DETAILED ACTION
1. Claims 12 and 13 have been examined and are pending.
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
2. 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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 1/22/2026 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
3. In response to the amendments received in the Office on 1/22/2026, the Office acknowledges the current status of the claims: claims 12 and 13 have been amended, and no new matter appears to be included.
Response to Arguments
4. Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 12 and 13 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference citation applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
9. Claims 12 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over United States Patent Application Publication 2016/0249397 A1 to Seok (hereinafter “Seok”) in view of United States Patent Application Publication 2020/0037395 A1 to Ko et al. (hereinafter “Ko”).
Regarding Claim 12, Seok discloses a first terminal apparatus (Seok: Figure 1) comprising:
a receiver (Seok: Figure 1, 22) configured to receive a reception frame (Seok: Figure 21, S2110); and
a transmitter (Seok: Figure 1, 21) configured to transmit a transmission frame (Seok: Figure 21, S2120),
wherein the first terminal apparatus is configured to:
perform a communication with a base station apparatus (Seok: Figure 21, S2101 and S2110),
perform a direct communication with a second terminal apparatus (Seok: Figure 21. S2170 and S2180),
transmit, from the transmitter, to the base station apparatus, the transmission frame which comprises configuration information of the direct communication between the first terminal apparatus and the second terminal apparatus (Seok: [0296-0299], Figure 21, steps S2110 through S2140 describing identities of the first and second STA shared with the AP.), and
receive, at the receiver, from the base station apparatus, the reception frame which comprises an identifier associated with the direct communication between the first terminal apparatus and the second terminal apparatus (Seok: Figure 21 with [0296-0299] – corresponds to steps S2140 through S2180 in which the first STA receives the direct link setup response including a third color parameter (indication/identification) from the AP describing the exchange of colors (IDs) of the first and second STAs for direct communication.).
Although Seok explicitly discloses receiving an identifier associated with direct communication between first and second terminal apparatuses, Seok does not expressly disclose the identifier is generated by the base station apparatus and used for the direct communication with the second apparatus.
However, this feature cannot be considered new or novel in the presence of Ko. Ko is similarly concerned with direct link communications within a basic service set (BSS) (Ko: [0009-0010]). Ko discloses an identifier is generated by the base station apparatus and used for the direct communication with the second apparatus (The limitation is interpreted to correspond to a generated identifier, by a base station, for the communication between the first and second terminal apparatuses, or the base station and any one of a first or second terminal device, as disclosed by Ko in at least [0085], [0130] – a base wireless communication terminal (or base station/access point) sets (or generates) the BSS color for the BSSID in which another wireless terminal may communicate directly with the base station/access point/base wireless communication terminal.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention (AIA ) to modify the apparatus of Seok in view of the apparatus of Ko to include an identifier generated by a base station apparatus and used for the direct communication with a second apparatus for the reasons of easily and efficiently identifying a channel for use between terminals (Ko: [0006-0007]).
Claim 13, directed to a method embodiment of claim 12, recites similar features as claim 12 and is therefore rejected upon the same grounds as claim 12. Please see above rejection of claim 12.
Conclusion
10. Applicant is encouraged to submit a written authorization for Internet communications (PTO/SB/439, http://www.uspto.gov/sites/default/files/documents/sb0439.pdf) in the instant patent application to authorize the examiner to communicate with the applicant via email. The authorization will allow the examiner to better practice compact prosecution. The written authorization can be submitted via one of the following methods only: (1) Central Fax which can be found in the Conclusion section of this Office action; (2) regular postal mail; (3) EFS WEB; or (4) the service window on the Alexandria campus. EFS web is the recommended way to submit the form since this allows the form to be entered into the file wrapper within the same day (system dependent). Written authorization submitted via other methods, such as direct fax to the examiner or email, will not be accepted. See MPEP § 502.03.
11. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BENJAMIN H ELLIOTT IV whose telephone number is (571)270-7163. The examiner can normally be reached M, T, R, F 5:00 AM-5:00 PM, W 5:00 AM-3:00 PM (EDT).
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, Michael Thier can be reached at (571) 272-2832. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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BENJAMIN H. ELLIOTT IV
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2474
/BENJAMIN H ELLIOTT IV/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2474 March 2, 2026