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 ACTION
2. This action is in response to the application filed July 14, 2026.
3. Claims 1-4, 6-11, and 13-14 have been amended, claims 19-20 have been canceled and new claims 21-22 have been added.
4. Claims 1-18 and 21-22 have been examined and are pending with this action.
Response to Arguments
5. The title of the invention as currently amended, overcomes the previous objection to the specification for a non-descriptive title. Therefore, the objection is withdrawn.
Applicant's arguments filed July 14, 2026 with respect to the rejection of claims 1-20 previously rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Smith et al. (US 2019/0349426 A1) have been fully considered, but are not persuasive.
The applicant seems to be asserting that Smith’s location information, is information that is assigned, allocated, or given such as by an administrator, and not one that is “estimated…” (calculated, determined). The examiner disagrees. Smith clearly and explicitly teaches, or in the very least, suggests throughout the reference, the newly amended limitation of “a physical location… estimated on a basis of communication characteristics derived from investigation packets transmitted to the target node”. For example Smith teaches in paragraph [0599], comprising a “beaconing node 6602 may be an IoT device that is equipped with GPS module, such as a satellite receiver to receive signals from the global positioning system (GPS) satellite system, the global navigation satellite system (GLONASS), or other global navigation satellite systems (GNSS).”, in paragraph [0602], “A command is sent to a GPS module to obtain a position fix.”, and further teaches in paragraph [0612], “the IoT device 6900 may include a GPS module 6902 to receive and process satellite position data. The GPS module 6902 may be included in a number of interconnected mesh devices 812, but only activated in one or a few. This may allow for the system to have some location and time redundancy if the beacon node 6900 fails, for example, due to a low battery.”, emphasis added. Not only does Smith explicitly teach the acquisition of physical location information of the target node, “estimated on the basis…”, one begs to question the need for GPS, if the location is predetermined or assigned.
With respect to the newly amended “node visualization output” element, Smith explicitly teaches in paragraph [1567], “The geolocation features shown here may operate through a method to encode global geolocation data points, as well as a method to produce zone IDs based on a grid approach. An example of a geolocation technique is one that produces zone identifiers for use with transactions and messages between network infrastructure components, where the zone identifiers may also be transformed back to human-readable latitude, longitude, and/or elevation data. To visualize and plot this information may involve the use of a zone identifier grid as shown below in FIG. 219.”, emphasis added. Longitude and Latitude information is clearly synonymous with a map.
With respect to the last newly amended element regarding outputting “information indicating a region including the physical location of the target node is a high-risk region in which communication quality or communication reliability may deteriorate, as the information on the region”, Smith clearly and explicitly discloses, teaches, or in the very least suggests such functionality. Smith teaches in paragraph [0781], “A performance monitor 10414 collects performance data for the communication channels. The performance monitor 10414 may update the route rankings saved in the route database 10408. The performance monitor 10414 may also note when a route has failed, for example, by noting the lack of an acknowledgment from a target device within a determined period of time, then resend the frame and flag the route as being potentially inappropriate in the route database 10406. The route discoverer 10402 may periodically check the flagged route to determine if it has been reestablished.”, and further teaches in paragraph [0966], “The WA 13312 may independently deliver watchdog messages 13314 to a blockchain where blockchain observers may analyze the pattern of received watchdog events to draw conclusions about the health of the host. Intermittent losses may be an indication of potential failures in the host environment 13310 or a network environment. These may be health conditions that can be proactively corrected, but may not prompt failover actions.”, emphasis added.
