Details
Claims 1-20 are pending.
Claims 1-20 are rejected.
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.
Claims 1-7, 9-15 and 17-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over FAQ “How to utilize Device Group for network policy settings - BRT Series” (https://www.asus.com/us/support/faq/1035993/ Last Update : 2023/05/04 FAQ hereinafter) in view of User Guide BTR-AC828 (First Edition June 2016 Guide hereinafter) and Kim et al (Pub. No.: US 2016/0043962 A1).
As per claim 1, FAQ discloses an apparatus, comprising: - (FAQ, page 2, Fig in section 1.3 “click apply” , wherein the figure shows a graphical user interface having a list of devices groups (Administrator, Default, Sales_Team) that the user can select to manage wherein the list of devices groups can be the plurality of entities as claimed. Alternatively, the same figure shows a plurality of tabs (Users, Users Groups, Devices, Devices Groups, RADIUS SERVER) and the user can select one of these tabs wherein these tabs can represent the plurality of entities as claimed. Note, when the user clicks on a device group or a tab, the user click is detected and a corresponding action is performed);- display a plurality of network controls for the entity via the GUI (FAQ, page 2, Fig in section 1.3 “click apply” , wherein the figure shows a graphical user interface displaying a plurality of icons to modify and delete a device group; wherein these icons can be the plurality of network controls as claimed.);- receive, via the GUI, an input that results in a change to a network control, of the plurality of network controls, of the entity (FAQ, page 2, Fig in section 1.3 “click apply” , wherein by inherence, when a user clicks on a modify/delete icon, the click is detected and the corresponding action is performed);- identify a plurality of network devices that inherit from the entity (FAQ, page 2, Fig in section 1.3 “click apply” , wherein the figure shows a graphical user interface having a list of devices (Android 6.0, Apple) that can belong to at least one of the device groups), and - (FAQ, page 1,, wherein “You can add multiple devices to a self-defined device group and assign the same network policy. It’s easier to manage multiple devices connected to your network by a Device Group, instead of specifying each device individually”). FAQ only shows the permission Management section of the router (BRT-AC828) configuration user interface and thus does not explicitly show: - a processor that executes instructions stored in a memory to configure the processor to output a graphical user interface (GUI) from a network router, of a plurality of network routers, to a software application on a remote device. To make the record clear, the examiner introduces the user guide manual of the same router to disclose - a processor that executes instructions stored in a memory to configure the processor (Guide, Fig in page 16 “wireless connection”, wherein “the process inside the laptop/router can be the claim processor”) configured to - output a graphical user interface (GUI) from a network router r, of a plurality of network routers, to a software application on a remote device (Guide, page 19, section 2.1 “Logging into the Web GUI”, wherein “Your ASUS wireless router comes with an intuitive web graphical user interface (GUI) that allows you to easily configure its various features through a web browser such as Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, or Google Chrome”).
Therefore, it would have it would have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to incorporate FAQ with Guide to achieve the claimed limitations because a user would be able to configure the router in a way that allows assigning a network policy settings to a device group instead of specifying the setting for each device individually which simplify and speed up the configuration management.FAQ and Guide do not explicitly show: - simultaneously apply the change to the plurality of network devices. To make the record clear, the examiner introduces Kim to disclose - simultaneously apply the change to the plurality of network devices (Kim, paragraph 0085, 0103, 0120, wherein “To control multiple network devices at the same time, such multiple devices may be grouped together such that they are treated within the network as a single virtual device”, “Therefore, each of new devices 1, 2 and 3 are capable of turning a light on and off, and therefore new devices 1, 2 and 3 may be considered for grouping together into a device group. If new devices 1, 2 and 3 are grouped together into a device group, a user may control new devices 1, 2 and 3 at the same time by turning their respective lights on and off at the same time. For example, a user may control new devices 1, 2 and 3 using an access device, and by pressing a button on the access device to turn the lights on the three devices on or off”, “In some embodiments, a device, such as the access device 108 shown in FIG. 1 or the gateway 110, connected to the network 100 can communicate an updated status of a network device, such as the network devices 102 and/or 104. The updated status can be communicated via the network 100 and can include an adjustment that affects a status of the network device. The adjustment can include an amount of change to one or more attributes, one or more settings, or a combination thereof related to operation of the network device connected to the network 100. The access device 108 or the gateway 110 can present a graphical interface that can receive input corresponding to an adjustment to a status of a device”).
Therefore, it would have it would have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to incorporate FAQ and Guide with Kim to achieve the claimed limitations because this will provide an efficient coordinated control of a group of network devices which simplify speeds the process of configuring devices.
