Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 04, 2026
Application No. 18/778,572

Distributed System with Fault Tolerance and Self-Maintenance

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Jul 19, 2024
Priority
Aug 07, 2020 — continuation of 11/683,199 +1 more
Examiner
BEYEN, ZEWDU A
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Hyannis Port Research Inc.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
84%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
6m
Est. Remaining
98%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 84% — above average
84%
Career Allowance Rate
717 granted / 859 resolved
+23.5% vs TC avg
Moderate +15% lift
Without
With
+14.8%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 9m
Avg Prosecution
36 currently pending
Career history
889
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
4.9%
-35.1% vs TC avg
§103
61.7%
+21.7% vs TC avg
§102
16.7%
-23.3% vs TC avg
§112
10.5%
-29.5% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 859 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
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 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) 1-2,6-9,11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shashidhara to (US20100162261) in view of ÅKERBERG to (WO 2020143900 A1) Regarding claim 1, Shashidhara teaches a distributed system comprising: a plurality of compute nodes configured to process messages;( [0022] discloses counting the number of idle and overloaded computers periodically; (iii) circulating at least one predetermined busy token through the logical ring if the number of overloaded computers exceeds the number of idle computer ) each of the plurality of compute nodes being configured to 1) receive an indication of a respective time interval, ([0079] discloses (iii) all the computers in the network are physically synchronized, enabling communication between any two or more computers in the network; (iv) scalability is easily achieved; (v) as the time setting is done periodically, the difference in the time values of any two clocks, clock skew, is also taken care; and hence achieves logical synchronization) and 2) perform a self-maintenance operation during the respective time interval; ( [0023] discloses a plurality of computers connected in a substantial logical ring architecture…at least one predetermined token designated with any one of a busy or an idle status circulating through the logical ring.[0022] discloses circulate a message indicative of busy status and required resources for completing a predetermined job from the overloaded computer to other computers in the logical ring ) wherein each compute node of the plurality of compute nodes is configured to refrain from performing the self-maintenance operation outside of the respective time interval([0041] disclose whenever an idle computer receives the message frame, it checks the resource requirements and decides whether it can process this task…[0079]… the difference in the time values of any two clocks, clock skew, is also taken care; and hence achieves logical synchronization …[0023] discloses a plurality of computers connected in a substantial logical ring architecture; (ii) said computers configured having a synchronized clock operation; and (iii) at least one predetermined token designated with any one of a busy or an idle status circulating through the logical ring) Shashidhara does not explicitly teach wherein each of a plurality of values of a common parameter of the messages is assigned to at least two of the plurality of compute nodes, the respective time interval being distinct for each of the at least two of the plurality of compute nodes However, ÅKERBERG teaches wherein each of a plurality of values of a common parameter of the messages is assigned to at least two of the plurality of compute nodes, (page.8, lines 15-24 discloses communication link 140 in the TSN network 110 between two of the end-points 120a- 120N. S106: The control node 200 performs self-healing of the TSN communication link) the respective time interval being distinct for each of the at least two of the plurality of compute nodes(page.1, lines 19-25 discloses the CNC entity might configure the underlying TSN communication backbone components in such a way that the end-points achieve deterministic real time communication for their message exchange with other end points. If any network bridge, or other intermediate device in the TSN network, fails to transmit/receive message within the allocated TSN time slot, then the message will not be transmitted to the destination end-point) Therefore, it would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to enable the system of Shashidhara include wherein each of a plurality of values of a common parameter of the messages is assigned to at least two of the plurality of compute nodes, the respective time interval being distinct for each of the at least two of the plurality of compute nodes, as suggested by ÅKERBERG. This modification would benefit the system to reduce communication error. Regarding claim 6, Shashidhara teaches distributed system comprising: a plurality of compute nodes configured to process messages; ( [0022] discloses counting the number of idle and overloaded computers periodically; (iii) circulating at