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 .
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 03/13/2026 has been entered.
Priority
Should applicant desire to obtain the benefit of foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(a) -(d) prior to declaration of an interference, a certified English translation of the foreign application must be submitted in reply to this action, 37 CFR 41.154(b) and 41.202(e).
Failure to provide a certified translation may result in no benefit being accorded for the non-English application. In particular, the Examiner is unable to locate a suitable English translation of JP2020-150739. An English translation of JP2020-150739 is required to obtain the priority date associated with said application number.
Thus, the current benefit accords to the PCT application with filing date 07/30/2021 because the PCT application, PCT/JP2021/028363, provides adequate support or enablement for the subject matter of the claims.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 03/13/2026 with respect to claim(s) 1 and 25-26 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant’s argument: On pgs. 11-12, Applicant argues that the combination of Adachi et al. (US 2019/0037570 A1) in view of Mikami et al. (US 2007/0243892 A1) does not teach the amended claim. Particularly, Applicant argues on pg. 12 that Mikami does not teach “an Association Request frame is received from another communication apparatus on a non-primary link of a plurality of links, and then signal is transmitted to connect via the primary link. If the Association Request frame is received on the primary link, the signal is not transmitted.” Examiner’s response: Examiner respectfully disagrees. It appears Applicant is arguing that Mikami does not teach “primary link” and “non-primary link.” However, the claim features “primary link” and “non-primary link” are not defined in the claims. Under broadest reasonable interpretation (BRI), they a (non-)primary link may indicate (1) importance, centrality, or foundational nature, or (2) main or principal elements, or (3) fundamental or earliest-formed components. Mikami discloses in Fig. 2, [0007]: after the start up, both the base station and the terminal 2 operate with Channel.sub.--0. Mikami explains that this channel “designated by a user at the start up of the wireless LAN system is shared, and this channel is used to establish communications unless the user switches the channel.” Therefore, Mikami’s Channel.sub.--0 is a foundational channel, a main channel, or a fundamental channel because it is the first channel that is shared by both base station and terminal after a start-up, and only switched when needed. Thus, Examiner submits that Adachi in view of Mikami teaches the amendment.
Claim Objections
Claim(s) 1 is/are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim(s) 1 recite “a non-primary ink” but it should be “a non-primary link.”
Claim(s) 1 recite “primarily link” but it should be “primary link.” Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claim(s) 1, 10-12, 18, and 24-26 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Adachi et al. (US 2019/0037570 A1) in view of Mikami et al. (US 2007/0243892 A1).
Regarding claims 1, 25, and 26, Adachi discloses A communication apparatus for executing wireless communication complying with an IEEE802. 11 standard series, comprising: at least one memory that stores a set of instructions: and at least one processor that executes the instructions, the instructions, when executed, causing the communication apparatus to perform operations comprising and A control method executed by a communication apparatus for executing wireless communication complying with an IEEE802. 11 standard series, comprising and A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that stores a program for causing a computer included in a communication apparatus for executing wireless communication complying with an IEEE802. 11 standard series, comprising ([0067]: the wireless communication base station 101 and the wireless communication terminal 201 are pursuant to IEEE 802.11g in the channel ch.1 [and] the wireless communication base station 101 and the wireless communication terminal 202 are pursuant to IEEE 802.11a in the channel ch.2. Fig. 2, [0052]: a communication function unit incorporated in the wireless communication base station and wireless communication terminal. [0053]: The baseband processing unit 12 includes a MAC (Media Access Control) unit 2 [which] includes a memory [and] wireless communication terminal information or wireless communication base station information is also stored in the memory):
establishing, with another communication apparatus, a plurality of links including a first link and a second link, wherein a primary link for the first link is different from a non-primary link for the second link, ([0068]: After the series of frame exchanges for connection set up, the wireless communication terminal 202 starts exchanging data frames with the wireless communication base station 101. [0069]: the wireless communication base station 101 can independently perform transmission and reception on the channels ch.1 and ch.2. On the other hand, the wireless communication terminal 201 can conduct the communication pursuant to IEEE 802.11g on the channel ch.1 and can conduct the communication pursuant to IEEE 802.11a on the channel ch.2);
