DETAILED ACTION
This Office Action is in response to the original filing of November 22, 2024. Claim(s) 1-20 is/are pending and have 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 (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.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on February 24, 2025. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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, 5-6, 8, 12-13, 15, and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kabbani et al. (US 2025/0047613 A1, hereinafter Kabbani).
As to Claim 1, Kabbani discloses a sending networking device, comprising:
one or more processors (Kabbani; [0032, 0048]); and
memory storing one or more software applications which, when executed by any combination of the one or more processors performs an operation (Kabbani; [0032, 0048]), the operation comprising:
determining whether an explicit congestion notification (ECN) is marked on an acknowledgement (ACK) received by the sending networking device, the ACK being associated with a packet transmitted from the sending networking device ((Kabbani; [0055-0056]), where Kabbani discloses the acknowledgements (ACKs) were ECN marked.);
determining whether a measured delay associated with the packet is greater than a first threshold, wherein the first threshold is greater than a second threshold associated with a target delay ((Kabbani; Fig. 1C; [0055-0056]), where Kabbani discloses determining delay according to a threshold.);
upon determining that the ECN is not marked and that the measured delay is greater than the first threshold, additively increasing a transmission parameter ((Kabbani; [0055, 0225]), where Kabbani discloses determining whether it is safe for a connection to increase its rate or window to better utilize its end-to-end path.).
As to Claim 5, Kabbani discloses the sending networking device of claim 1, wherein the transmission parameter is a congestion window size or a flow traffic's transmission rate ((Kabbani; [0055, 0225]), where Kabbani discloses determining whether it is safe for a connection to increase its rate or window to better utilize its end-to-end path.).
As to Claim 6, Kabbani discloses the sending networking device of claim 1, wherein the first threshold is greater than at least two times of the second threshold ((Kabbani; Fig. 1C; [0055-0056, 0113-0114]), where Kabbani discloses determining delay according to a threshold.).
As to Claim 8, Kabbani discloses a method, comprising:
determining whether an explicit congestion notification (ECN) is marked on an acknowledgement (ACK) received by a sending networking device, the ACK being associated with a packet transmitted from the sending networking device ((Kabbani; [0055-0056]), where Kabbani discloses the acknowledgements (ACKs) were ECN marked.);
determining whether a measured delay associated with the packet is greater than a first threshold, wherein the first threshold is greater than a second threshold associated with a target delay ((Kabbani; Fig. 1C; [0055-0056]), where Kabbani discloses determining delay according to a threshold.);
upon determining that the ECN is not marked and that the measured delay is greater than the first threshold, additively increasing a transmission parameter ((Kabbani; [0055, 0225]), where Kabbani discloses determining whether it is safe for a connection to increase its rate or window to better utilize its end-to-end path.).
As to Claim 12, Kabbani discloses the method of claim 8, wherein the transmission parameter is a congestion window size or a flow traffic's transmission rate ((Kabbani; [0055, 0225]), where Kabbani discloses determining whether it is safe for a connection to increase its rate or window to better utilize its end-to-end path.).
As to Claim 13, Kabbani discloses the method of claim 8, wherein the first threshold is greater than at least two times of the second threshold ((Kabbani; Fig. 1C; [0055-0056, 0113-0114]), where Kabbani discloses determining delay according to a threshold.).
As to Claim 15, Kabbani discloses a system, comprising:
a receiving networking device (Kabbani; Figs. 1B, 1C, 1G, 1J); and
a sending networking device configured to use a multipath connection to transmit data over a network to the receiving networking device (Kabbani; Figs. 1B, 1C, 1G, 1J; [0110, 0126]), wherein the sending networking device is configured to:
determine whether an explicit congestion notification (ECN) is marked on an acknowledgement (ACK) received by the sending networking device, the ACK being associated with a packet transmitted from the sending networking device ((Kabbani; [0055-0056]), where Kabbani discloses the acknowledgements (ACKs) were ECN marked.);
determine whether a measured delay associated with the packet is greater than at least two times of a target delay ((Kabbani; Fig. 1C; [0055-0056]), where Kabbani discloses determining delay according to a threshold.);
upon determining that the ECN is not marked and that the measured delay is greater than at least two times of the target delay, additively increase a transmission parameter ((Kabbani; [0055, 0225]), where Kabbani discloses determining whether it is safe for a connection to increase its rate or window to better utilize its end-to-end path.).
