Detailed Action
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
The Office Action is in response to claims filed on 11/25/2025 where claims 1, 3-5, 7-8, 15, 18-20, 23-25 are pending and ready for examination.
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 Applicants arguments are moot based on new prior art rejection(s) comprising Guedalia (US 2014/0244834) and Goel (US 2014/0244568).
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.
Claims 1, 15, 18, 20, 23, and 25 are rejected under 35 USC 103 as being unpatentable over Guedalia (US2014/0244834) in view of Goel (US 2014/0244568)
Regarding claim 1, Guedalia discloses an apparatus for performing a network function, the apparatus comprising:
at least one memory (Guedalia; see e.g. [0055]” ... a memory ... The memory 212 can include one or more of read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), flash cards, or any memory common to computer platforms ...”); and
at least one processor coupled with the at least one memory (Guedalia; see e.g. [0055]” ... the processor 208 can execute application programming instructions within a memory 212 of the IoT device. The memory 212 can include one or more of read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), flash cards, or any memory common to computer platforms ...”) and
configured to cause the apparatus to:
receive, from a consumer device, a request to create a closed loop (CL) functionality between a plurality of interconnected network entities (Guedalia; Guedalia teaches that each IoT device may treat the supervisor device as a peer and transmit attribute/schema updates to the supervisor device (see e.g. [0047]. See e.g. [0077]) The transmitted schema update from the IoT device to the supervisor device may be considered to be by one of ordinary skill in the art a request describing an interaction between IoT devices corresponding to the claimed request to create a closed loop functionality.
[0047] “Each IoT device 110-118 can treat the supervisor device 130 as a peer and transmit attribute/schema updates to the supervisor device 130 ...”), wherein the request comprises a description of a desired behavior of the CL or components of the CL (Guedalia; Guedalia teaches that schemas associated with IoT devices describe service capabilities, communication methods, input/outputs, and state information (see e.g. [0086]
[0086] “More particularly, according to various aspects of the disclosure, the method 800 shown in FIG. 8 may initially include detecting and registering various devices and/or other physical objects into the IoT network at block 810, wherein a supervisor device associated with the IoT network may detect and register one or more IoT devices, one or more non-IoT devices, and/or other suitable physical objects that are coupled to otherwise used in the controlled IoT network at block 810. In one embodiment, the IoT devices detected and registered into the IoT network at block 810 may include any suitable electronic device having certain attributes and state information that can be embedded in, observed with, monitored with, controlled with, or otherwise managed with the supervisor device and connected to the IoT network (e.g., an appliance, sensor, refrigerator, toaster, oven, microwave, freezer, dishwasher, washer, dryer, furnace, air conditioner, thermostat, television, light fixture, vacuum cleaner, electricity meter, gas meter, cell phone, desktop computer, laptop computer, tablet computer, etc.). In one embodiment, the attributes associated with the IoT devices may be expressed using a universal vocabulary that provides a generic, adaptive, and extensible schema that can define any suitable facet that relates to interaction and usage associated with the IoT devices (e.g., schema values can evolve or otherwise adapt based on learning from environmental surroundings and discovery and interaction among IoT devices and new schema elements may be added to extend an existing IoT device vocabulary). For example, in one embodiment, the universal vocabulary may express attributes associated with a particular IoT device according to schema elements that may include, among other things, a globally unique identifier, make, model, type, and version attributes, supported inputs (e.g., voltage, amperage, gallons, BTUs, etc.), supported outputs (e.g., watts, temperature, area-units, volume-units, speed, etc.), supported capabilities (e.g., start, stop, shutdown, hibernate, standby, reset, introduce, etc.), and supported communication methods (e.g., Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Infrared, Near-Field Communication, Shortwave Radio, etc.). Furthermore, the state information associated with the IoT device may indicate whether the IoT device is on or off, open or closed, idle or active, available for task execution or busy, or any other suitable information that may relate to the status associated with the IoT device”). Because the request in [0047] is the transmitted schema, and the schema contains the descriptive information of the device behavior and capabilities, the request comprises a description of the desired behavior and components of the closed loop interaction.);
generate at least one management service associated with the request for the CL functionality (Guedalia discloses that the IoT supervisor monitors and manages attributes, activities, and states associated with loT devices and manages interactions among these devices (see e.g. [0040],[0088] These supervisor y operations constitute a management service that manages the coordinated functionality between IoT devices in response to the request);
generate a CL identifier for the CL based on successfully generating the at least one management service for the CL (Guedalia; Guedalia teaches that applications connected to bus nodes determine routing groups for endpoints and may use a unique routing group name (see e.g. [0084]) The routing group name functions as an identifier associated with the coordinated interaction between the participating IoT entities, corresponding to the CL identifier.
