Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on April 30, 2025 has been entered.
Claims 1, 3, 8, 10, 15 and 17 have been amended. Claims 2, 9, and 16 have been amended. Claims 1, 3-8, 10-15, and 17-20 are subject to examination and have been examined.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments with respect to the claims have been considered but are moot in view of the new grounds of rejection.
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 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.
Claims 1, 3, 7-8, 10, 14-15, and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fang (US 20210274489 A1), hereinafter Fang 2021, in view of Mok et al. (US20190253927A1), hereinafter Mok, further in view of Cavalcanti et al. (US 20220210696 A1), hereinafter Cavalcanti.
Regarding claim 1, Fang 2021 teaches:
A method of wireless data transmission in a wireless time sensitive network (TSN) by a TSN-capable wireless station (STA), the method comprising ([Fang 2021] [0056] In one or more embodiments, high-availability Seamless Redundancy (HSR), parallel redundancy protocol (PRP) and 802.1CB are redundancy protocols that are defined for time sensitive networks to improve reliability with bounded latency.):
receiving transmission information for wireless TSN transmission wherein the transmission information comprises a traffic profile ([Fang 2021; Fig. 5] [0057] ... As a result, the 802.11be MLD can base[d] on the redundancy tag 504, perform frame duplication and transmission over more than one available link … [0058] Note: Other QoS requirement related parameters, such as the packet deliver rate, latency bound [i.e., traffic profile], can able be defined using the reserved bits in the Redundancy tag information field … [0060] In one or more embodiments, the 802.11be MLD receives a frame with redundancy requirement indication (RRI) [i.e., transmission information], which is indicated by the above methods or other QoS indication methods, it will duplicate the frame and send it over more than one available links …);
configuring the TSN-capable STA for uplink transmission according to the transmission information ([Fang 2021; Fig. 5] [0053] Besides traffic specification (TSPEC), here, several other different methods are proposed to indicate the redundancy requirement, such as: [0054] 1) The redundancy requirement can be carried through any QoS signaling mechanism over one or more 802.11 links. Redundancy requirements may be included as part of low latency or other QoS signaling mechanisms to identify data flows that need the redundancy requirement … [0055] 2) Enhancements to IEEE 802.1 layer protocols ... 802.1 is concerned with at least protocol layers above the MAC and logical link control (LLC) layers … [0057] In one or more embodiments, a multi-link redundancy system may facilitate including a redundancy tag 504 after applying any of these redundancy protocols over 802.1 layer. This way, the packet forwarded down to the 802.11 layer will be attached with the redundancy tag 504 as an EtherType 502 as shown in FIG. 5. Therefore, for the device supporting 802.1 layer redundancy protocol, this redundancy protocol may be applied to attach a redundancy tag 504 to indicate the redundancy requirement. As a result, the 802.11be MLD can base[d] on the redundancy tag 504 …).
Although Fang 2021 teaches , the 802.11be MLD receiving a frame with redundancy requirement indication (RRI) [i.e., transmission information], which is indicated by the QoS requirement related parameters, such as the packet deliver rate, latency bound [i.e., traffic profile], which can able be defined using the reserved bits in the Redundancy tag information field, Fang 2021 does not explicitly teach:
determining if frame duplication is to be performed according to the traffic profile of the transmission information;
enabling frame duplication based on the determining;
duplicating a frame for transmission over the wireless TSN using a Media Access Control (MAC) layer of the TSN-capable STA comprising an upper MAC layer and a lower MAC layer to create a duplicate frame, wherein the enabling frame duplication is performed by the upper MAC layer, and wherein further the duplicating is performed by the upper MAC;
transmitting the frame to a first wireless access point (AP) over the wireless TSN; and
transmitting the duplicate frame to a second wireless AP over the wireless TSN.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Mok teaches:
determining if frame duplication is to be performed according to the traffic profile of the transmission information ([Mok] [0443] In operation 3001, a V2X terminal may obtain a condition for activating data duplication from information transmitted by a base station ... The condition for activating data duplication may include at least one from among a channel status condition, for example, a CBR threshold for activating duplication, which is on the basis of a CBR, the reliability requirements of service, for example, a PPPR threshold for activating duplication, and the latency requirements of service, for example, a PPPP threshold for activating duplication … [0445] In operation 3005, the V2X terminal may determine whether the measured channel status uses duplication or not. For example, when the measured CBR value is greater than or equal to the CBR threshold for activating duplication, which is set in operation 3001, for example, when the measured CBR≥CBR threshold for activating duplication, the V2X terminal may determine that the measured channel status allows activation of packet duplication … [0446] In operation 3007, the V2X terminal may determine whether to transmit a service packet that uses packet duplication, in addition to checking a channel status. The requirements of service that uses packet duplication may be recognized on the basis of information included in a packet. For example, when the PPPR value of a packet is less than or equal the PPPR threshold for activating duplication, which is set in operation 3001, for example, when the PPPR of the current packet≤PPPR threshold for activating duplication, the V2X terminal may determine that the packet needs to be duplicated and transmitted …);
enabling frame duplication based on the determining ([Mok] [0449] In operation 3009, when the V2X terminal determines to activate packet duplication using operations 3005 to 3007, the V2X terminal may perform layer configuration for activating packet duplication … and may transmit duplicated packets.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Fang 2021 to include the features as taught by Mok above in order to effectively transmit and receive duplicated data. (Mok, ¶ [0008]).
