Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
2. EXAMINER’S NOTE: The claims have been reviewed and considered under the new guidance pursuant to the 2019 Revised Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance (PEG 2019) issued January 7, 2019.
3. This communication is in response to Applicant’s Amendment filed on 30 July 2026. Claims 14 and 17 have been canceled. Claims 21-22 have been added. Claims 1, 8, 13, 15, and 16 have been amended. Claims 1-13, 15-16, and 18-22 remain pending.
** The Examiner performed compact prosecution, contacted the Attorney of Record, presented two suggestions to place the application in better condition for an allowance by amending independent claims 1, 8, and 15 and incorporating the claim language of newly added dependent claims 21 and 22 - "wherein the PPDU number is a random value, and wherein the PPDU number is incremented for each successive data packet and wherein when the PPDU number is used as a salt for secure scrambling the PPDU number changes to secure transmissions between the first communication device and the second communication device" or incorporate the claim language of dependent claim 22 - "wherein when the PPDU number is used as a salt for secure scrambling the PPDU number changes to secure transmissions between the first communication device and the second communication device". After conducting the interview, the Attorney of Record indicated that the Applicant declined both of the Examiner's suggestions on 15 September 2026. Therefore, a Final rejection will be issued by the Examiner for claims 1-13, 15-16, and 18-20 and dependent claims 21-22 will be objected to as allowable subject matter.
Response to Arguments
4. Applicant’s arguments, see pages 8-10, filed 17 March 2026, with respect to the rejection of claims 1-20 in view of Jiang et al. (Pub No. 2022/0132306) in view of Seok et al. (Pub No. 2014/0286226) and in further view of Batra et al. (Pub No. 2005/0078598) have been fully considered, but are moot in view of the new grounds of rejection.
5. A new ground of rejection is hereby presented in view of Oh et al. (Pub No. 2015/0201296) for teaching newly added claim limitation “a dynamic scrambler seed”.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. Claims 1, 8, and 15 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. There is no support, definition, or mention of the terminology “dynamic” or “dynamic scrambling seed”.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
9. 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.
10. 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.
11. Claims 1-13, 15-16, and 18-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jiang et al. (Pub No. 2022/0132306) and Seok et al. (Pub No. 2014/0286226) in view of Batra et al. (Pub No. 2005/0078598) and in further view of Oh et al. (Pub No. 2015/0201296).
Referring to the rejection of claim 1, Jiang et al. discloses a method, comprising:
by a first communication device: (See Jiang et al., para. 65-66, i.e., first electronic device is disclosed as the access point, item 112)
encrypting a payload to be included in a physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) frame; (See Jiang et al., para. 66, 93, and 96, i.e., the first electronic device, disclosed as the access point, item 112 may encrypt an A-control subfield and provide a frame addressed to the second electronic device disclosed as the electronic device, item 110-1. The A-control subfield is encrypted with the payload data and EHT stations may always encrypt the A-control subfield in a EHT PPDU or a legacy PPDU)
determining a PPDU frame type based at least in part on an association with a second communication device; (See Jiang et al., para. 66-68, i.e., the PPDU frame associated with the second electronic device comprises a MAC header and the MAC header includes the A-control subfield that is encrypted and the frame may include a preamble that indicates whether the A-control subfield is encrypted)
However, Jiang et al. fail to disclose selecting a PPDU number for obfuscation of a field of a medium access control (MAC) header of the PPDU frame.
Seok et al. discloses a method for transmitting and receiving a frame in a wireless local area network system.
Seok et al. discloses selecting a PPDU number for obfuscation of a field of a medium access control (MAC) header of the PPDU frame; (See Seok et al., para. 94, i.e., a scrambler can use seven scrambler initialization bits to generate a scrambler seed and use the seven bits (i.e., short PPDU number) for obfuscating the MAC header in the payload)
Seok et al. discloses obfuscating the field of the MAC header; (See Seok et al., para. 94, i.e., the seven bits can be used for obfuscating the MAC header in the payload)
Seok et al. discloses and transmitting the PPDU frame to the second communication device. (See Seok et al., para. 71 and 97, i.e., transmitting the PPDU to the second communication device disclosed as mobile STA)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date the claimed invention was made to combine Jiang et al.’s wireless communication for protecting a high-throughput (HT) control subfield modified with Seok et al.’s method for transmitting and receiving a frame in a wireless local area network system.