[0084]” At message sequence step 766, the bus node 712 and the bus node 732 may communicate (e.g., broadcast) signals to inform other bus nodes of changes to endpoint bus topologies. Thereafter, traffic from local endpoint 714 may move through virtual endpoints to reach intended local endpoint 734 on Device B 730. Further, in operation, communications between local endpoint 714 and local endpoint 734 may use routing groups. In one aspect, routing groups may enable endpoints to receive signals, method calls, or other suitable information from a subset of endpoints. As such, a routing name may be determined by an application connected to a bus node 712 or 732) ...”
transmit the CL identifier to the consumer device or a failure message indicating unsuccessfully generating the at least one management service for the CL (Guedalia; Guedalia teaches that bus nodes may send signals to notify other nodes of routing group changes including when members are added or removed from the routing group (see e.g. [0084] These signals communicate the routing group identifier associated with the coordinated interaction to participating devices, corresponding to transmitting the CL identifier); and
identify, from a previously generated list of management services, a shortlist of management services from & previously generated list (Guedalia teaches that the IoT supervisor manages device attributes, activities, and interactions among IoT devices (see e.g. [0040], [0088] Selecting and applying appropriate management operations based on the device schemas and requested interactions corresponds to identifying appropriate management services associated with the requested functionality
[0040] “In one embodiment, the supervisor device 130 may generally observe, monitor, control, or otherwise manage the various other components in the wireless communications system 100B ... monitor or manage attributes, activities, or other states associated with the various IoT devices 110-120. The supervisor device 130 may be a standalone device or one of IoT devices 110-120, such as computer 120. The supervisor device 130 may be a physical device or a software application running on a physical device. The supervisor device 130 may include a user interface that can output information relating to the monitored attributes, activities, or other states associated with the IoT devices 110-120 and receive input information to control or otherwise manage the attributes, activities, or other states associated therewith. Accordingly, the supervisor device 130 may generally include various components and support various wired and wireless communication interfaces to observe, monitor, control, or otherwise manage the various components in the wireless communications system 100B.”
[0088] “In one embodiment, at block 820, the supervisor device may then monitor interactions and usage associated with the devices and/or other objects that were detected and registered at block 810, wherein the monitored interactions and usage may then be used to create one or more groups, sub-networks, subsets, or other suitable sub-divisions within the IoT network at block 830. For example, in one embodiment, each device or object registered at block 810 may include a globally unique identifier and each IoT device may further include a local database that stores information relating to each encounter or other interaction with another device or object in the IoT network (e.g., the globally unique identifier that corresponds to the other device or object associated with the interaction, a time stamp or other temporal context relating to the interaction ...” )
As evidence of the rationale above Goel discloses:
request (see e.g. [0052] In one embodiment, in response to having suitably formed the various IoT device groups 160 (e.g., based on various resources 180 shared therein, monitored interactions among the IoT devices 110-120, etc.), the IoT devices 110-120 within the various IoT device groups 160 may communicate with one another in a collaborative manner to make decisions about planned state transitions. In particular, as noted above, the various IoT devices 110-120 in each IoT device group 160 may be interdependent, whereby a decision that one IoT device 110-120 plans may impact other IoT devices 110-120 in the IoT device group 160. Accordingly, in response to an IoT device 110-120 planning a certain decision (e.g., to transition state or initiate another action), the IoT devices 110-120 in the IoT device group 160 may collaborate using distributed intelligence prior to taking action on the planned decision. For example, a recommendation request message may be sent to other IoT devices 110-120 in the IoT device group 160”)
a failure message indicating unsuccessfully generating the at least one management service for the CL (Goel; Goel teaches a message be transmitted indicated that there will be no transition to a collaborative task between IoT devices;
see e.g. [0011] “ ... the advertised final decision may indicate that the planned state transition will not be initiated”)
see e.g. [0049] “... collaborative intelligence and decision-making within and/or among the IoT device groups 160 (e.g., to control usage associated with various resources 180 that may be shared among the IoT devices 110-120 and/or passive IoT devices 105 in the IoT device groups 169) ...”