For at least these reasons above and the rejections set forth below, claims 1-18 and 21-22 have been rejected and remain pending.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
6. Claims 1-8 and 21-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Smith et al. (US 2019/0349426 A1).
INDEPENDENT:
As per claim 1, Smith teaches an investigation apparatus, comprising:
at least a processor (see Smith, [0372]: “FIG. 9 is a block diagram of an exemplary non-transitory, machine readable medium 900 including code to direct a processor 902 to form group objects in accordance with some embodiments”); and
a memory in circuit communication with the processor, wherein the processor is configured to execute program instructions stored in the memory (see Smith, [0372]: “FIG. 9 is a block diagram of an exemplary non-transitory, machine readable medium 900 including code to direct a processor 902 to form group objects in accordance with some embodiments”) to implement:
a location identification result acquisition part that acquires a location identification result of a target node to be investigated in a network (see Smith, [0411]: “The join request may identify the coalition group, and include verification information, such as location, type, and other credentials or metadata.”; [0618]: “As described herein, the IoT device is not limited to functioning as a beacon node, but may also receive location data. This may be useful when a GPS module 6902 fails, or is not able to determine a position. In some examples, the IoT device 6900 may not have a GPS module 6902, but may function as a location consumer only.”; and [0629]: “At block 7204, the classified data is mapped to the correct physical location on the system. For example, as indicated at block 7206, this may be performed using an algorithm to generate a hash code identifying the location of inbound data”); and
a node visualization output part that visualizes and outputs the target node by disposing the target node on a map, on a basis of the location identification result, wherein the node visualization output part further outputs information on a region to which the target node belongs (see Smith, [0399]: “Coalition groups 1600 can be formed by administrative decisions, for example, to indicate a region, location, or general purpose, such as devices located on a floor or in an apartment in a single building. An administrative authority, such as a device owner 1602, may choose the group identifier that the grouped devices use, for example, through a coalition group name server 1604.” [1567]: “To visualize and plot this information may involve the use of a zone identifier grid as shown below in FIG. 219”; and [1606]: “The data may then be cleaned, transformed, and loaded 22518 to the combined model 22506 for use in the cycles between the design and build analytics model 22510 and the visualization and evaluation model 22508.”),
wherein the location identification result acquisition part acquires, as the location identification result, a physical location of the target node estimated on a basis of communication characteristics derived from investigation packets transmitted to the target node (see Smith, [0599]: “beaconing node 6602 may be an IoT device that is equipped with GPS module, such as a satellite receiver to receive signals from the global positioning system (GPS) satellite system, the global navigation satellite system (GLONASS), or other global navigation satellite systems (GNSS).”; [0602]: “A command is sent to a GPS module to obtain a position fix.”; [0608]: “If a valid frame or location packet was received, at block 6812 positioning data, for example, a location payload, is extracted. At block 6812, the location payload may be parsed. This may be performed by extracting the latitude and longitude, and altitude, if included, from the payload at block 6814.”; [0612]: “the IoT device 6900 may include a GPS module 6902 to receive and process satellite position data. The GPS module 6902 may be included in a number of interconnected mesh devices 812, but only activated in one or a few. This may allow for the system to have some location and time redundancy if the beacon node 6900 fails, for example, due to a low battery.”; and [0616], “A data parser 6908 may parse the GPS location to determine latitude, longitude, time, and other parameters, such as altitude. The parsed data may be stored for further use.”), and
wherein the node visualization output part:
visualizes the target node by disposing the target node at the physical location on the map (see Smith, [1567]: “The geolocation features shown here may operate through a method to encode global geolocation data points, as well as a method to produce zone IDs based on a grid approach. An example of a geolocation technique is one that produces zone identifiers for use with transactions and messages between network infrastructure components, where the zone identifiers may also be transformed back to human-readable latitude, longitude, and/or elevation data. To visualize and plot this information may involve the use of a zone identifier grid as shown below in FIG. 219.”; and [1612]: “At block 22614, data may be visualized, within the environment for analytics, to understand the overall structure of the data such that a model may be hypothesized. The structure includes the temporal relationships between the samples, and the relationship between samples from different sensors. Various mathematical tools such as cross/auto correlation may be used to understand the relationships between the data.”); and
outputs, in association with the target node, information indicating whether a region including the physical location of the target node is a high-risk region in which communication quality or communication reliability may deteriorate, as the information on the region (see Smith, [0608]: “If a valid frame or location packet was received, at block 6812 positioning data, for example, a location payload, is extracted. At block 6812, the location payload may be parsed. This may be performed by extracting the latitude and longitude, and altitude, if included, from the payload at block 6814. The timestamp may be extracted at block 6818. The information may be stored in a local store 6816. The IoT device may then use the information from the local store 6816, for example, for messaging, synchronization, or other purposes.”; [0610]: “In cases where exact per-device location or waypoint information is not needed this may provide sufficient information for IoT devices to identify their deployment area and perform location and/or time-dependent dependent tasks.”; [0781]: “A performance monitor 10414 collects performance data for the communication channels. The performance monitor 10414 may update the route rankings saved in the route database 10408. The performance monitor 10414 may also note when a route has failed, for example, by noting the lack of an acknowledgment from a target device within a determined period of time, then resend the frame and flag the route as being potentially inappropriate in the route database 10406. The route discoverer 10402 may periodically check the flagged route to determine if it has been reestablished.”; [0897]: “A performance monitor 10414 collects performance data for the communication channels. The performance monitor 10414 may update the route rankings saved in the route database 10408. The performance monitor 10414 may also note when a route has failed, for example, by noting the lack of an acknowledgment from a target device within a determined period of time, then resend the frame and flag the route as being potentially inappropriate in the route database 10406. The route discoverer 10402 may periodically check the flagged route to determine if it has been reestablished.”; and [0966]: “The WA 13312 may independently deliver watchdog messages 13314 to a blockchain where blockchain observers may analyze the pattern of received watchdog events to draw conclusions about the health of the host. Intermittent losses may be an indication of potential failures in the host environment 13310 or a network environment. These may be health conditions that can be proactively corrected, but may not prompt failover actions.”).
As per claim 13, Smith teach a communication system, comprising:
an investigation apparatus; comprising:
at least a processor (see Smith, [0372]: “FIG. 9 is a block diagram of an exemplary non-transitory, machine readable medium 900 including code to direct a processor 902 to form group objects in accordance with some embodiments”); and
a memory in circuit communication with the processor, wherein the processor is configured to execute program instructions stored in the memory (see Smith, [0372]: “FIG. 9 is a block diagram of an exemplary non-transitory, machine readable medium 900 including code to direct a processor 902 to form group objects in accordance with some embodiments”) to implement:
a location identification result acquisition part that acquires a location identification result of a target node to be investigated in a network (see Claim 1 rejection above);
a node visualization output part that visualizes and outputs the target node by disposing the target node on a map, on a basis of the location identification result, that outputs information on a region to which the target node belongs, and that calculates, visualizes and outputs a path to reach the target node (see Claim 1 rejection above and see Smith, [0590]: “The network discoverer 6504 may build and maintain a list of available network communication paths and protocols to be used for parallel NDM communications.”; and [0596]: “The non-transitory, machine readable medium 6500 may include code 6502 to direct the processor 902 to discover available network paths and protocols to a receiving device.”),