performing multi-link communication using the plurality of links ([0068]: the wireless communication terminal 202 starts exchanging data frames with the wireless communication base station 101. [0069]: the wireless communication base station 101 can independently perform transmission and reception on the channels ch.1 and ch.2);
receiving an Association Request frame from the other communication apparatus ([0067]: the wireless communication terminal 202 sends an Association Request frame frame to the wireless communication base station 101 in order to notify the wireless communication base station 101 of its capability);
transmitting an Association Response frame as a response to the Association Request frame ([0067]: the wireless communication base station 101 sends an Association Response frame frame to the wireless communication terminal 202); and
Adachi does not disclose, but Mikami discloses wherein the first link is a primary link and the second link is a non-primary link and controlling, in order for the other communication apparatus to be connected using the primary link, to transmit a signal using the non-primary link different from the primary link, wherein it is controlled to transmit the signal after transmission of the Association Response frame based on receiving the Association Request frame on a channel different from the primary link, and not to transmit the signal based on receiving the Association Request frame on the primary link (Fig. 2, [0007]: after the start up, both the base station and the terminal 2 operate with Channel.sub.--0. In this start-up period, the terminal 2 sends a communication of Association Request frame 301 to the base station. In response to the Association Request frame 301, the base station returns a signal of Association Response frame 302 to the terminal 2 … the base station finds a channel of a better association condition, Channel.sub.--2 (2ch), and switches the channel from Channel.sub.--0 to Channel.sub.--2. In this case, the base station sends to the terminal 2 a channel switch announcement signal 310 which notifies the terminal 2 about the switch of the channel to a new channel, Channel.sub.--2. Note: the Association Request frame, the Association Response frame, and the channel switch announcement are sent on channel 0 (=non-primary link different from the primary link) for switching to channel 2 (=primary link), where the channel switch announcement is sent after the Association Response frame).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to program the wireless communication base station 101, as taught by Adachi, to receive the Association Request frame and to send the Association Response frame and the channel switch announcement on channel 0, where the channel switch announcement is indicating a switch to channel 2, as taught by Mikami.
Doing so allows the base station to search for a channel of a better condition when the association condition is deteriorated and switch to the better channel with the terminal (Mikami: [0007]).
Regarding claim(s) 10, Adachi in view of Mikami discloses all features of claim(s) 1 as outlined above.
Adachi discloses transmitting the Association Response frame frame including information indicating connection success ([0098]: the wireless communication base station 101 notifies the wireless communication terminal 201 of the connection permission by a status code subfield of the Association Response frame frame).
Adachi does not disclose, but Mikami discloses wherein the controlling is controlled based on receiving the Association Request frame on the non-primary link to transmit, to the other communication apparatus, the signal including information indicating that a switch to the primary link should be performed, after transmitting the Association Response frame frame (Fig. 2, [0007]: after the start up, both the base station and the terminal 2 operate with Channel.sub.--0. In this start-up period, the terminal 2 sends a communication of Association Request frame 301 to the base station. In response to the Association Request frame 301, the base station returns a signal of Association Response frame 302 to the terminal 2 … the base station finds a channel of a better association condition, Channel.sub.--2 (2ch), and switches the channel from Channel.sub.--0 to Channel.sub.--2. In this case, the base station sends to the terminal 2 a channel switch announcement signal 310 which notifies the terminal 2 about the switch of the channel to a new channel, Channel.sub.--2. Note: the Association Request frame, the Association Response frame, and the channel switch announcement are sent on channel 0 (=channel different from the primary link) for switching to channel 2 (=primary link), where the channel switch announcement is sent after the Association Response frame).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to program the wireless communication base station 101 when transmitting the Association Response frame frame with a status code subfield for connection permission, as taught by Adachi, to send the channel switch announcement signal after the Association Response frame, wherein the channel switch announcement signal and the Association Request frame are received on channel 0, and the channel switch announcement signal is indicating a switch to channel 2, as taught by Mikami.
