CTFR 18/185,251 CTFR 85264 DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia 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 Remarks This Office action is considered fully responsive to the amendments filed 05/12/2026. Response to Arguments 07-37 AIA Applicant's arguments filed 05/12/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant argues that at least para. 0120-0128 of the instant specification disclose the claimed uplink transmission. Applicant highlights “tones manager 1540 may be configured as otherwise support a means for communicating with the wireless AP using the respective set of tones of each of the one or more respective distributed RUs assigned to the one or more BSSs” and “trigger OFDMA communications involving at least a subset of the set of multiple wireless STAs…wherein the communication with the wireless AP includes transmitting an uplink communication to the wireless AP” (pages 9-10, Remarks). Examiner respectfully disagrees. The tones manager and OFDMA communication manager as illustrated in fig. 15 are of one STA, therefore the instant specification has support for an uplink transmission from an STA to an AP. However, the claims recite “resource units (RUs) available to be multiplexed for a coordinated combined uplink transmission.” Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) is a multiplexing technology whereas Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) is a multiple access technology, therefore the use of OFDMA does not imply signals are multiplexed into a combined transmission. Additionally, the instant specification at figs. 3 and 4 illustrate various downlink and sidelink messaging of RUs to different STAs of different BSSs, none of which are on the uplink, and none of which are multiplexed for a coordinated combined uplink transmission from at least two wireless stations from at least two BSSs as claimed . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 07-30-01 AIA The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a): (a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention. The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112: The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention. 07-31-01 Claims 1-6, 11-16, 27-38 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention. The independent claims have been amended with the following subject matter: distributed resource units (RUs) available to be multiplexed for a coordinated combined uplink transmission . Further, claims 1 and 27 as amended recite: one or more first uplink transmissions that are part of the coordinated combined uplink transmission , and claims 11 and 33 as amended recite: a first uplink transmission that is part of the coordinated combined uplink transmission . Dependent claims 2, 12, 28 and 34 as amended recite: the coordinated combined uplink transmission from the one or more first wireless stations on the one or more first distributed RUs and from the one or more second wireless stations on the one or more second distributed RUs. These amendments do not have support in the instant specification. Para. 0030 of the instant specification discloses: “For a distributed tone plan, multiple STAs from the multiple BSS network topology may collectively transmit a multiplexed transmission by transmitting their respective data on respective tones that are distributed (interspersed) across a channel bandwidth, referred to as a “spreading” bandwidth, such that tones associated with a given STA are separated by tones carrying data for other STAs.” However, it is not disclosed explicitly, implicitly, or inherently that this multiplexed transmission is an uplink transmission. Figure 1 and Figure 4 of the instant specification illustrate that a sidelink transmission from STA to STA is possible, and there is no figure illustrating a combined uplink transmission. Therefore, there does not appear to be any support in the instant specification for a coordinated multiplexed uplink transmission. Dependent claims are rejected by virtue of their dependencies. Conclusion 07-39 AIA THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a). A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to OMAR J GHOWRWAL whose telephone number is (571)270-5691. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00am-6:00pm. 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, ASAD NAWAZ can be reached at 571-272-3988. 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. /OMAR J GHOWRWAL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2463 Application/Control Number: 18/185,251 Page 2 Art Unit: 2463 Application/Control Number: 18/185,251 Page 3 Art Unit: 2463 Application/Control Number: 18/185,251 Page 4 Art Unit: 2463 Application/Control Number: 18/185,251 Page 5 Art Unit: 2463 Application/Control Number: 18/185,251 Page 6 Art Unit: 2463
Prosecution Insights