DETAILED ACTION
The following is a Final Office action in response to applicants’ amendment and remarks filed on 06/23/2026. Claims 1, 2, 5, and 6 have been amended. Claims 1-20 are currently pending and have been considered as follows.
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Response to Arguments
In view of the amendment to Claims 1, 2, 5, and 6, the 35 U.S.C. 112(b) rejection of Claims 1-20 is withdrawn.
In view of the amendment to Claims 1, 2, 5, and 6, applicants’ arguments on pages 9-10 of the remarks filed 06/23/2026 regarding the 35 U.S.C. 101 rejection have been fully considered, and they are persuasive. Therefore, the 35 U.S.C. 101 rejection of Claims 1-20 is withdrawn.
Applicants’ amendment of Claims 1, 5, and 6 with newly added features “wherein the protocol layer of the first Internet of things of the first communication interface comprises a first protocol layer of the first Internet of things and a second protocol layer of the first Internet of things, the first protocol layer of the first Internet of things refers to an Internet of things port physical (IoT PHY) protocol layer of the first communication node, and the second protocol layer of the first Internet of things refers to an Internet of things media access control (IoT MAC) protocol layer of the first communication node; and wherein the first communication node is a passive communication terminal, and the second communication node is a base station” [Claim 1] and “wherein the first set protocol layer of the first communication interface comprises a protocol layer of a second Internet of things comprising a first protocol layer of the second Internet of things and a second protocol layer of the second Internet of things, wherein the first protocol layer of the second Internet of things refers to an Internet of things port physical (IoT PHY) protocol layer of the second communication node, and the second protocol layer of the second Internet of things refers to an Internet of things media access control (IoT MAC) protocol layer of the second communication node; and… the third communication node is a core network” [Claim 5] has newly changed the scope of the claimed invention. Therefore, applicants’ arguments on pages 11-15 of the remarks filed 06/23/2026 have been fully considered but are moot because the amendment necessitates new ground(s) of rejection where applicants’ arguments do not apply to the updated reference(s) for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
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.
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.
Claims 1-9, 11, 12, and 15-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over BHATIA et al. (US 20180288179 A1, hereinafter Bhatia) in view of GUEDALIA et al. (US 20140047487 A1, hereinafter Guedalia).
As to Amended Claim 1:
Bhatia discloses a first communication node (e.g. Bhatia FIG. 1 IoT device 110, FIG. 3 305, “The IoT devices 110 can include physical devices such as appliances, vehicles, buildings, and other items that are embedded with electronics, software, sensors, actuators, and network connectivity that enable the IoT devices 110 to collect and exchange data” [0015]; “a wireless communication system that provides wireless connectivity to Internet-of-Things (IOT) devices” [0004]), comprising:
a first communication interface (e.g. Bhatia air interface [0030]), wherein the first communication node is connected to a second communication node (e.g. Bhatia base station [0030]; FIG. 1 101; FIG. 3 310) through the first communication interface (e.g. Bhatia FIG. 3 “illustrates protocol stacks for interfaces between entities in a wireless communication system 300 that provides wireless connectivity to one or more IoT devices 305” [0029]; “The IoT device 305 communicates with the base station 310 over an air interface 330. The IoT device 305 and the base station 310 therefore implement a protocol stack 335 to facilitate communication over the air interface 330” [0030]);
wherein data transmitted between the first communication node and the second communication node through a protocol layer of a first Internet of things is data processed by the first communication node or the second communication node using a target processing method (e.g. Bhatia “The protocol stack 335 includes a data layer 340 for identifying relevant protocols and encapsulating packets according to the protocols” [0030]), the target processing method is a method for processing data by the first communication node and the second communication node (e.g. Bhatia “connectionless” refers to a data transmission method in which packets are individually addressed and routed based on information carried in the packet” [0021]), and the protocol layer of the first Internet of things is a protocol layer comprised in the first communication node in an Internet of things (e.g. Bhatia “The IoT device 305 and the base station 310 therefore implement a protocol stack 335 to facilitate communication over the air interface 330. The protocol stack 335 includes a data layer 340 for identifying relevant protocols and encapsulating packets according to the protocols” [0030]), wherein the protocol layer of the first Internet of things of the first communication interface comprises a first protocol layer of the first Internet of things and a second protocol layer of the first Internet of things (e.g. Bhatia “The protocol stack 335 includes… a media access control (MAC) layer 341 for controlling how the IoT device 305 gain access to the air interface 330, and a physical (PHY) layer 342 that defines the electrical and physical characteristics of the data connection via the air interface 330” [0030]), the first protocol layer of the first Internet of things refers to an Internet of things port physical (IoT PHY) protocol layer of the first communication node (e.g. Bhatia “a physical (PHY) layer 342 that defines the electrical and physical characteristics of the data connection via the air interface 330” [0030]), and the second protocol layer of the first Internet of things refers to an Internet of things media access control (IoT MAC) protocol layer of the first communication node (e.g. Bhatia “a media access control (MAC) layer 341 for controlling how the IoT device 305 gain access to the air interface 330” [0030]); and
wherein the first communication node is a communication terminal (e.g. Bhatia “The IoT devices 110 can include physical devices such as appliances, vehicles, buildings, and other items that are embedded with electronics, software, sensors, actuators, and network connectivity that enable the IoT devices 110 to collect and exchange data” [0015]), and the second communication node is a base station (e.g. Bhatia base station [0030]; FIG. 1 101; FIG. 3 310);
But Bhatia does not specifically disclose the terminology:
a passive communication terminal.
