DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application is being examined under the pre-AIA first to invent provisions.
Claims 1-25 and 36-37 are canceled; claims 26-35 and 38-47 are pending.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the 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 § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 26-35 and 46-47 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claims 26 and 33 recites the limitation "that one or more resource units (RUs)". There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim, and it is unclear what "that one or more resource units (RUs)" is referring to.
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer.
Claim 26 is rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1, 5, 12, 17, 20 and 22 of U.S. Patent No. 11,696,322 in view of Cherian et al. US 2021/0144778 (Prov. Appl. filed Nov. 11, 2019) (IDS).
Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the claims contain the same subject matter
Independent claim 1 of the US Patent discloses the subject matter of the instant application independent claim 26 except for the US Patent does not explicitly disclose, advertise that one or more resource units (RUs) within an upload orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (UL-OFDM) frame are available to be assigned for use by priority-service UE.
However, as Cherian discloses advertise that one or more resource units (RUs) within an upload orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (UL-OFDM) frame are available to be assigned ([0095] Using OFDMA, an AP may allocate different RUs for different STAs. For example, a trigger message from an AP may indicate which RUs are allocated to particular STAs to use for traffic in the PPDU that follows the trigger message. [0096] One or more STAs may use an UL OFDMA-based random access (UORA) technique to transmit data via the RA-RUs) for use by priority-service UE ([0096] an AP may transmit a trigger message that indicates which RUs are allocated to a priority STAs to use for priority access service in an UL MU PPDU that follows the trigger message).
Therefore, at the time the invention was made, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify the US Patent invention with Cherian invention to include the claimed limitation(s) so as to allow the network to allocate resource units to stations in order to set priorities to control accessibility when certain stations can access the resource units.
Claim 33 is rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 12 of U.S. Patent No. 11,696,322.
Independent claim 12 of the US Patent discloses the subject matter of the instant application independent claim 33.
Claim 38 is rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 22 of U.S. Patent No. 11,696,322 in view of Kim et al. US 2021/0068197.
Independent claim 22 of the US Patent discloses the subject matter of the instant application independent claim 38 except for the US Patent does not explicitly disclose, identify a predetermined value associated with a service priority trigger type in the at least one message, wherein the predetermined value indicating to the non-priority non-AP STA that the non-priority non-AP STA is not allowed to respond to a trigger frame with the service priority trigger type.
However, as Kim discloses identify a predetermined value associated with a service priority trigger type in the at least one message ([0290] when the restricted RA RU field is set to a specific value (e.g., 1), EDCA-disabled STAs using the allocated random RUs may be restricted by an AID value),
wherein the predetermined value indicating to the non-priority non-AP STA that the non-priority non-AP STA is not allowed to respond to a trigger frame with the service priority trigger type ([0290] when the restricted RA RU field is set to a specific value (e.g., 1), EDCA-disabled STAs using the allocated random RUs may be restricted by an AID value).
Therefore, at the time the invention was made, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify the US Patent invention with Kim invention to include the claimed limitation(s) so as to allow the network to allocate an identification field with different values in order to place restriction on certain stations with certain allocated resource units.
US Patent No.11,696,322
Instant appl. 18/217,886
1. A method for reducing network services provided to non-priority stations (STAs) via an 802.11 access point (AP) STA configured to provide services to priority STAs and non-priority STAs, comprising:
receiving, at a non-priority STA in communication with an AP STA via a communication channel, a message from the AP STA;
in response to the received message including a dot11priorityAccessAssertion information element (IE) including a dot11priorityAccessEnforced field, causing the non-priority STA to refrain from accessing the communication channel for an amount of time indicated by a duration value in a durationOfdot11prioriyAccessEnforced field of the dot11priorityAccessAssertion IE; and
in response to the received message including a dot11priorityAccessAssertion IE including an allowedCAPCduringpriorityAccess field, causing the non-priority STA to refrain from accessing the communication channel for an amount of time indicated by a duration value in a durationOfdot11prioriyAccessEnforced field of the dot11priorityAccessAssertion IE, causing the non-priority STA to refrain from accessing the communication channel if a target wake time (TWT) of the non-priority STA is not expiring during a current channel occupancy times (COT).