wherein the location identification result acquisition part acquires, as the location identification result, a physical location of the target node estimated on a basis of communication characteristics derived from investigation packets transmitted to the target node (see Claim 1 rejection above), and
wherein the node visualization output part:
visualizes the target node by disposing the target node at the physical location on the map (see Claim 1 rejection above); and
outputs, in association with the target node, information indicating whether a region including the physical location of the target node is a high-risk region in which communication quality or communication reliability may deteriorate, as the information on the region (see Claim 1 rejection above); and
a control signal transmission part that transmits a signal to a communication control apparatus that controls communication to execute control of predetermined communication according to the path calculated by the node visualization output part (see Smith, [0712]: “The NDC 9108 may act as a service coordinator, identifying units or components that may participate in the service. It may be noted that other devices may act as the service coordinator, such as endpoint IoT devices, data aggregators, devices in the cloud 302, or devices in other network domains 9102 or 9104.”; and [0780]: “A data preparer 10410 may take the information from the route calculator 10406 and prepare data, such as packets or frames, to be sent over the route or routes selected. The preparation may include fragmenting the data to fit into the payload fields of packets or frames associated with the different routes, and packaging the data in the packets or frames. A communicator 10412 may send the packets or frames to the target device over a transmitter, such as the mesh transceiver 810 or the uplink transceiver 814, or over the Internet via a network interface controller 816”), and
a communication control apparatus; comprising:
at least a processor (see Smith, [0372]: “FIG. 9 is a block diagram of an exemplary non-transitory, machine readable medium 900 including code to direct a processor 902 to form group objects in accordance with some embodiments”); and
a memory in circuit communication with the processor, wherein the processor is configured to execute program instructions stored in the memory (see Smith, [0372]: “FIG. 9 is a block diagram of an exemplary non-transitory, machine readable medium 900 including code to direct a processor 902 to form group objects in accordance with some embodiments”) to implement:
a communication control part that receives a control signal transmitted from the control signal transmission part and executes control of a communication (see Smith, [0285]: “As used herein, an IoT device may include a device performing a function, such as sensing or control, among others, in communication with other IoT devices and a communications network.”; [0286]: “Networks of IoT devices may include commercial and home devices, such as water distribution systems, electric power distribution systems, pipeline control systems, plant control systems, light switches, thermostats, locks, cameras, alarms, motion sensors, and the like. The IoT devices may be accessible through a controller, such as computers, servers, and other systems, for example, to control systems or access data. The controller and the IoT devices can be remotely located from one another.”; and [0311]: “traffic flow through the intersection may be controlled by a plurality of traffic lights 404 (e.g., three traffic lights 404). Analysis of the traffic flow and control schemes may be implemented by aggregators 406 that are in communication with the traffic lights 404 and each other through a mesh network.”).
As per claim 14, Smith teach an investigation method executed by a computer, comprising:
acquiring a location identification result of a target node to be investigated in a network (see Claim 1 rejection above); and
disposing the target node on a map on a basis of the location identification result and visualizing and outputting information on a region to which the target node belongs (see Claim 1 rejection above),
wherein acquiring the location identification result of the target node to be investigated in a network, comprises:
acquiring, as the location identification result, a physical location of the target node estimated on a basis of communication characteristics derived from investigation packets transmitted to the target node (see Claim 1 rejection above), and
wherein the visualizing and outputting information on a region to which the target node belongs, comprises:
visualizing the target node by disposing the target node at the physical location on the map (see Claim 1 rejection above); and
outputting, in association with the target node, information indicating whether a region including the physical location of the target node is a high-risk region in which communication quality or communication reliability may deteriorate, as the information on the region (see Claim 1 rejection above).