least one predetermined busy token through the logical ring if the number of overloaded computers exceeds the number of idle computer ) wherein each of a plurality of values of a common parameter of the messages is assigned to at least two of the plurality of compute nodes([0079] discloses (iii) all the computers in the network are physically synchronized, enabling communication between any two or more computers in the network; (iv) scalability is easily achieved; (v) as the time setting is done periodically, the difference in the time values of any two clocks, clock skew, is also taken care; and hence achieves logical synchronization) wherein each compute node of the plurality of compute nodes is configured to refrain from performing the self-maintenance operation when not granted the permission([0041] disclose whenever an idle computer receives the message frame, it checks the resource requirements and decides whether it can process this task…[0079]… the difference in the time values of any two clocks, clock skew, is also taken care; and hence achieves logical synchronization …) Shashidhara does not explicitly teach each of the plurality of compute nodes being configured to 1) communicate with a server for a permission, and 2) perform a self-maintenance operation in response to receiving the permission from the server, the server restricting the permission to one of the at least two of the plurality of compute nodes during a given time; However, ÅKERBERG teaches each of the plurality of compute nodes being configured to 1) communicate with a server for a permission,(page.8 lines lines 19-20 discloses The control node 200 obtains an indication of a failure of a TSN) and 2) perform a self-maintenance operation in response to receiving the permission from the server,( page .10, lines 12-17 discloses CUC entity is together with at least one CNC entity configured to, as part of performing the self-healing, co-ordinate and resolve the failure of the TSN communication link 140. That is, according to an embodiment the control node 200 is configured to, during the self-healing, communicate with at least one CNC entity for coordinating and resolving the failure of the TSN communication link 140) the server restricting the permission to one of the at least two of the plurality of compute nodes during a given time,( page .10, lines 12-15 discloses CUC entity is together with at least one CNC entity configured to, as part of performing the self-healing, co-ordinate and resolve the failure of the TSN communication link 140) Therefore, it would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to enable the system of Shashidhara include each of the plurality of compute nodes being configured to 1) communicate with a server for a permission, and 2) perform a self-maintenance operation in response to receiving the permission from the server, the server restricting the permission to one of the at least two of the plurality of compute nodes during a given time, as suggested by ÅKERBERG. This modification would benefit the system to reduce communication error. Regarding claim 2, Shashidhara teaches wherein each of the plurality of compute nodes is assigned to process a respective subset of at least two of the plurality of values of the common parameter([0038] discloses The message frame is sent to all computers in the logical ring as shown in step 206. On the way, whenever an overloaded computer receives the message frame, it checks the message frame to ascertain whether the particular idle computer can fulfill the requirements of any of the jobs that are ready in a queue). Regarding claim 7, Shashidhara and ÅKERBERG teaches wherein the permission indicates a time interval during which the compute node is permitted to perform the self-maintenance operation( ÅKERBERG ,page .10, lines 12-15 discloses CUC entity is together with at least one CNC entity configured to, as part of performing the self-healing, co-ordinate and resolve the failure of the TSN communication link 140). Regarding claim 8, Shashidhara teaches wherein each of the plurality of compute nodes is assigned to process a respective subset of at least two of the plurality of values of the common parameter([0038] discloses The message frame is sent to all computers in the logical ring as shown in step 206. On the way, whenever an overloaded computer receives the message frame, it checks the message frame to ascertain whether the particular idle computer can fulfill the requirements of any of the jobs that are ready in a queue). Regarding claim 9, Shashidhara and ÅKERBERG teaches wherein each of the respective subsets differs from one another by at least one value of the common parameter(ÅKERBERG ,page.3, lines 8-17 discloses handling failure of a TSN communication link in a TSN network. The TSN network comprises end-points and intermediate nodes. A TSN communication link extends between two of the end points via a first subset of the intermediate nodes. At least one further TSN communication link extends between said two of the end-points via a second subset of the intermediate nodes. The first subset and the second subset are not identical. The method is performed by a control node. The method comprises obtaining an indication of a failure of the TSN communication link. The method comprises