DETAILED ACTION
This first non-final action is in response to applicants’ continuation filed on 10/28/2024. Claim 1 is currently pending and has been considered as follows.
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 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.
Drawings
The drawings filed on 10/28/2024 are accepted.
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer.
Claim 1 is rejected on the ground of nonstatutory obviousness-type double patenting as being unpatentable over Claims 6 and 7 of parent U.S. Patent No. US 11,997,498 B2 (common inventive entity). Although the conflicting claims are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because it is clear that all the elements of the instant application claim 1 are to be found in the patent claims 6 and 7. The difference between the application claim and the parent patent claims lies in the fact that the patent claims include more elements and are more specific. Thus, the invention of Claims 6 and 7 of the parent patent are in effect a “species” of the “generic” invention of the instant application claim 1. It has been held that the generic invention is “anticipated” by the “species”. See In re Goodman, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993). The following Claims Comparison Table illustrates the anticipatory relationship of the claims at issue.
Claims Comparison Table
Instant Application:
18/929,368
U.S. Patent No. 11,997,498 B2
(common inventive entity)
Claim 1:
A wireless network comprising a base station and a plurality of user devices, wherein:
a) a particular user device of the plurality comprises a hub device of a sub-network, the sub-network comprising a plurality of end devices, each end device comprising a sensor or actuator, and the hub device comprising a gateway device between the end devices and the base station;
b) wherein the base station is configured to communicate wirelessly with the hub device and to avoid communicating with the end devices;
c) wherein hub device is configured to communicate wirelessly with the base station and with each end device;
d) wherein each end device is configured to communicate wirelessly with the hub device and to avoid communicating with any other entity;
e) wherein the hub device is further configured to transmit instructions to each end device, and to avoid transmitting any message other than an instruction to any end device, and to interpret every message from an end device as either a data message or a preconfigured message; and
f) wherein each end device is further configured to interpret every message from the hub device as an instruction, and to transmit data messages and preconfigured messages to the hub device, and to avoid transmitting any message other than data messages and preconfigured messages to the hub device.
Claim 6:
A wireless network comprising: a) a plurality of end devices, each end device comprising a wireless device comprising a processor and a transceiver; and
b) exactly one hub device comprising a wireless device comprising a processor and a transceiver;
c) wherein each end device comprises either a sensor configured to perform a measurement, or an actuator configured to perform an action;
d) wherein each end device is configured to communicate solely with the hub device according to an upcast restricted link, wherein the upcast restricted link comprises a communication channel restricted to unicast communications from the end device to the hub device;
e) wherein the hub device is configured to communicate with each end devices according to a downcast restricted link, wherein the downcast restricted link comprises a communication channel restricted to unicast communications from the hub device to the end device;
f) wherein the hub device is further configured to communicate with a larger network comprising a base station or access point, wherein communications between the hub device and the base station or access point are transmitted according to managed and scheduled uplink and downlink channels of the larger network; and
g) wherein the hub device is further configured to receive a request message from the base station or access point, and to transmit, to one or more end devices, an instruction message based on the request message.
Claim 7:
The wireless network of claim 6, wherein all downcast messages from the hub device to one of the end devices comprise instructions, and all upcast messages from an end device to the hub device comprise measurement data or pre-configured messages.
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.
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over KIM et al. (US 20170013062 A1, hereinafter Kim) in view of Nuttall et al. (US 10306442 B1, hereinafter Nuttall).
