DETAILED ACTION
This is in response to US App. 18/894,857. Claims 1-20 have been examined.
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 . In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
Claim(s) 1-2, 8-9, and 15-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being unpatentable by Harrang (EP 2468030).
Regarding Claim 1,
A method, comprising:
transmitting, by a user device, data to a media playback system using a connection on a wireless network, the media playback system configured to provide access to a functionality of the user device [Harrang: media playback == content data delivery; 0034; In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the user equipment's 300 data transfer manager 310 may be logically linked to the network link monitor 312 (or alternately to an external network link monitor), and the device resource monitor 314, such that the user equipment 300 can monitor external network link capacities as well as its resident exhaustible resources in order to affect data transfers between itself and an external computing device (e.g., a SPD 200, a media content provider, or another user equipment); in an embodiment, in response to analyzing data obtained from the user equipment's 300 network link monitor 312 and/or device resource monitor 314, a data delivery to the user equipment 300 may be optimally managed (e.g., by throttling a data transfer rate or selecting preferred periods for data content delivery); this management may be based on real time evaluations of network traffic and radio communications quality for communications links that are part of the communications path between (and optionally including) sending and receiving (e.g., the user equipment 300) devices; 0046; in an embodiment, the sender 512 could also be concurrently orchestrating data delivery jobs to one or more other regional receivers 502, although for illustration only a single receiver 502 is shown in FIG. 5];
accessing, by the user device, at least one of link quality monitoring information from a medium access control layer of the user device or transmission control protocol information from a transport layer of the user device during a presentation of data by the media playback system [Harrang: 0034; the user equipment 300 may also include, but is not limited to, a user interface 306 that allows a user to interact with its 300 software and hardware resources; a software/database repository 308 including: a data transfer manager 310 that facilitates communications amongst the user equipment 300, various SPDs (e.g., any of SPDs 106a-b, 110, 112, 114, 116, 118, 120, and 122), network service providers (e.g., media content providers), as well as other user equipment (e.g., any of user equipment 108a-c, 124, 126a-c, 128, 130, and 132) utilizing the data communication network 102 of the networked computing system 100, a network link monitor 312 that may be capable of monitoring actual link throughput for particular network links of interest (also referred to herein as a link capacity sensing agent or LCSA …; 0037; the network device 200, 300 employing the delivery protocol senses the state of network congestion by monitoring the performance of the media content file delivery (e.g., using a network link monitor 212, 312); 0065; as is shown, both the cross traffic 812 and the content delivery traffic 810 are constrained to less than the offered volume 808 (e.g., 812 is smaller than 806 and 810 is smaller than 804), so the channel is congested; this may be the situation when fair-share transport protocols such as TCP arbitrate the throughput on shared links];
determining, by the user device, that the wireless network is experiencing interference based at least in part on the at least one of link quality monitoring information or transmission control protocol information [Harrang: 0035; one or more network devices (e.g., user equipment 300 or SPDs 200) employing the communications protocol may sense a state of network channel congestion (e.g., using a network link monitor 212, 312) by: monitoring the performance of the media content file delivery over one or more network specific segments (e.g., by measuring/analyzing one or more network communications metrics), measuring and end-to-end link throughput performance for the combined network segments (e.g., with a receiver device, such as user equipment 300), and then comparing individual segment throughput with total end-to-end link throughput; 0037; the wireless network channel may become uncongested as the user equipment 300 moves amongst different regional locations within the wireless network having varying wireless channel quality (e.g., by moving closer or farther away from the wireless base station or by moving to an area with more physical or radio interference sources; See e.g., FIG. 4A) … the network device 200, 300 employing the delivery protocol senses the state of network congestion by monitoring the performance of the media content file delivery (e.g., using a network link monitor 212, 312); 0048; the link capacity monitor 518 could also be a part of a receiver 502 (e.g., a LCSA 312 that is part of a user equipment 200, or a LCSA 212 that is part of a SPD 200); in an embodiment, the link capacity monitor 518 may be associated with an ingress, an egress, or an internal node element of the network segment 504a-b having the ability to determine the network segment's 504a capacity in real time; 0065; as is shown, both the cross traffic 812 and the content delivery traffic 810 are constrained to less than the offered volume 808 (e.g., 812 is smaller than 806 and 810 is smaller than 804), so the channel is congested; this may be the situation when fair-share transport protocols such as TCP arbitrate the throughput on shared links];