26. A wireless access point (AP) apparatus, comprising:
data interface apparatus configured to communicate with a network;
digital processor apparatus in data communication with the data interface apparatus; and
storage apparatus in data communication with the data interface apparatus and
the digital processor apparatus and comprising at least one computer program, the at least one computer program comprising a plurality of instructions which are configured to, when executed by the digital processor apparatus, cause the wireless AP apparatus to:
identify user equipment (UE) not utilizing or not supporting a priority services mechanism, the UE in data communication with the wireless AP apparatus via a communication channel; and
based on the identification, transmit data representative of a message to the UE, the data representative of the message configured to cause the UE to modify channel access procedures to refrain from accessing the communication channel for an amount of time indicated by a duration value included in the data representative of the message; and
advertise that one or more resource units (RUs) within an upload orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (UL-OFDM) frame are available to be assigned for use by priority-service UE;
wherein the data representative of the message configured to cause the UE to modify the channel access procedures to refrain from accessing the communication channel for the amount of time comprises data indicative of a predetermined value configured to disable the UE from accessing the one or more resource units (RUs).
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: in response to the received message including a dot11priorityAccessAssertion IE including a Priority Service Indicator (PSI), causing the non-priority STA to establish communication with the AP STA via a different communication channel.
27. The wireless AP apparatus of claim 26, wherein the data representative of the message comprises data indicative of a target wake time (TWT), which based on expiry thereof during one or more current channel occupancy times (COTs), enables the UE to attempt channel access procedures on the communication channel.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the duration value in the durationOfdot11prioriyAccessEnforced field represents the amount of time as a number units of time units or a number of subsequent channel occupancy times (COTs).
28. The wireless AP apparatus of claim 27, wherein the plurality of instructions are further configured to, when executed by the digital processor apparatus, cause the wireless AP apparatus to: transmit one or more TWT-related messages to the UE, the one or more TWT-related messages configured to cause the UE to extend the TWT.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the received message comprises any of a Beacon Frame, a Traffic Indication Map (TIM) Broadcast request with Channel Switch Announcement (CSA), and an Extended CSA IE.
29. The wireless AP apparatus of claim 28, wherein the one or more TWT related messages comprise at least one of a Demand TWT message, a Suggest TWT, or a broadcast TWT message.
5. A method for supporting priority services at an 802.11 access point (AP) station (STA), comprising:
at an AP STA, entering a priority service mode and determining an amount of service reduction to impose upon non-priority non-AP STAs in communication with the AP STA;
transmitting, toward non-AP STAs in communication with the AP STA, one or more messages including a dot11priorityAccessAssertion information element (IE) including a dot11priorityAccessEnforced field and a durationOfdot11prioriyAccessEnforced field, and configured to cause a receiving non-priority STA to refrain from accessing a respective communication channel for an amount of time indicated by a duration value in the durationOfdot11prioriyAccessEnforced field; and
including in the dot11priorityAccessAssertion IE of the one or more messages an allowedCAPCduringpriorityAccess field configured to cause a receiving non-priority STA to refrain from accessing the communication channel if a target wake time (TWT) of the non-priority STA is not expiring during a current channel occupancy times (COT).
30. The wireless AP apparatus of claim 26, wherein the data representative of the message comprises data representative of an indicator configured to cause the UE to establish data communication with the wireless AP apparatus via a different communication channel.
6. The method of claim 5, further comprising: including in the dot11priorityAccessAssertion IE of the one or more messages a Priority Service Indicator (PSI) configured to cause a receiving non-priority STA to establish communication with the AP STA via a different communication channel.
31. The wireless AP apparatus of claim 26, wherein the amount of time is indicated as a number units of time units or a number of subsequent channel occupancy times (COTs).
7. The method of claim 5, wherein the duration value in the durationOfdot11prioriyAccessEnforced field represents the amount of time as a number units of time units or a number of subsequent channel occupancy times (COTs).
32. The wireless AP apparatus of claim 26, wherein the data representative of the message comprises at least one of a Beacon Frame, a Traffic Indication Map (TIM) Broadcast request with Channel Switch Announcement (CSA), or an Extended CSA information element (IE).
8. The method of claim 5, wherein the AP STA message comprises any of a Beacon Frame, a Traffic Indication Map (TIM) Broadcast request with Channel Switch Announcement (CSA), and an Extended CSA IE.
