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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers submitted under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d), which papers have been placed of record in the file.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 09/19/2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claims 1, 9 and 10 are objected to because of the following informalities:
In claim 1 lines 7-8, the occurrence of “the first or second communication link” should be amended to --- “the first communication link or the second communication link”---
In claim 1 lines 8-9, the occurrence of “the main communication link and the other as the sub communication link” should be amended to --- “a main communication link and other as a sub communication link”---
In claim 1 lines 9, the occurrence of “the determination results” should be amended to --- “determination results”---
In claim 9 lines 5, the occurrence of “the communication status” should be amended to --- “a communication status”---
In claim 9 lines 6, the occurrence of “the first or second communication link” should be amended to --- “the first communication link or the second communication link”---
In claim 9 lines 6-7, the occurrence of “the main communication link and the other as the sub communication link” should be amended to --- “a main communication link and other as a sub communication link”---
In claim 9 lines 7-8, the occurrence of “the determination results” should be amended to --- “determination results”---
In claim 10 lines 6, the occurrence of “the communication status” should be amended to --- “a communication status”---
In claim 10 lines 7, the occurrence of “the first or second communication link” should be amended to --- “the first communication link or the second communication link”---
In claim 10 lines 7-8, the occurrence of “the main communication link and the other as the sub communication link” should be amended to --- “a main communication link and other as a sub communication link”---
In claim 10 lines 8-9, the occurrence of “the determination results” should be amended to --- “determination results”---
Appropriate correction is required.
35 USC § 112 Claim Interpretation
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
Use of the word “means” (or “step for”) in a claim with functional language creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim element is to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) (pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph). The presumption that 35 U.S.C. 112(f) (pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph) is invoked is rebutted when the function is recited with sufficient structure, material, or acts within the claim itself to entirely perform the recited function.
Absence of the word “means” (or “step for”) in a claim creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim element is not to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) (pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph). The presumption that 35 U.S.C. 112(f) (pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph) is not invoked is rebutted when the claim element recites function but fails to recite sufficiently definite structure, material or acts to perform that function.
Claim elements in this application that use the word “means” (or “step for”) are presumed to invoke 35 U.S.C. 112(f) except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. Similarly, claim elements that do not use the word “means” (or “step for”) are presumed not to invoke 35 U.S.C. 112(f) except as otherwise indicated in an Office action.
The limitation of claim 1 that recite(s) “a communication status determination unit …., a main and sub link setting unit …., a packet generation unit …., a transmission instruction unit …., a first communication unit …., a second communication unit ….,” is being treated in accordance with 112 (f) because the function of unit is modified by the term “configured to” which is a word that serves as a generic placeholder for structure that performs the recited function (i.e., the claim uses a term that is a substitute for “configured to”).
Claim limitation “unit” has been interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, because it uses a non-structural term “unit” coupled with functional language “configured to” without reciting sufficient structure to achieve the function. Furthermore, the non-structural term is not preceded by a structural modifier.
Since the claim limitation invokes 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, claims 2-8 have been interpreted to cover the corresponding structure described in the specification that achieves the claimed function, and equivalents thereof.
A review of the specification shows that the following appears to be the corresponding structure described in the specification for the 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph limitation: Page 34 [0103] lines 1-6 of the specification discloses “this disclosure can be realized not only with dedicated hardware having the configuration and functions described in each embodiment, but also with a program for realizing this disclosure, recorded on a recording medium such as a memory or hard disk, and with general-purpose hardware having a dedicated or general-purpose CPU and memory, etc. capable of executing it. This can also be realized as a combination thereof” corresponding to a communication status determination unit, a main and sub link setting unit, a packet generation unit, a transmission instruction unit, a first communication unit, a second communication unit of Fig.2.
If applicant wishes to provide further explanation or dispute the examiner’s interpretation of the corresponding structure, applicant must identify the corresponding structure with reference to the specification by page and line number, and to the drawing, if any, by reference characters in response to this Office action.
If applicant does not intend to have the claim limitation treated under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112 , sixth paragraph, applicant may amend the claim(s) so that it will clearly not invoke 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, or present a sufficient showing that the claim recites/recite sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function to preclude application of 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph.
For more information, see MPEP § 2173 et seq. and Supplementary Examination Guidelines for Determining Compliance With 35 U.S.C. 112 and for Treatment of Related Issues in Patent Applications, 76 FR 7162, 7167 (Feb. 9, 2011).
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 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.
