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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 05/16/2023 and 01/30/2024 have been considered and placed on record.
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.
Claims 1-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over RAN ( US 2022/0141055 A1) in view of SUN et al. (US 2020/0076651 A1, hereinafter, “Sun”, provided in the 01/30/2024 IDS).
The applied reference (RAN, US 2022/0141055 A1) has a common assignee with the instant application. Based upon the earlier effectively filed date of the reference, it constitutes prior art under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2).
Consider claim 14, Ran teaches a method (see abstract, figure 1, figure 3b) comprising: Physical Medium Dependent (PMD) circuitry (see at least at least figure 1(64) and paras. 36-38) performing link training with a partner transmitter and selectively request the partner transmitter to apply a modulation scheme with precoding during the link training based on equalizer coefficient values (see at least figures 3b-3c and paras. 75-76, Ran teaches a modulation and precoding field requesting a link partner to transmit training patterns that use PAM-4 based on equalizer coefficients (presets), thus precoding and modulation field having modulation scheme (PAM-4)) , wherein the modulation scheme comprises Pulse Amplitude Modulation 4-level (PAM-4) or Pulse Amplitude Modulation 6-level (PAM-6) (see at least figures 3b-3c and paras. 75-76).
Ran teaches equalizer coefficient values (see above), however, did not particularly teach equalizer coefficient values having magnitudes. Sun teaches said limitation (see at least paras. 62 and 65, Sun teaches equalizer coefficient values having magnitudes).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the application to modify the invention of Ran and teach equalizer coefficient values having magnitudes, as taught by Sun, thereby, having efficient wireless communication.
Consider claim 1, Ran teaches an apparatus (see abstract, figure 1, figure 3b) comprising: Ethernet physical layer transceiver (PHY) circuitry for use in frame communication with a remote link partner (see figure 1, paras. 34-36, 39 and 52), the Ethernet PHY circuitry comprising: Physical Medium Dependent (PMD) circuitry (see at least paras. 36-38 and figure 1 (64)); and transmitter circuitry and receiver circuitry for use in the frame communication (see at least figure 2a (120, 210), wherein: the PMD circuitry is to perform link training with a partner transmitter and selectively request the partner transmitter to apply a modulation scheme with precoding during the link training based on equalizer coefficient values (see at least figures 3b-3c and paras. 75-76, Ran teaches a modulation and precoding field requesting a link partner to transmit training patterns that use PAM-4 based on equalizer coefficients (presets), thus precoding and modulation field having modulation scheme (PAM-4), the modulation scheme comprises Pulse Amplitude Modulation 4-level (PAM-4) or Pulse Amplitude Modulation 6-level (PAM-6) (least figures 3b-3c and paras. 75-76), and the request the partner transmitter to apply the modulation scheme with precoding during the link training comprises transmission of a control signal to the partner transmitter (see at least para. 76, Ran teaches sending a modulation and precoding request field (control signal) to the link partner).
Ran teaches equalizer coefficient values (see above), however, did not particularly teach equalizer coefficient values having magnitudes. Sun teaches said limitation (see at least paras. 62 and 65, Sun teaches equalizer coefficient values having magnitudes).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the application to modify the invention of Ran and teach equalizer coefficient values having magnitudes, as taught by Sun, thereby, having efficient wireless communication.
Consider claim 7, Ran teaches a non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions stored thereon, that if executed by one or more processors (see at least paras. 122-123), cause the one or more processors to: execute an operating system (OS) to configure circuitry of a network interface device (see at least paras. 46 and 121) to: enable performance of link training and selectively request a partner transmitter to use a modulation scheme with precoding during the link training based on equalizer coefficient values (see at least figures 3b-3c and paras. 75-76, Ran teaches a modulation and precoding field requesting a link partner to transmit training patterns that use PAM-4 based on equalizer coefficients (presets), thus precoding and modulation field having modulation scheme (PAM-4).
Ran teaches equalizer coefficient values (see above), however, did not particularly teach equalizer coefficient values having magnitudes. Sun teaches said limitation (see at least paras. 62 and 65, Sun teaches equalizer coefficient values having magnitudes).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the application to modify the invention of Ran and teach equalizer coefficient values having magnitudes, as taught by Sun, thereby, having efficient wireless communication.
Consider claims 2, 10 and 16, Ran in view of Sun teaches the control signal comprises a modulation and precoding request (see at least para. 76 in Ran).
Consider claims 3, 11 and 17, Ran in view of Sun teaches the equalizer coefficient values comprise one or more of: Decision Feedback Equalizer (DFE) pre-cursor coefficient values, main coefficient values, or post-cursor coefficient values, feed forward equalizers (FFEs) coefficient values, or Maximum Likelihood Sequence Estimation (MLSE) equalizer coefficient values (see at least paras. 27-28 in Ran and para. 57 in Sun).
Consider claims 4, 12 and 18, Ran in view of Sun teaches wherein the PMD circuitry is to not request the partner transmitter to use a modulation scheme with precoding based on a magnitude of one or more equalizer coefficient values (see at least para. 52 in Ran).
Consider claim 5, Ran in view of Sun teaches circuitry to apply forward error correction (FEC) to correct errors in a received signal from the partner transmitter (see at least para. 38 in Ran, para. 65 in Sun).
Consider claims 6 and 19, Ran in view of Sun teaches circuitry to request equalizer setting adjustment by the partner transmitter based on the link training (see at least paras. 50-52, 95-96 in Ran, equalizer setting and coefficient adjustment request based on the link training pattern).
Consider claim 8, Ran in view of Sun teaches the modulation scheme comprises Pulse Amplitude Modulation 4-level (PAM-4) or Pulse Amplitude Modulation 6-level (PAM-6) (see at least s figures 3b-3c and paras. 75-76).
Consider claims 9 and 15, Ran in view of Sun teaches the request the partner transmitter to apply the modulation scheme with precoding during the link training is based on transmission of a control signal to the partner transmitter (see at least para. 76, Ran teaches sending a modulation and precoding request field (control signal) to the link partner).
Consider claim 13, Ran in view of Sun teaches the OS is to selectively disable the circuitry of the network interface device from use of a modulation scheme with precoding during the link training based on a magnitude of one or more equalizer coefficient values (see figure 2a, paras. 29, 46 and 51 in Ran, where Ran teaches not enabling further request by the OC, thus disabling the network interface from use of modulation scheme with precoding during the ling training; see paras. 39 and 48-49 in Sun)
This rejection under 35 U.S.C. 103 might be overcome by: (1) a showing under 37 CFR 1.130(a) that the subject matter disclosed in the reference was obtained directly or indirectly from the inventor or a joint inventor of this application and is thus not prior art in accordance with 35 U.S.C.102(b)(2)(A); (2) a showing under 37 CFR 1.130(b) of a prior public disclosure under 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(B); or (3) a statement pursuant to 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) establishing that, not later than the effective filing date of the claimed invention, the subject matter disclosed and the claimed invention were either owned by the same person or subject to an obligation of assignment to the same person or subject to a joint research agreement. See generally MPEP § 717.02.
Conclusion
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FITWI Y. HAILEGIORGIS
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2632
/FITWI Y HAILEGIORGIS/Examiner, Art Unit 2632