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 .
1. Claims 1-20 are presented for examination.
Allowable Subject Matter
2. Claims 11-20 are allowed.
3. 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.
4. 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:
when a data packet received, determining if the data packet belongs to a new session (contingent limitation is optional):
if the data packet belongs to the new session:
(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:
(f) transmitting the OEPs through a pre-selected first connection; and
(g) transmitting the at least one DEPs through at least one pre-selected second connection (contingent limitation is optional);
wherein:
the data packet is one of the data packets received from a host;
the specific period of time is a period of time within a slow start stage of the new session;
each of the OEPs includes an original encapsulating packet global sequence number (OEP-GSN); and
each of the at least one DEPs includes duplicate encapsulating packet global sequence number (DEP-GSN) (further define the contingent limitation).
Claims 2-10 further define the contingent limitation(s) of claim 1; therefore, the limitations of claims 2-10 are also optional.
Conclusion
5. 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.
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 Maxiflex Mon-Fri 6:00am-5:00pm.
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
Prosecution Insights