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 .
Claim Objections
Claims 4,9 are objected to because of the following informalities: in claim 4, the phrase “the steps S3-S7”, in claim 9 the phrase “S14-S18”, should be deleted.
The term “subceeds” in claim 6 has a typo error. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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.
Claim(s) 1,12-13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Attar to (US20110211449 A1)
Regarding claims 1,13 Attar teaches a method for enabling enhanced timing recovery between a first node and a second node in a network, (fig.3, “sender” and “receiver”, [0008] discloses controlling congestion on a network connection between a first computing device and a second computing device )
transmitting, from a first node to a second node, a plurality of packets using a first packet rate for transmission; ([0008] discloses transmitting a set of data packets on the network connection from the first computing device to the second computing device);
monitoring, by the second node, one or more properties of the transmission of the plurality of packets to obtain a feedback parameter;([008] discloses identifying each data packet in the set of data packets that experienced congestion on the network connection)
transmitting from the second node to the first node, the feedback parameter based the on the one or more of the monitored properties;([0008] discloses sending, by the second computing device to the first computing device, a sequence of bits that represents the number of data packets in the set of data packets that were identified as having experienced congestion) and selecting, in the first node, a second packet rate for transmission based on the received feedback parameter, wherein the feedback parameter transmitted to the first node i) allows the first node to select the second packet rate for transmission based on said parameter, or ii) is the second packet rate for transmission as determined by the second node based on the one or more properties of the transmission([0008] discloses adjusting a rate of transmitting data packets on the network connection based on the sequence of bits sent to the first computing device).
Regarding claim 12, Attar teaches wherein a second packet rate being different from a first packet rate constitutes an altered packet rate, which altered packet rate correlates with an altered block size ([0008] discloses adjusting a rate of transmitting data packets on the network connection based on the sequence of bits sent to the first computing device).
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 2-4,6,8-10,14-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Attar to (US 20110211449 A1) in view of Shaham to (US20040071085)
Regarding claim 2, Attar does not explicitly teach wherein the one or more properties being monitored is selected from: min delay value variance between different blocks of packets, wherein the min delay value for a block is a delay of a minimum delay packet of the block obtained by min processing, delay variance for all packets, dynamic change in value of a calculated internal node clock, packet loss, dynamic change in round trip time of min packets, and quality parameters on all data packets on a link
However, wherein the one or more properties being monitored is selected from: min delay value variance between different blocks of packets, wherein the min delay value for a block is a delay of a minimum delay packet of the block obtained by min processing([0102]...if the percentage of lost packets, out of the total number of packets transmitted in the examined section, exceeds a certain threshold (step 705). If it does, the minimum between the derivative based proposed change and the "loss based decrease" may be used as the proposed rate change of the window section (step 706)), delay variance for all packets, dynamic change in value of a calculated internal node clock, packet loss, dynamic change in round trip time of min packets,([0088] discloses The receipt time column may comprise the time, R, the local time at the receiving station when the packet was received, as reported in the report table. In the case of one way latency, the latency column may comprise the difference between the transmission time and receipt time R-T. The delta column may comprise the delta value, D, comprising the difference between the latency of two consecutive rows, L.sub.m+1-L.sub.m, of two consecutively sent packets) and quality parameters on all data packets on a link([0089]… list of delta values may reflect a change in the latency. As may be seen in Table 1, the delta value of different packets may factor out the clock time differences by the subtraction of latency values)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to enable the system of Attar include wherein the one or more properties being monitored is selected from: min delay value variance between different blocks of packets, wherein the min delay value for a block is a delay of a minimum delay packet of the block obtained by min processing, delay variance for all packets, dynamic change in value of a calculated internal node clock, packet loss, dynamic change in round trip time of min packets, and quality parameters on all data packets on a link, as suggested by Shaham. This modification would benefit the system to reliably reduce network congestion.
