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 .
This office correspondence is in response to the amendment filed on December 17, 2025. Applicant has elected Group I: 1-12 and 29-34 as per response to the Election/Restriction. Claims 13-14 are withdrawn from considerations. Claims 15-28 are canceled as per preliminary amendment dated on 05/30/2025.
Claims 1-12 and 29-34 are pending.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 05/30/2024 was filed with the instant application, and IDS submitted on 02/14/2025 was filed after the mailing date of the instant application on 05/30/2024. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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.
Claims 1-12 and 29-34 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over XIONG et al. (US Publication 2023/0156523) hereafter XIONG, in view of THUBERT et al. (US Publication 2019/0280983) hereafter THUBERT, in further view of POCOVI et al. (US Publication 2022/0014485) hereafter POCOVI.
As per claim 1, XIONG discloses a resource reservation method, applied to a management/control plane entity (MCPE) and comprises: determining a virtual periodic forwarding path (VPFP) of a DetNet; wherein there is a scheduling cycle mapping relationship between any node other than a tail node in the VPFP of the any node flow (paragraphs 27-29: determine routing path in DetNet MPLS); the scheduling cycle mapping relationship refers to a mapping relationship between a scheduling cycle of a target egress interface for transmitting the DetNet flow on any node other than the tail node in the VPFP and a scheduling cycle of a target egress interface for transmitting the DetNet flow of the any node (paragraphs 40-42, 64: mapping information to include TSN filtering information); for the target egress interface on each node in the VPFP, planning a target scheduling cycle for scheduling and transmitting the DetNet flow (paragraphs 82-84: egress edge node of the DetNet where configuration message carries the filtering rules); wherein the target scheduling cycle of the target egress interface on any node other than the head node in the VPFP is determined based on the scheduling cycle mapping relationship between any node and the any node and the target scheduling cycle of the target egress interface (paragraphs 55, 83-84: TSN stream identified at the ingress edge node and filtered by the IP 6-tuple manner then mapped to the TSN stream); from an available transmission resource corresponding to the target scheduling cycle of the target egress interface on each node in the VPFP, reserving a target transmission resource for transmitting the DetNet flow within the target scheduling cycle so as to transmit the DetNet flow by the target transmission resource allocated for the target scheduling cycle of the target egress interface on each node in the VPFP (paragraphs 37-42: mapping DetNet packet to corresponding TSN stream and flow mapping information). Although, XIONG discloses message interaction with TSN configuration message with filtering and mapping information, but fails to expressly disclose mapping relationship between any node other than a tail node of the any node a next hop node of the any node; a scheduling cycle of a target egress interface for transmitting the DetNet flow on a next hop node.
However, in the same field of endeavor, THUBERT discloses the claimed limitation of mapping relationship between any node other than a tail node of the any node a next hop node of the any node; a scheduling cycle of a target egress interface for transmitting the DetNet flow on a next hop node (paragraphs 23-24, 46-48: hop-by-hop sequence for the identified flow of data packets).
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate THUBERTs’ teaching with XIONG. One would be motivated transmit resources corresponding to transmission cycle and hop to next node accordingly to avoid any scheduling conflict, thus enhancing transmission resources in the system.
Although, THUBERT-XIONG discloses message interaction method with jitter compensation along with multiple-path deterministic network but fail to expressly disclose VPFP is determined based on the scheduling cycle mapping relationship between a previous hop node of the any node and the any node and the target scheduling cycle of the target egress interface on the previous hop node.
However, in the same field of endeaver, POCOVI discloses the claimed limitation of VPFP is determined based on the scheduling cycle mapping relationship between a previous hop node of the any node and the any node and the target scheduling cycle of the target egress interface on the previous hop node (paragraphs 46-47).
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate POCOVIs’ teaching with THUBERT-XIONG. One would be motivated transmit resources corresponding to transmission cycle with previous hop to next node accordingly to avoid scheduling and transmission conflict among DetNet flows, thus enhancing system performance of forwarding and transmitting information.