see e.g. [0052] )
Therefore it would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Goel’s schemes. The motivation being the combined solution provide for increased efficiencies in provisioning IoT devices for collaborative tasks.
Regarding claim 15, Guedalia discloses a user equipment (UE), comprising:
at least one memory (Guedalia ;see e.g. [0055]” ... a memory ... The memory 212 can include one or more of read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), flash cards, or any memory common to computer platforms ...”); and
at least one processor coupled with the at least one memory and configured to cause the UE to (Guedalia; see e.g. [0055]” ... the processor 208 can execute application programming instructions within a memory 212 of the IoT device. The memory 212 can include one or more of read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), flash cards, or any memory common to computer platforms ...”
see e.g. [0030] “... cell phone ...”):
generate a request to create a closed loop (CL) functionality between a plurality of interconnected network entities (Guedalia; Guedalia teaches that each IoT device may treat the supervisor device as a peer and gemerate attribute/schema updates to the supervisor device (see e.g. [0047]. See e.g. [0077]) The schema update from the IoT device may be considered to be by one of ordinary skill in the art a request describing an interaction between IoT devices corresponding to the claimed request to create a closed loop functionality.), wherein the request comprises a description of a desired behavior of the CL or components of the CL CL (Guedalia; Guedalia teaches that schemas associated with IoT devices describe service capabilities, communication methods, input/outputs, and state information (see e.g. [0086]). Because the request in [0047] is the transmitted schema, and the schema contains the descriptive information of the device behavior and capabilities, the request comprises a description of the desired behavior and components of the closed loop interaction.), and wherein the description of components in the CL comprises properties of messages, requirement for the messages, or messages to be sent between stages of the CL (Guedalia; Guedalia teaches the schemas provides one of ordinary skill in the art a description of what essages can be sent to the stages of the CL (e.g. status and/or task availability see e.g. [0086]);
transmit the request to a network function (NF) entity (Guedalia, Gudalia teaches the rewqust is sent to the IoT supervisor (i.e. Network Function Entity; see e.g.[0047] ) ;
Guedalia suggests but does not expressly disclose:
receive an identifier associated with a completed CL from the NF entity or an indication that generation of the CL failed.
However in analogous art Goel discloses:
receive an identifier associated with a completed CL from the NF entity or an indication that generation of the CL failed (Goel; Goel teaches a message is received indicating that the generation of the CL is not approved and/or will not occur (i.e. failed)
see e.g. [0011] “ ... the advertised final decision may indicate that the planned state transition will not be initiated”)
see e.g. [0049] “... collaborative intelligence and decision-making within and/or among the IoT device groups 160 (e.g., to control usage associated with various resources 180 that may be shared among the IoT devices 110-120 and/or passive IoT devices 105 in the IoT device groups 169) ...”
Goel also discloses:
request (see e.g. [0052] In one embodiment, in response to having suitably formed the various IoT device groups 160 (e.g., based on various resources 180 shared therein, monitored interactions among the IoT devices 110-120, etc.), the IoT devices 110-120 within the various IoT device groups 160 may communicate with one another in a collaborative manner to make decisions about planned state transitions. In particular, as noted above, the various IoT devices 110-120 in each IoT device group 160 may be interdependent, whereby a decision that one IoT device 110-120 plans may impact other IoT devices 110-120 in the IoT device group 160. Accordingly, in response to an IoT device 110-120 planning a certain decision (e.g., to transition state or initiate another action), the IoT devices 110-120 in the IoT device group 160 may collaborate using distributed intelligence prior to taking action on the planned decision. For example, a recommendation request message may be sent to other IoT devices 110-120 in the IoT device group 160”)
Therefore it would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Goel’s schemes. The motivation being the combined solution provide for increased efficiencies in provisioning IoT devices for collaborative tasks.
