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 .
Claims 1-3,5-13 and 15-20 are subject under examination.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
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, 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.
4. 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.
Claim(s) 1, 5-11, 15-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Naik (US 20230199641 A1) and Hwang (US 20220287121 A1) in view of Cherian (US 2022/0078844 A1).
.
Regarding claim 1, Naik teaches a device, the device comprising processing circuitry coupled to storage (see para 0045 “The STA 200 may include one or more transceivers 210, a processor 220, a user interface 230, a memory 240”), the processing circuitry configured to:
establish a first communication link between a first non-AP STA of a non-AP MLD and a first AP of the AP MLD (See para 0071 “the AP MLD is shown to include access points AP1 and AP2 and the non-AP MLD is shown to include wireless stations STA1 and STA2. The AP MLD is configured to communicate with the non-AP MLD via multiple communication links Link1 and Link2.”);
establish a second communication link between a second non-AP STA of the non-AP MLD and a second AP of the AP MLD (See para 0071 “the AP MLD is shown to include access points AP1 and AP2 and the non-AP MLD is shown to include wireless stations STA1 and STA2. The AP MLD is configured to communicate with the non-AP MLD via multiple communication links Link1 and Link2.”);
Nai doesn’t teach causing to send on the second communication link a frame from the second non-AP STA to the second AP, wherein the frame comprises availability information associated with the second non-AP STA; and identify a response frame from the second AP, wherein the response frame indicates acceptance or denial of the availability information.
Hwang (US 20220287121 A1) teaches causing to send on the second communication link a frame from the second non-AP STA to the second AP, wherein the frame comprises availability information associated with the second non-AP STA (see para 0168 “Even when the primary link is configured through the negotiation procedure, an AP MLD scanning and access procedure at the STA MLD may be performed through a procedure of exchanging probe request/response frames and association request/response frames, as shown in FIG. 9. Through such the procedure, the capability elements (e.g., EHT capability elements including whether multi-link related functions are supported) of the STA MLD and the AP MLD may be exchanged”)[ capability elements is interpreted as availability information]; and identify a response frame from the second AP, wherein the response frame indicates acceptance or denial of the availability information. (see para 0179” he AP MLD may transmit information indicating whether to approve or reject the request by including the information in the request result field of the response frame for multi-link operation according to the request frame)
Thus it would have been obvious to a person with ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to combine identify a response frame from the second AP, wherein the response frame indicates acceptance or denial of the availability information in the system of Naik. The motivation is to efficiently perform transmission operation (Hwang: see para 0029)
Modified Naik doesn’t teach wherein the availability information indicates the second non-AP STA is unavailable on the second communication link during a restricted target wake time (rTWT) service period (SP) established on the first communication link.
Cherian (US 2022/0078844 A1) teaches the availability information indicates the second non-AP STA is unavailable on the second communication link during a restricted target wake time (rTWT) service period (SP) established on the first communication link (see para 0140 “The protection frame P1 identifies STA1 and STA2 to transmit or receive transmissions (such as P2P communications) during the TXOP obtained by the AP. STA3 is not identified by the protection frame P1, and thus does not participate in the restricted TWT SP”;see para 0039 “e protection frame may indicate that the wireless channel is busy or unavailable to receiving devices other than the one or more identified STAs for at least a portion of the TXOP”)
Thus it would have been obvious to a person with ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to combine availability information indicates the second non-AP STA is unavailable on the second communication link during a restricted target wake time (rTWT) service period (SP) established on the first communication link in the system of Naik. The motivation is to minimize latency and satisfy performance requirement (Cherian: see para 0004)
Regarding claim 11, Naik teaches a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions which when executed by one or more processors result in performing operations (see para 0052 “The memory 240 also may be or include a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium (such as one or more nonvolatile memory elements, such as EPROM, EEPROM, Flash memory, a hard drive, and so on) that may store computer-executable instructions 242 to perform all or a portion of one or more operations”) comprising:
establishing a first communication link between a first non-AP STA of a non-AP MLD and a first AP of the AP MLD (See para 0071 “the AP MLD is shown to include access points AP1 and AP2 and the non-AP MLD is shown to include wireless stations STA1 and STA2. The AP MLD is configured to communicate with the non-AP MLD via multiple communication links Link1 and Link2.”);
establishing a second communication link between a second non-AP STA of the non- AP MLD and a second AP of the AP MLD(See para 0071 “the AP MLD is shown to include access points AP1 and AP2 and the non-AP MLD is shown to include wireless stations STA1 and STA2. The AP MLD is configured to communicate with the non-AP MLD via multiple communication links Link1 and Link2.”);
Nai doesn’t teach causing to send on the second communication link a frame from the second non-AP STA to the second AP, wherein the frame comprises availability information associated with the second non-AP STA; and identify a response frame from the second AP, wherein the response frame indicates acceptance or denial of the availability information.
