DETAILED ACTION
Claims 1-20 are pending.
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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 9/19/2025, 12/31/2025, and 9/20/2026 are being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
(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.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Ha (US 2002/0150048 A1).
With regards to Claim 1, Ha teaches an upload speed test method comprising: during an upload speed test process, repeatedly checking whether at least one sending rate adjustment condition is met (i.e., According to another embodiment of the present invention, a short timer may be used to enable faster error recovery if the duplicate acknowledgment or selective acknowledgment mechanisms for loss detection provided by typical TCP implementations fail. For example, the short timer may be used to provide a dial tone that maintains a connection active for a predetermined period of time during traffic congestion while the network is probed to detect whether transmission conditions improve…, Paragraph 12); and whenever it is determined that the at least one sending rate adjustment condition is met, adjusting a current sending rate to set an adjusted sending rate, and using the adjusted sending rate to transmit packets to a server (i.e., If the long timer expires before an acknowledgement for the retransmitted packet is received, the sender may then reduce the congestion window (and the corresponding transmission rate) and transition to a slow start state…, Paragraph 12)
With regards to Claim 2, Ha teaches wherein repeatedly checking whether the at least one sending rate adjustment condition is met comprises: checking whether a timer expires; and whenever it is determined that the timer expires, checking if the at least one sending rate adjustment condition is met (i.e., If the long timer expires before an acknowledgement for the retransmitted packet is received, the sender may then reduce the congestion window (and the corresponding transmission rate) and transition to a slow start state, Paragraph 12; Figures 4, 6A-6C)
With regards to Claim 3, Ha teaches wherein during each timing period of the timer, the upload speed test method uses a fixed sending rate to transmit packets to the server (i.e., If the long timer expires before an acknowledgement for the retransmitted packet is received, the sender may then reduce the congestion window (and the corresponding transmission rate) and transition to a slow start state…, Paragraph 12; rate is only adjusted after timers expire )
With regards to Claim 4, Ha teaches wherein the at least one sending rate adjustment condition comprises an acceleration condition, and repeatedly checking whether the at least one sending rate adjustment is met comprises: determining whether packet loss has been detected; and In response to determining that the packet lost is not detected yet, checking whether the acceleration condition is met (i.e., In the congestion avoidance state 410, the congestion window is altered more gradually based on a four-state process in an attempt to efficiently utilize the communication channel while minimizing or avoiding losses. If the available bandwidth increases, the congestion window is correspondingly increased, which results in a decrease of the period of a transmit timer according to an aspect of the present invention. A decrease in the period of the transmit timer may translate in an increase of the transmission rate. Consequently, upon detection of an increase in the available bandwidth, the transmission rate may be increased to ensure efficient utilization of network resources, Paragraph 45; Figure 4)
With regards to Claim 5, Ha teaches wherein checking whether the acceleration condition is met comprises: determining whether a ratio of a number of packets already transmitted at the current sending rate is below a predetermined threshold; and In response to determining that the ratio is below the predetermined threshold, determining that the acceleration condition is met (i.e., In the congestion avoidance state 410, the congestion window is altered more gradually based on a four-state process in an attempt to efficiently utilize the communication channel while minimizing or avoiding losses. If the available bandwidth increases, the congestion window is correspondingly increased, which results in a decrease of the period of a transmit timer according to an aspect of the present invention. A decrease in the period of the transmit timer may translate in an increase of the transmission rate. Consequently, upon detection of an increase in the available bandwidth, the transmission rate may be increased to ensure efficient utilization of network resources, Paragraph 45; Figures 4, 6B)
