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 are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they include the following reference character(s) not mentioned in the description: Fig. 5 (Cont.): 590; Fig. 11: 1110A, 1110B, 1112A, 1112B, 1112C, 1112D; Fig. 15: 1508A, 1508B. Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d), or amendment to the specification to add the reference character(s) in the description in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(b) 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. 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 § 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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-8, 10, 12-16, and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Mach et al. US PG PUB 2017/0353777 A1.
Regarding claim 1, Mach discloses a method performed by a network node [par. 171; receiver device] for determining analytics [par. 163; air pollution information] associated with a communication device [par 162; transmitter device… may be… in… a vehicle], the method comprising:
determining an identifier [par. 168; identifier information of… transmitter device] associated with the communication device using a characteristic of the communication device [par. 168; location information];
transmitting a message [par. 175; part of an ETSI Cooperative Awareness Message] requesting that the communication device gather and report data;
responsive to transmitting the message, receiving the data [par. 175; environmental information… received by the receiver device. See also par. 166; environmental info… broadcast… as part of… ETSI Cooperative Awareness Message]; and
generating the analytics based on the data [par. 176; combines… environmental information. See especially fig. 9. See also fig. 8: S88 pollution avoidance action].
Regarding claim 2, Mach discloses the method of Claim 1, wherein determining the identifier associated with the communication device comprises:
transmitting a request [par. 203; fig. 8:82; “When asked”] for the identifier to a unified data repository [par. 143; a remote server which may, for example, aggregate pollution exposures from different receiver devices in different locations or area], (UDR), the request including an indication of the characteristic [par. 203; Vehicle location information is stored in the storage 82 at step S87]; and
responsive to transmitting the request for the identifier to the UDR, receiving the identifier [par. 203; The control unit 22 may obtain additional parameters such as current location, wind speed and heading at S85, for use in determining the pollution exposure].
Regarding claim 3, Mach discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the characteristic comprises at least one of: whether the communication device is associated with a vehicle, whether the communication device is associated with an information gathering station, a location of the communication device [par. 203; Vehicle location information], a vehicle type, a vehicle brand, a vehicle fuel type, and vehicle manufacturing year, a time spent by the vehicle at the location, and a vehicle speed [par. 203; vehicle speed].
Regarding claim 4, Mach discloses the method of Claim 1, further comprising:
responsive to determining the identifier, transmitting an indication of the identifier [par. 99; message may include… vehicle location… acceleration… heading… parameters] to an access and mobility management function, (AMF) [See fig. 8:S83; data communication interface. See also par. 203. (While AMF may sometimes be associated with 5G, the underlying principle is available and broadly used in the art)], associated with the communication device; and
responsive to transmitting the indication of the identifier to the AMF, receiving mobility information and/or trajectory information associated with the communication device from the AMF [par. 203; At step S84, the first environmental information, together with the vehicle speed, location and heading information, is used by a control unit],
wherein generating the analytics further comprises generating the analytics based on the data, the mobility information, and/or the trajectory information [par. 203; The control unit 22 may obtain additional parameters such as current location, wind speed and heading at S85, for use in determining the pollution exposure. The control unit 22 may compare the determined pollution exposure with a predefined value, such as a value provided from the storage 82 at step S86.].
Regarding claim 5, Mach discloses the method of Claim 1, wherein transmitting the message requesting that the communication device gather and report data comprises responsive to determining the identifier, transmitting the message directly to the communication device [par. 97; part of ETSI Cooperative Awareness Basic Service], and
wherein receiving the data comprises receiving the data directly from the communication device [par. 97; the transmitter device (vehicle) controls the transmitter to transmit a message in response to a request to transmit the message].
Regarding claim 6, Mach discloses the method of Claim 1, wherein transmitting the message requesting that the communication device gather and report data comprises responsive to determining the identifier, transmitting the message to the communication device via an application server, (AS), associated with the communication device [par. 261; The receiver device 1300 may be connected with a server or another communication device], and
wherein receiving the data comprises receiving the data from the AS [par. 113; The receiver device may forward the determined pollution exposure, for example to a storage device and/or a remote server which may, for example, aggregate pollution exposures from different receiver devices in different locations or area. See also par. 203; The control unit 22 may compare the determined pollution exposure with…. value… provided from… storage].
Regarding claim 7, Mach discloses the method of Claim 5, wherein transmitting the message requesting that the communication device gather and report data comprises transmitting a subscription message [par. 97; a message in response to a request to transmit the message] requesting that the communication device periodically report the data [par. 97; the environmental information may be broadcast periodically].
Regarding claim 8, Mach discloses the method of Claim 1, wherein generating the analytics comprises generating at least one of: statistical analytics; and predictive analytics [par. 119; Pollution dispersion… modelled mathematically… Gaussian equation ].
Regarding claim 10, Mach discloses the method of Claim 1, wherein the network node comprises an internet of things, (IOT) [par. 5; IoT… applied to… connected cars], and analytics entity [Par. 203: the vehicle speed, location and heading information, is used by a control unit… to determine a pollution exposure].
Regarding claim 12, Mach discloses the method of Claim 1, further comprising:
receiving a request [par. 98; external request] for the analytics associated with an issue [par. 98; pollution control] from a device [par. 98; V2X road infrastructure may request] associated with a consumer [par. 98; road user]; and
responsive to generating the analytics, transmitting the analytics to the device [par. 98; environmental information… be broadcast in response to… request].
