DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Double Patenting
2. 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 either is anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim. 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 §§ 706.02(l) (1) - 706.02(l) (3) 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 USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms, which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The 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/process/file/efs/guidance/eTD-info-I.jsp.
3. Claim(s) 51-70 is/are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim(s) 1 of U.S. Patent No. 12,160,322 B2. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because Claim(s) 51-59, 61-69 of the current application matches directly to every element of Claim 1-15, 17-19 of U.S. Patent No. 12,160,322 B2.
4. In addition, specifically Independent Claims 51 & 61 is/are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being rejected over claim(s) 1 & 10 of U.S. Patent 12,160,322 B2, in view of Beckhardt et al. (US 2019/0075147 A1) and further in view of Wheelock (US 9,641,578 B2).
The claims are not patentable distinct from each other because it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to take the teachings of Beckhardt-Wheelock and apply them on the teachings of Application No. 18/931,501 to creating system and methods for establishing a primary multicast media content and a supplemental multicast for dropped segments of media content.
5. The table below shows only a sample of how each of these claims is anticipated by claims such as Claim 1 of U.S. Patent No. 12,160,322 B2.
Instant Application 18/931,501
US Patent No. 12,160,322 B2
51. (New) A method comprising:
joining, by a first device, a multicast of media content from a second device, wherein the media content comprises one or more segments, each segment comprising a first subset of frames and a second subset of frames;
receiving, by the first device, a first indication of a third device and a second indication of a fourth device, wherein the third device and the fourth device are each joined to the multicast of media content from the second device;
establishing a first device-to-device communication path between the first device and the third device;
establishing a second device-to-device communication path between the first device and the fourth device; and
based on determining that the first device has failed to receive a first segment of the media content via the multicast:
retrieving the first subset of frames of the first segment from the third device via the first device-to-device communication path; and
retrieving the second subset of frames of the first segment from the fourth device via the second device-to-device communication path.
1. A method comprising:
joining, by a first device, a primary multicast of media content from a second device via a first network, wherein the media content comprises one or more segments, each segment comprising a first subset of frames and a second subset of frames;
receiving, by the first device, an identification of a proximate third device that is joined to the primary multicast of the media content from the second device;
joining, by the first device, a supplemental multicast of the media content from the third device, wherein the supplemental multicast includes less than all segments of the primary multicast and operates using device-to-device communication; and
in response to determining that the first device has failed to receive a first segment of the media content via the primary multicast:
retrieving the first subset of frames of the first segment from the third device via the supplemental multicast using device-to-device communication; and
retrieving the second subset of frames of the first segment from a fourth device using device-to-device communication, wherein the fourth device is joined to the primary multicast of media content from the second device.
52. (New) The method of claim 51, wherein the second device comprises a base station, wherein the multicast comprises a first coverage area, and wherein the first device-to-device communication path comprises a second coverage area that is less than the first coverage area and is encompassed within the first coverage area.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the second device comprises a base station, wherein the primary multicast comprises a first coverage area, and wherein the supplemental multicast comprises a second coverage area that is less than the first coverage area and is encompassed within the first coverage area.
53. (New) The method of claim 51, wherein receiving the first identification of the third device comprises:
receiving, by the first device from the second device, a service announcement including a list of devices joined to the multicast ranked based on respective signal strength or battery life, wherein the third device is a best ranked device on the list of devices.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the identification of the proximate third device comprises:
receiving, by the first device from the second device, a service announcement including a list of devices joined to the primary multicast ranked based on respective signal strength or battery life, wherein the proximate third device is the best ranked device on the list of devices.
54. (New) The method of claim 51, wherein receiving the first identification of the third device comprises:
receiving, by the first device in response to joining the multicast, a service announcement transmitted via unicast by the second device, wherein the service announcement includes a list of devices joined to the multicast ranked based on (a) a location of the first device and (b) the respective locations of the devices in the list of devices joined to the multicast.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the identification of the proximate third device comprises:
receiving, by the first device in response to joining the primary multicast, a service announcement transmitted via unicast by the second device, wherein the service announcement includes a list of devices joined to the primary multicast ranked based on (a) a location of the first device and (b) the respective locations of the devices in the list of devices joined to the primary unicast.
