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 Arguments
Applicant’s arguments filed on 7/7/2026, with respect to office action of 4/7/2026 have been fully considered and are persuasive. The rejection of claims 1-20 has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of ZHANG; Hongyuan et al. US PGPUB 20160156750 A1
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-6, 8-16 and 18-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US PGPUB 20160156750 A1.
Regarding claim 1. Zhang teaches A device, the device comprising processing circuitry coupled to storage, the processing circuitry configured to:
generate a first orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) signal to be transmitted in a frequency band; ([0136] FIG. 6A is a set of diagrams illustrating modulation of the L-SIG, HT-SIG1, and HT-SIG2 fields of the data unit 300 of FIG. 3, as defined by the IEEE 802.11n Standard. The L-SIG field is modulated according to binary phase shift keying (BPSK), whereas the HT-SIG1 and HT-SIG2 fields are modulated according to BPSK, but on the quadrature axis (Q-BPSK). In other words, the modulation of the HT-SIG1 and HT-SIG2 fields is rotated by 90 degrees as compared to the modulation of the L-SIG field.)
generate a second OFDM signal to be transmitted in the frequency band, wherein the second OFDM signal is a duplicate of the first signal; ([0254] The preamble 2900 includes a secondary L-SIG field 2928. In an embodiment, the L-SIG field 2928 is a duplicate of the L-SIG field 206/306/506.)
assign a reduced number of guard intervals (GIs) to the first OFDM signal and the second OFDM signal; ([0283] The preamble 3200 includes a preamble portion 3210 having a first long guard interval 3202, a long training field 3204 having a first portion 3204-1 and a second portion 3204-2, a second long guard interval 3206, a first L-SIG field 3206-1, a second L-SIG field 3206-2, a third long guard interval 3202, compare Fig. 31 2920s for two GIs and 2924s for two L-SIGs with Fig. 32 with one LGI-3202-2 for LSIG 3206-2 and 3206-3 ) and
cause to send the first OFDM signal and the second OFDM signal using the frequency band. ([0301] The data unit including the preamble 3500 conforms to the first communication protocol and occupies a 20 MHz bandwidth. Data units that conform to the first communication protocol and having preambles similar to the preamble 3500 may occupy other suitable bandwidth such as 40 MHz, 80 MHz, 160 MHz, 320 MHz, 640 MHz, for example, or other suitable bandwidths, in other embodiments. The preamble 3500 in the same as the preamble 3400 of FIG. 34, except that in the preamble 3500 the second long guard interval 3302-2 is replaced with a regular guard interval 3502. In this case, the L-SIG field 3206 is aligned with its corresponding OFDM symbol (the L-SIG field 3226) in the legacy format 3220, in an embodiment.)
Regarding claim 2. Zhang teaches The device of claim 1, wherein the first OFDM signal comprises a first number of GIs and the second OFDM signal comprises a second number of GIs. ([0283] The preamble 3200 includes a preamble portion 3210 having a first long guard interval 3202, a long training field 3204 having a first portion 3204-1 and a second portion 3204-2, a second long guard interval 3206, a first L-SIG field 3206-1, a second L-SIG field 3206-2, a third long guard interval 3202,
compare Fig. 31 2920s for two GIs and 2924s for two L-SIGs with Fig. 32 one LGI-3202-2 for LSIG 3206-1 and 3206-2)
Regarding claim 3. Zhang teaches The device of claim 2, wherein the reduced number of GIs is a subset of the first number of GIs and the second number of GIs. ([0283] The preamble 3200 includes a preamble portion 3210 having a first long guard interval 3202, a long training field 3204 having a first portion 3204-1 and a second portion 3204-2, a second long guard interval 3206, a first L-SIG field 3206-1, a second L-SIG field 3206-2, a third long guard interval 3202,
compare Fig. 31 2920s for two GIs and 2924s for two L-SIGs with Fig. 32 one LGI-3202-2 for LSIG 3206-1 and 3206-2)
Regarding claim 4. Zhang teaches The device of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to determine a signal power of the first OFDM signal and the second OFDM signal. ([0151] In some embodiments, an increased length of the L-STF 702, L-LTF 704, and/or L-SIG 706 is used in combination with the transmission power boost. In other embodiments, the increased length of the L-STF 702, L-LTF 704, and/or L-SIG 706 is used instead of the transmission power boost.)