Although Fang 2021-Mok teaches , the 802.11be MLD receiving a frame with redundancy requirement indication (RRI) [i.e., transmission information], which is indicated by the QoS requirement related parameters, such as the packet deliver rate, latency bound [i.e., traffic profile], which can able be defined using the reserved bits in the Redundancy tag information field, and determining if packet duplication should be activated based on the received condition for activating data duplication, Fang 2021-Mok does not explicitly teach:
duplicating a frame for transmission over the wireless TSN using a Media Access Control (MAC) layer of the TSN-capable STA comprising an upper MAC layer and a lower MAC layer to create a duplicate frame, wherein the enabling frame duplication is performed by the upper MAC layer, and wherein further the duplicating is performed by the upper MAC;
transmitting the frame to a first wireless access point (AP) over the wireless TSN; and
transmitting the duplicate frame to a second wireless AP over the wireless TSN.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Cavalcanti teaches:
duplicating a frame for transmission over the wireless TSN using a Media Access Control (MAC) layer of the TSN-capable STA comprising an upper MAC layer and a lower MAC layer to create a duplicate frame, wherein the enabling frame duplication is performed by the upper MAC layer, and wherein further the duplicating is performed by the upper MAC layer ([Cavalcanti; 0081; Fig. 8] "As shown in FIG. 8, the MLD in the transmitter will trigger frame replication upon the detection of the redundancy tag" Where Fig. B shows 806, an Upper MLD MAC layer above a lower MAC layer, where replication/elimination is inside of the upper MLD MAC layer.);
transmitting the frame to a first wireless access point (AP) over the wireless TSN ([Cavalcanti; 0081] "As shown in FIG. 8, the MLD in the transmitter will trigger frame replication upon the detection of the redundancy tag and send the duplicated frames over more than one affiliated STAs (multiple links)."); and
transmitting the duplicate frame to a second wireless AP over the wireless TSN ([Cavalcanti; 0081] "As shown in FIG. 8, the MLD in the transmitter will trigger frame replication upon the detection of the redundancy tag and send the duplicated frames over more than one affiliated STAs (multiple links).").
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Fang 2021-Mok to include the features as taught by Cavalcanti above in order to achieve lower latency and high reliability performance (Cavalcanti, ¶ [0019])).
Regarding claim 3, Fang 2021, Mok, and Cavalcanti discloses on the features with respect to claim 1 as outlined above.
Fang 2021 further teaches:
wherein the traffic profile comprises a Delay Bound value and an Expected Transmission Reliability (ETR) value ([Fang 2021] [0058] Note: Other QoS requirement related parameters, such as the packet deliver rate, latency bound, can able be defined using the reserved bits in the Redundancy tag information field.).
Regarding claim 7, Fang 2021, Mok, and Cavalcanti discloses on the features with respect to claim 1 as outlined above.
Fang 2021 further teaches:
wherein the transmission information is received from a TSN configuration server or an application running on the transmitting device ([Fang 2021; Fig. 5] [0057] In one or more embodiments, a multi-link redundancy system may facilitate including a redundancy tag 504 after applying any of these redundancy protocols over 802.1 layer. This way, the packet forwarded down to the 802.11 layer will be attached with the redundancy tag 504 [i.e., transmission information] as an EtherType 502 as shown in FIG. 5. Therefore, for the device supporting 802.1 layer redundancy protocol, this redundancy protocol may be applied to attach a redundancy tag 504 to indicate the redundancy requirement. As a result, the 802.11be MLD can base[d] on the redundancy tag 504 …).
Regarding claim 8, Fang 2021 teaches:
A method of wireless data transmission in a wireless time sensitive network (TSN) by a wireless station (STA) multi-link device (MLD), the method comprising ([Fang 2021] [0056] In one or more embodiments, high-availability Seamless Redundancy (HSR), parallel redundancy protocol (PRP) and 802.1CB are redundancy protocols that are defined for time sensitive networks to improve reliability with bounded latency.):
receiving transmission information ([Fang 2021] [0060] In one or more embodiments, the 802.11be MLD receives a frame with redundancy requirement indication (RRI) [i.e., transmission information], which is indicated by the above methods or other QoS indication methods, it will duplicate the frame and send it over more than one available …);
configuring the STA MLD for uplink transmission according to the transmission information, wherein the transmission information comprises a traffic profile ([Fang 2021; Fig. 5] [0053] Besides traffic specification (TSPEC), here, several other different methods are proposed to indicate the redundancy requirement, such as: [0054] 1) The redundancy requirement can be carried through any QoS signaling mechanism over one or more 802.11 links. Redundancy requirements may be included as part of low latency or other QoS signaling mechanisms to identify data flows that need the redundancy requirement … [0055] 2) Enhancements to IEEE 802.1 layer protocols ... 802.1 is concerned with at least protocol layers above the MAC and logical link control (LLC) layers … [0057] In one or more embodiments, a multi-link redundancy system may facilitate including a redundancy tag 504 after applying any of these redundancy protocols over 802.1 layer. This way, the packet forwarded down to the 802.11 layer will be attached with the redundancy tag 504 as an EtherType 502 as shown in FIG. 5. Therefore, for the device supporting 802.1 layer redundancy protocol, this redundancy protocol may be applied to attach a redundancy tag 504 to indicate the redundancy requirement. As a result, the 802.11be MLD can base[d] on the redundancy tag 504, perform frame duplication and transmission over more than one available link … [0058] Note: Other QoS requirement related parameters, such as the packet deliver rate, latency bound [i.e., traffic profile], can able be defined using the reserved bits in the Redundancy tag information field … [0060] In one or more embodiments, the 802.11be MLD receives a frame with redundancy requirement indication (RRI) [i.e., transmission information], which is indicated by the above methods or other QoS indication methods, it will duplicate the frame and send it over more than one available links …).