Motivation for such an implementation would enable obfuscation of a service field of MAC header by using bit sequence for initializing a scrambler. (See Seok et al., paragraph 70)
The combination of Jiang et al. and Seok et al. fail to disclose selecting a service field extension value based at least in part on the PPDU frame type, wherein the service field extension value is located after a service field value to extend a scrambler seed and generating the scrambler seed for the PPDU frame using the service field value and the service field extension value and scrambling the encrypted payload using the scrambler seed.
Batra et al. discloses a method and system for a new PLCP format with a band extension field that keeps the PLCP preamble and the PLCP header for both a 3-band and 7-band extension modes.
Batra et al. discloses selecting a service field extension value based at least in part on the PPDU frame type, wherein the service field extension value is located after a service field value to extend a scrambler seed; (See Batra et al., para. 41, 48-51, Tables 1-2 and Fig. 7 and 9, i.e., adding an extension bits field for various extensions of the MB-OFDM physical layer. The PLCP frame which is equivalent to the PPDU frame discloses a three bit field, called the extension field which indicates whether the device should stay in a 3-band mode or switch to a 7-band mode. By allocating three bits, we are also allowing for future expansion into more bands, such as an 11-band mode. The PLCP Length field shall be an unsigned 12-bit integer that indicates the number of octets in the frame payload. The bits S1-S2 shall be set according to the scrambler seed identifier value. This two-bit value corresponds to the seed value chosen for the data scrambler. The Extension field shall be set according to the values in Table 2. The Extension field located after the service field shows a 3-bit band extension and Bits 29-31 shall encode the extension field)
Batra et al. discloses generating the scrambler seed for the PPDU frame using the service field value and the service field extension value; (See Batra et al., para. 41, 48-51, Tables 1-2 and Fig. 7 and 9, i.e., the service field includes scrambler initialization bits (bits 2-6) and reserved bits (bits 0, 1, 8, 21, 22, 25, 28, and 32-39) wherein the reserved bits indicate a bandwidth value and the scrambler uses the scrambler initialization bits to generate the scrambler seed and then the scrambler seed is extended by increasing bits using the extension field (bits 29-31) shall encode the extension field and bits 23-24 shall encode the initial state of the scrambler)
Batra et al. discloses and scrambling the encrypted payload using the scrambler seed. (See Batra et al., para. 41, 48-51, Tables 1-2 and Fig. 7 and 9, the scrambler bits S1-S2 encodes the frame payload according to the scrambler seed and the two-bit value corresponds to the seed value chosen for the data scrambler)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date the claimed invention was made to combine Jiang et al.’s wireless communication for protecting a high-throughput (HT) control subfield and Seok et al.’s method for transmitting and receiving a frame in a wireless local area network system modified with Batra et al.’s method and system for a new PLCP format with a band extension field that keeps the PLCP preamble and the PLCP header for both a 3-band and 7-band extension modes.
Motivation for such an implementation would enable the information indicating if the packet is in the 3-band mode or the 7-band mode can be embedded in the PLCP header, thereby improving the decoding performance of this information and reducing the packet errors. (See Batra et al., paragraph 39)
The combination of Jiang et al., Seok et al., and Batra et al. fail to disclose a dynamic scrambler seed.
Oh et al. discloses a method and an apparatus for transmitting a wireless personal area network (WPAN) communication system.
Oh et al. discloses a dynamic scrambler seed. (See Oh et al., para. 62 and 66-69, i.e., in the case of the dynamic scrambling, a method of changing a state value, which is a seed of the scrambler, depending on predetermined conditions or changing a function of the scrambler may be used. In this case, a method of changing the seed or the function of the scrambler may be used a method of using an agreed value among communication individuals, a method of selecting the scrambler at a constant sequence, and a method of selecting the scrambler depending on the preamble)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date the claimed invention was made to combine Jiang et al.’s wireless communication for protecting a high-throughput (HT) control subfield, Seok et al.’s method for transmitting and receiving a frame in a wireless local area network system, and Batra et al.’s method and system for a new PLCP format with a band extension field that keeps the PLCP preamble and the PLCP header for both a 3-band and 7-band extension modes modified with Oh et al.’s method and an apparatus for transmitting a wireless personal area network (WPAN) communication system.
