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 .
This action is in response to the claims filed 3/03/2026. Claims 1-13 and 16-22 are pending. Claims 1 (a method), 7 (non-transitory CRM), and 13 (a machine) are independent.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see page 7, filed 3/03/2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1, 7, and 13 under Wynn in view of Likar have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Wynn et al., US 2011/0040870 (filed 2010), in view of Likar et al., US 10,057,813 (filed 2015) and Cam-Winget et al., US 2005/0154873 (published 2005).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 21-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 21 states: “the additional request comprising the second nonce”.
Claim 1 states: exchanging discovery information with the receiver device … a second nonce associated with a discovery broker device.”
Nonce, as the term is used in the art, means a “number used once”. See single uses in Applicant’s Figures 4 and 5. Claim 21 requires the number to be used a second time, in a second communication. For the purposes of examination, the nonce of claim 21 will be interpreted to be different from the nonce of claim 1.
Claim 22 is rejected due to its dependency on claim 21.
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.
Claim(s) 1-4, 7-11, 13, 16-19, and 21-22 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wynn et al., US 2011/0040870 (filed 2010), in view of Likar et al., US 10,057,813 (filed 2015) and Cam-Winget et al., US 2005/0154873 (published 2005).
As to claims 1, 7, and 13, Wynn discloses a method/CRM/machine comprising:
(note regarding claim 7 that uses “first connectivity information” instead of “discovery information”, these terms are viewed as identical)
(regarding the generic computing elements of claims 7 and 13, see Wynn Figure 9 and corresponding disclosure)
communicatively coupling to the sender device via the domain name system; (“In step 304, a credential request is generated by the digital device 102. Subsequently, the credential request may be sent to the DNS server 110 in step 306 using one of the IP addresses previously received from the network device 104.” Wynn ¶ 78)
receiving, via the network interface, a request from the sender device to communicatively couple with the receiver device; and (“The credential request is forwarded, either directly or indirectly through one or more other DNS servers on the communication network 114, to the credential server 116 in step 310.” Wynn ¶ 79)
transmitting connectivity information associated with the receiver device to the sender device in response to authenticating the sender device. (“A credential request response is then generated by the credential request response module 206 in step 314 and relayed back to the DNS server 110 in step 316. The DNS server 110 forwards the credential request response back to the digital device in step 318.” Wynn ¶ 80)
Wynn does not disclose:
configuring, via a network interface, a domain name system for a network comprising a receiver device and a sender device;
registering, via one or more processors, the receiver device in response to exchanging discovery information with the receiver device;
wherein the discovery information comprises a first nonce associated with the receiver device and a second nonce associated with a discovery broker device
Likar discloses:
configuring, via a network interface, a domain name system (“The user interface accessible by an application (e.g., a mobile application or web browser running on mobile device 222) for activating, configuring, and monitoring the Wi-Fi service via Wi-Fi service manager 216 is referred to as a Wi-Fi service dashboard.” Likar col. 4, ln. 28).
for a network comprising a receiver device and a sender device; (“Configured Wi-Fi enabled devices 208 (208 a-208 h) may connect to Wi-Fi gateway 206 as Wi-Fi clients when they are within the gateway's coverage area 210.” Likar col. 3, ln. 35)
registering, via one or more processors, the receiver device in response to exchanging (“At 504, the AP automatically initiates a call to cloud-based Wi-Fi service manager 216 and establishes a communication session with cloud-based Wi-Fi service manager 216 via XMPP or another firewall-friendly communication protocol. Cloud-based Wi-Fi AP agent reports to cloud-based Wi-Fi service manager 216, which may include sending a set of information of the AP to cloud-based Wi-Fi service manager 216 via the established communication session. In some embodiments, the set of information includes a unique identifier of the AP, such as the Universal Product Code (UPC), the manufacturer's serial number (MSN), or the media access control (MAC) address of the AP. The unique identifier of the AP may be stored in a database by Wi-Fi service manager 216.” Likar col. 6, ln. 49.) discovery information with the receiver device; (“For example, AP/gateway 206 is configured with various configuration parameters, including a particular SSID and passphrase” Likar col. 7, ln. 32)
A person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have combined Wynn with Likar by incorporating the AP registration process of Likar col. 6 and applying the service manager 216 configuration to the DNS servers of Wynn. It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Wynn with Likar in order to allow ease of registration and configuration of Wi-Fi access points using a central manager (Likar) while preventing unauthorized entities from accessing the central manager by enforcing login requirements (Likar), thereby providing ease of configuration and access of the WiFi network, Likar Background.