Although Fang 2021 teaches , the 802.11be MLD receiving a frame with redundancy requirement indication (RRI) [i.e., transmission information], which is indicated by the QoS requirement related parameters, such as the packet deliver rate, latency bound [i.e., traffic profile], which can able be defined using the reserved bits in the Redundancy tag information field, Fang 2021 does not explicitly teach:
determining if frame duplication is to be performed according to the traffic profile of the transmission information;
enabling frame duplication based on the determining;
duplicating a frame for transmission over the wireless TSN using a Media Access Control (MAC) layer of the STA MLD comprising an upper MAC layer and a lower MAC layer to create a duplicate frame, wherein the enabling frame duplication is performed by the upper MAC layer, and wherein further the duplicating is performed by the upper MAC layer;
transmitting the frame to a wireless access point (AP) MLD over a first wireless link of the wireless TSN; and
transmitting the duplicate frame to the wireless AP MLD over a second wireless link of the wireless TSN.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Mok teaches:
determining if frame duplication is to be performed according to the traffic profile of the transmission information ([Mok] [0443] In operation 3001, a V2X terminal may obtain a condition for activating data duplication from information transmitted by a base station ... The condition for activating data duplication may include at least one from among a channel status condition, for example, a CBR threshold for activating duplication, which is on the basis of a CBR, the reliability requirements of service, for example, a PPPR threshold for activating duplication, and the latency requirements of service, for example, a PPPP threshold for activating duplication … [0445] In operation 3005, the V2X terminal may determine whether the measured channel status uses duplication or not. For example, when the measured CBR value is greater than or equal to the CBR threshold for activating duplication, which is set in operation 3001, for example, when the measured CBR≥CBR threshold for activating duplication, the V2X terminal may determine that the measured channel status allows activation of packet duplication … [0446] In operation 3007, the V2X terminal may determine whether to transmit a service packet that uses packet duplication, in addition to checking a channel status. The requirements of service that uses packet duplication may be recognized on the basis of information included in a packet. For example, when the PPPR value of a packet is less than or equal the PPPR threshold for activating duplication, which is set in operation 3001, for example, when the PPPR of the current packet≤PPPR threshold for activating duplication, the V2X terminal may determine that the packet needs to be duplicated and transmitted …);
enabling frame duplication based on the determining ([Mok] [0449] In operation 3009, when the V2X terminal determines to activate packet duplication using operations 3005 to 3007, the V2X terminal may perform layer configuration for activating packet duplication … and may transmit duplicated packets.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Fang 2021 to include the features as taught by Mok above in order to effectively transmit and receive duplicated data. (Mok, ¶ [0008]).
Although Fang 2021-Mok teaches , the 802.11be MLD receiving a frame with redundancy requirement indication (RRI) [i.e., transmission information], which is indicated by the QoS requirement related parameters, such as the packet deliver rate, latency bound [i.e., traffic profile], which can able be defined using the reserved bits in the Redundancy tag information field, and determining if packet duplication should be activated based on the received condition for activating data duplication, Fang 2021-Mok does not explicitly teach:
duplicating a frame for transmission over the wireless TSN using a Media Access Control (MAC) layer of the STA MLD comprising an upper MAC layer and a lower MAC layer to create a duplicate frame, wherein the enabling frame duplication is performed by the upper MAC layer, and wherein further the duplicating is performed by the upper MAC layer;
transmitting the frame to a wireless access point (AP) MLD over a first wireless link of the wireless TSN; and
transmitting the duplicate frame to the wireless AP MLD over a second wireless link of the wireless TSN.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Cavalcanti teaches:
duplicating a frame for transmission over the wireless TSN using a Media Access Control (MAC) layer of the STA MLD comprising an upper MAC layer and a lower MAC layer to create a duplicate frame, wherein the enabling frame duplication is performed by the upper MAC layer, and wherein further the duplicating is performed by the upper MAC layer ([Cavalcanti; 0081; Fig. 8] "As shown in FIG. 8, the MLD in the transmitter will trigger frame replication upon the detection of the redundancy tag" Where Fig. B shows 806, an Upper MLD MAC layer above a lower MAC layer, where replication/elimination is inside of the upper MLD MAC layer.);
transmitting the frame to a wireless access point (AP) MLD over a first wireless link of the wireless TSN ([Cavalcanti; 0081] "As shown in FIG. 8, the MLD in the transmitter will trigger frame replication upon the detection of the redundancy tag and send the duplicated frames over more than one affiliated STAs (multiple links)."); and
transmitting the duplicate frame to the wireless AP MLD over a second wireless link of the wireless TSN ([Cavalcanti; 0081] "As shown in FIG. 8, the MLD in the transmitter will trigger frame replication upon the detection of the redundancy tag and send the duplicated frames over more than one affiliated STAs (multiple links).").
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Fang 2021-Mok to include the features as taught by Cavalcanti above in order to achieve lower latency and high reliability performance (Cavalcanti, ¶ [0019])).
Regarding claim 10, Fang 2021, Mok, and Cavalcanti discloses on the features with respect to claim 8 as outlined above.
Fang 2021 further teaches:
wherein the traffic profile comprises a Delay Bound value and an Expected Transmission Reliability (ETR) value for a traffic category ([Fang 2021] [0058] Note: Other QoS requirement related parameters, such as the packet deliver rate, latency bound, can able be defined using the reserved bits in the Redundancy tag information field.).