55. (New) The method of claim 51, further comprising:
based on determining that the first device has failed to receive a second segment of the media content via the multicast, retrieving the second segment from the third device via the first device-to-device communication path.
5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
in response to determining that the first device has failed to receive a second segment of the media content via the primary multicast, retrieving the second segment from the third device via the supplemental multicast.
56. (New) The method of claim 55, wherein the first device and the third device each comprise an HTTP proxy server configured to store segments of the media content, and wherein retrieving the second segment from the third device via the first device-to-device communication path comprises:
transmitting a request from the first device to the third device to transmit the second segment stored in the HTTP proxy server of the third device;
receiving, by the first device from the HTTP proxy server of the third device, the second segment of the media content; and
storing, in the HTTP proxy server of the first device, the second segment of the media content.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein the first device and the third device each comprise an HTTP proxy server configured to store segments of the media content, and wherein retrieving the second segment from the third device via the supplemental multicast comprises:
transmitting a request from the first device to the third device to transmit the second segment stored in the HTTP proxy server of the third device;
receiving, by the first device from the HTTP proxy server of the third device, the second segment of the media content; and
storing, in the HTTP proxy server of the first device, the second segment of the media content.
57. (New) The method of claim 51, further comprising:
joining, by a fifth device, the multicast;
receiving, by the fifth device from the third device, a first set of segments of the media content, wherein the fifth device receives the first set of media segments of the media content before receiving any segment of the media content from the second device via the multicast; and
after receiving the first set of segments of the media content from the third device, receiving a second set of segments of the media content from the second device via the multicast.
7. The method of claim 1, the method further comprising:
joining, by a fifth device, the primary multicast;
receiving, by the fifth device from the third device via the supplemental multicast, a first set of segments of the media content, wherein the fifth device receives the first set of media segments of the media content before receiving any segment of the media content from the second device via the primary multicast; and
after receiving the first set of segments of the media content from the third device via the supplemental multicast, receiving a second set of segments of the media content from the second device via the primary multicast.
58. (New) The method of claim 51, further comprising:
joining, by a fifth device, the multicast; and
based on determining that (a) the first device has failed to receive a second segment of the media content via the multicast, and (b) the fifth device has failed to receive the second segment of the media content via the multicast, simultaneously:
retrieving, by the first device from the third device, the second segment of the media content; and
retrieving, by the fifth device from the third device, the second segment of the media content.
8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
joining, by a fifth device, the primary multicast and the supplemental multicast; and
in response to determining that (a) the first device has failed to receive a second segment of the media content via the primary multicast, and (b) the fifth device has failed to receive the second segment of the media content via the primary multicast, simultaneously:
retrieving, by the first device from the third device via the supplemental multicast, the second segment of the media content; and
retrieving, by the fifth device from the third device via the supplemental multicast, the second segment of the media content.
59. (New) The method of claim 51, further comprising:
based on determining that more than a threshold number of devices joined to the multicast have failed to receive one or more segments of the media content from the second device via the multicast, modifying a segment size of the segments of the media content transmitted via the multicast.
9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
in response to determining that more than a threshold number of devices joined to the primary multicast have failed to receive one or more segments of the media content from the second device via the primary multicast, modifying a segment size of the segments of the media content transmitted via the primary multicast.
60. (New) The method of claim 51, wherein the first device-to-device communication path and the second device-to-device communication path each do not traverse a base station.
61. (New) A system comprising:
control circuitry configured to:
join, by a first device, a multicast of media content from a second device via a first communication path, wherein the media content comprises one or more segments, each segment comprising a first subset of frames and a second subset of frames; and
input/output circuitry configured to:
receive, by the first device, a first indication of a third device and a second indication of a fourth device, wherein the third device and the fourth device are each joined to the multicast of media content from the second device;
establish a first device-to-device communication path between the first device and the third device; and
establish a second device-to-device communication path between the first device and the fourth device;
wherein the control circuitry is further configured to, based on determining that the first device has failed to receive a first segment of the media content via the multicast:
retrieve the first subset of frames of the first segment from the third device via the first device-to-device communication path; and
retrieve the second subset of frames of the first segment from the fourth device via the second device-to-device communication path.