DEPENDENT:
As per claim 2, which depends on claim 1, Smith teaches further comprising:
a regional attribute value storage part that stores a regional attribute value associated with a latitude and longitude, which is a value indicating an attribute of the region at the latitude and longitude (see Smith, [0616]: “A data parser 6908 may parse the GPS location to determine latitude, longitude, time, and other parameters, such as altitude. The parsed data may be stored for further use.”); and
a regional information storage part that stores regional information associated with the regional attribute value, which is information about the region (see Smith, [0399]: “Coalition groups 1600 can be formed by administrative decisions, for example, to indicate a region, location, or general purpose, such as devices located on a floor or in an apartment in a single building.”; and [01183]: “The nodes that are defined as being close may be considered the nodes within the K bucket. Further, the nearest mining or validating nodes have a substantial amount of information about the resources stored within their region.”);
wherein the node visualization output part outputs the information on the region to which the target node belongs, on a basis of the location identification result, the regional attribute value, and the regional information (see Smith, [0399]: “Coalition groups 1600 can be formed by administrative decisions, for example, to indicate a region, location, or general purpose, such as devices located on a floor or in an apartment in a single building.”; and [01651]: “The optimized mapping preserves a location of processing the decomposable task across the IoT network by using the node locations of the number of nodes to identify a node or the number of nodes located in a same physical location, for example, in a region of a city, such as an intersection, a building, a room in a building, and the like. The optimizing a mapping includes a transmission time for transmission of information from the input nodes to the output nodes.”), and
wherein the latitude and longitude are included in the physical location (see Smith, [1567]: “An example of a geolocation technique is one that produces zone identifiers for use with transactions and messages between network infrastructure components, where the zone identifiers may also be transformed back to human-readable latitude, longitude, and/or elevation data. To visualize and plot this information may involve the use of a zone identifier grid as shown below in FIG. 219.”; and [1574]: “At block 22008, the time difference between the two timestamps for the same device may be calculated. At block 22010, the time difference may be an input to a function for location calculation. In an example, the function may be used to obtain the estimated distances and subsequently in terms of x and y coordinates from the coordinates of the device that initially provided the payload. One example of a function that may be used at block 22010 may be a hyperbolic function described in more detail below. The output of the function may be coordinates that may be used to locate a device on a map in physical space.”).
As per claim 3, which depends on claim 2, Smith further teaches wherein the regional information storage part stores whether a region having a regional attribute value is at least domestic, foreign, maritime, or outside a visualization area, as regional information associated with the regional attribute value (see Smith, [0399]: “Coalition groups 1600 can be formed by administrative decisions, for example, to indicate a region, location, or general purpose, such as devices located on a floor or in an apartment in a single building.”; [0825]: “Thus, the OBTA 11006 for domain A 11004 may not recognize or trust a device onboarded in a foreign domain B 11010.”; and [1703]: “Given a routing scheme that uses publish-subscribe model, it is possible that a security policy may wish to impose restriction over the set of topics that may be exposed to a sub-network, device or gateway to a foreign network.”).
As per claim 4, which depends on claim 3, Smith further teaches wherein the node visualization output part further calculates, visualizes, and outputs a path to reach the target node (see Smith, [0590]: “The network discoverer 6504 may build and maintain a list of available network communication paths and protocols to be used for parallel NDM communications.”; and [0596]: “The non-transitory, machine readable medium 6500 may include code 6502 to direct the processor 902 to discover available network paths and protocols to a receiving device.”).
As per claim 5, which depends on claim 4, Smith teaches further comprising: a control signal transmission part that transmits a signal to a communication control apparatus that controls communication to execute control of predetermined communication according to the path calculated by the node visualization output part (see Smith, [0779]: “A route calculator 10406 may determine a route or routes to send data from the IoT device 10400 to an end point. The route calculator may use information stored on the routes and rankings in the route database 10408”; [0780]: “A data preparer 10410 may take the information from the route calculator 10406 and prepare data, such as packets or frames, to be sent over the route or routes selected. The preparation may include fragmenting the data to fit into the payload fields of packets or frames associated with the different routes, and packaging the data in the packets or frames. A communicator 10412 may send the packets or frames to the target device over a transmitter, such as the mesh transceiver 810 or the uplink transceiver 814, or over the Internet via a network interface controller 816.”; and [1156]: “To participate in a network, a device or agent requiring data or resources may search the network and other interconnected networks to acquire the data or resources. As used herein, the data may be any data needed to complete a function in the present device, such as distance traffic flow for an intersection controller.”).
As per claim 6, which depends on claim 5, Smith further teaches wherein the control signal transmission part transmits a control signal to execute control of a predetermined communication, if there is a predetermined change within a predetermined time period on the path to reach a predetermined target node in the node visualization output part (see Smith, [0488]: “The IoT device 3306 may allow communications to continue for a predetermined amount of time, such as 1 second (s), 500 milliseconds (ms), 100 ms, or less.”).
