-Lin teaches all of the features of claim 13. However, Pierson-Kaye-Badic-Lin does not explicitly teach further comprising: the peripheral device hardware microcontroller executing computer readable code instructions to determine matching passcodes at the wireless peripheral device and at the selected first candidate host information handling system for pairing when a user accepts prompts for pairing displayed at the first candidate host information handling system.
Devol teaches further comprising: the peripheral device hardware microcontroller executing computer readable code instructions to determine matching passcodes at the wireless peripheral device and at the selected first candidate host information handling system for pairing when a user accepts prompts for pairing displayed at the first candidate host information handling system. (Devol, see fig. 2C; see paragraph 0041 where user interface presented on the laptop and/or the smart phone during initial pairing. In this process, the same password is entered on both the laptop and the smart phone, and when the user types in a matching password on the laptop or vice versa, the two devices are paired...)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time the invention was filed, to combine Pierson-Kaye-Badic-Lin and Devol to provide the technique of the peripheral device hardware microcontroller executing computer readable code instructions to determine matching passcodes at the wireless peripheral device and at the selected first candidate host information handling system for pairing when a user accepts prompts for pairing displayed at the first candidate host information handling system of Devol in the system of Pierson-Kaye-Badic-Lin in order to provide and maintain a secure authorization between device, thereby increase security (Devol, see paragraph 0034).
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 MENG VANG whose telephone number is (571)270-7023. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8AM-2PM, 3PM-5PM.
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/MENG VANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2443