The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
This Office action is in response to communications filed on 2/14/2025.
Claims 1-20 are pending.
DETAILED ACTION
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.
Claim(s) 1-3, 8-11, 16-17, and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(A)(1) as being anticipated by Yang et al. (US 20200288085 A1, hereinafter Yang).
Regarding claim 1, Yang discloses a method comprising:
joining, using a first network interface of a client device, a video conference, the video conference including a plurality of participants (¶[0029], "process for using multiple channels within a multiway audio-video conference in accordance with one or more implementations"; ¶[0030], "audio-video conferencing between the participant devices A-C (e.g., the electronic devices 102-104) via the server 108. The server 108 may be configured to forward audio and/or video content between the participant devices A-C, for example, via the network 106 and the respective communication interfaces 206a-206b (e.g., WiFi, cellular) of the participant devices A-C and the server"; ¶[0041], "participant device A has joined the session [...] the server 108 recognizes linkID: 1 of the participant device A as a WiFi interface");
after joining the video conference, connecting to the video conference using a second network interface simultaneously with the first network interface (¶[0042], "participant device A informing the server 108 of the stream as2 on the cellular channel of the participant device A. The participant device A sends another allocation bind request to the server 108 (307)"; Fig. 3B, the steps 307-308 happen after joining the session);
monitoring network conditions associated with the first and second network interfaces during the video conference (¶[0052], "the participant device A is subscribed to both of content streams bs1 and bs2. In one or more implementations, while the participant device A is capable of receiving both of the content streams bs1 and bs2, the participant device A may choose which stream to receive [...] since the content stream bs1 may be of higher quality, the participant device A may select to receive this stream. However, if any problems are encountered with respect to this stream (e.g., a lost connection for the channel, or detection of a predefined amount of bandwidth degradation and/or packet loss), the participant device A may be configured to switch from the content stream bs1 to the content stream bs2"); and
dynamically allocating, during the video conference, multimedia streams to the first and second network interfaces based on the monitoring (¶[0052], "the participant device A is subscribed to both of content streams bs1 and bs2. In one or more implementations, while the participant device A is capable of receiving both of the content streams bs1 and bs2, the participant device A may choose which stream to receive [...] since the content stream bs1 may be of higher quality, the participant device A may select to receive this stream. However, if any problems are encountered with respect to this stream (e.g., a lost connection for the channel, or detection of a predefined amount of bandwidth degradation and/or packet loss), the participant device A may be configured to switch from the content stream bs1 to the content stream bs2").
Regarding claim 2, Yang discloses The method of claim 1, wherein the multimedia streams comprise an audio stream and a video stream (¶[0029], "multiway audio-video conference"), and further comprising:
dynamically allocating both the audio and video streams to one of the first or second network interfaces in response to determining a network condition of the other of the first or second network interfaces is below a threshold (¶[0052], "the participant device A is subscribed to both of content streams bs1 and bs2. In one or more implementations, while the participant device A is capable of receiving both of the content streams bs1 and bs2, the participant device A may choose which stream to receive [...] since the content stream bs1 may be of higher quality, the participant device A may select to receive this stream. However, if any problems are encountered with respect to this stream (e.g., a lost connection for the channel, or detection of a predefined amount of bandwidth degradation and/or packet loss), the participant device A may be configured to switch from the content stream bs1 to the content stream bs2"), and
maintaining connections to the video conference with both of the first and second network interfaces (¶[0016], "a participant device may simultaneously subscribe to, and receive, both a high quality stream via a first communication channel, e.g., WiFi, and a low quality stream via a second communication channel, e.g., cellular"; ¶[0052], "the participant device A is subscribed to both of content streams bs1 and bs2. In one or more implementations, while the participant device A is capable of receiving both of the content streams bs1 and bs2, the participant device A may choose which stream to receive" - see also ¶[0043], "The allocation bind response includes: a different link identifier for the server 108 to identify the cellular channel (linkID: 2) […] Thus, the participant device A may also send content stream as2 to the server 108, such that streaming content can be forwarded to the other participant devices B-C once they are subscribed").
