CTNF 18/949,369 CTNF 92309 DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. Claims 1-19 are pending for examination . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 07-30-02 AIA 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. 07-34-01 Claims 5 and 17 are 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. Claims 5 and 17 recite the limitation "the different data substreams" in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 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. 07-07-aia AIA 07-07 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 – 07-08-aia AIA (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. 07-15 AIA Claim s 1, 2, 5, 8-10, 13, 14 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102( a)(1 ) as being anticipated by US 2014/0092205 (Qiu et al.) . Regarding Claim 1, Qiu teaches a data transmission method, applied to a transmitting end ([¶ 0022], Fig. 1 illustrates system 100 that includes a sending component 102 and a receiving component 104 that can communicate any type of data (e.g., related to video, audio, image, text, document, . . . )) , the method comprising: acquiring a current frame identifier of a current data frame in a target data stream, wherein the current data frame is a data frame to be transmitted currently ([¶ 0024, 0026, 0046] The sending component 102 can include a frame identification component 106…the frame identification component 106 can assign a unique sequence number [i.e., implicitly, current frame identifier] to the frame [i.e., current data frame] to be transmitted. …encoding the unique sequence number in a payload header of each packet included in the frame. The sending component 102 send the frame to the receiving component 104…The receiving component 104 can additionally include a render component 408, …The render component 408 can generate an output [i.e., target data stream] based upon the received data. [Fig. 3. ¶ 0038], Row 5 illustrates a sequence number assigned to each of the frame output from the encoder.) ; generating a current relationship sequence of the current data frame according to the current frame identifier and a historical frame identifier of at least one historical data frame ([¶ 0006], communicate the dependency structure [implicitly, relationship sequence] from a sender to a receiver. [¶ 0025] The frame dependency component 108 can evaluate a dependency of a frame to be transferred…utilize the dependency structure to evaluate the dependency of the frame…encoding frame dependency information (e.g., referral frame number(s), . . . ) in the payload header of each packet of the frame. [Fig. 3, ¶ 0038], Row 1 …includes a sequence of frames obtained …in temporal order. Rows 6 and 7 illustrate referral frame numbers [i.e., historical frame identifier] for each output frame. The referral frame numbers pertain to the sequence number of the frame [i.e., historical data frame] from which each particular frame [i.e., current data frame] depends. [¶ 0042] the encoder to assign a type to each frame; the type assignment can be based upon the dependency structure. Also, the frame identification component can allocate a frame sequence number to each frame. ..every frame outputted [i.e. generated frame] by the encoder) , wherein the current data frame and the at least one historical data frame are data frames continuously arranged in the target data stream ([Fig. 3, ¶ 0038], Row 1 …includes a sequence of frames obtained …in temporal order. [¶ 0042] every frame outputted by the encoder 404 can be assigned a frame count that is incremented by one from the frame count [i.e., current data frame] of the frame outputted immediately prior [i.e., historical data frame]) , and the current relationship sequence is used to indicate a current arrangement sequence of the current data frame in the target data stream [¶ 0027], the frame sequence numbers [i.e., and the referral frame numbers …can allow to analyze the dependencies between frames. [Fig. 3, ¶ 0038], Row 1 …includes a sequence of frames obtained …in temporal order) ; and transmitting frame data of the current data frame and the current relationship sequence to a receiving end ([¶ 0026] sending component 102 can provide a mechanism to describe the frame dependency structure. …this frame dependency structure can be communicated to the receiving component 104. [¶ 0060], a packet that includes the sequence number of the frame and at least one referral frame number corresponding to the at least one referral frame can be transmitted. …each packet can include a payload header and a payload; the payload header can include the sequence number and the at least one referral frame number, while the payload can include the frame content). Regarding Claim 2 , Qiu teaches The method according to claim 1, wherein acquiring the current frame identifier of the current data frame in the target data stream comprises: acquiring current frame header information of the current data frame in the target data stream; and generating the current frame identifier of the current data frame according to the current frame header information ([¶ 0024], The frame identification component 106 can determine a type of a frame to be transmitted …employ a dependency structure …(e.g., based upon a temporal order of the frames, . . . ). …assign a unique sequence number [i.e., frame identifier] to the frame to be transmitted. Thus, the frame identification component 106 can enable encoding the unique sequence number in a payload header of each packet included in the frame). Regarding Claim 5 , Qiu teaches the method according to claim 1, wherein the target data stream comprises at least two data substreams, and the different data substreams are transmitted to the receiving end by different transmitting ends ([Fig. 1, ¶ 0022], The system 100 includes a sending component 102 and a receiving component 104 that can communicate any type of data (e.g., related to video, audio, image, text, document, . . . ) by way of any type of connection. For example, the sending component 102 can encode and transmit video data to the receiving component 