Regarding claim 14, Fang 2021, Mok, and Cavalcanti discloses on the features with respect to claim 8 as outlined above.
Fang 2021 further teaches:
wherein in the transmission information is received from a TSN configuration server or an application running on the transmitting device ([Fang 2021; Fig. 5] [0057] In one or more embodiments, a multi-link redundancy system may facilitate including a redundancy tag 504 after applying any of these redundancy protocols over 802.1 layer. This way, the packet forwarded down to the 802.11 layer will be attached with the redundancy tag 504 [i.e., transmission information] as an EtherType 502 as shown in FIG. 5. Therefore, for the device supporting 802.1 layer redundancy protocol, this redundancy protocol may be applied to attach a redundancy tag 504 to indicate the redundancy requirement. As a result, the 802.11be MLD can base[d] on the redundancy tag 504 …).
Regarding claim 15, Fang 2021 teaches:
An apparatus for wireless data transmission in a wireless time sensitive network (TSN) by a wireless station (STA) multi-link device (MLD), the apparatus comprising ([Fang 2021] [0056] In one or more embodiments, high-availability Seamless Redundancy (HSR), parallel redundancy protocol (PRP) and 802.1CB are redundancy protocols that are defined for time sensitive networks to improve reliability with bounded latency … [0060] In one or more embodiments, the 802.11be MLD receives a frame with redundancy requirement indication (RRI), which is indicated by the above methods or other QoS indication methods.):
a processor ([Fang 2021; Fig. 8] [0071] ... The communication station 800 may also include processing circuitry 806 and memory 808 arranged to perform the operations described herein …);
a memory coupled to the processor and for storing data ([Fang 2021; Fig. 8] [0071] ... The communication station 800 may also include processing circuitry 806 and memory 808 arranged to perform the operations described herein ... [0072] … The memory 808 may store information for configuring the processing circuitry 806 to perform operations for configuring and transmitting message frames and performing the various operations described herein. The memory 808 may include any type of memory, including non-transitory memory, for storing information in a form readable by a machine (e.g., a computer). For example, the memory 808 may include a computer-readable storage device, read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), magnetic disk storage media, optical storage media, flash-memory devices and other storage devices and media …); and
a plurality of radios operable to perform wireless TSN transmission, and wherein the processor is operable to ([Fang 2021; Fig. 8] [0071] The communication station 800 may include communications circuitry 802 and a transceiver 810 for transmitting and receiving signals to and from other communication stations using one or more antennas 801 …):
store transmission information in said memory transmission ([Fang 2021] [0060] In one or more embodiments, the 802.11be MLD receives a frame with redundancy requirement indication (RRI) [i.e., transmission information], which is indicated by the above methods or other QoS indication methods, it will duplicate the frame and send it over more than one available links …);
configure uplink transmission according to the transmission information, wherein the transmission information comprises a traffic profile ([Fang 2021; Fig. 5] [0053] Besides traffic specification (TSPEC), here, several other different methods are proposed to indicate the redundancy requirement, such as: [0054] 1) The redundancy requirement can be carried through any QoS signaling mechanism over one or more 802.11 links. Redundancy requirements may be included as part of low latency or other QoS signaling mechanisms to identify data flows that need the redundancy requirement … [0055] 2) Enhancements to IEEE 802.1 layer protocols ... 802.1 is concerned with at least protocol layers above the MAC and logical link control (LLC) layers … [0057] In one or more embodiments, a multi-link redundancy system may facilitate including a redundancy tag 504 after applying any of these redundancy protocols over 802.1 layer. This way, the packet forwarded down to the 802.11 layer will be attached with the redundancy tag 504 as an EtherType 502 as shown in FIG. 5. Therefore, for the device supporting 802.1 layer redundancy protocol, this redundancy protocol may be applied to attach a redundancy tag 504 to indicate the redundancy requirement. As a result, the 802.11be MLD can base[d] on the redundancy tag 504, perform frame duplication and transmission over more than one available link … [0058] Note: Other QoS requirement related parameters, such as the packet deliver rate, latency bound [i.e., traffic profile], can able be defined using the reserved bits in the Redundancy tag information field … [0060] In one or more embodiments, the 802.11be MLD receives a frame with redundancy requirement indication (RRI) [i.e., transmission information], which is indicated by the above methods or other QoS indication methods, it will duplicate the frame and send it over more than one available links …).
