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 Rejections - 35 USC § 112
Claims 1, 13, 17 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 applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Regarding claims 1, 13, 17, the phrase "if" renders the claim indefinite because it is unclear whether the limitations are part of the claimed invention. See MPEP § 2173.05(d).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
Claim 17 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to non-statutory subject matter. The claim(s) does/do not fall within at least one of the four categories of patent eligible subject matter because the claim directs to computer program, which is software per se and does not fall within at least one of the four categories.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(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, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by HWANG et al. (US 20110086655).
Regarding claims 1, 13, 17, HWANG et al. (US 20110086655) teaches a method for selecting links for running cooperative communication between access points in a communication network (par. 13, 48), the method being performed by a controller, the method comprising:
estimating, as a function of live network data obtained from the access points (par. 49, If a data rate exceeding the average value R.sub.avg of the estimated range of reserved resources is requested), a link utility for each link between each pair of access points as achieved if running the cooperative communication on said link (par. 13, 49, 50, 52, 60, 61, where nodes located on a data transmission path do not support the requested data rate); and
selecting, as a function of the respective estimated link utility for each pair of access points, a subset of all links between the access points yielding optimal total aggregated link utility for a condition on a maximum number of links per access points for running the cooperative communication (par. 52, 53, 57, 60, 61, the bypass tunnel may include a tunnel 311 between the nodes 1 and the node 3, a tunnel 312 between the node 3 and the node 5, a tunnel 315 between the node 5 and the node 2, a tunnel 313 between the node 1 and the node 4, and a tunnel 314 between the node 4 and the node 2 (the aggregate data rate that able to support for each link between the nodes in the tunnel path of the links between base stations); par. 56, 58, If the requested data rate is between the average value of the estimated range and the maximum value of the estimated range, residual resources allocated to one or more other data transmission sessions are utilized (optimal) in operation 410; ).
Regarding claim 3, HWANG et al. (US 20110086655) teaches the method according to claim 1, wherein the link utility is represented by a set of entries (par. 53, 60, 61, whether the other nodes located on the data transmission path are able to support the requested data rate is determined in operation 409; the data rate the node supported with other nodes), with one entry per each link between two of the access points (par. 53, 60, 61, whether the other nodes located on the data transmission path are able to support the requested data rate is determined in operation 409; the data rate the node supported with other nodes), and wherein the entry for a given link represents the estimated link utility achieved if running the cooperative communication between the access points of said given link (par. 53, 57, 59, 60, 61, the average value of the estimated range in operation 404, the shared information is transmitted via the reserved tunnel in operation 400…If the requested data rate is less than or equal to the maximum value of the estimated range in operation 405).
Regarding claim 4, HWANG et al. (US 20110086655) teaches the method according to claim 3, wherein the subset of all links is selected by selecting a subset of the entries yielding optimal total aggregated link utility (par. 53, 59, 60, 61, If the other nodes are able to support the requested data rate in operation 409, the residual resources allocated to other sessions are utilized in operation 410; the residual resources of other sessions are redistribute optimizing the resource usage).
Regarding claim 5, HWANG et al. (US 20110086655) teaches the method according to claim 4, wherein the selected subset of entries defines cooperating access points in the communication network (par. 52, 53, 56, 57, 60, 61, a reserved tunnel is established, and shared information between base stations is transmitted… whether the other nodes located on the data transmission path are able to support the requested data rate is determined in operation 409; the data rate the node supported with other nodes).
Regarding claim 7, HWANG et al. (US 20110086655) teaches the method according to claim 1, wherein the subset of links is selected for a condition on a total maximum number of links in each direction per each of the access points for running the cooperative communication (par. 52, 53, 57, 60, 61, the bypass tunnel may include a tunnel 311 between the nodes 1 and the node 3, a tunnel 312 between the node 3 and the node 5, a tunnel 315 between the node 5 and the node 2, a tunnel 313 between the node 1 and the node 4, and a tunnel 314 between the node 4 and the node 2 (the aggregate data rate that able to support for each link between the nodes in the tunnel path of the links between base stations); par. 56, 58, If the requested data rate is between the average value of the estimated range and the maximum value of the estimated range, residual resources allocated to one or more other data transmission sessions are utilized (optimal) in operation 410; ).
Regarding claim 8, HWANG et al. (US 20110086655) teaches the method according to claim 1 any preceding claim, wherein the method further comprises:
configuring the access points for communicating on the selected subset of links (par. 52, 53, 57, 60, 61, a reserved tunnel is established, and shared information between base stations is transmitted).
Regarding claim 9, HWANG et al. (US 20110086655) teaches the method according to claim 1, wherein the method further comprises:
providing information indicating the selected subset of links to the access points (par. 57, a reserved tunnel is established, and shared information between base stations is transmitted).
Regarding claim 10, HWANG et al. (US 20110086655) teaches the method according to claim 1, wherein the method further comprises:
repeatedly performing said estimating and said selecting as new live network data is obtainable by the controller (par. 52, 56, 57, the resource self-regulation scheme and the adaptive resource refresh scheme may generate a bypass tunnel from each of intermediate nodes).