As to Claim 19, Kabbani discloses the system of claim 15, wherein the transmission parameter is a congestion window size or a flow traffic's transmission rate ((Kabbani; [0055, 0225]), where Kabbani discloses determining whether it is safe for a connection to increase its rate or window to better utilize its end-to-end path.).
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.
Claim(s) 2-4, 9-11, and 16-18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kabbani et al. (US 2025/0047613 A1, hereinafter Kabbani), in view of Penaranda Cebrian et al. (US 2022/0103484 A1, hereinafter Cebrian).
As to Claim 2, Kabbani discloses the sending networking device of claim 1, but does not disclose wherein the measured delay is based on a difference between an actual delay of the packet and a baseline delay of an uncongested network.
In an analogous art, Cebrian discloses the measured delay is based on a difference between an actual delay of the packet and a baseline delay of an uncongested network ((Cebrian; [0023, 0113-0114]), where Cebrian discloses the ability to determine the latency based on a baseline RTT value and a measured RTT value.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kabbani to include the measured delay is based on a difference between an actual delay of the packet and a baseline delay of an uncongested network as taught by Cebrian to enable adjusting the congestion window based on the determine congestion of the network (Cebrian; [0036]).
As to Claim 3, Kabbani discloses the sending networking device of claim 1, but does not disclose wherein the target delay is associated with an average Round Trip Time (RTT) of packets transmitted between the sending networking device and a receiving networking device.
In an analogous art, Cebrian discloses the target delay is associated with an average Round Trip Time (RTT) of packets transmitted between the sending networking device and a receiving networking device ((Cebrian; [0023, 0113-0114]), where Cebrian discloses the ability to determine the latency based on a baseline RTT value and a measured RTT value.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kabbani to include the target delay is associated with an average Round Trip Time (RTT) of packets transmitted between the sending networking device and a receiving networking device as taught by Cebrian to enable adjusting the congestion window based on the determine congestion of the network (Cebrian; [0036]).
As to Claim 4, Kabbani discloses the sending networking device of claim 1, but does not disclose wherein the measured delay is based on a difference between a measured Round Trip Time (RTT) of the packet and a baseline RTT of an uncongested network.
In an analogous art, Cebrian discloses the measured delay is based on a difference between a measured Round Trip Time (RTT) of the packet and a baseline RTT of an uncongested network ((Cebrian; [0023, 0113-0114]), where Cebrian discloses the ability to determine the latency based on a baseline RTT value and a measured RTT value.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kabbani to include the measured delay is based on a difference between a measured Round Trip Time (RTT) of the packet and a baseline RTT of an uncongested network as taught by Cebrian to enable adjusting the congestion window based on the determine congestion of the network (Cebrian; [0036]).
As to Claim 9, Kabbani discloses the method of claim 8, but does not disclose wherein the measured delay is based on a difference between an actual delay of the packet and a baseline delay of an uncongested network.
In an analogous art, Cebrian discloses the measured delay is based on a difference between an actual delay of the packet and a baseline delay of an uncongested network ((Cebrian; [0023, 0113-0114]), where Cebrian discloses the ability to determine the latency based on a baseline RTT value and a measured RTT value.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kabbani to include the measured delay is based on a difference between an actual delay of the packet and a baseline delay of an uncongested network as taught by Cebrian to enable adjusting the congestion window based on the determine congestion of the network (Cebrian; [0036]).
As to Claim 10, Kabbani discloses the method of claim 8, but does not disclose wherein the target delay is associated with an average Round Trip Time (RTT) of packets transmitted between the sending networking device and a receiving networking device.