Hwang (US US 20220287121 A1) teaches causing to send on the second communication link a frame from the second non-AP STA to the second AP, wherein the frame comprises availability information associated with the second non-AP STA (see para 0168 “Even when the primary link is configured through the negotiation procedure, an AP MLD scanning and access procedure at the STA MLD may be performed through a procedure of exchanging probe request/response frames and association request/response frames, as shown in FIG. 9. Through such the procedure, the capability elements (e.g., EHT capability elements including whether multi-link related functions are supported) of the STA MLD and the AP MLD may be exchanged”)[ capability elements is interpreted as availability information]; and identify a response frame from the second AP, wherein the response frame indicates acceptance or denial of the availability information. (see para 0179” he AP MLD may transmit information indicating whether to approve or reject the request by including the information in the request result field of the response frame for multi-link operation according to the request frame)
Thus it would have been obvious to a person with ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to combine identify a response frame from the second AP, wherein the response frame indicates acceptance or denial of the availability information in the system of Hwang. The motivation is to efficiently perform transmission operation (Hwang: see para 0029)
Modified Naik doesn’t teach wherein the availability information indicates the second non-AP STA is unavailable on the second communication link during a restricted target wake time (rTWT) service period (SP) established on the first communication link.
Cherian (US 2022/0078844 A1) teaches the availability information indicates the second non-AP STA is unavailable on the second communication link during a restricted target wake time (rTWT) service period (SP) established on the first communication link (see para 0140 “The protection frame P1 identifies STA1 and STA2 to transmit or receive transmissions (such as P2P communications) during the TXOP obtained by the AP. STA3 is not identified by the protection frame P1, and thus does not participate in the restricted TWT SP”;see para 0039 “e protection frame may indicate that the wireless channel is busy or unavailable to receiving devices other than the one or more identified STAs for at least a portion of the TXOP”)
Thus it would have been obvious to a person with ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to combine availability information indicates the second non-AP STA is unavailable on the second communication link during a restricted target wake time (rTWT) service period (SP) established on the first communication link in the system of Naik. The motivation is to minimize latency and satisfy performance requirement (Cherian: see para 0004)
Regarding claim 19, Naik teaches a method comprising:
Establishing, by one or more processors, a first communication link between a first non-AP STA of a non-AP MLD and a first AP of the AP MLD (See para 0071 “the AP MLD is shown to include access points AP1 and AP2 and the non-AP MLD is shown to include wireless stations STA1 and STA2. The AP MLD is configured to communicate with the non-AP MLD via multiple communication links Link1 and Link2.”);
establishing a second communication link between a second non-AP STA of the non- AP MLD and a second AP of the AP MLD(See para 0071 “the AP MLD is shown to include access points AP1 and AP2 and the non-AP MLD is shown to include wireless stations STA1 and STA2. The AP MLD is configured to communicate with the non-AP MLD via multiple communication links Link1 and Link2.”);
Nai doesn’t teach causing to send on the second communication link a frame from the second non-AP STA to the second AP, wherein the frame comprises availability information associated with the second non-AP STA; and identify a response frame from the second AP, wherein the response frame indicates acceptance or denial of the availability information.
Hwang (US US 20220287121 A1) teaches causing to send on the second communication link a frame from the second non-AP STA to the second AP, wherein the frame comprises availability information associated with the second non-AP STA (see para 0178 “When the STA MLD requests a change of a primary link, the STA MLD may transmit the primary link field, the secondary link field, and the candidate link field by including information on bands and channels corresponding to a primary link, a secondary link, and a candidate link to be used.”)[ information on bands and channels corresponding to a primary link, a secondary link, and a candidate link is interpreted as availability information]; and identify a response frame from the second AP, wherein the response frame indicates acceptance or denial of the availability information. (see para 0179 “the AP MLD may transmit information indicating whether to approve or reject the request by including the information in the request result field of the response frame for multi-link operation according to the request frame. The AP MLD may transmit information indicating whether to approve or reject the request by including the information in the request result field of the response frame for multi-link operation according to the request frame”)
Thus it would have been obvious to a person with ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to combine identify a response frame from the second AP, wherein the response frame indicates acceptance or denial of the availability information in the system of Hwang. The motivation is to efficiently perform transmission operation (Hwang: see para 0029)
Modified Naik doesn’t teach wherein the availability information indicates the second non-AP STA is unavailable on the second communication link during a restricted target wake time (rTWT) service period (SP) established on the first communication link.
