DETAILED ACTION
Claims 1, 9 and 12 have been amended.
Claim 10 has been cancelled.
Claims 1 – 9 and 11 – 15 have been examined and are pending.
Continued Examination under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 05/26/2026 has been entered.
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 – 9 and 11 – 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US Patent Application Publication No. 2018/0287725 to Rabinovich et al. (hereinafter Rabinovich) and further in view of US Patent Application Publication No. 2024/0413921 to Wang et al. (hereinafter Wang).
Claim 1, Rabinovich discloses (¶1) a method of clock management in a packet data network implementing a time-transfer protocol and a clock controller, and a method comprising:
monitoring (Rabinovich discloses ¶64 topology and configuration module 504 is configured to receive from NMS data indicative of PTP paths to be monitored and compensated), a first path delay and a second path delay over a first sample period and a second sample period, wherein the first path delay is a reported time taken for a first packet transmitted by a first node of the network to be received by a second node of the network, and the second path delay is a time taken for a second packet transmitted by the second node of the network to be received by the first node of the network; Rabinovich discloses ¶7 processing a plurality of sample delays in master-slave direction and slave-master direction of communication paths (Fig. 3: 310) to determine delay asymmetry (¶38) estimated during predefined number of consecutive collection periods (¶61).
determining that a change in one or both of the first and second path delays between the first sample period and the second sample period exceeds a first threshold; Rabinovich discloses ¶54 clock controller determines that the estimated queue-induced time delay asymmetry exceeds a predefined threshold.
and determining, when it is determined that the first threshold is exceeded and when a difference between the first and second path delays changes between the first sample period and the second sample period, that the change in one or both of the first and second path delays is an asymmetric path delay change; Rabinovich discloses ¶54 clock controller estimates (311) queue-induced delay asymmetry of each PTP path during a predefined number of collection periods, and selectively sends (312) the obtained value to the respective slave clocks (e.g. via the NMS) to be used as asymmetry correction parameters.
Rabinovich does not explicitly disclose method for detecting asymmetric path delay changes in a synchronisation network having full or partial timing support. However, in an analogous art, Wang teaches:
method for detecting asymmetric path delay changes in a synchronisation network having full or partial timing support (Wang teaches (¶55) detecting the asymmetry between the first path and second path. Wang teaches (¶4) using the (ITU-T) G.8275.2 precision time protocol defined for phase/time synchronization with partial timing support (PTS) from the network and calculating (¶45) the offset between the slave clock and the master clock which is caused by the asymmetry on the PTP packet paths. Wang teaches (¶50) determining no change in the first and the second path, synchronizing slave clock with master clock based on the first estimates of the offsets and a first estimate of asymmetry between a first propagation delay from the network device to the PTP master and a second propagation delay from the PTP master to the network device.)
determining that a change in one or both of the first and second path delays between the first sample period and the second sample period exceeds a first threshold (Wang fig. 5 & ¶58); and
determining, when it is determined that the first threshold is exceeded and when a difference between the first and second path delays changes between the first sample period and the second sample period, that the change in one or both of the first and second path delays is an asymmetric path delay change (Wang fig. 5 & ¶58-59).
It would have been obvious as of the effective filing date to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine monitoring, a first path delay and a second path delay over a first sample period and a second sample period, wherein the first path delay is a reported time taken for a first packet transmitted by a first node of the network to be received by a second node of the network, and the second path delay is a time taken for a second packet transmitted by the second node of the network to be received by the first node of the network, determining that a change in one or both of the first and second path delays between the first sample period and the second sample period exceeds a first threshold, and determining, when it is determined that the first threshold is exceeded and when a difference between the first and second path delays changes between the first sample period and the second sample period, that the change in one or both of the first and second path delays is an asymmetric path delay change, as disclosed by Rabinovich, and method for detecting asymmetric path delay changes in a synchronisation network having full or partial timing support, as taught by Wang, for the purpose of implementing (¶1) method and a network device for precision time protocol (PTP) clock synchronization.