Claims 1, 9 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over
Seo et al. [hereinafter as Seo] US 2017/0134261 A1 in view of Zee et al. [hereinafter as Zee] US 10,587,498 B2.
Regarding claim 1, Seo discloses wherein a packet transmission device that transmits data packets to a packet receiving device using a first communication link and a second communication link that has a smaller communication area than the first communication link (Fig.1-2 [0066][0067], a terminal 100 is transmitting data packets to a server 300 using LTE/first communication link and Wi-Fi/second communication link that has a smaller communication area than the LTE/first communication link), the device comprising:
a packet storage that stores the data packets (Fig.21 [0056][0198], a storage device 830 is storing the data packets);
a communication status determination unit that determines the communication
status of the second communication link (Fig.7 [0091], determining the communication status of the WiFi preferred state/second communication link and Fig.10 [0109], monitoring a state of the WiFi path in the WiFi preferred state);
a main and sub link setting unit that sets either one of the first or second communication link as the main communication link and the other as the sub communication link, based on the determination results (Fig.7 [0092], setting LTE/first communication link as the primary path S160 i.e., main communication link and the other WiFi path as secondary path i.e., sub communication link based on the preferred state/determination results);
a packet generation unit that generates, from the data packets, main data packets without bandwidth limitation and sub data packets with bandwidth limitation (Fig.10 [0109]-[0110], unthrottled traffic delivery via the LTE path i.e., main data packets without bandwidth limitation and throttled traffic delivery via the WiFi path i.e., sub data packets with bandwidth limitation, inherently implied).
Even though Seo disclose a communication device 850 of the terminal 100 that communicates the LTE path to be the primary path and the WiFi path as the secondary path, in same field of endeavor, Zee teaches wherein a transmission instruction unit that instructs each of a first communication unit and a second communication unit to transmit the main data packets on the main communication link or transmit the sub data packets on the sub communication link (Fig.7-8 Col 14 lines 30-67 to Col 15 lines 1-9, processing circuitry 21/transmission instruction unit instructs an MPTCP session establishing module M21/a first communication unit and an MPTCP subflow including module M23/a second communication unit to transmit a main TCP flow/default traffic flow tuple i.e., main data packet via the first network path i.e., main communication link or transmit one or more TCP subflows/a filtering traffic flow tuple i.e., sub data packet via the second network path i.e., sub communication link and Fig.2a-c&7 Col 6 lines 20-33 & Col 7 lines 29-67 to Col 8 lines 1-9, transmitting a MPTCP main flow i.e., main data packet via the LTE i.e., main communication link or transmit MPTCP subflow i.e., sub data packet via the Wi-Fi i.e., sub communication link);
the first communication unit that transmits the main data packets or the sub data packets via the first communication link based on the instruction from the transmission instruction unit (Fig.7-8 Col 14 lines 30-67 to Col 15 lines 1-9, the MPTCP session establishing module M21/first communication unit transmits the main TCP flow/default traffic flow tuple i.e., main data packet or the one or more TCP subflows/the filtering traffic flow tuple i.e., sub data packets via the first network path i.e., main communication link based on the instruction from the processing circuitry 21/ transmission instruction unit and Fig.2a-c&7 Col 6 lines 20-33 & Col 7 lines 29-67 to Col 8 lines 1-9, transmitting a MPTCP main flow i.e., main data packet or transmitting MPTCP subflow i.e., sub data packet via the LTE i.e., main communication link/first communication link based on the instruction from the processing circuitry 21);
the second communication unit that transmits the sub data packets or the main data packets via the second communication link based on the instruction from the transmission instruction unit (Fig.7-8 Col 14 lines 30-67 to Col 15 lines 1-9, the MPTCP subflow including module M23/a second communication unit transmits the one or more TCP subflows/the filtering traffic flow tuple i.e., sub data packets or the main TCP flow/default traffic flow tuple i.e., main data packet via the second network path i.e., sub communication link based on the instruction from the processing circuitry 21/ transmission instruction unit and Fig.2a-c&7 Col 6 lines 20-33 & Col 7 lines 29-67 to Col 8 lines 1-9, transmitting MPTCP subflow i.e., sub data packet or transmitting a MPTCP main flow i.e., main data packet via the WiFi i.e., sub communication link/second communication link based on the instruction from the processing circuitry 21).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to have modified Seo incorporate the teaching of Zee in order to enable splitting of MPTCP data on multiple paths to support aggregation of multiple network paths with MPTCP.
