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 .
DETAILED OFFICE ACTION
Status of Claims
Claims 1-15 are pending examination.
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.
The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
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.
1. Claims 1,4,5,6,7,8,9,13 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C 103(a) as being unpatentable over LIU et al. ( USPUB 20200350992 ) in view of Thomas Pfeiffer ( NPL Doc:"PON Architect Enhancements," 2020, Online ISBN 978-3-030-16250-4, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-16250-4_29,Pages 913-946.) in further view of GENG et al. ( USPUB 20200260164) .
As per claim 1, LIU et al. teaches An optical line terminal, OLT ( FIG. 1a AND Paragraph [0102]- “FIG. 1a is a schematic structural diagram of a PON system according to an embodiment of this application. As shown in FIG. 1a, the PON system includes an OLT, an optical distribution network (optical distribution network, ODN), and an ONU. In the PON system, transmission in a direction from the OLT to the ONU/ONT is referred to as downstream transmission,…”) , for a passive optical network, PON, configured to provide discovery of optical network units ( Paragraph [0104]- “…OLT broadcasts a registration notification message, namely, a Discovery GATE message, to the ONU. The Discovery GATE message includes a grant serial number (discovery Grant) and grant timeslot message (Sync Time). All ONUs register by using a timeslot corresponding to the grant timeslot message. After the ONU receives the Discovery GATE message, the ONU sends a registration request message (Req) in specified Sync Time to request to register….”) , ONUs, by performing broadcasting at least one message ( Paragraph [0118]- “…the sending, by an OLT, first message to an unregistered ONU may be: broadcasting, by the OLT, the first message to all ONUs, where both a registered ONU and an unregistered ONU can receive the first message….”) ,
LIU et al. does not explicitly teach comprising an indication of an availability of the OLT for discovering new ONUs and a selecting condition limiting the new ONUs to a subset of ONUs located within a , distance range ,from the OLT ; and listening ,during a quiet window , associated with the distance range, for messages in response to the broadcasting, sent by the subset of ONUs.
However, within analogous art, Thomas Pfeiffer teaches comprising an indication of an availability of the OLT for discovering new ONUs and a selecting condition limiting the new ONUs ( Page 922- Col. 2- “…This allows new ONUs in a first (discovery) phase to make themselves known to the system in a random access mode, and then in a second (ranging) phase to measure their distance from the OLT in a coordinated mode (more precisely, the round-trip time between OLT and ONU)….”) distances to a subset of ONUs located within a , distance range ,from the OLT ( Page 923- Col. 1- “…a new ONU is known to the system by its serial number before it tries to join (by preregistration), then the discovery phase can be skipped. If, in addition, the approximate distance from the OLT is known to within a few hundred meters, the OLT requests the potential candidate ONUs to adjust their equalization delay to match the approximate distance before promoting them into the ranging phase, one at a time. This coarse adjustment of the equalization delay then allows for a much shorter quiet window,…”) ;
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to combine the teaching of Thomas Pfeiffer within the modified teaching of the OLT, ONU, PON system, and message transmission method in PON system mentioned by LIU et al. because the PON Architect Enhancements mentioned by Thomas Pfeiffer provides a method and system for implementation of connectivity to the OLT and the end nodes of the PON system.
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one in the ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to the PON Architect Enhancements mentioned by Thomas Pfeiffer within the OLT, ONU, PON system, and message transmission method in PON system mentioned by LIU et al. for implementation of connectivity to the OLT and the end nodes of the PON system.
Combination of LIU et al. and Thomas Pfeiffer does not explicitly teach listening ,during a quiet window , associated with the distance range, for messages in response to the broadcasting, sent by the subset of ONUs.
However within analogous art, GENG et al. teaches listening ,during a quiet window , associated with the distance range, for messages in response to the broadcasting, sent by the subset of ONUs ( Paragraphs [0075-0079]- “…ONUs within different distance ranges are allocated corresponding quiet windows for registration, and these quiet windows satisfy both a loop delay of the ONU farthest from the OLT and a loop delay of the ONU closest to the OLT. Such configuration reduces an uplink bandwidth, and thereby improves uplink transmission efficiency of a PON. Meanwhile, the OLT can manage farther ONUs so that efficiency of the OLT and cost performance of a PON system are improved….”) .