Doing so allows the base station to search for a channel of a better condition when the association condition is deteriorated and switch to the better channel with the terminal (Mikami: [0007]).
Regarding claim(s) 11, Adachi in view of Mikami discloses all features of claim(s) 10 as outlined above.
Adachi discloses wherein based on the other communication apparatus being operable in the primary link, control to transmit the Association Response frame including the information indicating the connection success is executed ([0098]: the wireless communication base station 101 notifies the wireless communication terminal 201 of the connection permission by a status code subfield of the Association Response frame [and] extracts the pieces of information about the frequency channel and communication system which the wireless communication terminal 201 supported from the Association Request frame. Fig. 26, [0154]: supported channels field indicate support for frequency channels ch.1 and/or ch.2), and based on the other communication apparatus not being operable in the primary link, control to transmit the Association Response frame including information indicating a connection failure is executed ([0098]: the wireless communication base station 101 notifies the wireless communication terminal 201 of the connection permission by a status code subfield of the Association Response frame (status code subfield is also used in the case of the notification of the connection rejection) [and] extracts the pieces of information about the frequency channel and communication system which the wireless communication terminal 201 supported from the Association Request frame. Fig. 26, [0154]: supported channels field indicate support for frequency channels ch.1 and/or ch.2).
Regarding claim(s) 12, Adachi in view of Mikami discloses all features of claim(s) 11 as outlined above.
Adachi discloses wherein it is determined, based on the information included in the Association Request frame, whether the other communication apparatus is operable in the primary link ([0098]: extracts the pieces of information about the frequency channel and communication system which the wireless communication terminal 201 supported from the Association Request frame. Fig. 26, [0154]: supported channels field indicate support for frequency channels ch.1 and/or ch.2).
Regarding claim(s) 18, Adachi in view of Mikami discloses all features of claim(s) 1 as outlined above.
Adachi discloses wherein the communication apparatus decides the primary link from a plurality of channels usable by the communication apparatus ([0080]: wireless communication base station broadcasts information, such as channel identifier ch.2 and communication system using channel ch.2).
Regarding claim(s) 24, Adachi in view of Mikami discloses all features of claim(s) 1 as outlined above.
Adachi discloses wherein the primary link is a channel in a first frequency band, and the non-primary link is a channel in a second frequency band (Fig. 9, [0092]: wireless communication base station 101 uses IEEE 802.11g on channel ch.1 and 802.11a on channel ch.2. [0057], [0064]: IEEE 802.11g is a 2.4 GHz bandwidth and IEEE 802.11n is a 5 GHz bandwidth, or ch.1 means 5 GHz bandwidth and ch.2 means 60 GHz bandwidth).
Claim(s) 13-14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Adachi et al. (US 2019/0037570 A1) in view of Mikami et al. (US 2007/0243892 A1) and Soundararajan et al. (US 2018/0035292 A1).
Regarding claim(s) 13, Adachi in view of Mikami discloses all features of claim(s) 10 as outlined above.
Adachi discloses wherein based on receiving the Association Request frame on the non-primary link ([0094]: The wireless communication base station 101 receives the Association Request frame from the wireless communication terminal 201 on the channel ch.1 using IEEE 802.11g … Currently the frequency channel ch.1 is used to conduct communication with wireless communication terminal 201),
([0098]: the wireless communication base station 101 notifies the wireless communication terminal 201 of the connection permission by a status code subfield of the Association Response frame [and] extracts the pieces of information about the frequency channel and communication system which the wireless communication terminal 201 supported from the Association Request frame frame), ([0098]: the wireless communication base station 101 notifies the wireless communication terminal 201 of the connection permission by a status code subfield of the Association Response frame (status code subfield is also used in the case of the notification of the connection rejection) [and] extracts the pieces of information about the frequency channel and communication system which the wireless communication terminal 201 supported from the Association Request frame frame).