As per claim 2, XIONG discloses the method wherein, for the target egress interface on each node in the VPFP, planning the target scheduling cycle for scheduling and transmitting the DetNet flow comprises: obtaining one or more reference scheduling cycles for scheduling the DetNet flow of the target egress interface on the head node (paragraphs 40-42, 64); for each of the reference scheduling cycles of the target egress interface on the head node, starting following cycle determining process: determining whether a currently available transmission resource corresponding to a current scheduling cycle of a target egress interface on a current node is greater than or equal to a specified transmission resource S1; wherein S1 represents a transmission resource required for transmitting the DetNet flow in the reference scheduling cycle; if the currently available transmission resource corresponding to the current scheduling cycle is greater than or equal to S1, determining the current scheduling cycle as a candidate scheduling cycle of the target egress interface on the current node (paragraphs 64, 80-84); if the current node is not the tail node, based on the current scheduling cycle and the scheduling cycle mapping relationship between the current node and a next node, determining a next scheduling cycle of the next node; determining the next scheduling cycle as the current scheduling cycle and the next hop node as the current node, and returning to the block of determining whether the currently available transmission resource corresponding to the current scheduling cycle of the target egress interface on the current node is greater than or equal to S1; if the current node is the tail node, determining the determined candidate scheduling cycle of the target egress interface on each node in the VPFP as the target scheduling cycle for scheduling and transmitting the DetNet flow (paragraphs 37-42, 83-84). Although, XIONG discloses message interaction with TSN configuration message with filtering and mapping information, but fails to expressly disclose mapping relationship between the current node and a next hop node of the current node, determining a next scheduling cycle of the next hop node, determining the next scheduling cycle as the current scheduling cycle and the next hop node as the current node; determining whether the currently available transmission resource corresponding to the current scheduling cycle of the target egress interface on the current node is greater than or equal to S1.
However, in the same field of endeavor, THUBERT discloses the claimed limitation of mapping relationship between the current node and a next hop node of the current node, determining a next scheduling cycle of the next hop node, determining the next scheduling cycle as the current scheduling cycle and the next hop node as the current node (paragraphs 23-24, 46-48: hop-by-hop sequence for the identified flow of data packets); determining whether the currently available transmission resource corresponding to the current scheduling cycle of the target egress interface on the current node is greater than or equal to S1 (paragraphs 43-46).
The same motivation that was utilized in the combination of claim 1 applies equally as well to claim 2.
As per claim 3, XIONG discloses the method wherein the VPFP is determined based on a VPFP identifier in one resource demand corresponding to the DetNet flow (paragraphs 37-38, 80); the resource demand indicates a specified scheduling cycle for scheduling and transmitting the DetNet flow of the target egress interface on the head node, and a resource demand number corresponding to the specified scheduling cycle; the specified scheduling cycle is the reference scheduling cycle and the resource demand number corresponding to the specified scheduling cycle is represented by the specified transmission resource S1 (paragraphs 37-42).
As per claim 4, XIONG discloses the method wherein after, for the target egress interface on each node in the VPFP, planning the target scheduling cycle for scheduling and transmitting the DetNet flow, the method further comprises: recording a resource allocation result; wherein the resource allocation result comprises: the VPFP, the target egress interface for transmitting the DetNet flow on the head node, the target scheduling cycle for scheduling and transmitting the DetNet flow of the target egress interface on the head node, and the target transmission resource used for scheduling and transmitting the DetNet flow within the target scheduling cycle; the target transmission resource is S1 (XIONG: paragraphs 40-42, 64, 80; THUBERT: paragraphs 43-46).
The same motivation that was utilized in the combination of claim 1 applies equally as well to claim 4.
As per claim 5, XIONG discloses the method wherein, for the target egress interface on each node in the VPFP, planning the target scheduling cycle for scheduling and transmitting the DetNet flow comprises: for a reference scheduling cycle for scheduling the DetNet flow of the target egress interface on the head node, executing following cycle determining process: determining the reference scheduling cycle as a current candidate scheduling cycle of the target egress interface on the head node, and determining whether a currently available transmission resource corresponding to the reference scheduling cycle is greater than or equal to an initial resource demand amount required for scheduling and transmitting the DetNet flow in the reference scheduling cycle (paragraphs 27-29); wherein if the reference scheduling cycle is a first scheduling cycle, for which the cycle determining process is performed, of the target egress interface on the head node, the initial resource demand amount is a specified transmission resource S2 specified for scheduling and transmitting the DetNet flow, and otherwise, the initial resource demand amount is determined represents a transmission resource required for scheduling and transmitting the DetNet flow, transmission resources required for transmitting the DetNet flow in each determined target scheduling cycle of the target egress interface on the head node (paragraphs 82-84). Although, XIONG discloses message interaction with TSN configuration message with filtering and mapping information, but fails to expressly disclose the initial resource demand amount is determined based on S2 and d0; S2 represents a transmission resource required for scheduling and transmitting the DetNet flow, d0 represents a sum of target transmission resources; if the currently available transmission resource corresponding to the reference scheduling cycle is greater than or equal to the initial resource demand amount, determining a current basic transmission resource as the initial resource demand amount, and performing block α; if the currently available transmission resource corresponding to the reference scheduling cycle is not greater than or equal to the initial resource demand amount, determining the current basic transmission resource as a reference resource demand amount which is less than the initial resource demand amount, and performing block a; wherein the block a comprises: based on the current scheduling cycle and the scheduling cycle mapping relationship between the current node and the next hop node, determining the next scheduling cycle of the next hop node as the current scheduling cycle and the next hop node as the current node; determining whether a currently available transmission resource corresponding to the current scheduling cycle is greater than or equal to the current basic transmission resource; if yes, determining the current scheduling cycle as a candidate scheduling cycle of the target egress interface on the current node; if the current node is not the tail node, returning to the block of determining the next scheduling cycle; if the current node is the tail node, determining the candidate scheduling cycle, determined by this process, of the target egress interface on each node in the VPFP as the target scheduling cycle for scheduling and transmitting the DetNet flow.