generating, by the user device, interference information based at least in part on determining that the wireless network is experiencing the interference; and transmitting, by the user device, the interference information to the media playback system during the presentation of data by the media playback system [Harrang: 0035; one or more network devices (e.g., user equipment 300 or SPDs 200) employing the communications protocol may sense a state of network channel congestion (e.g., using a network link monitor 212, 312) by: monitoring the performance of the media content file delivery over one or more network specific segments (e.g., by measuring/analyzing one or more network communications metrics), measuring and end-to-end link throughput performance for the combined network segments (e.g., with a receiver device, such as user equipment 300), and then comparing individual segment throughput with total end-to-end link throughput; 0048; the link capacity monitor 518 could also be a part of a receiver 502 (e.g., a LCSA 312 that is part of a user equipment 200, or a LCSA 212 that is part of a SPD 200); 0049; in an embodiment, the link capacity monitor's 518 function is to determine the network segment 504a capacity (e.g., the max link throughput 414 depicted in FIG. 4B) and then report it 520 to the sender's data transfer agent 514 and link profiler 516 (e.g., the data transfer agent 210 and link profiler 214 of SPD 200); 0070; the congestion sensing agent (CSA) 916 may be associated with one of the network link segments 904a-b, 906, 908, and 910. the function of the CSA 916 is to provide surplus capacity feedback reports 918 to the data transfer agent 912].
Regarding Claim 2,
wherein the method further comprises: accessing location information indicating that the user device is within a threshold distance of a known interference zone, wherein the determination that the wireless network is experiencing the interference is based at least in part on the user device being within a threshold distance of a known interference zone [Harrang: 037; the wireless network channel may become uncongested as the user equipment 300 moves amongst different regional locations within the wireless network having varying wireless channel quality (e.g., by moving closer or farther away from the wireless base station or by moving to an area with more physical or radio interference sources; See e.g., FIG. 4A) … the network device 200, 300 employing the delivery protocol senses the state of network congestion by monitoring the performance of the media content file delivery (e.g., using a network link monitor 212, 312); 0039; initially, the user equipment 404a may be located in an area of relatively good radio communications link quality 402b (i.e., Region A), however, sometime later the user equipment 404b may be relocated to another location within the cell that is characterized by poor radio communications link quality 402c (i.e., Region B); 0048; the link capacity monitor 518 could also be a part of a receiver 502 (e.g., a LCSA 312 that is part of a user equipment 200, or a LCSA 212 that is part of a SPD 200); in an embodiment, the link capacity monitor 518 may be associated with an ingress, an egress, or an internal node element of the network segment 504a-b having the ability to determine the network segment's 504a capacity in real time].
Regarding Claims 8-9, which recite the same claim limitations as those in claims 1-2 above, the same rationale of rejection as presented in claims 1-2 is applicable.
Regarding Claims 15-16, which recite the same claim limitations as those in claims 1-2 above, the same rationale of rejection as presented in claims 1-2 is applicable.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 3-7, 10-14, and 17-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Harrang in view of Gandhi (US 2024/0015776).
Regarding Claim 3,
Harrang teaches:
wherein the user device transmits data to the media playback system using a first communication path [Harrang: 0034; the user equipment 300 may also include, but is not limited to, a user interface 306 that allows a user to interact with its 300 software and hardware resources; a software/database repository 308 including: a data transfer manager 310 that facilitates communications amongst the user equipment 300, various SPDs (e.g., any of SPDs 106a-b, 110, 112, 114, 116, 118, 120, and 122), network service providers (e.g., media content providers), as well as other user equipment (e.g., any of user equipment 108a-c, 124, 126a-c, 128, 130, and 132) utilizing the data communication network 102 of the networked computing system 100, …], and
However, Harrang does not teach the limitation, which recites “receiving, from the media playback system, configuration information for switching from using the first communication path to using a second communication path; and adjusting one or more communication parameters to switch from the first communication path to the second communication path.”
