DETAILED ACTION
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 .
Response to Amendment
Amendments filed on 4/9/2026 are entered for prosecution. Claims 1, 3, 5-12, and 14-21 remain pending in the application. The amendments change the scopes of the previously presented claims. New grounds of rejections are applied to the amended claims and the current Office Action is made FINAL as necessitated by the claim amendments.
Applicant’s amendments to the claims overcome each and every rejections to the claims under 35 USC § 112 previously set forth in the Non-Final Office Action mailed 1/12/2026.
Response to Arguments
Applicant asserts that “Examiner indicated that the amendments made to independent Claim 1 (and analogously Claims 9 and 12) appear to overcome the cited references.” The Examiner does not recall making such a statement. Even assuming, arguendo, that such a statement was made, the amendments discussed during the interview concerned “one or more user information fields” that are “used to schedule the at least one or more stations parking on the corresponding frequency segment.” See Interview Summary dated March 16, 2026. That subject matter differs from the limitation currently recited in submitted claims 1, 9, and 12, namely, that the “trigger frame is used to schedule only one or more stations parking on the corresponding frequency segment.”
During the interview, Applicant stated that “parking” is a term used in the IEEE 802.11 standard and requires a station (STA) to be on only one frequency segment. The Examiner reviewed IEEE Std 802.11-2012, IEEE Std 802.11-2016, IEEE Std 802.11-2020, and IEEE Std 802.11-2024, but did not identify any disclosure or teaching of the term “parking,” much less any definition of “parking” requiring a STA to be on only one frequency segment. The specification also does not appear to define “parking” in the manner asserted by Applicant or otherwise use the term in that context. Accordingly, under the broadest reasonable interpretation consistent with the specification, the term “parking” is not limited to the meaning asserted by Applicant.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
Claims 9-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor, or for pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Regarding claims 9-12:
The limitation “wherein the trigger frame is used to schedule only one or more stations parking on the frequency segment,” as recited in claim 9, renders the claims indefinite because it is unclear whether, and to what extent, this limitation should be afforded patentable weight.
On one hand, the preamble of claim 9 recites “a method for receiving a trigger frame,” and the body of the claim recites “receiving, by a station …, a trigger frame.” These limitations indicate that the claimed method is performed by a station that receives the trigger frame.
On the other hand, the limitation “each trigger frame is used to schedule only one or more stations parking on the corresponding frequency segment,” as recited in claims 1 and 12, appears to describe functionality performed by an access point, not by a station receiving the trigger frame, because those claims are directed to access-point functionality. See, e.g., the specification at paragraphs [0061] and [0065].
The limitation “wherein the trigger frame is used to schedule only one or more stations parking on the frequency segment” is relevant to claim 9 only to the extent that the recited station receiving the trigger frame is “only one station parking on the frequency segment” or one of “stations parking on the frequency segment” as scheduled by the trigger frame. However, claim 9 does not clearly recite whether the scheduling is an affirmative step performed by an access point, a characteristic of the received trigger frame, or merely an intended use of the trigger frame.
Accordingly, claims 9 and 11 may be interpreted in at least two different ways:
as a method involving both an access point and a non-AP station, if patentable weight is given to the limitation “wherein the trigger frame is used to schedule only one or more stations parking on the frequency segment” as requiring scheduling functionality; or
as a method performed only by a non-AP station, if the limitation is not afforded patentable weight as an affirmative scheduling step and is instead treated as merely describing the intended use or purpose of the received trigger frame.
Thus, the metes and bounds of the claimed invention are unclear. For purposes of examination, the first interpretation is applied.
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 of this title, 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, 12, 14, and 19-21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jiang et al. (US 11296840 B1, hereafter Jiang) in view of Jang et al. (US 20210176643 A1, hereafter Jang).