Adachi does not disclose, but Soundararajan based further on the other communication apparatus supporting a channel switch, control to transmit the Association Response frame ([0028]: in response to receiving the Association Request frame, the AP transmits an Association Response frame. [0031]: the Association Request frame includes a channel switch announcement element), and based further on the other communication apparatus not supporting a channel switch, control to transmit the Association Response frame ([0028]: in response to receiving the Association Request frame, the AP transmits an Association Response frame. [0031]: the Association Request frame may not include a channel switch announcement element).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to program the wireless communication base station 101, as taught by Adachi, to transmit the Association Response frame based on receiving the Association Request frame that may or may not include a channel switch announcement element, as taught by Soundararajan.
Doing so allows the AP to send the Association Response frame based on the Association Request frame that includes the client capability information and allows the client device to transition from association phase to association validation phase (Soundararajan: [0027]-[0028]).
Regarding claim(s) 14, Adachi in view of Mikami and Soundararajan discloses all features of claim(s) 13 as outlined above.
Adachi does not disclose, but Soundararajan discloses wherein it is determined, based on the information included in the Association Request frame, whether the other communication apparatus supports a channel switch ([0027], [0031]: AP extracts client capabilities of the client device from the Association Request frame which may or may not include the channel switch announcement element).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to program the wireless communication base station 101, as taught by Adachi, to transmit the Association Response frame based on receiving the Association Request frame that may or may not include a channel switch announcement element, as taught by Soundararajan.
Doing so allows AP to send the Association Response frame based on the Association Request frame that includes the client capability information and allows the client device to transition from association phase to association validation phase (Soundararajan: [0027]-[0028]).
Claim(s) 15-16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Adachi et al. (US 2019/0037570 A1) in view of Mikami et al. (US 2007/0243892 A1) and You et al. (US 2014/0321415 A1).
Regarding claim(s) 15, Adachi in view of Mikami discloses all features of claim(s) 10 as outlined above.
Adachi does not disclose, but You discloses wherein the signal including the information indicating that a switch to the primary link should be performed is a Probe Response frame ([0047]: AP notifies the STAs of the channel switch by transmitting a channel switch announcement element in a probe response frame).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to program the wireless communication base station 101, as taught by Adachi, to transmit the probe response frame indicating a channel switch announcement element, as taught by You.
Doing so allows the AP to notify the STAs of the change in operating channel (You: [0047]).
Regarding claim(s) 16, Adachi in view of Mikami and You discloses all features of claim(s) 15 as outlined above.
Adachi does not disclose, but You discloses wherein the information indicating that a switch to the primary link should be performed is one of a Channel Switch Announcement element and an Extended Channel Switch Announcement element ([0047]: AP notifies the STAs of the channel switch by transmitting a channel switch announcement element in a probe response frame).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to program the wireless communication base station 101, as taught by Adachi, to transmit the probe response frame indicating a channel switch announcement element, as taught by You.
Doing so allows the AP to notify the STAs of the change in operating channel (You: [0047]).
Claim(s) 23 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Adachi et al. (US 2019/0037570 A1) in view of Mikami et al. (US 2007/0243892 A1) and Luo et al. (US 2020/0053745 A1).
Regarding claim(s) 23, Adachi in view of Mikami discloses all features of claim(s) 1 as outlined above.
Adachi does not disclose, but Luo discloses wherein the communication apparatus is a communication apparatus that can perform communication using both the primary link and the non-primary link but, while performing transmission using one of the primary link and the non-primary link, cannot perform reception using the other of the primary link and the non-primary link ([0072]: in a multi-link network, half-duplex constraints may be enforced for the nodes in the network where transmission via a link and reception on another link may violate the half-duplex constraint).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to program the wireless communication base station, as taught by Adachi, to be constrained by a half-duplex policy, as taught by Luo.
Doing so provides a multi-link network enabled for communication between wireless nodes of the network (Luo: [0072]).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to THE HY NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)270-3813. The examiner can normally be reached on Mo-Fr: 8am-4pm.
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, Joseph Avellino, can be reached on (571) 272-3905. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/THE HY NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2478
TheHy.Nguyen@USPTO.gov
Prosecution Insights