33. A computerized method for supporting priority services at a wireless access point (AP) apparatus, comprising:
determining, at the wireless AP apparatus, one or more service reductions to implement at non-priority user equipment (UE) in communication with the wireless AP apparatus; and
based on the determining, transmitting data representative of one or more messages to cause non-priority UE to at least refrain from accessing a respective communication channel for an amount of time indicated by a duration value in the data representative of the one or more messages; and
advertising that one or more resource units (RUs) within an upload orthogonal frequency- division multiplexing (UL-OFDM) frame are available to be assigned for use by priority-service UE,
wherein the transmitting of the data representative of the one or more messages comprises transmitting a predetermined value stored in an AID12 field of at least one of the one or more messages, the predetermined value causing non-priority UE to refrain from reporting data within the advertised one or more RUs.
9. The method of claim 5, further comprising: transmitting, toward non-AP STAs in communication with the AP STA, one or more TWT related messages including an extendTWTduetodot11priorityservice IE configured to cause non-priority non-AP STAs to extend a respective TWT.
34. The computerized method of claim 33, further comprising the wireless AP apparatus entering a priority service mode to determine, based on one or more factors, a number of service reductions to be enacted with respect to the non-priority UE.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein said one or more TWT related messages comprise any of a Demand TWT message and a Suggest TWT.
35. The computerized method of claim 34, wherein the one or more factors comprise a current channel loading in a basic service set (BSS) or an extended service set (ESS) comprising the BSS.
11. The method of claim 9, wherein said one or more TWT related messages comprise a broadcast TWT message.
36. (Canceled)
12. A method for supporting priority services at an 802.11 access point (AP) station (STA), comprising: at an AP STA, entering a priority service mode and determining an amount of service reduction to impose upon non-priority non-AP STAs in communication with the AP STA; transmitting, toward non-AP STAs in communication with the AP STA, one or more messages including a dot11priorityAccessAssertion information element (IE) including a dot11priorityAccessEnforced field and a durationOfdot11prioriyAccessEnforced field, and configured to cause a receiving non-priority STA to refrain from accessing a respective communication channel for an amount of time indicated by a duration value in the durationOfdot11prioriyAccessEnforced field; and transmitting, toward non-AP STAs in communication with the AP STA, a message announcing an availability of one or more resource units (RUs) within an UL-OFDMA frame, and including a predetermined value stored in an AID12 field and configured to cause non-priority non-AP STAs to refrain from reporting data within advertised RUs.
37. (Canceled)
13. The method of claim 12, wherein only priority non-AP STAs may access the advertised RUs.
38. Computer readable apparatus comprising a non-transitory storage medium, the non-transitory storage medium comprising at least one computer program having a plurality of instructions, the plurality of instructions configured to, when executed on a digital processing apparatus of a non-priority non-AP (access point) station (STA), cause the non-priority non-AP STA to:
receive at least one message from an AP STA; and
identify a duration parameter in the at least one message, the duration parameter indicating a duration of time that the non-priority non-AP STA is to refrain from attempting any channel access procedures on one or more channels; and
identify a predetermined value associated with a service priority trigger type in the at least one message,
wherein the predetermined value indicating to the non-priority non-AP STA that the non-priority non-AP STA is not allowed to respond to a trigger frame with the service priority trigger type.
14. The method of claim 12, further comprising: transmitting, toward non-AP STAs in communication with the AP STA, a quiet channel command having a priority service field configured to cause only non-priority non-AP STAs to enter a quiet mode of operation.
39. The computer readable apparatus of claim 38, wherein the plurality of instructions configured to, when executed on the digital processing apparatus of the computerized client apparatus, cause the non-priority non-AP STA to: determine whether a particular field is present within the at least one message, wherein the presence of the particular field indicates to the non-priority non-AP STA that further processing of one or more fields within the at least one message is necessary.
15. The method of claim 14, wherein said transmitting of said quiet channel command is performed in accordance with a quiet channel command received from a neighboring AP STA.
40. The computer readable apparatus of claim 39, wherein the at least one message comprises a dot11priorityAccessAssertion information element (IE), and the particular field comprises a dot11priorityAccessEnforced field.
16. The method of claim 14, further comprising: transmitting, toward at least one neighboring AP STA, a quiet channel command having a priority service field configured to cause respective non-AP STAs communicating via a specified channel to enter a quiet mode of operation.
41. The computer readable apparatus of claim 38, wherein the at least one message comprises a field which provides a parameter for indicating that the non-priority non- AP STA is allowed to attempt channel access procedures on the one or more channels based on expiration of a target wake time (TWT) during a current channel occupancy time (COT).