Regarding claims 3,8,14 Attar teaches a method for use in a first node, for enabling enhanced timing recovery between the first node and a second node in a network, (fig.3, “sender” and “receiver”, [0008] discloses controlling congestion on a network connection between a first computing device and a second computing device )
the method comprising: transmitting a plurality of packets to a second node using a first packet rate for transmission ([0008] discloses transmitting a set of data packets on the network connection from the first computing device to the second computing device… adjusting a rate of transmitting data packets on the network connection based on the sequence of bits sent to the first computing device), receiving a feedback parameter comprising packet rate information from the second node; ([0008] discloses sending, by the second computing device to the first computing device, a sequence of bits that represents the number of data packets in the set of data packets that were identified as having experienced congestion) and selecting a second packet rate for transmission based on the received packet rate information, ([0008] discloses adjusting a rate of transmitting data packets on the network connection based on the sequence of bits sent to the first computing device)
Attar does not explicitly teach each packet comprising a timestamp t1, the timestamp t1 relating to a time when the packet was transmitted in relation to a local clock in the first node; wherein the received packet rate information is based on one or more properties of the transmission of the plurality of packets derived from the timestamps for the plurality of packets, the one or more properties being selected from: min delay value variance between different blocks of packets, delay variance for all packets, dynamic change in value of a calculated internal node clock, packet loss, dynamic change in round trip time of min packets, and quality parameters on all data packets on a link
However, Shaham teaches each packet comprising a timestamp t1, the timestamp t1 relating to a time when the packet was transmitted in relation to a local clock in the first node;([0088] discloses The transmission time column may comprise the time, T, at which the packet was sent according to the local clock of the transmitting station. The transmission rate column may comprise the rate at which the packets were sent. Note in this partial table, since only one window section is shown the rate is the same for all the packets. The receipt time column may comprise the time, R, the local time at the receiving station when the packet was received, as reported in the report table) wherein the one or more properties being monitored is selected from: min delay value variance between different blocks of packets, wherein the min delay value for a block is a delay of a minimum delay packet of the block obtained by min processing([0102]...if the percentage of lost packets, out of the total number of packets transmitted in the examined section, exceeds a certain threshold (step 705). If it does, the minimum between the derivative based proposed change and the "loss based decrease" may be used as the proposed rate change of the window section (step 706)), delay variance for all packets, dynamic change in value of a calculated internal node clock, packet loss, dynamic change in round trip time of min packets,([0088] discloses The receipt time column may comprise the time, R, the local time at the receiving station when the packet was received, as reported in the report table. In the case of one way latency, the latency column may comprise the difference between the transmission time and receipt time R-T. The delta column may comprise the delta value, D, comprising the difference between the latency of two consecutive rows, L.sub.m+1-L.sub.m, of two consecutively sent packets) and quality parameters on all data packets on a link([0089]… list of delta values may reflect a change in the latency. As may be seen in Table 1, the delta value of different packets may factor out the clock time differences by the subtraction of latency values)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to enable the system of Attar include each packet comprising a timestamp t1, the timestamp t1 relating to a time when the packet was transmitted in relation to a local clock in the first node; wherein the one or more properties being monitored is selected from: min delay value variance between different blocks of packets, wherein the min delay value for a block is a delay of a minimum delay packet of the block obtained by min processing, delay variance for all packets, dynamic change in value of a calculated internal node clock, packet loss, dynamic change in round trip time of min packets, and quality parameters on all data packets on a link, as suggested by Shaham. This modification would benefit the system to reliably reduce network congestion.