Regarding claim 1, Jiang discloses:
A method for sending a trigger frame in a wireless local area network, comprising:
generating, by an access point (AP), a physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) ([Col.6 lines 5-32] “In various embodiments, the MAC processor 126 and/or the PHY processor 130 of the AP 114 are configured to generate data units,… The PHY processor 130 is configured to receive MAC layer data units from the MAC processor 126 and encapsulate the MAC layer data units to generate PHY data units such as PHY protocol data units (PPDUs) for transmission via the antennas 138, according to some embodiments.”), wherein the PPDU comprises one or more trigger frames ([Col. 20 lines 43-57] “In another embodiment, one or more of the PPDUs 532 include trigger frames from the AP 114 to prompt trigger-based PPDUs from the first client station 154, and one or more of other PPDUs 532 are trigger-based PPDUs responsive to the one or more trigger frames from the AP 114.”), each trigger frame corresponds to one frequency segment ([Col. 12 line 63 – Col. 18 line 5] “when the PPDUs 436 are trigger-based PPDUs, the AP 114 transmits a trigger frame in the second frequency segment 412 (not shown), and a trigger-based PPDU 436 is transmitted in the second frequency segment 412 in response to the trigger frame”), and each trigger frame is used to schedule only one or more stations ([Col. 12 line 63 – Col. 18 line 5] “when the PPDUs 436 are trigger-based PPDUs, the AP 114 transmits a trigger frame in the second frequency segment 412 (not shown), and a trigger-based PPDU 436 is transmitted in the second frequency segment 412 in response to the trigger frame”; [Col. 15 lines 29-57] “the AP 114 transmits a PPDU 420 that includes a FDFD scheduling frame to one or more client stations 154 to provide the one or more client stations 154 with information regarding a forward/reverse FDFD operation 424. The FDFD scheduling frame (an example of an FDFD operation information frame discussed above) in the PPDU 420 includes one of, or any suitable combination of two or more of: … vii) PHY transmission mode information that indicates whether client stations 154 are to transmit in the second segment 412 using a single user (SU) mode or a trigger-based mode in which a trigger frame from the AP 114 prompts one or more client stations to transmit, etc.”) parking on the corresponding frequency segment ([Col. 21 lines 1-11] “In another embodiment, one or more of the PPDUs 536 include trigger frames from the AP 114 to prompt trigger-based PPDUs from one or more of the second client stations 154, and one or more of other PPDUs 536 are trigger-based PPDUs responsive to the one or more trigger frames from the AP 114.”; Fig.5 shows that PPDU’s are located on the second frequency segment); and sending, by the AP, the one or more trigger frames in the PPDU, wherein each trigger frame is carried in the corresponding frequency segment ([Col. 12 line 63 – Col. 18 line 5] “when the PPDUs 436 are trigger-based PPDUs, the AP 114 transmits a trigger frame in the second frequency segment 412 (not shown), and a trigger-based PPDU 436 is transmitted in the second frequency segment 412 in response to the trigger frame”).
Jiang does not disclose each trigger frame comprises one or more user information fields, and each of the one or more user information fields comprises one or more parameters for a corresponding station to transmit an uplink PPDU.
However, Jang discloses:
each trigger frame comprises one or more user information fields (Fig.9; [0014] The trigger frame includes a common information field and first to third user information fields. The common information field may be transmitted through the first to third primary channels. The first user information field may be transmitted through the first primary channel. The second user information field may be transmitted through the second primary channel. The third user information field may be transmitted through the third primary channel.; [0123] FIG. 9 illustrates an example of a trigger frame. The trigger frame of FIG. 9 allocates resources for Uplink Multiple-User (MU) transmission and may be transmitted from the AP. The trigger frame may be configured as a MAC frame and may be included in the PPDU. [0127] Also, it is preferable to include a per user information field (960 #1 to 960 #N) corresponding to the number of receiving STAs that receive the trigger frame of FIG. 9. The per user information field may be referred to as an “RU allocation field”.; See also [0241]), and each of the one or more user information fields comprises one or more parameters ([0018] That is, the user information field transmitted in each band or channel includes only user information of an STA associated with a specific band or channel (herein, the first band, the second band, or the third band). [0023] The first to third user fields may include a radio unit (RU) allocation subfield. [0024] The RU allocation subfield may consist of 9 bits. Information on a channel in which an RU allocated to the first to third STAs is located may consist of 2 bits out of the 9 bits. Information on a size of the RU allocated to the first to third STAs may consist of 7 bits out of the 9 bits.; See also [0243-0246, 0251-0256] ) for a corresponding station to transmit an uplink PPDU ([0139] Also, an RU Allocation field (1120) may be included. In other words, when a receiving STA identified by the User Identifier field (1110) transmits a UL PPDU in response to the trigger frame of FIG. 9, the corresponding UL PPDU is transmitted through an RU indicated by the RU Allocation field (1120). In this case, it is preferable that the RU indicated by the RU Allocation field (1120) indicates the RUs shown in FIGS. 4, 5, and 6. A specific structure of the RU Allocation field (1120) will be described later.);
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify the method of Jiang so that each trigger frame to comprise one or more user information fields as taught by Jang, in order to indicate resource unit through which UL PPDU is transmitted (Jang, [0139])
Regarding claim 3 and 14:
Jiang does not disclose wherein different trigger frames have different content and a same length.
