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 .
Claim Objections
Claims 3 objected to because of the following informalities:
--In claim 1, replace “the second radio is configured to communicate with the first radio and the second radio” with “the second radio is configured to communicate with the first radio and the third radio” or something similar to remove the repetition of saying second radio.
--In claims 3 and 10, replace “in in the second” with “in the second”.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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.
Claims 2, 8, 14, 16 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Fraser et al. (U.S. PGPub 2003/0035406), hereinafter referred to as Fraser.
Regarding claim 2, Fraser discloses a system for reassigning communication slots in a wireless system, comprising:
a first radio (transceiver; See Fig. 1, #301);
a second radio (transceiver; See Fig. 1, #302); and
a third radio (transceiver; See Fig. 1, #303), wherein:
the second radio is configured to communicate with the first radio and the second radio in a wireless-conferencing group using a Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA)-based protocol (TDMA wireless conferencing system; See Fig. 1 and [0013]);
the TDMA-based protocol uses a set of time slots ();
the first radio comprises a memory device (EEPROM; See Fig. 5 and [0017]) storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, causes the first radio to perform the following steps:
assigning the second radio to transmit during a first time slot of the TDMA-based protocol (As a master transceiver, the transceiver sends an information packet telling other transceivers it is a master transceiver looking for slaves to come on line. When a master transceiver is looking for slaves to add in to slave time slots, it is in master mode. An information packet includes the clock recovery bits, the start word and the data packet. The data packet includes a group number and command that tells the other transceivers which time slot to add into. Included in the master data packet is a command requesting a slave unit to occupy a particular empty time slot if one is available; See [0050]-[0051] and [0054]); and
reassigning the second radio from transmitting during a first time slot to transmitting during a second time slot of the TDMA-based protocol (A master transceiver will drop a slave transceiver from a time slot if it receives too many bad packets in a row. The master transceivers can still communicate with one another but each master transceiver can also independently assign slave transceivers to other available slots. Multiple time slots can be assigned to individual transceivers; See [0062] and [0092]-[0093]).
Regarding claim 8, Fraser discloses one or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing computer-readable (EEPROM; See Fig. 5 and [0017]) instructions that, when executed, perform the following steps:
assigning, using a first radio, a second radio to transmit during a first time slot of a TDMA-based protocol (As a master transceiver, the transceiver sends an information packet telling other transceivers it is a master transceiver looking for slaves to come on line. When a master transceiver is looking for slaves to add in to slave time slots, it is in master mode. An information packet includes the clock recovery bits, the start word and the data packet. The data packet includes a group number and command that tells the other transceivers which time slot to add into. Included in the master data packet is a command requesting a slave unit to occupy a particular empty time slot if one is available; See [0050]-[0051] and [0054]), wherein:
the first radio, the second radio, and a third radio are configured to communicate with each other in a wireless-conferencing group using the Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA)-based protocol (TDMA wireless conferencing system; See Fig. 1 and [0013]); and
the TDMA-based protocol uses a set of time slots comprising the first time slot and a second time slot (Multiple time slots can be assigned to individual transceivers; See [0093]); and
reassigning the second radio from transmitting during the first time slot to transmitting during the second time slot of the TDMA-based protocol (A master transceiver will drop a slave transceiver from a time slot if it receives too many bad packets in a row. The master transceivers can still communicate with one another but each master transceiver can also independently assign slave transceivers to other available slots. Multiple time slots can be assigned to individual transceivers; See [0062] and [0092]-[0093]).
Regarding claim 14, Fraser further discloses the one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 8, wherein the instructions further cause the first radio to reassign the second radio to the second time slot in response to receiving a request from the second radio to change time slots (The master transceiver then sends a command to request a transceiver to add into that time slot that was dropped. This tells the transceiver that was dropped that it needs to request to be added in again; See [0062]).
Regarding claim 16, Fraser further discloses the one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 8, wherein reassigning the second radio to the second time slot comprises transmitting an instruction to the second radio for the second radio to enter a listen-only mode, before being reassigned to the second time slot (the master transceiver can keep certain transceivers from having access to an open slot or receiving and using the information because each transceiver has its own address. By keeping a list of addresses in a buffer that is to be blocked from joining a communication link, a master transceiver can block specific transceivers from getting an open time slot. The master transceiver can also have private communications with one or more other transceivers by only allowing transceivers with specific addresses to add into open time slots or listen to the communication link; See [0056]).