Regarding claims 4,9 , Attar and Shaham teaches wherein the second node has split the plurality of packets into a sequence of blocks of packets and, for each of the plurality of packets, timestamped it with a timestamp t2, the timestamp t2 relating to a time when a respective packet was received in relation to a local clock in the second node, (Shaham [0088] discloses The transmission time column may comprise the time, T, at which the packet was sent according to the local clock of the transmitting station. The transmission rate column may comprise the rate at which the packets were sent. Note in this partial table, since only one window section is shown the rate is the same for all the packets. The receipt time column may comprise the time, R, the local time at the receiving station when the packet was received, as reported in the report table) the method further comprises: determining time differences between the timestamps t2 and t1 for each packet in each block of packets to obtain a delay for each packet; ,( Shaham [0088] discloses The receipt time column may comprise the time, R, the local time at the receiving station when the packet was received, as reported in the report table. In the case of one way latency, the latency column may comprise the difference between the transmission time and receipt time R-T. The delta column may comprise the delta value, D, comprising the difference between the latency of two consecutive rows, L.sub.m+1-L.sub.m, of two consecutively sent packets) performing min processing on each of the blocks of packets to obtain a min delay value for each block, the min delay value being the smallest delay for a packet in said block, ,( Shaham [0088] discloses The receipt time column may comprise the time, R, the local time at the receiving station when the packet was received, as reported in the report table. In the case of one way latency, the latency column may comprise the difference between the transmission time and receipt time R-T. The delta column may comprise the delta value, D, comprising the difference between the latency of two consecutive rows, L.sub.m+1-L.sub.m, of two consecutively sent packets) wherein min processing selects a packet from each block having a lowest delay as a min sample of said block; (Shaham [0089]… list of delta values may reflect a change in the latency. As may be seen in Table 1, the delta value of different packets may factor out the clock time differences by the subtraction of latency values)estimating the variance of the min delay values between two or more blocks, such as adjacent/neighboring blocks; (Shaham [0102]...if the percentage of lost packets, out of the total number of packets transmitted in the examined section, exceeds a certain threshold (step 705). If it does, the minimum between the derivative based proposed change and the "loss based decrease" may be used as the proposed rate change of the window section (step 706)) comparing the estimated variance with a preset nominal variance value to obtain a steering parameter; (Shaham [0102]...if the percentage of lost packets, out of the total number of packets transmitted in the examined section, exceeds a certain threshold (step 705). If it does, the minimum between the derivative based proposed change and the "loss based decrease" may be used as the proposed rate change of the window section (step 706)) on condition that the obtained steering parameter is positive: increasing the packet rate such that the steering parameter becomes zero to obtain a second packet rate;( Shaham [0101] discloses n the case of a derivative of zero the rate may be increased. Such an increase may be called a "zero derivative increase". This increase may be proportional to the capacity of the communication line (for example, 15% of the capacity)) on condition that the obtained steering parameter is negative: decreasing the packet rate such that the steering parameter becomes zero to obtain a second packet rate;( Shaham [0102] discloses he minimum between the derivative based proposed change and the "loss based decrease" may be used as the proposed rate change of the window section (step 706). The loss based decrease value may decrease the value by a constant, which may be proportional to the line's capacity, for example, by 15 percent of capacity. If the derivative-based proposed change is not "negative enough" the rate may not be decreased enough and therefore the loss based decrease may be selected instead) on a condition that the obtained steering parameter is zero, maintaining the first packet rate to obtain a second packet rate; (Shaham [0102] discloses he minimum between the derivative based proposed change and the "loss based decrease" may be used as the proposed rate change of the window section (step 706). The loss based decrease value may decrease the value by a constant, which may be proportional to the line's capacity, for example, by 15 percent of capacity. If the derivative-based proposed change is not "negative enough" the rate may not be decreased enough and therefore the loss based decrease may be selected instead) and selecting the second packet rate for transmission based on the received packet rate information as the obtained second packet rate; wherein the steps S3-S7 may be performed by any of the first node and the second node,( Shaham [0088] discloses The receipt time column may comprise the time, R, the local time at the receiving station when the packet was received, as reported in the report table. In the case of one way latency, the latency column may comprise the difference between the transmission time and receipt time R-T. The delta column may comprise the delta value, D, comprising the difference between the latency of two consecutive rows, L.sub.m+1-L.sub.m, of two consecutively sent packets).
Regarding claims 6,10, Attar and Shaham teaches wherein the second packet rate for transmission has a preset maximum value of a maximum second packet rate a preset minimum value of a minimal second packet rate, (Shaham [0067] At time T.sub.0, transmission of packets 130 may begin at a predetermined maximum rate (e.g. the maximum bit rate of the line). Latency curve 20 may rise until time T.sub.1, at which point the latency may be equal to a value predetermined by the method of the present invention) the method further comprising: on condition that the obtained second packet rate exceeds the maximum value, selecting the second packet rate for transmission based on the received packet rate information as the maximum second packet rate; (Shaham [0067] At this time, the transmission rate may be lowered as seen on transmission rate curve 30. Latency curve 20 may still rise, but its slope may change, reflecting the new transmission rate. At time T.sub.2, there is a sharp drop in latency curve 20, which may reflect a packet being lost) on condition that the obtained second packet rate subceeds the minimum value, selecting the second packet rate for transmission based on the received packet rate information as the minimalmum second packet rate(Shaham [0067] the transmission rate may be lowered as seen on transmission rate curve 30. Latency curve 20 may still rise, but its slope may change, reflecting the new transmission rate. At time T.sub.2, there is a sharp drop in latency curve 20, which may reflect a packet being lost. This may cause the method of the present invention to lower the transmission rate to a predetermined percent of line capacity, as reflected in transmission rate curve 30 at time T.sub.3.)
