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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 07/22/2026 has been entered.
Response to Amendment/Remarks
This communication is considered fully responsive to the amendment filed on 07/22/2026.
Claims 1-9, 12-13, 15-18, 21, 23, 25, 28 are pending and are examined in this office action.
Claims 1, 6, 12, 25, have been amended.
No new claim has been added and claims 10-11, 14, 19-20 , 22, 24, 26-27 have been canceled.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, filed on 07/22/2026, with respect to claims have been considered but are moot. The Examiner found features modified to claims, i.e claim 1 as
“1. (Currently Amended) A parameter feedback method, applied to an access point multi- link device (AP MLD) which comprises a first access point and a second access point, comprising:
recording, by the second access point, during a period that a physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) sent by a first station in a non-access point multi-link device is received through a first link by the first access point, network transmission and state update information about a network allocation vector (NAV) of a second station in the non-access point multi-link device in a basic service set (BSS) where a second link is located, wherein the AP MLD is connected to the non-access point multi-link device through the first link and the second link, and the first link and the second link of the non-access point multi-link device do not support simultaneous transmission and reception;
determining a feedback state of an NAV update parameter of the second station according to the network transmission and state update information, wherein the feedback state comprises feedback or non-feedback; and
in a case where the feedback state is feedback, feeding back the NAV update parameter to the non-access point multi-link device through the first link after a specific frame interval after an end of reception of the PPDU to assist the non-access point multi-link device to determine a transmission opportunity of the second station on the second link, wherein the NAV update parameter is used for indicating that the non-access point multi-link device updates a local NAV parameter;
wherein feeding back the NAV update parameter to the non-access point multi-link device through the first link comprises:
sending the NAV update parameter to the second station through the first access point and the first station in sequence, wherein the first access point and the second access point are two different access points, and the first access point is associated with the first link in the AP MLD.”
that have changed the scope of the invention, Therefore, Applicant’s remarks regarding previous rejection under 35 U.S.C 103 for the claims are moot. Applicant's remarks are considered as forward looking statement for the newly reconstructed claims.
In view of the applicant’s amendment to the claims, the examiner has clarified and remapped the rejection to the argued claim limitations in details, using the prior art of record in the current prosecution of the claims as well a new prior art. See Li et al. (US 20230199850 A1; hereinafter as “Li9850).
Regarding all dependent claims: the applicant alleges that all dependent claims are allowable since they depend from all the independent claims above. The examiner respectfully disagrees in view of the above explanation of independent claims.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 07/30/2026 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements are being considered and record by the examiner.
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.
Claims 12 , 14-18, 23, 28 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li et al. (US 20230199850 A1; hereinafter as “Li9850 ; which has priority date August 14, 2020) in view of KIM et al. (US 20230156606 A1; hereinafter as “KIM”, which has priority date April 2, 2020.
Examiner’s note: in what follows, references are drawn to LI9850 unless otherwise mentioned.
Regarding claim 12, LI9850 teaches,
a parameter update method, applied to a non-access point multi- link device (see fig. 1: non-STA1), comprising:
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acquiring, after a specific frame interval after an end of a first station sending a physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) to a first access point in an access point multi-link device (AP MLD) through a first link, a network allocation vector (NAV) update parameter of a second station in the non-access point multi-link device through the first link, wherein the NAV update parameter is determined according to network transmission and state update information of an NAV of the second station in a basic service set (BSS) where a second link is located,