Regarding claim 18, Fraser discloses a method for reassigning communication slots in a wireless system comprising:
assigning, using a first radio, a second radio to transmit during a first time slot of a TDMA-based protocol (As a master transceiver, the transceiver sends an information packet telling other transceivers it is a master transceiver looking for slaves to come on line. When a master transceiver is looking for slaves to add in to slave time slots, it is in master mode. An information packet includes the clock recovery bits, the start word and the data packet. The data packet includes a group number and command that tells the other transceivers which time slot to add into. Included in the master data packet is a command requesting a slave unit to occupy a particular empty time slot if one is available; See [0050]-[0051] and [0054]), wherein:
the first radio, the second radio, and a third radio are configured to communicate with each other in a wireless-conferencing group using the Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA)-based protocol (TDMA wireless conferencing system; See Fig. 1 and [0013]); and
the TDMA-based protocol uses a set of time slots comprising the first time slot and a second time slot (Multiple time slots can be assigned to individual transceivers; See [0093]); and
reassigning the second radio from transmitting during the first time slot to transmitting during the second time slot of the TDMA-based protocol (A master transceiver will drop a slave transceiver from a time slot if it receives too many bad packets in a row. The master transceivers can still communicate with one another but each master transceiver can also independently assign slave transceivers to other available slots. Multiple time slots can be assigned to individual transceivers; See [0062] and [0092]-[0093]).
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.
Claims 7 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fraser as applied to claims 2 and 8 above, and further in view of Eriksson et al. (U.S. PGPub 2014/0293845).
Regarding claim 7, Fraser fails to teach the system of claim 2, wherein: the second radio is configured to transmit error data and/or received-signal- strength (RSS) data to the first radio; and reassignment of the second radio to the second time slot by the first radio is based on received error data and/or RSS data received from the second radio.
Eriksson teaches the second radio is configured to transmit error data and/or received-signal- strength (RSS) data to the first radio (the apparatus 100 or other parts of the system 180 may request second devices 160, which may be at risk of being interfered by an allocation change for the first device 120, to measure and report its received signal strength from the first device 120, before the apparatus decides whether to change the allocation of the time slot; See [0062]); and reassignment of the second radio to the second time slot by the first radio is based on received error data and/or RSS data received from the second radio (the apparatus 100 or other parts of the system 180 may request second devices 160, which may be at risk of being interfered by an allocation change for the first device 120, to measure and report its received signal strength from the first device 120, before the apparatus decides whether to change the allocation of the time slot; See [0062]).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time before the effective filing date of the invention, to modify the system of Fraser to include the instructions further cause the first radio to receive error data and/or received- signal-strength (RSS) data from the second radio; and reassignment of the second radio to the second time slot by the first radio is based on the error data and/or RSS data received from the second radio taught by Eriksson in order to minimize interference.
Regarding claim 17, Fraser fails to teach the one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 8, wherein: the instructions further cause the first radio to receive error data and/or received- signal-strength (RSS) data from the second radio; and reassignment of the second radio to the second time slot by the first radio is based on the error data and/or RSS data received from the second radio.
Eriksson teaches the instructions further cause the first radio to receive error data and/or received- signal-strength (RSS) data from the second radio (the apparatus 100 or other parts of the system 180 may request second devices 160, which may be at risk of being interfered by an allocation change for the first device 120, to measure and report its received signal strength from the first device 120, before the apparatus decides whether to change the allocation of the time slot; See [0062]); and reassignment of the second radio to the second time slot by the first radio is based on the error data and/or RSS data received from the second radio (the apparatus 100 or other parts of the system 180 may request second devices 160, which may be at risk of being interfered by an allocation change for the first device 120, to measure and report its received signal strength from the first device 120, before the apparatus decides whether to change the allocation of the time slot; See [0062]).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time before the effective filing date of the invention, to modify the one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of Fraser to include the instructions further cause the first radio to receive error data and/or received- signal-strength (RSS) data from the second radio; and reassignment of the second radio to the second time slot by the first radio is based on the error data and/or RSS data received from the second radio taught by Eriksson in order to minimize interference.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-6, 9-13, 15 and 19-21 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 3, Fraser further teaches the system of claim 2, wherein:
the wireless-conferencing group is a first wireless-conferencing group (several independent conferencing groups to operate simultaneously. Individual users can switch between different conferencing groups; See [0009]); and a fourth radio (transceiver; See Fig. 1, #304) is part of a second wireless-conferencing group (several independent conferencing groups to operate simultaneously. Individual users can switch between different conferencing groups; See [0009]).
Fraser fails to teach the second radio is reassigned to the second time slot to reduce interference received by the second radio from the fourth radio; the second time slot starts at the same time as a time slot used by the fourth radio in in the second wireless-conferencing system; and the second radio is reassigned to the second time slot based on the fourth radio being closer to the second radio than the first radio is to the second radio.
The prior art of Eriksson et al. (U.S. PGPub 2014/0293845) teaches the apparatus 100 may change the allocation of the time slot 20, but may additionally impose a restriction on the transmission power for said time slot in order to reduce the risk of causing interference (See [0061]).