It would have been beneficial to use a processing circuitry 21/transmission instruction unit which instructs an MPTCP session establishing module M21/a first communication unit and an MPTCP subflow including module M23/a second communication unit to transmit a main TCP flow/default traffic flow tuple i.e., main data packet via the first network path i.e., main communication link or transmit one or more TCP subflows/a filtering traffic flow tuple i.e., sub data packet via the second network path i.e., sub communication link and, also transmitting a MPTCP main flow i.e., main data packet via the LTE i.e., main communication link or transmit MPTCP subflow i.e., sub data packet via the Wi-Fi i.e., sub communication link as taught by Zee to have incorporated in the system of Seo incorporate to provide for improving efficiency in IP address use during an MPTCP session. (Zee, Fig.1&2a-c Col 2 lines 1-7, Fig.2a-c&7 Col 6 lines 20-33 & Col 7 lines 29-67 to Col 8 lines 1-9 and Fig.7-8 Col 14 lines 30-67 to Col 15 lines 1-9)
Regarding claim 9, Seo discloses wherein a packet transmission method using a packet transmission device that transmits data packets to a packet receiving device using a first communication link and a second communication link that has a smaller communication area than the first communication link (Fig.1-2 [0066][0067], a packet transmission method of a terminal 100 is transmitting data packets to a server 300 using LTE/first communication link and Wi-Fi/second communication link that has a smaller communication area than the LTE/first communication link), the method comprising:
determining the communication status of the second communication link (Fig.7 [0091], determining the communication status of the WiFi preferred state/second communication link and Fig.10 [0109] monitoring a state of the WiFi path in the WiFi preferred state);
setting either one of the first or second communication link as the main communication link and the other as the sub communication link, based on the determination results (Fig.7 [0092], setting LTE/first communication link as the primary path S160 i.e., main communication link and the other WiFi path as secondary path i.e., sub communication link based on the preferred state/determination results);
generating main data packets without bandwidth limitation and sub data packets with bandwidth limitation from the data packets stored in the packet storage (Fig.10 [0109]-[0110], unthrottled traffic delivery via the LTE path i.e., main data packets without bandwidth limitation and throttled traffic delivery via the WiFi path i.e., sub data packets with bandwidth limitation, inherently implied).
Even though Seo discloses a communication device 850 of the terminal 100 that communicates the LTE path to be the primary path and the WiFi path as the secondary path, in same field of endeavor, Zee teaches wherein generating instructions to transmit the main data packets on the main communication link and the sub data packets on the sub communication link (Fig.7-8 Col 14 lines 30-67 to Col 15 lines 1-9, processing circuitry 21/transmission instruction unit instructs an MPTCP session establishing module M21/a first communication unit and an MPTCP subflow including module M23/a second communication unit generating instructions to transmit a main TCP flow/default traffic flow tuple i.e., main data packet via the first network path i.e., main communication link and transmit one or more TCP subflows/a filtering traffic flow tuple i.e., sub data packet via the second network path i.e., sub communication link and Fig.2a-c&7 Col 6 lines 20-33 & Col 7 lines 29-67 to Col 8 lines 1-9, transmitting a MPTCP main flow i.e., main data packet via the LTE i.e., main communication link and transmit MPTCP subflow i.e., sub data packet via the Wi-Fi i.e., sub communication link);
transmitting the main data packets or the sub data packets via the first communication link based on the instructions (Fig.7-8 Col 14 lines 30-67 to Col 15 lines 1-9, the MPTCP session establishing module M21/first communication unit transmits the main TCP flow/default traffic flow tuple i.e., main data packet or the one or more TCP subflows/the filtering traffic flow tuple i.e., sub data packets via the first network path i.e., main communication link based on the instruction from the processing circuitry 21/transmission instruction unit and Fig.2a-c&7 Col 6 lines 20-33 & Col 7 lines 29-67 to Col 8 lines 1-9, transmitting a MPTCP main flow i.e., main data packet or transmitting MPTCP subflow i.e., sub data packet via the LTE i.e., main communication link/first communication link based on the instruction from the processing circuitry 21);
transmitting the sub data packets or the main data packets via the second communication link based on the instructions (Fig.7-8 Col 14 lines 30-67 to Col 15 lines 1-9, the MPTCP subflow including module M23/a second communication unit transmits the one or more TCP subflows/the filtering traffic flow tuple i.e., sub data packets or the main TCP flow/default traffic flow tuple i.e., main data packet via the second network path i.e., sub communication link based on the instruction from the processing circuitry 21/transmission instruction unit and Fig.2a-c&7 Col 6 lines 20-33 & Col 7 lines 29-67 to Col 8 lines 1-9, transmitting MPTCP subflow i.e., sub data packet or transmitting a MPTCP main flow i.e., main data packet via the WiFi i.e., sub communication link/second communication link based on the instruction from the processing circuitry 21).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to have modified Seo incorporate the teaching of Zee in order to enable splitting of MPTCP data on multiple paths to support aggregation of multiple network paths with MPTCP.
