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 .
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 1-9, and 11-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Kunjar and Sampath (U.S. Pat. Pub. 2020/0296659), herein referred to as “Kunjar”, in view of Van Oost et. al. (U.S. Pat. Pub. 2017/0366249). The Kunjar reference is also cited on the information disclosure sheet dated November 30, 2021.
Regarding Claim 1,
Kunjar discloses: Method for selecting a wireless communication channel between a wireless access point device of a communication network and a station, the method being executed in the wireless access point device of the communication network, the method comprising
[0020] FIG. 1 illustrates an example outdoor wireless local area network (WLAN) architecture deployed for automobiles, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. WLAN devices may be deployed in automobiles 101 and 103 to communicate using the IEEE 802.11 standard. The WLAN devices may be user stations (STAs) configured to associate with an access point (AP) 105 deployed by the road when the automobiles 101 and 103 come within a range of the AP 105.
locally obtaining, from the wireless access point device, at least a first information item, representing a first electromagnetic environment within range of the wireless access point device
[0024] Vehicle 201, which may have a WLAN DFS master device onboard, may travel into a range of operation 207 of radar 205. In one example, the radar 205 may be an air traffic radar operating at an airport. The WLAN DFS master device may initially operate on a DFS channel before the vehicle 201 enters the radar range of operation 207. If the radar 205 operates on the same DFS channel as the vehicle 201, after the vehicle 201 enters the radar range of operation 207, the DFS-ISM scan of the WLAN DFS master device may detect the radar signal on the operating DFS channel. In addition, the WLAN DFS master device may record the DFS channel of the radar 205, the GPS coordinates of the vehicle 201, and the time at which the DFS-ISM scan detects the radar signal. The recorded GPS coordinates may represent one geographical point on the boundary of the radar range of operation 207. The recorded time may represent a time when the radar 205 is operational.
[0025] Similarly, the vehicle 203, another vehicle with a WLAN DFS master device onboard, may travel into the radar range of operation 207. If the WLAN DFS master device on the vehicle 203 operates on the same DFS channel as the radar 205, its DFS-ISM scan may similarly detect the radar signal on the operating DFS channel as the vehicle 203 enters the radar range of operation 207. In one embodiment, the DFS channel detected by the vehicle 203 may be the same as the DFS channel detected by the vehicle 201.
and
then obtaining, from a remote server, at least a second information item, representing a second electromagnetic environment around the wireless access point device
[0026] The collaborative network server 206 may store the information on detected radar interference collected from vehicle 201, vehicle 203, and other vehicles into a centralized database. The crowd-sourced database may thus represent the estimated boundaries of the ranges of a plurality of radar zones expressed in GPS coordinates, the DFS channels over which the radars are expected to operate, and the estimated time of their operation.
then, selecting said communication channel by virtue of at least the first information representing said first electromagnetic environment,
[0026] The collaborative network server 206 may store the information on detected radar interference collected from vehicle 201, vehicle 203, and other vehicles into a centralized database. The crowd-sourced database may thus represent the estimated boundaries of the ranges of a plurality of radar zones expressed in GPS coordinates, the DFS channels over which the radars are expected to operate, and the estimated time of their operation.
[0041] At 415, if radar signals are not detected on the selected DFS channel, the method 400 may start WLAN operation on the selected DFS channel. In parallel, the method 400 may perform a DFS-ISM scan to monitor for any radar signals that may appear in the operating channel as the vehicle moves. The method 400 may continually consult the database 407 based on the current GPS coordinates of the vehicle to determine if the operating channel is likely to encounter radar interference, for example based on the current location of the vehicle or its projected path.
configuring a radio interface of the wireless access point device to implement wireless communications with the station in the selected channel.
[0027] Vehicles whose WLAN devices may want to operate in a DFS channel at a geographical location over a particular time may consult the centralized database for potential radar interference near the desired geographical location and the desired time to determine if the DFS channel is clear or if it may be prudent to switch to another DFS channel to reduce the probability of radar interference. In one embodiment, the collaborative network server 206 may analyze the operating characteristics of radar zones contained in the centralized database to suggest a DFS channel that minimizes the probability of radar interference based on the location and time of a querying vehicle. In one embodiment, a vehicle may periodically send its current GPS coordinates to the collaborative network server 206 to receive information on any possible approaching radar zones. If the information indicates a radar zone is approaching, the vehicle may proactively switch to a DFS channel to steer clear of any radar interference.