10. A system comprising: control circuitry configured to:
join, by a first device, a primary multicast of media content from a second device via a first network, wherein the media content comprises one or more segments, each segment comprising a first subset of frames and a second subset of frames; and
input/output circuitry configured to:
receive, by the first device, an identification of a proximate third device that is joined to the primary multicast of the media content from the second device;
join, by the first device, a supplemental multicast of the media content from the third device, wherein the supplemental multicast includes less than all segments of the primary multicast, and operates
using device-to-device communication; and in response to determining that the first device has failed to receive a first segment of the media content via the primary multicast:
retrieve the first subset of frames of the first segment from the third device via the supplemental multicast using device-to-device communication; and
retrieve the second subset of frames of the first segment from a fourth device using device-to-device communication, wherein the fourth device is joined to the primary multicast of media content from the second device.
62. (New) The system of claim 61, wherein the second device comprises a base station, wherein the multicast comprises a first coverage area, and wherein the first device-to-device communication path comprises a second coverage area that is less than the first coverage area and is encompassed within the first coverage area.
11. The system of claim 10, wherein the second device comprises a base station, wherein the primary multicast comprises a first coverage area, and wherein the supplemental multicast comprises a second coverage area that is less than the first coverage area and is encompassed within the first coverage area.
63. (New) The system of claim 61, wherein the input/output circuitry is further configured to receive the first identification of the third device by:
receiving, by the first device from the second device, a service announcement including a list of devices joined to the multicast ranked based on respective signal strength or battery life, wherein the third device is a best ranked device on the list of devices.
12. The system of claim 10, wherein the input/output circuitry is further configured to receive the identification of the proximate third device by:
receiving, by the first device from the second device, a service announcement including a list of devices joined to the primary multicast ranked based on respective signal strength or battery life, wherein the proximate third device is the best ranked device on the list of devices.
64. (New) The system of claim 61, wherein the input/output circuitry is further configured to receive the first identification of the third device by: receiving, by the first device in response to joining the multicast, a service announcement transmitted via unicast by the second device, wherein the service announcement includes a list of devices joined to the multicast ranked based on (a) a location of the first device and (b) the respective locations of the devices in the list of devices joined to the multicast.
13. The system of claim 10, wherein the input/output circuitry is further configured to receive the identification of the proximate third device by: receiving, by the first device in response to joining the primary multicast, a service announcement transmitted via unicast by the second device, wherein the service announcement includes a list of devices joined to the primary multicast ranked based on (a) a location of the first device and (b) the respective locations of the devices in the list of devices joined to the primary unicast.
65. (New) The system of claim 61, wherein the control circuitry is further configured to, based on determining that the first device has failed to receive a second segment of the media content via the multicast, retrieve the second segment from the third device via the first device-to-device communication path.
14. The system of claim 10, wherein the control circuitry is further configured to: in response to determining that the first device has failed to receive a second segment of the media content via the primary multicast, retrieve the second segment from the third device via the supplemental multicast.
66. (New) The system of claim 65, wherein the first device and the third device each comprise an HTTP proxy server configured to store segments of the media content, and wherein the control circuitry is further configured to retrieve the second segment from the third device via the first device-to-device communication path by: transmitting a request from the first device to the third device to transmit the second segment stored in the HTTP proxy server of the third device; receiving, by the first device from the HTTP proxy server of the third device, the second segment of the media content; and storing, in the HTTP proxy server of the first device, the second segment of the media content.
15. The system of claim 14, wherein the first device and the third device each comprise an HTTP proxy server configured to store segments of the media content, and wherein the control circuitry retrieving the second segment from the third device via the supplemental multicast further comprises: transmitting a request from the first device to the third device to transmit the second segment stored in the HTTP proxy server of the third device; receiving, by the first device from the HTTP proxy server of the third device, the second segment of the media content; and storing, in the HTTP proxy server of the first device, the second segment of the media content.