Motivation for such an implementation would enable dynamic scrambling to be used for maintaining the security of the signal and applied to the physical layer data unit. (See Oh et al., paragraph 62 and 66)
Referring to the rejection of claims 2 and 9, (Jiang et al., Seok et al., and Batra et al. modified with Oh et al.) discloses wherein the association comprises an exchange of one or more configuration parameters between the first communication device and the second communication device. (See Seok et al., para. 32-34 and 36, i.e., generating encryption keys by exchanging four extensible authentication protocol (EAP)
over LAN (EAPoL) messages during a security protocol known as the four-way handshake for protecting the unencrypted information exchanged prior to association and for verifying the MAC addresses of the AP and the STA)
The rationale for combining Jiang et al., Seok et al., and Batra et al. in view of Oh et al. is the same as claim 1.
Referring to the rejection of claims 3 and 10, (Jiang et al., Seok et al., and Batra et al. modified with Oh et al.) discloses wherein obfuscating the field of the MAC header comprises randomizing the payload using a hash function based on the service field value. (See Seok et al., para. 94, i.e., the scrambler can use the same seven bits (e.g., short PPDU number) as a salt for obfuscating the MAC header included in the payload and the salt is a value used as an input for a one-way hashing function and the seven bits can be randomized)
The rationale for combining Jiang et al., Seok et al., and Batra et al. in view of Oh et al. is the same as claim 1.
Referring to the rejection of claims 4, 11, and 18, (Jiang et al., Seok et al., and Batra et al. modified with Oh et al.) discloses further comprising signaling a scrambling capability to the second communication device. (See Seok et al., para. 116, 216, and 235, i.e., signaling a scrambling sequence within the transmitting address field of a MAC address of the STA (i.e., second communication device) transmitting the frame)
The rationale for combining Jiang et al., Seok et al., and Batra et al. in view of Oh et al. is the same as claim 1.
Referring to the rejection of claims 5, 12, and 19, (Jiang et al., Seok et al., and Batra et al. modified with Oh et al.) discloses wherein the method further comprises: receiving a MAC service data unit (MSDU) comprising the payload; and adding a sequence number (SN) and a packet number (PN) to the payload. (See Jiang et al., para. 93, 99, and 102-103, i.e., receiving a MAC service data unit (MSDU) comprising a payload and adding a sequence number (SN) and packet number (PN) to the encrypted payload)
The rationale for combining Jiang et al., Seok et al., and Batra et al. in view of Oh et al. is the same as claim 1.
Referring to the rejection of claims 6 and 20, (Jiang et al., Seok et al., and Batra et al. modified with Oh et al.) discloses wherein the method further comprises applying an offset to the MAC header based on a selected key. (See Seok et al., para. 76 and 116-117, i.e., applying an offset to the MAC header based on the sequence number and the fragment numbers assigned to the MAC header frame)
The rationale for combining Jiang et al., Seok et al., and Batra et al. in view of Oh et al. is the same as claim 1.
Referring to the rejection of claim 7, (Jiang et al., Seok et al., and Batra et al. modified with Oh et al.) discloses wherein the service field value comprises at least two octets. (See Seok et al., para. 94, 238, 241, and 244, i.e., a service field, a scrambled PSDU, a tail bit and a padding bit. The service field may be used for initializing a scrambler. The service field may be configured as 16 bits (i.e., two octets), Seok et al. further discloses the service field value comprising six octets as disclosed in paragraphs 222, 226-227)
*According to the definition in the Applicant’s specification, see paragraph 0050, a 16-bit secure scrambler can take 16 bits (i.e., long PPDU number) wherein a 16-bit secure scrambler is equivalent to 2-octets.
The rationale for combining Jiang et al., Seok et al., and Batra et al. in view of Oh et al. is the same as claim 1.