Regarding claim 11, HWANG et al. (US 20110086655) teaches the method according to claim 1, wherein the link utility pertains to cooperation between the access points in terms of any of:
inter-node carrier aggregation, radio cooperative, uplink Coordinated Multi-Point transmission/reception joint processing, centralized scheduling with distributed layer L1 and L2 communication, coordination for advanced antenna systems between sector carriers transmission-and-reception points, TRPs, or cells, multi-TRP across sites and/or access points, slow scheduling coordination with fast interfaces in Packet Data Convergence Protocol signalling for EN-DC and NR-DC, access network coordination to avoid/mitigate Quality of Experience and/or Quality of Service drops for access network services, redundant transmission paths with fast interconnect (par. 6, coordinated multi-point transmission. Algorithms to perform coordinated multi-point transmission may include, for example, a coordinated silencing algorithm, a coordinated scheduling/beamforming algorithm, a joint processing/transmission algorithm, and the like).
Regarding claim 12, HWANG et al. (US 20110086655) teaches the method according to claim 1, wherein the link utility is estimated in terms of any of:
number of active users served in each cell of each access point,
probability that users of one access point are covered by any cell of another access point,
probability that users served by one access point are able to use carriers of another access point,
amount of un-used radio resources at each access point (par. 52, 53, 57, 60, 61, 63, 64, 70, If the other nodes are able to support the requested data rate in operation 409, the residual resources allocated to other sessions are utilized in operation 410. Alternatively, where the other nodes are not able to support the requested data rate in operation 409),
access link quality between users served by one access point and another access point (par. 7, 70, channel status),
latency of the links between the access points (par. 7, 70, the time delay, data rate),
policies in the communication network (par. 63, a policy for applying the coordinated multi-point transmission between the base stations is formed),
capabilities of the access points for cooperative communication (par. 52, 53, 57, 60, 61, 63, 64, 70, If the other nodes are able to support the requested data rate in operation 409, the residual resources allocated to other sessions are utilized in operation 410. Alternatively, where the other nodes are not able to support the requested data rate in operation 409… setup signaling for the coordinated multi-point transmission between the base stations is performed).
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 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over HWANG et al. (US 20110086655) in view of SCALIA et al. (US 20120165063).
Regarding claim 2, HWANG does not explicitly teach the method according to claim 1, wherein the live network data is obtained from the access points in terms of cell coverage data and cell load data for all cells deployed by the access points, without any cooperative communication running between the access points.
But, SCALIA et al. (US 20120165063) in a similar or same field of endeavor teaches wherein the live network data is obtained from the access points in terms of cell coverage data and cell load data for all cells deployed by the access points, without any cooperative communication running between the access points (fig. 14, par. 58, 59, 68, 82, the current traffic load, which is satisfied by the current set of active antennas… the power control unit 130 may keep at least one antenna of the plurality of antennas of the node active so that a minimal data rate within the area (cell) covered by the node can be guaranteed… running at the base station or on a remote computation point, that determines whether or not there exists a possible base station cooperative set that is able to provide additional wireless resources to the requesting base station).
Thus, it would have been obvious to the person of ordinary skill in the art before the effectively filing date of the claimed invention to implement the system or method as taught by SCALIA in the system of HWANG to obtain network data without the cooperative communication.
The motivation would have been maintaining operability with the legacy system and reduce complexity implementing the cooperative communication.
Claim(s) 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over HWANG et al. (US 20110086655) in view of WINTERS et al. (US 10205513).
Regarding claim 6, HWANG does not teach the method according to claim 1, wherein the subset of links is selected using a greedy search algorithm.
But, WINTERS et al. (US 10205513) in a similar or same field of endeavor teaches wherein the subset of links is selected using a greedy search algorithm (col. 10 lines 20-41, the receiving asset, or a network controller (not shown) may determine the most advantageous links in combination with the power allocation of the frequency subcarriers and spatial channels for each link… a greedy algorithm is used for changing the power allocation to reduce computational complexity. Specifically, with the greedy algorithm, only small changes (e.g., a limited number of additions or removals) to the links/frequency/spatial multiplexing are made for each update (e.g., those changes that have the largest improvement in overall network capacity still meeting the system constraints)).
Thus, it would have been obvious to the person of ordinary skill in the art before the effectively filing date of the claimed invention to implement the system or method as taught by WINTERS in the system of HWANG to implement the greedy algorithm to selecting link.
The motivation would have been to reduce the complexity to selecting link.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Pan et al., (“Cooperative Communication Aware Link Scheduling for Cognitive Vehicular Networks”) teaches cooperative communications and the availability of licensed spectrum, we extend the links into cooperative links/general links (abstract).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to THINH D TRAN whose telephone number is (571)270-3934. The examiner can normally be reached mon-fri 9-6.
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/THINH D TRAN/for /Thinh Tran/, Patent Examiner of Art Unit 2466 06/27/2026
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