Cherian (US 2022/0078844 A1) teaches the availability information indicates the second non-AP STA is unavailable on the second communication link during a restricted target wake time (rTWT) service period (SP) established on the first communication link (see para 0140 “The protection frame P1 identifies STA1 and STA2 to transmit or receive transmissions (such as P2P communications) during the TXOP obtained by the AP. STA3 is not identified by the protection frame P1, and thus does not participate in the restricted TWT SP”;see para 0039 “e protection frame may indicate that the wireless channel is busy or unavailable to receiving devices other than the one or more identified STAs for at least a portion of the TXOP”)
Thus it would have been obvious to a person with ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to combine availability information indicates the second non-AP STA is unavailable on the second communication link during a restricted target wake time (rTWT) service period (SP) established on the first communication link in the system of Naik. The motivation is to minimize latency and satisfy performance requirement (Cherian: see para 0004)
Regarding claims 5 and 15, Naik teaches wherein the non-AP MLD is a non-simultaneous transmit receive (NSTR) device (see para 0091 “the non-AP MLD may be configured to operate in an MLSR, EMLSR, MLMR NSTR, or EMLMR mode.”)
Regarding claims 6 and 16, Naik teaches wherein a restricted target wake time (rTWT) is established on the first communication link (see para 0083 “ore specifically, an r-TWT SP is scheduled to occur on Link1.”)
Regarding claims 7 and 17, Naik teaches wherein an unavailability status of the second non-AP STA is for a period of the rTWT (see para 0107 “the availability information may indicate that STA2 will not be active on Link2 beyond the start of the r-TWT SP.”)
Regarding claims 8 and 18, Naik teaches wherein the non-AP MLD is an enhanced multilink single radio (eMLSR) (see para 0091 “the non-AP MLD may be configured to operate in an MLSR, EMLSR, MLMR NSTR, or EMLMR mode.”) .
Regarding claim 9, Naik teaches further comprising a transceiver configured to transmit and receive wireless signals (see para 0045 “The transceivers 210 may be coupled to antennas ANT1-ANTn, either directly or through an antenna selection circuit (not shown for simplicity). The transceivers 210 may be used to transmit signals to and receive signals from other wireless devices.”)
Regarding claim 10, Naik teaches further comprising an antenna coupled to the transceiver to cause to send the frame (See para 0125 “the AP MLD and non-AP MLD may leverage all available antennas shared by the EMLMR links for the entirety of the data exchange.”)
Claim(s) 2, 3, 12, 13, 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Naik (US 20230199641 A1) and Hwang (US 20220287121 A1) in view of Cherian (US 2022/0078844 A1) and further in view of Huang (US 20230021262 A1).
Regarding claims 2, 12 and 20, Modified Naik teaches wherein the availability information is a bit set to 1 to indicate an unavailable status.
Huang (US 20230021262 A1) teaches the availability information is a bit set to 1 to indicate an unavailable status (see para 0047 “if the status code field indicates that all the links that the STA MLD requests to establish are successfully established, the link establishment status information may not include the link establishment status bitmap information, or the link establishment status bitmap information included in the link establishment status information is all 1 (It is assumed that when a value of a bit corresponding to a link is 1, it indicates that the link is successfully established.).”)
Thus it would have been obvious to a person with ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to combine the availability information is a bit set to 1 to indicate an unavailable status in the system of Modified Naik. The motivation is to improving multi-link establishment flexibility. (Huang: see para 0068)
Regarding claims 3 and 13, Modified Naik doesn’t teach wherein the availability information is a bit set to 0 to indicate an available status.
Huang (US 20230021262 A1) teaches the availability information is a bit set to 1 to indicate an unavailable status (see para 0047 “if the status code field indicates that all the links that the STA MLD requests to establish are successfully established, the link establishment status information may not include the link establishment status bitmap information, or the link establishment status bitmap information included in the link establishment status information is all 1 (It is assumed that when a value of a bit corresponding to a link is 1, it indicates that the link is successfully established.).”)
Thus it would have been obvious to a person with ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to combine the availability information is a bit set to 1 to indicate an unavailable status in the system of Modified Naik. The motivation is to improving multi-link establishment flexibility. (Huang: see para 0068)
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
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/PAMIT KAUR/Examiner, Art Unit 2416
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