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to combine the teaching of GENG et al. within the combined modified teaching of the OLT, ONU, PON system, and message transmission method in PON system mentioned by LIU et al. and the PON Architect Enhancements mentioned by Thomas Pfeiffer because the Method for managing ONU in passive optical network, OLT and system mentioned by GENG et al. provides a method and system for implementation of quiet window for ONU communicating with OLT regarding distance ranges.
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one in the ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to the Method for managing ONU in passive optical network, OLT and system mentioned by GENG et al. within the combined modified teaching of the OLT, ONU, PON system, and message transmission method in PON system mentioned by LIU et al. and the PON Architect Enhancements mentioned by Thomas Pfeiffer for implementation of quiet window for ONU communicating with OLT regarding distance ranges.
As per claim 4, Combination of LIU et al. and Thomas Pfeiffer and GENG et al. teach claim 1,
Combination of LIU et al. and Thomas Pfeiffer does not explicitly teach wherein the broadcasting and the listening are iteratively performed for a plurality of subsets
Within analogous art, GENG et al. teaches wherein the broadcasting and the listening are iteratively performed for a plurality of subsets ( Paragraph [0158-0159]- “ The OLT allocates (broadcasts) each unregistered ONU a bandwidth for responding to a registration request and opens the two quiet windows for each unregistered ONU. After receiving the bandwidth for registration allocated by the OLT, the ONU sends a serial number message over the preceding bandwidth to respond to the registration request of the OLT. After receiving the preceding message of the ONU, the OLT allocates an ONU identifier to the ONU and performs ranging, and thus, the ONU finishes the registration….”) .
As per claim 5, Combination of LIU et al. and Thomas Pfeiffer and GENG et al. teach claim 1,
LIU et al. teaches wherein the at least one message further comprises condition-related information comprising information for evaluation of the selecting condition ( Paragraphs [0185-0186]- “…. The ONU does not register when the ONU does not meet a power condition indicated by the OLT, thereby ensuring that ONU groups obtained through classification based on a registration process are accurate….”) .
As per claim 6, Combination of LIU et al. and Thomas Pfeiffer and GENG et al. teach claim 1,
LIU et al. teaches wherein the at least one message comprises a broadcasting message, comprising both the indication and the selecting condition ( Paragraphs [0255-0256]- “…The OLT broadcasts a grant message to a registered first ONU. The grant message includes one piece of indication message indicating an ONU identifier and grant timeslot segment message that are associated. Specifically, an ONU identifier of the first ONU and grant timeslot segment message associated with the ONU identifier of the first ONU are indicated. The first ONU is any one of registered ONUs….”) .
As per claim 7, Combination of LIU et al. and Thomas Pfeiffer and GENG et al. teach claim 1,
LIU et al. teaches wherein the at least one message comprises a discovery message, comprising the indication, and a condition message, comprising the selecting condition ( Paragraphs [0214]- “… an identifier of an ONU group, and a Discovery GATE message field in a data/pad field of the MPCP frame may include fields such as Discovery message, a quantity of grant timeslots, a start time, and a timeslot length. The Discovery message field specifically indicates a power range. The fields: the quantity of grant timeslots, the start time, and the timeslot length specifically indicate a grant timeslot segment associated with the power range….”) .
As per claim 8, Combination of LIU et al. and Thomas Pfeiffer and GENG et al. teach claim 1,
LIU et al. teaches wherein the discovery message is broadcasted after the condition message ( Paragraphs [0104-0105]- “...The OLT broadcasts a registration notification message, namely, a Discovery GATE message, to the ONU. The Discovery GATE message includes a grant serial number (discovery Grant) and grant timeslot message (Sync Time). All ONUs register by using a timeslot corresponding to the grant timeslot message. After the ONU receives the Discovery GATE message, the ONU sends a registration request message (Req) in specified Sync Time to request to register. After the OLT receives Req of the ONU, the OLT sends a feedback message (Register) to the ONU….”) .
