DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Priority
2. Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in parent Application No. 18/720, 002 filed on 09/16/2022.
Information Disclosure Statement
3. The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 04/16/2025 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Double Patenting
4. 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 either is anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim. 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 §§ 706.02(l) (1) - 706.02(l) (3) 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 USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms, which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The 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/process/file/efs/guidance/eTD-info-I.jsp.
5. Claim(s) 1-19 is/are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim(s) 1 of U.S. Patent No: US 12,301,537 B2. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because Claim(s) 1-19 of the current application matches directly to every element of Claim 1-19 of Patent No: US 12,301,537 B2.
6. In addition, specifically Independent Claims 1 & 19, is/are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being rejected over claim(s) 1 & 17 of Patent No: 12,301,537 B2, in view of Rondeau (US 2018/0375721 A1).
7. The claims are not patentable distinct from each other because it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to take the teachings of Rondeau and apply them on the teachings of Application No. 19/176,874 to establishing a connection to a client vehicle using a antenna and communication interface.
8. The table below shows only a sample of how each of these claims is anticipated by claims such as Claim 1 of Patent No. US 12,323,286 B2.
Instant Application 19/176,874
Patent No. 12,301,537 B2.
1. A method for establishing a client network on a vehicle, the vehicle comprising a plurality of antenna units, each antenna unit comprising a first communications interface having a hardware address, each first communication interface being connected to a communication network, the method comprising, at a first antenna unit:
1. A method for establishing a client network on a vehicle, the vehicle comprising a plurality of antenna units, each antenna unit comprising a first communications interface having a hardware address, each first communication interface being connected to a communication network, the method comprising, at a first antenna unit:
communicating over the communication network using a first interface address associated with the first communication interface to identify at least one other antenna unit, the first interface address being generated by the first antenna unit;
communicating over the communication network using a first interface address associated with the first communication interface to identify at least one other antenna unit using a self-discovery protocol, the self-discovery protocol being a neighbour discovery protocol, the first interface address being generated by the first antenna unit;
communicating with the at least one other antenna unit to designate a master antenna unit based on a priority order of the antenna units;
communicating with the at least one other antenna unit to designate a master antenna unit based on a priority order of the antenna units;
in response to the first antenna unit being designated the master antenna unit, generating a first address allocation server to allocate respective second interface addresses to the at least one other antenna unit to be used in communication between the plurality of antenna units; and
in response to the first antenna unit being designated the master antenna unit, generating a first address allocation server to allocate respective second interface addresses to the at least one other antenna unit to be used in communication between the plurality of antenna units; and
generating a second address allocation server to allocate respective third interface addresses from a subset of a set of third interface addresses to at least one client device connected to the client network, different subsets of the set of third interface addresses being allocated to second address allocation servers of respective antenna units.
generating a second address allocation server to allocate respective third interface addresses from a subset of a set of third interface addresses to at least one client device connected to the client network, different subsets of the set of third interface addresses being allocated to second address allocation servers of respective antenna units.
2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the priority order is based on the respective hardware addresses of the first communication interfaces.
2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the priority order is based on the respective hardware addresses of the first communication interfaces.
3. A method according to claim 1, wherein the antenna having the highest or lowest hardware address is designated as the master antenna unit.
3. A method according to claim 1, wherein the antenna having the highest or lowest hardware address is designated as the master antenna unit.
4. A method according to claim 1, wherein the master antenna unit is designated based on being at one end of the priority order.
4. A method according to claim 1, wherein the master antenna unit is designated based on being at one end of the priority order.
5. A method according to claim 1, the method comprising generating the first interface address.
5. A method according to claim 1, the method comprising generating the first interface address.
6. A method according to claim 1, wherein the first interface address is generated based on the hardware address of the communication interface.
6. A method according to claim 1, wherein the first interface address is generated based on the hardware address of the communication interface.
7. A method according to claim 1, wherein the first interface address is a randomly generated interface address.
7. A method according to claim 1, wherein the first interface address is a randomly generated interface address.
8. A method according to claim 1, wherein the first interface address is a link local address.
8. A method according to claim 1, wherein the first interface address is a link local address.
9. A method according to claim 1, wherein the at least one other antenna unit is identified using a self-discovery protocol.
9. A method according to claim 1, wherein identifying at least one other antenna unit using the self-discovery protocol comprises sending one or more neighbour solicitation messages, receiving one or more neighbour advertisement message and building a neighbour cache of first interface addresses of the at least one other antenna unit.