Regarding claim 3, yang discloses the method of claim 2, further comprising, in response to determining the network condition of the other of the first or second network interfaces satisfies a threshold, dynamically allocating at least one of the audio or video streams to the other of the first or second network interfaces (¶[0052], "the participant device A is subscribed to both of content streams bs1 and bs2. In one or more implementations, while the participant device A is capable of receiving both of the content streams bs1 and bs2, the participant device A may choose which stream to receive [...] since the content stream bs1 may be of higher quality, the participant device A may select to receive this stream. However, if any problems are encountered with respect to this stream (e.g., a lost connection for the channel, or detection of a predefined amount of bandwidth degradation and/or packet loss), the participant device A may be configured to switch from the content stream bs1 to the content stream bs2").
Regarding claim 8, Yang discloses the method of claim 1, wherein connecting to the video conference using the second network interface is in response to determining a network connection associated with the first network interface does not satisfy a predetermined threshold quality (¶[0052], "the participant device A is subscribed to both of content streams bs1 and bs2. In one or more implementations, while the participant device A is capable of receiving both of the content streams bs1 and bs2, the participant device A may choose which stream to receive [...] since the content stream bs1 may be of higher quality, the participant device A may select to receive this stream. However, if any problems are encountered with respect to this stream (e.g., a lost connection for the channel, or detection of a predefined amount of bandwidth degradation and/or packet loss), the participant device A may be configured to switch from the content stream bs1 to the content stream bs2").
Regarding claims 9-11 and 16 Yang discloses a system comprising: a first network interface (¶[0041], "participant device A has joined the session [...] the server 108 recognizes linkID: 1 of the participant device A as a WiFi interface");
a non-transitory computer-readable medium; and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the first network interface and the non-transitory computer-readable medium, the one or more processors configured to execute processor-executable instructions stored in the non-transitory computer-readable medium to cause the one or more processors to perform operations (¶[0086]-[0088], a processor to execute instructions stored in a memory):
The remaining limitations of claims 9-11, and 16 are similar in scope to those of claims 1-3 and 8. Therefore, claims 9-11, and 16 are rejected for the same reasons as set forth in the rejection of claims 1-3 and 8, above.
Regarding claims 17 and 20, Yang discloses a non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising processor-executable instructions configured to perform operations (¶[0086]-[0088], a processor to execute instructions stored in a memory).
The remaining limitations of claims 17 and 20 are similar in scope to those of claims 1 and 8. Therefore, claims 17 and 20 are rejected for the same reasons as set forth in the rejection of claims 1 and 8, above.
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) 5-6 and 13-14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yang (US 20200288085 A1) in view of Krishnaswamy et al. (US 20130077501 A1, hereinafter Krishnaswamy).
Regarding claim 5, Yang discloses the method of claim 1.
Yang does not disclose that the second network interface is provided by a second client device, the client device connected to the second client device by a wireless network connection.
Krishnaswamy discloses that a second network interface may be provided by a second client device, the client device connected to the second client device by a wireless network connection (¶[0044], "an exemplary network including multiple paths between an application server 302 and a client device 304 […] Here, a multipath TCP-capable client 304 is directly connected to a multipath TCP-capable application server 302 (directly connected, as opposed to a connection utilizing tunneling, described below and illustrated in FIGS. 8-9) by way of one or more WWAN access points"; ¶[0046], "Further, the client 304 may include a WPAN modem for communicating with a proxy 312, wherein the proxy 312 includes a WWAN modem for communicating with a third WWAN access point 310 [...] Thus, the client 304 and the proxy 312 may coordinate together over wired or wireless links (e.g., traffic merging or splitting can be performed on one of the devices)").