Regarding claim 18, Guedalia in view of Goel disclose The UE of claim 15, wherein the description of components in the CL comprises conditions for the messages to be sent between the components or the stages (Guedalia; Guedalia provides communication mode requirements for sending messages;
See e.g. [0086] ”... supported communication methods (e.g., Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Infrared, Near-Field Communication, Shortwave Radio, etc.) ...”
Therefore it would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Goel’s schemes. The motivation being the combined solution provide for increased efficiencies in provisioning IoT devices for collaborative tasks.
Regarding claim 20, claim 20 comprises the same and/or similar subject matter as claim 15 and is considered an obvious variation; therefore it is rejected under the same rationale.
Regarding claim 23, claim 23 comprises the same and/or similar subject matter as claim 18 and is considered an obvious variation; therefore it is rejected under the same rationale.
Regarding claim 25, claim 25 comprises the same and/or similar subject matter as claim 15 and is considered an obvious variation; therefore it is rejected under the same rationale.
Claims 3 – 4 and 7 are rejected under 35 USC 103 as being unpatentable over Guedalia in view of Goel and in further view of Wang (US 2018/0007172)
Regarding claim 3, Guedalia in view of Goel discloses the apparatus of claim 1, Guedalia does not expressly disclose wherein the description of components in the CL comprises properties of messages, requirement for the messages, or messages to be sent between stages of the CL.
However in analogous art Wang discloses:
wherein the description of components in the CL comprises properties of messages, requirement for the messages, or messages to be sent between stages of the CL (Wang;
see e.g. [0036] Similarly, an IoT entity may prefer to use different messaging protocols as they are fitting for different resource requirements. For example, an IoT gateway may have three resources: general sensor readings, video streaming, and Pub/Sub data. Such resources have different requirements for messaging protocols to access them efficiently. For example, CoAP may be better for accessing the general sensor readings, HTTP may be better for video streaming, and MQTT may be better for Pub/Sub data)
Therefore it would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Wang’s message types/protocols. The motivation being the combined solution provides for implementing a known technique resulting in increased efficiencies of provisioning IoT collaborative services.
Therefore it would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Goel’s schemes. The motivation being the combined solution provide for increased efficiencies in provisioning IoT devices for collaborative tasks.
Regarding claim 4, Guedalia in view of Goel and in further view of Wang disclose the apparatus of claim 3, wherein the description of components in the CL comprises conditions for the messages to be sent between the components or the stages (Guedalia; Guedalia provides communication mode requirements for sending messages;
See e..g. [0086] ”... supported communication methods (e.g., Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Infrared, Near-Field Communication, Shortwave Radio, etc.) ...”
Therefore it would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Wang’s message types/protocols. The motivation being the combined solution provides for implementing a known technique resulting in increased efficiencies of provisioning IoT collaborative services.
Therefore it would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Goel’s schemes. The motivation being the combined solution provide for increased efficiencies in provisioning IoT devices for collaborative tasks
Regarding claim 7, Guedalia in view fo Goel and in further view of Wang disclose the apparatus of claim 3, wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the apparatus to generate notifications, events, or both for triggering each stage of the CL (Guedalia’s managing activities and interactions requires signaling or triggering device actions which corresponds to generates events or notifications that initiate the stages of the interaction; see e.g. [0040], [0088])).
Therefore it would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Wang’s message types/protocols. The motivation being the combined solution provides for implementing a known technique resulting in increased efficiencies of provisioning IoT collaborative services.