Referring to the rejection of claim 8, (Jiang et al., Seok et al., and Batra et al. modified with Oh et al.) discloses a first communication device, comprising:
one or more processors; (See Jiang et al., para. 52, i.e., processor, item 1510)
and one or more non-transitory computer-readable media including instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to: (See Jiang et al., para. 52, i.e., memory, item 1512)
encrypt a payload to be included in a physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) frame; (See Jiang et al., para. 66, 93, and 96, i.e., the first electronic device, disclosed as the access point, item 112 may encrypt an A-control subfield and provide a frame addressed to the second electronic device disclosed as the electronic device, item 110-1. The A-control subfield is encrypted with the payload data and EHT stations may always encrypt the A-control subfield in a EHT PPDU or a legacy PPDU)
determine a PPDU frame type based at least in part on an association with a second communication device; (See Jiang et al., para. 66-68, i.e., the PPDU frame associated with the second electronic device comprises a MAC header and the MAC header includes the A-control subfield that is encrypted and the frame may include a preamble that indicates whether the A-control subfield is encrypted)
However, Jiang et al. fail to disclose selecting a PPDU number for obfuscation of a field of a medium access control (MAC) header of the PPDU frame.
Seok et al. discloses a method for transmitting and receiving a frame in a wireless local area network system.
Seok et al. discloses select a PPDU number for obfuscation of a field of a medium access control (MAC) header of the PPDU frame; (See Seok et al., para. 94, i.e., a scrambler can use seven scrambler initialization bits to generate a scrambler seed and use the seven bits (i.e., short PPDU number) for obfuscating the MAC header in the payload)
Seok et al. discloses obfuscate the field of the MAC header; (See Seok et al., para. 94, i.e., the seven bits can be used for obfuscating the MAC header in the payload)
Seok et al. discloses and transmit the PPDU frame to the second communication device. (See Seok et al., para. 71 and 97, i.e., transmitting the PPDU to the second communication device disclosed as mobile STA)
The combination of Jiang et al. and Seok et al. fail to disclose select a service field extension value based at least in part on the PPDU frame type, wherein the service field extension value is located after a service field value to extend a scrambler seed and generate the scrambler seed for the PPDU frame using the service field value and the service field extension value and scramble the encrypted payload using the scrambler seed.
Batra et al. discloses a method and system for a new PLCP format with a band extension field that keeps the PLCP preamble and the PLCP header for both a 3-band and 7-band extension modes.
Batra et al. discloses select a service field extension value based at least in part on the PPDU frame type, wherein the service field extension value is located after a service field value to extend a scrambler seed; (See Batra et al., para. 41, 48-51, Tables 1-2 and Fig. 7 and 9, i.e., adding an extension bits field for various extensions of the MB-OFDM physical layer. The PLCP frame which is equivalent to the PPDU frame discloses a three bit field, called the extension field which indicates whether the device should stay in a 3-band mode or switch to a 7-band mode. By allocating three bits, we are also allowing for future expansion into more bands, such as an 11-band mode. The PLCP Length field shall be an unsigned 12-bit integer that indicates the number of octets in the frame payload. The bits S1-S2 shall be set according to the scrambler seed identifier value. This two-bit value corresponds to the seed value chosen for the data scrambler. The Extension field shall be set according to the values in Table 2. The Extension field located after the service field shows a 3-bit band extension and Bits 29-31 shall encode the extension field)
Batra et al. discloses generate the scrambler seed for the PPDU frame using the service field value and the service field extension value; (See Batra et al., para. 41, 48-51, Tables 1-2 and Fig. 7 and 9, i.e., the service field includes scrambler initialization bits (bits 2-6) and reserved bits (bits 0, 1, 8, 21, 22, 25, 28, and 32-39) wherein the reserved bits indicate a bandwidth value and the scrambler uses the scrambler initialization bits to generate the scrambler seed and then the scrambler seed is extended by increasing bits using the extension field (bits 29-31) shall encode the extension field and bits 23-24 shall encode the initial state of the scrambler)
Batra et al. discloses and scramble the encrypted payload using the scrambler seed. (See Batra et al., para. 41, 48-51, Tables 1-2 and Fig. 7 and 9, the scrambler bits S1-S2 encodes the frame payload according to the scrambler seed and the two-bit value corresponds to the seed value chosen for the data scrambler)
The combination of Jiang et al., Seok et al., and Batra et al. fail to disclose a dynamic scrambler seed.