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 Yang in view of Krishnaswamy so that the second network interface is provided by a second client device, the client device connected to the second client device by a wireless network connection.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated because by "using more than one path, multipath TCP can enhance user experience through improved resilience to network failure and increased throughput" (Krishnaswamy, ¶[0007])
Regarding claim 6, the combined system of Yang and Krishnaswamy discloses the invention substantially as applied to claim 5, above, wherein the second client device comprises a cellular client device (Krishnaswamy, ¶[0038], "apparatuses suitable for incorporating various aspects of the present disclosure include, but are not limited to, a user equipment (UE) capable of operating in a wireless network, a WWAN client, etc. A UE may be referred to as a wireless terminal, a mobile phone, a user terminal, a mobile station, a mobile device, a subscriber station, a wireless device, a wireless node, a terminal, an access terminal, a node, a handheld device, a tablet, or some other suitable terminology"), and
the client device is connected to the second client device by a Bluetooth connection (Krishnaswamy, ¶[0046], "the WPAN modem for communicating with the proxy 312 may be a Bluetooth or other suitable low-power communication interface").
Regarding claims 13-14, Yang discloses the system of claim 9.
The remaining limitations of claims 13-14 are similar in scope to those of claims 5-6. Therefore, claims 13-14 are rejected for the same reasons as set forth in the rejection of claims 5-6, above.
Claim(s) 7, 15, and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yang (US 20200288085 A1) in view of Thielman et al. (US 20080043643 A1, hereinafter Thielman).
Regarding claim 7, Yang discloses the method of claim 1.
Yang does not disclose dynamically selecting a video encoder for a video stream of the multimedia streams based on the monitoring.
Thielman discloses dynamically selecting a video encoder for a video stream of the multimedia streams based on the monitoring (¶[0023], "periodically measure network latency in order to dynamically react, for example, to changes in network traffic and/or topology"; ¶[0029], "Based, at least in part, upon the determined latency signal 115, the encoder adjustment logic 120 can provide the encoder adjustment signal 125. The adjustment signal 125 can be configured to adjust latency of the encoder in a variety of ways. For example, assuming the encoder is a variable bit-rate encoder, the adjustment signal 125 can provide one or more encoding parameters for the encoder to employ that reduces the bit-rate, which increases latency and thus conserves bandwidth. In other examples, the adjustment signal 125 can set a quantity of buffer frames, identify one of a plurality of available encoders to employ and/or identify one of a plurality of compression algorithms to employ").
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 Yang in view of Thielman for dynamically selecting a video encoder for a video stream of the multimedia streams based on the monitoring.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated because it would "optimize latency without noticeably degrading quality" (Thielman, ¶[0009]).
Regarding claim 15, Yang discloses the system of claim 9.
The remaining limitations of claim 15 are similar in scope to those of claim 7. Therefore, claim 15 is rejected for the same reasons as set forth in the rejection of claim 7, above.
Regarding claim 19, Yang discloses the non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17.
The remaining limitations of claim 19 are similar in scope to those of claim 7. Therefore, claim 19 is rejected for the same reasons as set forth in the rejection of claim 7, above.
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer.
Claims 1-3, 8-11, 16-17, and 20 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1, 7, and 14 of U.S. Patent No. 11,792,366 B2 in view of Yang (US 20200288085 A1).
Regarding claim 1,
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Claim 1 of US Patent No. 11,792,366 B2 does not disclose monitoring network conditions associated with the first and second network interfaces during the video conference; and dynamically allocating, during the video conference, multimedia streams to the first and second network interfaces based on the monitoring.