Although Fang 2021 teaches , the 802.11be MLD receiving a frame with redundancy requirement indication (RRI) [i.e., transmission information], which is indicated by the QoS requirement related parameters, such as the packet deliver rate, latency bound [i.e., traffic profile], which can able be defined using the reserved bits in the Redundancy tag information field, Fang 2021 does not explicitly teach:
determine if frame duplication is to be performed according to the traffic profile of the transmission information;
enable frame duplication based on the determination;
duplicate a frame for transmission over the wireless TSN using a Media Access Control (MAC) layer of the TSN-capable STA comprising an upper MAC layer and a lower MAC layer to create a duplicate frame, wherein the enabling frame duplication is performed by the upper MAC layer, and wherein further the duplicating is performed by the upper MAC layer;
transmit the frame to a first wireless access point (AP) over the wireless TSN; and
transmit the duplicate frame to a second wireless AP over the wireless TSN.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Mok teaches:
determine if frame duplication is to be performed according to the traffic profile of the transmission information ([Mok] [0443] In operation 3001, a V2X terminal may obtain a condition for activating data duplication from information transmitted by a base station ... The condition for activating data duplication may include at least one from among a channel status condition, for example, a CBR threshold for activating duplication, which is on the basis of a CBR, the reliability requirements of service, for example, a PPPR threshold for activating duplication, and the latency requirements of service, for example, a PPPP threshold for activating duplication … [0445] In operation 3005, the V2X terminal may determine whether the measured channel status uses duplication or not. For example, when the measured CBR value is greater than or equal to the CBR threshold for activating duplication, which is set in operation 3001, for example, when the measured CBR≥CBR threshold for activating duplication, the V2X terminal may determine that the measured channel status allows activation of packet duplication … [0446] In operation 3007, the V2X terminal may determine whether to transmit a service packet that uses packet duplication, in addition to checking a channel status. The requirements of service that uses packet duplication may be recognized on the basis of information included in a packet. For example, when the PPPR value of a packet is less than or equal the PPPR threshold for activating duplication, which is set in operation 3001, for example, when the PPPR of the current packet≤PPPR threshold for activating duplication, the V2X terminal may determine that the packet needs to be duplicated and transmitted …);
enable frame duplication based on the determination ([Mok] [0449] In operation 3009, when the V2X terminal determines to activate packet duplication using operations 3005 to 3007, the V2X terminal may perform layer configuration for activating packet duplication … and may transmit duplicated packets.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Fang 2021 to include the features as taught by Mok above in order to effectively transmit and receive duplicated data. (Mok, ¶ [0008]).
Although Fang 2021-Mok teaches , the 802.11be MLD receiving a frame with redundancy requirement indication (RRI) [i.e., transmission information], which is indicated by the QoS requirement related parameters, such as the packet deliver rate, latency bound [i.e., traffic profile], which can able be defined using the reserved bits in the Redundancy tag information field, and determining if packet duplication should be activated based on the received condition for activating data duplication, Fang 2021-Mok does not explicitly teach:
duplicate a frame for transmission over the wireless TSN using a Media Access Control (MAC) layer of the TSN-capable STA comprising an upper MAC layer and a lower MAC layer to create a duplicate frame, wherein the enabling frame duplication is performed by the upper MAC layer, and wherein further the duplicating is performed by the upper MAC layer;
transmit the frame to a first wireless access point (AP) over the wireless TSN; and
transmit the duplicate frame to a second wireless AP over the wireless TSN.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Cavalcanti teaches:
duplicate a frame for transmission over the wireless TSN using a Media Access Control (MAC) layer of the TSN-capable STA comprising an upper MAC layer and a lower MAC layer to create a duplicate frame, wherein the enabling frame duplication is performed by the upper MAC layer, and wherein further the duplicating is performed by the upper MAC layer ([Cavalcanti; 0081; Fig. 8] "As shown in FIG. 8, the MLD in the transmitter will trigger frame replication upon the detection of the redundancy tag" Where Fig. B shows 806, an Upper MLD MAC layer above a lower MAC layer, where replication/elimination is inside of the upper MLD MAC layer.);
transmit the frame to a first wireless access point (AP) over the wireless TSN ([Cavalcanti; 0081] "As shown in FIG. 8, the MLD in the transmitter will trigger frame replication upon the detection of the redundancy tag and send the duplicated frames over more than one affiliated STAs (multiple links)."); and
transmit the duplicate frame to a second wireless AP over the wireless TSN ([Cavalcanti; 0081] "As shown in FIG. 8, the MLD in the transmitter will trigger frame replication upon the detection of the redundancy tag and send the duplicated frames over more than one affiliated STAs (multiple links).").
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Fang 2021-Mok to include the features as taught by Cavalcanti above in order to achieve lower latency and high reliability performance (Cavalcanti, ¶ [0019])).
Regarding claim 17, Fang 2021, Mok, and Cavalcanti discloses on the features with respect to claim 15 as outlined above.
Fang 2021 further teaches:
wherein the traffic profile comprises a Delay Bound value and an Expected Transmission Reliability (ETR) value ([Fang 2021] [0058] Note: Other QoS requirement related parameters, such as the packet deliver rate, latency bound, can able be defined using the reserved bits in the Redundancy tag information field.).
Claims 4-6, 11-13, and 18-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fang 2021, Mok, and Cavalcanti, in view of Joseph (US 20190335379 A1), hereinafter Joseph 2019, further in view of Fang (US 20210120552 A1), hereinafter Fang.
Regarding claim 4, Fang 2021, Mok, and Cavalcanti discloses on the features with respect to claim 3 as outlined above:
Fang 2021, Mok, and Cavalcanti does not explicitly teach:
determining a transmission reliability threshold of a wireless link according to the traffic profile, and wherein the duplicating a frame for transmission over the wireless TSN is performed responsive to a determination that a transmission reliability of a wireless link of the wireless TSN is below the transmission reliability threshold.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Fang teaches:
determining a transmission reliability threshold of a wireless link according to the traffic profile ([Fang; 0125] "At block 858, the device may determine second TSN parameters based on the LLS response. When the LLS response indicates that the requested TSN parameters were agreed to, the second TSN parameters may be the same as the first TSN parameters" Where the LLS response is defined to include [Fang; 0065] "a packet data rate reliability (e.g., expected packet delivery ratio within the latency bound-used to represent the tolerance of the traffic stream to packet that miss the deadline, which may be calculated as-1packet data rate" As can be seen once a device operation over a wireless link receiving information about transmission reliability, it determines which TSN parameters which include the reliability threshold.).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Joseph 2020 to incorporate the teachings of Fang for multiple established standards of the time to benefit with compatibility, interoperability, and reliability, as laid out in Fang. [Fang; 0027] "The IEEE 802.1time-sensitive networking (TSN) standards are being developed to enable time synchronization, guarantee latency and high reliability through bandwidth reservation, time-aware scheduling and redundancy. However, many of the TSN standards have been restricted to wired (Ethernet) networks. Enabling time-critical industrial applications over wireless links would add value and open up new markets, such as software-defined machines and factories.".