Wynn in view of Likar does not disclose: wherein the discovery information comprises a first nonce associated with the receiver device and a second nonce associated with a discovery broker device
Cam-Winget discloses:
wherein the discovery information comprises a first nonce associated with the receiver device and a second nonce associated with a discovery broker device
(“The ClientHello message also contains the client's random nonce.” Cam-Winget ¶ 172. “The ServerHello message contains the server's random nonce” Cam-Winget ¶ 174. “The client derives the tunnel key from the shared secret key (i.e., PAC Key), the client's random nonce, and the server's random nonce contained in the ServerHello message.” Cam-Winget ¶ 175)
A person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have modified Wynn in view of Likar with Cam-Winget by utilizing TLS to secure the communication between the discovery broker device and the sender/receiver, including using nonces from the respective parties in key derivation, Cam-Winget ¶ 175. It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Wynn in view of Likar with Cam-Winget in order to provide secure and encrypted TLS communications between the parties without storing client state information or the use of computationally intensive public key authentication.
As to claims 2, Wynn in view of Likar and Cam-Winget discloses a CRM/method/machine of claim 1, 7, and 13 and further discloses:
wherein the discovery information comprises Wi-Fi credentials and network information associated with the receiver device and a discovery broker. (“At 504, the AP automatically initiates a call to cloud-based Wi-Fi service manager 216 and establishes a communication session with cloud-based Wi-Fi service manager 216 via XMPP or another firewall-friendly communication protocol. Cloud-based Wi-Fi AP agent reports to cloud-based Wi-Fi service manager 216, which may include sending a set of information of the AP to cloud-based Wi-Fi service manager 216 via the established communication session. In some embodiments, the set of information includes a unique identifier of the AP, such as the Universal Product Code (UPC), the manufacturer's serial number (MSN), or the media access control (MAC) address of the AP. The unique identifier of the AP may be stored in a database by Wi-Fi service manager 216.” Likar col. 6, ln. 49. “For example, AP/gateway 206 is configured with various configuration parameters, including a particular SSID and passphrase” Likar col. 7, ln. 32)
As to claims 3, Wynn in view of Likar and Cam-Winget discloses a CRM/method/machine of claim 1, 7, and 13 and further discloses:
Authenticating, via the one or more processors, the sender device. (“The authentication module 200 may be configured to authenticate the credential request and provide security to the credential request response. In various embodiments, the digital device 102 may encrypt or digitally sign the credential request using an encryption key (e.g., a shared encryption key or an encryption key that is a part of a key pair).” Wynn ¶ 64. See also Wynn ¶¶ 96 and 110)
As to claims 4, Wynn in view of Likar and Cam-Winget discloses a CRM/method/machine of claim 1, 7, and 13 and further discloses:
wherein authenticating, via the one or more processors, the sender device comprises verifying, via the one or more processors, that the sender device corresponds to a client nonce associated with the receiver device. (“The credential request response module 206 may retrieve the login procedural information from the network record (e.g., the same network record containing a password associated with the SSID). The login procedural information may contain a form identifier and instructions (e.g., parameters) for the digital device 102 to follow to obtain network access” Wynn ¶ 96. Note that Applicant’s specification ¶ 20 suggests that the nonce may be a “fixed password” and is therefore not necessarily a number used once - nonce).
As to claims 8, Wynn in view of Likar and Cam-Winget discloses a CRM/method/machine of claim 1, 7, and 13 and further discloses:
wherein the computer-executable instructions cause the processing circuitry to configure, via the network interface, the domain name system. (“The user interface accessible by an application (e.g., a mobile application or web browser running on mobile device 222) for activating, configuring, and monitoring the Wi-Fi service via Wi-Fi service manager 216 is referred to as a Wi-Fi service dashboard.” Likar col. 4, ln. 28. “Configured Wi-Fi enabled devices 208 (208 a-208 h) may connect to Wi-Fi gateway 206 as Wi-Fi clients when they are within the gateway's coverage area 210.” Likar col. 3, ln. 35. As combined above in independent claims, 1 and 7)
As to claims 9, Wynn in view of Likar and Cam-Winget discloses a CRM/method/machine of claim 1, 7, and 13 and further discloses:
wherein the first connectivity information comprises Wi-Fi network information and credentials associated with a discovery broker. (“At 504, the AP automatically initiates a call to cloud-based Wi-Fi service manager 216 and establishes a communication session with cloud-based Wi-Fi service manager 216 via XMPP or another firewall-friendly communication protocol. Cloud-based Wi-Fi AP agent reports to cloud-based Wi-Fi service manager 216, which may include sending a set of information of the AP to cloud-based Wi-Fi service manager 216 via the established communication session. In some embodiments, the set of information includes a unique identifier of the AP, such as the Universal Product Code (UPC), the manufacturer's serial number (MSN), or the media access control (MAC) address of the AP. The unique identifier of the AP may be stored in a database by Wi-Fi service manager 216.” Likar col. 6, ln. 49. “For example, AP/gateway 206 is configured with various configuration parameters, including a particular SSID and passphrase” Likar col. 7, ln. 32)
As to claims 10, Wynn in view of Likar and Cam-Winget discloses a CRM/method/machine of claim 1, 7, and 13 and further discloses:
wherein the computer-executable instructions cause the processing circuitry to exchange the first connectivity information with the receiver device.