Yang discloses monitoring network conditions associated with the first and second network interfaces during the video conference (¶[0052], "the participant device A is subscribed to both of content streams bs1 and bs2. In one or more implementations, while the participant device A is capable of receiving both of the content streams bs1 and bs2, the participant device A may choose which stream to receive [...] since the content stream bs1 may be of higher quality, the participant device A may select to receive this stream. However, if any problems are encountered with respect to this stream (e.g., a lost connection for the channel, or detection of a predefined amount of bandwidth degradation and/or packet loss), the participant device A may be configured to switch from the content stream bs1 to the content stream bs2"); and
dynamically allocating, during the video conference, multimedia streams to the first and second network interfaces based on the monitoring (¶[0052], "the participant device A is subscribed to both of content streams bs1 and bs2. In one or more implementations, while the participant device A is capable of receiving both of the content streams bs1 and bs2, the participant device A may choose which stream to receive [...] since the content stream bs1 may be of higher quality, the participant device A may select to receive this stream. However, if any problems are encountered with respect to this stream (e.g., a lost connection for the channel, or detection of a predefined amount of bandwidth degradation and/or packet loss), the participant device A may be configured to switch from the content stream bs1 to the content stream bs2").
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 US Patent No. 11,792,366 B2 in view of Yang for monitoring network conditions associated with the first and second network interfaces during the video conference; and dynamically allocating, during the video conference, multimedia streams to the first and second network interfaces based on the monitoring.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated because it would prevent audio/video latency in real time communications.
Regarding claim 2, the combined system of US Patent No. 11,792,366 B2 and Yang discloses the invention substantially as applied to claim 1, above, wherein the multimedia streams comprise an audio stream and a video stream (Yang, ¶[0029], "multiway audio-video conference"), and
further comprising: dynamically allocating both the audio and video streams to one of the first or second network interfaces in response to determining a network condition of the other of the first or second network interfaces is below a threshold (Yang, ¶[0052], "the participant device A is subscribed to both of content streams bs1 and bs2. In one or more implementations, while the participant device A is capable of receiving both of the content streams bs1 and bs2, the participant device A may choose which stream to receive [...] since the content stream bs1 may be of higher quality, the participant device A may select to receive this stream. However, if any problems are encountered with respect to this stream (e.g., a lost connection for the channel, or detection of a predefined amount of bandwidth degradation and/or packet loss), the participant device A may be configured to switch from the content stream bs1 to the content stream bs2"), and
maintaining connections to the video conference with both of the first and second network interfaces (Yang, ¶[0016], "a participant device may simultaneously subscribe to, and receive, both a high quality stream via a first communication channel, e.g., WiFi, and a low quality stream via a second communication channel, e.g., cellular"; ¶[0052], "the participant device A is subscribed to both of content streams bs1 and bs2. In one or more implementations, while the participant device A is capable of receiving both of the content streams bs1 and bs2, the participant device A may choose which stream to receive" - see also ¶[0043], "The allocation bind response includes: a different link identifier for the server 108 to identify the cellular channel (linkID: 2) […] Thus, the participant device A may also send content stream as2 to the server 108, such that streaming content can be forwarded to the other participant devices B-C once they are subscribed").
Regarding claim 3, the combined system of US Patent No. 11,792,366 B2 and Yang discloses the invention substantially as applied to claim 2, above, further comprising, in response to determining the network condition of the other of the first or second network interfaces satisfies a threshold, dynamically allocating at least one of the audio or video streams to the other of the first or second network interfaces (Yang, ¶[0052], "the participant device A is subscribed to both of content streams bs1 and bs2. In one or more implementations, while the participant device A is capable of receiving both of the content streams bs1 and bs2, the participant device A may choose which stream to receive [...] since the content stream bs1 may be of higher quality, the participant device A may select to receive this stream. However, if any problems are encountered with respect to this stream (e.g., a lost connection for the channel, or detection of a predefined amount of bandwidth degradation and/or packet loss), the participant device A may be configured to switch from the content stream bs1 to the content stream bs2").