However, Jang discloses:
wherein different trigger frames have different content and a same length (Jang: [0232] “Referring to FIG. 19, a User Info field of a trigger frame transmitted at 2.4 GHz includes a User Info field for an STA1 and an STA2, a User Info field of a trigger frame transmitted at 5 GHz includes a User Info field for the STA2 and an STA3, and a User Info field of a trigger frame transmitted at 6 GHz includes only a User Info field for the STA3. Therefore, a synchronization problem may occur since a trigger frame transmitted in each band may have a different length. Accordingly, a padding bit may be added as much as necessary so that the trigger frame transmitted in each band is adjusted to have the same length.”).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify the trigger frames of Jiang to have different content and have the same length through padding as taught by Jang, in order to prevent a synchronization problem (Jang: [0232] “Therefore, a synchronization problem may occur since a trigger frame transmitted in each band may have a different length.”).
Regarding claim 12, Jiang discloses:
A communications apparatus, wherein the communications apparatus comprises: at least one processor and one or more memories coupled to the at least one processor and storing programming instructions, when executed, which cause the at least one processor to one or more modules, and is configured to perform the following steps (Jiang: [Col.5 lines 14-31] “AP 114 that comprises a host processor 118 coupled to a network interface device 122.”; [Col.5 lines 62-67 and Col.6 lines 1-4] “the host processor 118 includes a processor configured to execute machine readable instructions stored in a memory device (not shown) such as a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), a flash memory, etc.”):
Generating a physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) ([Col.6 lines 5-32] “In various embodiments, the MAC processor 126 and/or the PHY processor 130 of the AP 114 are configured to generate data units,… The PHY processor 130 is configured to receive MAC layer data units from the MAC processor 126 and encapsulate the MAC layer data units to generate PHY data units such as PHY protocol data units (PPDUs) for transmission via the antennas 138, according to some embodiments.”), wherein the PPDU comprises one or more trigger frames ([Col. 20 lines 43-57] “In another embodiment, one or more of the PPDUs 532 include trigger frames from the AP 114 to prompt trigger-based PPDUs from the first client station 154, and one or more of other PPDUs 532 are trigger-based PPDUs responsive to the one or more trigger frames from the AP 114.”), each trigger frame corresponds to one frequency segment ([Col. 12 line 63 – Col. 18 line 5] “when the PPDUs 436 are trigger-based PPDUs, the AP 114 transmits a trigger frame in the second frequency segment 412 (not shown), and a trigger-based PPDU 436 is transmitted in the second frequency segment 412 in response to the trigger frame”), and each trigger frame is used to schedule only one or more stations ([Col. 12 line 63 – Col. 18 line 5] “when the PPDUs 436 are trigger-based PPDUs, the AP 114 transmits a trigger frame in the second frequency segment 412 (not shown), and a trigger-based PPDU 436 is transmitted in the second frequency segment 412 in response to the trigger frame”; [Col. 15 lines 29-57] “the AP 114 transmits a PPDU 420 that includes a FDFD scheduling frame to one or more client stations 154 to provide the one or more client stations 154 with information regarding a forward/reverse FDFD operation 424. The FDFD scheduling frame (an example of an FDFD operation information frame discussed above) in the PPDU 420 includes one of, or any suitable combination of two or more of: … vii) PHY transmission mode information that indicates whether client stations 154 are to transmit in the second segment 412 using a single user (SU) mode or a trigger-based mode in which a trigger frame from the AP 114 prompts one or more client stations to transmit, etc.”) parking on the corresponding frequency segment ([Col. 21 lines 1-11] “In another embodiment, one or more of the PPDUs 536 include trigger frames from the AP 114 to prompt trigger-based PPDUs from one or more of the second client stations 154, and one or more of other PPDUs 536 are trigger-based PPDUs responsive to the one or more trigger frames from the AP 114.”; Fig.5 shows that PPDU’s are located on the second frequency segment); and sending the one or more trigger frames in the PPDU, wherein each trigger frame is carried in the corresponding frequency segment ([Col. 12 line 63 – Col. 18 line 5] “when the PPDUs 436 are trigger-based PPDUs, the AP 114 transmits a trigger frame in the second frequency segment 412 (not shown), and a trigger-based PPDU 436 is transmitted in the second frequency segment 412 in response to the trigger frame”).
