SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR DETERMINING LOCATIONS OF ACCESS POINTS

Application No. 18/809,163

• Filed: Aug 19, 2024
• Priority: Jan 21, 2020 — continuation of 10/904,851
  • Dec 14, 2020 — continuation of 11/516,766
  • Nov 18, 2022 — continuation of 11/910,351
  • Jan 23, 2024 — continuation of 12/363,674
  • May 01, 2024 — continuation of 12/150,087
• Examiner: GELIN, JEAN ALLAND
• Assignee: Cisco Technology Inc.
• OA Round: 1 (Non-Final)

Office Action

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 .
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer.
Claims 1-20 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-20 of U.S. Patent No. 11,156,766, claims 1-20 of U.S. Patent No. 11,910351. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because claims 2-21 of the current application are broader than claims of US patents above.
Claims 1-20 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-20 of U.S. Patent No. 12,150,087 and over claims 1-20 of U.S. Patent No. 12,363,674. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because claims 1-20 of the current application are broader than claims of US patents above. The use of GPS is public knowledge for determining device/user’s location (see claims comparison below).

Application 18/809,163
US Patent No. 12,150,087
1. A method performed at least partly by an access point of a plurality of access points, the method comprising: accessing, via an auto-location component hosted on the access point and from among the plurality of access points in an area in communication with a network, geographic location-related data of a first subset of the plurality of access points, wherein each access point in a second subset of the plurality of access points neighbors at least one of the access points in the first subset; determining relative location data for the plurality of access points, wherein determining the relative location data for a first access point in the second subset comprises: exchanging ranging data indicative of a first relative distance between the access points of the first subset and the access point, the ranging data based at least in part on fine timing measurements captured during an exchange of ranging messages between the at least one of the access points of the first subset and the access point; and determining geographic locations for the plurality of access points in the second subset, wherein the determining comprises determining a geographic location of the access point in the second subset based on the ranging data and the geographic location-related data of one or more of the access points in the first subset.
1. A method comprising: accessing, via an auto-location component hosted on a central management node, from among a plurality of access points in an area in communication with a network, geographic location-related data of a first subset of the plurality of access points; wherein: each access point in a second subset of the plurality of access points neighbors at least one of the access points in the first subset; determining relative location data for the plurality of access points, wherein determining the relative location data for a first access point in the second subset comprises: exchanging ranging data indicative of a first relative distance between at least one of the access points of the first subset and the first access point, the ranging data based at least in part on fine timing measurements captured during an exchange of ranging messages between the at least one of the access points of the first subset and the first access point; and determining geographic locations for the plurality of access points in the second subset, wherein the determining comprises determining a geographic location of the first access point in the second subset based on the ranging data and the geographic location-related data of one or more of the access points in the first subset.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the exchange of ranging messages complies with an Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 801.11az standard for fine timing measurements.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein the exchange of ranging messages complies with an Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 801.11az standard for fine timing measurements.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the exchange of ranging messages complies with an Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 801.11-2016 standard for fine timing measurements.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the exchange of ranging messages complies with an Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 801.11-2016 standard for fine timing measurements.
4. The method of claim 1, further comprising refining an accuracy of the geographic locations of the plurality of access points by repeatedly performing the determining.
4. The method of claim 1, further comprising refining an accuracy of the geographic locations of the plurality of access points by repeatedly performing the determining step.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein the refining is performed via a machine-learning-trained analytical model.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein the refining is performed via a machine-learning-trained analytical model.
6. The method of claim 1, further comprising generating a time stamp corresponding to a time when the geographic location of the first access point in the second subset was determined and associating the time stamp with the geographic location of the first access point.
6. The method of claim 1, further comprising generating a time stamp corresponding to a time when the geographic location of the first access point in the second subset was determined and associating the time stamp with the geographic location of the first access point.
7. The method of claim 1, further comprising generating a confidence level corresponding to the geographic location of the first access point in the second subset that was determined and associating the confidence level with the geographic location of the first access point.
7. The method of claim 1, further comprising generating a confidence level corresponding to the geographic location of the first access point in the second subset that was determined and associating the confidence level with the geographic location of the first access point.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein the first subset of access points are edge access points.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein the first subset of access points are edge access points.
9. The method of claim 8, further comprising identifying the first subset of the plurality as edge access points, wherein the identifying comprises at least one of: determining a number of neighbor access points for at least some of the plurality of access points, and identifying as edge access points, from among the at least some of the plurality of access points, access points having a minimum number of neighbor access points; identifying, from among at least some of the plurality of access points, as edge access points, access points that are first to detect a presence of a station configured to communicate with at least some of the plurality of access points; or identifying, from among at least some of the plurality of access points, as edge access points, access points that lack neighbor access points in an at least one-hundred-eighty-degree area surrounding the access point.