Regarding claim 8, the combined system of US Patent No. 11,792,366 B2 and Yang discloses the invention substantially as applied to claim 1, above, wherein connecting to the video conference using the second network interface is in response to determining a network connection associated with the first network interface does not satisfy a predetermined threshold quality (Yang, ¶[0052], "the participant device A is subscribed to both of content streams bs1 and bs2. In one or more implementations, while the participant device A is capable of receiving both of the content streams bs1 and bs2, the participant device A may choose which stream to receive [...] since the content stream bs1 may be of higher quality, the participant device A may select to receive this stream. However, if any problems are encountered with respect to this stream (e.g., a lost connection for the channel, or detection of a predefined amount of bandwidth degradation and/or packet loss), the participant device A may be configured to switch from the content stream bs1 to the content stream bs2").
Claims 9-11, 16-17, and 20 are similarly rejected but in view of claims 7 and 14 of US Patent No. 11,792,366 B2.
Claims 5-6 and 13-14 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1, 7, and 14 of U.S. Patent No. 11,792,366 B2 in view of Yang (US 20200288085 A1), and further in view of Krishnaswamy (US 20130077501 A1).
Regarding claim 5, the combined system of US Patent No. 11,792,366 B2 and Yang discloses the invention substantially as applied to claim 1, above.
The combined system of US Patent No. 11,792,366 B2 and Yang does not disclose that the second network interface is provided by a second client device, the client device connected to the second client device by a wireless network connection.
Krishnaswamy discloses that a second network interface may be provided by a second client device, the client device connected to the second client device by a wireless network connection (¶[0044], "an exemplary network including multiple paths between an application server 302 and a client device 304 […] Here, a multipath TCP-capable client 304 is directly connected to a multipath TCP-capable application server 302 (directly connected, as opposed to a connection utilizing tunneling, described below and illustrated in FIGS. 8-9) by way of one or more WWAN access points"; ¶[0046], "Further, the client 304 may include a WPAN modem for communicating with a proxy 312, wherein the proxy 312 includes a WWAN modem for communicating with a third WWAN access point 310 [...] Thus, the client 304 and the proxy 312 may coordinate together over wired or wireless links (e.g., traffic merging or splitting can be performed on one of the devices)").
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 the combined system of US Patent No. 11,792,366 B2 and Yang in view of Krishnaswamy so that the second network interface is provided by a second client device, the client device connected to the second client device by a wireless network connection.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated because by "using more than one path, multipath TCP can enhance user experience through improved resilience to network failure and increased throughput" (Krishnaswamy, ¶[0007])
Regarding claim 6, the combined system of US Patent No. 11,792,366 B2 and Yang discloses the invention substantially as applied to claim 5, above, wherein the second client device comprises a cellular client device (Krishnaswamy, ¶[0038], "apparatuses suitable for incorporating various aspects of the present disclosure include, but are not limited to, a user equipment (UE) capable of operating in a wireless network, a WWAN client, etc. A UE may be referred to as a wireless terminal, a mobile phone, a user terminal, a mobile station, a mobile device, a subscriber station, a wireless device, a wireless node, a terminal, an access terminal, a node, a handheld device, a tablet, or some other suitable terminology"), and
the client device is connected to the second client device by a Bluetooth connection (Krishnaswamy, ¶[0046], "the WPAN modem for communicating with the proxy 312 may be a Bluetooth or other suitable low-power communication interface").
Claims 13 and 14 are similarly rejected but in view of claims 7 and 14 of US Patent No. 11,792,366 B2.
Claims 7, 15, and 19 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1, 7, and 14 of U.S. Patent No. 11,792,366 B2 in view of Yang (US 20200288085 A1), and further in view of Thielman (US 20080043643 A1).
Regarding claim 7, the combined system of US Patent No. 11,792,366 B2 and Yang discloses the invention substantially as applied to claim 1.
The combined system of US Patent No. 11,792,366 B2 and Yang does not disclose dynamically selecting a video encoder for a video stream of the multimedia streams based on the monitoring.