However, the analogous art Guedalia does disclose a passive communication terminal (e.g. Guedalia “The wireless communications system 100B shown in FIG. 1B may include one or more passive IoT devices 105 [0043]; “the I/O interface 214 associated with the passive IoT device 200B may include a barcode, Bluetooth interface, radio frequency (RF) interface, RFID tag, IR interface, NFC interface, or any other suitable I/O interface that can provide an identifier and attributes associated with the passive IoT device 200B to another device when queried” [0060]; “the IoT devices 110-120 can communicate with each other directly over the air interface 108” [0038]). Bhatia and Guedalia are analogous art because they are from the same field of endeavor in Internet of Things (IoT) devices.
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art, having the teachings of Bhatia and Guedalia before him or her, to modify the disclosure of Bhatia with the teachings of Guedalia to include a passive communication terminal as claimed. The suggestion/motivation for doing so would have been so that any suitable physical object may communicate its identity and attributes and become part of the wireless communication system and be observed (Guedalia [0045]). Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine Bhatia and Guedalia to obtain the invention as specified in the instant claim(s).
As to Amended Claim 2:
Bhatia in view of Guedalia discloses the first communication node of claim 1, wherein
the first protocol layer of the first Internet of things is configured to transmit data exchanged between the first communication node and the second communication node (e.g. Bhatia “The protocol stack 335 includes a data layer 340 for identifying relevant protocols and encapsulating packets according to the protocols… a physical (PHY) layer 342 that defines the electrical and physical characteristics of the data connection via the air interface 330” [0030]; “Data frames are carried in packets over the 5G MAC layer 341 and the PHY layer 342” [0031]),
and the second protocol layer of the first Internet of things is configured to perform at least one of the following: generating a data packet, decoding a data packet, scheduling a data packet, transmitting a data packet, concatenating a plurality of data packets, extracting a data packet, maintaining a state, encryption, decryption, integrity protection, or generating a command identifiable by the second communication node (e.g. Bhatia “a media access control (MAC) layer 341 for controlling how the IoT device 305 gain access to the air interface 330” [0030]; “Data frames are carried in packets over the 5G MAC layer 341 and the PHY layer 342” [0031]).
As to Claim 3:
Bhatia in view of Guedalia discloses the first communication node of claim 2, wherein the protocol layer of the first Internet of things further comprises a third protocol layer of the first Internet of things (e.g. Bhatia “The protocol stack 335 includes a data layer 340 for identifying relevant protocols and encapsulating packets according to the protocols” [0030]; “The protocol stack 335 also includes a shim layer 345 that supports a lightweight transport protocol defined for a session 350 between the IoT device 305 and the IoT proxy 320” [0031]) configured to perform at least one of the following: maintaining the state, the encryption, the decryption, the integrity protection, storage and configuration, filling in a message, generating a message, or executing a control procedure (e.g. Bhatia “identifying relevant protocols and encapsulating packets according to the protocols” [0030]; “The shim layer 345 carries enough session state to handle routing and transport of packets to/from the IoT server 325, as well as carrying the security context between the IoT device 305 and the IoT Proxy 320. The session state includes compressed identifiers (for the IoT device 305 and the IoT server 325), which are used by the end points (e.g. IoT proxy 320 or the IoT device 305) for processing and forwarding the packet to/from an IoT application in an application layer (not shown)… Packet payloads include the shim layer 345 along with application data. The payload data can be encrypted according to an encryption used between the IoT device 305 and the IoT proxy 320” [0031]).