performing self-healing of the TSN communication link). Regarding claim 11, Shashidhara and ÅKERBERG teaches wherein each of the plurality of compute nodes is further configured to communicate with the server for the permission in response to a determination that maintenance is required,( ÅKERBERG page.8 lines lines 19-20 discloses The control node 200 obtains an indication of a failure of a TSN). Claim(s) 3-4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shashidhara to (US20100162261) in view of ÅKERBERG to (WO 2020143900 A1) further in view of Rao to (US PG Pub. 2020/0034929) Regarding claim 3, Shashidhara does not explicitly teach wherein each of the respective subsets differs from one another by at least one value of the common parameter However, Rao teaches wherein each of the respective subsets differs from one another by at least one value of the common parameter ([0030] discloses the electronic trading system's network, gateways at which trade orders (also referred to as transactions or orders) received from client systems are timestamped upon entry into the electronic trading system network, and the server which receives the trade orders from the gateways and provides them to the matching engine of an electronic trading application for processing) Therefore, it would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to enable the system of Shashidhara include wherein each of the respective subsets differs from one another by at least one value of the common parameter, as suggested by Roa. This modification would benefit the system as a design choice. Regarding claim 4, Shashidhara and ÅKERBERG and Roa teaches wherein each of the plurality of compute nodes assigned to a given value of the common parameter is configured to process a message corresponding to the given value in parallel and independent from one another(Roa [0030] discloses the electronic trading system's network, gateways at which trade orders (also referred to as transactions or orders) received from client systems are timestamped upon entry into the electronic trading system network, and the server which receives the trade orders from the gateways and provides them to the matching engine of an electronic trading application for processing). Claim(s) 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shashidhara to (US20100162261) in view of ÅKERBERG to (WO 2020143900 A1) further in view of MERIAC to (WO 2016020640 A1) Regarding claim 10, Shashidhara and ÅKERBERG does not explicitly teach wherein each of the plurality of compute nodes is further configured to communicate periodically with the server for the permission However, MERIAC teaches wherein each of the plurality of compute nodes is further configured to communicate periodically with the server for the permission([00256] discloses… the status update may further comprise a request for reauthorisation from the server, with permission being granted whilst within the 24 hour period) Therefore, it would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to enable the system of Shashidhara include wherein each of the plurality of compute nodes is further configured to communicate periodically with the server for the permission, as suggested by MERIAC. This modification would benefit the system with safety. Allowable Subject Matter Claim 5, is 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. Claims 12-20 are allowed. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ZEWDU A BEYEN whose telephone number is (571)270-7157. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00-6:00. 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, Huy D Vu can be reached on 571-272-3155. 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. /ZEWDU A BEYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2461
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Jul 19, 2024
Application Filed
Aug 25, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12750886
COMBINATION OF CHANNEL ACCESS CONDITIONS
3y 3m to grant Granted Sep 29, 2026
Patent 12750714
TRANSMITTING A CHANNEL STATE INFORMATION REPORT
2y 9m to grant Granted Sep 29, 2026
Patent 12745246
BANDWIDTH SWITCHING FOR PHYSICAL DOWNLINK SHARED CHANNEL TRANSMISSIONS WITH SHARED DEMODULATION REFERENCE SIGNALS
3y 1m to grant Granted Sep 22, 2026
Patent 12739864
Transmission Configuration Indication State Partitioning in Multi-Beam Scenarios
4y 2m to grant Granted Sep 15, 2026
Patent 12713433
METHOD AND DEVICE FOR TRANSMITTING OR RECEIVING UPLINK OR DOWNLINK IN WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM
2y 9m to grant Granted Aug 18, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

Strategy Recommendation AI-generated — please review before filing

Get a prosecution strategy drawn from examiner precedents, rejection analysis, and claim mapping.
Typically takes 5-10 seconds — AI-generated, attorney review required before filing

Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
84%
Grant Probability
98%
With Interview (+14.8%)
2y 9m (~6m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 859 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

Sign in with your work email

Enter your email to receive a magic link. No password needed.

Personal email addresses (Gmail, Yahoo, etc.) are not accepted.

Free tier: 3 strategy analyses per month