Kunjar does not disclose in the absence of detection of a radar signal for said channel, locally obtaining an information item representative of a change in occupancy status for said channel by accessing a history of said occupancy status maintained internally but the wireless access point device and said information item representative of a change said occupancy status.
However, Van Oost discloses in the absence of detection of a radar signal for said channel, locally obtaining an information item representative of a change in occupancy status for said channel by accessing a history of said occupancy status maintained internally but the wireless access point device and said information item representative of a change said occupancy status.
[0054] In case the SSID information element does not match, or a wildcard is used, additional information is needed, since the repeater does react on any arbitrary probe request from any device. This case can be handled in accordance with a development of the present method, in which the AP not only publishes the active associations but also the associations that had previously occurred at least once. In other words, the AP publishes a “historic” overview of the devices that had previously established a connection with the AP. The historic devices are added to the AP association list with respective RSSI_X values set to a value that indicates that they cannot currently be attached. This value may for example be −100 dB, because typically the RSSI never exceeds −95 dBm in operational use. The actual value to be used is specified beforehand. The connection status must be set to “N” for these devices, indicating that the devices are currently not associated. The repeater also stores historic associations, e.g. in order to be able to handle a case in which some non-moving device never connects with the main access point, and publishes the repeater-internal list back to the AP. The AP updates the AP-internal association list accordingly. As mentioned before, this allows for devices that exclusively connect or have previously connected exclusively to the repeater to be considered in the repeater role decision process. In any case, the main AP must be aware of all devices that are or were active in the network, since the main AP must decide what devices shall assume the repeater function or not. In the repeater role decision process the AP must bear in mind that repeater daisy-chaining is not allowed in order to prevent occurrence of hidden node effects, and that some chipset vendors only allow a single repeater to be active in the network, e.g. for ease of channel selection propagation especially in conjunction with dynamic frequency selection, or DFS.
Note: Here, the historical connections are maintained by a list in the AP. The “absence of detection” occurs when the device is not connected (which is part of the access list where the device has a connection history to the AP). “Locally obtaining” occurs due to the fact this is part of a wireless LAN.
Kunjar and Van Oost are considered to be analogous because they pertain to wireless communications. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kunjar to include the concept of locally obtaining an information item representative of a change in occupancy status for a communications channel maintained internally as taught by Van Oost so as to aid in detecting an available DFS channel.
Regarding Claim 2,
Kunjar discloses: Method for selecting a wireless communication channel according to Claim 1, wherein the first information item represents a frequency band and the second information item represents at least one level of availability of a wireless communication channel in the frequency band.
[0002] WLAN systems complying with the IEEE 802.11 standard may operate in the 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, or higher frequency bands.
[0027] Vehicles whose WLAN devices may want to operate in a DFS channel at a geographical location over a particular time may consult the centralized database for potential radar interference near the desired geographical location and the desired time to determine if the DFS channel is clear or if it may be prudent to switch to another DFS channel to reduce the probability of radar interference. In one embodiment, the collaborative network server 206 may analyze the operating characteristics of radar zones contained in the centralized database to suggest a DFS channel that minimizes the probability of radar interference based on the location and time of a querying vehicle. In one embodiment, a vehicle may periodically send its current GPS coordinates to the collaborative network server 206 to receive information on any possible approaching radar zones. If the information indicates a radar zone is approaching, the vehicle may proactively switch to a DFS channel to steer clear of any radar interference.
Regarding Claim 3,
Kunjar discloses: Method for selecting a wireless communication channel according to Claim 1, wherein the second information item is included in a list of information relating to various channels and each representing at least one level of availability of a wireless communication channel from among a plurality of wireless communication channels in the frequency band.
[0027] Vehicles whose WLAN devices may want to operate in a DFS channel at a geographical location over a particular time may consult the centralized database for potential radar interference near the desired geographical location and the desired time to determine if the DFS channel is clear or if it may be prudent to switch to another DFS channel to reduce the probability of radar interference. In one embodiment, the collaborative network server 206 may analyze the operating characteristics of radar zones contained in the centralized database to suggest a DFS channel that minimizes the probability of radar interference based on the location and time of a querying vehicle. In one embodiment, a vehicle may periodically send its current GPS coordinates to the collaborative network server 206 to receive information on any possible approaching radar zones. If the information indicates a radar zone is approaching, the vehicle may proactively switch to a DFS channel to steer clear of any radar interference.