Jiang does not disclose each trigger frame comprises one or more user information fields, and each of the one or more user information fields comprises one or more parameters for a corresponding station to transmit an uplink PPDU.
However, Jang discloses:
each trigger frame comprises one or more user information fields (Fig.9; [0014] The trigger frame includes a common information field and first to third user information fields. The common information field may be transmitted through the first to third primary channels. The first user information field may be transmitted through the first primary channel. The second user information field may be transmitted through the second primary channel. The third user information field may be transmitted through the third primary channel.; [0123] FIG. 9 illustrates an example of a trigger frame. The trigger frame of FIG. 9 allocates resources for Uplink Multiple-User (MU) transmission and may be transmitted from the AP. The trigger frame may be configured as a MAC frame and may be included in the PPDU. [0127] Also, it is preferable to include a per user information field (960 #1 to 960 #N) corresponding to the number of receiving STAs that receive the trigger frame of FIG. 9. The per user information field may be referred to as an “RU allocation field”.; See also [0241]), and each of the one or more user information fields comprises one or more parameters ([0018] That is, the user information field transmitted in each band or channel includes only user information of an STA associated with a specific band or channel (herein, the first band, the second band, or the third band). [0023] The first to third user fields may include a radio unit (RU) allocation subfield. [0024] The RU allocation subfield may consist of 9 bits. Information on a channel in which an RU allocated to the first to third STAs is located may consist of 2 bits out of the 9 bits. Information on a size of the RU allocated to the first to third STAs may consist of 7 bits out of the 9 bits.; See also [0243-0246, 0251-0256] ) for a corresponding station to transmit an uplink PPDU ([0139] Also, an RU Allocation field (1120) may be included. In other words, when a receiving STA identified by the User Identifier field (1110) transmits a UL PPDU in response to the trigger frame of FIG. 9, the corresponding UL PPDU is transmitted through an RU indicated by the RU Allocation field (1120). In this case, it is preferable that the RU indicated by the RU Allocation field (1120) indicates the RUs shown in FIGS. 4, 5, and 6. A specific structure of the RU Allocation field (1120) will be described later.);
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify the apparatus of Jiang so that each trigger frame to comprise one or more user information fields as taught by Jang, in order to indicate resource unit through which UL PPDU is transmitted (Jang, [0139])
Regarding claims 19 and 21,
Jiang does not disclose each of the one or more user information fields comprises an association identifier field.
However, Jang discloses:
each of the one or more user information fields (per user information field) comprises an association identifier field (AID12 field, whole or part of the AID) [0123] FIG. 9 illustrates an example of a trigger frame. The trigger frame of FIG. 9 allocates resources for Uplink Multiple-User (MU) transmission and may be transmitted from the AP. The trigger frame may be configured as a MAC frame and may be included in the PPDU. [0127] Also, it is preferable to include a per user information field (960 #1 to 960 #N) corresponding to the number of receiving STAs that receive the trigger frame of FIG. 9. The per user information field may be referred to as an “RU allocation field”. [0138] The User Identifier field of FIG. 11 (or AID12 field, 1110) indicates the identifier of an STA (namely, a receiving STA) corresponding to per user information, where an example of the identifier may be the whole or part of the AID.).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify the one or more user information fields of Jiang so that each of the one or more user information fields to comprise an association identifier field as taught by Jang, in order for the receiving STA identified by the association identifier filed to transmit UL PPDU in response to the trigger frame (Jang, [0139])
Regarding claim 20,
Jiang does not disclose each of the one or more user information fields comprises a resource unit allocation field.
However, Jang discloses:
each of the one or more user information fields (per user information field) comprises a resource unit allocation field ([0127] Also, it is preferable to include a per user information field (960 #1 to 960 #N) corresponding to the number of receiving STAs that receive the trigger frame of FIG. 9. The per user information field may be referred to as an “RU allocation field”.).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify the one or more user information fields of Jiang so that each of the one or more user information fields to comprise a resource unit allocation field as taught by Jang, in order for the receiving STA identified by the association identifier filed to transmit UL PPDU in the indicated resource unit (Jang, [0139])
Claims 5-8 and 15-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jiang in view of Jang, and in further view of Ahn et al. (US 20190238272 A1, hereafter Ahn).