As to Claim 1:
Kim discloses a wireless network comprising a plurality of user devices (e.g. Kim wireless network WLAN, WiFi, LTE [0075]; “hub apparatus and a method are provided for selecting a device. The method includes receiving a service request; determining a sensor based on the received service request; receiving state information from a device including the determined sensor; and selecting the device based on the received state information” [Abstract]; “The user terminals 200-1 to 200-n each include a service subscription module that selects a service that the user wishes to perform. The user terminals 200-1 to 200-n may directly communicate with the hub apparatus 100 or may communicate with the hub apparatus 100 at a remote distance through a service server 3010 and Internet” [0341]), wherein:
a) a particular user device of the plurality comprises a hub device of a sub-network (e.g. Kim FIG. 1 Hub 100; hub apparatus manages and controls devices including sensors [0055]-[0056]), the sub-network comprising a plurality of end devices, each end device comprising a sensor or actuator (e.g. Kim one or more devices including sensors [0056]; “one or more sensors for performing a service in response to the service request, and receives state information from one or more of the devices 300-1 to 300-n including one or more sensors from among the determined sensors” [0060] [0120]), and the hub device comprising a gateway device between the end devices (e.g. Kim “the hub apparatus 100, which manages and controls the devices 300-1 to 300-n to perform a service as requested by the user, may be implemented by using a home gateway device” [0055]);
c) wherein hub device is configured to communicate wirelessly (e.g. Kim communicate with the hub using wireless communication [0112]) with each end device (e.g. Kim “the hub apparatus 100 may request state information from the determined one or more of the devices 300-1 to 300-n, and receive the state information from the one or more of the devices 300-1 to 300-n” [0063]; “In addition, the hub apparatus 100 may transmit a signal for requesting sensing information from one or more of the devices 300-1 to 300-n included in the device group. The signal for requesting the sensing information may include a sensing condition including a sensing period, a sensing information transmitting condition, etc., which may be set by the hub apparatus 100 for each service. In addition, the hub apparatus 100 may set the sensing condition based on the information received from the outside, the user information, etc” [0068]; “The communicator 110 may transmit, to an external device, e.g., one or more of the devices 300-1 to 300-n illustrated in FIG. 1, a signal requesting sensing information” [0077]; [0088]);
d) wherein each end device is configured to communicate wirelessly with the hub device and to avoid communicating with any other entity (e.g. Kim “The one or more of the devices 300-1 to 300-n may acquire sensing information for the service using the sensor, based on the sensing condition included in the information for requesting the sensing information, and transmit the acquired sensing information to the hub apparatus 100” [0069]);
e) wherein the hub device is further configured to transmit instructions to each end device, and to avoid transmitting any message other than an instruction to any end device (e.g. Kim “the hub apparatus 100 may transmit a signal for requesting sensing information from one or more of the devices 300-1 to 300-n included in the device group. The signal for requesting the sensing information may include a sensing condition including a sensing period, a sensing information transmitting condition, etc., which may be set by the hub apparatus 100 for each service” [0068]), and to interpret every message from an end device as either a data message or a preconfigured message (e.g. “the hub apparatus 100 may perform the service based on the acquired sensing information” [0071]); and
f) wherein each end device is further configured to interpret every message from the hub device as an instruction, and to transmit data messages and preconfigured messages to the hub device, and to avoid transmitting any message other than data messages and preconfigured messages to the hub device (e.g. Kim “the hub apparatus 100 may request state information from the determined one or more of the devices 300-1 to 300-n, and receive the state information from the one or more of the devices 300-1 to 300-n” [0063]; “sensors for performing the service based on the received state information. In this case, the state information may include the location of the devices 300-1 to 300-n, the battery information of the devices 300-1 to 300-n, the use history of the devices 300-1 to 300-n, etc. The state information may also include information received from the outside (weather information, etc.)” [0064]; “The state information may be transmitted from the devices 300-1 to 300-n in response to a request of the hub apparatus 100” [0065]; [0068]);
But Kim does not specifically disclose:
a base station b) wherein the base station is configured to communicate wirelessly with the hub device and to avoid communicating with the end devices; wherein the hub device is configured to communicate wireless with the base station.
However, the analogous art Nuttall does disclose a base station b) wherein the base station is configured to communicate wirelessly with the hub device and to avoid communicating with the end devices; wherein the hub device is configured to communicate wireless with the base station (e.g. Nuttall Fig. 10; “a hub is an edge node that connects one or many devices to a host point, and/or the Internet, either directly or via a network base station” [column 2 lines 6-8]; “Disclosed herein are hub devices that can collect or receive data from one or more data source nodes such as IoT devices and aggregate data from one or many such devices via a ubiquitous wired or wireless local interface. The hub may relay any device data to its desired endpoint via a connection to a data backhaul base station including but not limited to a cell tower, satellite, or other network gateways” [column 8 lines 19-26]; “the hub acts as a network gateway between data source nodes (e.g., devices, sensors) and… a data backhaul base station” [column 17 lines 62-64]; “Referring to FIG. 1, in a particular embodiment, the hub 102 acts as the gateway between a local network of connected data source nodes 101 (e.g., devices) and the Internet. It collects data from connected devices and transmits it to a network base station where it is further relayed to its destination. In this embodiment, the hub includes one or more subsystems to enable local connectivity, data processing and caching, and transmission to a network base station. Devices connect to the hub through ubiquitous Wi-Fi 103 and Bluetooth 104 interfaces, and also have the capacity to utilize a physical link 105 to the hub” [column 19 lines 7-17]). Kim and Nuttall are analogous art because they are from the same field of endeavor in wireless network hub communication.
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 Kim and Nuttall before him or her, to modify the disclosure of Kim with the teachings of Nuttall to include a base station b) wherein the base station is configured to communicate wirelessly with the hub device and to avoid communicating with the end devices; wherein the hub device is configured to communicate wireless with the base station as claimed. The suggestion/motivation for doing so would have been for increasing network efficiency and endpoint capabilities by adding complementary functionality in user network transceivers (Nuttall [column 1 lines 26-28]). Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine Kim and Nuttall 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.
Bagasra (US 20170180380 A1)
KIM et al. (US 20190080091 A1)
Po (US 20220191271 A1)
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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