As to Claim 4:
Bhatia in view of Guedalia discloses the first communication node of claim 2, wherein the protocol layer of the first Internet of things further comprises a fourth protocol layer of the first Internet of things configured to process data (e.g. Bhatia “The protocol stack 335 includes a data layer 340 for identifying relevant protocols and encapsulating packets according to the protocols” [0030]; “The protocol stack 335 also includes a shim layer 345 that supports a lightweight transport protocol defined for a session 350 between the IoT device 305 and the IoT proxy 320” [0031]) by one or more of the following target processing methods: the encryption, the decryption, the integrity protection, or generating the command identifiable by the second communication node (e.g. Bhatia “The shim layer 345 carries enough session state to handle routing and transport of packets to/from the IoT server 325, as well as carrying the security context between the IoT device 305 and the IoT Proxy 320. The session state includes compressed identifiers (for the IoT device 305 and the IoT server 325), which are used by the end points (e.g. IoT proxy 320 or the IoT device 305) for processing and forwarding the packet to/from an IoT application in an application layer (not shown)… Packet payloads include the shim layer 345 along with application data. The payload data can be encrypted according to an encryption used between the IoT device 305 and the IoT proxy 320” [0031]).
As to Amended Claim 5:
Bhatia in view of Guedalia discloses a second communication node (e.g. Bhatia base station [0030]; [0037]; [0038]; FIG. 1 101; FIG. 3 310), comprising:
a first communication interface and a second communication interface (e.g. Bhatia “the IoT device 405 communicates with the base station 410 over an air interface 425, e.g., in a connectionless mode. Communication over the air interface 425 can be performed on the basis of a protocol stack implemented in the IoT device 405 and the base station 410, such as the protocol stack 335 shown in FIG. 3” [0037]; “The base station 410 communicates with the switch 415 over a wired or wireless interface 435 on the basis of a protocol stack implemented in the base station 410 and the switch 415, such as the protocol stack 360 shown in FIG. 3” [0038]), wherein the second communication node is connected to the first communication node of claim 1 through the first communication interface (e.g. Bhatia “The IoT device 305 communicates with the base station 310 over an air interface 330. The IoT device 305 and the base station 310 therefore implement a protocol stack 335 to facilitate communication over the air interface 330” [0030]; [0037]), and the second communication node is connected to a third communication node through the second communication interface (e.g. Bhatia “a connectionless core network that includes the tunnels 151-154 and the IoT proxies 140, 145 shown in FIG. 1 and an edge slice (not shown) that is optimized for video delivery with a connection-oriented core network” [0028]; “The base station 310 communicates with the switch 315 over wired or wireless interfaces 355. The base station 310 and the switch 315 therefore implement a protocol stack 360 to facilitate communication over the interface 355. The protocol stack 360 includes a data layer 340 and a shim layer 345. The shim layer 345 and payload data are forwarded without any modifications from the network stack 335. The protocol stack 360 also includes a MAC layer 361 and a PHY layer 362 that are implemented according to 802.3 standards. Thus, packets are forwarded (or received) by the base station 310 as an Ethernet (802.3) frame over a layer 2 network to (or from) the IoT proxy 320” [0032]; “Thus, the switch 315 can forward IoT packets received from the base station 310 to the IoT proxy 320” [0033]; “the access network (e.g. 5G RAN) and the core SDN enabled network, including the IoT proxy 605, are able to facilitate expedited forwarding of the data between the IoT device and the IoT proxy 605 based only on the lower layer (MAC and PHY) headers” [0061]);
wherein data transmitted between the second communication node and the first communication node through a first set protocol layer is data processed by the first communication node or the second communication node using a target processing method (e.g. Bhatia “The protocol stack 335 includes a data layer 340 for identifying relevant protocols and encapsulating packets according to the protocols” [0030]), and the target processing method is a method for processing data by the first communication node and the second communication node (e.g. Bhatia “connectionless” refers to a data transmission method in which packets are individually addressed and routed based on information carried in the packet” [0021]);
wherein the first set protocol layer of the first communication interface comprises a protocol layer of a second Internet of things comprising a first protocol layer of the second Internet of things (e.g. Bhatia “The IoT device 305 and the base station 310 therefore implement a protocol stack 335 to facilitate communication over the air interface 330. The protocol stack 335 includes a data layer 340 for identifying relevant protocols and encapsulating packets according to the protocols” [0030]) and a second protocol layer of the second Internet of things (e.g. Bhatia “The protocol stack 335 includes… a media access control (MAC) layer 341 for controlling how the IoT device 305 gain access to the air interface 330, and a physical (PHY) layer 342 that defines the electrical and physical characteristics of the data connection via the air interface 330” [0030]), wherein the first protocol layer of the second Internet of things refers to an Internet of things port physical (IoT PHY) protocol layer of the second communication node (e.g. Bhatia “a physical (PHY) layer 342 that defines the electrical and physical characteristics of the data connection via the air interface 330” [0030]), and the second protocol layer of the second Internet of things refers to an Internet of things media access control (IoT MAC) protocol layer of the second communication node (e.g. Bhatia “a media access control (MAC) layer 341 for controlling how the IoT device 305 gain access to the air interface 330” [0030]); and