In an analogous art, Cebrian discloses the target delay is associated with an average Round Trip Time (RTT) of packets transmitted between the sending networking device and a receiving networking device ((Cebrian; [0023, 0113-0114]), where Cebrian discloses the ability to determine the latency based on a baseline RTT value and a measured RTT value.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kabbani to include the target delay is associated with an average Round Trip Time (RTT) of packets transmitted between the sending networking device and a receiving networking device as taught by Cebrian to enable adjusting the congestion window based on the determine congestion of the network (Cebrian; [0036]).
As to Claim 11, Kabbani discloses the method of claim 8, but does not disclose wherein the measured delay is based on a difference between a measured Round Trip Time (RTT) of the packet and a baseline RTT of an uncongested network.
In an analogous art, Cebrian discloses the measured delay is based on a difference between a measured Round Trip Time (RTT) of the packet and a baseline RTT of an uncongested network ((Cebrian; [0023, 0113-0114]), where Cebrian discloses the ability to determine the latency based on a baseline RTT value and a measured RTT value.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kabbani to include the measured delay is based on a difference between a measured Round Trip Time (RTT) of the packet and a baseline RTT of an uncongested network as taught by Cebrian to enable adjusting the congestion window based on the determine congestion of the network (Cebrian; [0036]).
As to Claim 16, Kabbani discloses the system of claim 15, but does not disclose wherein the measured delay is based on a difference between an actual delay of the packet and a baseline delay of an uncongested network.
In an analogous art, Cebrian discloses the measured delay is based on a difference between an actual delay of the packet and a baseline delay of an uncongested network ((Cebrian; [0023, 0113-0114]), where Cebrian discloses the ability to determine the latency based on a baseline RTT value and a measured RTT value.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kabbani to include the measured delay is based on a difference between an actual delay of the packet and a baseline delay of an uncongested network as taught by Cebrian to enable adjusting the congestion window based on the determine congestion of the network (Cebrian; [0036]).
As to Claim 17, Kabbani discloses the system of claim 15, but does not disclose wherein the target delay is associated with an average Round Trip Time (RTT) of packets transmitted between the sending networking device and the receiving networking device.
In an analogous art, Cebrian discloses the target delay is associated with an average Round Trip Time (RTT) of packets transmitted between the sending networking device and the receiving networking device ((Cebrian; [0023, 0113-0114]), where Cebrian discloses the ability to determine the latency based on a baseline RTT value and a measured RTT value.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kabbani to include the target delay is associated with an average Round Trip Time (RTT) of packets transmitted between the sending networking device and the receiving networking device as taught by Cebrian to enable adjusting the congestion window based on the determine congestion of the network (Cebrian; [0036]).
As to Claim 18, Kabbani discloses the system of claim 15, but does not disclose wherein the measured delay is based on a difference between a measured Round Trip Time (RTT) of the packet and a baseline RTT of an uncongested network.
In an analogous art, Cebrian discloses the measured delay is based on a difference between a measured Round Trip Time (RTT) of the packet and a baseline RTT of an uncongested network ((Cebrian; [0023, 0113-0114]), where Cebrian discloses the ability to determine the latency based on a baseline RTT value and a measured RTT value.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kabbani to include the measured delay is based on a difference between a measured Round Trip Time (RTT) of the packet and a baseline RTT of an uncongested network as taught by Cebrian to enable adjusting the congestion window based on the determine congestion of the network (Cebrian; [0036]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim(s) 7, 14, and 20 is/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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See PTO-892.
The examiner also requests, in response to this Office action, support be shown for language added to any original claims on amendment and any new claims. That is, indicate support for newly added claim language by specifically pointing to page(s) and line no(s) in the specification and/or drawing figure(s). This will assist the examiner in prosecuting the application.
When responding to this office action, Applicant is advised to clearly point out the patentable novelty which he or she thinks the claims present, in view of the state of the art disclosed by the references cited or the objections made. He or she must also show how the amendments avoid such references or objections See 37 CFR 1.111(c).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BENJAMIN M THIEU whose telephone number is (571) 270-7475 and fax number is (571) 270-8475. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday: 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM EST.
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/BENJAMIN M THIEU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2446 6.5.2026
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