However, in the same field of endeavor, THUBERT discloses the claimed limitation of the initial resource demand amount is determined based on S2 and d0; S2 represents a transmission resource required for scheduling and transmitting the DetNet flow, d0 represents a sum of target transmission resources (paragraphs 45-49); if the currently available transmission resource corresponding to the reference scheduling cycle is greater than or equal to the initial resource demand amount, determining a current basic transmission resource as the initial resource demand amount, and performing block α; if the currently available transmission resource corresponding to the reference scheduling cycle is not greater than or equal to the initial resource demand amount, determining the current basic transmission resource as a reference resource demand amount which is less than the initial resource demand amount, and performing block a (paragraphs 43-44); wherein the block a comprises: based on the current scheduling cycle and the scheduling cycle mapping relationship between the current node and the next hop node, determining the next scheduling cycle of the next hop node as the current scheduling cycle and the next hop node as the current node; determining whether a currently available transmission resource corresponding to the current scheduling cycle is greater than or equal to the current basic transmission resource; if yes, determining the current scheduling cycle as a candidate scheduling cycle of the target egress interface on the current node; if the current node is not the tail node, returning to the block of determining the next scheduling cycle; if the current node is the tail node, determining the candidate scheduling cycle, determined by this process, of the target egress interface on each node in the VPFP as the target scheduling cycle for scheduling and transmitting the DetNet flow (paragraphs 41, 45-49).
The same motivation that was utilized in the combination of claim 1 applies equally as well to claim 5.
As per claim 6, XIONG discloses the method wherein, if the currently available transmission resource corresponding to the current scheduling cycle is less than the current basic transmission resource in block a, the method further comprises: checking whether the currently available transmission resource corresponding to the current scheduling cycle satisfies preset resource update conditions; if yes, updating the current basic transmission resource, wherein the updated current basic transmission resource is less than the current basic transmission resource before the updating, and then returning to the block of determining whether the currently available transmission resource corresponding to the current scheduling cycle is greater than or equal to the current basic transmission resource (XIONG: 37-38, 80; THUBERT: 45-49).
The same motivation that was utilized in the combination of claim 1 applies equally as well to claim 6.
As per claim 7, although, XIONG discloses message interaction with TSN configuration message with filtering and mapping information, but fails to expressly disclose the method wherein checking whether the currently available transmission resource corresponding to the current scheduling cycle satisfies preset resource update conditions comprises: calculating [cn.ci.ar[j] /min] to obtain a calculation result k1; if k1 is greater than 0, determining the currently available transmission resource corresponding to the current scheduling cycle satisfies the preset resource update conditions, and otherwise, determining the currently available transmission resource corresponding to the current scheduling cycle does not satisfy the preset resource update conditions; wherein cn.ci.ar[j] represents the currently available transmission resource corresponding to the current scheduling cycle, and min represents a minimum transmission resource configured for transmitting the DetNet flow within one scheduling cycle, and [] refers to rounding; the updated current basic transmission resource is a product of k1 and min.
However, in the same field of endeavor, THUBERT discloses the claimed limitation of wherein checking whether the currently available transmission resource corresponding to the current scheduling cycle satisfies preset resource update conditions comprises: calculating [cn.ci.ar[j] /min] to obtain a calculation result k1; if k1 is greater than 0, determining the currently available transmission resource corresponding to the current scheduling cycle satisfies the preset resource update conditions, and otherwise, determining the currently available transmission resource corresponding to the current scheduling cycle does not satisfy the preset resource update conditions; wherein cn.ci.ar[j] represents the currently available transmission resource corresponding to the current scheduling cycle, and min represents a minimum transmission resource configured for transmitting the DetNet flow within one scheduling cycle, and [] refers to rounding; the updated current basic transmission resource is a product of k1 and min (paragraphs 41, 45-49).