( Fig. 1, Fig. 3 : Fig 11: AP MLD includes AP1 (==first access point in claim ) and AP2 (==second access point in claim ): “ For example, FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a multi-link communication scenario according to an embodiment of this application. As shown in FIG. 1, an access point (AP) multi-link device includes an AP 1 and an AP 2. A non-access point station (non-AP STA) MLD includes a non-AP STA 1 and a non-AP STA 2. The AP 1 communicates with the non-AP STA 1 on a link 1. The AP 2 communicates with the non-AP STA 2 on a link 2. It may be understood that communication between the AP MLD and the STA MLD is multi-link communication.”: Block ACK (==feedback) from non-AP STA to AP MLD: [0003], [0082]; (receiving PPDU from first non-AP MLD (STA1) (==a first station in a non-access point multi-link device in claim ), the AP MLD (ie. AP2) records/monitors network transmission and NAV state update information occurring on a second link (Link2) corresponding to second non-AP MLD (STA2) in its respective BSS: Fig. 4, Fig. 5, Fig. 6 : “the first non-access point station ( ==STA1 or non AP MLD ) updates a network allocation vector NAV based on a radio frame to obtain an updated NAV, where the radio frame is a radio frame sent to a second non-access point station on the second link when the data is being transmitted on the first link or when the block ack corresponding to the data is being transmitted on the first link, and the second non-access point station is a non-access point station other than the first non-access point station in the first multi-link device; and the first non-access point station performs channel contention on the second link based on the updated NAV.”: [0014]; [0145]-0152]; “ a first multi-link device (for example, a non-AP MLD) includes a non-AP STA 1 and a non-AP STA 2 : [0144]; LINK1 and LINK2 are located in BSS as shown in Fig. 9-10)),
wherein the AP MLD comprises the first access point and a second access point, and the network transmission and state update information is recorded by the second access point (Fig. 1, Fig. 3 : Fig 11: AP MLD includes AP1 (==first access point in claim ) and AP2 (==second access point in claim ): “ For example, FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a multi-link communication scenario according to an embodiment of this application. As shown in FIG. 1, an access point (AP) multi-link device includes an AP 1 and an AP 2. A non-access point station (non-AP STA) MLD includes a non-AP STA 1 and a non-AP STA 2. The AP 1 communicates with the non-AP STA 1 on a link 1. The AP 2 communicates with the non-AP STA 2 on a link 2. It may be understood that communication between the AP MLD and the STA MLD is multi-link communication.”: Block ACK (==feedback) from non-AP STA to AP MLD: [0003], [0082]); and
wherein acquiring the NAV update parameter through the first link comprises:
receiving, by the second station, the NAV update parameter transmitted through the first access point and the first station in sequence, wherein the firs access point and the second access point are two different access points, and the first access point is associated with the first link of the AP MLD feedback (fig. 7-8, fig. 11, evaluating the recorded network transmission and NAV state update information to determine whether feedback needs to be send specifically deciding between a binary feedback outcome of feedback or non-feedback : : [0014]-[0016], “A first non-access point station (==AP1 above) updates a network allocation vector NAV based on a radio frame to obtain an updated NAV … It may be understood that the radio frame is a radio frame received when the second link is in a blindness period, and the first non-access point station may update the network allocation vector NAV based on the radio frame, to obtain the updated NAV.”:[0023], [0131], [0135] ; (see fig. 1: Fig. 6:-7: Fig. 9: AP MLD comprises AP1 and AP2 where AP1 connects to non-AP STA1 through Link1 and AP2 is connects to non-AP STA2 through Link2: see fig. 6: where Collision is linked to AP2: …AP MLD has two different Access Points, AP1 and AP2: Fig. 1, Fig. 6, 7: “ AP MLD includes an AP 1 and an AP 2. ” AP1 has LINK1 connection with Non-AP STA: [0082]; “ the first non-access point station updates a network allocation vector NAV based on a radio frame to obtain an updated NAV, where the radio frame is a radio frame sent to a second non-access point station on the second link when the data is being transmitted on the first link ”: [0014]; “the first non-access point station may update the network allocation vector NAV based on a block ack carried in the PPDU, to obtain the updated NAV. T”: [0135]));
LI9850 does not expressively disclose:
in a case where the NAV update parameter is acquired, updating a local NAV parameter according to the NAV update parameter to assist the non-access point multi-link device to determine a transmission opportunity of the second station on the second link;
KIM, in the same field of endeavor, discloses:
in a case where the NAV update parameter is acquired, updating a local NAV parameter according to the NAV update parameter to assist the non-access point multi-link device to determine a transmission opportunity of the second station on the second link ( “FIG. 5 illustrates an operation based on UL-MU. As illustrated, a transmitting STA (e.g., an AP) may perform channel access through contending (e.g., a backoff operation), and may transmit a trigger frame 530. That is, the transmitting STA may transmit a PPDU including the trigger frame 530. Upon receiving the PPDU including the trigger frame, a trigger-based (TB) PPDU is transmitted after a delay corresponding to SIFS.” ; “ TB PPDUs 541 and 542 may be transmitted at the same time period, and may be transmitted from a plurality of STAs (e.g., user STAs) having AIDs indicated in the trigger frame 530. An ACK frame 550 for the TB PPDU may be implemented in various forms.”: [0100]-[0101]; “ MLD (AP MLD and/or non-AP MLD) may transmit, through ML setup, information on a link that the corresponding MLD can support. ”: [0187]; : After reception or PPDU, Ack/feedback with NAV update parameters).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teaching of LI9850 to include the above recited limitations as taught by KIM. The suggestion/motivation would be increasing the link use efficiency of the STA and reducing power consumption.: (KIM; [0007]).