wherein the second communication node communicates with the third communication node through a second set protocol layer, and the third communication node is a core network (e.g. Bhatia “a connectionless core network that includes the tunnels 151-154 and the IoT proxies 140, 145 shown in FIG. 1 and an edge slice (not shown) that is optimized for video delivery with a connection-oriented core network” [0028]; “The base station 310 communicates with the switch 315 over wired or wireless interfaces 355. The base station 310 and the switch 315 therefore implement a protocol stack 360 to facilitate communication over the interface 355. The protocol stack 360 includes a data layer 340 and a shim layer 345. The shim layer 345 and payload data are forwarded without any modifications from the network stack 335. The protocol stack 360 also includes a MAC layer 361 and a PHY layer 362 that are implemented according to 802.3 standards. Thus, packets are forwarded (or received) by the base station 310 as an Ethernet (802.3) frame over a layer 2 network to (or from) the IoT proxy 320” [0032]; “Thus, the switch 315 can forward IoT packets received from the base station 310 to the IoT proxy 320” [0033]; “the access network (e.g. 5G RAN) and the core SDN enabled network, including the IoT proxy 605, are able to facilitate expedited forwarding of the data between the IoT device and the IoT proxy 605 based only on the lower layer (MAC and PHY) headers” [0061]).
As to Amended Claim 6:
Bhatia in view of Guedalia discloses the second communication node of claim 5, wherein
the first protocol layer of the second Internet of things is configured to transmit data exchanged between the first communication node and the second communication node (e.g. Bhatia “The protocol stack 335 includes a data layer 340 for identifying relevant protocols and encapsulating packets according to the protocols… a physical (PHY) layer 342 that defines the electrical and physical characteristics of the data connection via the air interface 330” [0030]; “Data frames are carried in packets over the 5G MAC layer 341 and the PHY layer 342” [0031]); and
the second protocol layer of the second Internet of things is configured to perform at least one of the following: generating a data packet, decoding a data packet, scheduling a data packet, transmitting a data packet, concatenating a plurality of data packets, maintaining a state, encryption, decryption, integrity protection, or generating a command identifiable by the first communication node (e.g. Bhatia “a media access control (MAC) layer 341 for controlling how the IoT device 305 gain access to the air interface 330” [0030]; “Data frames are carried in packets over the 5G MAC layer 341 and the PHY layer 342” [0031]).
As to Claim 7:
Bhatia in view of Guedalia discloses the second communication node of claim 6, wherein the protocol layer of the second Internet of things in the first set protocol layer further comprises a third protocol layer of the second Internet of things (e.g. Bhatia “The protocol stack 335 includes a data layer 340 for identifying relevant protocols and encapsulating packets according to the protocols” [0030]; “The protocol stack 335 also includes a shim layer 345 that supports a lightweight transport protocol defined for a session 350 between the IoT device 305 and the IoT proxy 320” [0031]) configured to perform at least one of the followings: maintaining the state, the encryption, the decryption, the integrity protection, storage and configuration, filling in a message, generating a message, or executing a control procedure (e.g. Bhatia “identifying relevant protocols and encapsulating packets according to the protocols” [0030]; “The shim layer 345 carries enough session state to handle routing and transport of packets to/from the IoT server 325, as well as carrying the security context between the IoT device 305 and the IoT Proxy 320. The session state includes compressed identifiers (for the IoT device 305 and the IoT server 325), which are used by the end points (e.g. IoT proxy 320 or the IoT device 305) for processing and forwarding the packet to/from an IoT application in an application layer (not shown)… Packet payloads include the shim layer 345 along with application data. The payload data can be encrypted according to an encryption used between the IoT device 305 and the IoT proxy 320” [0031]).As to Claim 8:
Bhatia in view of Guedalia discloses the second communication node of claim 6, wherein the protocol layer of the second Internet of things in the first set protocol layer further comprises a fourth protocol layer of the second Internet of things (e.g. Bhatia “The protocol stack 335 includes a data layer 340 for identifying relevant protocols and encapsulating packets according to the protocols” [0030]; “The protocol stack 335 also includes a shim layer 345 that supports a lightweight transport protocol defined for a session 350 between the IoT device 305 and the IoT proxy 320” [0031]) configured to process data by one or more of the following target processing methods: the encryption, the decryption, the integrity protection, or generating the command identifiable by the first communication node (e.g. Bhatia “The shim layer 345 carries enough session state to handle routing and transport of packets to/from the IoT server 325, as well as carrying the security context between the IoT device 305 and the IoT Proxy 320. The session state includes compressed identifiers (for the IoT device 305 and the IoT server 325), which are used by the end points (e.g. IoT proxy 320 or the IoT device 305) for processing and forwarding the packet to/from an IoT application in an application layer (not shown)… Packet payloads include the shim layer 345 along with application data. The payload data can be encrypted according to an encryption used between the IoT device 305 and the IoT proxy 320” [0031]).