Regarding claim 5:
Jiang further discloses:
receiving, by the AP, an uplink multi-user PPDU (Jiang: [Col. 17 lines 44-62] “In an embodiment, one or more of the PPDUs 436 are uplink (UL) MU PPDUs (which are trigger-based PPDUs) that include simultaneous transmissions from different client stations 154.”).
Jiang and Jang do not disclose replying, by the AP, an acknowledgement frame comprising acknowledgement information of the uplink multi-user PPDU based on a frequency segment.
However, Ahn discloses:
receiving, by the AP, an uplink multi-user PPDU; and replying, by the AP, an acknowledgement frame comprising acknowledgement information of the uplink multi-user PPDU (Ahn: [0139] “As described above, the AP may transmit a multiplexed block ACK for a corresponding STA on a channel through which multi-user uplink data is transmitted. Therefore, the length of the multiplexed block ACK varies depending on the number of STAs assigned to the corresponding channel, the reception state of the multi-user uplink data, and the like.”) based on a frequency segment (Ahn: [0139] “As described above, the AP may transmit a multiplexed block ACK for a corresponding STA on a channel through which multi-user uplink data is transmitted.”).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify the method of Jiang and Jang to further comprise the AP to reply to the uplink multi-user PPDU with an acknowledgement frame comprising acknowledgement information as taught by Ahn, in order to prevent data loss and improve user experience.
Regarding claim 15:
Jiang further discloses:
the apparatus is configured to perform wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the at least one processor (Jiang: [Col.5 lines 14-31] “AP 114 that comprises a host processor 118 coupled to a network interface device 122.”; [Col.5 lines 62-67 and Col.6 lines 1-4] “the host processor 118 includes a processor configured to execute machine readable instructions stored in a memory device (not shown) such as a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), a flash memory, etc.”) to: receive an uplink multi-user PPDU (Jiang: [Col. 17 lines 44-62] “In an embodiment, one or more of the PPDUs 436 are uplink (UL) MU PPDUs (which are trigger-based PPDUs) that include simultaneous transmissions from different client stations 154.”).
Jiang and Jang do not disclose replying an acknowledgement frame comprising acknowledgement information of the uplink multi-user PPDU based on a frequency segment.
However, Ahn discloses:
receiving an uplink multi-user PPDU; and replying an acknowledgement frame comprising acknowledgement information of the uplink multi-user PPDU (Ahn: [0139] “As described above, the AP may transmit a multiplexed block ACK for a corresponding STA on a channel through which multi-user uplink data is transmitted. Therefore, the length of the multiplexed block ACK varies depending on the number of STAs assigned to the corresponding channel, the reception state of the multi-user uplink data, and the like.”); based on a frequency segment (Ahn: [0139] “As described above, the AP may transmit a multiplexed block ACK for a corresponding STA on a channel through which multi-user uplink data is transmitted.”).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify the apparatus of Jiang and Jang to reply to the uplink multi-user PPDU with an acknowledgement frame comprising acknowledgement information as taught by Ahn, in order to prevent data loss and improve user experience.
Regarding claim 6 and 16:
Jiang and Jang do not disclose acknowledgement frames replied on different frequency segments are different.
However, Ahn discloses:
acknowledgement frames replied on different frequency segments are different (Ahn [0131] “That is, the AP may perform padding on the block ACKs of the second channel to the fourth channel in reference to the length of the block ACK of the first channel having the largest amount of ACK information.”; [0137] “As described above, when different numbers of STAs are assigned to each channel in the multi-user simultaneous transmission process, the amount of information of the block ACK transmitted in response to the multi-user data may be different for each channel. According to an embodiment of the present invention, padding may be performed on a block ACK of another channel in reference to a length of a block ACK of a channel to which a largest number of STAs are allocated.”; [0142] “Therefore, according to the embodiment of the present invention, the AP may set the lengths of multiplexed block ACKs transmitted through a plurality of channels to be the same.”).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify the method and apparatus of Jiang and Jang to incorporate the teaching of Ahn, in order to improve data transmission efficiency (Ahn: [0090] “Therefore, there is a need for an ACK transmission method for further improving the data transmission efficiency of the terminals.”).
Regarding claim 7 and 17:
Jiang and Jang do not disclose wherein on a target frequency segment, only an acknowledgement frame of an uplink PPDU of a station parking on the target frequency segment is sent.