Regarding claim 28, LI9850 teaches, A communication node, comprising a memory, a processor, and a computer program which is stored on the memory and capable of running on the processor, wherein the processor, when executing the computer program, implements the parameter update method according to claim 12 (claim 28, the claim is interpreted and rejected for the same reason as set forth in claim 12).
Regarding claim 15, LI9850 in view of KIM teaches the invention of claim 12 as set forth above. Further, LI9850 teaches, The method of claim 12, wherein the NAV update parameter is acquired through an acknowledgement reply frame, and the acknowledgement reply frame comprises an acknowledgement (ACK) frame or a block acknowledgement (BA) frame; or the NAV update parameter is acquired through an NAV control frame, and the NAV control frame is acquired after a first frame interval after the PPDU of the first station is transmitted or after a second frame interval after an acknowledgement reply frame is transmitted; wherein the NAV control frame is used for indicating a number of pieces of carried network transmission and state update information, an NAV value, and a target station corresponding to the network transmission and state update information ( “ After receiving the data frame on the link 1, the AP 1 may send a block ack to the non-AP STA 1 on the link 1.”: [0082], [0088]).
Regarding claim 16, LI9850 in view of KIM teaches the invention of claim 12 as set forth above. Further, LI9850 teaches, The method of claim 12, further comprising: receiving multi-link capability information, wherein the multi-link capability information comprises at least one of the following: at least one access point in the AP MLD supports or does not support carrying an NAV update parameter of other links other than the link where the at least one access point is located; or at least one access point in the AP MLD supports or does not support carrying a feeding back operation parameter of the NAV of other links other than a link where the at least one access point is located ( “ In some feasible implementations, one or more of the first multi-link device and a second multi-link device in this embodiment of this application do not support simultaneous transmit and receive (STR) on a plurality of links. It may be understood that “supporting STR” described in this application may mean that a multi-link device has an STR capability and uses the STR capability in this communication; and “not supporting STR” may mean that a multi-link device does not have an STR capability, or may mean that the multi-link device has an STR capability but does not use the STR capability in this communication. It may be further understood that in some cases, the multi-link device may implement switching between STR and non-STR, namely, switching from supporting STR to not supporting STR, or switching from not supporting STR to supporting STR. The following describes the channel contention method provided in this embodiment of this application by using an example in which the first multi-link device does not support STR and the second multi-link device supports STR.”: [0092]).
Regarding claim 17, LI9850 in view of KIM teaches the invention of claim 12 as set forth above. Further, LI9850 teaches, The method of claim 12, further comprising: sending an association request, wherein the association request is used for requesting at least one of the following information: a station associated with each access point of the AP MLD in the non-access point multi- link device; a link connection relationship between the AP MLD and the non-access point multi-link device; a link that does not support simultaneous transmission and reception; supporting capability of the AP MLD to feed back the NAV update parameter; supporting capability of a station in the non-access point multi-link device to receive the NAV update parameter; or a feeding back operation parameter of the NAV ( “ In some feasible implementations, one or more of the first multi-link device and a second multi-link device in this embodiment of this application do not support simultaneous transmit and receive (STR) on a plurality of links. It may be understood that “supporting STR” described in this application may mean that a multi-link device has an STR capability and uses the STR capability in this communication; and “not supporting STR” may mean that a multi-link device does not have an STR capability, or may mean that the multi-link device has an STR capability but does not use the STR capability in this communication. It may be further understood that in some cases, the multi-link device may implement switching between STR and non-STR, namely, switching from supporting STR to not supporting STR, or switching from not supporting STR to supporting STR. The following describes the channel contention method provided in this embodiment of this application by using an example in which the first multi-link device does not support STR and the second multi-link device supports STR.”: [0092]).