Gandhi teaches:
wherein the method further comprises: receiving, from the media playback system, configuration information for switching from using the first communication path to using a second communication path; and adjusting one or more communication parameters to switch from the first communication path to the second communication path [Gandhi: 0019; an STA can detect a list of unsafe WiFi channels and report them to a WiFi AP; the WiFi APs, or an associated controller, can then choose cellular interference free channels; 0024; in an embodiment, the STA 102 detects the interference and identifies unsafe WiFi communication channels (e.g., WiFi channels subject to the cellular interference); the STA 102 can check whether the WiFi deployment 120 supports reporting of unsafe WiFi channels, and if so the STA 102 can report the unsafe channels to the WiFi deployment 120; Gandhi: 0031; at block 302 a cellular interference service (e.g., the cellular interference service 212 illustrated in FIG. 2) at an STA (e.g., the STA 102 illustrated in FIGS. 1-2) reports a change in WiFi channel or cellular frequency; 0043; At block 422, a cellular interference service (e.g., the cellular interference service 212 illustrated in FIG. 2) transmits a basic service set (BSS) color collision report … in this embodiment, the STA sends a BSS color collision report; for example, a specific color value may be reserved for a non-Wi-Fi, unresolvable BSS collision value; 0054; in an embodiment, cellular channels 510 and WiFi channels 520 are each in use for an STA; the cellular channels 510 can interfere with the WiFi channels 520; this can occur when the cellular channels 510 and Wi-Fi channels 520 are within short frequency separation (e.g., neighboring channels) or when there is harmonic and intermodulation interference; further, a threshold 530 can be used to identify when interference is sufficient to modify WiFi operation].
Note:
A BSS color collision report conveys link quality.
It would have been obvious for POSITA before the effective filing date of the invention to combine the teachings of Harrang and Gandhi in order to avoid the unsafe channels [Gandhi: 0019].
Regarding Claim 4,
Harrang teaches that the user equipment 300 may also include, … a data transfer manager 310 that facilitates communications amongst the user equipment 300, various SPDs … [Harrang: 0034].
However, Harrang does not teach that the first communication path corresponds to a first channel and the second communication path corresponds to a second channel, different from the first channel.
Gandhi teaches:
wherein the first communication path corresponds to a first channel and the second communication path corresponds to a second channel, different from the first channel [Gandhi: 0019; an STA can detect a list of unsafe WiFi channels and report them to a WiFi AP; the WiFi APs, or an associated controller, can then choose cellular interference free channels; 0024; in an embodiment, the STA 102 detects the interference and identifies unsafe WiFi communication channels (e.g., WiFi channels subject to the cellular interference); the STA 102 can check whether the WiFi deployment 120 supports reporting of unsafe WiFi channels, and if so the STA 102 can report the unsafe channels to the WiFi deployment 120; Gandhi: 0031; at block 302 a cellular interference service (e.g., the cellular interference service 212 illustrated in FIG. 2) at an STA (e.g., the STA 102 illustrated in FIGS. 1-2) reports a change in WiFi channel or cellular frequency].
It would have been obvious for POSITA before the effective filing date of the invention to combine the teachings of Harrang and Gandhi in order to avoid the unsafe channels [Gandhi: 0019].
Regarding Claim 5,
Harrang teaches that the user equipment 300 may also include, … a data transfer manager 310 that facilitates communications amongst the user equipment 300, various SPDs … [Harrang: 0034].
However, Harrang does not teach that the first communication path corresponds to a first channel and the second communication path corresponds to the first channel and a second channel.
Gandhi teaches:
wherein the first communication path corresponds to a first channel and the second communication path corresponds to the first channel and a second channel [Gandhi: 0035; in an embodiment, an AP periodically collects unsafe channel reports from the STAs; later, if, or when, cellular channels are changed, the detection of that change on the STA can be used to trigger an unsolicited report; the previously affected channels can then be marked as safe (e.g., using an unsafe channel report) or can be removed from the non-preferred/collision lists].
Note:
A second communication path can correspond to a safe channel as well as a previously affected channel now marked safe.
It would have been obvious for POSITA before the effective filing date of the invention to combine the teachings of Harrang and Gandhi in order to avoid the unsafe channels [Gandhi: 0019].
Regarding Claim 6,
Harrang teaches that a network link monitor 312 that may be capable of monitoring actual link throughput for particular network links of interest (also referred to herein as a link capacity sensing agent or LCSA) [Harrang: 0034].
However, Harrang does not teach determining a first data packet loss value associated with the first channel and a second data packet loss value associated with the second channel … to switch back to the first communication path based at least in part on comparing the first data packet loss value at the first channel and the second data packet loss value at the second channel.