9. The method of claim 8, further comprising identifying the first subset of the plurality as edge access points, wherein the identifying comprises at least one of: determining a number of neighbor access points for at least some of the plurality of access points, and identifying as edge access points, from among the at least some of the plurality of access points, access points having a minimum number of neighbor access points; identifying, from among at least some of the plurality of access points, as edge access points, access points that are first to detect a presence of a station configured to communicate with at least some of the plurality of access points; or identifying, from among at least some of the plurality of access points, as edge access points, access points that lack neighbor access points in an at least one-hundred-eighty-degree area surrounding the access point.
10. The method of claim 1, further comprising automatically determining, via the auto-location component, geographic location data for one or more additional access points added to the plurality of access points.
11. The method of claim 1, further comprising automatically determining, via the auto-location component, geographic location data for one or more additional access points added to the plurality of access points.
11. An access point of a plurality of access points, the access point comprising: an auto-location component hosted on the access point; one or more processors; and one or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising: accessing, via the auto-location component and from among the plurality of access points in an area in communication with a network, geographic location-related data of a first subset of the plurality of access points, wherein each access point in a second subset of the plurality of access points neighbors at least one of the access points in the first subset; determining relative location data for the plurality of access points, wherein determining the relative location data for a first access point in the second subset comprises: exchanging ranging data indicative of a first relative distance between the access points of the first subset and the access point, the ranging data based at least in part on fine timing measurements captured during an exchange of ranging messages between the at least one of the access points of the first subset and the access point; and determining geographic locations for the plurality of access points in the second subset, wherein the determining comprises determining a geographic location of the access point in the second subset based on the ranging data and the geographic location-related data of one or more of the access points in the first subset.
12. A system comprising: an auto-location component hosted on a central management node; one or more processors; and one or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform acts comprising: accessing, via an auto-location component, from among a plurality of access points in an area in communication with a network, geographic location-related data of a first subset of the plurality of access points, wherein each access point in a second subset of the plurality of access points neighbors at least one of the access points in the first subset; determining relative location data for the plurality of access points, wherein determining the relative location data for a first access point in the second subset comprises: exchanging ranging data indicative of a first relative distance between at least one of the access points of the first subset and the first access point, the ranging data based at least in part on fine timing measurements captured during an exchange of ranging messages between the at least one of the access points of the first subset and the first access point; and determining geographic locations for the plurality of access points in the second subset, wherein the determining comprises determining a geographic location of the first access point in the second subset based on the ranging data and the geographic location-related data of one or more of the access points in the first subset.
12. The access point of claim 11, wherein the exchange of ranging messages complies with an Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 801.11az standard for fine timing measurements.
13. The system of claim 12, wherein the exchange of ranging messages complies with an Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 801.11az standard for fine timing measurements
13. The access point of claim 11, wherein the exchange of ranging messages complies with an Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 801.11-2016 standard for fine timing measurements.
14. The system of claim 12, wherein the exchange of ranging messages complies with an Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 801.11-2016 standard for fine timing measurements.
14. The access point of claim 11, the operations further comprising refining an accuracy of the geographic locations of the plurality of access points by repeatedly performing the determining.
15. The system of claim 12, the acts further comprising refining an accuracy of the geographic locations of the plurality of access points by repeatedly performing the determining step.
15. The access point of claim 14, wherein the refining is performed via a machine-learning-trained analytical model.
16. The system of claim 15, wherein the refining is performed via a machine-learning-trained analytical model.
16. The access point of claim 11, the operations further comprising generating a time stamp corresponding to a time when the geographic location of the first access point in the second subset was determined and associating the time stamp with the geographic location of the first access point.
17. The system of claim 12, the acts further comprising generating a time stamp corresponding to a time when the geographic location of the first access point in the second subset was determined and associating the time stamp with the geographic location of the first access point.
17. The access point of claim 11, the operations further comprising generating a confidence level corresponding to the geographic location of the first access point in the second subset that was determined and associating the confidence level with the geographic location of the first access point.
18. The system of claim 12, the acts further comprising generating a confidence level corresponding to the geographic location of the first access point in the second subset that was determined and associating the confidence level with the geographic location of the first access point.
18. The access point of claim 11, wherein the first subset of access points are edge access points.