As per claim 9, Combination of LIU et al. and Thomas Pfeiffer and GENG et al. teach claim 1,
LIU et al. teaches wherein the discovery message comprises a bandwidth map, BWmap, message comprising a request for a serial number of prospective ONUs ( Paragraph [0155]- “…indicates that when receiving this BWmap grant, all ONUs whose downstream receive powers are less than or equal to P0 can send, in a time range of this grant, a registration message (for example, a Serial_Number_ONU message) to the OLT to register. When the Alloc-ID in the BWmap is set to 1020, when receiving this BWmap grant, all ONUs whose downstream receive powers are greater than P0 but less than or equal to P1 can send, in a time range of this grant, a registration message to the OLT to register. …” AND Table 15) .
As per claim 13, Combination of LIU et al. and Thomas Pfeiffer and GENG et al. teach claim 1,
Combination of LIU et al. and GENG et al. does not explicitly teach wherein the at least one message further comprises physical PON characteristics enabling an ONU to determine a distance to the OLT.
Within analogous art, Thomas Pfeiffer teaches wherein the at least one message further comprises physical PON characteristics enabling an ONU to determine a distance to the OLT ( Page 923- Fig. 29.7 and Col. 2- “…The approximate distance from the OLT can be extracted from ODN deployment data showing cable routes and, e.g., the position of a street cabinet close to the new ONU location….”) .
As per claim 14, LIU et al. teaches An optical network unit ONU ( FIG. 1a- ONU AND Paragraph [0102]- “FIG. 1a is a schematic structural diagram of a PON system according to an embodiment of this application. As shown in FIG. 1a, the PON system includes an OLT, an optical distribution network (optical distribution network, ODN), and an ONU. In the PON system, transmission in a direction from the OLT to the ONU/ONT is referred to as downstream transmission,…”), configured to join a passive optical network PON ( Paragraph [0102]- “FIG. 1a is a schematic structural diagram of a PON system according to an embodiment of this application. As shown in FIG. 1a, the PON system includes an OLT,…”) , by performing: receiving at least one message from an optical line terminal, OLT, the at least one message comprising, an indication of an availability of the OLT ( Paragraphs [0105-0106]- “… ranging is initiated by delivering Ranging_request. Ranging_request is similar to SN request, and a difference is that the grant is only for a single just discovered ONU that is to be ranged. The ONU sends a Serial_number_ONU PLOAM message in a ranging quiet window. The OLT performs ranging after receiving the message, and then delivers a ranging result to the ONU by using a Ranging_Time PLOAM message. At this point, the entire registration process ends and the ONU can communicate normally with the OLT…”) ; and
LIU et al. does not explicitly teach a selecting condition related to a distance range from the OLT; determining if the ONU fulfils the selecting condition; upon determining that the ONU fulfils the selecting condition, sending a response message to join the PON.