Regarding claim 15, Attar and Shaham teaches each packet comprising a timestamp t1, the timestamp t1 relating to a time when the packet was transmitted in relation to a local clock in the first node;( Shaham [0088] discloses The transmission time column may comprise the time, T, at which the packet was sent according to the local clock of the transmitting station. The transmission rate column may comprise the rate at which the packets were sent. Note in this partial table, since only one window section is shown the rate is the same for all the packets. The receipt time column may comprise the time, R, the local time at the receiving station when the packet was received, as reported in the report table) wherein the one or more properties being monitored is selected from: min delay value variance between different blocks of packets, wherein the min delay value for a block is a delay of a minimum delay packet of the block obtained by min processing(Shaham [0102]...if the percentage of lost packets, out of the total number of packets transmitted in the examined section, exceeds a certain threshold (step 705). If it does, the minimum between the derivative based proposed change and the "loss based decrease" may be used as the proposed rate change of the window section (step 706)), delay variance for all packets, dynamic change in value of a calculated internal node clock, packet loss, dynamic change in round trip time of min packets,( Shaham [0088] discloses The receipt time column may comprise the time, R, the local time at the receiving station when the packet was received, as reported in the report table. In the case of one way latency, the latency column may comprise the difference between the transmission time and receipt time R-T. The delta column may comprise the delta value, D, comprising the difference between the latency of two consecutive rows, L.sub.m+1-L.sub.m, of two consecutively sent packets) and quality parameters on all data packets on a link(Shaham [0089]… list of delta values may reflect a change in the latency. As may be seen in Table 1, the delta value of different packets may factor out the clock time differences by the subtraction of latency values)wherein the second node has split the plurality of packets into a sequence of blocks of packets and, for each of the plurality of packets, timestamped it with a timestamp t2, the timestamp t2 relating to a time when a respective packet was received in relation to a local clock in the second node, (Shaham [0088] discloses The transmission time column may comprise the time, T, at which the packet was sent according to the local clock of the transmitting station. The transmission rate column may comprise the rate at which the packets were sent. Note in this partial table, since only one window section is shown the rate is the same for all the packets. The receipt time column may comprise the time, R, the local time at the receiving station when the packet was received, as reported in the report table) the method further comprises: determining time differences between the timestamps t2 and t1 for each packet in each block of packets to obtain a delay for each packet; ,( Shaham [0088] discloses The receipt time column may comprise the time, R, the local time at the receiving station when the packet was received, as reported in the report table. In the case of one way latency, the latency column may comprise the difference between the transmission time and receipt time R-T. The delta column may comprise the delta value, D, comprising the difference between the latency of two consecutive rows, L.sub.m+1-L.sub.m, of two consecutively sent packets) performing min processing on each of the blocks of packets to obtain a min delay value for each block, the min delay value being the smallest delay for a packet in said block, ,( Shaham [0088] discloses The receipt time column may comprise the time, R, the local time at the receiving station when the packet was received, as reported in the report table. In the case of one way latency, the latency column may comprise the difference between the transmission time and receipt time R-T. The delta column may comprise the delta value, D, comprising the difference between the latency of two consecutive rows, L.sub.m+1-L.sub.m, of two consecutively sent packets) wherein min processing selects a packet from each block having a lowest delay as a min sample of said block; (Shaham [0089]… list of delta values may reflect a change in the latency. As may be seen in Table 1, the delta value of different packets may factor out the clock time differences by the subtraction of latency values)estimating the variance of the min delay values between two or more blocks, such as adjacent/neighboring blocks; (Shaham [0102]...if the percentage of lost packets, out of the total number of packets transmitted in the examined section, exceeds a certain threshold (step 705). If it does, the minimum between the derivative based proposed change and the "loss based decrease" may be used as the proposed rate change of the window section (step 706)) comparing the estimated variance with a preset nominal variance value to obtain a steering parameter; (Shaham [0102]...if the percentage of lost packets, out of the total number of packets transmitted in the examined section, exceeds a certain threshold (step 705). If it does, the minimum between the derivative based proposed change and the "loss based decrease" may be used as the proposed rate change of the window section (step 706)) on condition