19. The system of claim 12, wherein the first subset of access points are edge access points.
19. The access point of claim 18, the operations further comprising identifying the first subset of the plurality as edge access points, wherein the identifying comprises at least one of: determining a number of neighbor access points for at least some of the plurality of access points, and identifying as edge access points, from among the at least some of the plurality of access points, access points having a minimum number of neighbor access points; identifying, from among at least some of the plurality of access points, as edge access points, access points that are first to detect a presence of a station configured to communicate with at least some of the plurality of access points; or identifying, from among at least some of the plurality of access points, as edge access points, access points that lack neighbor access points in an at least one-hundred-eighty-degree area surrounding the access point.
20. The system of claim 19, further comprising identifying the first subset of the plurality as edge access points, wherein the identifying comprises at least one of: determining a number of neighbor access points for at least some of the plurality of access points, and identifying as edge access points, from among the at least some of the plurality of access points, access points having a minimum number of neighbor access points; identifying, from among at least some of the plurality of access points, as edge access points, access points that are first to detect a presence of a station configured to communicate with at least some of the plurality of access points; or identifying, from among at least some of the plurality of access points, as edge access points, access points that lack neighbor access points in an at least one-hundred-eighty-degree area surrounding the access point.
20. The access point of claim 11, the operations further comprising: automatically determining, via the auto-location component, geographic locations for one or more of the plurality of access points upon relocation of the one or more access points.
22. The system of claim 12, the acts further comprising automatically determining, via the auto-location component, geographic location data for one or more additional access points added to the plurality of access points.