17. A system, comprising: at least one 802.11 access point (AP) station (STA) configured to provide network services to a respective plurality of non-AP STAs; at least one AP STA, in a priority service mode of operation, transmitting toward respective non-AP STAs in communication with the AP STA, one or more messages including a dot11priorityAccessAssertion information element (IE) including a dot11priorityAccessEnforced field and a durationOfdot11prioriyAccessEnforced field, and configured to cause a receiving non-priority STA to refrain from accessing a respective communication channel for an amount of time indicated by a duration value in the durationOfdot11prioriyAccessEnforced field; and at least one AP STA, in the priority service mode of operation, including in the dot11priorityAccessAssertion IE of the one or more messages an allowedCAPCduringpriorityAccess field configured to cause a receiving non-priority STA to refrain from accessing the communication channel if a target wake time (TWT) of the non-priority STA is not expiring during a current channel occupancy times (COT).
42. The computer readable apparatus of claim 41, wherein the field comprises an allowedCAPCduringpriorityAccess field.
18. The system of claim 17, further comprising: at non-priority STA in communication with the AP STA, in response to receiving a message including a dot11priorityAccessAssertion information element (IE) including a dot11priorityAccessEnforced field, refraining from accessing the respective communication channel for an amount of time indicated by a duration value in the durationOfdot11prioriyAccessEnforced field of the dot11priorityAccessAssertion IE.
43. The computer readable apparatus of claim 38, wherein the plurality of instructions configured to, when executed on the digital processing apparatus of the computerized client apparatus, cause the non-priority non-AP STA to: negotiate with the AP STA to schedule for periodic wake times, when the non-priority non-AP STA wakes up for an interval and exchanges frames with the AP STA.
19. The system of claim 17, further comprising: at least one AP STA, in the priority service mode of operation, selecting a duration value in response to a determined amount of service reduction to impose upon a respective plurality of non-priority STAs in communication with the AP STA.
44. The computer readable apparatus of claim 43, wherein the at least one message comprises a field configured to force the non-priority non-AP STA to operate in a power-saving mode such that the one or more channels avoid a burden of having the non-priority non-AP STA perform the channel access procedures.
20. A system, comprising: at least one 802.11 access point (AP) station (STA) configured to provide network services to a respective plurality of non-AP STAs; at least one AP STA, in a priority service mode of operation, transmitting toward respective non-AP STAs in communication with the at least one AP STA, one or more messages including a dot11priorityAccessAssertion information element (IE) including a dot11priorityAccessEnforced field and a durationOfdot11prioriyAccessEnforced field, and configured to cause a receiving non-priority STA to refrain from accessing a respective communication channel for an amount of time indicated by a duration value in the durationOfdot11prioriyAccessEnforced field; and at least one AP STA, in the priority service mode of operation, transmitting toward non-AP STAs in communication with the AP STA, a message announcing an availability of one or more resource units (RUs) within an UL-OFDMA frame, and including a predetermined value stored in an AID12 field and configured to cause non-priority STAs to refrain from reporting data within the one or more RUs.
45. The computer readable apparatus of claim 44, wherein the field comprises an extendTWTduetodot11priorityservice field.
21. The system of claim 17, further comprising: at least one AP STA, in the priority service mode of operation, transmitting toward non-AP STAs in communication with the AP STA, a quiet channel command having a priority service field configured to cause only non-priority non-AP STAs to enter a quiet mode of operation.
46. The wireless AP apparatus of claim 26, wherein the plurality of instructions are further configured to, when executed by the digital processor apparatus, cause the wireless AP apparatus to: transmit, toward a plurality of UE in data communication with the wireless AP apparatus, a quiet channel command having a priority service field configured to cause only a portion of the plurality of UE not utilizing or not supporting the priority services mechanism to enter a quiet mode of operation, the transmission of the quiet channel command performed in accordance with a quiet channel command received from a neighboring wireless AP apparatus.
22. A tangible and non-transient computer readable storage medium storing instructions which, when executed by a computer, adapt the operation of the computer to provide a method for supporting priority services at an 802.11 access point (AP), comprising: at an AP STA, entering a priority service mode and determining an amount of service reduction to impose upon non-priority non-AP STAs in communication with the AP STA; transmitting, toward non-AP STAs in communication with the AP STA, one or more messages including a dot11priorityAccessAssertion information element (IE) including a dot11priorityAccessEnforced field and a durationOfdot11prioriyAccessEnforced field, and configured to cause a receiving non-priority STA to refrain from accessing a respective communication channel for an amount of time indicated by a duration value in the durationOfdot11prioriyAccessEnforced field; and transmitting, toward non-AP STAs in communication with the AP STA, a message announcing an availability of one or more resource units (RUs) within an UL-OFDMA frame, and including a predetermined value stored in an AID12 field and configured to cause non-priority non-AP STAs to refrain from reporting data within advertised RUs.