The motivation to combine the references is similar to the reasons in Claim 1.
Claim 2, Rabinovich in view of Wang discloses all the elements of claim 1. Further, they disclose:
applying, when it is determined that the first threshold is exceeded and when a change in the difference between the first and second path delays between the first sample period and the second sample period exceeds a second threshold, a correction to the network, wherein the correction is based on the change in the difference between the first and second path delays between the first sample period and the second sample period; Rabinovich discloses (¶54,58) to correct the time offset at slave clocks controller can send the obtained value to the respective slave clock(s) to be used as asymmetry correction parameter only when the estimated queue-induced delay asymmetry exceeds a predefined threshold for each PTP path.
The motivation to combine the references is similar to the reasons in Claim 1.
Claim 3, Rabinovich in view of Wang discloses all the elements of claim 1. Further, they disclose:
wherein the duration of the first sample period and/or the second sample period is less than a time constant of a synchronisation clock of the synchronisation network; Rabinovich discloses (¶6) for a PTP path, periodically obtaining during a collection period data from the master and salve nodes, and comparing estimated queue-induced delay asymmetry during a predefined number of consecutive collection periods and dynamically adjusts the collection period duration when the variation does not fit a predefined criterion (¶9 - ¶11). The reference thus explicitly monitors and shortens the measurement interval when the delay variation exceeds the network’s expected dynamic behavior, thereby ensuring that the collection period remains smaller than the time constant of the synchronization clock – i.e. within the bandwidth at which the clock can track delay changes.
The motivation to combine the references is similar to the reasons in Claim 1.
Claim 4, Rabinovich in view of Wang discloses all the elements of claim 1. Further, they disclose:
wherein the first threshold is based on an expected dynamic Time Error, dTE, of the network; Rabinovich discloses (¶35) equations (1) and (2) produce the clock offset Δt.sub.offset indicative of time difference between the slave clock and the master clock. Rabinovich discloses (¶9, ¶54 and ¶61) clock controller changes the duration of the collection periods corresponding to the allowable time-error dynamics of the synchronization i.e. threshold for triggering asymmetry detection and correction is derived from the expected dynamic behavior and time-error tolerance of the synchronization network.
The motivation to combine the references is similar to the reasons in Claim 1.
Claim 5, Rabinovich in view of Wang discloses all the elements of claim 2. Further, they disclose:
wherein the second threshold is based on the expected dTE of the network and/or a maximum time error which would result in a failure of the network; Rabinovich discloses (¶61) non-limiting example, clock controller can decrease the collection period if the estimated variation exceeds a predefined maximal threshold (i.e. second threshold), so for e.g. if the variation obtained during ten 60-second collection periods exceeds 1 μsec, duration of collection periods can be decreased to 10 seconds).
The motivation to combine the references is similar to the reasons in Claim 1.
Claim 6, Rabinovich in view of Wang discloses all the elements of claim 1. Further, they disclose:
monitoring the first path delay and the second path delay comprises determining an average value of the respective first path delay and/or the second path delay over the first sample period and/or the second sample period; Rabinovich discloses (¶56-¶57) estimating queue-induced delay asymmetry of the PTP path as a half of the difference between the summaries of minimal sample delay values obtained in MS and SM directions. The term summaries denote an aggregate or averaged statistic over the collection period i.e. the mean or representative delay value derived from multiple samples. Further, (¶31 - ¶36) discloses computed mean propagation time that differs from the actual propagation times due to asymmetry and allowable time-error dynamics of the synchronization network.
The motivation to combine the references is similar to the reasons in Claim 1.