Application 18/809,163
US Patent No. 12,363,674
1. A method performed at least partly by an access point of a plurality of access points, the method comprising: accessing, via an auto-location component hosted on the access point and from among the plurality of access points in an area in communication with a network, geographic location-related data of a first subset of the plurality of access points, wherein each access point in a second subset of the plurality of access points neighbors at least one of the access points in the first subset; determining relative location data for the plurality of access points, wherein determining the relative location data for a first access point in the second subset comprises: exchanging ranging data indicative of a first relative distance between the access points of the first subset and the access point, the ranging data based at least in part on fine timing measurements captured during an exchange of ranging messages between the at least one of the access points of the first subset and the access point; and determining geographic locations for the plurality of access points in the second subset, wherein the determining comprises determining a geographic location of the access point in the second subset based on the ranging data and the geographic location-related data of one or more of the access points in the first subset.
1. A method comprising identifying, via an auto-location component, from among a plurality of access points in an area in communication with a network, a first subset of the plurality of access points for which geographic location data based on Global Positioning System (geographic location-related) data is to be used, wherein each access point in a second subset of the plurality of access points neighbors at least one of the access points in the first subset; determining GPS-based location-related (geographic location-related) data for one or more access points of the first subset of access points; and determining relative geographic location data for the plurality of access points, wherein determining the relative geographic location data for a first access point in the second subset comprises: exchanging ranging data indicative of a first relative distance between at least one of the access points of the first subset and the first access point in the second subset, the ranging data based at least in part on fine timing measurements; and determining the relative geographic location of the first access point in the second subset based on the ranging data and the GPS-based geographic locations (geographic location-related data) of one or more of the access points in the first subset.
4. The method of claim 1, further comprising refining an accuracy of the geographic locations of the plurality of access points by repeatedly performing the determining.
3. The method of claim 1, further comprising refining an accuracy of the relative geographic locations of the plurality of access points by repeating the determining step.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein the refining is performed via a machine-learning-trained analytical model.
4. The method of claim 3, wherein the refining is performed via a machine-learning-trained analytical model.
6. The method of claim 1, further comprising generating a time stamp corresponding to a time when the geographic location of the first access point in the second subset was determined and associating the time stamp with the geographic location of the first access point.
5. The method of claim 1, further comprising generating a time stamp corresponding to a time when the relative geographic location of the first access point in the second subset was determined and associating the time stamp with the relative geographic location of the access point.
7. The method of claim 1, further comprising generating a confidence level corresponding to the geographic location of the first access point in the second subset that was determined and associating the confidence level with the geographic location of the first access point.
6. The method of claim 1, further comprising generating a confidence level corresponding to the relative geographic location of the first access point in the second subset was determined and associating the confidence level with the relative geographic location of the access point.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein the first subset of access points are edge access points.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the first subset of access points are edge access points.
9. The method of claim 8, further comprising identifying the first subset of the plurality as edge access points, wherein the identifying comprises at least one of: determining a number of neighbor access points for at least some of the plurality of access points, and identifying as edge access points, from among the at least some of the plurality of access points, access points having a minimum number of neighbor access points; identifying, from among at least some of the plurality of access points, as edge access points, access points that are first to detect a presence of a station configured to communicate with at least some of the plurality of access points; or identifying, from among at least some of the plurality of access points, as edge access points, access points that lack neighbor access points in an at least one-hundred-eighty-degree area surrounding the access point.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein identifying the first subset of the edge access points comprises at least one of: determining a number of neighbor access points for at least some of the plurality of access points, and identifying as edge access points, from among the at least some of the plurality of access points, access points having a minimum number of neighbor access points; identifying, from among at least some of the plurality of access points, as edge access points, access points that are first to detect a presence of a station configured to communicate with at least some of the plurality of access points; or identifying, from among at least some of the plurality of access points, as edge access points, access points that lack neighbor access points in an at least one-hundred-eighty-degree area surrounding the access point.
10. The method of claim 1, further comprising automatically determining, via the auto-location component, geographic location data for one or more additional access points added to the plurality of access points.
9. The method of claim 1, further comprising automatically determining, via the auto-location component, relative geographic location data for one or more of the plurality of access points upon relocation of the one or more access points.