Regarding claim 13, Mach discloses the method of Claim 12, wherein the issue comprises vehicle pollution [par. 98; pollution control (from vehicles)],
wherein the communication device comprises a first communication device [par. 99; transmitter device]and a second communication device [par. 99; another provider, such as the Internet], the first communication device associated with a vehicle [par. 99; device is included in a vehicle] and the second communication device associated with a meteorological station [par. 99; atmospheric and/or weather related information… acquired from another provider, such as the internet], and
wherein the data comprises first data from the first communication device indicating a location of the vehicle [par. 99; message may include… vehicle location] and second data from the second communication device indicating an amount of air pollution at the location [par. 98; environmental info… broadcast. See also par. 93; environmental information may include pollution information].
Regarding claim 14, Mach disclose the method of Claim 13, wherein generating the analytics comprises generating statistical information [par. 119; Gaussian air pollutant dispersion equation] associating the air pollution with the vehicle [par 225; computed from… vehicle… info].
Regarding claim 15, Mach discloses the method of Claim 14, wherein generating the analytics comprises generating predictive information estimating air pollution [par. 14; estimate environmental information] at the location at a future time [par. 118; receiver device may…. calculate… distance from… pollution source, based on speed (function of time), location, acceleration (function of time), heading… distance from… device to… pollution source may be… used to model… pollution dispersion (function of time) between…. pollution source and… device and/or another pollution exposure location] in response to a potential restriction on vehicles [par. 98; traffic jam… (OR)… information related to road traffic and/or safety].
Regarding claim 16, Mach discloses a network node [par. 171; receiver device] for determining analytics associated with a communication device [par 162; transmitter device… may be… in… a vehicle], the network node comprising:
processing circuitry [par. 203; processing… circuitry]; and
memory [par. 107; a memory] coupled to the processing circuitry and having instructions stored therein that are executable by the processing circuitry for causing the network node to [par. 267; memory may store programs for controlling the general operation]:
determine an identifier [par. 168; identifier information of… transmitter device] associated with the communication device using a characteristic of the communication device [par. 168; location information];
transmit a message [par. 175; part of an ETSI Cooperative Awareness Message] requesting that the communication device gather and report data [See also fig. 8:82 Data storage device provides capability to store detailed pollution information and corresponding info and provide it when asked (response to a request)];
responsive to transmitting the message, receive the data [par. 175; environmental information… received by the receiver device. See also par. 166; environmental info… broadcast… as part of… ETSI Cooperative Awareness Message]; and
generate the analytics based on the data [par. 176; combines… environmental information. See especially fig. 9. See also fig. 8: S88 pollution avoidance action].
Regarding claim 19, Mach discloses a computer program product [par. 203; control unit] comprising a non-transitory storage medium [par. 203; storage] including program code to be executed by processing circuitry [par. 267; memory may store programs for controlling the general operation] of a network node [par. 203; receiver device] for determining analytics associated with a communication device [par. 203; transmitter device], the network nod comprising, whereby execution of the program code causes the network node to:
determine an identifier [par. 168; identifier information of… transmitter device] associated with the communication device using a characteristic of the communication device [par. 168; location information];
transmit a message [par. 175; part of an ETSI Cooperative Awareness Message] requesting that the communication device gather and report data [See also fig. 8:82 Data storage device provides capability to store detailed pollution information and corresponding info and provide it when asked (response to a request)];
responsive to transmitting the message, receive the data [par. 175; environmental information… received by the receiver device. See also par. 166; environmental info… broadcast… as part of… ETSI Cooperative Awareness Message]; and
generate the analytics based on data [par. 176; combines… environmental information. See especially fig. 9. See also fig. 8: S88 pollution avoidance action].
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 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mach et al. as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Gill US PG PUB 2017/0337287 A1 .
Regarding claim 9, Mach teaches the invention substantially as claimed in claim 1, but does not specifically teach wherein generating the analytics comprises generating the analytics using a machine learning algorithm.
However, Gill further teaches wherein generating the analytics [par. 26; Intelligent Integrating System (ISS)] comprises generating the analytics using a machine learning algorithm [par. 26; it learns via machine learning].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Mach with the teachings of Gill since using machine learning in a system “improves its capacity to generate automated responses and to support a growing, diversified network.” [par. 26]
Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mach et al. as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Feder et al. US PAT 11,310,731 B1.
Regarding claim 11, Mach teaches the invention substantially as claimed in claim 1, but does not Specifically teach wherein the network node comprises a node configured to perform a network data analytics function, (NWDAF).
However, Feder further teaches wherein the network node comprises a node configured to perform a network data analytics function, (NWDAF) [pg. 23: col. 9: lines 50-51; NF or AF sends… request to… NWDAF for mobility analytics on a specific UE… using… network components].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Mach with the teachings Feder since NWDAF is an analytic function with an objective to analyze and predict network performance [pg. 21: col 5: lines 24-25] that can collect data for providing dispersion analytics for user plane improvement [pg. 22: col. 8: lines 37-39].
Conclusion
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/ELIJAH PETER WILSON/Examiner, Art Unit 2643
/JINSONG HU/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2643
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