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 .
Response to Amendment
The amendments to the claims filed on 06/16/2026 have been entered. Amendments to the claims have the 35 USC § 102 rejection as previously presented to claims 1, 3-9 and 11.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-4, and 6-11 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Specification
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
The following title is suggested: “Communication control device and method for selecting vehicle communication frequency bands based on electromagnetic noise measurement”.
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 1-4, 6-9 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tsushima (US-20220141724-A1, filed: 2021-08-26) in view of Hoshihara et al. (US-8630589-B2, published: 2014-01-14) hereinafter Hoshihara.
For examination purposes, claim 1 referring to an apparatus and claim 8 referring to a method are henceforth grouped together for claims mirroring the same limitations or which disclose analogous art to the invention as claimed.
Regarding Claims 1 and 8, Tsushima discloses a communication control device and method (Tsushima, fig. 1, par. 15; The vehicle 50 comprises an information processing apparatus 200) that selects a communication frequency band for communicating between a vehicle and an external base station (Tsushima, fig.1, par. 15: The information processing apparatus 200 performs data communication with an external device 30) from among a plurality of assigned communication frequency bands when starting communication between the vehicle and the external base station (Tsushima, fig. 2, par. 26; The band information acquiring unit 242 acquires band information to be used for communicating with the external device 30 from the mobile communication network. The communication environment information storage unit 280 stores the communication throughput measured by the throughput measuring unit 210 and the band information acquired by the band information acquiring unit 242 at a time when the communication throughput is measured, by associating them with each other. The detection unit 260 detects at least one of a handover execution or a communication band switching) see also fig. 4 step. 414, the communication control device comprising: an electronic control unit having at least one processor programmed to execute (Tsushima, par. 79; each unit may be implemented by a dedicated circuit, a programmable circuit supplied along with a computer-readable instruction stored on a computer-readable storage medium, and/or a processor supplied along with the computer-readable instruction stored on the computer-readable storage medium): measuring or determining an amount of electromagnetic noise in each of the plurality of assigned communication frequency bands inside a cockpit module of the vehicle (Tsushima, fig. 2, par. 30; The noise information acquiring unit 244 acquires noise information of a communication signal used for communicating with the external device 30. Examples of the noise information may include a signal-to-interference-plus-noise-ratio (SINR), a signal to noise ratio (SNR), or the like) see also fig. 4 step 416 and fig. 5 step 606; selecting the communication frequency band based on the amount of electromagnetic noise so as to reduce an influence of the electromagnetic noise (Tsushima, fig. 5, par. 64; f it is determined that the switching of the frequency band has occurred in S618, the communication rate controller 230 acquires the communication throughput in a communication environment similar to the communication environment after the handover in S622. For example, as described in relation to FIG. 3, for example, in S622, the communication rate controller 230 selects a communication throughput associated with information that matches a combination of the band information, the SINR, the RSRP, the moving speed, the location information included in the handover notification from communication throughputs stored in the communication environment information storage unit 280) see also step 606 and figure 4. Steps 416-420; and communicating with the external base station using the communication frequency band that was selected (Tsushima, fig. 5, par. 65; Subsequently, in S624, the communication rate controller 230 uses the communication throughput acquired in S622 for controlling data communication for a predetermined period of time).
PNG
media_image1.png
775
398
media_image1.png
Greyscale
Tsushima does not explicitly disclose selecting the communication frequency to reduce an influence of the electromagnetic noise. However in analogous art, Hoshihara discloses an onboard radio communication system which dynamically switches frequency bands when it detects radio interference from an adjacent vehicle to avoid interference of the radio waves (Hoshihara, fig. 6, col. 6, lines 8-27; The radio interference decision unit 122 compares the received signal strength indication (RSSI) of the radio waves leaking from the adjacent vehicle, which is measured by the RSSI measurement unit 123, with the interference threshold stored in the storage unit 124, and outputs its result to the transmission output control unit 125 and frequency channel switching control unit 126. When the radio interference decision unit 122 makes a decision that the radio interference is not detected, the transmission output control unit 125 lowers the transmission output of the radio set 12a within a range that will not cause the quality deterioration in the radio communications in the vehicle, and supplies to the radio transmitting and receiving control unit 121. When the radio interference decision unit 122 makes a decision that the radio interference is present, the frequency channel switching control unit 126 scans other frequency channels that can replace, and switches the current frequency channel in use by reporting the frequency channel with which the scanning succeeds to the other radio sets 12b-12e via the report signals) see also par. 6 and fig. 7.
Therefore a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, seeking to dynamically switch frequencies in an in-vehicle communication system to reduce signal interference from electromagnetic noise would have found it obvious to apply Hoshihara’s methods of dynamic frequency band selection based on a signal interference threshold to Tsushima’s vehicle wireless communication system which utilizes environment information to aid in frequency band selection during a hand over, and enhance frequency band selection in an environment with excess noise resulting from nearby wireless devices.