However, Ahn discloses:
wherein on a target frequency segment, only an acknowledgement frame of an uplink PPDU of a station parking on the target frequency segment is sent (Ahn: [0137] As described above, when different numbers of STAs are assigned to each channel in the multi-user simultaneous transmission process, the amount of information of the block ACK transmitted in response to the multi-user data may be different for each channel. [0139] “As described above, the AP may transmit a multiplexed block ACK for a corresponding STA on a channel through which multi-user uplink data is transmitted.).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify the method and apparatus of Jiang and Jang to further comprise the acknowledgement process as taught by Ahn, in order to improve data transmission efficiency (Ahn: [0090] “Therefore, there is a need for an ACK transmission method for further improving the data transmission efficiency of the terminals.”).
Regarding claim 8 and 18:
Jiang and Jang do not disclose the acknowledgement frames on different frequency segments have different content and a same length.
However, Ahn discloses:
wherein the acknowledgement frames on different frequency segments have different content and a same length (Ahn: [0131] “That is, the AP may perform padding on the block ACKs of the second channel to the fourth channel in reference to the length of the block ACK of the first channel having the largest amount of ACK information.”; [0137] “As described above, when different numbers of STAs are assigned to each channel in the multi-user simultaneous transmission process, the amount of information of the block ACK transmitted in response to the multi-user data may be different for each channel. According to an embodiment of the present invention, padding may be performed on a block ACK of another channel in reference to a length of a block ACK of a channel to which a largest number of STAs are allocated.”; [0142] “Therefore, according to the embodiment of the present invention, the AP may set the lengths of multiplexed block ACKs transmitted through a plurality of channels to be the same.”).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify the method and apparatus of Jiang and Jang to further comprise the acknowledgement process as taught by Ahn, in order to improve data transmission efficiency (Ahn: [0090] “Therefore, there is a need for an ACK transmission method for further improving the data transmission efficiency of the terminals.”).
Claims 9-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim et al. (US 20230130569 A1, hereafter Kim), in view of Jang.
Regarding claim 9, Kim discloses:
A method (Figs. 13-18) for receiving a trigger frame (trigger, trigger frame) in a wireless local area network (Figs.1-2), comprising: receiving, by a station parked on a frequency segment (frequency band remaining after excluding the channel determined as “BUSY” a result of the CCA, in the operating BW), a trigger frame (trigger frame(s)) only on the frequency segment (frequency band remaining after excluding the channel determined as “BUSY” a result of the CCA, in the operating BW) on which a sensed 20 MHz is located (the channel determined as NOT “BUSY”, or “IDLE” a result of the CCA; See also Fig.17) ([0221] As illustrated in part (b) of FIG. 17, the trigger frame may be transmitted only through a frequency band remaining after excluding the channel determined as “BUSY” a result of the CCA, in the operating BW. In this case, a discontinuous format of a PPDU through which the trigger frame is transmitted may be signaled by the EHT PHY indicated before the MAC frame including the trigger frame. In this case, the discontinuous format of the PPDU through which the trigger frame is transmitted may be dependent on and limited to the discontinuous format of the SU PPDU allowed in the EHT. In addition, the trigger frame may be repeatedly shown in each 20 MHz PPDU, and may be transmitted in the discontinuous format wherein the trigger frame is not shown only in a specific channel (a channel determined as “BUSU” as a result of CCA). In this case, the transmission format of the trigger frame may be similar to the U-SIG transmission scheme shown in the punctured PPDU.; See also descriptions on Figs.13-18); determining, based on the trigger frame, whether the station is scheduled ([0190] Referring to FIG. 13, when multiple spatial reuse fields are included in a trigger frame and transmitted, each STA may transmit a response frame as a response to the trigger frame on the basis of the multiple spatial reuse fields. [0191] Specifically, STA1 to STA N having received trigger frames from an AP STA may identify a UL spatial reuse field included in a common information field of the trigger frame, and generate a TB PPDU by encoding values of four spatial reuse fields included in the UL spatial reuse field to respective spatial reuse fields 1 to 4 included in a U-SIG field of a TB PPDU. [0207] Specifically, the non-AP STA may decode the trigger frame to recognize an RU allocated for transmission of the TB PPDU of the non-AP STA through an RU allocation information field of the trigger frame.); and