Regarding claim 18, LI9850 in view of KIM teaches the invention of claim 12 as set forth above. Further, LI9850 teaches, The method of claim 12, wherein the PPDU comprises preamble or media access control (MAC) layer protocol data unit (MPDU) frame header information, and the preamble or the MPDU frame header information is used for triggering and recording the network transmission and state update information; or wherein a MPDU corresponding to the PPDU comprises NAV policy indication information for indicating at least one of the following:not feeding back the NAV update parameter;feeding back the NAV update parameter in a case where the NAV update parameter is 0 or non-0; orfeeding back the NAV update parameter in a case where the NAV update parameter is greater than ( “ the packet header of the PPDU is a preamble, and includes at least fields such as L-LTF, L-STF, and L-SIG. That the header of the PPDU is not detected is equivalent to that the non-AP STA 2 considers that there is no start of a PPDU (no start of a PPDU).”: [0089]; [0064]-[0065]).
Regarding claim 23, LI9850 teaches, An association method, applied to a non-access point multi-link device, comprising: receiving multi-link capability information broadcasted by an access point multi-link device (AP MLD), wherein the multi-link capability information comprises supporting capability of the AP MLD to feed back a network allocation vector (NAV) update parameter; sending an association request to the AP MLD according to the multi-link capability information, wherein the association request is used for determining a link connection relationship between the AP MLD and the non-access point multi-link device, supporting capability of a link for simultaneous transmission and reception, and supporting capability of a station in the non- access point multi-link device to receive the NAV update parameter; receiving association response information of the AP MLD; and performing, according to the association response information, the parameter update method according to claim 12. ( Rest of claim 23, the claim is interpreted and rejected for the same reason as set forth in claim 12).
Claims 1-9, 13, 21, 25 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li et al. (US 20230199850 A1; hereinafter as “Li9850 ; which has priority date August 14, 2020) in view of KIM et al. (US 20230156606 A1; hereinafter as “KIM”, which has priority date April 2, 2020), in view of LU et al. (US 20220095401 A1; hereinafter as “LU5401; which has priority date September 20, 2020).
Examiner’s note: in what follows, references are drawn to Li9850 unless otherwise mentioned.
With respect to independence claim:
Regarding claim 1, Li9850 teaches, a parameter feedback method
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applied to an access point multi- link device (AP MLD) which comprises a first access point and a second access point (Fig. 1, Fig. 3 : Fig 11: AP MLD includes AP1 (==first access point in claim ) and AP2 (==second access point in claim ): “ For example, FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a multi-link communication scenario according to an embodiment of this application. As shown in FIG. 1, an access point (AP) multi-link device includes an AP 1 and an AP 2. A non-access point station (non-AP STA) MLD includes a non-AP STA 1 and a non-AP STA 2. The AP 1 communicates with the non-AP STA 1 on a link 1. The AP 2 communicates with the non-AP STA 2 on a link 2. It may be understood that communication between the AP MLD and the STA MLD is multi-link communication.”: Block ACK (==feedback) from non-AP STA to AP MLD: [0003], [0082]) , comprising:
recording, by the second access point, during a period that a physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) sent by a first station in a non-access point multi-link device is received through a first link by the first access point, network transmission and state update information about a network allocation vector (NAV) of a second station in the non-access point multi-link device in a basic service set (BSS) where a second link is located,
(receiving PPDU from first non-AP MLD (STA1) (==a first station in a non-access point multi-link device in claim ), the AP MLD (ie. AP2) records/monitors network transmission and NAV state update information occurring on a second link (Link2) corresponding to second non-AP MLD (STA2) in its respective BSS: Fig. 4, Fig. 5, Fig. 6 : “the first non-access point station ( ==STA1 or non AP MLD ) updates a network allocation vector NAV based on a radio frame to obtain an updated NAV, where the radio frame is a radio frame sent to a second non-access point station on the second link when the data is being transmitted on the first link or when the block ack corresponding to the data is being transmitted on the first link, and the second non-access point station is a non-access point station other than the first non-access point station in the first multi-link device; and the first non-access point station performs channel contention on the second link based on the updated NAV.”: [0014]; [0145]-0152]; “ a first multi-link device (for example, a non-AP MLD) includes a non-AP STA 1 and a non-AP STA 2 : [0144]; LINK1 and LINK2 are located in BSS as shown in Fig. 9-10);