(Likar col. 6, ln. 49)
As to claims 11, Wynn in view of Likar and Cam-Winget discloses a CRM/method/machine of claim 1, 7, and 13 and further discloses:
wherein the computer-executable instructions that cause the processing circuitry to exchange the first connectivity information with the receiver device comprise instructions to receive a client nonce, an endpoint, Wi-Fi network information, or any combination thereof from the receiver device. (“the set of information includes a unique identifier of the AP, such as the Universal Product Code (UPC), the manufacturer's serial number (MSN), or the media access control (MAC) address of the AP. The unique identifier of the AP may be stored in a database by Wi-Fi service manager 216.” Likar col. 6, ln. 49. “For example, AP/gateway 206 is configured with various configuration parameters, including a particular SSID and passphrase” Likar col. 7, ln. 32).
As to claims 16, Wynn in view of Likar and Cam-Winget discloses a CRM/method/machine of claim 1, 7, and 13 and further discloses:
wherein the discovery information comprises Wi-Fi credentials and network information, endpoints, a discovery broker name, a client nonce associated with the receiver device, a server nonce associated with the discovery broker device, or any combination thereof. (“the set of information includes a unique identifier of the AP, such as the Universal Product Code (UPC), the manufacturer's serial number (MSN), or the media access control (MAC) address of the AP. The unique identifier of the AP may be stored in a database by Wi-Fi service manager 216.” Likar col. 6, ln. 49. “For example, AP/gateway 206 is configured with various configuration parameters, including a particular SSID and passphrase” Likar col. 7, ln. 32).
As to claims 17, Wynn in view of Likar and Cam-Winget discloses a CRM/method/machine of claim 1, 7, and 13 and further discloses:
wherein the processing circuitry is configured to configure, via the network interface, the domain name system. (“The user interface accessible by an application (e.g., a mobile application or web browser running on mobile device 222) for activating, configuring, and monitoring the Wi-Fi service via Wi-Fi service manager 216 is referred to as a Wi-Fi service dashboard.” Likar col. 4, ln. 28. “Configured Wi-Fi enabled devices 208 (208 a-208 h) may connect to Wi-Fi gateway 206 as Wi-Fi clients when they are within the gateway's coverage area 210.” Likar col. 3, ln. 35. As combined above in independent claims, 1 and 7).
As to claims 18, Wynn in view of Likar and Cam-Winget discloses a CRM/method/machine of claim 1, 7, and 13 and further discloses:
wherein the sender device is communicatively coupled to a first network and (“the digital device 1002 provides the list of available wireless networks over another network such as a cellular communication network (e.g., via CDMA, GSM, 3G, or EVDO) or other wireless network (e.g., Wi-Fi, Wimax, or LTE network) not depicted.” Wynn ¶ 124)
the receiver device is communicatively coupled to a second network via a connectable internet protocol port. (“the list of available wireless networks comprises DDID, SSID, and/or BSSID identifiers of the network devices 1004 and 1006.” Wynn ¶ 123)
As to claims 19, Wynn in view of Likar and Cam-Winget discloses a CRM/method/machine of claim 1, 7, and 13 and further discloses:
wherein the sender device is configured to join the second network based on the discovery information comprising Wi-Fi credentials (“The digital device 102 may then retrieve the network credentials from the credential request response in step 320. The network credential may then be provided to the network device 104 in step 322. Upon verifying the network credentials, the network device 104 provides network access to the digital device 102 in step 324.” Wynn ¶ 81) and Wi-Fi network information from the discovery broker device. (“The credential request response module 206 may retrieve the login procedural information from the network record (e.g., the same network record containing a password associated with the SSID). The login procedural information may contain a form identifier and instructions (e.g., parameters) for the digital device 102 to follow to obtain network access” Wynn ¶ 96.)
As to claims 21, Wynn in view of Likar and Cam-Winget discloses a CRM/method/machine of claim 1, 7, and 13 and further discloses:
comprising receiving, via the network interface, an additional request from the sender device to communicatively couple with the sender device (Wynn ¶ 79)
based on the domain name system, (“The credential request is forwarded, either directly or indirectly through one or more other DNS servers on the communication network 114, to the credential server 116 in step 310.” Wynn ¶ 79)
the additional request comprising the second nonce associated with the discovery broker device. (“The ServerHello message contains the server's random nonce” Cam-Winget ¶ 174. TLS used to secure communication between the respective parties.)