Regarding claim 5. Zhang teaches The device of claim 4, wherein the signal power is concentrated on a subset of subcarriers of the first OFDM signal and the second OFDM signal. ([0151] In some embodiments, an increased length of the L-STF 702, L-LTF 704, and/or L-SIG 706 is used in combination with the transmission power boost. In other embodiments, the increased length of the L-STF 702, L-LTF 704, and/or L-SIG 706 is used instead of the transmission power boost.)
Regarding claim 6. Zhang teaches The device of claim 5, wherein the signal to noise power ratio is boosted around the subset of subcarriers. ([0194] In the embodiment of FIG. 18A, the PHY processing unit 1800 also includes a peak to average power ratio (PAPR) reduction unit 1809. In an embodiment, the PAPR reduction unit 1809 flips the bits in some or all repeated blocks to reduce or eliminate the occurrence of the same bit sequences at different frequency locations in an OFDM symbol thereby reducing the peak to average power ratio of the output signal.)
Regarding claim 8. Zhang teaches The device of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured not to insert pilot signals into the first OFDM signal or the second OFDM signal. ([0283] The preamble 3200 includes a preamble portion 3210 having a first long guard interval 3202, a long training field 3204 having a first portion 3204-1 and a second portion 3204-2, a second long guard interval 3206, a first L-SIG field 3206-1, a second L-SIG field 3206-2, a third long guard interval 3202,
compare Fig. 31 2920s for two GIs and 2924s for two L-SIGs with Fig. 32 one LGI-3202-2 for LSIG 3206-1 and 3206-2)
Regarding claim 9. Zhang teaches The device of claim 1, further comprising a transceiver configured to transmit and receive wireless signals. (Fig. 1, TX/RX 21-1 to 21-3)
Regarding claim 10. Zhang teaches The device of claim 9, further comprising an antenna coupled to the transceiver. (Fig. 1, Antenna for client 34-1 to 34-3)
Regarding claim 11-16, 18. Zhang teaches A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions which when executed by one or more processors result in performing operations ([0421] When implemented utilizing a processor executing software or firmware instructions, the software or firmware instructions may be stored in any non-transitory, tangible computer readable medium or media such as a magnetic disk) comprising the steps recited in claim 1-6 and 8. They are rejected for the same reasons.
Regarding claim 19-20. Zhang teaches A method comprising steps recited in claim 1 and 2. They are rejected for the same reasons.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 7 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang as applied to claim 1 and 11 above, and further in view of Liu; Jianhan et al. US 20230370189 A1, supported by provisional application 63/341,434, filed on 5/13/2022.
Regarding claim 7. Zhang teaches The device of claim 1, but it does not teach wherein the first OFDM signal is repeated in a time domain and wherein a GI of the first signal is removed.
However, Liu teaches
the first OFDM signal is repeated in a time domain ([0034] … Under the proposed scheme, to achieve the enhanced long range in transmission, ELR data portion may be duplicated in either or both of the frequency domain and the time domain.) and wherein a GI of the first signal is removed. ([0034] It is noteworthy that the guard interval (GI) between two adjacent duplicated OFDMA symbols may be removed to enhance spectrum efficiency.
See ‘434, page 9, ELR data SU and OFDMA)
in order to increase spectrum efficiency (Id.)
Zhang and Liu are analogous art in the same field of endeavor of packet communication. It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person with ordinary skill in the art to modify the method in Zhang with the technique of GI removal in Liu in order to increase spectrum efficiency.
Regarding claim 17. Zhang teaches A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions which when executed by one or more processors result in performing operations ([0007] In another embodiment, a nontransitory computer-readable medium stores instructions for operating according to a communication protocol.) comprising the steps recited in claim 7. They are rejected for the same reasons.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ZHAOHUI YANG whose telephone number is (571)270-7527. The examiner can normally be reached 9 AM to 5 PM M-F.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Marcus Smith can be reached at 571 270-1096. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/ZHAOHUI YANG/Examiner, Art Unit 2468
/MARCUS SMITH/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2468
Prosecution Insights