DETAILED ACTION
This action is responsive to the communication filed on 10/21/2024.
Claims 1-10 are pending.
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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 5 recites the limitation "the third communication control device" in lines 4-5. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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(s) s 1-4 and 7-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kaattari et al (US Pub. No. 2019/0305900 herein after “Kaattari”) and further in view of Schrum, JR. et al (US Pub. No. 2013/0136117 herein after “Schrum”).
As per claim 1 and similarly claims 7 and 8, Kaattari discloses a communication control device comprising:
a first wired communication unit having a wired connection function (Kaattari, para[0038-0043] apparatus comprises two or more interfacing units, i.e. ports; two or more redundant ports implementing Ethernet);
a second wired communication unit having the wired connection function (Kaattari, para[0038-0043] apparatus comprises two or more interfacing units, i.e. ports; two or more redundant ports implementing Ethernet);
a third wired communication unit that has the wired connection function and is connected to a node (Kaattari, para[0031,0038-0043] a RedBox, apparatus comprises two or more interfacing units, i.e. ports; two or more redundant ports implementing Ethernet);
a wireless communication unit having a wireless communication function connectable to a plurality of wireless networks (Kaattari, para[0038-0043] apparatus comprises two or more interfacing units, i.e. ports; two or more redundant ports implementing WLAN);
an identification unit that identifies whether an adjacent device connected to the first wired communication unit or the second wired communication unit via a wired network is a communication control device having a same function (Kaattari, para[0036] nodes a uniquely identifiable on the basis of the communication layers protocol addresses of the nodes); and
a communication control unit that establishes communication via a wireless network with another communication control device (Kaattari, para[0036] the apparatus may be connected or capable of being connected to one or more other nodes…or a region of the communications network).
Kaattari does not explicitly disclose, however, Schrum discloses a bridge function of transferring a communication frame to an appropriate destination among the first wired communication unit, the second wired communication unit, the third wired communication unit, and the wireless communication unit (Schrum, para[0012-0015] a wireless bridging mechanism can be implemented for hybrid communication networks; the hybrid communication network can comprise various wired and wireless networking technologies interconnected by forwarding devices (also referred to as “bridges”)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Schrum’s teaching of a bridging mechanism into Kaattari’s teaching of redundant communications because one of the ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to improve system throughput, frame delivery efficiency, and interface efficiency in redundant communications.
As per claim 2, Kaattari discloses the communication control device according to claim 1, wherein the identification unit identifies whether the adjacent device is the communication control device having the same function on a basis of predetermined identification information (Kaattari, para[0036]).
As per claim 3, Kaattari discloses the communication control device according to claim 1, wherein the identification unit identifies another communication control device having a MAC address starting with a specific value or another communication control device with a device ID having a specific pattern as the communication control device having the same function (Kaattari, para[0036]).
As per claim 4, Kaattari discloses the communication control device according to claim 1, wherein in a case of receiving a same frame from another communication control device via both the wired network and the wireless network, the communication control unit transfers a frame received earlier to an appropriate destination and discards a frame received later (Kaattari, para[0044]).
As per claim 9, Kaattari discloses a communication control system comprising:
a first node; a first communication control device; a second node; and a second communication control device (Kaattari, para[0030-0032] a Singly Attached Nodes (SANs), Doubly Attached Nodes (DANs), a SAN may also be connected redundantly…through…a RedBox), wherein the first communication control device includes
a first wired communication unit having a wired communication function (Kaattari, para[0038-0043] apparatus comprises two or more interfacing units, i.e. ports; two or more redundant ports implementing Ethernet),
a second wired communication unit having the wired communication function (Kaattari, para[0038-0043] apparatus comprises two or more interfacing units, i.e. ports; two or more redundant ports implementing Ethernet),
a third wired communication unit having the wired communication function and connected to the first node (Kaattari, para[0038-0043] apparatus comprises two or more interfacing units, i.e. ports; two or more redundant ports implementing Ethernet),
a first wireless communication unit having a wireless communication function connectable to a plurality of wireless networks (Kaattari, para[0038-0043] apparatus comprises two or more interfacing units, i.e. ports; two or more redundant ports implementing WLAN), and
a first communication control unit that establishes communication via a wireless network with the second communication control device and transmits, to the second communication control device, a frame to be transmitted from the first communication control device to the second communication control device via both a wired network and the wireless network in a case where the first wired communication unit or the second wired communication unit is connected to the second communication control device via the wired network (Kaattari, para[0031, 0043] a source DAN duplicates each frame and sends the duplicates on both LANs…receiving DAN …can receive the frame via two separate paths; the apparatus may provide redundancy in communications in both wired and wireless networks), and
the second communication control device includes a fourth wired communication unit having the wired communication function (Kaattari, para[0038-0043] apparatus comprises two or more interfacing units, i.e. ports; two or more redundant ports implementing Ethernet),
a fifth wired communication unit having the wired communication function (Kaattari, para[0038-0043] apparatus comprises two or more interfacing units, i.e. ports; two or more redundant ports implementing Ethernet),
a sixth wired communication unit having the wired communication function and connected to the second node (Kaattari, para[0038-0043] apparatus comprises two or more interfacing units, i.e. ports; two or more redundant ports implementing Ethernet),
a second wireless communication unit having the wireless communication function connectable to the plurality of wireless networks (Kaattari, para[0038-0043] apparatus comprises two or more interfacing units, i.e. ports; two or more redundant ports implementing WLAN), and
a second communication control unit that establishes the communication via the wireless network with the first communication control device and transmits, to the first communication control device, a frame to be transmitted from the second communication control device to the first communication control device via both the wired network and the wireless network in a case where the fourth wired communication unit or the fifth wired communication unit is connected to the first communication control device via the wired network (Kaattari, para[0031,0043] a source DAN duplicates each frame and sends the duplicates on both LANs…receiving DAN …can receive the frame via two separate paths; the apparatus may provide redundancy in communications in both wired and wireless networks).
As per claim 10, Kaattari discloses the communication control system according to claim 9, wherein in a case where same frames are received from the second communication control device via both the wired network and the wireless network, the first communication control unit transfers a frame received earlier to an appropriate destination and discards a frame received later (Kaattari, para[0044]), and in a case where same frames are received from the first communication control device via both the wired network and the wireless network, the second communication control unit transfers a frame received earlier to an appropriate destination and discards a frame received later (Kaattari, para[0044]).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure. See form 892.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Natisha Cox whose telephone number is (571)270-7167. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday to Friday, 10:00 am - 6:00pm EST.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Umar Cheema can be reached on (571)270-3037. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is (571) 273-8000.
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/NATISHA D COX/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2458
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