104 in real time; accordingly, a stream of video frames can be transferred. Although one sending component 102 and one receiving component 104 are depicted, it is to be appreciated that the system 100 can include substantially any number of sending components similar to the sending component 102 and/or receiving components similar to the receiving component 104. Since, Qiu teaches the system can include multiple sending components transmitting video frame streams to a receiving components, under the broadest reasonable interpretation, the video frame streams transmitted by the multiple sending components constitute different data sub-streams of target data stream). Regarding Claim 8 , Qiu teaches a data processing method, applied to a receiving end ([¶ 0022], Fig. 1 illustrates system 100 that includes a sending component 102 and a receiving component 104 that can communicate any type of data (e.g., related to video, audio, image, text, document,…)) , the method comprising: receiving a current relationship sequence of a current data frame and acquiring frame data of the current data frame, wherein the current relationship sequence is transmitted by a first transmitting end ([¶¶ 0024-0027], the frame identification component 106 can assign a unique sequence number to the frame [i.e., current data frame] …enable encoding the unique sequence number in a payload header of each packet included in the frame. …the frame dependency component 108 enable encoding frame dependency information in the payload header of each packet of the frame … By employing the frame identification component 106 [i.e., first transmitting end] and the frame dependency component 108, the sending component 102 can provide a mechanism to describe the frame dependency structure [i.e. current relationship sequence]. … this frame dependency structure can be communicated to the receiving component 104. … The receiving component 104 can further include a dependency reconstruction component 110, …The dependency reconstruction component 110 can evaluate the data incorporated into the obtained frames to reassemble the dependency structure between a plurality of frames) , the current relationship sequence includes a current frame identifier of the current data frame and a historical frame identifier of at least one historical data frame, the current relationship sequence is used to indicate a current arrangement sequence of the current data frame in a target data stream ([¶ 0024], the frame identification component 106 can assign a unique sequence number to the frame [i.e., current frame identifier]. [Fig. 3, 0038] Rows 6 and 7 illustrate referral frame numbers [i.e., historical frame identifier] …The referral frame numbers pertain to the sequence number of the frame from which each particular frame depends. [¶ 0027], The dependency reconstruction component 110 …reassemble the dependency structure based on the frame sequence numbers and the referral frame numbers) , and the current data frame and the at least one historical data frame are data frames continuously arranged in the target data stream ([Fig. 3, ¶ 0038], Row 1 …includes a sequence of frames obtained …in temporal order. Rows 6 and 7 illustrate referral frame numbers for each output frame. The referral frame numbers pertain to the sequence number of the frame from which each particular frame depends. [¶ 0042] every frame outputted by the encoder 404 can be assigned a frame count that is incremented by one from the frame …outputted immediately prior)) ; and adding the frame data of the current data frame into the target data stream based on the current arrangement sequence ([¶¶ 0046-0047] The receiving component 104 can include a render component 408, a decoder 410,… The render component 408 can generate an output based upon the received data. …The decoder 410 can include the dependency reconstruction component 110, …The decoder 410 can reverse the encoding effectuated by the encoder 404. For example, the decoder 410 can obtain the packets corresponding to each frame, and process such packets to yield an output [i.e., target data stream] that can be provided to the render component 408. …the decoder 410 can generate a frame dependency table utilized to track whether a frame arrives successfully and can be decoded successfully). Regarding Claim 9, Qiu teaches The method according to claim 8, wherein acquiring the frame data of the current data frame comprises: receiving slice data of the current data frame, wherein the slice data is transmitted by the first transmitting end; determining current slice count information of the current data frame according to the current frame identifier; and concatenating the slice data according to the current slice count information and slice sequence number information of the slice data to obtain the frame data of the current data frame ([¶ 0044], The encoder 404 can generate N packets[implicitly slice] for each of the frames, and these N packets can be transferred from the sending component 102 to the receiving component 104. Each packet yielded by the encoder 404 can include a payload header and a payload. The payload header can include information pertaining to the dependency structure. … The receiving component 104 can include a decoder 410, …The decoder 410 can reverse the encoding effectuated by the encoder 404. For example, the decoder 410 can obtain the packets corresponding to each frame, and process such packets to yield an output that can be provided to the render component 408. …the decoder 410 can generate a frame dependency table utilized to track whether a frame arrives successfully and can be decoded successfully. The following provides an example of such a frame dependency table. [¶ 0060], the frame can include any number of packets, and each of the packets can include the sequence number and the at least one referral frame number. Moreover, each packet can include a payload header and a payload; the payload header can include the sequence number and the at least one referral frame number, while the payload can include the frame content. … received packets