that the obtained steering parameter is positive: increasing the packet rate such that the steering parameter becomes zero to obtain a second packet rate;( Shaham [0101] discloses n the case of a derivative of zero the rate may be increased. Such an increase may be called a "zero derivative increase". This increase may be proportional to the capacity of the communication line (for example, 15% of the capacity)) on condition that the obtained steering parameter is negative: decreasing the packet rate such that the steering parameter becomes zero to obtain a second packet rate;( Shaham [0102] discloses he minimum between the derivative based proposed change and the "loss based decrease" may be used as the proposed rate change of the window section (step 706). The loss based decrease value may decrease the value by a constant, which may be proportional to the line's capacity, for example, by 15 percent of capacity. If the derivative-based proposed change is not "negative enough" the rate may not be decreased enough and therefore the loss based decrease may be selected instead) on a condition that the obtained steering parameter is zero, maintaining the first packet rate to obtain a second packet rate; (Shaham [0102] discloses he minimum between the derivative based proposed change and the "loss based decrease" may be used as the proposed rate change of the window section (step 706). The loss based decrease value may decrease the value by a constant, which may be proportional to the line's capacity, for example, by 15 percent of capacity. If the derivative-based proposed change is not "negative enough" the rate may not be decreased enough and therefore the loss based decrease may be selected instead) and selecting the second packet rate for transmission based on the received packet rate information as the obtained second packet rate; performed by any of the first node and the second node,( Shaham [0088] discloses The receipt time column may comprise the time, R, the local time at the receiving station when the packet was received, as reported in the report table. In the case of one way latency, the latency column may comprise the difference between the transmission time and receipt time R-T. The delta column may comprise the delta value, D, comprising the difference between the latency of two consecutive rows, L.sub.m+1-L.sub.m, of two consecutively sent packets).
Claim(s) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Attar to (US20110211449 A1) in view of Shaham to (US20040071085) further in view of Liu to (US 11187793 B1)
Regarding claim 5, Attar and Shaham does not explicitly teach wherein the preset nominal variance value is set based on the target application
However, Liu teaches wherein the preset nominal variance value is set based on the target application (col.19 lines 31-40 … LIDAR offset time differs from a nominal or historical average LIDAR offset time by less than a threshold difference, and/or if variance in LIDAR offset time up to the current calibration cycle exhibits less than a threshold variance, the controller can thus verify that the LIDAR sensor and the IMU are operating normally (or that at least sensing and communication parameters of the IMU and the LIDAR sensor that affect latency are operating normally)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to enable the system of Attar include wherein the preset nominal variance value is set based on the target application, as suggested by Liu. This modification would benefit the system as a design choice.
Claim(s) 7,11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Attar to (US20110211449 A1) in view of Shaham to (US20040071085) further in view of Xia to (US20100265902 A1)
Regarding claims 7,11, Attar and Shaham does not explicitly teach on condition that the selected second packet rate for transmission is equal to the preset maximum second packet rate, setting off an alarm that the maximum second packet rate has been reached
However, Xia teaches on condition that the selected second packet rate for transmission is equal to the preset maximum second packet rate, setting off an alarm that the maximum second packet rate has been reached ([0032] discloses quota on exchanged amount of traffic per month is reached, for example a quota of about five Gigabytes of data, which the operator may allow to be downloaded at the network's maximum allowable download rate. When this traffic quota is reached, the allowed service rate for the MN 102 may be substantially reduced, e.g. to limit the amount of further exchanged traffic, and/or the operator may charge for additional downloaded data. These limitations may not prevent the user from using 3G access for mobile broadband services. However, the operator may notify the user when the quota is about to be reached)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to enable the system of Attar include on condition that the selected second packet rate for transmission is equal to the preset maximum second packet rate, setting off an alarm that the maximum second packet rate has been reached, as suggested by Xia. This modification would benefit the system to reliably reduce network congestion.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ZEWDU A BEYEN whose telephone number is (571)270-7157. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00-6:00.
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/ZEWDU A BEYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2461
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