DETAILED ACTION
1. This communication is in response to the amendment filed on 12/30/2025. The present application is being examined under the AIA first to invent provisions.
1a. Status of the claims:
Claims 1-3 are amended.
Claim 4 is canceled.
Claims 1-3 are pending.
1b. The rejections of Claims 1-2 under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph and under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph are withdrawn.
Response to Arguments
2. Applicant's arguments filed 12/30/2025 have been fully considered but are moot in view of the new grounds of rejection.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
3. 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.
3a. Claim 1 is 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 pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
3b. Claim 1 recites the limitation " from the second communicator …" in lines 21-22. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in claim 1.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
4. 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 of this title, 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.
4a. Claims 1-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable SHIBATA et al. (hereinafter “SHIBATA”) (US 2022/0201493 A1) in view of Hayashi et al. (hereinafter “Hayashi”) (US 2015/0043342 A1), and further in view of HO et al. (hereinafter “HO”) (KR 20130072984 A).
Regarding claim 1, SHIBATA discloses a signal transfer system comprising:
a first signal transfer control device associated with a first network (a signal transfer device is distributing transferred signal to several base station devices in a network where the network is equated to the first network , SHIBATA, [0012]; Fig. 6); and
a second signal transfer control device associated with a second network connected to the first network via an intermediate node ( (a signal transfer device is distributing transferred signal to several base station devices in a dedicated control network that is connected to the network using route control device 2 network where the dedicated control network is equated to the second network ; where the route control device is equated to an intermediate node, SHIBATA, [0012]; Fig. 7), wherein the first signal transfer control device ( a signal transfer device in a network that is equated to the first signal transfer control device, SHIBATA, [0012]) includes a processor; and a storage medium having computer program instructions stored thereon, when executed by the processor ( a dedicated hardware signal transfer system records program that is executed by a CPU, SHIBATA, [0104]), perform to:
transmit first schedule information indicating a schedule of signal transfer in the first network at a predetermined notification cycle ( a traffic collection unit transfers the monitored traffic information to transfer devices of the first network based on a traffic collection unit cycle , SHIBATA, [0096]), and
transmit a trigger signal on the basis of a change amount of traffic of the first network (a change request unit requests a frequency change when the traffic amount reached a threshold (where the requesting information is the trigger signal), SHIBATA, [0097]; [0098]), and the second signal transfer control device includes
a processor; and
a storage medium having computer program instructions stored thereon, when executed by the processor, ( a signal transfer device in a dedicated network that is equated to the second signal transfer control device, SHIBATA, [0012]) perform to:
acquire the first schedule information at the predetermined notification cycle ( a traffic collection unit that collects information from signal transfer device for a cycle at a periodic time the request of the traffic amount, SHIBATA, [0096]; [0098])), acquire the trigger signal from the second communicator( a change request unit that collects the requesting information from the traffic collection unit 206 , SHIBATA, [0097]),
when the trigger signal is acquired determines whether or not the change amount of traffic of the first network is equal to or greater than a threshold ( an allocation determination device that determines if the traffic amount expected becoming larger reached a threshold that exceeds a maximum required value , SHIBATA, [0098])).
SHIBATA, does not disclose update second schedule information indicating a schedule of signal transfer in the second network when it is determined that the change amount is equal to or greater than the threshold, and instruct the first signal transfer control device to set the predetermined notification cycle when it is determined that the change amount is equal to or greater than the threshold.
Hayashi discloses update second schedule information indicating a schedule of signal transfer in the second network when it is determined that the change amount is equal to or greater than the threshold ( an estimator estimates whether or not a number of mobile stations transmitting connection request signals from a fist network have base station 2b to second network having base station a1 is larger than a threshold using controller device 7, the controller device 7 is the intermediate node, Hayashi, [0058]; Fig.1 ; Fig 3), and instruct the first signal transfer control device to set the predetermined notification cycle when it is determined that the change amount is equal to or greater than the threshold (connection instruction signal for instructing estimates whether or not a number of mobile stations transmitting connection request signals from a fist network have base station 2b to another network having base station a1 is larger than a threshold using controller device 7, the controller device 7 is the intermediate node at a target predetermined time where the predetermine time is equated to a cycle, Hayashi, [0065] ).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person of ordinary skill in the art to incorporate Hayashi’s teachings with SHIBATA’s teachings. One skilled in the art would be motivated to combine them in order to efficiently instruct a connection device to instruct the predetermined time interval has been exceeded.