11. An access point of a plurality of access points, the access point comprising: an auto-location component hosted on the access point; one or more processors; and one or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising: accessing, via the auto-location component and from among the plurality of access points in an area in communication with a network, geographic location-related data of a first subset of the plurality of access points, wherein each access point in a second subset of the plurality of access points neighbors at least one of the access points in the first subset; determining relative location data for the plurality of access points, wherein determining the relative location data for a first access point in the second subset comprises: exchanging ranging data indicative of a first relative distance between the access points of the first subset and the access point, the ranging data based at least in part on fine timing measurements captured during an exchange of ranging messages between the at least one of the access points of the first subset and the access point; and determining geographic locations for the plurality of access points in the second subset, wherein the determining comprises determining a geographic location of the access point in the second subset based on the ranging data and the geographic location-related data of one or more of the access points in the first subset.
11. A system comprising an auto-location component; and a plurality of access points deployed in an area in communication with a network; wherein the auto-location component comprises one or more processors; and one or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform acts comprising: identifying from among the plurality of access points a first subset of the plurality of access points for which geographic location data based on Global Positioning System (GPS) data is to be used, wherein each access point in a second subset of the plurality of access points neighbors at least one of the access points in the first subset; determining GPS-based location-related data for one or more access points of the first subset of access points; and determining relative geographic location data for the plurality of access points, wherein determining the relative geographic location data for a first access point in the second subset comprises: exchanging ranging data indicative of a first relative distance between at least one of the access points of the first subset and the first access point in the second subset, the ranging data based at least in part on fine timing measurements; and determining the relative geographic location of the first access point in the second subset based on the ranging data and the GPS-based geographic locations of one or more of the access points in the first subset.
14. The access point of claim 11, the operations further comprising refining an accuracy of the geographic locations of the plurality of access points by repeatedly performing the determining.
13. The system of claim 11, the acts further comprising refining an accuracy of the relative geographic locations of the plurality of access points by repeating the determining step.
15. The access point of claim 14, wherein the refining is performed via a machine-learning-trained analytical model.
14. The system of claim 13, wherein the refining is performed via a machine-learning-trained analytical model.
16. The access point of claim 11, the operations further comprising generating a time stamp corresponding to a time when the geographic location of the first access point in the second subset was determined and associating the time stamp with the geographic location of the first access point.
15. The system of claim 11, the acts further comprising generating a time stamp corresponding to a time when the relative geographic location of the first access point in the second subset was determined and associating the time stamp with the relative geographic location of the access point.
17. The access point of claim 11, the operations further comprising generating a confidence level corresponding to the geographic location of the first access point in the second subset that was determined and associating the confidence level with the geographic location of the first access point.
16. The system of claim 11, the acts further comprising generating a confidence level corresponding to the relative geographic location of the first access point in the second subset was determined and associating the confidence level with the relative geographic location of the access point.
18. The access point of claim 11, wherein the first subset of access points are edge access points.
17. The system of claim 11, wherein the first subset of access points are edge access points.
19. The access point of claim 18, the operations further comprising identifying the first subset of the plurality as edge access points, wherein the identifying comprises at least one of: determining a number of neighbor access points for at least some of the plurality of access points, and identifying as edge access points, from among the at least some of the plurality of access points, access points having a minimum number of neighbor access points; identifying, from among at least some of the plurality of access points, as edge access points, access points that are first to detect a presence of a station configured to communicate with at least some of the plurality of access points; or identifying, from among at least some of the plurality of access points, as edge access points, access points that lack neighbor access points in an at least one-hundred-eighty-degree area surrounding the access point.
18. The system of claim 17, wherein identifying the first subset of edge access points comprises at least one of: determining a number of neighbor access points for at least some of the plurality of access points, and identifying as edge access points, from among the at least some of the plurality of access points, access points having a minimum number of neighbor access points; identifying, from among at least some of the plurality of access points, as edge access points, access points that are first to detect a presence of a station configured to communicate with at least some of the plurality of access points; or identifying, from among at least some of the plurality of access points, as edge access points, access points that lack neighbor access points in an at least one-hundred-eighty-degree area surrounding the access point.
20. The access point of claim 11, the operations further comprising: automatically determining, via the auto-location component, geographic locations for one or more of the plurality of access points upon relocation of the one or more access points.
20. The system of claim 11, the acts further comprising automatically determining, via the auto-location component, relative geographic location data for one or more additional access points added to the plurality of access points.

Conclusion
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/JEAN A GELIN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2643

Prosecution Timeline

• Aug 19, 2024: Application Filed
• Aug 03, 2026: Non-Final Rejection mailed — §DP (current)