It would have been beneficial to use processing circuitry 21/transmission instruction unit which instructs an MPTCP session establishing module M21/a first communication unit and an MPTCP subflow including module M23/a second communication unit generating instructions to transmit a main TCP flow/default traffic flow tuple i.e., main data packet via the first network path i.e., main communication link and transmit one or more TCP subflows/a filtering traffic flow tuple i.e., sub data packet via the second network path i.e., sub communication link and, also transmitting a MPTCP main flow i.e., main data packet via the LTE i.e., main communication link and transmit MPTCP subflow i.e., sub data packet via the Wi-Fi i.e., sub communication link as taught by Zee to have incorporated in the system of Seo incorporate to provide for improving efficiency in IP address use during an MPTCP session. (Zee, Fig.1&2a-c Col 2 lines 1-7, Fig.2a-c&7 Col 6 lines 20-33 & Col 7 lines 29-67 to Col 8 lines 1-9 and Fig.7-8 Col 14 lines 30-67 to Col 15 lines 1-9)
Regarding claim 10, Seo discloses wherein a computer-readable non-transitory storage medium storing a packet transmission program, the program causing a packet transmitting device that transmits data packets to a packet receiving device using a first communication link and a second communication link that has a smaller communication area than the first communication link to (Fig.1-2&21 [0066][0067][0201], a computer-readable non-transitory storage medium storing a packet transmission program, the program causing a terminal 100 is transmitting data packets to a server 300 using LTE/first communication link and Wi-Fi/second communication link that has a smaller communication area than the LTE/first communication link):
determine the communication status of the second communication link (Fig.7 [0091], determining the communication status of the WiFi preferred state/second communication link and Fig.10 [0109] monitoring a state of the WiFi path in the WiFi preferred state);
set either one of the first or second communication link as the main communication link and the other as the sub communication link, based on the determination results (Fig.7 [0092], setting LTE/first communication link as the primary path S160 i.e., main communication link and the other WiFi path as secondary path i.e., sub communication link based on the preferred state/determination results); generate main data packets without bandwidth limitation and sub data packets with bandwidth limitation from the data packets stored in the packet storage (Fig.10 [0109]-[0110], unthrottled traffic delivery via the LTE path i.e., main data packets without bandwidth limitation and throttled traffic delivery via the WiFi path i.e., sub data packets with bandwidth limitation, inherently implied).
Even though Seo discloses a communication device 850 of the terminal 100 that communicates the LTE path to be the primary path and the WiFi path as the secondary path, in same field of endeavor, Zee teaches wherein generate instructions to transmit the main data packets on the main communication link and the sub data packets on the sub communication link (Fig.7-8 Col 14 lines 30-67 to Col 15 lines 1-9, processing circuitry 21/transmission instruction unit instructs an MPTCP session establishing module M21/a first communication unit and an MPTCP subflow including module M23/a second communication unit generate instructions to transmit a main TCP flow/default traffic flow tuple i.e., main data packet via the first network path i.e., main communication link and transmit one or more TCP subflows/a filtering traffic flow tuple i.e., sub data packet via the second network path i.e., sub communication link and Fig.2a-c&7 Col 6 lines 20-33 & Col 7 lines 29-67 to Col 8 lines 1-9, transmitting a MPTCP main flow i.e., main data packet via the LTE i.e., main communication link or transmit MPTCP subflow i.e., sub data packet via the Wi-Fi i.e., sub communication link);
transmit the main data packets or the sub data packets via the first communication link based on the instructions (Fig.7-8 Col 14 lines 30-67 to Col 15 lines 1-9, the MPTCP session establishing module M21/first communication unit transmits the main TCP flow/default traffic flow tuple i.e., main data packet or the one or more TCP subflows/the filtering traffic flow tuple i.e., sub data packets via the first network path i.e., main communication link based on the instruction from the processing circuitry 21/transmission instruction unit and Fig.2a-c&7 Col 6 lines 20-33 & Col 7 lines 29-67 to Col 8 lines 1-9, transmitting a MPTCP main flow i.e., main data packet or transmitting MPTCP subflow i.e., sub data packet via the LTE i.e., main communication link/first communication link based on the instruction from the processing circuitry 21);
transmit the sub data packets or the main data packets via the second communication link based on the instructions (Fig.7-8 Col 14 lines 30-67 to Col 15 lines 1-9, the MPTCP subflow including module M23/a second communication unit transmits the one or more TCP subflows/the filtering traffic flow tuple i.e., sub data packets or the main TCP flow/default traffic flow tuple i.e., main data packet via the second network path i.e., sub communication link based on the instruction from the processing circuitry 21/transmission instruction unit and Fig.2a-c&7 Col 6 lines 20-33 & Col 7 lines 29-67 to Col 8 lines 1-9, transmitting MPTCP subflow i.e., sub data packet or transmitting a MPTCP main flow i.e., main data packet via the WiFi i.e., sub communication link/second communication link based on the instruction from the processing circuitry 21).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to have modified Seo incorporate the teaching of Zee in order to enable splitting of MPTCP data on multiple paths to support aggregation of multiple network paths with MPTCP.