Gandhi teaches:
wherein the method further comprises: determining a first data packet loss value associated with the first channel and a second data packet loss value associated with the second channel; comparing the first data packet loss value at the first channel and the second data packet loss value at the second channel [0019; an STA can detect a list of unsafe WiFi channels and report them to a WiFi AP; the WiFi APs, or an associated controller, can then choose cellular interference free channels; 0024; in an embodiment, the STA 102 detects the interference and identifies unsafe WiFi communication channels (e.g., WiFi channels subject to the cellular interference); the STA 102 can check whether the WiFi deployment 120 supports reporting of unsafe WiFi channels, and if so the STA 102 can report the unsafe channels to the WiFi deployment 120; Gandhi: 0031; at block 302 a cellular interference service (e.g., the cellular interference service 212 illustrated in FIG. 2) at an STA (e.g., the STA 102 illustrated in FIGS. 1-2) reports a change in WiFi channel or cellular frequency; 0043; At block 422, a cellular interference service (e.g., the cellular interference service 212 illustrated in FIG. 2) transmits a basic service set (BSS) color collision report … in this embodiment, the STA sends a BSS color collision report; for example, a specific color value may be reserved for a non-Wi-Fi, unresolvable BSS collision value; 0054; in an embodiment, cellular channels 510 and WiFi channels 520 are each in use for an STA; the cellular channels 510 can interfere with the WiFi channels 520; this can occur when the cellular channels 510 and Wi-Fi channels 520 are within short frequency separation (e.g., neighboring channels) or when there is harmonic and intermodulation interference; further, a threshold 530 can be used to identify when interference is sufficient to modify WiFi operation]; and
Note:
A BSS color collision report conveys link quality (i.e. directly related to packet loss).
determining to switch back to the first communication path based at least in part on comparing the first data packet loss value at the first channel and the second data packet loss value at the second channel [Gandhi: 0035; in an embodiment, an AP periodically collects unsafe channel reports from the STAs; later, if, or when, cellular channels are changed, the detection of that change on the STA can be used to trigger an unsolicited report; the previously affected channels can then be marked as safe (e.g., using an unsafe channel report) or can be removed from the non-preferred/collision lists].
It would have been obvious for POSITA before the effective filing date of the invention to combine the teachings of Harrang and Gandhi in order to avoid the unsafe channels [Gandhi: 0019].
Regarding Claim 7,
Harrang teaches:
wherein the connection comprises a Wi-Fi connection [Harrang: 0027; in an embodiment, the user equipment 108a-c, 124, 126a-c, 128, 130, and 132 may include any combination of common mobile computing devices (e.g., laptop computers, netbook computers, cellular phones, PDAs, handheld gaming units, electronic book devices, personal music players, video recorders, etc.), having wireless communications capabilities employing any common wireless data commutations technology, including, but not limited to: Wi-Fi™ WiMAX™, GSM™, UMTS™, LTE™, LTE Advanced™, etc.], and
Harrang does not teach the limitation, which recites “selecting, responsive to determining that the wireless network is experiencing the interference, a second connection for transmitting the interference information to the media playback system.”
Gandhi teaches:
wherein the method further comprises: selecting, responsive to determining that the wireless network is experiencing the interference, a second connection for transmitting the interference information to the media playback system [Gandhi: 0031; At block 302 a cellular interference service (e.g., the cellular interference service 212 illustrated in FIG. 2) at an STA (e.g., the STA 102 illustrated in FIGS. 1-2) reports a change in WiFi channel or cellular frequency. In an embodiment, when the STA is connected to a new AP (e.g., operating on a different channel from any previous AP connection) or a cellular base station (e.g., the cellular base station 110 illustrated in FIG. 1) has changed its channel (e.g., to use NR-U spectrum), the STA reports the change (e.g., to an AP); for example, the STA can use a coex channel interference avoidance function (CCIA) to report the change].
It would have been obvious for POSITA before the effective filing date of the invention to combine the teachings of Harrang and Gandhi in order to avoid the unsafe channels [Gandhi: 0019].
Regarding Claims 10-14, which recite the same claim limitations as those in claims 3-7 above, the same rationale of rejection as presented in claims 3-7 is applicable.
Regarding Claims 17-20, which recite the same claim limitations as those in claims 3-6 above, the same rationale of rejection as presented in claims 3-6 is applicable.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See Fig. 7b, CA 3100385.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SAAD A WAQAS whose telephone number is (571)270-5642. The examiner can normally be reached 8:30 - 5:00 PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Marcus Smith can be reached at (571) 270-1096. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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SAAD A. WAQAS
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2468
/Saad A. Waqas/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2468
