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 .
Detailed Action
This office action is in response to the listing of claims filed on July 30, 2024. Claims 1-10 are currently pending.
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 1-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ansari et al (US PGPub No: 2019/0303268) in view of Wu et al (US PGPub No: 2022/0216038), hereafter referred to as Ansari and Wu, respectively.
With regards to claim 1, Ansari teaches through Wu-, a communication system comprising: a communication device group that is configured by a plurality of communication devices each including a first port and a second port, and that is connected together in a daisy chain such that the first port and the second port are connected between adjacent communication devices (Ansari teaches multiple system on chips (SOCs) connected together in a daisy chain, each SOC (communication device) having two ports (first and second port) making up debug ports that connect the SOCs to adjacent SOCs (adjacent communication devices); see Figure 5 and paragraphs 28 and 78, Ansari);
and a communication interface that connects the communication device group to a network, wherein: on receipt, over the network, of a first frame inserted with first information enabling recognition of a first communication device that limits frame transfer and of a second frame inserted with second information enabling recognition of a second communication device that limits frame transfer, the communication interface transmits the first frame to a first port of a communication device configuring a one-end of the daisy chain connection and transmits the second frame to a second port of a communication device configuring an other-end of the daisy chain connection (Ansari explains how debug packets/frames have Target_ID values and these packets/frames are routed to the SOC debug ports; see paragraph 78-79, Ansari. The daisy chaining of the debug ports allows the SOCs to be debugged in parallel, enabling the ability to debug multiple SOCs at the same time (e.g. a first packet/frame to a first port of a communication device and a second packet/frame to a second port of a communication device); see paragraphs 21 and 79, Ansari. Ansari further explains perpetual operations where the packets/frames are repeated until a reset or enumerate (limit for transfer of packet/frame) is issued; see paragraph 43, Ansari. The enumeration involves incrementing a value to track the number of times the packet/frame is received; see paragraphs 31 and 35, Ansari);
on receipt of the first frame, each of the plurality of communication devices transfers the first frame through the second port in a case in which it has recognized itself as not being the first communication device based on the first information, and does not transfer the first frame in a case in which it has recognized itself as being the first communication device; and on receipt of the second frame, each of the plurality of communication devices transfers the second frame through the first port in a case in which it has recognized itself as not being the second communication device based on the second information, and does not transfer the second frame in a case in which it has recognized itself as being the second communication device (When a SOC receives one of these packets, it checks the Target_ID against its own device identifier; see paragraph 79, Ansari. If there is no match, the packet is forwarded on in the daisy chain; see paragraph 79, Ansari. If the Target_ID of the packet does match the device identifier of the SOC, then the packet is processed by the SOC; see paragraph 79, Ansari).
While Ansari explains sending packets in a daisy chain, Ansari does not explicitly cite frames being sent in a daisy chain. In the same field of endeavor, Wu also teaches a network that supports daisy chaining; see Figures 19c and 19d and Paragraphs 460, Wu. Wu explains how in networks, the terms frame and packet are used interchangeably; see paragraph 395, Wu.
By using packets/frames in daisy chain fashion, data can be sent inbound and outbound at the same time by each device; see Figure 19d, Wu. This enables the ability to debug multiple devices (such as SOCs) at the same time; see paragraphs 21 and 79, Ansari. Therefore it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art, before the effective filing date, to have combined the teachings of Wu with those of Ansari to enable the ability to send frames/packets to multiple devices at the same time; see paragraphs 21 and 79, Ansari.
With regards to claims 2 and 7, Ansari teaches through Wu, the communication system wherein: the first information indicates a first identifier allocated to the first communication device; the second information indicates a second identifier allocated to the second communication device; and each of the plurality of communication devices recognizes itself as being the first communication device when the first identifier matches its own identifier, and recognizes itself as being the second communication device when the second identifier matches its own identifier (Ansari explains how debug packets/frames have Target_ID values and these packets/frames are routed to the SOC debug ports; see paragraph 78-79, Ansari. When a SOC receives one of these packets, it checks the Target_ID against its own device identifier; see paragraph 79, Ansari. If there is no match, the packet is forwarded on in the daisy chain; see paragraph 79, Ansari. If the Target_ID of the packet does match (recognizes) the device identifier of the SOC, then the packet is processed by the SOC; see paragraph 79, Ansari).
With regards to claims 3 and 8, Ansari teaches through Wu, the communication system wherein: the first information indicates a first number of times for limiting a number of transfer times that the first frame is transferred; the second information indicates a second number of times for limiting a number of transfer times that the second frame is transferred; and each of the plurality of communication devices recognizes itself as being the first communication device in a case in which the number of transfer times of the first frame has reached a limit, and recognizes itself as being the second communication device in a case in which the number of transfer times of the second frame has reached a limit (Ansari further explains perpetual operations where the packets/frames are repeated until a reset or enumerate (limit for transfer of packet/frame) is issued; see paragraph 43, Ansari. The enumeration involves incrementing a value to track the number of times the packet/frame is received; see paragraphs 31 and 35, Ansari. During each pass, the Target_ID is also checked to see if there is a match/recognition; see paragraph 31, Ansari).
With regards to claims 4 and 9, Ansari teaches through Wu, the communication system wherein: the first number of times indicates a possible number of times remaining to transfer the first frame; the second number of times indicates a possible number of times remaining to transfer the second frame; and each of the plurality of communication devices decrements the first number of times when transferring the first frame, and decrements the second number of times when transferring the second frame (Ansari to enable the ability to send frames/packets to multiple devices at the same time; see paragraphs 21 and 79, Ansari. The system is expected not to send more than 4 queued packets, if a 5th is sent, it is dropped (no more allowance on queued packet, i.e. queue allotment is decremented to zero); see paragraph 61, Ansari).