wherein the AP MLD is connected to the non-access point multi-link device through the first link and the second link, the first link and the second link of the non-access point multi-link device do not support simultaneous transmission and reception (see fig. 1, Fig. 3-4, Fig. 10 where AP1 in AP MLD is connected to non-AP STA1 using LINK1 and AP2 in AP MLD is connected to non-AP STA2 and are in non-simultaneous transmission : “ multi-link devices may not support simultaneous transmit and receive (STR) on a plurality of link”: “ the first multi-link device and a second multi-link device in this embodiment of this application do not support simultaneous transmit and receive (STR) on a plurality of links. ”: [0090], [0004]; [0008], [0143]-[0144]) ,
determining a feedback state of an NAV update parameter of the second station according to the network transmission and state update information, wherein the feedback state comprises feedback or non-feedback (fig. 7-8, fig. 11, evaluating the recorded network transmission and NAV state update information to determine whether feedback needs to be send specifically deciding between a binary feedback outcome of feedback or non-feedback : : [0014]-[0016], “A first non-access point station (==AP1 above) updates a network allocation vector NAV based on a radio frame to obtain an updated NAV … It may be understood that the radio frame is a radio frame received when the second link is in a blindness period, and the first non-access point station may update the network allocation vector NAV based on the radio frame, to obtain the updated NAV.”:[0023], [0131], [0135] );
wherein feeding back the NAV update parameter to the non-access point multi-link device through the first link comprises (AP MLD has two different Access Points, AP1 and AP2: Fig. 1, Fig. 6, 7: “ AP MLD includes an AP 1 and an AP 2. ” AP1 has LINK1 connection with Non-AP STA: [0082]; “ the first non-access point station updates a network allocation vector NAV based on a radio frame to obtain an updated NAV, where the radio frame is a radio frame sent to a second non-access point station on the second link when the data is being transmitted on the first link ”: [0014]; “the first non-access point station may update the network allocation vector NAV based on a block ack carried in the PPDU, to obtain the updated NAV. T”: [0135]):
sending the NAV update parameter to the second station through the first access point and the first station in sequence, wherein the first access point and the second access point are two different access points, and the first access point is associated with the first link in the AP MLD. (see fig. 1: Fig. 6:-7: Fig. 9: AP MLD comprises AP1 and AP2 where AP1 connects to non-AP STA1 through Link1 and AP2 is connects to non-AP STA2 through Link2: see fig. 6: where Collision is linked to AP2: …AP MLD has two different Access Points, AP1 and AP2: Fig. 1, Fig. 6, 7: “ AP MLD includes an AP 1 and an AP 2. ” AP1 has LINK1 connection with Non-AP STA: [0082]; “ the first non-access point station updates a network allocation vector NAV based on a radio frame to obtain an updated NAV, where the radio frame is a radio frame sent to a second non-access point station on the second link when the data is being transmitted on the first link ”: [0014]; “the first non-access point station may update the network allocation vector NAV based on a block ack carried in the PPDU, to obtain the updated NAV. T”: [0135]).
While LI9850 teaches, “determining a feedback state on an NAV update parameter of the second station according to the network transmission and state update information, wherein the feedback state comprises feedback or non-feedback” ;
LI9850 does not expressively disclose:
in a case where the feedback state is feedback, feeding back the NAV update parameter to the non-access point multi-link device through the first link after a specific frame interval after an end of reception of the PPDU to assist the non-access point multi-link device to determine a transmission opportunity of the second station on the second link, wherein the NAV update parameter is used for indicating that the non-access point multi-link device updates a local NAV parameter.
KIM, in the same field of endeavor, discloses:
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in a case where the feedback state is feedback, feeding back the NAV update parameter to the non-access point multi-link device through the first link after a specific frame interval after an end of reception of the PPDU ( “FIG. 5 illustrates an operation based on UL-MU. As illustrated, a transmitting STA (e.g., an AP) may perform channel access through contending (e.g., a backoff operation), and may transmit a trigger frame 530. That is, the transmitting STA may transmit a PPDU including the trigger frame 530. Upon receiving the PPDU including the trigger frame, a trigger-based (TB) PPDU is transmitted after a delay corresponding to SIFS.” ; “ TB PPDUs 541 and 542 may be transmitted at the same time period, and may be transmitted from a plurality of STAs (e.g., user STAs) having AIDs indicated in the trigger frame 530. An ACK frame 550 for the TB PPDU may be implemented in various forms.”: [0100]-[0101]; “ MLD (AP MLD and/or non-AP MLD) may transmit, through ML setup, information on a link that the corresponding MLD can support. ”: [0187]; : After reception or PPDU, Ack/feedback with NAV update parameters).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teaching of LI9850 to include the above recited limitations as taught by KIM. The suggestion/motivation would be increasing the link use efficiency of the STA and reducing power consumption.: (KIM; [0007]).