As to Claim 9:
Bhatia in view of Guedalia discloses the second communication node of claim 5, wherein the second set protocol layer of the second communication interface comprises a fifth protocol layer of the second Internet of things (e.g. Bhatia “The base station 310 communicates with the switch 315 over wired or wireless interfaces 355. The base station 310 and the switch 315 therefore implement a protocol stack 360 to facilitate communication over the interface 355. The protocol stack 360 includes a data layer 340 and a shim layer 345. The shim layer 345 and payload data are forwarded without any modifications from the network stack 335. The protocol stack 360 also includes a MAC layer 361 and a PHY layer 362 that are implemented according to 802.3 standards. Thus, packets are forwarded (or received) by the base station 310 as an Ethernet (802.3) frame over a layer 2 network to (or from) the IoT proxy 320” [0032]) configured to perform at least one of the following:
generating, based on an interface rule between the second communication node and the third communication node, data exchanged between the second communication node and the third communication node; transmitting data exchanged between the third communication node and the second communication node (e.g. Bhatia “The shim layer 345 and payload data are forwarded without any modifications from the network stack 335. The protocol stack 360 also includes a MAC layer 361 and a PHY layer 362 that are implemented according to 802.3 standards. Thus, packets are forwarded (or received) by the base station 310 as an Ethernet (802.3) frame over a layer 2 network to (or from) the IoT proxy 320” [0032]); or parsing data transmitted from the third communication node.
As to Claim 11:
Bhatia in view of Guedalia discloses the second communication node of claim 5,
wherein a message received from the third communication node comprises first control information, and the first control information comprises at least one of: a first message type indicating a type of the message (e.g. Bhatia “Similarly, in the other direction, network headers are removed from packets received by the IoT proxy 320 from the IoT server 325 (e.g. over UDP) and the payload in the packets is copied to a new packet. The IoT proxy 320 appends a shim layer header 345 to the packet, which is then forwarded to the IoT device 305 via the session 350. The IoT proxy 320 also maintains any session state (e.g. sequence numbers, security context) that is necessary for reconstructing the shim layer headers” [0035]; [0039]; [0040]; “The shim header 500 includes a message type (MSG TYPE) field 505 that includes bits having values that represent a type of a message… there are 16 different types of messages. Three of these message types are used for data packets and the others are for control packets such as control messages that are transmitted between the IoT devices and the IOT proxy including for authentication” [0043]); an identifier of the first communication node; a first connection identifier indicating an identifier of a connection between the second communication node and the third communication node; first indication information indicating processing performed on the message; a first feedback format indicating a format in which the first communication node provides feedback; or first command content.
As to Claim 12:
Bhatia in view of Guedalia discloses the second communication node of claim 5,
wherein a message sent to the third communication node comprises second control information, and the second control information comprises at least one of: a second message type indicating a type of the message; an identifier of the first communication node (e.g. Bhatia “The uplink packets received from the IoT devices include a payload and a shim header formed according to the first protocol. Some embodiments of the shim header include a device identifier that is assigned to the IoT device from a pool of device identifiers maintained by the IoT proxy… The shim header can also include other information such as a message type… The uplink packets are conveyed from the base stations that serve the IoT devices to the IoT proxy by tunnels that are shared by the IoT devices served by each base station” [0013]); a second connection identifier indicating an identifier of a connection between the second communication node and the third communication node; second indication information indicating processing performed on the message; an execution result of the first communication node; or feedback of a result.