As to claims 22, Wynn in view of Likar and Cam-Winget discloses a CRM/method/machine of claim 21 and further discloses:
comprising communicatively coupling to the sender device via the domain name system based on the additional request comprising the second nonce associated with the discovery broker device. (“The credential request is forwarded, either directly or indirectly through one or more other DNS servers on the communication network 114, to the credential server 116 in step 310.” Wynn ¶ 79. “A credential request response is then generated by the credential request response module 206 in step 314 and relayed back to the DNS server 110 in step 316. The DNS server 110 forwards the credential request response back to the digital device in step 318.” Wynn ¶ 80)
Claim(s) 5-6, 12, and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wynn et al., US 2011/0040870 (filed 2010), in view of Likar et al., US 10,057,813 (filed 2015), Cam-Winget et al., US 2005/0154873 (published 2005) and Bahr et al., US 2012/0061458 (filed 2011).
As to claims 5, Wynn in view of Likar discloses a CRM/method/machine of claim 1, 7, and 13 and further discloses:
wherein authenticating, via the one or more processors, the sender device (Wynn ¶¶ 64, 96 and 110)
Wynn in view of Likar and Cam-Winget does not disclose: comprises displaying a field on a display of the receiver device for receiving a code.
Bahr discloses:
comprises displaying a field on a display of the receiver device for receiving a code. (“the stationary device 110 executes software that displays a barcode 150 on the stationary device 110's display that contains a command code telling the mobile device 120 to connect to the stationary device 110 using the IP address or hostname of the stationary device 110 on the network.” Bahr ¶ 44. “In one embodiment, the BC Show component monitors the location of a mouse pointer on the display 470 of the stationary device 110…. the barcode may be displayed by clicking on a notification area icon.” Bahr ¶ 70. “the mobile device 120 to perform special tasks based on special barcodes, in one embodiment the connect command bar codes that are scanned by the mobile device 120 to initiate connection with the stationary device 110… the IP address connect command” Bahr ¶ 88).
A person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have combined Wynn in view of Likar and Cam-Winget with Bahr by incorporating the barcode connection scheme of Bahr to provide a command to the “Digital Device 102” for connecting to the “Network device 104”. I would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Wynn in view of Likar and Cam-Winget with Bahr in order to provide ease of use for connecting devices while as simplifying management of device connections, Bahr ¶ 8.
As to claims 6, Wynn in view of Likar, Cam-Winget, and Bahr discloses a CRM/method/machine of claim 5, and further discloses:
wherein authenticating, via the one or more processors, (Wynn ¶¶ 64, 96 and 110) the sender device comprises entering the code on the sender device. (“the mobile device 120 to perform special tasks based on special barcodes, in one embodiment the connect command bar codes that are scanned by the mobile device 120 to initiate connection with the stationary device 110… the IP address connect command” Bahr ¶ 88).
As to claims 12, Wynn in view of Likar and Cam-Winget discloses a CRM/method/machine of claim 1, 7, and 13 but does not disclose:
wherein the second connectivity information is associated with a connectable internet protocol port of the receiver device.
Bahr discloses: wherein the second connectivity information is associated with a connectable internet protocol port of the receiver device.
(“the stationary device 110 executes software that displays a barcode 150 on the stationary device 110's display that contains a command code telling the mobile device 120 to connect to the stationary device 110 using the IP address or hostname of the stationary device 110 on the network.” Bahr ¶ 44).
A person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have combined Wynn in view of Likar and Cam-Winget with Bahr by incorporating the barcode connection scheme of Bahr to provide a command to the “Digital Device 102” for connecting to the “Network device 104”. I would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Wynn in view of Likar and Cam-Winget with Bahr in order to provide ease of use for connecting devices while as simplifying management of device connections, Bahr ¶ 8.
As to claims 20, Wynn in view of Likar and Cam-Winget discloses a CRM/method/machine of claim 1, 7, and 13 but does not disclose:
wherein the Wi-Fi network information comprises an Internet protocol address of the receiver device.
Bahr discloses: wherein the second connectivity information is associated with a connectable internet protocol port of the receiver device.
(“the stationary device 110 executes software that displays a barcode 150 on the stationary device 110's display that contains a command code telling the mobile device 120 to connect to the stationary device 110 using the IP address or hostname of the stationary device 110 on the network.” Bahr ¶ 44).
A person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have combined Wynn in view of Likar and Cam-Winget with Bahr by incorporating the barcode connection scheme of Bahr to provide a command to the “Digital Device 102” for connecting to the “Network device 104”. I would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Wynn in view of Likar and Cam-Winget with Bahr in order to provide ease of use for connecting devices while as simplifying management of device connections, Bahr ¶ 8.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See PTO-892, particularly:
Akkaya et al., US 11,329,806, disclosing an exchange of nonces.
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL W CHAO whose telephone number is (571)272-5165. The examiner can normally be reached M, W-F 8-5.
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, Rupal Dharia can be reached at (571) 272-3880. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MICHAEL W CHAO/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2492
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