As per claim 2, claim 1 is incorporated and FAQ further discloses wherein the entity comprises one of a named group, an All Devices group, or a user of the network router (FAQ, page 2, Fig in section 1.3 “click apply”, wherein the figure shows a plurality of tabs (Users, Users Groups, Devices, Devices Groups, RADIUS SERVER) wherein the users tab show a user of the network router as claimed and the device group shows at least one of a named group as claimed);
As per claim 3, claim 1 is incorporated and FAQ further discloses wherein in response to the input, the processor is configured to one or more of block network traffic to the plurality of network devices, limit network traffic to the plurality of network devices, and redirect network traffic from the plurality of network devices (FAQ, page 3-4 section 1.3 Firewall, section 1.4 QoS, wherein the figures shows blocking certain network traffic such as Adult content and also the option to apply bandwidth limiter to the selected group of devices );
As per claim 4, claim 1 is incorporated and FAQ further discloses wherein the processor is configured to display a schedule associated with the change of the network control, and receive, via the schedule, a selection of one or more of a particular time or day (FAQ, page 3 section 1.1 Access control – Time Scheduling, wherein the figure shows the displaying of a schedule as claimed);
As per claim 5, claim 4 is incorporated and FAQ and Kim further discloses wherein, when the processor simultaneously applies the change, the processor is configured to apply the change at the one or more of the particular time or day based on the selection (FAQ, page 3 section 1.1 Access control – Time Scheduling, wherein the figure shows the displaying of a schedule and the schedule is applied to the device group including the plurality of network devices belonging to the selected group), (Kim, paragraph 0085, 0103, 0120, wherein “To control multiple network devices at the same time, such multiple devices may be grouped together such that they are treated within the network as a single virtual device”, “Therefore, each of new devices 1, 2 and 3 are capable of turning a light on and off, and therefore new devices 1, 2 and 3 may be considered for grouping together into a device group. If new devices 1, 2 and 3 are grouped together into a device group, a user may control new devices 1, 2 and 3 at the same time by turning their respective lights on and off at the same time. For example, a user may control new devices 1, 2 and 3 using an access device, and by pressing a button on the access device to turn the lights on the three devices on or off”, “In some embodiments, a device, such as the access device 108 shown in FIG. 1 or the gateway 110, connected to the network 100 can communicate an updated status of a network device, such as the network devices 102 and/or 104. The updated status can be communicated via the network 100 and can include an adjustment that affects a status of the network device. The adjustment can include an amount of change to one or more attributes, one or more settings, or a combination thereof related to operation of the network device connected to the network 100. The access device 108 or the gateway 110 can present a graphical interface that can receive input corresponding to an adjustment to a status of a device”);
As per claim 6, claim 1 is incorporated and Guide further discloses wherein the input changes a virtual private network (VPN) connection for the entity (Guide, page 63, section 4.5 VPN Server, wherein the figure shows the inputs that the user can select to configure a VPN connection);
As per claim 7, claim 1 is incorporated and FAQ, Guide and Kim further discloses wherein the input comprises a pause request that pauses Internet access for the entity (Guide, page 27 section 3.1.2 Managing your network clients, wherein “to block a client’s access to your network, select the client and click the open lock icon”), and wherein, in response to the pause request, the processor is configured to simultaneously kill an Internet connection for the plurality of network devices (FAQ, page 1,, wherein “You can add multiple devices to a self-defined device group and assign the same network policy. It’s easier to manage multiple devices connected to your network by a Device Group, instead of specifying each device individually”), (Kim, paragraph 0085, 0103, 0120, wherein “To control multiple network devices at the same time, such multiple devices may be grouped together such that they are treated within the network as a single virtual device”, “Therefore, each of new devices 1, 2 and 3 are capable of turning a light on and off, and therefore new devices 1, 2 and 3 may be considered for grouping together into a device group. If new devices 1, 2 and 3 are grouped together into a device group, a user may control new devices 1, 2 and 3 at the same time by turning their respective lights on and off at the same time. For example, a user may control new devices 1, 2 and 3 using an access device, and by pressing a button on the access device to turn the lights on the three devices on or off”, “In some embodiments, a device, such as the access device 108 shown in FIG. 1 or the gateway 110, connected to the network 100 can communicate an updated status of a network device, such as the network devices 102 and/or 104. The updated status can be communicated via the network 100 and can include an adjustment that affects a status of the network device. The adjustment can include an amount of change to one or more attributes, one or more settings, or a combination thereof related to operation of the network device connected to the network 100. The access device 108 or the gateway 110 can present a graphical interface that can receive input corresponding to an adjustment to a status of a device”);
Claims 9-15 and 17-20 are rejected under the same rationale as claims 1-7.
Claims 8 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over FAQ “How to utilize Device Group for network policy settings - BRT Series” (https://www.asus.com/us/support/faq/1035993/ Last Update : 2023/05/04 FAQ hereinafter) in view of User Guide BTR-AC828 (First Edition June 2016 Guide hereinafter), Kim et al (Pub. No.: US 2016/0043962 A1) and Livecommunity “Disable inherited policies in a Device Group” (https://live.paloaltonetworks.com/t5/forums/forumtopicprintpage/board-id/Panorama_Discussions/message-id/552/print-single-message/false/page/1. Published 12-09-2021, Livecommunity hereinafter ).
As per claim 8, claim 1 is incorporated and FAQ, Guide and Kim do not explicitly disclose wherein the processor is configured to identify that a network device of the plurality of network devices also inherits from a different entity having a different network control that conflicts with the change, and override the different network control based on a hierarchy among the entity and the different entity. However, resolving of conflicting settings cause by a network device belonging to multiple groups that have conflicting settings is well known in the art. For example, Livecommunity discloses wherein the processor is configured to identify that a network device of the plurality of network devices also inherits from a different entity having a different network control that conflicts with the change, and override the different network control based on a hierarchy among the entity and the different entity (Livecommunity, page 2 “TomYoung reply”, wherein “Every policy in a Device Group has a Target tab for which you can enable or disable policies. There is also a check box "Target to all but these specified devices and tags." So, it looks like you can do everything that you want with the Target tab. It looks like you can also use tags to make the process more efficient”)).
Therefore, it would have it would have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to incorporate FAQ, Guide and Kim with Livecommunity to achieve the claimed limitations because a user would be able to configure the router in a way that allows assigning a network policy settings to a device group instead of specifying the setting for each device individually which simplify and speed up the configuration management.
Claim 16 is rejected under the same rationale as claim 8.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments filed on 06/10/2026 have been considered but are moot in light of the new grounds of rejection.
Conclusion
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HAMZA N ALGIBHAH whose telephone number is (571)270-7212. The examiner can normally be reached 7:30 am - 3:30 pm.
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 ario.etienne@uspto.gov. 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.
/HAMZA N ALGIBHAH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2457
