DETAILED ACTION
Response filed on 2/4/2026 has been entered and made of record.
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 status
Claims 1 and 17-20 are amended.
Claims 1-20 are pending for examination.
Response to arguments
Applicant’s response filed on 5/16/2025 has been fully considered. However the arguments presented are not persuasive, based on combination of Asterjadhi and introduced new art US 11804923B2.
Applicant argues (Pg. 9 of arguments received on 2/4/2026), “Page 8 of the Office Action states "while scanning, by the multi-link station, to evaluate at least one other access point' (implied by the disclosure in Asterjadhi in [0115], as shown above)." However, para. [0115] of Asterjadhi merely includes a generic description of scanning. For example, para. [0115] of Asterjadhi describes "[t]o perform active scanning, a STA 104 generates and sequentially transmits probe requests on each channel to be scanned and listens for probe responses from APs 102.". Asterjadhi therefore fails to teach or suggest "wherein the scanning is performed in the scanning channel during a defined scan interval corresponding to time to scan a limited number of channels before switching back to the associated channel.".
Examiner respectfully disagrees. Defined scan interval is disclosed in Asterjadhi disclosing periodic time interval referred as TBTT. Scanning limited number of channels is also discussed in the same paragraph by generation of probe requests for each channels to be scanned.
35 U.S.C. 103 rejections are not withdrawn.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1-3, 6, 9-10, and 15-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Asterjadhi et al. (US 2021/0007168 A1), hereinafter “Asterjadhi” in view of Ryu et al. (US 11,804,923 B2), hereinafter “Ryu”.
Claims 1 and 17-20:
Regarding claim 1, Asterjadhi teaches, ‘a method for operating a multi-link station and an access point being configured for communicating with each other’ (“[0006] One innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented as a method performed by a multi-link device (MLD) for wireless communication. The method may include establishing a multilink association between an access point (AP) MLD and a non-AP MLD. The multi-link association may include a first link between a first station (STA) interface of the non-AP MLD and a first basic service set (BSS) of the AP MLD and further include a second link between a second STA interface of the non-AP MLD and a second BSS of the AP MLD. The method may include sending or receiving signaling, via the first link, to activate or deactivate the second link.”; see Figs.2A-B),
Asterjadhi teaches power saving poll frame and management frame, e.g., in Clm.6, and in the following:
[0013] In some implementations, the first frame is a power saving poll (PS-POLL) frame;
[0107] Some aspects more specifically relate to power saving techniques that involve activation or deactivation of auxiliary links; and
[0108] signaling or management frames may be communicated via the anchor link there may be a greater efficiency of communication on the dedicated data channel.”;
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to come with the following limitations based on the disclosures above regarding power saving and the following disclosures:
‘wherein the method comprises transmitting a power management indicator between the multi-link station and the access point over a first communication link’ ([0008] In some implementations, the signaling includes an indication to activate or deactivate the second link, the indication included in an aggregated control (A-Control) field of a first frame sent or received via the first link.”; [0020] In some implementations, the indication is included in a multi-link control field.”) ‘before transitioning from an associated channel to a scanning channel’ (implied based on the definition of associated channel as per the specification, “a home channel via which the station has been previously connected and associated for providing a service, in particular by communication with an access point”, and a scanning activity as described in Asterjadhi, as active or passive scanning requiring a STA to either listen to a beacon (passive scanning) or generating and sequentially transmitting probe requests on each channel to be scanned and listening for probe responses from APs; When STA performs scanning it cannot receive power management indications), and
Asterjadhi though teaches regarding bits used for activation of deactivation of the auxiliary link, as shown in [0140], “One or more bits in the preamble of a PPDU from the AP MLD 110 may indicate an instruction to for the non-AP MLD 120 to activate 413 the auxiliary link 134. In some implementations, each PPDU may include signaling to instruct the non-AP MLD 120 to activate or deactivate the auxiliary link 134.”, however does not expressly teach ‘the power management indicator comprising a bitmap having a plurality of bits, a first bit of the plurality of bits identifying a power management state of the first communication link and a second communication link.
Ryu in the same field of endeavor teaches, in Col.20, lines 10-21, “the control field related to the OM described below may include bitmap information for at least one of the first and second links (i.e., a plurality of links configuring a multilink). The bitmap information may have a length of N bits (N is an arbitrary positive number). For example, for individual bits of the N bits, a corresponding link may be determined in advance. For example, when an individual bit of the N bits has a first value ( e.g., 0 or 1 ), such bit may indicate an on operation is performed for a corresponding link. For example, when an individual bit of the N bits has a second value (e.g., 0 or 1), such bit may indicate an off operation is performed for a corresponding link.”. The above disclosure by Ryu teaches the claim.