As per claim 7, which depends on claim 6, Smith further teaches wherein the node visualization output part visualizes and outputs a degree of the predetermined change by at least one or more of a numerical value, a figure, and a color (see Smith, [0871]: “Following verification, the data may then be presented to the requester. Available options may include displaying a full or partial path from the origin to sales to the requestor. Other options may include displaying a value or text message regarding the result of the traceability key, this may involve activating a sound, a color, an image, or other type of sensory alert to the requestor.”).
As per claim 8, which depends on claim 6, Smith further teaches wherein the control signal transmission part transmits a control signal to execute control to close the path leading to the target node, if a path length to reach a predetermined target node is changed by a predetermined amount or more within a predetermined time in the node visualization output part (see Smith, [0766]: “The selection of the data path may depend on the amount of data to be transferred, the reliability of the data path, the speed of the communications, and the like. For example, if a wired connection 10208 is lost or unavailable, an endpoint 10202 may select an alternate communication path 10206 or 10210 based on the application requirements.”; and [1858]: “Trip planning 27000 anticipates the various scenes, way-points, locations, intersections and destinations along the route 27002. The trip planning 27004, may include alternate routes and last-minute or on-demand planning.”).
As per claim 9, which depends on claim 5, Smith further teaches wherein the control signal transmission part transmits a control signal to execute control of a predetermined communication, if a node outside the visualization area is included in a path to reach a predetermined target node in the node visualization output part (see Smith, [0245]: “The confirmation of the validity of the transactions may be performed by each of the IoT devices, providing multiple confirmations of authenticity and identity.”; [0547]: “Further, dynamic interconnections may be useful for interacting with volatile IoT infrastructure, in which nodes can join networks, leave networks, and may be mobile.”; and [0667]: “may be used by a base station to dynamically determine the number of data channels that will be used by a client device for an uplink.”).
As per claim 10, which depends on claim 4, Smith further teaches wherein the node visualization output part outputs a predetermined warning if a maritime node is included in a path to reach a predetermined target node (see Smith, [0536]: “If the parsed metadata is determined not to be correct at block 4806, a sender may be alerted 4808, for example, by sending a failed routing report.”; [0899]: “If a configured node 12312 has updated or replaced a policy, a conflict alert message 12340 may be sent to another configured node 12322 to alert it to the policy conflict.”; and [0901]: “The updated node 12402 may reply with an offer message 12314 that alerts the configured node 12322 to the policy update.”).
As per claim 11, which depends on claim 4, Smith further teaches wherein the node visualization output part outputs a predetermined warning if a node outside the visualization area is included in a path to reach a predetermined target node (see Claim 10 rejection above).
As per claim 12, which depends on claim 1, Smith teaches further comprising: a location identification result edit part that edits the location identification result (see Smith, [0600]: “A location payload 6612 may be created that includes position data, such as in an IEEE754 packed format. In this format, four bytes may be used to represent latitude 6614, four bytes may be used to represent longitude 6616, and four bytes may be an appended timestamp 6618.”).
As per claim 15, which depends on claim 14, Smith further teaches wherein the computer comprises at least a processor and a memory in circuit communication with the processor, and a regional attribute value associated with a latitude and longitude, which is a value indicating an attribute of the region at the latitude and longitude and regional information associated with the regional attribute value, which is information about the region are stored in the memory, and the investigation method further comprising: outputting the information on the region to which the target node belongs, on a basis of the location identification result, the regional attribute value, and the regional information (see Claim 2 rejection above).
As per claim 16, which depends on claim 15, Smith further teaches wherein the computer stores whether a region having a regional attribute value is at least domestic, foreign, maritime, or outside a visualization area, as regional information associated with the regional attribute value (see Claim 3 rejection above).