Thielman discloses dynamically selecting a video encoder for a video stream of the multimedia streams based on the monitoring (¶[0023], "periodically measure network latency in order to dynamically react, for example, to changes in network traffic and/or topology"; ¶[0029], "Based, at least in part, upon the determined latency signal 115, the encoder adjustment logic 120 can provide the encoder adjustment signal 125. The adjustment signal 125 can be configured to adjust latency of the encoder in a variety of ways. For example, assuming the encoder is a variable bit-rate encoder, the adjustment signal 125 can provide one or more encoding parameters for the encoder to employ that reduces the bit-rate, which increases latency and thus conserves bandwidth. In other examples, the adjustment signal 125 can set a quantity of buffer frames, identify one of a plurality of available encoders to employ and/or identify one of a plurality of compression algorithms to employ").
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 the combined system of US Patent No. 11,792,366 B2 and Yang in view of Thielman for dynamically selecting a video encoder for a video stream of the multimedia streams based on the monitoring.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated because it would "optimize latency without noticeably degrading quality" (Thielman, ¶[0009]).
Claims 15 and 19 are similarly rejected but in view of claims 7 and 14 of US Patent No. 11,792,366 B2.
Claims 1-3, 8-11, 16-17, and 20 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1, 7, and 13 of U.S. Patent No. 12,231,813 B1 in view of Yang (US 20200288085 A1).
Regarding claim 1,
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US Patent No. 12,231,813 B1 does not disclose monitoring network conditions associated with the first and second network interfaces during the video conference; and dynamically allocating, during the video conference, multimedia streams to the first and second network interfaces based on the monitoring.
Yang discloses monitoring network conditions associated with the first and second network interfaces during the video conference (¶[0052], "the participant device A is subscribed to both of content streams bs1 and bs2. In one or more implementations, while the participant device A is capable of receiving both of the content streams bs1 and bs2, the participant device A may choose which stream to receive [...] since the content stream bs1 may be of higher quality, the participant device A may select to receive this stream. However, if any problems are encountered with respect to this stream (e.g., a lost connection for the channel, or detection of a predefined amount of bandwidth degradation and/or packet loss), the participant device A may be configured to switch from the content stream bs1 to the content stream bs2"); and
dynamically allocating, during the video conference, multimedia streams to the first and second network interfaces based on the monitoring (¶[0052], "the participant device A is subscribed to both of content streams bs1 and bs2. In one or more implementations, while the participant device A is capable of receiving both of the content streams bs1 and bs2, the participant device A may choose which stream to receive [...] since the content stream bs1 may be of higher quality, the participant device A may select to receive this stream. However, if any problems are encountered with respect to this stream (e.g., a lost connection for the channel, or detection of a predefined amount of bandwidth degradation and/or packet loss), the participant device A may be configured to switch from the content stream bs1 to the content stream bs2").
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 US Patent No. 12,231,813 B1 in view of Yang for monitoring network conditions associated with the first and second network interfaces during the video conference; and dynamically allocating, during the video conference, multimedia streams to the first and second network interfaces based on the monitoring.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated because it would prevent audio/video latency in real time communications.
Regarding claim 2, the combined system of US Patent No. 12,231,813 B1 and Yang discloses the invention substantially as applied to claim 1, above, wherein the multimedia streams comprise an audio stream and a video stream (Yang, ¶[0029], "multiway audio-video conference"), and
further comprising: dynamically allocating both the audio and video streams to one of the first or second network interfaces in response to determining a network condition of the other of the first or second network interfaces is below a threshold (Yang, ¶[0052], "the participant device A is subscribed to both of content streams bs1 and bs2. In one or more implementations, while the participant device A is capable of receiving both of the content streams bs1 and bs2, the participant device A may choose which stream to receive [...] since the content stream bs1 may be of higher quality, the participant device A may select to receive this stream. However, if any problems are encountered with respect to this stream (e.g., a lost connection for the channel, or detection of a predefined amount of bandwidth degradation and/or packet loss), the participant device A may be configured to switch from the content stream bs1 to the content stream bs2"), and
maintaining connections to the video conference with both of the first and second network interfaces (Yang, ¶[0016], "a participant device may simultaneously subscribe to, and receive, both a high quality stream via a first communication channel, e.g., WiFi, and a low quality stream via a second communication channel, e.g., cellular"; ¶[0052], "the participant device A is subscribed to both of content streams bs1 and bs2. In one or more implementations, while the participant device A is capable of receiving both of the content streams bs1 and bs2, the participant device A may choose which stream to receive" - see also ¶[0043], "The allocation bind response includes: a different link identifier for the server 108 to identify the cellular channel (linkID: 2) […] Thus, the participant device A may also send content stream as2 to the server 108, such that streaming content can be forwarded to the other participant devices B-C once they are subscribed").