It would have been beneficial to use a processing circuitry 21/transmission instruction unit which instructs an MPTCP session establishing module M21/a first communication unit and an MPTCP subflow including module M23/a second communication unit generate instructions to transmit a main TCP flow/default traffic flow tuple i.e., main data packet via the first network path i.e., main communication link and transmit one or more TCP subflows/a filtering traffic flow tuple i.e., sub data packet via the second network path i.e., sub communication link and, also transmitting a MPTCP main flow i.e., main data packet via the LTE i.e., main communication link or transmit MPTCP subflow i.e., sub data packet via the Wi-Fi i.e., sub communication link as taught by Zee to have incorporated in the system of Seo incorporate to provide for improving efficiency in IP address use during an MPTCP session. (Zee, Fig.1&2a-c Col 2 lines 1-7, Fig.2a-c&7 Col 6 lines 20-33 & Col 7 lines 29-67 to Col 8 lines 1-9 and Fig.7-8 Col 14 lines 30-67 to Col 15 lines 1-9)
Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Seo et al. [hereinafter as Seo] US 2017/0134261 A1 in view of Zee et al. [hereinafter as Zee] US 10,587,498 B2 further in view of Horita [hereinafter as Horita] US 2024/0298242 A1.
Regarding claim 2, Seo and Zee disclosed all the elements of claim 1 as stated above. wherein
However, Seo and Zee do not explicitly disclose the communication status determination unit determines the communication status of the second communication link based on a reception condition of a confirmation response sent by the packet receiving device that received the main data packets or the sub data packets.
In the same field of endeavor, Horita teaches wherein the communication status determination unit determines the communication status of the second communication link based on a reception condition of a confirmation response sent by the packet receiving device that received the main data packets or the sub data packets (Fig.6-7&18 [0071][0103][0204], the plurality of communication status of the plurality of communication paths i.e., second communication link based on a reception condition of a confirmation response sent by the packet receiving device that received the large amount of data/main data packets or the sub data packets; Fig.8&19 [0139][0299] and Fig.8-9&19 [0149][0254], the communication path determination unit 231A determines the local line of the upstream network satisfies the communication path quality required by the terminal device 30 and, confirm response sent by the MDF boards/packet receiving device that received the traffic in the specific communication path).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to have modified Seo and Zee incorporate the teaching of Horita in order to achieve improvement of a network environment.
It would have been beneficial to use the plurality of communication status of the plurality of communication paths i.e., second communication link which is based on a reception condition of a confirmation response sent by the packet receiving device that received the large amount of data/main data packets or the sub data packets as taught by Horita to have incorporated in the system of Seo and Zee incorporate to provide a plurality of services using a plurality of communication paths. (Horita, Fig.1 [0035], Fig.6-7&18 [0071][0103][0204], Fig.8&19 [0139][0299] and Fig.8-9&19 [0149][0254])
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Seo et al. [hereinafter as Seo] US 2017/0134261 A1 in view of Zee et al. [hereinafter as Zee] US 10,587,498 B2 further in view of Fujita et al. [hereinafter as Fujita] JP 2008268992 A.
Regarding claim 3, Seo and Zee disclosed all the elements of claim 2 as stated above.
However, Seo and Zee do not specifically disclose wherein the communication status determination unit determines that the communication status of the second communication link is poor in a case that no confirmation response has been received before a predetermined time elapses after the main data packets are sent over the second communication link.