SHIBATA and Hayashi do not disclose when the trigger signal is acquired derives the change amount of traffic in the first network based on the first schedule information acquired from the first network.
HO discloses when the trigger signal is acquired derives the change amount of traffic in the first network based on the first schedule information acquired from the first network ( the amount and the change of a traffic for a terminal is obtained by using the amount of change of the traffic acquired the first time information for the representative terminal of a network at a predetermined time interval , HO, page 4, second and third full paragraph starting with Use history acquisition part 12……; the first time traffic information is received for a terminal is equated to the first time information is scheduled for the terminal ).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person of ordinary skill in the art to incorporate HO’s teachings with SHIBATA’s teachings in view of Hayashi’s teachings. One skilled in the art would be motivated to combine them in order to efficiently obtain the traffic in a network terminal by using the traffic information received for the first time at the terminal for a predetermined interval.
Regarding claim 2, SHIBATA discloses a signal transfer control device comprising:
a processor; and a storage medium having computer program instructions stored thereon, when executed by the processor ( a dedicated hardware signal transfer system records program that is executed by a CPU, SHIBATA, [0104]) , perform to:
acquire first schedule information indicating a schedule of signal transfer in a first network from another signal transfer control device associated with the first network at a predetermined notification cycle ( a traffic collection unit transfers the monitored traffic information to transfer devices of a network based on a traffic collection unit cycle ( where the network is equated to the first network) , SHIBATA, [0096]);
acquire a trigger signal based on a change amount of traffic of the first network from the other signal transfer control device ( a traffic collection unit that collects information from signal transfer devices distributing transferred signal to several base station devices in the network for a cycle, SHIBATA, [0096]));
when the trigger signal is acquired determines whether or not the change amount of traffic of the first network is equal to or greater than a threshold ( an allocation determination device that determines if the traffic amount expected in the network becomes larger and reaches a threshold that exceeds a maximum required value , SHIBATA, [0098])).
SHIBATA does not disclose update second schedule information indicating a schedule of signal transfer in a second network connected to the first network via an intermediate node when it is determined that the change amount is equal to or greater than the threshold; and
instruct the other signal transfer control device to set the predetermined notification cycle when it is determined that the change amount is equal to or greater than the threshold.
Hayashi discloses update second schedule information indicating a schedule of signal transfer in a second network connected to the first network via an intermediate node when it is determined that the change amount is equal to or greater than the threshold ( an estimator estimates whether or not a number of mobile stations transmitting connection request signal from a fist network have base station 2b to second network having base station a1 is larger than a threshold using controller device 7, the controller device 7 is the intermediate node, Hayashi, [0058]; Fig.1 ; Fig 3); and
instruct the other signal transfer control device to set the predetermined notification cycle when it is determined that the change amount is equal to or greater than the threshold (connection instruction signal for instructing estimates whether or not a number of mobile stations transmitting connection request signal from a fist network have base station 2b to another network having base station a1 is larger than a threshold using controller device 7, the controller device 7 is the intermediate node at a target predetermined time where the predetermine time is equated to a cycle , Hayashi, [0065] ).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person of ordinary skill in the art to incorporate Hayashi’s teachings with SHIBATA’s teachings. One skilled in the art would be motivated to combine them in order to efficiently instruct a connection device to instruct the predetermined time interval has been exceeded.
SHIBATA and Hayashi do not disclose when the trigger signal is acquired, derives the change amount of traffic in the first network based on the first schedule information acquired from the first network.
HO discloses when the trigger signal is acquired, derives the change amount of traffic in the first network based on the first schedule information acquired from the first network ( the amount and the change of a traffic for a terminal is obtained by using the amount of change of the traffic acquired the first time information for the representative terminal of a network at a predetermined time interval , HO, page 4, second and third full paragraph starting with Use history acquisition part 12……; the first time traffic information is received for a terminal is equated to the first time information is scheduled for the terminal ).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person of ordinary skill in the art to incorporate HO’s teachings with SHIBATA’s teachings in view of Hayashi’s teachings. One skilled in the art would be motivated to combine them in order to efficiently obtain the traffic in a network terminal by using the traffic information received for the first time at the terminal for a predetermined interval.
Regarding claim 3, claim 3 is substantially similar to claim 2, thus the same rationale applies.
Conclusion
5. 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 extension fee 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 date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MARIEGEORGES A HENRY whose telephone number is (571)270-3226. The examiner can normally be reached on 11:00am -8:00pm East M-F.
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/MARIEGEORGES A HENRY/Examiner, Art Unit 2455
/ZI YE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2455
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