With regards to claim 5, Ansari teaches through Wu, the communication system wherein: each of the plurality of communication devices: further includes a battery cell and a monitoring section that monitors a state of the battery cell, transmits monitoring data indicating a state of the battery cell through the first port on receipt of the first frame, and transmits the monitoring data through the second port on receipt of the second frame; and the communication interface provides the monitoring data over the network to a transmission originator of the first frame and the second frame on receipt of the monitoring data (Ansari explains how power can be monitored and the debug packets can pertain to power and voltage information; see paragraph 89, Ansari).
With regards to claim 6, Ansari teaches through Wu, a communication device that is a communication device configuring a communication device group configured by a plurality of communication devices each including a first port and a second port, and connected together in a daisy chain such that the first port and the second port are connected between adjacent communication devices (Ansari teaches multiple system on chips (SOCs) connected together in a daisy chain, each SOC (communication device) having two ports (first and second port) making up debug ports that connect the SOCs to adjacent SOCs (adjacent communication devices); see Figure 5 and paragraphs 28 and 78, Ansari), wherein: on receipt of a first frame inserted with first information enabling recognition of a first communication device that limits frame transfer, the communication device transfers the first frame through the second port in a case in which it has recognized itself as not being the first communication device based on the first information, and the communication device does not transfer the first frame in a case in which it has recognized itself as being the first communication device (Ansari explains how debug packets/frames have Target_ID values and these packets/frames are routed to the SOC debug ports; see paragraph 78-79, Ansari. The daisy chaining of the debug ports allows the SOCs to be debugged in parallel, enabling the ability to debug multiple SOCs at the same time (e.g. a first packet/frame to a first port of a communication device and a second packet/frame to a second port of a communication device); see paragraphs 21 and 79, Ansari. When a SOC receives one of these packets, it checks the Target_ID against its own device identifier; see paragraph 79, Ansari. If there is no match, the packet is forwarded on in the daisy chain; see paragraph 79, Ansari. If the Target_ID of the packet does match the device identifier of the SOC, then the packet is processed by the SOC; see paragraph 79, Ansari);
and on receipt of a second frame inserted with second information enabling recognition of a second communication device that limits frame transfer, the communication device transfers the second frame through the first port in a case in which it has recognized itself as not being the second communication device based on the second information, and the communication device does not transfer the second frame in a case in which it has recognized itself as being the second communication device (Ansari further explains perpetual operations where the packets/frames are repeated until a reset or enumerate (limit for transfer of packet/frame) is issued; see paragraph 43, Ansari. The enumeration involves incrementing a value to track the number of times the packet/frame is received; see paragraphs 31 and 35, Ansari).
While Ansari explains sending packets in a daisy chain, Ansari does not explicitly cite frames being sent in a daisy chain. In the same field of endeavor, Wu also teaches a network that supports daisy chaining; see Figures 19c and 19d and Paragraphs 460, Wu. Wu explains how in networks, the terms frame and packet are used interchangeably; see paragraph 395, Wu.
By using packets/frames in daisy chain fashion, data can be sent inbound and outbound at the same time by each device; see Figure 19d, Wu. This enables the ability to debug multiple devices (such as SOCs) at the same time; see paragraphs 21 and 79, Ansari. Therefore it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art, before the effective filing date, to have combined the teachings of Wu with those of Ansari to enable the ability to send frames/packets to multiple devices at the same time; see paragraphs 21 and 79, Ansari.
With regards to claim 10, Ansari teaches through Wu, a communication interface that is a communication interface connecting a network to a communication device group configured by a plurality of communication devices each including a first port and a second port, and connected together in a daisy chain such that the first port and the second port are connected between adjacent communication devices (Ansari teaches multiple system on chips (SOCs) connected together in a daisy chain, each SOC (communication device) having two ports (first and second port) making up debug ports that connect the SOCs to adjacent SOCs (adjacent communication devices); see Figure 5 and paragraphs 28 and 78, Ansari), wherein: on receipt, over the network, of a first frame inserted with first information enabling recognition of a first communication device that limits frame transfer and of a second frame inserted with second information enabling recognition of a second communication device that limits frame transfer, the communication interface transmits the first frame to a first port of a communication device configuring a one-end of the daisy chain connection and transmits the second frame to a second port of a communication device configuring an other-end of the daisy chain connection (Ansari further explains perpetual operations where the packets/frames are repeated until a reset or enumerate (limit for transfer of packet/frame) is issued; see paragraph 43, Ansari. The enumeration involves incrementing a value to track the number of times the packet/frame is received; see paragraphs 31 and 35, Ansari).
While Ansari explains sending packets in a daisy chain, Ansari does not explicitly cite frames being sent in a daisy chain. In the same field of endeavor, Wu also teaches a network that supports daisy chaining; see Figures 19c and 19d and Paragraphs 460, Wu. Wu explains how in networks, the terms frame and packet are used interchangeably; see paragraph 395, Wu.
By using packets/frames in daisy chain fashion, data can be sent inbound and outbound at the same time by each device; see Figure 19d, Wu. This enables the ability to debug multiple devices (such as SOCs) at the same time; see paragraphs 21 and 79, Ansari. Therefore it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art, before the effective filing date, to have combined the teachings of Wu with those of Ansari to enable the ability to send frames/packets to multiple devices at the same time; see paragraphs 21 and 79, Ansari.
The obviousness motivation applied to independent claims 1, 6, and 10 are applicable to their respective dependent claims, where applicable.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to AZIZUL Q CHOUDHURY whose telephone number is (571)272-3909. The examiner can normally be reached M-F.
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/AZIZUL CHOUDHURY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2455
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