Fang 2021, Mok, and Cavalcanti and Fang does not explicitly teach:
wherein the duplicating a frame for transmission over the wireless TSN is performed responsive to a determination that a transmission reliability of a wireless link of the wireless TSN is below the transmission reliability threshold.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Joseph 2019 teaches:
wherein the duplicating a frame for transmission over the wireless TSN is performed responsive to a determination that a transmission reliability of a wireless link of the wireless TSN is below the transmission reliability threshold ([Joseph 2019; 0071] "The data processor module 708 may process uplink and downlink traffic according to principles and methods disclosed herein.
The data processor module 708 may duplicate uplink data and distribute to one or more connectivity components in the set of connectivity components" Describes duplicating based on processed traffic, and later [Joseph 2019; 0073] "The config manager module 714 may determine which connections (e.g., Packet Data Network connections, PDU sessions described in 3GPP TS 23.501), bearers or collection of packets need packet duplication and/or which bearers or collection of packets need duplicate-packet detection". The above shows that based on data traffic Joseph 2019 may duplicate or not duplicate.).
Joseph 2019 is considered analogous to the claimed invention as it is in the same field of transmitting duplicate packets with relation to time sensitive networks and over wireless. Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Joseph 2020, Cavalcanti and Fang to incorporate the teachings of Joseph 2019 and provide a more adjustable duplication method based on a transmission reliability threshold and the determination if duplication is necessary which can lower the burden that the Fang implementation of constantly duplicating entails, while increasing reliability further using the data methods of Fang. The benefits of such an approach are listed in [Joseph 2019; 0064] "may help achieve reliability and latency service levels required for a specific use case. For example, because the same data is transmitted over each wireless link 610 there is reduced likelihood that the data won't be received on the first try or within at least a specific number of retransmissions. For example, if one wireless link 610 fails, one or more other wireless links may still be able to communicate data. The use of multiple UEs 604 (and their respective connectivity components) may allow the multi-connectivity module 602 to provide a reliability and/or low latency service level not achievable by a single UE 604 of the same technology". One of ordinary skill in the art knows always sending duplicate transmissions would be an unnecessary burden.
Regarding claim 5, Fang 2021, Cavalcanti, Fang, Joseph 2019 discloses on the features with respect to claim 4 as outlined above.
Fang further teaches:
measuring a transmission reliability for transmitting data to the first wireless AP over the first wireless link ([Fang; 0065] "a packet data rate reliability (e.g., expected packet delivery ratio within the latency bound-used to represent the tolerance of the traffic stream to packet that miss the deadline, which may be calculated as-1packet data rate".).
The rationale and motivation for adding this teaching of Fang is the same as the rationale and motivation for Claim 4.
Regarding claim 6, Fang 2021, Cavalcanti, Fang, Joseph 2019 discloses on the features with respect to claim 5 as outlined above.
Fang further teaches:
calculating a percentage of QoS packets of a traffic category that are successfully transmitted over the wireless link within the Delay Bound value for the traffic category over the total transmitted QoS packets of the traffic category on the wireless link ([Fang; 0073] "The config manager module 714 may determine which connections (e.g., Packet Data Network connections, PDU sessions described in 3GPPTS 23.501), bearers or collection of packets need packet duplication and/or which bearers or collection of packets need duplicate-packet detection. For example, the config manager module 714 may identify a quality of service (QoS) class identifier (QCI) or 5G QoS indicator (5QI) associated with a bearer corresponding to data traffic. Based on the QCI or 5QI, the config manager module 714 may associate the data traffic with specific service level requirements such as a specific latency requirement or packet error rate." as defined in [3GPPTS 23.501] "The Packet Error Rate (PER) defines an upper bound for the rate of PDUs (e.g. IP packets) that have been processed by the sender of a link layer protocol (e.g. RLC in RAN of a 3GPP access) but that are not successfully delivered by the corresponding receiver to the upper layer (e.g. PDCP in RAN of a 3GPP access). Thus, the PER defines an upper bound fora rate of non- congestion related packet losses." When combined with the establishment of an equivalent to a delay bound, it is obvious to combine the standard mentioned technique with the techniques present in both disclosures to improve reliability and accuracy.).
The rationale and motivation for adding this teaching of Fang is the same as the rationale and motivation for Claim 4.
Regarding claim 11, Fang 2021, Mok, and Cavalcanti discloses on the features with respect to claim 10 as outlined above:
Fang 2021, Mok, and Cavalcanti does not explicitly teach:
determining a transmission reliability threshold of a wireless link according to the traffic profile, and wherein the duplicating a frame for transmission over the wireless TSN is performed responsive to a determination that a transmission reliability of the first wireless link of the wireless TSN is below the transmission reliability threshold.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Joseph 2019 teaches:
wherein the duplicating a frame for transmission over the wireless TSN is performed responsive to a determination that a transmission reliability of a wireless link of the wireless TSN is below the transmission reliability threshold ([Joseph 2019; 0071] "The data processor module 708 may process uplink and downlink traffic according to principles and methods disclosed herein. The data processor module 708 may duplicate uplink data and distribute to one or more connectivity components in the set of connectivity components" Describes duplicating based on processed traffic, and later [Joseph 2019; 0073] "The config manager module 714 may determine which connections (e.g., Packet Data Network connections, PDU sessions described in 3GPP TS 23.501), bearers or collection of packets need packet duplication and/or which bearers or collection of packets need duplicate-packet detection". The above shows that based on data traffic Joseph 2019 may duplicate or not duplicate.).
