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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
1. 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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 07/31/2026 has been entered.
2. Claims 1-20 are presented for examination.
Allowable Subject Matter
3. Claims 11-20 are allowed.
4. According to MPEP 2111.04 II, the scope of the claim(s) is/are not limited by the contingent limitation(s) that suggest or makes optional but does not require steps to be performed.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
5. Claim(s) 1-10 are is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Sung et al., (hereafter, “Sung”), US 2017/0302593 A1.
Regarding claim 1, Sung teaches a method for transmitting data packets at a network device (i.e., a process for transmitting encapsulating packets from communications router, Fig. 6 and page 6 paragraph [0075]), comprising:
receiving a data packet (i.e., data packets received at a first network node, abstract); and
determining if the data packet belongs to a new session:
if the data packet belongs to the new session (do nothing if another condition is met, this condition is optional):
(a) select a first connection according to a first selection policy;
(b) selecting at least one second connection according to a second selection policy;
(c) transmitting original encapsulating packets (OEPs) through the first connection;
(d) transmitting at least one duplicate encapsulating packets (DEPs) through the at least one second connection within a specific period of time; and
(e) when the specific period of time is reached: transmitting the OEPs through a third connection, and no longer transmitting the at least one DEPs;
if the data packet does not belong to the new session (i.e., when a user is downloading a file over bonded network connection in a TCP session with one or more tunnels having packet drops, col. 5 lines 17-19):
(f) transmitting the OEPs through a pre-selected first connection (i.e., transmit the OEPs through the first tunnel, col. 9 lines 46-48); and
(g) transmitting the at least one DEPs through at least one pre-selected second connection (i.e., transmit DEPs through the second channel, col. 9 line 52-53);
wherein:
the data packet is one of the data packets received from a host (i.e., the data packets may be received by communication router through one or more of its network interface from a host, col. 10 lines 58-60);
the specific period of time is a period of time within a slow start stage of the new session (further define optional contingent limitation);
each of the OEPs includes an original encapsulating packet global sequence number (OEP-GSN) (i.e., each of the OEPs has an original encapsulating packet global sequence number (OEP-GSN), col. 1 lines 64-66); and
each of the at least one DEPs includes duplicate encapsulating packet global sequence number (DEP-GSN) (i.e., each of the at least one DEP has a duplicate encapsulating packet global sequence number (DEP-GSN), col. 2 liens 4-6).
Regarding claim 2, Sung teaches the method of claim 1, wherein the OEPs encapsulate the data packets (i.e., OEP 800 comprises an encapsulated packet 805, Fig. 8A and col. 11 lines 9-13).
Regarding claim 3, the method of claim 1, further comprising: if the data packet is a last data packet of an active session: (i) determining that a next data packet to be received is a first data packet of the new session (further define optional contingent limitation).
Regarding claim 4, the method of claim 1, wherein the specific period of time is 3 seconds counted from beginning of the slow start stage (further define optional contingent limitation).
Regarding claim 5, Sung teaches the method of claim 1, wherein the at least one DEPs encapsulates data packet information based on at least one of the data packets (i.e., DEP comprises encapsulated packet, Fig. 8B and col. 1 lines 50-55).
Regarding claim 6, the method of claim 3, further comprising: (ii) performing steps (a) and (b) prior to receiving the first data packet of the new session to transmit the OEPs and the at least one DEPs (further define the optional contingent limitation).
Regarding claim 7, Sung teaches the method of claim 1, wherein the OEP-GSN is stored in a header of each of the OEPs and the DEP-GSN is stored in a header of each of the at least one DEPs (i.e., Figs 8A-8B).
Regarding claim 8, Sung teaches the method of claim 1, wherein the first selection policy and the second selection policy are selected from one or more of the following: weight balance, least used, and lowest latency and priority (further defining the optional contingent limitation).
Regarding claim 9, the method of claim 1, wherein the third connection is same as the first connection (further define optional contingent limitation).
Regarding claim 10, the method of claim 1, wherein the third connection is different from the first connection (further define the optional contingent limitation).
Conclusion
6. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to OANH DUONG whose telephone number is (571)272-3983. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 9:00am-6:00pm.
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, Wing Chan can be reached at (571)272-7493. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/OANH DUONG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2441