PNG
media_image2.png
438
725
media_image2.png
Greyscale
Regarding claim 2, the combination of Tsushima and Hoshihara further teach the communication control device according to claim 1, wherein the electronic control unit is further configured to consider an amount of noise outside of the vehicle (Hoshihara, fig. 7, col. 6, lines 61-67; As a radio set 12a-12e for detecting the radio interference, one of the radio sets 12a-12e constituting the radio network, which is closest to the adjacent vehicle is selected from the position information on the adjacent vehicle any one of the ultrasonic sensors 13a-13e detects. However, if the selected one of the radio sets 12a-12e is in the communication state because the user application is in operation, one of the radio sets 12a-12e which is second closest to the adjacent vehicle is selected as the radio set for detecting the radio interference) see also step 705 when selecting the communication frequency band (Hoshihara, fig. 7, col. 7, lines 49-54; The frequency channel switching control unit 126 successively scans switchable frequency channels listed in the storage unit 124 according to the degree of priority, and decides the frequency channel without the radio interference with which the scanning succeeds (step ST707)) see also Tsushima fig. 4 step 414 and fig. 5 step 618.
Regarding claim 3, the combination of Tsushima and Hoshihara further teach the communication control device according to claim 1, wherein electronic control unit is further configured to consider a speed of the vehicle (Tsushima, fig. 5, par. 60; the band information acquiring unit 242, the noise information acquiring unit 244, the signal strength information acquiring unit 246, the moving speed acquiring unit 250, and the location information acquiring unit 248 acquire the band information, the SINR the RSRP, the moving speed, and the location, respectively in S606) when selecting the communication frequency band (Tsushima, fig. 5, par. 62; If the detection unit 260 has detected no handover, the processing advances to S602. If the detection unit 260 has detected a handover, the communication rate controller 230 determines whether the switching of frequency band used for communication has occurred in S618) see also par. 64.
Regarding claim 4, the combination of Tsushima and Hoshihara further teach the communication control device according to claim 1, wherein electronic control unit is further configured to detect an activation state of an onboard device and consider the activation state of the onboard device when selecting the communication frequency band (Hoshihara, fig. 1, col. 4, lines 14-19; as for the foregoing report signals, since they are transmitted and received frame by frame, the radio set 12a, for example, can learn the states of the other radio sets 12b-12e constituting the radio network. In addition, the control signals are transmitted and received as the need arises for controlling the individual radio sets 12a-12e) see also fig. 3, col. 4 lines 25-40.
PNG
media_image3.png
542
460
media_image3.png
Greyscale
Regarding claim 6, the combination of Tsushima and Hoshihara further teach the communication control device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of assigned communication frequency bands starts in order from a highest frequency band (Tsukishima, par. 29; The detection unit 260 detects a switching between a high frequency band and a low frequency band. For example, the detection unit 260 detects at least one of the switching from the high frequency band to the low frequency band or the switching from the low frequency band to the high frequency band) see also Hishihara fig. 3.
Regarding claim 7, the combination of Tsushima and Hoshihara further teach the communication control device according to claim 1, wherein the electronic control unit is further configured to estimate a communication frequency band switching area and measure the amount of electromagnetic noise before the vehicle reaches the area (Tsushima, fig. 2, par. 27; If the detection unit 260 has detected at least one of the handover execution and the communication band switching, the communication rate controller 230 switches from controlling the communication rate based on the future communication throughput predicted by the throughput predicting unit 220, to controlling the communication rate based on band information acquired by the communication environment information storage unit 280 and by the band information acquiring unit 242), examiner notes, see also fig. 4, pars. 52-57 and fig. 5.
PNG
media_image4.png
531
653
media_image4.png
Greyscale
Regarding claim 9, the combination of Tsushima and Hoshihara further teach the communication control device according to claim 1, wherein the electronic control unit is further configured to compare a vehicle speed to a prescribed threshold value, measure the amount of electromagnetic noise in each of the plurality of assigned communication frequency bands s-neasuredusing a first sweep time when the vehicle speed is greater than or equal to a prescribed threshold value, and measure the amount of electromagnetic noise in each of the plurality of assigned communication frequency bands using a second sweep time when the vehicle speed is less than the prescribed threshold value, the second sweep time being slower than the first sweep time (Tsushima, par. 32; The moving speed acquiring unit 250 acquires a moving speed of the vehicle 50. For example, the moving speed acquiring unit 250 acquires the speed of the vehicle 50 by using a vehicle speed sensor. The communication environment information storage unit 280 stores the communication throughput measured by the throughput measuring unit 210; the band information acquired by the band information acquiring unit 242 at a time when the communication throughput is measured; and the moving speed of the vehicle 50 acquired by the moving speed acquiring unit 250 at a time when the communication throughput is measured, by associating them with each other. If the detection unit 260 has detected at least one of the handover execution and the communication band switching, the communication rate controller 230 switches from controlling the communication rate based on the future communication throughput predicted by the throughput predicting unit 220 to controlling the communication rate based on the communication throughput stored in the communication environment information storage unit 280, the communication throughput being associated with the band information acquired by the band information acquiring unit 242 and a moving speed that matches the moving speed acquired by the moving speed acquiring unit 250. Thus, the communication rate can be controlled on the basis of the appropriate communication throughput in further consideration of the influence of the Doppler effect according to the moving speed of the vehicle 50) see also pars. 38-39, 47-51 and figs. 4-5.