The same motivation that was utilized in the combination of claim 1 applies equally as well to claim 7.
As per claim 8, although, XIONG discloses message interaction with TSN configuration message with filtering and mapping information, but fails to expressly disclose the method wherein, the reference resource demand amount is represented by a product of k2 and min; wherein k2=[cn.ci.ar[c] /min]; cn.ci.ar[c] represents the currently available transmission resource corresponding to the reference scheduling cycle, and min represents a minimum transmission resource configured for transmitting the DetNet flow within one scheduling cycle, and [ ] represents rounding.
However, in the same field of endeavor, THUBERT discloses the claimed limitation of wherein, the reference resource demand amount is represented by a product of k2 and min; wherein k2=[cn.ci.ar[c] /min]; cn.ci.ar[c] represents the currently available transmission resource corresponding to the reference scheduling cycle, and min represents a minimum transmission resource configured for transmitting the DetNet flow within one scheduling cycle, and [ ] represents rounding (paragraphs 17, 41, 45-49).
The same motivation that was utilized in the combination of claim 1 applies equally as well to claim 8.
As per claim 9, although, XIONG discloses message interaction with TSN configuration message with filtering and mapping information, but fails to expressly disclose the method wherein the VPFP is determined based on a VPFP identifier in one resource demand corresponding to the DetNet flow; the reference scheduling cycle comprises a scheduling cycle, satisfying following conditions, of the target egress interface on the head node: an available transmission resource corresponding to this scheduling cycle is greater than or equal to min; wherein min represents a minimum transmission resource configured for transmitting the DetNet flow within one scheduling cycle.
However, in the same field of endeavor, THUBERT discloses the claimed limitation of wherein the VPFP is determined based on a VPFP identifier in one resource demand corresponding to the DetNet flow; the reference scheduling cycle comprises a scheduling cycle, satisfying following conditions, of the target egress interface on the head node: an available transmission resource corresponding to this scheduling cycle is greater than or equal to min; wherein min represents a minimum transmission resource configured for transmitting the DetNet flow within one scheduling cycle (paragraphs 41, 45-49).
The same motivation that was utilized in the combination of claim 1 applies equally as well to claim 9.
As per claim 10, XIONG discloses the method wherein after, for the target egress interface on each node in the VPFP, planning the target scheduling cycle for scheduling and transmitting the DetNet flow, the method further comprises: recording a resource allocation result (paragraphs 40-42, 64); wherein the resource allocation result comprises: the VPFP, the target egress interface for transmitting the DetNet flow on the head node, the target scheduling cycle for scheduling and transmitting the DetNet flow of the target egress interface on the head node, and the target transmission resource used for scheduling and transmitting the DetNet flow within the target scheduling cycle; the target transmission resource is the current basic transmission resource (paragraphs 55, 83-84).
As per claim 11, XIONG discloses the method wherein the scheduling cycle mapping relationship is represented by an injective function to indicate that any scheduling cycle of a target egress interface on one node other than the tail node in the VPFP is mapped to a unique scheduling cycle of a target egress interface on a next hop node of the one node (paragraphs 37-42, 83-84).
As per claim 12, although, XIONG discloses message interaction with TSN configuration message with filtering and mapping information, but fails to expressly disclose the method wherein each node in the VPFP is configured with n equal-length scheduling cycles, wherein n is greater than 1.
However, in the same field of endeavor, THUBERT discloses the claimed limitation of wherein each node in the VPFP is configured with n equal-length scheduling cycles, wherein n is greater than 1 (paragraphs 41, 43-49).
The same motivation that was utilized in the combination of claim 1 applies equally as well to claim 12.
Claim 29 is an Independent claim with similar limitation but different in preamble and hence are rejected based on the rejection provided in claim 1.
Claim 30 is an Independent claim with similar limitation but different in preamble and hence are rejected based on the rejection provided in claim 1.
Claims 31-34 are listed all the same elements of claims 2-5 respectively. Therefore, the supporting rationales of the rejection to claims 2-5 apply equally as well to claims 31-34, respectively.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FARZANA B HUQ whose telephone number is (571)270-3223. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday: 8:30-5:30 ET.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Emmanuel L Moise can be reached at 571-272-3865. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/FARZANA B HUQ/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2455