Claim 7, Rabinovich in view of Wang discloses all the elements of claim 1. Further, they disclose:
monitoring (Rabinovich discloses (¶64) clock controller can be configured to monitor all PTP paths) the first path delay and the second path delay comprises determining a maximum value of the respective first path delay and/or the second path delay over the first sample period and/or the second sample period; Rabinovich discloses (¶56-¶57) plurality of sample delays calculated for a given direction (i.e. a PTP path) for the respective collection period. Because Rabinovich explicitly collects per-period sample delays and computes statistical summaries of these values to bound delay variation, a person of ordinary skill in art would recognize that both maximum and minimum values are inherent within the taught statistical characterization of path delay. The reference thus discloses determining a maximum value of the first or second path delay over each collection period as part of its delay-monitoring process.
The motivation to combine the references is similar to the reasons in Claim 1.
Claim 8, Rabinovich in view of Wang discloses all the elements of claim 1. Further, they disclose:
monitoring (Rabinovich discloses (¶64) clock controller can be configured to monitor all PTP paths) the first path delay and the second path delay comprises determining the minimum value of the respective first path delay and/or the second path delay over the first sample period and/or the second sample period; Rabinovich discloses (¶56-¶57) plurality of sample delays calculated for a given direction (i.e. a PTP path) for the respective collection period. Because Rabinovich explicitly collects per-period sample delays and computes statistical summaries of these values to bound delay variation, a person of ordinary skill in art would recognize that both maximum and minimum values are inherent within the taught statistical characterization of path delay. The reference thus discloses determining a minimum value of the first or second path delay over each collection period as part of its delay-monitoring process.
The motivation to combine the references is similar to the reasons in Claim 1.
Claim 9, Rabinovich discloses (¶1) a method of clock management in a packet data network implementing a time-transfer protocol and a clock controller, and the method comprises:
monitoring (Rabinovich discloses ¶64 topology and configuration module 504 is configured to receive from NMS data indicative of PTP paths to be monitored and compensated), a plurality of first path delays and a plurality of second path delays over a third sample period and a fourth sample period, wherein each of the first path delays is a reported time taken for a packet transmitted by the first node of the network to be received by one of the plurality of second nodes of the network, and each of the second path delays is a time taken for a packet transmitted by the one of the plurality of second nodes of the network to be received by the first node of the network (Rabinovich discloses ¶7 processing a plurality of sample delays in master-slave direction and slave-master direction of communication paths (Fig. 3: 310) to determine delay asymmetry (¶38) estimated during predefined number of consecutive collection periods, ¶61)
determining that a change in one or both of each of any one of the respective first and second path delays between the third sample period and the fourth sample period exceeds a third threshold (Rabinovich discloses (¶46 and ¶54) a plurality of second nodes and the metho applied to the plurality of second nodes. In Figs. 3-4, clock controller 101 is configured to periodically obtain data informative of queue size and link rate of at least part of transit nodes of a given PTP path) and
performing the method of claim 1 on the respective first and second nodes (Rabinovich discloses ¶43 all limitations of Claim 1 being applied to PTP paths of all transit nodes in network 100).
Rabinovich does not explicitly disclose method for detecting asymmetric path delay changes in a synchronisation network having full or partial timing support, said synchronisation network comprising a first node and a plurality of second nodes. However, in an analogous art, Wang teaches:
method for detecting asymmetric path delay changes in a synchronisation network having full or partial timing support, said synchronisation network comprising a first node and a plurality of second nodes (Wang teaches (¶55) detecting the asymmetry between the first path and second path. Wang teaches (¶4) using the (ITU-T) G.8275.2 precision time protocol defined for phase/time synchronization with partial timing support (PTS) from the network and calculating (¶45) the offset between the slave clock and the master clock which is caused by the asymmetry on the PTP packet paths. Further, Wang teaches (in Fig. 2 and ¶44) a first node (i.e. master device 204) and a plurality of second nodes i.e. radio base stations 201-1, 201-2.);
determining that a change in one or both of each of any one of the respective first and second path delays between the third sample period and the fourth sample period exceeds a third threshold (Wang fig. 5; ¶58-59).