Therefore it would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Goel’s schemes. The motivation being the combined solution provide for increased efficiencies in provisioning IoT devices for collaborative tasks
Claims 5, 19, and 24 are rejected under 35 USC as being unpatentable over Guedalia in view of Goel and in further view of Volkerink (US 2022/0108143)
Regarding claim 5, Guedalia in view of Goel disclose the apparatus of claim 1, Guedalia does not expressly disclose wherein the request includes timeouts, time periods, or both for the messages to be sent between the stages of the CL.
However in analogous art Volkerink discloses:
wherein the request includes timeouts, time periods, or both for the messages (Volkerink;
see e.g. [0148] “A wireless node B in the vicinity of the wireless node A periodically transmits 1412 a request to receive a configuration file from a nearby wireless node of IoT system 400 for completing the configuration of wireless node B. The frequency with which the wireless node B transmits 1412 the request may correspond to a timeout period of the wireless node A's search 1410 ...”)
Therefore it would have been prima facie obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Volkerink’s transmission scheme. The motivation being the combined solution provides for implementing a known technique resulting in increased efficiencies in provisioning IoT services.
Guedalia in view of Goel and in further view of Volkerink discloses:
wherein the request includes timeouts, time periods, or both for the messages to be sent between the stages of the CL (The combined solution provides for Guedalia’s IoT devices to utrlize Volkerink’s scheme)
Therefore it would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Goel’s schemes. The motivation being the combined solution provide for increased efficiencies in provisioning IoT devices for collaborative tasks
Regarding claim 19, Guedalia in view of Goel discloses the UE of claim 15, Guedalia does not expressly disclose wherein the request includes timeouts, time periods, or both for the messages to be sent between the stages of the CL.
However Volkerink discloses:
wherein the request includes timeouts, time periods, or both for the messages messages (Volkerink;
see e.g. [0148] “A wireless node B in the vicinity of the wireless node A periodically transmits 1412 a request to receive a configuration file from a nearby wireless node of IoT system 400 for completing the configuration of wireless node B. The frequency with which the wireless node B transmits 1412 the request may correspond to a timeout period of the wireless node A's search 1410 ...”)
Therefore it would have been prima facie obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Volkerink’s transmission scheme. The motivation being the combined solution provides for implementing a known technique resulting in increased efficiencies in provisioning IoT services.
Guedalia in view of Goel and in further view of Volkerink discloses:
wherein the request includes timeouts, time periods, or both for the messages to be sent between the stages of the CL (The combined solution provides for Guedalia’s IoT devices to utrlize Volkerink’s scheme)
Therefore it would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Goel’s schemes. The motivation being the combined solution provide for increased efficiencies in provisioning IoT devices for collaborative tasks
Regarding claim 24, claim 24 comprises the same and/or similar subject matter as claim 19 and is considered an obvious variation; therefore it is rejected under the same rationale.
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 USC 103 as being unpatentable over Guedalia in view of Goel and in further of Wang and in further view of Elgarat (US 2021/0289031)
Regarding claim 8, Guedalia in view of Goel and in further view of Wang disclose the apparatus of claim 7, Guedalia does not expressly disclose wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the apparatus to generate a goal for the CL functionality process.
However in analogous art Elgarat discloses:
wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the apparatus to generate a goal for the CL functionality process (Elgarat;
See e.g. [0041] As shown in operation 502, a virtual bridge of a partner bridging service receives collaboration requests published to it by a plurality of IoT devices 206A-N. The collaboration requests each include a request from one IoT device 206A-N for one or more additional IoT devices 206A-N to collaborate with the one IoT device 206A-N to accomplish a common goal. Thus, the IoT devices 206A-N may communicate through the virtual bridge to achieve the common goal)
Therefore it would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Elgarat’s goal scheme. The mediatization being the combined solution provides for increased efficiencies in provisioning ioT devices.
Therefore it would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Goel’s schemes. The motivation being the combined solution provide for increased efficiencies in provisioning IoT devices for collaborative tasks
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 TODD L. BARKER whose telephone number is (571) 270 0257. The Examiner can normally be reached on Monday through Friday, 7:30am to 5:00pm.
If attempts to reach the Examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the Examiner's supervisor Vivek Srivastava can be reached on (571) 272 7304
/TODD L BARKER/Examiner, Art Unit 2449