The combination of LI9850 and KIM does not expressively disclose:
to assist the non-access point multi-link device to determine a transmission opportunity of the second station on the second link, wherein the NAV update parameter is used for indicating that the non-access point multi-link device updates a local NAV parameter.
LU5401, in the same field of endeavor, discloses:
to assist the non-access point multi-link device to determine a transmission opportunity of the second station on the second link, wherein the NAV update parameter is used for indicating that the non-access point multi-link device updates a local NAV parameter (see fig. 1 where AP MLD 120 (AP1, AP2) is connect with Non AP MLD 110 (STA1, STA2) with multiple links : “MLD 120 may function as an AP STA. MLD 110 may be a non-AP MLD operating on a NSTR link pair. Moreover, MLD 110 may be configured to utilize a trigger response mechanism for NSTR MLDs in wireless communications”: [abstract];[0022]; NAV update is received: “ NAV is updated when receives a PPDU with a valid TXOP duration information) ”: [0024]; based on that Non-AP MLD, ie. STA2 update it’s parameter and detect “channel Idle” : [0024]; update NAV for 2nd STA (==location NAV parameter) : [0042] , [0055]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teaching of LI9850 and KIM to include the above recited limitations as taught by LI. The suggestion/motivation would be to improve blindness condition.: (LU5401; [0055]).
Regarding claim 2, LI9850 in view of KIM and LU5401 teaches the invention of claim 1 as set forth above. Further, LI9850 teaches The method of claim 1, further comprising: generating the NAV update parameter according to the network transmission and state update information (“ Virtual carrier sense may be implemented by using a network allocation vector NAV. The NAV is essentially a countdown timer, and gradually decreases with the passing of time. When the NAV is counted down to 0, a medium is considered to be idle. Therefore, a timing value of the NAV is set and updated through the virtual carrier sense with an appropriate value at an appropriate time. Specifically, after a station receives a frame, if a receiver address of the frame is not the station, the station may update an NAV based on a duration field in the received frame. If the receiver address of the frame is the station, it indicates that the station is a receive station and may not update the NAV.
[0061] Optionally, before the NAV is updated, it may be further determined whether a value of the duration field in the current frame is greater than a current NAV value of the station. If the value is greater than the current NAV value, the NAV is updated. On the contrary, if the value is less than or equal to the current NAV value, the NAV is not updated. The NAV value starts from an end moment of the received frame.”;[0060]-[0061]).
Regarding claim 3, LI9850 in view of KIM and LU5401 teaches the invention of claim 2 as set forth above. Further, LI9850 teaches The method of claim 2, wherein generating the NAV update parameter according to the network transmission and state update information comprises: setting the NAV update parameter to an initial value, and updating the NAV update parameter according to at least one of: in a case where a clear to send (CTS) frame is sent to a third station through the BSS where the second link is located, updating the NAV update parameter according to duration information indicated by the CTS frame; in a case where a PPDU of a third station is received through the BSS where the second link is located, updating the NAV update parameter according to duration information indicated by the PPDU of the third station; or in a case where a transmission opportunity of the BSS where the second link is located is acquired and a PPDU is sent to a third station through the BSS where the second link is located, updating the NAV update parameter according to duration information of the transmission opportunity or duration information indicated by a PPDU sent to the third station ( “ after a non-receive station separately updates the NAVs based on the duration field included in the RTS frame and the duration field included in the A-MPDU 1, the end moment 1 of the NAV corresponding to the RTS frame is earlier than the end moment 2 of the NAV corresponding to the A-MPDU 1. In addition, both the end moment 1 of the NAV corresponding to the RTS frame and the end moment 2 of the NAV corresponding to the A-MPDU 1 are earlier than the TXOP limit.”: [0065]).
Regarding claim 4, LI9850 in view of KIM and LU5401 teaches the invention of claim 1 as set forth above. Further, KIM teaches The method of claim 1, wherein feeding back the NAV update parameter to the non-access point multi-link device through the first link comprises: in a case where the NAV update parameter is 0 or non-0, feeding back the NAV update parameter to the non-access point multi-link device through the first link; or in a case where the NAV update parameter is greater than 0, feeding back the NAV update parameter to the non-access point multi-link device through the first link : [0288]).