Regarding Claim 4,
Kunjar discloses: Method for selecting a wireless communication channel according to Claim 1, wherein obtaining the second information item from the remote server occurs following the transmission, by the wireless access point device, to the remote server, of a request issued in order to obtain at least the second information item.
[0027] Vehicles whose WLAN devices may want to operate in a DFS channel at a geographical location over a particular time may consult the centralized database for potential radar interference near the desired geographical location and the desired time to determine if the DFS channel is clear or if it may be prudent to switch to another DFS channel to reduce the probability of radar interference. In one embodiment, the collaborative network server 206 may analyze the operating characteristics of radar zones contained in the centralized database to suggest a DFS channel that minimizes the probability of radar interference based on the location and time of a querying vehicle. In one embodiment, a vehicle may periodically send its current GPS coordinates to the collaborative network server 206 to receive information on any possible approaching radar zones. If the information indicates a radar zone is approaching, the vehicle may proactively switch to a DFS channel to steer clear of any radar interference.
Regarding Claim 5,
Kunjar discloses: Method for selecting a wireless communication channel
according to Claim 1, wherein the second environment is defined with reference to one or more location information items of the wireless access point device in a mapped data repository shared between the wireless access point device and the remote server.
[0028] For example, vehicle 209 may periodically transmit its GPS coordinates to the collaborative network server 206. The WLAN device onboard the vehicle 209 may be a WLAN DFS master device or a slave device. Based on its expected path of travel, the collaborative network server 207 may consult the centralized database to predict that the vehicle 209 is approaching the boundary of the range of operation 207 of the radar 205. The centralized database may show that the radar 205 is operating at a certain DFS channel. The collaborative network server 206 may transmit the GPS coordinates of one or more points on the boundary of the range of operation 207 at which the vehicle 209 is expected to enter the range of operation 207 of the radar 205 and the expected operating channel of the radar 205. If the WLAN device on the vehicle 209 is operating on the same DFS channel, it may prepare to switch to a different DFS channel before it encounters the radar interference from the radar 205. In one embodiment, the collaborative network server 206 may suggest a DFS channel for the WLAN device to switch to. The vehicle 209 may use the information to switch to a different DFS channel that causes the least interruptions to its WLAN operations.
[0029] In one embodiment, if the path of the vehicle is already selected, e.g., using an onboard navigation system, the vehicle may consult the centralized database to predict the possible zones of radar interference along the path. The WLAN device on the vehicle may select a DFS channel that is expected to cause the least or no radar interference.
Regarding Claim 6,
Kunjar discloses: Method for selecting a wireless communication channel
according to Claim 1 wherein at least one channel of the frequency band is defined as being primarily assignable for an application other than wireless communications.
[0030] FIG. 3 illustrates an example system of automobiles accessing a local database of geo-tagged radar interference data as an aid to select WLAN DFS channels, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. In one embodiment, a locally stored database on the vehicle may contain information on radar interference collected only by the vehicle. The WLAN device on the vehicle may query the local database using current or desired GPS coordinates to determine potential radar interference near the GPS coordinates based on a record of locations the vehicle has visited where radar interferences were detected by the vehicle. While the locally stored database eliminates the need for the WLAN device to access a remote collaborative network server 206, it may not be as comprehensive or up-to-date as a crowd-sourced database.
[0032] In one embodiment, the locally stored database may be a crowd-sourced database the vehicle 301 downloaded or pre-fetched from a collaborative network server (e.g., 206) for offline use. For example, the WLAN device on the vehicle 301 may download the crowd-sourced database into a locally stored database before a trip. The vehicle 301 may then take advantage of the crowd-sourced information to determine potential sources of radar interference during the trip even when the vehicle is offline. In one embodiment, the WLAN device may communicate a planned route of travel to the collaborative network server 206 and may download a portion of the crowd-sourced database containing information on radar zones near the planned route of travel into a locally stored database before the trip or even during the trip. The WLAN device may then switch to an offline mode to access the locally stored database. In one embodiment, the WLAN device of the vehicle 301 may download a locally stored database of another vehicle into the locally stored database of the vehicle 301 using peer-to-peer WLAN operations to leverage information on radar interference collected by another vehicle. In one embodiment, the WLAN device of the vehicle 301 may download a database of another vehicle through a peer-to-peer operation using LTE, 5G, or other types of cellular network.