As to Claim 15:
Bhatia in view of Guedalia discloses the second communication node of claim 5, wherein a message received from the third communication node (e.g. Bhatia core network IP proxy [0028]; core SDN enabled network including the IoT proxy [0061]) comprises at least one of: type information of the first communication node; an identifier of the first communication node (e.g. Bhatia “FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a shim header 500 that is appended to packets transmitted between IoT devices and an IoT proxy” [0042]; “The shim header 500 further includes a device identifier field 515, which includes a set of bits that represent a unique identifier (in the namespace of the IoT proxy) that is assigned to the device by the IoT proxy. In the illustrated embodiment, the device identifier field 515 includes four bytes so that each IoT proxy can assign a unique identifier to up to four billion IoT devices. If the IoT device is capable of IP networking, then the address indicated in the device identifier field 515 can be equal to the IP address of the IoT device. Otherwise, the IoT proxy can assign each active IoT device an IP address from a pool of IP addresses” [0050]); partial data of an identifier of the first communication node; a range within which the message is sent; an identifier of a group of first communication nodes; an encryption key; encryption and decryption algorithms; an integrity protection algorithm; an agreement between a network and the first communication node; a resource for a connection between the third communication node and the second communication node; or an access command.
As to Claim 16:
Bhatia in view of Guedalia discloses the second communication node of claim 5,
wherein a message sent to the third communication node (e.g. Bhatia “an IoT proxy to receive uplink packets from IoT devices according to a first protocol” [0012]; core network IP proxy [0028]; core SDN enabled network including the IoT proxy [0061]) comprises at least one of: type information of the first communication node; an identifier of the first communication node (e.g. Bhatia “The uplink packets received from the IoT devices include a payload and a shim header formed according to the first protocol. Some embodiments of the shim header include a device identifier that is assigned to the IoT device from a pool of device identifiers maintained by the IoT proxy and a server identifier” [0013]; “FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a shim header 500 that is appended to packets transmitted between IoT devices and an IoT proxy” [0042]; “The shim header 500 further includes a device identifier field 515, which includes a set of bits that represent a unique identifier (in the namespace of the IoT proxy) that is assigned to the device by the IoT proxy. In the illustrated embodiment, the device identifier field 515 includes four bytes so that each IoT proxy can assign a unique identifier to up to four billion IoT devices. If the IoT device is capable of IP networking, then the address indicated in the device identifier field 515 can be equal to the IP address of the IoT device. Otherwise, the IoT proxy can assign each active IoT device an IP address from a pool of IP addresses” [0050]); partial data of an identifier of the first communication node; or feedback of the first communication node.
As to Claim 17:
Bhatia in view of Guedalia discloses the second communication node of claim 5, wherein data sent to the first communication node (e.g. Bhatia “The IoT proxy receives downlink transmissions from the servers according to the second protocol, translates the received packets to the first protocol, and then transmits the packets to IoT devices according to the first protocol” [0012]; “The IoT proxy appends a shim header to the new downlink packet and forwards the new downlink packet to the IoT device” [0014]; [0061]) comprises one or more of an identifier of a network, a type of a network, an identifier of an operator, a type of an operator, an identifier of a server (e.g. Bhatia “The shim header 500 further includes a server address field 520, which includes a set of bits that represent an IoT server that provides applications or services to the IoT device indicated in the device identifier field 515… server identifier” [0051]-[0054]; “the network slice for the packet flow/session” [0031]), a type of a server, or an identifier of a slice.
As to Claim 18:
Bhatia in view of Guedalia discloses the second communication node of claim 5, wherein data received from the first communication node (e.g. Bhatia “The uplink packets received from the IoT devices include a payload and a shim header formed according to the first protocol” [0013]) comprises at least one of the following supported by the first communication node: an identifier of a network, a type of a network, an identifier of an operator, a type of an operator, an identifier of a server (e.g. Bhatia “the shim header include… a server identifier, which can be assigned to the server from a pool of server identifiers maintained by the IoT proxy” [0013]), or a type of a server.
As to Claim 19:
Bhatia in view of Guedalia discloses the second communication node of claim 5, wherein data sent to the first communication node comprises: encryption information of a network (e.g. Bhatia “The IoT proxies 140, 145 can also be configured to ensure secure data transfers to/from the IoT device 110 using secure key management, encryption, decryption and integrity checks” [0020]; “The payload data can be encrypted according to an encryption used between the IoT device 305 and the IoT proxy 320” [0031]; “The shim header 500 optionally includes a sequence number field 530… The changing sequence numbers in the sequence number field 530 can also provide additional security during encryption so that different packets that have identical payloads end up with different payloads after encryption” [0056]) or agreement information.