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed inventions to combine disclosure by Ryu regarding bitmaps for managing states of the links with activation and deactivation of links and come up with the claimed invention for easy implementation of activation or deactivation of a communication link. Asterjadhi in the following paragraphs teaches the scanning operation:
[0115] “… Each STA 104 may be configured to identify or select an AP 102 with which to associate based on the scanning information obtained through the passive or active scans, and to perform authentication and association operations to establish a communication link 106 with the selected AP 102.”; and
[0116] “… a STA 104 can be covered by more than one AP 102 and can associate with different APs 102 at different times for different transmissions. Additionally, after association with an AP 102, a STA 104 also may be configured to periodically scan its surroundings to find a more suitable AP 102 with which to associate.”.
These disclosure teach the claim, power management state ‘used for a scanning operation in the scanning channel’,
The claim, wherein the plurality of bits identify to deactivate the first communications link of the multi-link station and activate the second communication link of the multi-link station’ is disclosed by combination of teaching regarding bitmaps as taught by LG in combination with disclosure by Asterjadhi, [0166] “As described herein, there may be various ways to include control parameters for multiple links. These techniques, or variations thereof, may be useful to activate and deactivate one or more links of a multi-link association. For example, an OM control parameter may set particular bits (such as the UL MU Disable or the UL MU Data Disable bits) to a first value ( such as 1) to indicate deactivation of that link”).
(implied by disclosures in
[0109], “The A-Control field may be structured to include multi-link control information. For example, the A-Control field may include a first subset of control parameters for an anchor link and a second subset of control parameters for an auxiliary link; and
Disclosure about multi-link and anchor and auxiliary links imply a first communication link and a second communication link. The disclosure regarding bits that may indicate activation and deactivation of one or more links, teaches the claim.
A person of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to combine the above disclosures to be able to have greater flexibility as discussed in [0103],”having the ability to dynamically activate or deactivate auxiliary links may provide greater flexibility for power saving and throughput”, and disclosures in [0109] and [0166] as discussed above.
Asterjadhi teaches, ‘subsequently communicating between the multi-link station and the access point in accordance with the power management indicator’ ([0039] Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented as a method for wireless communication by a non-AP multi-link device (MLD). The method may include establishing a multi-link association with an access point (AP) MLD. [0106] An auxiliary link may be "enabled" for communication when a TID is mapped to it. However, even though the auxiliary link is enabled, the non-AP MLD or the AP MLD may dynamically activate or deactivate the auxiliary link based on the availability of traffic associated with the TID; see also ) ‘while scanning, by the multi-link station, to evaluate at least one other access point’ (implied by the disclosure in Asterjadhi in [0115], as shown above), ‘wherein the scanning is performed in the scanning channel during a defined scan interval corresponding to time to scan a limited number of channels’ (Asterjadhi: [0115] “STAs 104 is configured to perform passive or active scanning operations ("scans") on frequency channels in one or more frequency bands (for example, the 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 6 GHz or 60 GHz bands … To perform passive scanning, a STA 104 listens for beacons, which are transmitted by respective APs 102 at a periodic time interval referred to as the target beacon transmission time (TBTT) … To perform active scanning, a STA 104 generates and sequentially transmits probe requests on each channel to be scanned and listens for probe responses from APs 102.”; scanning limited number of channels of the claim is implied by transmission of number of probe requests to channels to be scanned ) before switching back to the associated channel’ (implied based on scan of probes or probe responses from APs and taking action based on the result of the scan, as disclosed in figs. 4A-4E and 5A-5C.)
Claim 17 is for a multi-link station. This is a change in category with respect to claim 1. Claim elements are discussed above in claim 1.
Claim 18 for an access point configured for communicating with a multi-link station, and implementing method complimentary to method of claim 1. Claim elements are discussed above in claim 1.
Claim 19 is for a WiFi chip for a multi-link station of claim 17. Asterjadhi teaches signaling for multi-link communication in a wireless local area network (WLAN). Signaling for WLAN implies presence of a WiFi chip. Claim elements are discussed above in claim 1.
Claim 20 is for a WiFi network. Claims 17-19 discloses multi-link station and an access point. Claim elements are discussed above in claims 1 and 17-19.