Regarding claim 3, the combined system of US Patent No. 12,231,813 B1 and Yang discloses the invention substantially as applied to claim 2, above, further comprising, in response to determining the network condition of the other of the first or second network interfaces satisfies a threshold, dynamically allocating at least one of the audio or video streams to the other of the first or second network interfaces (Yang, ¶[0052], "the participant device A is subscribed to both of content streams bs1 and bs2. In one or more implementations, while the participant device A is capable of receiving both of the content streams bs1 and bs2, the participant device A may choose which stream to receive [...] since the content stream bs1 may be of higher quality, the participant device A may select to receive this stream. However, if any problems are encountered with respect to this stream (e.g., a lost connection for the channel, or detection of a predefined amount of bandwidth degradation and/or packet loss), the participant device A may be configured to switch from the content stream bs1 to the content stream bs2").
Regarding claim 8, the combined system of US Patent No. 12,231,813 B1 and Yang discloses the invention substantially as applied to claim 1, above, wherein connecting to the video conference using the second network interface is in response to determining a network connection associated with the first network interface does not satisfy a predetermined threshold quality (Yang, ¶[0052], "the participant device A is subscribed to both of content streams bs1 and bs2. In one or more implementations, while the participant device A is capable of receiving both of the content streams bs1 and bs2, the participant device A may choose which stream to receive [...] since the content stream bs1 may be of higher quality, the participant device A may select to receive this stream. However, if any problems are encountered with respect to this stream (e.g., a lost connection for the channel, or detection of a predefined amount of bandwidth degradation and/or packet loss), the participant device A may be configured to switch from the content stream bs1 to the content stream bs2").
Claims 9-11, 16-17, and 20 are similarly rejected but in view of claims 7 and 13 of US Patent No. 12,231,813 B1.
Claims 5-6 and 13-14 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1, 7, and 13 of U.S. Patent No. 12,231,813 B1 in view of Yang (US 20200288085 A1), and further in view of Krishnaswamy (US 20130077501 A1).
Regarding claim 5, the combined system of US Patent No. 12,231,813 B1 and Yang discloses the invention substantially as applied to claim 1.
The combined system of US Patent No. 12,231,813 B1 and Yang does not disclose that the second network interface is provided by a second client device, the client device connected to the second client device by a wireless network connection.
Krishnaswamy discloses that a second network interface may be provided by a second client device, the client device connected to the second client device by a wireless network connection (¶[0044], "an exemplary network including multiple paths between an application server 302 and a client device 304 […] Here, a multipath TCP-capable client 304 is directly connected to a multipath TCP-capable application server 302 (directly connected, as opposed to a connection utilizing tunneling, described below and illustrated in FIGS. 8-9) by way of one or more WWAN access points"; ¶[0046], "Further, the client 304 may include a WPAN modem for communicating with a proxy 312, wherein the proxy 312 includes a WWAN modem for communicating with a third WWAN access point 310 [...] Thus, the client 304 and the proxy 312 may coordinate together over wired or wireless links (e.g., traffic merging or splitting can be performed on one of the devices)").