16. The system of claim 10, wherein the first subset of frames comprises one or more I-frames, and the second subset of frames comprises one or more P- or B-frames, wherein the control circuitry is further configured to: in response to determining that the first device has failed to receive the first segment of the media content via the primary multicast: retrieve the one or more I-frames of the first segment from the third device via the supplemental multicast; and retrieve the one or more P- or B-frames of the first segment from the fourth device.
67. (New) The system of claim 61, wherein the control circuitry is further configured to: join, by a fifth device, the multicast; receive, by the fifth device from the third device, a first set of segments of the media content, wherein the fifth device receives the first set of media segments of the media content before receiving any segment of the media content from the second device via the multicast; and after receiving the first set of segments of the media content from the third device, receive a second set of segments of the media content from the second device via the multicast.
17. The system of claim 10, wherein the control circuitry is further configured to: join, by a fifth device, the primary multicast; receive, by the fifth device from the third device via the supplemental multicast, a first set of segments of the media content, wherein the fifth device receives the first set of media segments of the media content before receiving any segment of the media content from the second device via the primary multicast; and after receiving the first set of segments of the media content from the third device via the supplemental multicast, receive a second set of segments of the media content from the second device via the primary multicast.
68. (New) The system of claim 61, wherein the control circuitry is further configured to: join, by a fifth device, the multicast; and based on determining that (a) the first device has failed to receive a second segment of the media content via the multicast, and (b) the fifth device has failed to receive the second segment of the media content via the multicast, simultaneously: retrieve, by the first device from the third device, the second segment of the media content; and retrieve, by the fifth device from the third device, the second segment of the media content.
18. The system of claim 10, wherein the control circuitry is further configured to: join, by a fifth device, the primary multicast and the supplemental multicast; and in response to determining that (a) the first device has failed to receive a second segment of the media content via the primary multicast, and (b) the fifth device has failed to receive the second segment of the media content via the primary multicast, simultaneously: retrieve, by the first device from the third device via the supplemental multicast, the second segment of the media content; and retrieve, by the fourth device from the third device via the supplemental multicast, the second segment of the media content.
69. (New) The system of claim 61, wherein the control circuitry is further configured to: based on determining that more than a threshold number of devices joined to the multicast have failed to receive one or more segments of the media content from the second device via the multicast, modify a segment size of the segments of the media content transmitted via the multicast.
19. The system of claim 10, wherein the control circuitry is further configured to: in response to determining that more than a threshold number of devices joined to the primary multicast have failed to receive one or more segments of the media content from the second device via the primary multicast, modify a segment size of the segments of the media content transmitted via the primary multicast.
70. (New) The system of claim 61, wherein the first device-to-device communication path and the second device-to-device communication path each comprise a communication path that does not traverse a base station.
20. A method comprising: joining, by a first device, a primary multicast of media content from a second device via a first network, wherein the media content comprises one or more segments, each segment comprising one or more I-frames and one or more P- of B-frames; receiving, by the first device, an identification of a proximate third device that is joined to the primary multicast of the media content from the second device; joining, by the first device, a supplemental multicast of the media content from the third device, wherein the supplemental multicast includes less than all segments of the primary multicast and operates using device-to-device communication; in response to determining that the first device has failed to receive a first segment of the media content via the primary multicast: retrieving the one or more I-frames of the first segment from the third device via the supplemental multicast using device-to-device communication; and retrieving the one or more P- or B-frames of the first segment from a fourth device using device-to-device communication, wherein the fourth device is joined to the primary multicast of media content from the second device.
Conclusion
6. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Jimenez et al. (US 10,511,868 B2)
Pichaimurthy et al. (US 11,750,859 B2)
Landow et al. (US 8,880,720 B2)
Thornburgh (US 10,178,431 B2)
Patadia et al. (US 9,491,496 B2)
Grigsby et al. (US 11,659,222 B2)
7. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHRISTOPHER B ROBINSON whose telephone number is (571)270-0702. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:00-3:00 EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Nicholas R Taylor can be reached at 571-272-3889. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/CHRISTOPHER B ROBINSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2443
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