Joseph 2019 is considered analogous to the claimed invention as it is in the same field of transmitting duplicate packets with relation to time sensitive networks and over wireless. Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Fang 2021, Mok, and Cavalcanti to incorporate the teachings of Joseph 2019 and provide a more adjustable duplication method based on a transmission reliability threshold and the determination if duplication is necessary. The benefits of such an approach are listed in [Joseph 2019; 0064] "may help achieve reliability and latency service levels required for a specific use case. For example, because the same data is transmitted over each wireless link 610 there is reduced likelihood that the data won't be received on the first try or within at least a specific number of retransmissions. For example, if one wireless link 610 fails, one or more other wireless links may still be able to communicate data. The use of multiple UEs 604 (and their respective connectivity components) may allow the multi-connectivity module 602 to provide a reliability and/or low latency service level not achievable by a single UE 604 of the same technology". One of ordinary skill in the art knows always sending duplicate transmissions would be an unnecessary burden.
Fang 2021, Mok, and Cavalcanti and Joseph 2019 does not explicitly teach:
determining a transmission reliability threshold of a wireless link according to the traffic profile.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Fang teaches:
determining a transmission reliability threshold of a wireless link according to the traffic profile ([Fang; 0125] "At block 858, the device may determine second TSN parameters based on the LLS response. When the LLS response indicates that the requested TSN parameters were agreed to, the second TSN parameters may be the same as the first TSN parameters").
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Fang 2021, Mok, and Cavalcanti and Joseph 2019 to incorporate the teachings of Fang for multiple established standards of the time to benefit with compatibility, interoperability, and reliability, as laid out in Fang. [Fang; 0027] "The IEEE 802.1time-sensitive networking (TSN) standards are being developed to enable time synchronization, guarantee latency and high reliability through bandwidth reservation, time-aware scheduling and redundancy. However, many of the TSN standards have been restricted to wired (Ethernet) networks. Enabling time-critical industrial applications over wireless links would add value and open up new markets, such as software-defined machines and factories.".
Regarding claim 12, Fang 2021, Cavalcanti, Fang, Joseph 2019 discloses on the features with respect to claim 11 as outlined above.
Fang further teaches:
measuring a transmission reliability for transmitting data to the wireless AP MLD over the first wireless link ([Fang; 0042] "A new wireless TSN/802.lCB compactible function for 802.11devices that operates on top of the 802.11MAC layer and performs TSN encapsulation/decapsulation for frame duplication/elimination and other required behavior to enable 802.lCB redundancy over802.11 links. This function may be implemented as part of the 802.11 MAC layer (firmware)" mentions 802.1CB implementation, in that described document there are methods for measuring transmission reliability, they would be known to one of ordinary skill in the art, and are provided here for ease of access. [802.lCB; page 45] "Latent error detection is accomplished by two periodic functions. The first (LatentErrorTest, 7.4.4.4) examines the number of packets passed and discarded, and reports a latent error if the differences among those counters exceed a set threshold.").
The rationale and motivation for adding this teaching of Fang is the same as the rationale and motivation for Claim 11.
Regarding claim 13, Fang 2021, Cavalcanti, Fang, Joseph 2019 discloses on the features with respect to claim 12 as outlined above.
Fang further teaches:
measuring comprises at least one of. calculating a ratio of a number of QoS packets of the traffic category that are successfully transmitted over the first wireless link within the Delay Bound value for the traffic category to a total number of transmitted QoS packets of the traffic category on the first wireless link ([Fang; 0073] "The config manager module 714 may determine which connections (e.g., Packet Data Network connections, PDU sessions described in 3GPPTS 23.501), bearers or collection of packets need packet duplication and/or which bearers or collection of packets need duplicate-packet detection. For example, the config manager module 714 may identify a quality of service (QoS) class identifier (QCI) or 5G QoS indicator (5QI) associated with a bearer corresponding to data traffic. Based on the QCI or 5QI, the config manager module 714 may associate the data traffic with specific service level requirements such as a specific latency requirement or packet error rate." as defined in [3GPPTS 23.501] "The Packet Error Rate (PER) defines an upper bound for the rate of PDUs (e.g. IP packets) that have been processed by the sender of a link layer protocol (e.g. RLC in RAN of a 3GPP access) but that are not successfully delivered by the corresponding receiver to the upper layer (e.g. PDCP in RAN of a 3GPP access). Thus, the PER defines an upper bound fora rate of non- congestion related packet losses." When combined with the establishment of an equivalent to a delay bound, it is obvious to combine the standard mentioned technique with the techniques present in both disclosures to improve reliability and accuracy.).
The rationale and motivation for adding this teaching of Fang is the same as the rationale and motivation for Claim 11.