As to Claim 20:
Bhatia in view of Guedalia discloses the second communication node of claim 5, wherein data received from the first communication node (e.g. Bhatia secure data transfers to/from the IoT device [0020]) comprises:
an identifier of the first communication node (e.g. Bhatia “FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a shim header 500 that is appended to packets transmitted between IoT devices and an IoT proxy” [0042]; “The shim header 500 further includes a device identifier field 515, which includes a set of bits that represent a unique identifier (in the namespace of the IoT proxy) that is assigned to the device by the IoT proxy. In the illustrated embodiment, the device identifier field 515 includes four bytes so that each IoT proxy can assign a unique identifier to up to four billion IoT devices. If the IoT device is capable of IP networking, then the address indicated in the device identifier field 515 can be equal to the IP address of the IoT device. Otherwise, the IoT proxy can assign each active IoT device an IP address from a pool of IP addresses” [0050]), encryption information supported by the first communication node, agreement information supported by the first communication node, a data packet encrypted according to encryption information supported by the first communication node (e.g. Bhatia “The IoT proxies 140, 145 can also be configured to ensure secure data transfers to/from the IoT device 110 using secure key management, encryption, decryption and integrity checks” [0020]; “The payload data can be encrypted according to an encryption used between the IoT device 305 and the IoT proxy 320” [0031]; “The shim header 500 optionally includes a sequence number field 530… The changing sequence numbers in the sequence number field 530 can also provide additional security during encryption so that different packets that have identical payloads end up with different payloads after encryption” [0056]), or a data packet generated according to agreement information supported by the first communication node.
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bhatia in view of Guedalia as applied to Claim 1, and further in view of XU et al. (US 20190159086 A1, hereinafter Xu).
As to Claim 10:
Bhatia in view of Guedalia discloses the second communication node of claim 5, but does not specifically disclose:
wherein the first set protocol layer comprises a first user plane protocol stack or a first control plane protocol stack.
However, the analogous art Xu does disclose wherein the first set protocol layer comprises a first user plane protocol stack or a first control plane protocol stack (e.g. Xu “the protocol stack used for data transmission of the user plane may be different from the protocol stack used for data transmission of the control plane. The protocol stack used for data transmission in the control plane and the user plane may be in any one of the above structures B0 to B8” [0375]; “during the data transmission of the user plane, the protocol stack used by the enUE is a protocol stack indicated by B1 (including a PDCP layer, an RLC layer, an MAC layer and a PHY layer), and during the data transmission of the control plane, the protocol stack used by the enUE is a protocol stack indicated by B6 (including an MAC layer and a PHY layer)” [0376]; “the protocol stack used by the enUE may be used for forwarding of only a downlink signal of other UEs (the transmission of this downlink signal may be in only the control plane, in only the user plane, or in both the user plane and the control plane), or forwarding of only an uplink signal of other UEs (the transmission of this uplink signal may be only in the control plane, only in the user plane, or both in the user plane and the control plane)” [0379]). Bhatia, Guedalia, and Xu are analogous art because they are from the same field of endeavor in network protocol connected devices.
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art, having the teachings of Bhatia, Guedalia, and Xu before him or her, to modify the combination of Bhatia and Guedalia with the teachings of Xu to include wherein the first set protocol layer comprises a first user plane protocol stack or a first control plane protocol stack as claimed. The suggestion/motivation for doing so would have been to serve different users by different protocol stack structures, different protocol stack structures may be configured for different UEs, different protocol stack structures may be configured for different planes, and different protocol stack structures may be configured for different data transmission directions (Xu [0381]). Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine Bhatia, Guedalia, and Xu to obtain the invention as specified in the instant claim(s).
Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bhatia in view of Guedalia as applied to Claim 1, and further in view of Lakshmanan et al. (US 20160259932 A1, hereinafter Lakshmanan).
As to Claim 13:
Bhatia in view of Guedalia discloses the second communication node of claim 5, wherein an exchange manner between the second communication node and the first communication node (e.g. Bhatia “The IoT device 305 and the base station 310 therefore implement a protocol stack 335 to facilitate communication over the air interface 330. The protocol stack 335 includes a data layer 340 for identifying relevant protocols and encapsulating packets according to the protocols” [0030]), but does not specifically disclose:
broadcasting or paging, broadcasting or paging signaling is sent in a selection procedure or an inventory procedure, and at least one of the following information is broadcasted: information about a network, information about a terminal, or information about an inventory.