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 the combined system of US Patent No. 12,231,813 B1 and Yang in view of Krishnaswamy so that the second network interface is provided by a second client device, the client device connected to the second client device by a wireless network connection.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated because by "using more than one path, multipath TCP can enhance user experience through improved resilience to network failure and increased throughput" (Krishnaswamy, ¶[0007])
Regarding claim 6, the combined system of US Patent No. 12,231,813 B1 and Yang discloses the invention substantially as applied to claim 5, above, wherein the second client device comprises a cellular client device (Krishnaswamy, ¶[0038], "apparatuses suitable for incorporating various aspects of the present disclosure include, but are not limited to, a user equipment (UE) capable of operating in a wireless network, a WWAN client, etc. A UE may be referred to as a wireless terminal, a mobile phone, a user terminal, a mobile station, a mobile device, a subscriber station, a wireless device, a wireless node, a terminal, an access terminal, a node, a handheld device, a tablet, or some other suitable terminology"), and
the client device is connected to the second client device by a Bluetooth connection (Krishnaswamy, ¶[0046], "the WPAN modem for communicating with the proxy 312 may be a Bluetooth or other suitable low-power communication interface").
Claims 13 and 14 are similarly rejected but in view of claims 7 and 13 of US Patent No. 12,231,813 B1.
Claims 7, 15, and 19 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1, 7, and 13 of U.S. Patent No. 12,231,813 B1 in view of Yang (US 20200288085 A1), and further in view of Thielman (US 20080043643 A1).
Regarding claim 7, the combined system of US Patent No. 12,231,813 B1 and Yang discloses the invention substantially as applied to claim 1.
The combined system of US Patent No. 12,231,813 B1 and Yang does not disclose dynamically selecting a video encoder for a video stream of the multimedia streams based on the monitoring.
Thielman discloses dynamically selecting a video encoder for a video stream of the multimedia streams based on the monitoring (¶[0023], "periodically measure network latency in order to dynamically react, for example, to changes in network traffic and/or topology"; ¶[0029], "Based, at least in part, upon the determined latency signal 115, the encoder adjustment logic 120 can provide the encoder adjustment signal 125. The adjustment signal 125 can be configured to adjust latency of the encoder in a variety of ways. For example, assuming the encoder is a variable bit-rate encoder, the adjustment signal 125 can provide one or more encoding parameters for the encoder to employ that reduces the bit-rate, which increases latency and thus conserves bandwidth. In other examples, the adjustment signal 125 can set a quantity of buffer frames, identify one of a plurality of available encoders to employ and/or identify one of a plurality of compression algorithms to employ").
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 the combined system of US Patent No. 12,231,813 B1 and Yang in view of Thielman for dynamically selecting a video encoder for a video stream of the multimedia streams based on the monitoring.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated because it would "optimize latency without noticeably degrading quality" (Thielman, ¶[0009]).
Claims 15 and 19 are similarly rejected but in view of claims 7 and 13 of US Patent No. 12,231,813 B1.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4, 12, and 18 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:
US 7925270 B1, which discloses "the user communication interface initially uses the first antenna for the wireless communications and the user communication interface uses the second antenna for the wireless communications if degradation occurs with the wireless communications over the first antenna" (col. 2, lines 24-29).
US 20100291966 A1, "concurrent communication over a first and a second air interface" (¶[0050]).
US 6785229 B1, which discloses "a first interface coupled to a first network; a second interface coupled to a second network; and a controller operable to: establish a communication session with a remote location through the first interface; and switch the communication session from the first interface to the second interface without disrupting the communication session; wherein the controller is further operable to: monitor a chronic quality degradation of the communication session and an acute quality degradation of the communication session; compare the chronic quality degradation to a chronic quality threshold; compare the acute quality degradation to an acute quality threshold; switch the communication session from the first interface to the second interface if the chronic quality degradation exceeds the chronic quality threshold; and switch the communication session from the first interface to the second interface if the acute quality degradation exceeds the acute quality threshold" (claim 22).
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/BORIS D GRIJALVA LOBOS/ Primary Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2446
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