However, within analogous art, Thomas Pfeiffer teaches a selecting condition related to a distance range from the OLT( Page 923- Col. 1- “…a new ONU is known to the system by its serial number before it tries to join (by preregistration), then the discovery phase can be skipped. If, in addition, the approximate distance from the OLT is known to within a few hundred meters, the OLT requests the potential candidate ONUs to adjust their equalization delay to match the approximate distance before promoting them into the ranging phase, one at a time. This coarse adjustment of the equalization delay then allows for a much shorter quiet window,…”); determining if the ONU fulfils the selecting condition; upon determining that the ONU fulfils the selecting condition, sending a response message to join the PON ( Page 922- Col. 2- “…there is one more source of delay that originates from a native TDM-PON … ONU activation and ranging [29.6]. To let new ONUs join an operational TDM-PON, the OLT occasionally opens a quiet window during which no upstream bandwidth is assigned to any of the already activated ONUs. This allows new ONUs in a first (discovery) phase to make themselves known to the system in a random access mode, and then in a second (ranging) phase to measure their distance from the OLT in a coordinated mode (more precisely, the round-trip time between OLT and ONU). After that, they can join the operational system in regular transmission mode….”) . comprising an indication of an availability of the OLT for discovering new ONUs and a selecting condition limiting the new ONUs ( Page 922- Col. 2- “…This allows new ONUs in a first (discovery) phase to make themselves known to the system in a random access mode, and then in a second (ranging) phase to measure their distance from the OLT in a coordinated mode (more precisely, the round-trip time between OLT and ONU)….”) distances to a subset of ONUs located within a , distance range ,from the OLT ( Page 923- Col. 1- “…a new ONU is known to the system by its serial number before it tries to join (by preregistration), then the discovery phase can be skipped. If, in addition, the approximate distance from the OLT is known to within a few hundred meters, the OLT requests the potential candidate ONUs to adjust their equalization delay to match the approximate distance before promoting them into the ranging phase, one at a time. This coarse adjustment of the equalization delay then allows for a much shorter quiet window,…”) ;
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to combine the teaching of Thomas Pfeiffer within the modified teaching of the OLT, ONU, PON system, and message transmission method in PON system mentioned by LIU et al. because the PON Architect Enhancements mentioned by Thomas Pfeiffer provides a method and system for implementation of connectivity to the OLT and the end nodes of the PON system.
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one in the ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to the PON Architect Enhancements mentioned by Thomas Pfeiffer within the OLT, ONU, PON system, and message transmission method in PON system mentioned by LIU et al. for implementation of connectivity to the OLT and the end nodes of the PON system.
As per claim 15, Combination of LIU et al. and Thomas Pfeiffer teach claim 14,
LIU et al. teaches wherein the at least one message comprises a bandwidth map, BWmap, message comprising a request for a serial number, and wherein the response message comprises a serial number of the ONU ( Paragraph [0155]- “…indicates that when receiving this BWmap grant, all ONUs whose downstream receive powers are less than or equal to P0 can send, in a time range of this grant, a registration message (for example, a Serial_Number_ONU message) to the OLT to register. When the Alloc-ID in the BWmap is set to 1020, when receiving this BWmap grant, all ONUs whose downstream receive powers are greater than P0 but less than or equal to P1 can send, in a time range of this grant, a registration message to the OLT to register. …” AND Table 15) .
2. Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C 103(a) as being unpatentable over LIU et al. ( USPUB 20200350992 ) in view of Thomas Pfeiffer ( NPL Doc:"PON Architect Enhancements," 2020, Online ISBN 978-3-030-16250-4, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-16250-4_29,Pages 913-946.) in further view of GENG et al. ( USPUB 20200260164) and Josep Prat et al. ( NPL Doc:"Emerging PON Technologies," 2020,Optical Access and Wireless Networks, Part D 28.1, Online ISBN 978-3-030-16250-4, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-16250-4_28,Pages 871-904.).
As per claim 12, Combination of LIU et al. and Thomas Pfeiffer and GENG et al. teach claim 1,
Combination of LIU et al. and Thomas Pfeiffer and GENG et al. does not explicitly teach wherein the selecting condition is based on dispersion characteristics corresponding with the distance range.
However, within analogous art, Josep Prat et al. teaches wherein the selecting condition is based on dispersion characteristics corresponding with the distance range ( Page 875- Col. 2- “…Electronic dispersion compensation (EDC) can be used in the OLT (ONU) transmitter to achieve the OPP specified in optical interface parameter tables. EDC may also be used at the ONU (OLT) receiver….”) .
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to combine the teaching of Josep Prat et al. within the combined modified teaching of the OLT, ONU, PON system, and message transmission method in PON system mentioned by LIU et al. and the PON Architect Enhancements mentioned by Thomas Pfeiffer and the Method for managing ONU in passive optical network, OLT and system mentioned by GENG et al. because the Emerging PON Technologies mentioned by Josep Prat et al. provides a method and system for implementation of increasing the number of ONUs and the aggregate capacities of PONs.