Regarding claim 11, the combination of Tsushima and Hoshihara further teach the communication control device according to claim 1, wherein higher frequencies are preferentially selected when selecting the communication frequency band from the plurality of assigned communication frequency bands (Tsushima, par. 29; The detection unit 260 detects a switching between a high frequency band and a low frequency band. For example, the detection unit 260 detects at least one of the switching from the high frequency band to the low frequency band or the switching from the low frequency band to the high frequency band) see also Hoshihara fig 3, where the frequency bands are assigned to frequency channels upon detection of signal interference of an adjacent vehicle.
PNG
media_image5.png
468
603
media_image5.png
Greyscale
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 10 objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
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.
Other Pertinent Prior Art Not Relied Upon
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Shi (US-9119124-B2), Method and system for communication implementation for user equipment, 2015. The disclosure provides a method and system for communication implementation for a user equipment, which include: a user equipment reports the state information of other sub-devices except the sub-device adopting Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology to the network (300); the network performs radio resource management according to the obtained state information (301). It can be seen from the method of the disclosure that the network, already knowing the state information of the user equipment, performs radio resource management. As for the sub-devices in the user equipment which are configured to adopt the LTE technology and as for other sub-devices adopting such technologies other than the LTE technology as WLAN technology, Bluetooth technology, and the like, the method achieves effective suppression of the in-device co-existence interference, thus improving the communication quality of the radio technologies in the user equipment and the communication experience of the users.
Addepalli et al. (US-20140215491-A1), System And Method For Internal Networking, Data Optimization And Dynamic Frequency Selection In A Vehicular Environment, 2014. A system includes an on-board unit (OBU) in communication with an internal subsystem in a vehicle on at least one Ethernet network and a node on a wireless network. A method in one embodiment includes receiving a message on the Ethernet network in the vehicle, encapsulating the message to facilitate translation to Ethernet protocol if the message is not in Ethernet protocol, and transmitting the message in Ethernet protocol to its destination. Certain embodiments include optimizing data transmission over the wireless network using redundancy caches, dictionaries, object contexts databases, speech templates and protocol header templates, and cross layer optimization of data flow from a receiver to a sender over a TCP connection. Certain embodiments also include dynamically identifying and selecting an operating frequency with least interference for data transmission over the wireless network.
Liu et al. (US-20230269708-A1), Method And Device In Nodes Used For Wireless Communication, 2023. A first node receives a first signaling; performs a first channel sensing in a first resource pool; and determines a target resource pool; and selects a target time-frequency resource block in the target resource pool; and transmits a second signaling on the target time-frequency resource block; the first signaling indicates a first reference resource set, the first reference resource set comprising at least one time-frequency resource block; the first channel sensing is used to determine the target resource pool; a first candidate time-frequency resource block is a time-frequency resource block in the target resource pool; whether the first candidate time-frequency resource block belongs to the first reference resource set is used to determine whether the first candidate time-frequency resource block is chosen as the target time-frequency resource block. This application makes full use of inter-user coordinated resources so that the freedom degree of resource selection can be guaranteed.
Kallio et al. (US 20050026608 A1), Method And Arrangements For Wireless Communication In A Vehicle, 2005. The present invention provides an operational mode of communication which adjusts a transmitting power of a cellular system and a mobile terminal used inside a vehicle, such as an aircraft, so that the mobile terminals (102) inside the aircraft camp on the indoor cellular network (100) inside the aircraft and do not interfere with external cellular networks. This reduces possible electromagnetic interference with avionics inside the aircraft, because the transmitted power levels is limited. The frequency band used by the indoor cellular network can be determined by the service provider independent of frequency bands allocated by communication specifications and regulations. Conventional mobile terminals (102) and conventional base transceiver stations (104) applying the aircraft profile according to the invention can be used inside the aircraft while aboard to communicate with the conventional external cellular networks (150).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MARIO R CAMPERO MIRAMONTES whose telephone number is (571)272-5792. The examiner can normally be reached Monday -Thursday 0600 - 1600.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Yuwen (Kevin) Pan can be reached at (571) 272-7855. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/MARIO R CAMPERO MIRAMONTES/ Examiner, Art Unit 2649
/YUWEN PAN/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2649
Prosecution Insights