Claims 2-3, 6, 9-10, and 15-16:
Regarding claim 2, combination of Asterjadhi and Ryu teaches the method according to claim 1 discussed above), ‘wherein said power management indicator is also indicative of a power management state of the first communication link’ (implied by the disclosures in Clm.3, “changing a designation of the anchor link to another one of the first link or the second link, wherein the anchor link is a link that is maintained for signaling regarding the multi-link association and other links are designated as auxiliary links that can be dynamically activated using signaling via the anchor link.”; and One or more bits in the preamble of a PPDU from the AP MLD 110 may indicate an instruction to for the non-AP MLD 120 to activate 413 the auxiliary link 134. In some implementations, each PPDU may include signaling to instruct the non-AP MLD 120 to activate or deactivate the auxiliary link 134.;The disclosure of dynamically changing the anchor link and use of bits in the preamble imply the power management indicator for both the communication links).
Regarding claim 3, combination of Asterjadhi and Ryu teaches the method according to claim 2 discussed above), ‘wherein said power management indicator comprises one of the group comprising a single power management bit indicating the power management state of both the first communication link and the second communication link, and a sequence of power management bits each indicating the power management state of an assigned one of the first communication link and the second communication link’ (implied by the disclosure above in claim 2 and in [0044] In some implementations, the method may include, after the multi-link association, changing the designation of the anchor link from the first link to the second link. The method may include deactivating the first link by causing the first STA to enter a doze state”).
Regarding claim 6, combination of Asterjadhi and Ryu teaches the method according to claim 1 discussed above), ‘wherein the power management indicator is indicative of an energy-saving power management state or is indicative of an energy-consuming active communication power management state’ (implied based on the power management comprising activation or deactivation of a link as discussed earlier; activation is energy consuming state and deactivation is an energy saving state).
Regarding claim 9, combination of Asterjadhi and Ryu teaches the method according to claim 1 discussed above), ‘wherein the method comprises transmitting the power management indicator after leaving a scanning channel of scanning an environment for at least one further access point for entering into an associated channel’ ([0104], “The signaling may enable that AP MLD and the non-AP MLD to select which links to activate for communication of traffic between them. For example, the activation or deactivation of an auxiliary link may be signaled by explicit messaging, broadcast messaging, or as part of a data packet on the anchor link.”; entering or leaving a channel is equivalent to activation and deactivation respectively and thus the claim is implied based on the disclosure above).
Regarding claim 10, combination of Asterjadhi and Ryu teaches the method according to claim 1 discussed above). The claim, ‘wherein the method comprises transmitting the power management indicator before and/or after roaming between said access point and at least one further access point’, is obvious based on the discussion above in claim 9. Roaming involves activation and/or deactivation of channels, which are discussed above in claims 1 and 10.
Regarding claim 15, combination of Asterjadhi and Ryu teaches the method according to claim 1 discussed above), ‘wherein the method comprises transmitting the power management indicator in conjunction with at least one of an enhanced Multi-Link Single-Radio operation (discussed above in claim 1), and a Time-division multiplexing Multi-Role operation’ ([0147] FIG. 5C shows a pictorial diagram 503 of an enhanced multi-link single radio (eMLSR) technique for an MLD that has a single radio with multiple available antennas. For example, the non-AP MLD 120 may have 2 or more antennas for use with MIMO but only a single radio. The non-AP MLD 120 may use an antenna to concurrently sense for basic signals on both the anchor link 132 and the auxiliary link 134).
Regarding claim 16, combination of Asterjadhi and Ryu teaches the method according to claim 1 discussed above), ‘wherein the method comprises transmitting a communication message from the multi-link station to the access point which includes a Media Access Control header, and a subsequent data block comprising the power management indicator’ ([0148], “In FIG. 6A, the PSDU 680 includes one MPDU. Each MPDU may include one or more of the following fields: a MAC header field 650”; Fig.6A payload data block 660; power management indication is discussed above in claim 1).
Claims 4-5, 7-8, and 11-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over combination of Asterjadhi and Ryu as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of NAIK et al. (US 2023/0199641 A1), hereinafter “Naik”.
Regarding claim 4, combination of Asterjadhi and Ryu teaches the method according to claim 1 discussed above). Asterjadhi teaches, ‘wherein the method comprises transmitting the power management indicator from the multi-link station to the access point before switching to or after switching from another operation mode of the multi-link station’ ( implied based on the disclosure of multi-link operation and activation/deactivation of links as disclosed in e.g. [0128], “The non-AP MLD 120 may switch the radio to alternatively communicate via one of the links 132 and 134. The non-AP MLD 120 may be referred to as a multi-link capable single-radio (MLSR) device. When the auxiliary link 134 is activated, the auxiliary link 134 may be promoted to become the anchor link for signaling purposes until the auxiliary link 134 is deactivated and the original anchor link 132 is activated. Thus, anchor link may be the link that is currently activated and which the non-AP MLD 120 has a STA interface in an active or awake state.”.
combination of Asterjadhi and Ryu however fails to teach communication ‘with another entity than said access point’.