In the same field of endeavor, Fujita teaches wherein the communication status determination unit determines that the communication status of the second communication link is poor in a case that no confirmation response has been received before a predetermined time elapses after the main data packets are sent over the second communication link (Fig.15 page 9 lines 45-53 & page 10 lines 18-20, the information determination unit 143 of the information providing apparatus 120 determines that the communication status of the signal flow is lowered/poor if no confirmation response has been received before the predetermined period has elapsed after receiving the detection signal and Fig.20 page 11 lines 28-43).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to have modified Seo and Zee incorporate the teaching of Fujita in order to provide for performing the optimum route.
It would have been beneficial to use the information determination unit 143 of the information providing apparatus 120 which determines that the communication status of the signal flow is lowered/poor if no confirmation response has been received before the predetermined period has elapsed after receiving the detection signal as taught by Fujita to have incorporated in the system of Seo and Zee incorporate to provide route information to the destination. (Fujita, Fig.2&8 page 7 lines 46-47 and Fig.15 page 9 lines 45-53 & page 10 lines 18-20, Fig.20 page 11 lines 28-43)
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Seo et al. [hereinafter as Seo] US 2017/0134261 A1 in view of Zee et al. [hereinafter as Zee] US 10,587,498 B2 further in view of Ishikawa et al. [hereinafter as Ishikawa] US 2017/0353478 A1.
Regarding claim 4, Seo and Zee disclosed all the elements of claim 1 as stated above.
However, Seo and Zee do not explicitly disclose the bandwidth limitation is policing to thin out the data packets on a packet-by-packet basis.
In the same field of endeavor, Ishikawa teaches wherein the bandwidth limitation is policing to thin out the data packets on a packet-by-packet basis (Fig.21 [0124]-[0125], the mirror policing module 1092 is policing the mirror packet to limit the mirror packet bandwidth and smooth the mirror packet bandwidth and Fig.23 [0133]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to have modified Seo and Zee incorporate the teaching of Ishikawa in order to provide for improving analysis accuracy.
It would have been beneficial to use the mirror policing module 1092 which is policing the mirror packet to limit the mirror packet bandwidth and smooth the mirror packet bandwidth as taught by Ishikawa to have incorporated in the system of Seo and Zee incorporate to provide for monitoring bandwidths. (Ishikawa, Fig.13 [0095], Fig.21 [0124]-[0125] and Fig.23 [0133])
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Seo et al. [hereinafter as Seo] US 2017/0134261 A1 in view of Zee et al. [hereinafter as Zee] US 10,587,498 B2 further in view of Azizi et al. [hereinafter as Azizi] US 11,653,292 B2.
Regarding claim 8, Seo and Zee disclosed all the elements of claim 1 as stated above.
However, Seo and Zee do not explicitly disclose which is mounted to a mobile object.
In the same field of endeavor, Azizi teaches wherein which is mounted to a mobile object (Fig.183 Col 387 lines 56-67, components of vehicle network access node 18204 is mounted onto the frame of vehicle 18202).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to have modified Seo and Zee incorporate the teaching of Azizi in order to provide for improving latency and reduce power consumption.
It would have been beneficial to use components of vehicle network access node 18204 which is mounted onto the frame of vehicle 18202 as taught by Azizi to have incorporated in the system of Seo and Zee incorporate to provide for improving overall link quality and thus the reliability of V2I or D2I links. (Azizi, Fig.183 Col 387 lines 56-67 and Fig.219 Col 452 lines 18-22)
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5-7 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Koskinen et al. (Pub. No.: US 2018/0035443 A1) teaches Uplink Scheduling with WLAN/3GPP Aggregation.
Kishigami et al. (Pub. No.: US 2012/0287855 A1) teaches Wireless Communication Device and Wireless Communication Method.
Yano et al. (U.S Patent No.: US 7760632 B2) teaches Device and Method for Relaying Packets.
Kiyose et al. (US Pub. No.: US 2016/0021005 A1) teaches Communication System, Control Apparatus and Communication Apparatus.
Brown et al. (Pub. No.: US 2023/0072837 A1) teaches Application Bandwidth Throttling.
Ohayon et al. (Pub. No.: US 2017/0086244 A1) teaches Broadband Transmitter, Broadband Receiver, and Methods Thereof.
Sevindik et al. (Pub. No.: US 2023/0337054 A1) teaches Method and Apparatus for Providing Wireless Services to a Customer Premises.
Atlas et al. (U.S Patent No.: US 9485118 B2) teaches Penalty-Box Policers for Network Device Control Plane Protection.
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