Regarding Claim 7,
Kunjar discloses: Method for selecting a wireless communication channel according to Claim 1, comprising at least one step of gathering information representing environments around a plurality of wireless access point devices comprising the wireless access point device and transmitting this information to the central server.
[0027] Vehicles whose WLAN devices may want to operate in a DFS channel at a geographical location over a particular time may consult the centralized database for potential radar interference near the desired geographical location and the desired time to determine if the DFS channel is clear or if it may be prudent to switch to another DFS channel to reduce the probability of radar interference. In one embodiment, a vehicle may periodically send its current GPS coordinates to the collaborative network server 206 to receive information on any possible approaching radar zones. If the information indicates a radar zone is approaching, the vehicle may proactively switch to a DFS channel to steer clear of any radar interference.
Regarding Claim 8,
Kunjar discloses: Method for selecting a wireless communication channel
according to Claim 7, comprising a plurality of steps of gathering information representing environments around a plurality of wireless access point devices comprising the wireless access point device. with at least part of the gathering steps being prior to the selecting step and part of the gathering steps being subsequent to the selecting step.
[0026] The collaborative network server 206 may store the information on detected radar interference collected from vehicle 201, vehicle 203, and other vehicles into a centralized database. The crowd-sourced database may thus represent the estimated boundaries of the ranges of a plurality of radar zones expressed in GPS coordinates, the DFS channels over which the radars are expected to operate, and the estimated time of their operation. In one embodiment, as the operating parameters of existing radars are modified, new radars come online, or old radars are taken out of service, the crowd-sourced database may be updated or overwritten. Information that has not been updated for a threshold period of time may be declared outdated and may be pruned from the database.
Regarding Claim 9,
Claim 9 is rejected on the same grounds of rejection set forth in claim 1.
Kunjar discloses: A wireless access point device of a communication network, the wireless access point device comprising electronic and/or radio circuits configured for:
[0020] FIG. 1 illustrates an example outdoor wireless local area network (WLAN) architecture deployed for automobiles, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. WLAN devices may be deployed in automobiles 101 and 103 to communicate using the IEEE 802.11 standard. The WLAN devices may be user stations (STAs) configured to associate with an access point (AP) 105 deployed by the road when the automobiles 101 and 103 come within a range of the AP 105.
locally obtaining, from the wireless access point device, at least a first information item, representing a first electromagnetic environment within range of the wireless access point device
[0024] Vehicle 201, which may have a WLAN DFS master device onboard, may travel into a range of operation 207 of radar 205. In one example, the radar 205 may be an air traffic radar operating at an airport. The WLAN DFS master device may initially operate on a DFS channel before the vehicle 201 enters the radar range of operation 207. If the radar 205 operates on the same DFS channel as the vehicle 201, after the vehicle 201 enters the radar range of operation 207, the DFS-ISM scan of the WLAN DFS master device may detect the radar signal on the operating DFS channel. In addition, the WLAN DFS master device may record the DFS channel of the radar 205, the GPS coordinates of the vehicle 201, and the time at which the DFS-ISM scan detects the radar signal. The recorded GPS coordinates may represent one geographical point on the boundary of the radar range of operation 207. The recorded time may represent a time when the radar 205 is operational.
[0025] Similarly, the vehicle 203, another vehicle with a WLAN DFS master device onboard, may travel into the radar range of operation 207. If the WLAN DFS master device on the vehicle 203 operates on the same DFS channel as the radar 205, its DFS-ISM scan may similarly detect the radar signal on the operating DFS channel as the vehicle 203 enters the radar range of operation 207. In one embodiment, the DFS channel detected by the vehicle 203 may be the same as the DFS channel detected by the vehicle 201.
and
then obtaining, from a remote server, at least a second information item, representing a second electromagnetic environment around the wireless access point device
[0026] The collaborative network server 206 may store the information on detected radar interference collected from vehicle 201, vehicle 203, and other vehicles into a centralized database. The crowd-sourced database may thus represent the estimated boundaries of the ranges of a plurality of radar zones expressed in GPS coordinates, the DFS channels over which the radars are expected to operate, and the estimated time of their operation.
then, selecting said communication channel by virtue of at least the first information representing said first electromagnetic environment,
[0026] The collaborative network server 206 may store the information on detected radar interference collected from vehicle 201, vehicle 203, and other vehicles into a centralized database. The crowd-sourced database may thus represent the estimated boundaries of the ranges of a plurality of radar zones expressed in GPS coordinates, the DFS channels over which the radars are expected to operate, and the estimated time of their operation.