47. The wireless AP apparatus of claim 26, wherein the plurality of instructions are further configured to, when executed by the digital processor apparatus, cause the wireless AP apparatus to: transmit, toward a plurality of UE in data communication with the wireless AP apparatus, a quiet channel command having a priority service field configured to cause respective ones of the plurality of UE communicating via a specified channel to enter a quiet mode of operation.
23. The system of claim 20, further comprising: at least one AP STA, in the priority service mode of operation, transmitting toward non-AP STAs in communication with the AP STA, a quiet channel command having a priority service field configured to cause only non-priority non-AP STAs to enter a quiet mode of operation.
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 pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
(a) A patent may not be obtained though the invention is not identically disclosed or described as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the subject matter sought to be patented and the prior art are such that the subject matter as a whole would have been obvious at the time the invention was made to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which said subject matter pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 26, 31-32 and 46-47 is/are rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Cherian et al. US 2021/0144778 (Prov. Appl. filed Nov. 11, 2019) (IDS) in view of Asterjadhi et al. US 2020/0068486.
Claim 26, Cherian discloses (fig 1) a wireless access point (AP) apparatus, comprising:
data interface apparatus configured to communicate with a network (fig 14A);
digital processor apparatus in data communication with the data interface apparatus (fig 14A); and
storage apparatus in data communication with the data interface apparatus (fig 14A) and
the digital processor apparatus and comprising at least one computer program (fig 14A [0062] including computer programs encoded on computer-readable media), the at least one computer program comprising a plurality of instructions which are configured to, when executed by the digital processor apparatus, cause the wireless AP apparatus to:
identify user equipment (UE) not utilizing or not supporting a priority services mechanism ([0068] an AP may adjust the EDCA parameters for non-priority STAs so that the non-priority STAs get a lower priority compared to the priority STA), the UE in data communication with the wireless AP apparatus via a communication channel ([0060] STAs can establish a wireless association (also referred to as a wireless link wireless connection, among other examples) with an AP via the wireless channel to join the BSS);
based on the identification, transmit data representative of a message to the UE ([0082] AP 102 periodically broadcasts beacon frames (“beacons”) including the BSSID to enable any STAs 104 within wireless range of the AP 102 to “associate” or re-associate with the AP 102 to establish a respective communication link 106),
the data representative of the message configured to cause the UE to modify channel access procedures ([0069] non-priority STAs may modify their respective EDCA parameters or TXOP duration limits to back off utilization of the wireless channel so that the priority STAs will have more likelihood of winning contention, [0104] the AP may transmit a beacon message, probe response, or another management frame that indicates the contention parameters. The AP may adjust the contention parameters for non-priority access classes as needed to support priority access by a priority STA) to refrain from accessing the communication channel for an amount of time indicated by a duration value included in the data representative of the message ([0069] non-priority STAs may modify their respective EDCA parameters or TXOP duration limits to back off utilization of the wireless channel so that the priority STAs will have more likelihood of winning contention); and
advertise that one or more resource units (RUs) within an upload orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (UL-OFDM) frame are available to be assigned ([0095] Using OFDMA, an AP may allocate different RUs for different STAs. For example, a trigger message from an AP may indicate which RUs are allocated to particular STAs to use for traffic in the PPDU that follows the trigger message. [0096] One or more STAs may use an UL OFDMA-based random access (UORA) technique to transmit data via the RA-RUs) for use by priority-service UE ([0096] an AP may transmit a trigger message that indicates which RUs are allocated to a priority STAs to use for priority access service in an UL MU PPDU that follows the trigger message);
wherein the data representative of the message configured to cause the UE to modify the channel access procedures ([0069] non-priority STAs may modify their respective EDCA parameters or TXOP duration limits to back off utilization of the wireless channel so that the priority STAs will have more likelihood of winning contention, [0069] AP may signal an offset value or other setting to modify the CWmin, the CWmax, the AIFSN, or the TXOP duration) to refrain from accessing the communication channel for the amount of time ([0069] non-priority STAs may modify their respective EDCA parameters or TXOP duration limits to back off utilization of the wireless channel so that the priority STAs will have more likelihood of winning contention) comprises data indicative of a predetermined value ([0069] AP may signal an offset value or other setting to modify the CWmin, the CWmax, the AIFSN, or the TXOP duration) configured to disable the UE ([0069] the non-priority STA may disable a minimum contention window size (CWmin) or upper limit for a random backoff counter.)
but does not explicitly disclose,
from accessing the one or more resource units (RUs).