10. A method according to claim 9, wherein the self-discovery protocol is a neighbour discovery protocol.
Claim 1
the self-discovery protocol being a neighbour discovery protocol,
11. A method according to claim 10, wherein identifying at least one other antenna unit using the self-discovery protocol comprises sending one or more neighbour solicitation messages, receiving one or more neighbour advertisement message and building a neighbour cache of first interface addresses of the at least one other antenna unit
9. A method according to claim 1, wherein identifying at least one other antenna unit using the self-discovery protocol comprises sending one or more neighbour solicitation messages, receiving one or more neighbour advertisement message and building a neighbour cache of first interface addresses of the at least one other antenna unit.
12. A method according to claim 1, the method comprising assigning the respective subset of a set of third interface addresses to each of the at least one other antenna unit.
10. A method according to claim 1, the method comprising assigning the respective subset of a set of third interface addresses to each of the at least one other antenna unit.
13. A method according to claim 1, wherein each antenna unit comprises a wireless communications interface for communication with an external network, the method comprises assigning a fourth interface address to the first communication interface, the second address allocation server allocating the fourth interface address as a gateway address to at least one client device connected to the client network.
11. A method according to claim 1, wherein each antenna unit comprises a wireless communications interface for communication with an external network, the method comprises assigning a fourth interface address to the first communication interface, the second address allocation server allocating the fourth interface address as a gateway address to at least one client device connected to the client network.
14. A method according to claim 13, the method comprising assigning a fourth interface address to each of the at least one other antenna unit.
12. A method according to claim 11, the method comprising assigning a fourth interface address to each of the at least one other antenna unit.
15. A method according to claim 1, the method comprising communicating with at least one other antenna unit using a second interface address to establish a heartbeat mechanism with the at least one other antenna unit, and in response to the heartbeat mechanism detecting that a second antenna unit is offline assigning the fourth interface address of the second antenna unit to the first communication interface of the first antenna unit.
13. A method according to claim 1, the method comprising communicating with at least one other antenna unit using a second interface address to establish a heartbeat mechanism with the at least one other antenna unit, and in response to the heartbeat mechanism detecting that a second antenna unit is offline assigning the fourth interface address of the second antenna unit to the first communication interface of the first antenna unit.
16. A method according to claim 1, wherein the first, second and/or third interface addresses are IP addresses.
14. A method according to claim 1, wherein the first, second and/or third interface addresses are IP addresses.
17. A method according to claim 1, wherein the first interface address is an IPv6 address
15. A method according to claim 1, wherein the first interface address is an IPV6 address.
18. A method according to claim 1, wherein the at least one other antenna unit is a plurality of other antenna units.
16. A method according to claim 1, wherein the at least one other antenna unit is a plurality of other antenna units.
19. A first antenna unit provided on a vehicle, the vehicle comprising a plurality of antenna units, each antenna unit comprising a first communications interface having a hardware address, each first communication interface being connected to a communication network, the first antenna unit comprising a first communications interface having a hardware address, the first communication interface being connectable to a communication network, the first antenna unit being configured to: communicate over the communication network using a first interface address associated with the first communication interface to identify at least one other antenna unit, the first interface address being generated by the first antenna unit; communicate with the at least one other antenna unit to designate a master antenna unit based on a priority order of the antenna units; in response to the first antenna unit being designated the master antenna unit, generate a first address allocation server to allocate respective second interface addresses to the at least one other antenna unit to be used in communication between the plurality of antenna units; and generate a second address allocation server to allocate respective third interface addresses from a subset of a set of third interface addresses to at least one client device connected to the client network, different subsets of the set of third interface addresses being allocated to second address allocation servers of respective antenna units.
17. A first antenna unit provided on a vehicle, the vehicle comprising a plurality of antenna units, each antenna unit comprising a first communications interface having a hardware address, each first communication interface being connected to a communication network, the first antenna unit comprising a first communications interface having a hardware address, the first communication interface being connectable to a communication network, the first antenna unit being configured to: communicate over the communication network using a first interface address associated with the first communication interface to identify at least one other antenna unit using a self-discovery protocol, the self-discovery protocol being a neighbour discovery protocol, the first interface address being generated by the first antenna unit; communicate with the at least one other antenna unit to designate a master antenna unit based on a priority order of the antenna units; in response to the first antenna unit being designated the master antenna unit, generate a first address allocation server to allocate respective second interface addresses to the at least one other antenna unit to be used in communication between the plurality of antenna units; and generate a second address allocation server to allocate respective third interface addresses from a subset of a set of third interface addresses to at least one client device connected to the client network, different subsets of the set of third interface addresses being allocated to second address allocation servers of respective antenna units.
Conclusion
9. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHRISTOPHER B ROBINSON whose telephone number is (571)270-0702. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:00-3:00 EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Nicholas R Taylor can be reached at 571-272-3889. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/CHRISTOPHER B ROBINSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2443
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