With regards to Claim 6, Ha teaches wherein adjusting the current sending rate to set the adjusted sending rate comprises: adjusting a predetermined rate increment step size according to a packet retransmission count, to determine a rate adjustment amount; and Using the rate adjustment amount to increase the current sending rate, to send the adjusted sending rate (i.e., In the congestion avoidance state 410, the congestion window is altered more gradually based on a four-state process in an attempt to efficiently utilize the communication channel while minimizing or avoiding losses. If the available bandwidth increases, the congestion window is correspondingly increased, which results in a decrease of the period of a transmit timer according to an aspect of the present invention. A decrease in the period of the transmit timer may translate in an increase of the transmission rate. Consequently, upon detection of an increase in the available bandwidth, the transmission rate may be increased to ensure efficient utilization of network resources, Paragraph 45; Figures 4, 6B)
With regards to Claim 7, Ha teaches wherein the at least one sending rate adjustment condition comprises a deceleration condition, and repeatedly checking whether the at least one sending rate adjustment condition is met comprises: determining whether packet lost has been detected; and in response to determining that packet loss has been detected, checking whether the deceleration condition is met (i.e., For example, the short timer and the long timer may be set in response to detection of a lost packet. Expiration of the short timer may be configured to cause the sender to retransmit the lost packet. If the long timer expires before an acknowledgement for the retransmitted packet is received, the sender may then reduce the congestion window (and the corresponding transmission rate) and transition to a slow start state, Paragraph 12)
With regards to Claim 8, Ha teaches wherein checking whether the deceleration condition is met comprises: determining whether a cumulative time of transmitting packets at the current sending rate reaches a predetermined threshold; and in response to determining that the cumulative time has reached the predetermined threshold, determining that the deceleration condition is met (i.e., For example, the short timer and the long timer may be set in response to detection of a lost packet. Expiration of the short timer may be configured to cause the sender to retransmit the lost packet. If the long timer expires before an acknowledgement for the retransmitted packet is received, the sender may then reduce the congestion window (and the corresponding transmission rate) and transition to a slow start state, Paragraph 12)
With regards to Claim 9, Ha teaches wherein adjusting the current sending rate to set the adjusted sending rate comprises: adjusting a predetermined rate decrement step size according to a packet retransmission count, to determine a rate adjustment amount; and using the rate adjustment amount to decrease the current sending rate, to set the adjusted sending rate (i.e., Figure 8B; A decrease in the period of the transmit timer may translate in an increase of the transmission rate. Consequently, upon detection of an increase in the available bandwidth, the transmission rate may be increased to ensure efficient utilization of network resources. Conversely, if the available bandwidth decreases, the congestion window may be decreased, thereby increasing the period of the transmit timer and curtailing the transmission rate to avoid overloading the transmission channel, Paragraph 45; Paragraphs 104-106)
With regards to Claim 10, Ha teaches wherein the upload speed test method does not immediately initiate packet retransmission upon detecting packet loss, but initiates the packet retransmission only after determining that the deceleration condition is met (i.e., For example, the short timer and the long timer may be set in response to detection of a lost packet. Expiration of the short timer may be configured to cause the sender to retransmit the lost packet…, Paragraph 12)
The limitations of Claim 11 are rejected in the analysis of Claim 1 above, and the claim is rejected on that basis.
The limitations of Claim 12 are rejected in the analysis of Claim 2 above, and the claim is rejected on that basis.
The limitations of Claim 13 are rejected in the analysis of Claim 3 above, and the claim is rejected on that basis.
The limitations of Claim 14 are rejected in the analysis of Claim 4 above, and the claim is rejected on that basis.
The limitations of Claim 15 are rejected in the analysis of Claim 5 above, and the claim is rejected on that basis.
The limitations of Claim 16 are rejected in the analysis of Claim 6 above, and the claim is rejected on that basis.
The limitations of Claim 17 are rejected in the analysis of Claim 7 above, and the claim is rejected on that basis.
The limitations of Claim 18 are rejected in the analysis of Claim 8 above, and the claim is rejected on that basis.
The limitations of Claim 19 are rejected in the analysis of Claim 9 above, and the claim is rejected on that basis.
The limitations of Claim 20 are rejected in the analysis of Claim 10 above, and the claim is rejected on that basis.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SURAJ M JOSHI whose telephone number is (571)270-7209. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8-6 ET.
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/SURAJ M JOSHI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2447 September 28, 2026
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