Oh et al. discloses a method and an apparatus for transmitting a wireless personal area network (WPAN) communication system.
Oh et al. discloses a dynamic scrambler seed. (See Oh et al., para. 62 and 66-69, i.e., in the case of the dynamic scrambling, a method of changing a state value, which is a seed of the scrambler, depending on predetermined conditions or changing a function of the scrambler may be used. In this case, a method of changing the seed or the function of the scrambler may be used a method of using an agreed value among communication individuals, a method of selecting the scrambler at a constant sequence, and a method of selecting the scrambler depending on the preamble)
The rationale for combining Jiang et al., Seok et al., and Batra et al. in view of Oh et al. is the same as claim 1.
Referring to the rejection of claim 13, (Jiang et al., Seok et al., and Batra et al. modified with Oh et al.) discloses wherein the method further comprises applying an offset to the MAC header based on a selected key (See Seok et al., para. 76 and 116-117, i.e., applying an offset to the MAC header based on the sequence number and the fragment numbers assigned to the MAC header frame) and wherein the service field value comprises at least two octets. (See Seok et al., para. 94, 238, 241, and 244, i.e., a service field, a scrambled PSDU, a tail bit and a padding bit. The service field may be used for initializing a scrambler. The service field may be configured as 16 bits (i.e., two octets), Seok et al. further discloses the service field value comprising six octets as disclosed in paragraphs 222, 226-227)
*According to the definition in the Applicant’s specification, see paragraph 0050, a 16-bit secure scrambler can take 16 bits (i.e., long PPDU number) wherein a 16-bit secure scrambler is equivalent to 2-octets.
The rationale for combining Jiang et al., Seok et al., and Batra et al. in view of Oh et al. is the same as claim 1.
Referring to the rejection of claim 15, (Jiang et al., Seok et al., and Batra et al. modified with Oh et al.) discloses one or more non-transitory, computer-readable media having stored thereon a sequence of instructions which, when executed, cause one or more processors to:
encrypt a payload to be included in a physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) frame; (See Jiang et al., para. 66, 93, and 96, i.e., the first electronic device, disclosed as the access point, item 112 may encrypt an A-control subfield and provide a frame addressed to the second electronic device disclosed as the electronic device, item 110-1. The A-control subfield is encrypted with the payload data and EHT stations may always encrypt the A-control subfield in a EHT PPDU or a legacy PPDU)
determine a PPDU frame type based at least in part on an association with a second communication device; (See Jiang et al., para. 66-68, i.e., the PPDU frame associated with the second electronic device comprises a MAC header and the MAC header includes the A-control subfield that is encrypted and the frame may include a preamble that indicates whether the A-control subfield is encrypted)
However, Jiang et al. fail to disclose selecting a PPDU number for obfuscation of a field of a medium access control (MAC) header of the PPDU frame.
Seok et al. discloses a method for transmitting and receiving a frame in a wireless local area network system.
Seok et al. discloses select a PPDU number for obfuscation of a field of a medium access control (MAC) header of the PPDU frame; (See Seok et al., para. 94, i.e., a scrambler can use seven scrambler initialization bits to generate a scrambler seed and use the seven bits (i.e., short PPDU number) for obfuscating the MAC header in the payload)
Seok et al. discloses obfuscate the field of the MAC header; (See Seok et al., para. 94, i.e., the seven bits can be used for obfuscating the MAC header in the payload)
Seok et al. discloses and transmit the PPDU frame to the second communication device. (See Seok et al., para. 71 and 97, i.e., transmitting the PPDU to the second communication device disclosed as mobile STA)
The combination of Jiang et al. and Seok et al. fail to disclose select a service field extension value based at least in part on the PPDU frame type, wherein the service field extension value is located after a service field value to extend a scrambler seed and generate the scrambler seed for the PPDU frame using the service field value and the service field extension value and scramble the encrypted payload using the scrambler seed.
Batra et al. discloses a method and system for a new PLCP format with a band extension field that keeps the PLCP preamble and the PLCP header for both a 3-band and 7-band extension modes.