[0041] At 415, if radar signals are not detected on the selected DFS channel, the method 400 may start WLAN operation on the selected DFS channel. In parallel, the method 400 may perform a DFS-ISM scan to monitor for any radar signals that may appear in the operating channel as the vehicle moves. The method 400 may continually consult the database 407 based on the current GPS coordinates of the vehicle to determine if the operating channel is likely to encounter radar interference, for example based on the current location of the vehicle or its projected path.
configuring a radio interface of the wireless access point device to implement wireless communications with the station in the selected channel.
[0027] Vehicles whose WLAN devices may want to operate in a DFS channel at a geographical location over a particular time may consult the centralized database for potential radar interference near the desired geographical location and the desired time to determine if the DFS channel is clear or if it may be prudent to switch to another DFS channel to reduce the probability of radar interference. In one embodiment, the collaborative network server 206 may analyze the operating characteristics of radar zones contained in the centralized database to suggest a DFS channel that minimizes the probability of radar interference based on the location and time of a querying vehicle. In one embodiment, a vehicle may periodically send its current GPS coordinates to the collaborative network server 206 to receive information on any possible approaching radar zones. If the information indicates a radar zone is approaching, the vehicle may proactively switch to a DFS channel to steer clear of any radar interference.
Kunjar does not disclose in the absence of detection of a radar signal for said channel, locally obtaining an information item representative of a change in occupancy status for said channel by accessing a history of said occupancy status maintained internally but the wireless access point device and said information item representative of a change said occupancy status.
However, Van Oost discloses in the absence of detection of a radar signal for said channel, locally obtaining an information item representative of a change in occupancy status for said channel by accessing a history of said occupancy status maintained internally but the wireless access point device and said information item representative of a change said occupancy status.
[0054] In case the SSID information element does not match, or a wildcard is used, additional information is needed, since the repeater does react on any arbitrary probe request from any device. This case can be handled in accordance with a development of the present method, in which the AP not only publishes the active associations but also the associations that had previously occurred at least once. In other words, the AP publishes a “historic” overview of the devices that had previously established a connection with the AP. The historic devices are added to the AP association list with respective RSSI_X values set to a value that indicates that they cannot currently be attached. This value may for example be −100 dB, because typically the RSSI never exceeds −95 dBm in operational use. The actual value to be used is specified beforehand. The connection status must be set to “N” for these devices, indicating that the devices are currently not associated. The repeater also stores historic associations, e.g. in order to be able to handle a case in which some non-moving device never connects with the main access point, and publishes the repeater-internal list back to the AP. The AP updates the AP-internal association list accordingly. As mentioned before, this allows for devices that exclusively connect or have previously connected exclusively to the repeater to be considered in the repeater role decision process. In any case, the main AP must be aware of all devices that are or were active in the network, since the main AP must decide what devices shall assume the repeater function or not. In the repeater role decision process the AP must bear in mind that repeater daisy-chaining is not allowed in order to prevent occurrence of hidden node effects, and that some chipset vendors only allow a single repeater to be active in the network, e.g. for ease of channel selection propagation especially in conjunction with dynamic frequency selection, or DFS.
Note: Here, the historical connections are maintained by a list in the AP. The “absence of detection” occurs when the device is not connected (which is part of the access list where the device has a connection history to the AP). “Locally obtaining” occurs due to the fact this is part of a wireless LAN.
Kunjar and Van Oost are considered to be analogous because they pertain to wireless communications. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kunjar to include the concept of locally obtaining an information item representative of a change in occupancy status for a communications channel maintained internally as taught by Van Oost so as to aid in detecting an available DFS channel.