Regarding claim 18, Fang 2021, Mok, and Cavalcanti discloses on the features with respect to claim 17 as outlined above:
Fang 2021, Mok, and Cavalcanti does not explicitly teach:
wherein the processor is further operable to determine a transmission reliability threshold according to the traffic profile, and wherein the duplicate a frame for transmission over the wireless link is performed responsive to a determination that a transmission reliability of the first wireless link of the wireless TSN is below the transmission reliability threshold.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Joseph 2019 teaches:
wherein the duplicate a frame for transmission over the wireless link is performed responsive to a determination that a transmission reliability of the first wireless link of the wireless TSN is below the transmission reliability threshold ([Joseph 2019; 0071] "The data processor module 708 may process uplink and downlink traffic according to principles and methods disclosed herein. The data processor module 708 may duplicate uplink data and distribute to one or more connectivity components in the set of connectivity components" Describes duplicating based on processed traffic, and later [Joseph 2019; 0073] "The config manager module 714 may determine which connections (e.g., Packet Data Network connections, PDU sessions described in 3GPP TS 23.501), bearers or collection of packets need packet duplication and/or which bearers or collection of packets need duplicate-packet detection". The above shows that based on data traffic Joseph 2019 may duplicate or not duplicate.).
Joseph 2019 is considered analogous to the claimed invention as it is in the same field of transmitting duplicate packets with relation to time sensitive networks and over wireless. Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Fang 2021, Mok, and Cavalcanti to incorporate the teachings of Joseph 2019 and provide a more adjustable duplication method based on a transmission reliability threshold and the determination if duplication is necessary. The benefits of such an approach are listed in [Joseph 2019; 0064] "may help achieve reliability and latency service levels required for a specific use case. For example, because the same data is transmitted over each wireless link 610 there is reduced likelihood that the data won't be received on the first try or within at least a specific number of retransmissions. For example, if one wireless link 610 fails, one or more other wireless links may still be able to communicate data. The use of multiple UEs 604 (and their respective connectivity components) may allow the multi-connectivity module 602 to provide a reliability and/or low latency service level not achievable by a single UE 604 of the same technology". One of ordinary skill in the art knows always sending duplicate transmissions would be an unnecessary burden.
Fang 2021, Mok, and Cavalcanti and Joseph 2019 does not explicitly teach:
determine a transmission reliability threshold according to the traffic profile.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Fang teaches:
determine a transmission reliability threshold according to the traffic profile ([Fang; 0125] "At block 858, the device may determine second TSN parameters based on the LLS response. When the LLS response indicates that the requested TSN parameters were agreed to, the second TSN parameters may be the same as the first TSN parameters").
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Fang 2021, Mok, and Cavalcanti and Joseph 2019 to incorporate the teachings of Fang to determine a transmission reliability threshold according to a traffic profile as presented in Fang. It's shown in Fang this would provide benefits as [Fang; 0037] "Existing 802.11QoS mechanisms (Admission control and TSPEC) are defined based on the assumption of STA to STA negotiation is required for each traffic stream. In 802.llbe, the new concept of Multi-Link Device (MLD) enables multiple STAs to operate under a single MAC interface, and the existing QoS mechanism will be inefficient as they need to be executed per STA.".
Regarding claim 19, Fang 2021, Cavalcanti, Fang, Joseph 2019 discloses on the features with respect to claim 18 as outlined above.
Fang further teaches:
measure a transmission reliability for transmitting data to the wireless AP MLD over the first wireless link. ([Fang; 0042] "A new wireless TSN/802.lCB compactible function for 802.11devices that operates on top of the 802.11 MAC layer and performs TSN encapsulation/decapsulation for frame duplication/elimination and other required behavior to enable802.1CB redundancy over 802.11links. This function may be implemented as part of the 802.11 MAC layer (firmware)" mentions 802.1CB implementation, in that described document there are methods for measuring transmission reliability, they would be known to one of ordinary skill in the art, and are provided here for ease of access. [802.lCB; page 45] "Latent error detection is accomplished by two periodic functions. The first (LatentErrorTest, 7.4.4.4) examines the number of packets passed and discarded, and reports a latent error if the differences among those counters exceed a set threshold.".).
The rationale and motivation for adding this teaching of Fang is the same as the rationale and motivation for Claim 18.
Regarding claim 20, Fang 2021, Cavalcanti, Fang, Joseph 2019 discloses on the features with respect to claim 19 as outlined above.
Fang further teaches:
calculating a ratio of a number of QoS packets of a traffic category that are successfully transmitted over the first wireless link within the Delay Bound value for the traffic category to a total number of transmitted QoS packets of the traffic category on the first wireless link ([Fang; 0073] "The config manager module 714 may determine which connections (e.g., Packet Data Network connections, PDU sessions described in 3GPP TS 23.501), bearers or collection of packets need packet duplication and/or which bearers or collection of packets need duplicate-packet detection. For example, the config manager module 714 may identify a quality of service (QoS) class identifier (QCI) or 5G QoS indicator (5QI) associated with a bearer corresponding to data traffic. Based on the QCI or 5QI, the config manager module 714 may associate the data traffic with specific service level requirements such as a specific latency requirement or packet error rate." as defined in [3GPP TS 23.501] "The Packet Error Rate (PER) defines an upper bound for the rate of PDUs (e.g. IP packets)that have been processed by the sender of a link layer protocol (e.g. RLC in RAN of a 3GPP access) but that are not successfully delivered by the corresponding receiver to the upper layer (e.g. PDCP in RAN of a 3GPP access)." Thus, the PER defines an upper bound for a rate of non-congestion related packet losses.
The rationale and motivation for adding this teaching of Fang is the same as the rationale and motivation for Claim 18.
Conclusion
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/LIEM H. NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2416