transmitting an uplink physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) ([0190] Referring to FIG. 13, when multiple spatial reuse fields are included in a trigger frame and transmitted, each STA may transmit a response frame as a response to the trigger frame on the basis of the multiple spatial reuse fields. [0191] Specifically, STA1 to STA N having received trigger frames from an AP STA may identify a UL spatial reuse field included in a common information field of the trigger frame, and generate a TB PPDU by encoding values of four spatial reuse fields included in the UL spatial reuse field to respective spatial reuse fields 1 to 4 included in a U-SIG field of a TB PPDU. [0207] Specifically, the non-AP STA may decode the trigger frame to recognize an RU allocated for transmission of the TB PPDU of the non-AP STA through an RU allocation information field of the trigger frame.),
wherein the trigger frame (trigger, trigger frame) is used to schedule only one or more stations parking on the frequency segment (frequency band remaining after excluding the channel determined as “BUSY” a result of the CCA, in the operating BW) ([0207] Specifically, the non-AP STA may decode the trigger frame to recognize an RU allocated for transmission of the TB PPDU of the non-AP STA through an RU allocation information field of the trigger frame.; [0221] As illustrated in part (b) of FIG. 17, the trigger frame may be transmitted only through a frequency band remaining after excluding the channel determined as “BUSY” a result of the CCA, in the operating BW. In this case, a discontinuous format of a PPDU through which the trigger frame is transmitted may be signaled by the EHT PHY indicated before the MAC frame including the trigger frame. In this case, the discontinuous format of the PPDU through which the trigger frame is transmitted may be dependent on and limited to the discontinuous format of the SU PPDU allowed in the EHT. In addition, the trigger frame may be repeatedly shown in each 20 MHz PPDU, and may be transmitted in the discontinuous format wherein the trigger frame is not shown only in a specific channel (a channel determined as “BUSU” as a result of CCA). In this case, the transmission format of the trigger frame may be similar to the U-SIG transmission scheme shown in the punctured PPDU.; See also descriptions on Figs.13-18).
Kim does not explicitly disclose the trigger frame comprises one or more user information fields, and each of the one or more user information fields comprises one or more parameters for the station to transmit the uplink PPDU.
However, Jang discloses:
a trigger frame comprises one or more user information fields (Fig.9; [0014] The trigger frame includes a common information field and first to third user information fields. The common information field may be transmitted through the first to third primary channels. The first user information field may be transmitted through the first primary channel. The second user information field may be transmitted through the second primary channel. The third user information field may be transmitted through the third primary channel.; [0123] FIG. 9 illustrates an example of a trigger frame. The trigger frame of FIG. 9 allocates resources for Uplink Multiple-User (MU) transmission and may be transmitted from the AP. The trigger frame may be configured as a MAC frame and may be included in the PPDU. [0127] Also, it is preferable to include a per user information field (960 #1 to 960 #N) corresponding to the number of receiving STAs that receive the trigger frame of FIG. 9. The per user information field may be referred to as an “RU allocation field”.; See also [0241]), and each of the one or more user information fields comprises one or more parameters ([0018] That is, the user information field transmitted in each band or channel includes only user information of an STA associated with a specific band or channel (herein, the first band, the second band, or the third band). [0023] The first to third user fields may include a radio unit (RU) allocation subfield. [0024] The RU allocation subfield may consist of 9 bits. Information on a channel in which an RU allocated to the first to third STAs is located may consist of 2 bits out of the 9 bits. Information on a size of the RU allocated to the first to third STAs may consist of 7 bits out of the 9 bits.; See also [0243-0246, 0251-0256] ) for a station to transmit an uplink PPDU ([0139] Also, an RU Allocation field (1120) may be included. In other words, when a receiving STA identified by the User Identifier field (1110) transmits a UL PPDU in response to the trigger frame of FIG. 9, the corresponding UL PPDU is transmitted through an RU indicated by the RU Allocation field (1120). In this case, it is preferable that the RU indicated by the RU Allocation field (1120) indicates the RUs shown in FIGS. 4, 5, and 6. A specific structure of the RU Allocation field (1120) will be described later.);
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify the method of Kim so that the trigger frame to comprise one or more user information fields and each of the one or more user information fields comprises one or more parameters for the station to transmit the uplink PPDU as taught by Jang, in order to indicate resource unit through which UL PPDU is transmitted (Jang, [0139])
Regarding claim 10, Kim discloses:
sending an uplink common physical layer preamble (preamble of TB PPDU; See Figs.7, 8, 17) [0094] As described in parts (a) to (c) of FIG. 7, a PPDU is divided into a preamble and a data part, and the preamble may commonly include a legacy short training field (L-STF), a legacy long training field (L-LTF), a legacy signal field (L-SIG), and a repeated legacy signal field (RL-SIG) which correspond to legacy fields for backward compatibility.[0190] Referring to FIG. 13, when multiple spatial reuse fields are included in a trigger frame and transmitted, each STA may transmit a response frame as a response to the trigger frame on the basis of the multiple spatial reuse fields. [0191] Specifically, STA1 to STA N having received trigger frames from an AP STA may identify a UL spatial reuse field included in a common information field of the trigger frame, and generate a TB PPDU by encoding values of four spatial reuse fields included in the UL spatial reuse field to respective spatial reuse fields 1 to 4 included in a U-SIG field of a TB PPDU. [0221] As illustrated in part (b) of FIG. 17, the trigger frame may be transmitted only through a frequency band remaining after excluding the channel determined as “BUSY” a result of the CCA, in the operating BW. In this case, a discontinuous format of a PPDU through which the trigger frame is transmitted may be signaled by the EHT PHY indicated before the MAC frame including the trigger frame. In this case, the discontinuous format of the PPDU through which the trigger frame is transmitted may be dependent on and limited to the discontinuous format of the SU PPDU allowed in the EHT. In addition, the trigger frame may be repeatedly shown in each 20 MHz PPDU, and may be transmitted in the discontinuous format wherein the trigger frame is not shown only in a specific channel (a channel determined as “BUSU” as a result of CCA). In this case, the transmission format of the trigger frame may be similar to the U-SIG transmission scheme shown in the punctured PPDU.; See also descriptions on Figs.13-18) only on each 20 MHz channel on a frequency segment on which a common physical layer preamble of the uplink PPDU of a station is located and that is indicated in the trigger frame, or only on each 20 MHz channel (the channel determined as NOT “BUSY”, or “IDLE” a result of the CCA; each 20 MHz in which the trigger frame may be repeatedly shown; See also Fig.17) in one or more 80 MHz channels in which an allocated resource unit is located ([0190] Referring to FIG. 13, when multiple spatial reuse fields are included in a trigger frame and transmitted, each STA may transmit a response frame as a response to the trigger frame on the basis of the multiple spatial reuse fields. [0191] Specifically, STA1 to STA N having received trigger frames from an AP STA may identify a UL spatial reuse field included in a common information field of the trigger frame, and generate a TB PPDU by encoding values of four spatial reuse fields included in the UL spatial reuse field to respective spatial reuse fields 1 to 4 included in a U-SIG field of a TB PPDU. [0207] Specifically, the non-AP STA may decode the trigger frame to recognize an RU allocated for transmission of the TB PPDU of the non-AP STA through an RU allocation information field of the trigger frame.); and sending a data part of the uplink PPDU (data part of TB PPDU; See Figs.7, 8, 17) on a resource unit allocated to the station ([0094] As described in parts (a) to (c) of FIG. 7, a PPDU is divided into a preamble and a data part, and the preamble may commonly include a legacy short training field (L-STF), a legacy long training field (L-LTF), a legacy signal field (L-SIG), and a repeated legacy signal field (RL-SIG) which correspond to legacy fields for backward compatibility. [0190] Referring to FIG. 13, when multiple spatial reuse fields are included in a trigger frame and transmitted, each STA may transmit a response frame as a response to the trigger frame on the basis of the multiple spatial reuse fields. [0191] Specifically, STA1 to STA N having received trigger frames from an AP STA may identify a UL spatial reuse field included in a common information field of the trigger frame, and generate a TB PPDU by encoding values of four spatial reuse fields included in the UL spatial reuse field to respective spatial reuse fields 1 to 4 included in a U-SIG field of a TB PPDU. [0207] Specifically, the non-AP STA may decode the trigger frame to recognize an RU allocated for transmission of the TB PPDU of the non-AP STA through an RU allocation information field of the trigger frame.).
Regarding claim 11, Kim discloses:
after sending the uplink PPDU (TB PPDU; See Fig.17), receiving acknowledgement information (BlockAck; See Fig.17) of the uplink PPDU only on the frequency segment (frequency band remaining after excluding the channel determined as “BUSY” a result of the CCA, in the operating BW) on which the 20 MHz (the channel determined as NOT “BUSY”, or “IDLE” a result of the CCA; See also Fig.17) sensed by the station is located (Fig.17) .
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 Moo Ryong Jeong whose telephone number is (571)272-9617. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8AM-5PM EST.
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/Moo Jeong/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2418
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