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
The drawings, with respect to Figs. 1A, 1B, 2, 4A, 4B and 5-11, are objected to because they are of substandard clarity to the extent that the details and elements depicted therein are not sufficiently legible. Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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.
Claims 29-41 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.
As to claims 29 and 38, (a) “to be transmitted within a time period in the respective subnetworks” is indefinite because it is unclear what “respective subnetworks” is referring to; and (b) “to enable respective communication configurations to be determined” is indefinite because it is unclear what “respective communication configurations” is referring to.
As to claims 34 and 39, (a) “to be transmitted within a time period in the respective subnetworks” is indefinite because it is unclear what “respective subnetworks” is referring to.
As to claims 30-33,35-37 and 40-41, these claims are rejected as indefinite due to their dependence from indefinite parent claims, and the fact that they do not recite subject matter that would address the applicable indefinite language.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 40 and 41 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to non-statutory subject matter. The claim(s) does/do not fall within at least one of the four categories of patent eligible subject matter. These claims are directed to “computer readable storage medium…”, which may encompass carrier waves and signals per se, which are not statutory subject matter. Applicant may consider amending these claims so that they are directed to “NONTRANSITORY computer readable storage medium…” to address this rejection.
Potentially Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 29-41 may be allowable over the prior art if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims, provided that all applicable outstanding rejections and/or objections are successfully traversed.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
U.S. Patent Publication No. 2017/0064591 A1 to Padfield et al.
U.S. Patent Publication No. 2017/0127427 A1 to Claridge et al.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHI TANG P CHENG whose telephone number is (571)272-9021. The examiner can normally be reached M-F, 9:30AM - 6PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Asad M Nawaz can be reached at (571)272-3988. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/CHI TANG P CHENG/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2463