However, as Asterjadhi discloses from accessing the one or more resource units (RUs) ([0119] wait for a trigger frame with random access resource units on the 6 GHz band (if EDCA based access is disabled on the 6 GHz band)).
Therefore, at the time the invention was made, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify the Cherian invention with Asterjadhi invention to include the claimed limitation(s) so as to allow the network to allocate resource units to stations in order to set priorities to control accessibility when certain stations can access the resource units.
Claim 31, Cherian as modified discloses the wireless AP apparatus of claim 26, wherein the amount of time is indicated as a number units of time units ([0064] The priority service duration may inform other devices of an amount of time) or a number of subsequent channel occupancy times (COTs).
Claim 32, Cherian as modified discloses the wireless AP apparatus of claim 26, wherein the data representative of the message comprises at least one of a Beacon Frame ([0082] AP 102 periodically broadcasts beacon frames (“beacons”)), a Traffic Indication Map (TIM) Broadcast request with Channel Switch Announcement (CSA), or an Extended CSA information element (IE).
Claim 46, Cherian as modified discloses the wireless AP apparatus of claim 26, wherein the plurality of instructions are further configured to, when executed by the digital processor apparatus, cause the wireless AP apparatus to:
transmit, toward a plurality of UE in data communication with the wireless AP apparatus (Cherian [0060] An AP may provide a wireless coverage area for devices to access the WLAN via a wireless channel), a quiet channel command (Cherian [0060] STAs can establish a wireless association (also referred to as a wireless link wireless connection, among other examples) with an AP via the wireless channel to join the BSS) having a priority service field configured (Cherian [0068] AP may adjust the EDCA parameters for non-priority STAs so that the non-priority STAs get a lower priority compared to the priority STA) to cause only a portion of the plurality of UE not utilizing or not supporting the priority services mechanism to enter a quiet mode of operation (Cherian [0069] In some implementations, non-priority STAs may modify their respective EDCA parameters or TXOP duration limits to back off utilization of the wireless channel so that the priority STAs will have more likelihood of winning contention), the transmission of the quiet channel command performed in accordance with a quiet channel command received from a neighboring wireless AP apparatus (Cherian [0070] BSSs that share a wireless channel in the same location may be referred to as neighboring BSSs or overlapping BSSs (OBSSs)).
Claim 47, Cherian as modified discloses the wireless AP apparatus of claim 26, wherein the plurality of instructions are further configured to, when executed by the digital processor apparatus, cause the wireless AP apparatus to:
transmit, toward a plurality of UE in data communication with the wireless AP apparatus (Cherian [0060] AP may provide distribution system access for one or more stations (STAs, sometimes also referred to as non-AP STAs)), a quiet channel command (Cherian [0060] STAs can establish a wireless association (also referred to as a wireless link wireless connection, among other examples) with an AP via the wireless channel to join the BSS) having a priority service field (Cherian [0068] AP may adjust the EDCA parameters for non-priority STAs so that the non-priority STAs get a lower priority compared to the priority STA) configured to cause respective ones of the plurality of UE communicating via a specified channel to enter a quiet mode of operation (Cherian [0069] In some implementations, non-priority STAs may modify their respective EDCA parameters or TXOP duration limits to back off utilization of the wireless channel so that the priority STAs will have more likelihood of winning contention).
Claims 27 is/are rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Cherian et al. US 2021/0144778 (Prov. Appl. filed Nov. 11, 2019) (IDS) and Asterjadhi et al. US 2020/0068486 in view of Tooher et al. US 2021/0176710.
Claim 27, Cherian as modified discloses the wireless AP apparatus of claim 26, enables the UE to attempt channel access procedures on the communication channel (Cherian [0061] the device may wait for a random backoff time period before checking the wireless channel again. If the wireless channel is free, the WLAN device may contend for access the network).