It would have been obvious as of the effective filing date to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine monitoring, a plurality of first path delays and a plurality of second path delays over a third sample period and a fourth sample period, wherein each of the first path delays is a reported time taken for a packet transmitted by the first node of the network to be received by one of the plurality of second nodes of the network, and each of the second path delays is a time taken for a packet transmitted by the one of the plurality of second nodes of the network to be received by the first node of the network, determining that a change in one or both of each of any one of the respective first and second path delays between the third sample period and the fourth sample period exceeds a third threshold and performing the method of claim 1 on the respective first and second nodes, as disclosed by Rabinovich, and method for detecting asymmetric path delay changes in a synchronisation network having full or partial timing support, said synchronisation network comprising a first node and a plurality of second nodes, as taught by Wang, for the purpose of implementing (¶1) method and a network device for precision time protocol (PTP) clock synchronization.
Claim 11, do not teach or further define over the limitations in Claim 1. Therefore, claim 11 is rejected for the same rationale of rejection as set forth in Claim 1.
Claim 12, do not teach or further define over the limitations in Claim 1. Therefore, claim 12 is rejected for the same rationale of rejection as set forth in Claim 1.
Claim 13, Rabinovich in view of Wang discloses all the elements of claim 12. Further, they disclose:
wherein one of the plurality of nodes comprises the NMS; Rabinovich discloses several nodes in the network 100 (Fig. 1: NMS 102) and the NMS (¶53) is configured to periodically poll the nodes for data and/or to request the respective data from the nodes responsive to requests received from clock controller 101.
The motivation to combine the references is similar to the reasons in Claim 1.
Claim 14, Rabinovich in view of Wang discloses all the elements of claim 12. Further, they disclose:
test equipment coupled to one or more of the plurality of nodes, wherein the external test equipment comprises the NMS; Rabinovich discloses (¶53) NMS can be configured to periodically poll the nodes for such data and/or to request the respective data from the nodes responsive to requests received from clock controller 101. The possibility of including the NMS in an external test equipment is a feature constructional change that does not add anything of inventive significance to the method for the delay asymmetry change detection.
The motivation to combine the references is similar to the reasons in Claim 1.
Claim 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US Patent Application US Patent Application Publication No. 2018/0287725 to Rabinovich, in view of US Patent Application Publication No. 2024/0413921 to Wang, and in view of US Patent Application Publication No. 2016/0226579 to Levy.
Claim 15, Rabinovich in view of Wang discloses all the elements of claim 12. However, Rabinovich in view of Wang does not explicitly disclose wherein one or more of the nodes supports the Small Form-factor Pluggable, SFP, interface module standard. However, in an analogous art, Levy teaches:
wherein one or more of the nodes supports the Small Form-factor Pluggable, SFP, interface module standard (Levy teaches ¶26 and Fig. 2A connectors 115 may comprise Quad Small Form-Factor Pluggable (QSFP) connectors, small form factor (SFP) connectors, CXP connectors, or any other suitable high-speed connector.)
It would have been obvious as of the effective filing date to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine synchronisation network comprising: a plurality of nodes; and the NMS of claim 11, as disclosed by Rabinovich in view of Wang, and wherein one or more of the nodes supports the Small Form-factor Pluggable, SFP, interface module standard, as taught by Levy, for the purpose of (¶2) management of communication network performance.
Response to Arguments
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
Applicant’s arguments and amendments, filed on 05/26/2026 with respect to the Claims 1 – 9 and 11 – 15 have been fully considered and they are persuasive. Hence, the 35 USC § 102 rejection is withdrawn. However, based on the arguments, claim amendments and the newly introduced limitations, the search is updated and new reference, US Patent Application Publication No. 2024/0413921 to Wang et al. (hereinafter Wang) have been introduced for the 35 USC § 103 rejection.
Conclusion
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/H. A. K./
Examiner, Art Unit 2451
/Chris Parry/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2451
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