Regarding claim 6, LI9850 in view of KIM and LU5401 teaches the invention of claim 5 as set forth above. Further, KIM teaches, The method of claim 5, wherein the NAV update parameter is fed back by an acknowledgement reply frame, and the acknowledgement reply frame comprises an acknowledgement (ACK) frame or a block acknowledgement (BA) frame; or the NAV update parameter is fed back through an NAV control frame, and the NAV control frame is fed back after a first frame interval after the PPDU of the first station is transmitted or after a second frame interval after an acknowledgement reply frame is transmitted; wherein the NAV control frame is used for indicating a number of pieces of carried network transmission and state update information, an NAV value, and a target station corresponding to the network transmission and state update information: ( “ In the following example, a signal represented as a (TX/RX/UL/DL) signal, a (TX/RX/UL/DL) frame, a (TX/RX/UL/DL) packet, a (TX/RX/UL/DL) data unit, (TX/RX/UL/DL) data, or the like may be a signal transmitted/received based on the PPDU of FIG. 12. The PPDU of FIG. 12 may be used to transmit/receive frames of various types. For example, the PPDU of FIG. 12 may be used for a control frame. An example of the control frame may include a request to send (RTS), a clear to send (CTS), a power save-poll (PS-poll), BlockACKReq, BlockAck, a null data packet (NDP) announcement, and a trigger frame. For example, the PPDU of FIG. 12 may be used for a management frame. An example of the management frame may include a beacon frame, a (re-)association request frame, a (re-)association response frame, a probe request frame, and a probe response frame. For example, the PPDU of FIG. 12 may be used for a data frame. For example, the PPDU of FIG. 12 may be used to simultaneously transmit at least two or more of the control frame, the management frame, and the data frame. “: [0165]) .
Regarding claim 7, LI9850 in view of KIM and LU5401 teaches the invention of claim 1 as set forth above. Further, LI9850 teaches, The method of claim 1, further comprising: broadcasting multi-link capability information, wherein the multi-link capability information comprises at least one of the following: at least one access point in the AP MLD supports or does not support carrying an NAV update parameter of other links other than a link where the at least one access point is located; or at least one access point in the AP MLD supports or does not support carrying a feeding back operation parameter of the NAV of other links other than a link where the at least one access point is located ( “ In some feasible implementations, one or more of the first multi-link device and a second multi-link device in this embodiment of this application do not support simultaneous transmit and receive (STR) on a plurality of links. It may be understood that “supporting STR” described in this application may mean that a multi-link device has an STR capability and uses the STR capability in this communication; and “not supporting STR” may mean that a multi-link device does not have an STR capability, or may mean that the multi-link device has an STR capability but does not use the STR capability in this communication. It may be further understood that in some cases, the multi-link device may implement switching between STR and non-STR, namely, switching from supporting STR to not supporting STR, or switching from not supporting STR to supporting STR. The following describes the channel contention method provided in this embodiment of this application by using an example in which the first multi-link device does not support STR and the second multi-link device supports STR.”: [0092]).
Regarding claim 8, LI9850 in view of KIM and LU5401 teaches the invention of claim 1 as set forth above. Further, LI9850 teaches, The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving an association request and determining, according to the association request, at least one of the following information:
a station associated with each access point of the AP MLD in the non-access point multi- link device; a link connection relationship between the AP MLD and the non-access point multi-link device;
a link that does not support simultaneous transmission and reception; supporting capability of the AP MLD to feed back the NAV update parameter;
supporting capability of a station in the non-access point multi-link device to receive the NAV update parameter; or a feeding back operation parameter of the NAV ( “ In some feasible implementations, one or more of the first multi-link device and a second multi-link device in this embodiment of this application do not support simultaneous transmit and receive (STR) on a plurality of links. It may be understood that “supporting STR” described in this application may mean that a multi-link device has an STR capability and uses the STR capability in this communication; and “not supporting STR” may mean that a multi-link device does not have an STR capability, or may mean that the multi-link device has an STR capability but does not use the STR capability in this communication. It may be further understood that in some cases, the multi-link device may implement switching between STR and non-STR, namely, switching from supporting STR to not supporting STR, or switching from not supporting STR to supporting STR. The following describes the channel contention method provided in this embodiment of this application by using an example in which the first multi-link device does not support STR and the second multi-link device supports STR.”: [0092]).