But Cherian and Asterjadhi invention is silent on,
wherein the data representative of the message comprises data indicative of a target wake time (TWT), which based on expiry thereof during one or more current channel occupancy times (COTs),
However, as Tooher discloses wherein the data representative of the message comprises data indicative of a target wake time (TWT), which based on expiry thereof during one or more current channel occupancy times (COTs) ([0128] receives an indication that the channel was acquired by a network during the awake state (e.g., as discussed herein), the WTRU may use a third timer (e.g., or timer duration), the WTRU may determine the timer duration based on the channel occupancy).
Therefore, at the time the invention was made, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify the Cherian and Asterjadhi invention with Tooher invention to include the claimed limitation(s) so as to allow the network to send an indication to the WTRU that the network to reacquire the channel in order for the UE to gain access to the channel during the awake time.
Claims 28-29 is/are rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Cherian et al. US 2021/0144778 (Prov. Appl. filed Nov. 11, 2019) (IDS), Asterjadhi et al. US 2020/0068486 and Tooher et al. US 2021/0176710 in view of Cariou et al. US 2019/0045438.
Claim 28, Cherian as modified discloses the wireless AP apparatus of claim 27, wherein the plurality of instructions are further configured to, when executed by the digital processor apparatus, cause the wireless AP apparatus to:
but Cheria, Asterjadhi and Tooher invention is silent on,
transmit one or more TWT-related messages to the UE, the one or more TWT-related messages configured to cause the UE to extend the TWT.
However, as Cariou discloses transmit one or more TWT-related messages to the UE, the one or more TWT-related messages configured to cause the UE to extend the TWT ([0066] the TWT negotiator 304 includes an indication of whether the respective one of the STAs 104, 106, 108 can extend a service period (SP)).
Therefore, at the time the invention was made, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify the Cherian, Asterjadhi and Tooher invention with Cariou invention to include the claimed limitation(s) so as to allow the network to send an indication to the station to extend the awake time for the service period in order for the station to establish connection for transmitting/receiving data from the network.
Claim 29, Cherian as modified discloses the wireless AP apparatus of claim 28, wherein the one or more TWT related messages comprise at least one of a Demand TWT message (Cariou [0066] the TWT negotiator 304 includes an indication of whether the respective one of the STAs 104, 106, 108 can extend a service period (SP)), a Suggest TWT, or a broadcast TWT message. Therefore, at the time the invention was made, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify the Cherian, Asterjadhi and Tooher invention with Cariou invention to include the claimed limitation(s) so as to allow the network to send an indication to the station to extend the awake time for the service period in order for the station to establish connection for transmitting/receiving data from the network.
Claims 30 is/are rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Cherian et al. US 2021/0144778 (Prov. Appl. filed Nov. 11, 2019) (IDS) and Asterjadhi et al. US 2020/0068486 in view of Hosseini et al., US 2020/0053761.
Claim 30, Cherian as modified discloses the wireless AP apparatus of claim 26,
but Cherian and Asterjadhi invention is silent on,
wherein the data representative of the message comprises data representative of an indicator configured to cause the UE to establish data communication with the wireless AP apparatus via a different communication channel.
However, as Hosseini discloses wherein the data representative of the message comprises data representative of an indicator configured to cause the UE to establish data communication with the wireless AP apparatus via a different communication channel ([0148] schedule transmission on a second channel associated with a second service type).
Therefore, at the time the invention was made, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify the Cherian and Asterjadhi invention with Hosseini invention to include the claimed limitation(s) so as to allow the network to allocate different channel resources to the UE in order for the UE to transmit data according to priority of the channel resource.
Claims 33-35 is/are rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Cherian et al. US 2021/0144778 (Prov. Appl. filed Nov. 11, 2019) (IDS) in view of Suh et al. US 2017/0303162 and further in view of Kim et al. US 2021/0068197.