Hui et al. (U.S. PGPub 2013/0308616) teaches in a control node, in a wireless communication network employing Time Division Multiple Access, TDMA, for multiplexing bursts relating to N.sub.MS number of mobile stations into a single time slot is provided. The method comprises assigning mobile-station-specific rotations to each of the mobile stations and assigning the single time slot to each of the mobile stations (See [0016]).
Claims 3-4 appear to be novel and inventive because prior art fails to show or teach the second radio is reassigned to the second time slot to reduce interference received by the second radio from the fourth radio; the second time slot starts at the same time as a time slot used by the fourth radio in in the second wireless-conferencing system; and the second radio is reassigned to the second time slot based on the fourth radio being closer to the second radio than the first radio is to the second radio, in combination with the other limitations including independent claim 2.
Claim 5 appears to be novel and inventive because prior art fails to show or teach the system of claim 2, wherein: reassigning the second radio to the second time slot is based on the second radio tracking times that the second radio receives interference and ascertaining that the interference is periodic in nature; and the second radio comprises instructions that, when executed, cause the second radio to request to transmit during a time slot that the interference is occurring.
Claim 6 appears to be novel and inventive because prior art fails to show or teach the system of claim 2, wherein reassigning the second radio to the second time slot is based on comparing error detection to received signal strength measured at the second radio.
Regarding claim 9, Fraser teaches the one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 8, wherein:
the wireless-conferencing group is a first wireless-conferencing group (several independent conferencing groups to operate simultaneously. Individual users can switch between different conferencing groups; See [0009]); and a fourth radio (transceiver; See Fig. 1, #304) is part of a second wireless-conferencing group (several independent conferencing groups to operate simultaneously. Individual users can switch between different conferencing groups; See [0009]).
Fraser fails to teach the instructions, when executed, further cause the second radio be reassigned to the second time slot to reduce interference received by the second radio from the fourth radio. Eriksson and Hui also fails to teach the above limitations.
Claims 9-13 appear to be novel and inventive because prior art fails to show or teach a fourth radio being part of a second wireless-conferencing group and the second radio be reassigned to the second time slot to reduce interference received by the second radio from the fourth radio, in combination with the other limitations of the claim and independent claim 8.
Claim 15 appears to be novel and inventive because prior art fails to show or teach the one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 8, wherein reassigning the second radio to the second time slot is based on comparing error detection to received signal strength measured at the second radio.
Claim 19 appears to be novel and inventive because prior art fails to show or teach the method of claim 18, further comprising: wherein reassigning the second radio to the second time slot is based on the second radio tracking times that the second radio receives interference and ascertaining that the interference is periodic in nature.
Claim 20 appears to be novel and inventive because prior art fails to show or teach the method of claim 18, wherein second radio requests to transmit during a time slot that second radio receives interference.
Regarding claim 21, Fraser teaches the method of claim 18, further comprising: assigning the third radio to transmit during the first time slot (As a master transceiver, the transceiver sends an information packet telling other transceivers it is a master transceiver looking for slaves to come on line. When a master transceiver is looking for slaves to add in to slave time slots, it is in master mode. An information packet includes the clock recovery bits, the start word and the data packet. The data packet includes a group number and command that tells the other transceivers which time slot to add into. Included in the master data packet is a command requesting a slave unit to occupy a particular empty time slot if one is available; See [0050]-[0051] and [0054]); and reassigning the second radio to transmit on the second time slot (A master transceiver will drop a slave transceiver from a time slot if it receives too many bad packets in a row. The master transceivers can still communicate with one another but each master transceiver can also independently assign slave transceivers to other available slots. Multiple time slots can be assigned to individual transceivers; See [0062] and [0092]-[0093]), but fails to teach reassigning based on a received signal strength (RSS) of the third radio by the first radio being greater than a RSS of the second radio received by the first radio, wherein the second radio and the third radio are assigned to switch time slots concurrently.
Eriksson teaches reassigning the second radio to transmit on the second time slot based on a received signal strength (the apparatus 100 or other parts of the system 180 may request second devices 160, which may be at risk of being interfered by an allocation change for the first device 120, to measure and report its received signal strength from the first device 120, before the apparatus decides whether to change the allocation of the time slot; See [0062]).
Fraser and Eriksson still fails to teach reassigning based on a received signal strength (RSS) of the third radio by the first radio being greater than a RSS of the second radio received by the first radio, wherein the second radio and the third radio are assigned to switch time slots concurrently.
Claim 21 appears to be novel and inventive because prior art fails to show or teach reassigning the second radio to transmit on the second time slot based on a received signal strength (RSS) of the third radio by the first radio being greater than a RSS of the second radio received by the first radio, wherein the second radio and the third radio are assigned to switch time slots concurrently.
Conclusion
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/ASHLEY SHIVERS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2477 7/25/2026
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