of frames can each include a unique, frame specific sequence number; thus, frames that have not been successfully received (e.g., due to packet loss, out of order packets, . . . ) can be identified based upon the sequence number. …dependency information can be included with received packets corresponding to the frame. [¶ 0027], The receiving component 104 can include a dependency reconstruction component 110, …The dependency reconstruction component 110 can evaluate the data incorporated into the obtained frames to reassemble [i.e., concatenate] the dependency structure between a plurality of frames. For example, the frame sequence numbers and the referral frame numbers associated with the received frames can allow the dependency reconstruction component 110 to analyze the dependencies between frames. [¶ 0046], The receiving component 104 include a render component 408, …The render component 408 can generate an output based upon the received data). Regarding Claim 10 , Qiu teaches the method according to claim 9, further comprising, before concatenating the slice data according to the current slice count information and the slice sequence number information of the slice data: transmitting, in response to target slice data of the current data frame being lost, a supplementing request for the target slice data to a second transmitting end, and receiving the target slice data returned by the second transmitting end based on the supplementing request ([¶¶ 0027-0028] The receiving component 104 can a loss evaluation component 112 … the loss evaluation component 112 can identify missing frames transferred by the sending component 102. …the sequence number of frames included by the frame identification component 106 of the sending component 102 can be evaluated by the loss evaluation component 112 to determine whether or not each frame has been successfully received. Thus, the loss evaluation component 112 can identify that frames 1, 2, and 4 as assigned at the sending component 102 have been properly obtained by the receiving component 104, yet frame 3 has not been received (e.g., one or more packets from frame 3 are lost, out of order, corrupt, . . . ), for example. [¶ 0050] the receiving component 104 can include the retransmission request component 414 that transmits a request to the sending component 102 for a new frame to be transferred to the receiving component 104. …when loss of an frame is detected, the retransmission request 414 can send a request. The feedback component 406 can process the request, for example, and within one round trip time (RTT), a new frame can arrive at the receiving component 104 to correct the video artifact). Regarding Claim 13 , the claim limitations are identical and/or equivalent in scope to claim 1, therefore rejected under the same rationale. Examiner further notes, Qiu also teaches a processor and a memory which is in communication connection with the at least one processor, wherein the memory stores a computer program executable by the at least one processor, and the computer program, when executed by the at least one processor comprising instructions . (See, Fig. 11, ¶¶ 0062-0070) as required by the claim 13. Regarding Claims 14 and 17 , the claim limitations are identical and/or equivalent in scope to claims 2 and 5, therefore rejected under the same rationale . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim s 6 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Qiu in view of US 2005/0193138 (Kim) . Regarding Claim 6 , Qiu does not explicitly teach, however, Kim teaches the method according to claim 5, wherein a data sub-stream corresponding to the current data frame is determined based on a decode time stamp information of the current data frame ([¶ 0054] …real-time streaming sub-streams transferred from a server are split up into several streams…, and each of the streams is stored in a sub-stream buffers according to information about a decoding time stamp and a stream identifier). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Kim’s timestamp-based sub-stream into the teachings of Qiu, because such incorporation would have been an obvious design choice to ensure that frames are placed into the correct temporal sub-stream for decoding and rendering. Regarding Claim 18 , the claim limitations are identical and/or equivalent in scope to claim 6, therefore rejected under the same rationale . 07-21-aia AIA Claim s 7 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Qiu in view of US 6389473 (Carmel et al.) . Regarding Claim 7 , Qiu teaches transmitting … the current relationship sequence to the receiving end, however, Qiu does not explicitly teach, but US 6389473(Carmel et al.) teaches the method according to claim 1, further comprising, before transmitting the frame data of the current data frame and the current relationship sequence to the receiving end: using a preset slice method to slice the frame data of the current data frame to obtain slice data of the current data frame, wherein the preset slice method is a slice method shared by different transmitting ends; and transmitting the frame data of the current data frame and the current relationship sequence to the receiving end comprises: transmitting the slice data of the current data frame to the receiving end ([C.2:L.1-20], a transmitting computer generates a data stream and broadcasts the data stream to a plurality of clients. The data stream is divided into a sequence of segments or slices of the data, preferably time slices. Each slice is preferably assigned a respective slice index. The transmitting computer uploads the sequence of slices substantially in real time. …The clients use the slice indices of the frames to maintain proper synchronization of the playback. The division of the data stream into slices and the inclusion of the slice indices in the data stream to be used by the clients in maintaining synchronization). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Carmel’s slice-based synchronization technique into Qiu’s system, because such incorporation would have been an obvious design choice to enhance synchronization granularity and maintain correct ordering even when frames are fragmented into slices. Regarding Claim 19 , the claim limitations are identical and/or equivalent in scope to claim 7, therefore rejected under the same rationale . 07-21-aia AIA Claim s 11 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Qiu in view of US 7668187 (Shaikli) . Regarding Claim 11 , while Qiu teaches “The dependency reconstruction component 110 can ….reassemble the dependency structure between a plurality of frames. For example, the frame sequence numbers and the referral frame numbers associated with the received frames can allow the dependency reconstruction component 110 to analyze the dependencies between frames” [0027], however, Qiu does not explicitly teach, but Shaikli teaches the method according to claim 8, wherein adding the frame data of the current data frame to the target data stream based on the current arrangement sequence comprises: adding, based on the current arrangement sequence, the frame data of the current data frame to the target data stream in response to the current arrangement sequence being the same as an associated arrangement sequence indicated by an associated relationship sequence of the current data frame, wherein the associated relationship sequence comprises a current frame identifier of the current data frame ([C.3:L.51-54], The reordering system 204 operates to output packets at output stream that are in the correct order with respect to how they were transmitted [C.9:L.43-50], Dequeue logic operates to retrieve the packet data …using the read-ptr register and table ... The read_ptr register points to the next sequence number in the table to determine the packet data to be retrieved. If the value read from the table at the selected sequence number is valid, its accompanying memory data pointer is used to retrieve the data from memory for output) . It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Qiu with Shaikli because both address the same problem, correctly ordering frames/packets at the receiver. Shaikli’s sequence-based conditional output mechanism provide a predictable improvement to Qiu’s dependency-based ordering by ensuring that frames are added to the output stream only when the expected arrangement sequence matches the arrangement indicated by the relationship sequence. The combination merely applies a known reordering technique to Qiu’s known system, yielding no unexpected results. Regarding Claim 12 , while Qiu teaches prevents rendering distorted video by identifying missing frames and concealing resulting visual artifacts. The system tracks frame loss via sequence numbers, identifies artifacts using dependency data, and conceals errors by freezing video or preventing decoding of flawed frames [¶ 0061], however, Qiu does not explicitly teach, but Shaikli teaches the method according to claim 11, further comprising: adding, based on a target relationship sequence, the frame data of the current data frame to the target data stream in response to the current arrangement sequence being not the same as the associated arrangement sequence indicated by the associated relationship sequence of the current data frame, wherein the target relationship sequence is a relationship sequence that is first received between the current relationship sequence and the associated relationship sequence (Shaikli discloses a reordering system that selects ordering metadata based on the first-received sequence information and inserts packet into the output stream when the expected sequence does not match the received sequence, Specifically Shaikli teaches that “The reordering system 204 operates to output packets …in the correct order with respect to how they were transmitted”[C.3:L.51-54]; “Information about each received frame and its associated time stamp are then stored in a table 310 for later processing.” [C.4:L.51-52], and “The Dequeue logic operates to retrieve the packet data …using the read-ptr register and the table 310 to form a reordered output stream. The read_ptr register points to the next sequence number in the table 310 to determine the packet data to be retrieved. …If the value from the table is not valid, the Dequeue logic operates to determine if the packet associated with that sequence number has expired. …once the system timer equals the expiration time and the packet has still not arrived, the Dequeue logic deems that packet to be lost, and the read_ptr is incremented to point to the next entry in the table to find the next sequenced packet to output [C.9:L.43-65]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Qiu with Shaikli because both address the same problem, correctly ordering frames/packets at the receiver. Shaikli’s expiration-based, first received ordering mechanism provide a predictable improvement to Qiu’s dependency-based ordering by enabling the receiver to resolve mismatches between expected and received arrangement sequence and insert the frame into the correct position in the output stream. that frames are added to the output stream. The combination would have allowed a robust and timely reconstruction of ordered data streams, and merely applies a known reordering technique to Qiu’s known system, yielding no unexpected results. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 3 and 15 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. Claims 4 and 16 are also objected to as being dependent upon the objected Claims 3 and 15, respectively. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MOHAMMAD YOUSUF A MIAN whose telephone number is (571)272-9206. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9am-5:30pm. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, ARIO ETIENNE can be reached at 571-272-4001. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /MOHAMMAD YOUSUF A. MIAN/Examiner, Art Unit 2457 /ARIO ETIENNE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2457 Application/Control Number: 18/949,369 Page 2 Art Unit: 2457 Application/Control Number: 18/949,369 Page 3 Art Unit: 2457
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