Regarding claim 9, LI9850 in view of KIM and LU5401 teaches the invention of claim 1 as set forth above. Further, LI9850 teaches, The method of claim 1, wherein the PPDU comprises preamble or media access control (MAC) layer protocol data unit (MPDU) frame header information, and the preamble or the MPDU frame header information is used for triggering and recording the network transmission and state update information; or wherein a MPDU corresponding to the PPDU comprises NAV policy indication information for indicating at least one of the following: not feeding back the NAV update parameter; feeding back the NAV update parameter in a case where the NAV update parameter is 0 or non-0; or feeding back the NAV update parameter in a case where the NAV update parameter is greater than 0 ( “ Specifically, virtual carrier sense implements logical prediction based on related information carried in a media access control (MAC) frame. In other words, each frame carries duration information of a next frame of a transmit station, and each station related to the transmit station predicts channel occupancy based on the duration information. If a station does not monitor the duration information, for example, when a carrier is sensed, a duration field of the frame has been transmitted, the station may only rely on physical layer detection.
[0060] Virtual carrier sense may be implemented by using a network allocation vector NAV. The NAV is essentially a countdown timer, and gradually decreases with the passing of time. When the NAV is counted down to 0, a medium is considered to be idle. Therefore, a timing value of the NAV is set and updated through the virtual carrier sense with an appropriate value at an appropriate time. Specifically, after a station receives a frame, if a receiver address of the frame is not the station, the station may update an NAV based on a duration field in the received frame. If the receiver address of the frame is the station, it indicates that the station is a receive station and may not update the NAV.
[0061] Optionally, before the NAV is updated, it may be further determined whether a value of the duration field in the current frame is greater than a current NAV value of the station. If the value is greater than the current NAV value, the NAV is updated. On the contrary, if the value is less than or equal to the current NAV value, the NAV is not updated. The NAV value starts from an end moment of the received frame. ”: [0059]-[0061]).
Regarding claim 13, LI9850 in view of LU5401 disclose claim 12. Li9850 and LU5401 does not expressively disclose:
The method of claim 12, wherein updating the local NAV parameter according to the NAV update parameter comprises:
in a case where the NAV update parameter is 0, using the local NAV parameter as an updated local NAV parameter; in a case where the NAV update parameter is greater than the local NAV parameter, using a difference between a NAV value corresponding to a transmission time of the NAV update parameter and the NAV update parameter as an updated local NAV parameter; and in a case where the NAV update parameter is less than the local NAV parameter, using the local NAV parameter as an updated local NAV parameter
, KIM discloses:
The method of claim 12, wherein updating the local NAV parameter according to the NAV update parameter comprises:
in a case where the NAV update parameter is 0, using the local NAV parameter as an updated local NAV parameter; in a case where the NAV update parameter is greater than the local NAV parameter, using a difference between a NAV value corresponding to a transmission time of the NAV update parameter and the NAV update parameter as an updated local NAV parameter; and in a case where the NAV update parameter is less than the local NAV parameter, using the local NAV parameter as an updated local NAV parameter : [0288]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teaching of LI9850 and LU5401, to include the above recited limitations as taught by KIM. The suggestion/motivation would be increasing the link use efficiency of the STA and reducing power consumption.: (KIM; [0007]).
Regarding claim 21, LI9850 teaches, An association method, applied to an access point multi-link device (AP MLD), comprising: broadcasting multi-link capability information, wherein the multi-link capability information comprises supporting capability of the AP MLD to feed back a network allocation vector (NAV) update parameter; receiving an association request of a non-access point multi-link device, wherein the association request is used for determining a link connection relationship between the AP MLD and the non-access point multi-link device, supporting capability of a link for simultaneous transmission and reception, and supporting capability of a station in the non-access point multi- link device to receive the NAV update parameter; sending association response information to a non-access point multilink device according to the association request; and performing, according to the association response information, the parameter feedback method of claim 1 (Claim 21, the claim is interpreted and rejected for the same reason as set forth in claim 1).
Regarding claim 25, the claim is interpreted and rejected for the same reason as set forth in claim 1
Conclusion
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/M Mostazir Rahman/Examiner, Art Unit 2411 /DERRICK W FERRIS/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2411
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