Naik in the same field of endeavor teaches multi-link device communicating with entities other than the access point it communicates. Naik Fig. 1 discloses STA communicating with AP and other STAs. Naik in [0042] further discloses, “The AP 110 may be any suitable device that allows one or more wireless devices (such as the STAs 120a-120i) to connect to another network (such as a local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN), metropolitan area network (MAN), or the Internet). In some implementations, a system controller 130 may facilitate communications between the AP 110 and other networks or systems. In some implementations, the system controller 130 may facilitate communications between the AP 110 and one or more other APs (not shown for simplicity) that may be associated with other wireless networks”.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine disclosure by Naik with that of combination of Asterjadhi and Ryu and come up with the claimed invention motivated by supporting communication with other wireless networks as disclosed above.
Regarding claim 5, combination of Asterjadhi and Ryu teaches the method according to claim 1 discussed above).
Combination of Asterjadhi and Ryu does not expressly teach but in the same field of endeavor Naik teaches, ‘wherein the method comprises transmitting the power management indicator as a single power management frame’ (Naik: [0199], “transmitting, on the first communication link, power management information indicating that a STA associated with the first communication link is entering a power save mode.”; see also Clm.11; the disclosure is for a single power management frame).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to come up with the claimed invention by combination of disclosures in Naik and combination of Asterjadhi and Ryu, motivated by use of power management frame to indicate entering a power save mode.
Regarding claim 7, combination of Asterjadhi and Ryu teaches the method according to claim 1 discussed above). Combination of Asterjadhi and Ryu however fails to expressly disclose, ‘wherein the power management indicator is additionally indicative of a power management state of one or more further communication links’.
Naik in the same field of endeavor discloses concurrent operations on multiple links, “In some other implementations, the non-AP MLD may support concurrent operations on multiple communication links (such as in accordance with the MLMR NSTR or MLMR STR mode of non-AP MLD operation). In such implementations, the AP MLD may schedule overlapping SPs and may trigger concurrent uplink or downlink transmissions on multiple communication links during the overlapping SPs.” (Naik: [0035]).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art as per disclosure in Naik, that power management state indicator would support one or more communication links in order to support multiple links.
Regarding claim 8, combination of Asterjadhi and Ryu teaches the method according to claim 1 discussed above). Though not expressly disclosed by combination of Asterjadhi, Ryu, and Naik, the claim element, ‘wherein the method comprises transmitting the power management indicator before transitioning from an associated channel to a scanning channel for scanning an environment for at least one further access point’, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to scan a channel for activation for communication to another access point, motivated by communication with other access points as disclosed above in claim 4.
Regarding claim 11, combination of Asterjadhi and Ryu teaches the method according to claim 1 discussed above). Though combination of Asterjadhi, Ryu, and Naik does not expressly disclose the claim, ‘wherein the method comprises transmitting the power management indicator before transitioning from an associated channel to another channel in conjunction with a concurrent mode of operation of providing different communication services to the multi-link station by time sharing’, the claim would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to use time sharing for communication with multiple devices in case the device is a single radio device, as disclosed by Asterjadhi in [0128], or Naik in [0067].
Regarding claim 12, combination of Asterjadhi, Ryu, and Naik teaches the method according to claim 11 (discussed above), ‘wherein the method comprises transmitting a further power management indicator after the transitioning to the other channel, the further power management indicator indicating an energy-consuming active communication power management state with respect to the other channel’ (implied based on transition to the other channel, which is being activated, which in turn implies energy consuming power management state).
Regarding claim 13, combination of Asterjadhi and Ryu teaches the method according to claim 1 discussed above), ‘wherein the method comprises transmitting the power management indicator upon entering from another channel into an associated channel in conjunction with a concurrent mode of operation of providing different communication services to the multi-link station by time sharing’ (concurrent mode of operation and time sharing has been discussed above).
Regarding claim 14, combination of Asterjadhi, Ryu, and Naik teaches the method according to claim 13 discussed above), ‘wherein the method comprises transmitting another power management indicator before entering from the other channel into the associated channel, the other power management indicator indicating an energy-saving power management state with respect to the other channel’ (implied based on leaving the other channel, a power management indicator is required to change the status of the channel that the device is leaving).
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to INTEKHAAB AALAM SIDDIQUEE whose telephone number is (571)272-0895. The examiner can normally be reached Monday to Friday 9AM-5PM EST.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Yemane Mesfin can be reached at 571-272-3927. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/INTEKHAAB A SIDDIQUEE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2462
Prosecution Insights