DETAILED ACTION
This office action is a response to the application 18/739,802 filed on June 11, 2024.
Claims 1-18 are pending.
Claims 1, 7 and 13 are rejected.
Claims 2-6, 8-12 and 14-18 are objected to.
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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on October 29, 2025 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
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, 7 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mueck et al. U.S. Patent Application Publication 2021/0014656, hereinafter Mueck, in view of Eitan U.S. Patent Application Publication 2016/0329986, hereinafter Eitan.
Regarding Claim 1, 7 and 13, Mueck discloses an apparatus for in-vehicle communication, the vehicle comprising: a memory device; and a first controller including the memory device, the first controller being operatively coupled to a plurality of vehicle controllers via an in-vehicle network (Abstract; Figure 1-4. 8, 9 and 12-21), the first controller programmed to:
transmit at least a first frame including a first field and a first data to at least a second controller of the plurality of vehicle controller via the in-vehicle network (Paragraph [0048] Overall time management frame with IEE Network allocation vector which is a virtual carrier sensing mechanism that limits the need for physical carrier-sensing at the air interface to improve power efficiency. In these embodiments, the nI8 RAT station sets the duration field in the MAC layer frame to specify the transmission time required for the data frame(s). The other ITS-Ss will listen on the wireless medium to obtain the MAC layer frame. When the other stations obtain the MAC layer frame, they read the duration field and set their NAV indicator/counter with the value included in the duration field (e.g., indicating an amount of time the other stations must abstain from accessing the medium). For example, in the IEEE 802.11 standard (and thus potentially also for ITS-G5), the NAV indicates the time period which is intended to be held by the ITS-S, and can be a maximum of 32.767 μs. In this way, the I8 RAT stations will behave as “hidden terminals” during the nI8 RAT station transmissions and will refrain at accessing the channel. The total time a I8 RAT station will defer access is the NAV time plus a configured AIFS time);
determine a first duration indicative of a first amount of time to transmit at least the first frame to the second controller (Paragraph [0048] The MAC layer frame headers contain a duration field that specifies the transmission time require for the frame (e.g., indicating the time for which the medium will be busy; In these embodiments, the nI8 RAT station sets the duration field in the MAC layer frame to specify the transmission time required for the data frame(s). The other ITS-Ss will listen on the wireless medium to obtain the MAC layer frame. When the other stations obtain the MAC layer frame, they read the duration field and set their NAV indicator/counter with the value included in the duration field (e.g., indicating an amount of time the other stations must abstain from accessing the medium). For example, in the IEEE 802.11 standard (and thus potentially also for ITS-G5), the NAV indicates the time period which is intended to be held by the ITS-S, and can be a maximum of 32.767 μs. In this way, the I8 RAT stations will behave as “hidden terminals” during the nI8 RAT station transmissions and will refrain at accessing the channel. The total time a I8 RAT station will defer access is the NAV time plus a configured AIFS time);
position the first duration in the first field; and transmit at least the first frame including the first duration in the first field and the first data to provide an indication to the at least the second controller to avoid transmitting data on the in-vehicle network until the first amount of time has expired (Paragraph [0230] Process 2300 begins at operation 2301 where a first V-ITS-S implementing a first V2X RAT of a plurality of V2X RATs sharing resources within a shared channel generates a NAV setting signal. The NAV setting signal indicates a Tx interval that the first V2X RAT will occupy the shared channel. At operation 2302, the first V-ITS-S transmits or broadcasts the NAV setting signal to one or more other V-ITS-Ss. The one or more other V-ITS-Ss include at least one second V-ITS-S that implements a second V2X RAT of the plurality of RATs different than the first V2X RAT. The NAV setting signal is to cause the at least one second V-ITS-S to refrain from transmitting second V2X RAT signals during the Tx interval).
Mueck discloses transmitting a first frame including a first field and first data to a second controller of the plurality of vehicle controller via an in-vehicle network and including a first duration in which the second controller will avoid transmitting data on the in-vehicle network until the first amount of time indicating via the duration has expired but may not explicitly disclose positioning the first duration in the first field and transmitting at least the first frame including the first duration in the first field and the first data to provide an indication to the at least the second controller to avoid transmitting data on the network until the first amount of time has expired.
However, Eitan more specifically teaches positioning the first duration in the first field and transmitting at least the first frame including the first duration in the first field and the first data to provide an indication to the at least the second controller to avoid transmitting data on the network until the first amount of time has expired (Abstract; Figure 6-9; Paragraph [0067-0120] At 910, a frame is received at an apparatus, the frame comprising first information indicating a plurality of channels to be used by another apparatus for a transmission and second information indicating a time duration of the transmission. The plurality of channels is determined based on the first information. At 930, a time duration is computed based on the second information. At 940, the apparatus is prevented from transmitting on the plurality of channels for at least the computed duration; Examples of means for generating a frame comprising first information indicating a plurality of channels to be used by the apparatus for a transmission and second information indicating a time duration of the transmission include the frame builder 222 or 262, the controller 234 and 274, and the processing system 1020. Examples of means for outputting the frame for wireless transmission on at least one of the plurality of channels include the transmit processor 224 or 264, the transceiver 226 or 266, and the transmit/receive interface 1030. Examples of means for inserting at least a portion of the first information in a reserved field of the header include the frame builder 222 or 262, the controller 234 and 274, and the processing system 1020. Examples of means for inserting the second information in a length field of the header include the frame builder 222 or 262, the controller 234 and 274, and the processing system 1020. Examples of means for inserting at least a portion of the first information in N least significant bit positions of the length field of the header include the frame builder 222 or 262, the controller 234 and 274, and the processing system 1020. Examples of means for inserting a first portion of the first information in a reserved field of the header and means for inserting a second portion of the first information in a length field of the header include the frame builder 222 or 262, the controller 234 and 274, and the processing system 1020).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Mueck with the teachings of Eitan. Eitan provides a solution where processing system determines the channels based on the information to compute a time duration based on information, thus preventing the apparatus from transmitting on the channels for computed time duration. The apparatus utilizes a short training field (STF) sequence to assist a receiver in performing automatic gain control (AGC), time synchronization, and frequency offset cancellation for accurately receiving the frame.
(Eitan Abstract; Paragraph [0002-0014]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-6, 8-12 and 14-18 are 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding Claim 2, 8 and 14, the prior art fail to disclose alone, or in any reasonable combination, as required by the dependent claims, “..transmitting, via the first controller, at least a second frame including a second field and a second data to at least the second controller via an in-vehicle network following transmitting the first frame; determining, via the first controller, a second duration indicative of a second amount of time to transmit at least the second frame to the second controller, wherein the second duration is shorter than the first duration; positioning, via the first controller, the second duration in the second field transmit the at least the second frame; and transmit, via the first controller, at least the second frame including the second duration in the second field and the second data to provide an indication to the at least the second controller to avoid transmitting data on the in-vehicle network upon an expiration of the second amount of time.”
The Examiner notes the above limitation(s) are not taken alone but in view of the entirety of the claim language including any preceding claim limitations, any proceeding claim limitations, and any intervening claim limitations.
Claim 3-6, 9-12 and 15-18 would also be allowable as it depends upon the allowable subject matter.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to IVAN O LATORRE whose telephone number is (571)272-6264. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM.
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, Hadi Armouche can be reached at (571) 270-3618. 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.
IVAN O. LATORRE
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2409
/IVAN O LATORRE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2409
Prosecution Insights