Batra et al. discloses select a service field extension value based at least in part on the PPDU frame type, wherein the service field extension value is located after a service field value to extend a scrambler seed; (See Batra et al., para. 41, 48-51, Tables 1-2 and Fig. 7 and 9, i.e., adding an extension bits field for various extensions of the MB-OFDM physical layer. The PLCP frame which is equivalent to the PPDU frame discloses a three bit field, called the extension field which indicates whether the device should stay in a 3-band mode or switch to a 7-band mode. By allocating three bits, we are also allowing for future expansion into more bands, such as an 11-band mode. The PLCP Length field shall be an unsigned 12-bit integer that indicates the number of octets in the frame payload. The bits S1-S2 shall be set according to the scrambler seed identifier value. This two-bit value corresponds to the seed value chosen for the data scrambler. The Extension field shall be set according to the values in Table 2. The Extension field located after the service field shows a 3-bit band extension and Bits 29-31 shall encode the extension field)
Batra et al. discloses generate the scrambler seed for the PPDU frame using the service field value and the service field extension value; (See Batra et al., para. 41, 48-51, Tables 1-2 and Fig. 7 and 9, i.e., the service field includes scrambler initialization bits (bits 2-6) and reserved bits (bits 0, 1, 8, 21, 22, 25, 28, and 32-39) wherein the reserved bits indicate a bandwidth value and the scrambler uses the scrambler initialization bits to generate the scrambler seed and then the scrambler seed is extended by increasing bits using the extension field (bits 29-31) shall encode the extension field and bits 23-24 shall encode the initial state of the scrambler)
Batra et al. discloses and scramble the encrypted payload using the scrambler seed. (See Batra et al., para. 41, 48-51, Tables 1-2 and Fig. 7 and 9, the scrambler bits S1-S2 encodes the frame payload according to the scrambler seed and the two-bit value corresponds to the seed value chosen for the data scrambler)
The combination of Jiang et al., Seok et al., and Batra et al. fail to disclose a dynamic scrambler seed.
Oh et al. discloses a method and an apparatus for transmitting a wireless personal area network (WPAN) communication system.
Oh et al. discloses a dynamic scrambler seed. (See Oh et al., para. 62 and 66-69, i.e., in the case of the dynamic scrambling, a method of changing a state value, which is a seed of the scrambler, depending on predetermined conditions or changing a function of the scrambler may be used. In this case, a method of changing the seed or the function of the scrambler may be used a method of using an agreed value among communication individuals, a method of selecting the scrambler at a constant sequence, and a method of selecting the scrambler depending on the preamble)
The rationale for combining Jiang et al., Seok et al., and Batra et al. in view of Oh et al. is the same as claim 1.
Referring to the rejection of claim 16, (Jiang et al., Seok et al., and Batra et al. modified with Oh et al.) discloses wherein the association comprises an exchange of one or more configuration parameters between the first communication device and the second communication device (See Seok et al., para. 32-34 and 36, i.e., generating encryption keys by exchanging four extensible authentication protocol (EAP)
over LAN (EAPoL) messages during a security protocol known as the four-way handshake for protecting the unencrypted information exchanged prior to association and for verifying the MAC addresses of the AP and the STA) and wherein obfuscating the field of the MAC header comprises randomizing the payload using a hash function based on the service field value. (See Seok et al., para. 94, i.e., the scrambler can use the same seven bits (e.g., short PPDU number) as a salt for obfuscating the MAC header included in the payload and the salt is a value used as an input for a one-way hashing function and the seven bits can be randomized)
The rationale for combining Jiang et al., Seok et al., and Batra et al. in view of Oh et al. is the same as claim 1.
Allowable Subject Matter
12. Claims 21-22 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
13. Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 COURTNEY D FIELDS whose telephone number is (571)272-3871. The examiner can normally be reached IFP M-F 8am-4:30pm.
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, SHEWAYE GELAGAY can be reached at (571)272-4219. 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.
/COURTNEY D FIELDS/Examiner, Art Unit 2436 September 15, 2026
/FATOUMATA TRAORE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2436
Prosecution Insights