However, the analogous art Lakshmanan does disclose broadcasting or paging, broadcasting or paging signaling is sent in a selection procedure or an inventory procedure, and at least one of the following information is broadcasted: information about a network, information about a terminal, or information about an inventory (e.g. Lakshmanan “the new IoT device may have a selection mechanism, i.e., a button or a switch, to allow the new IoT device to advertise, i.e., broadcast or unicast, near-field communication, etc., a desire to join the existing network to other authorized IoT devices. The request to join can include an identifier of the new IoT device and/or information related to the new IoT device's one or more sensing modalities” [0054]; [0041]). Bhatia, Guedalia, and Lakshmanan are analogous art because they are from the same field of endeavor in Internet of Things (IoT) devices.
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art, having the teachings of Bhatia, Guedalia, and Lakshmanan before him or her, to modify the combination of Bhatia and Guedalia with the teachings of Lakshmanan to include broadcasting or paging, broadcasting or paging signaling is sent in a selection procedure or an inventory procedure, and at least one of the following information is broadcasted: information about a network, information about a terminal, or information about an inventory as claimed. The suggestion/motivation for doing so would have been to enable interactions to be performed securely in a way that protects the privacy of the data being exchanged in the interactions (Lakshmanan [0001]). Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine Bhatia, Guedalia, and Lakshmanan to obtain the invention as specified in the instant claim(s).
Claim 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bhatia in view of Guedalia as applied to Claim 1, and further in view of CHEN et al. (US 20220045800 A1, hereinafter Chen).
As to Claim 14:
Bhatia in view of Guedalia discloses the second communication node of claim 5, wherein an exchange manner between the second communication node and the first communication node comprises transmitting dedicated signaling (e.g. Bhatia “The IoT proxy appends a shim header to the new downlink packet and forwards the new downlink packet to the IoT device via the tunnel between the IoT proxy and the base station that serves the IoT device” [0014]), and the dedicated signaling is sent in an inventory procedure or an access procedure (e.g. Bhatia “migrating session state information and security context migration between IoT proxies 140, 145 in response to an IoT device 110 handing off from a base station 101 served by the IoT proxy 140 to a base station 103 served by the IoT proxy 145” [0020]), but does not specifically disclose:
wherein the dedicated signaling instructs the first communication node to send feedback information to the second communication node; or the dedicated signaling instructs the second communication node to send to the first communication node at least one of an access command, information about a terminal, or a configuration of a network.
However, the analogous art Chen does disclose wherein the dedicated signaling instructs the first communication node to send feedback information to the second communication node (e.g. Chen “The base station indicates the configured HARQ feedback enable rule of the Sidelink interface to the terminal through dedicated radio resource control (RRC) signaling for configuring Sidelink interface resources for the terminal” [0076]; “the terminal determines the indicated configured HARQ feedback enable rule of the Sidelink interface by receiving the dedicated RRC signaling for the Sidelink interface resources configured by the base station” [0077]; “the base station sends a PDCCH activation command to the terminal to indicate the terminal to enable the configured HARQ feedback enable rule; and correspondingly, the terminal receives the PDCCH activation command sent by the base station and determines to enable the configured HARQ feedback enable rule” [0079]); or the dedicated signaling instructs the second communication node to send to the first communication node at least one of an access command, information about a terminal, or a configuration of a network. Bhatia, Guedalia, and Chen are analogous art because they are from the same field of endeavor in network protocol connected devices.
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art, having the teachings of Bhatia, Guedalia, and Chen before him or her, to modify the combination of Bhatia and Guedalia with the teachings of Chen to include wherein the dedicated signaling instructs the first communication node to send feedback information to the second communication node; or the dedicated signaling instructs the second communication node to send to the first communication node at least one of an access command, information about a terminal, or a configuration of a network as claimed. The suggestion/motivation for doing so would have been to ensure reliability, reduce terminal power consumption, and reduce interference (Chen [0018]). Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine Bhatia, Guedalia, and Chen to obtain the invention as specified in the instant claim(s).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicants’ disclosure.
YOUNG et al. (US 20160198471 A1)
Schoppmeier (US 20170374490 A1)
Kim et al. (US 20180255139 A1)
Applicants’ 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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Kenneth Chang whose telephone number is (571)270-7530. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 9:30am-5:30pm EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Taghi Arani can be reached at 571-272-3787. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/KENNETH W CHANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2438
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