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one in the ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to the Emerging PON Technologies mentioned by Josep Prat et al. within the combined modified teaching of the OLT, ONU, PON system, and message transmission method in PON system mentioned by LIU et al. and the PON Architect Enhancements mentioned by Thomas Pfeiffer and the Method for managing ONU in passive optical network, OLT and system mentioned by GENG et al. for implementation of increasing the number of ONUs and the aggregate capacities of PONs.
It is noted that any citations to specific, pages, columns, lines, or figures in the prior art references and any interpretation of the reference should not be considered to be limiting in any way. A reference is relevant for all it contains and may be relied upon for all that it would have reasonably suggested to one having ordinary skill in the art. See MPEP 2123.
Allowable Subject Matter
3. Claims 2,3,10 and 11 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.
4. The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for objecting the claims as allowable subject matter:
As to claim 2, prior art of record does not teach or suggest the limitation mentioned within claim 2 : “wherein the quiet window has a duration of at least a difference between: a message travel time between the OLT and an ONU of the subset located furthest away from the OLT; and a message travel time between the OLT to an ONU of the subset located closest to the OLT.”
As to claim 3, prior art of record does not teach or suggest the limitation mentioned within claim 3 : “…the listening starts after a first time interval upon finishing the broadcasting, wherein the first time interval is at least two times the message travel time between the OLT and the ONU of the subset located closest to the OLT.”
As to claim 10, prior art of record does not teach or suggest the limitation mentioned within claim 10: “…the selecting condition defines a message travel time range corresponding to a range of travel times of messages exchanged between the OLT and ONUs within the
As to claim 11, prior art of record does not teach or suggest the limitation mentioned within claim 11: “…the selecting condition comprises a timestamp with respect to an internal clock of the OLT and a mapping between the internal clock and a common reference clock, for calculation of the message travel time range by the ONUs.”
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Examiner’s Notes
5. The Examiner acknowledges the following prior arts below as pertinent to the current applications claim limitations and inventive concept, although the following prior arts shown below were not relied upon to address the limitations within the claim , they are analogous art mentioning the inventive concept key points on ( PON system , OLT , ONUs discovery , distance range, quiet window and new ONU connectivity messaging within OLT etc.).
1) Monir Hossen et al.,"Multi-OLT and multi-wavelength PON-based open access network for improving the throughput and quality of services," 30th October 2014, Optical Switching and Networking 15(2015),Pages 148-157.
2) Yuanqiu Luo et al.,"Physical Layer Aspects of NG-PON2 Standards—Part 2: System Design and Technology Feasibility," 24th December 2015, VOL. 8, NO. 1/JANUARY 2016/J. OPT. COMMUN. NETW,Pages 43-51.
3) Detwiler et al. (USPUB 20190174212)
4) Gao et al. (USPUB 20170244487 )
5) Khotimsky et al. (USPUB 20160087748)
6) Khotimsky et al. (USPUB 20160006608)
7) Khotimsky et al. (USPUB 20140294385)
8) GENG et al. (USPUB 20210352387)
9) GENG et al. (USPUB 20210409850)
10) KIM et al. (USPUB 0220123837)
11) LIU (CN 110086545)
12) PFEIFFER THOMAS (EP 3550742)
13) HOKIMSKI, DENNIS ANDREVIC (CN 103597759)
14) YUN SANGCHUL (KR 20220123837)
15) CHEN (CN 119946464)
Conclusion
6. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Refer to PTO-892, Notice of Reference Cited for a listing of analogous art.
7. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to OMAR S ISMAIL whose telephone number is (571)272-9799 and Fax # is (571)273-9799. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F 9:00am-6:00pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, David C. Payne can be reached on (571) 272-3024. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is (571)273-8300.
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/OMAR S ISMAIL/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2635
Prosecution Insights