Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
2. The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
Non-Art Rejection
3. 35 U.S.C. § 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefore, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title".
4. Claims 31-50 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 101 because the claimed invention is directed to judicial exception (i.e., an abstract idea, law of nature, or nature phenomenon) without significant more.
Claims 31-50 recite an abstract idea. This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application because claims 31-50 are directed to a broad plan, concept or mental process that can be performed in human mind, or by a human using a pen and paper. The instant claims are not positively tied to a particular machine that accomplishes the claimed method (or apparatus) and therefore do not qualify as a statutory process.
Moreover, claims 42-50 do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception because the computer as recited is a generic computer component rather than specific computer component that transforms underlying subject matter. Accordingly claims 31-50 are ineligible.
Art Rejection
5. 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.
6. Claims 31-34 and 42-44 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being clearly anticipated by Jain, U.S. pat. No. 9,628,359.
Per claims 31, Jain discloses a computer implemented method of monitoring a quality of service (QoS) metric for a network service, the method comprising:
a) determining/collecting a plurality of performance metrics across a network providing the network service, the performance metrics associated with coordinates of a dimension, i.e., performance metrics at different geographic locations (see col 9, ln 4-21);
b) grouping the performance metrics by coordinate using a performance metric data structure, i.e., grouping performance metrics for each access points (see col 10, ln 30-49);
c) determining the QoS metric for a first coordinate of the dimension using the grouped performance metrics in the performance metric data structure, i.e., reviewing performance pertaining to signal strength for each network/location (see col 10, ln 50-60);
d) determining when the QoS metric for the first coordinate does not meet a QoS requirement, i.e., signal strengths associated with each network/location that are not the top 10% (see col 10, ln 60 -67).
Per claims 32-33, Jain teaches that performance metric is associated with a respective location of a plurality of locations (see col 9, ln 4-21).
Per claim 34, Jain teaches that performance metric comprises one of speed/throughput, latency/delay or packet loss, etc., (see col 4, ln 43-49).
Claims 42-44 are similar in scope as that of claims 31-34 and hence are rejected for the same rationale set forth for claims 31-34.
7. 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 of this title, 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.
8. This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
9. Claims 35-41 and 45-50 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jain, U.S. pat. Appl. Pub. No., in view of y, U.S. pat. No..
Per claim 35, Jain teaches calculating a performance quality metric for the first coordinate to generate a corresponding element for the first coordinate in a performance quality metric data structure, e.g., computing summarized current signal strength (see col 5, ln 56-67), and calculating the QoS metric for the first coordinate using an aggregation function over a predetermined period applied to each element of a corresponding performance quality metric for the first coordinate in the performance quality metric data structure, e.g., determining network performance based on aggregated historical data (see col 5, ln 38-42 and col 7, ln 14-38).
Jain does not explicitly teach calculating a performance quality metric for the first coordinate by using a transformation applied to each element of a corresponding performance metric for the first coordinate. However, use of statistical transformation function, e.g., averaging, to produce a summarized data is known in the art and used by Jain (see col 5, ln 50-55).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize any known statistical transformation function in Jain to produce the summarized performance metric.
Per claims 36 and 39-41, Jain teaches storing respective computed performance metric in a data structure, e.g., database (see col 5, ln 62-67). It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art to utilize any known data structures including a table or associated array for storing the performance metric.
Per claim 37, Jain teaches that the performance metric for the first coordinate (e.g., location) is associated with a threshold (e.g., signal strength) and the QoS metric for the first coordinate is associated with a number of times when the performance quality metric did not meet the threshold, e.g., increase/decrease number of captured data (see col 6, ln 25-38).
Per claim 38, Jain teaches using a predetermined model/policy for performing statistical transformation and aggregation functions (see col 6, ln 19-44).
Claims 45-50 are similar in scope as that of claims 35-41.
Conclusion
10. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Viet Vu whose telephone number is 571-272-3977. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday through Thursday from 8:00am to 6:00pm. The Group general information number is 571-272-2400. The Group fax number is 571-273-8300.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's supervisor, Emmanuel Moise, can be reached at 571-272-3865.
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/Viet D Vu/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2455
2/19/26