Regarding Claim 11,
Kunjar discloses: A system in a communication network comprising a wireless access point device according to claim 9 and a server in a communication network, the server comprising electronic and/or radio circuits configured for: receiving, from at least one wireless access point device connected to the communication network, information representing one or more environments around one or more wireless access point devices comprising the wireless access point device
[0024] Vehicle 201, which may have a WLAN DFS master device onboard, may travel into a range of operation 207 of radar 205. In one example, the radar 205 may be an air traffic radar operating at an airport. The WLAN DFS master device may initially operate on a DFS channel before the vehicle 201 enters the radar range of operation 207. If the radar 205 operates on the same DFS channel as the vehicle 201, after the vehicle 201 enters the radar range of operation 207, the DFS-ISM scan of the WLAN DFS master device may detect the radar signal on the operating DFS channel. In addition, the WLAN DFS master device may record the DFS channel of the radar 205, the GPS coordinates of the vehicle 201, and the time at which the DFS-ISM scan detects the radar signal. The recorded GPS coordinates may represent one geographical point on the boundary of the radar range of operation 207. The recorded time may represent a time when the radar 205 is operational.
[0025] Similarly, the vehicle 203, another vehicle with a WLAN DFS master device onboard, may travel into the radar range of operation 207. If the WLAN DFS master device on the vehicle 203 operates on the same DFS channel as the radar 205, its DFS-ISM scan may similarly detect the radar signal on the operating DFS channel as the vehicle 203 enters the radar range of operation 207. In one embodiment, the DFS channel detected by the vehicle 203 may be the same as the DFS channel detected by the vehicle 201.
sending, optionally in response to a request, at least one information item to a wireless access point device representing an electromagnetic environment around the wireless access point device
[0026] The collaborative network server 206 may store the information on detected radar interference collected from vehicle 201, vehicle 203, and other vehicles into a centralized database. The crowd-sourced database may thus represent the estimated boundaries of the ranges of a plurality of radar zones expressed in GPS coordinates, the DFS channels over which the radars are expected to operate, and the estimated time of their operation.
Regarding Claim 12,
Kunjar discloses: An information storage medium comprising a program product that comprises program code instructions for executing the steps of the method according to Claim 1, when the program is executed by a processor.
[0059] The method 700 may be performed by processing logic that may comprise hardware (e.g., circuitry, dedicated logic, programmable logic, a processor, a processing device, a central processing unit (CPU), a multi-core processor, a system-on-chip (SoC), etc.), software (e.g., instructions running/executing on a processing device), firmware (e.g., microcode), or a combination thereof.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1 and 9 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
First, Applicant argues against the Van Oost reference that is used for the “in the absence of detection of a radar signal” limitation. Applicant takes issues that Van Oost is used as “post-hac reasoning.” Id. at 8. Applicant essentially argues that there is no reason to combine the documents since Van Oost is “not representative of the variability of a DFS-type communication channel.” Id at. 8. This assertion is not entirely accurate, since, per the cited paragraph on record states:
[0054] In any case, the main AP must be aware of all devices that are or were active in the network, since the main AP must decide what devices shall assume the repeater function or not. In the repeater role decision process the AP must bear in mind that repeater daisy-chaining is not allowed in order to prevent occurrence of hidden node effects, and that some chipset vendors only allow a single repeater to be active in the network, e.g. for ease of channel selection propagation especially in conjunction with dynamic frequency selection, or DFS.
“Channel selection propagation” can be interpreted as a variability when contending with DFS. Further, Applicant goes on to state that there is no incentive to use the Van Oost reference. Quite the contrary, since the point of Van Oost is to locate the best wireless signal, which Kumar does as well by avoiding interference (which is also seeking the best signal). Additionally, the “history” in the claim is not defined in the claim language, thus it is being interpreted broadly.
Lastly, in response to applicant's arguments against the references individually, one cannot show nonobviousness by attacking references individually where the rejections are based on combinations of references. See In re Keller, 642 F.2d 413, 208 USPQ 871 (CCPA 1981); In re Merck & Co., 800 F.2d 1091, 231 USPQ 375 (Fed. Cir. 1986).
Conclusion
Applicant’s response filed on March 12, 2026 is acknowledged.
There are no amendments to the claims.
There are no new claims or canceled claims.
Claims 1-9, and 11-12 are pending.
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 JESSE P. SAMLUK whose telephone number is (571)270-5607. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-5.
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/JESSE P. SAMLUK/Examiner, Art Unit 2411
/DERRICK W FERRIS/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2411
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