Claim 33, Cherian discloses (fig 1) a computerized method for supporting priority services at a wireless access point (AP) apparatus, comprising:
determining, at the wireless AP apparatus, one or more service reductions to implement at non-priority user equipment (UE) in communication with the wireless AP apparatus (Abstract: non-priority STAs may be configured with weakened contention parameters to increase or ensure the likelihood that a priority STA will win contention for access to the wireless channel); and
based on the determining, transmitting data representative of one or more messages to cause non-priority UE ([0069] AP may signal an offset value or other setting to modify the CWmin, the CWmax, the AIFSN, or the TXOP duration, [0104] the AP may transmit a beacon message, probe response, or another management frame that indicates the contention parameters. The AP may adjust the contention parameters for non-priority access classes as needed to support priority access by a priority STA) to at least refrain from accessing a respective communication channel for an amount of time indicated by a duration value in the data representative of the one or more messages ([0069] non-priority STAs may modify their respective EDCA parameters or TXOP duration limits to back off utilization of the wireless channel so that the priority STAs will have more likelihood of winning contention [0104] the AP may transmit a beacon message, probe response, or another management frame that indicates the contention parameters. The AP may adjust the contention parameters for non-priority access classes as needed to support priority access by a priority STA); and
advertise that one or more resource units (RUs) within an upload orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (UL-OFDM) frame are available to be assigned ([0095] Using OFDMA, an AP may allocate different RUs for different STAs. For example, a trigger message from an AP may indicate which RUs are allocated to particular STAs to use for traffic in the PPDU that follows the trigger message. [0096] One or more STAs may use an UL OFDMA-based random access (UORA) technique to transmit data via the RA-RUs) for use by priority-service UE ([0096] an AP may transmit a trigger message that indicates which RUs are allocated to a priority STAs to use for priority access service in an UL MU PPDU that follows the trigger message);
wherein the transmitting of the data representative of the one or more messages ([0069] AP may signal an offset value or other setting to modify the CWmin, the CWmax, the AIFSN, or the TXOP duration) comprises transmitting a predetermined value stored field of at least one of the one or more messages ([0121] The L-SIG 810 generally enables a receiving device to determine a duration of the PDU and use the determined duration to avoid transmitting on top of the PDU),
but is silent on,
in an AID12,
the predetermined value causing non-priority UE to refrain from reporting data within the advertised one or more RUs.
However, as Suh discloses in an AID12 (fig 5, [0033] per user info fields 430 of FIG. 4 each include a AID12 field 505 (which is an example of an user identifier field)).
Therefore, at the time the invention was made, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify the Cherian invention with Suh invention to include the claimed limitation(s) so as to allow the network to allocate resource units to stations by sending a trigger frame including an identification field in order to allocate certain stations with resource units.
But Cherian and Suh invention is silent on,
the predetermined value causing non-priority UE to refrain from reporting data within the advertised one or more RUs.
However, as Kim discloses the predetermined value causing non-priority UE to refrain from reporting data within the advertised one or more RUs ([0290] In the second example, when the restricted RA RU field is set to a specific value (e.g., 1), EDCA-disabled STAs using the allocated random RUs may be restricted by an AID value).
Therefore, at the time the invention was made, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify the Cherian and Suh invention with Kim invention to include the claimed limitation(s) so as to allow the network to allocate an identification field with different values in order to place restriction on certain stations with certain allocated resource units.
Claim 34, Cherian as modified discloses the computerized method of claim 33, further comprising the wireless AP apparatus entering a priority service mode (Cherian [0020] a beacon message from the AP, where the beacon message indicates that the AP supports the priority access service) to determine, based on one or more factors (Cherian [0022] one or more settings are modified to favor a contention-based access of the wireless channel by the first STA over one or more other STAs of the first BSS that are not configured to utilize the priority access service), a number of service reductions to be enacted with respect to the non-priority UE (Cherian [0022] one or more settings are modified to favor a contention-based access of the wireless channel by the first STA over one or more other STAs of the first BSS that are not configured to utilize the priority access service, [0126] an AP 102 may cause some STAs to change to a lower access class to provide support for the priority access by the priority STA).
Claim 35, Cherian as modified discloses the computerized method of claim 34, wherein the one or more factors comprise a current channel loading in a basic service set (BSS) (Cherian [0074] an AP to set different contention parameters for different access classes used by STAs in its BSS) or an extended service set (ESS) comprising the BSS (Cherian [0083] to select among multiple APs 102 that together form an extended service set (ESS) including multiple connected BSSs).
Claims 38-40 is/are rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Cherian et al. US 2021/0144778 (Prov. Appl. filed Nov. 11, 2019) (IDS) in view of Kim et al. US 2021/0068197.
Claim 38, Cherian discloses (fig 1) computer readable apparatus comprising a non-transitory storage medium, the non-transitory storage medium comprising at least one computer program having a plurality of instructions, the plurality of instructions configured to, when executed on a digital processing apparatus of a n