As per claim 17, which depends on claim 16, Smith teaches further comprising: calculating, visualizing, and outputting a path to reach the target node (see Claim 4 rejection above).
As per claim 18, which depends on claim 17, Smith teaches further comprising: transmitting a signal to a communication control apparatus that controls communication to execute control of predetermined communication according to the path calculated (see Claim 5 rejection above).
As per claim 21, which depends on claim 1, Smith further teaches wherein the location identification result acquisition part: calculates distances between the target node and respective known investigation nodes based on round-trip times obtained by transmitting the investigation packets from three or more different known investigation nodes to the target node and receiving response packets from the target node, and based on medium velocities of transmission media between the respective known investigation nodes and the target node (see Smith, [1277]: “In an example, a unit of raw data may have multiple stages of transport to get to a final data destination. During transport, a unit of data may be stored locally at a midway or intermediate stage between the trips to a final data destination. A cost may be generated as a sum of the cost for piece of raw data to reach its final destination plus a “Margin on derived value”. In the formula below, the variable C.sub.raw could be replaced with C.sub.derived_local if the data is derived at a point on its way to the final destination to generate the data referred to by C.sub.derived_remote.”); and
estimates the physical location including latitude and longitude of the target node on a basis of the calculated distances, and wherein the node visualization output part: visualizes the target node by disposing the target node at a position on the map corresponding to the latitude and longitude (see Smith, [0600]: “the beaconing node 6602 may determine its position by acquiring a signal 6608 from three or more global positioning system satellites 6610. The beaconing node 6602 may convert the data received from the satellites, for example, as National Marine Electronics Association (NMEA) sentences, to a data type suitable for dispatch.”; [0612]: “In this example, the IoT device 6900 may include a GPS module 6902 to receive and process satellite position data.”; and [1574]: “At block 22008, the time difference between the two timestamps for the same device may be calculated. At block 22010, the time difference may be an input to a function for location calculation. In an example, the function may be used to obtain the estimated distances and subsequently in terms of x and y coordinates from the coordinates of the device that initially provided the payload. One example of a function that may be used at block 22010 may be a hyperbolic function described in more detail below. The output of the function may be coordinates that may be used to locate a device on a map in physical space.”).
As per claim 22, which depends on claim 1, Smith further teaches wherein the location identification result acquisition part acquires location identification results of one or more target nodes at predetermined time intervals (see Smith; and [1574]: “At block 22008, the time difference between the two timestamps for the same device may be calculated. At block 22010, the time difference may be an input to a function for location calculation. In an example, the function may be used to obtain the estimated distances and subsequently in terms of x and y coordinates from the coordinates of the device that initially provided the payload. One example of a function that may be used at block 22010 may be a hyperbolic function described in more detail below. The output of the function may be coordinates that may be used to locate a device on a map in physical space.”), and
wherein the node visualization output part calculates a path to the one or more target nodes based on the location identification results acquired at the predetermined time intervals and visualizes the calculated path on the map (see Smith, FIG. 219; [0764]: “As discussed with respect to FIGS. 102 to 105, appropriate traffic routes may be selected for data. The techniques allow the selection of different paths or combinations of paths to be used to address application requirements, ranging from high to low latency, and from connection oriented to connection-less. This extends transport selection and use criteria beyond multi-path Transmission Control Protocol (TCP).”; and [0871]: “the data may then be presented to the requester. Available options may include displaying a full or partial path from the origin to sales to the requestor. Other options may include displaying a value or text message regarding the result of the traceability key, this may involve activating a sound, a color, an image, or other type of sensory alert to the requestor.”).
Conclusion
7. For the reasons above, claims 1-18 and 21-22 have been rejected and remain pending.
8. Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
9. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL Y WON whose telephone number is (571)272-3993. The examiner can normally be reached on Wk.1: M-F: 8-5 PST & Wk.2: M-Th: 8-7 PST.
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/Michael Won/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2443
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