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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s remarks, see section titled “Interpretation under 35 U.S.C. § 112(F)”, with respect to claims 1-4 have been fully considered and are persuasive. The interpretation under 35 U.S.C. § 112(f) of claims 1-4 has been withdrawn.
Applicant's arguments, see section titled “Rejection Under 35 U.S.C. § 112”, with respect to claims 1-5, 7, and 9 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. It is still unclear what “the transmission control parameter” in line 10 of claim 1 is referring to since there are two instances of a transmission control parameter finally obtained through the first operation. Furthermore, for claim 2, it is still unclear what “the transmission control parameter” in lines 7-8 of claim 2 are referring to since there are two instances of a transmission control parameter finally obtained through the first operation. Additionally, “the multi-hop communication control parameter” in line 9 was not addressed. Lastly for claim 2, it is still unclear what “the multi-hop communication control parameter” in lines 11-12 is referring to since there are two instances of a multi-hop communication control parameter finally obtained through the second operation. For claim 7, claim 7 has similar issues to claim 2 and thus same or similar reasoning applies. For claim 9, claim 9 has similar issues to claim 2 and thus same or similar reasoning applies.
Applicant's arguments, see section titled “Rejection Under 35 U.S.C. § 103”, with respect to claims 6 and 9 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive because claims 6 and 8 recite differing claim scope than claim 1 and as shown in the rejection below, claims 6 and 8 are rejected.
Applicant’s arguments, see section titled “Allowable Subject Matter”, with respect to the allowability of claim(s) 1 have been fully considered and are not persuasive because Applicant has amended claim 1 to broaden the scope of claim 1 which result in a new ground(s) of rejection being made in view of US 20220322352 by Yukawa.
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.
Claim(s) 1-5, 7, and 9 is/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.
Regarding claim 1, it is unclear what “the transmission control parameter” in line 10 is referring to since claim 1 recites “determining a transmission control parameter” and “repeatedly determining a transmission control parameter”. Claims 2-5 fails to resolve the deficiency of claim 1 and/or recite similar issues of claim 1 and are thus rejected under similar rationale.
Regarding claim 2, it is unclear what “the transmission control parameter” in lines 7-8 are referring to since claim 1 recites “determining a transmission control parameter” and “repeatedly determining a transmission control parameter”. Furthermore, it is unclear what “the multi-hop communication control parameter” in lines 9 and 11-12 are referring to since there are “determining a multi-hop communication control parameter related to a communication path” and “determining a multi-hop communication control parameter again” in claim 2.
Regarding claim 7, it is unclear what “the multi-hop communication control parameter” in lines 9 and 12 are referring to since there are “determining a multi-hop communication control parameter related to a communication path” and “determining a multi-hop communication control parameter again” in claim 7.
Regarding claim 9, it is unclear what “the multi-hop communication control parameter” in lines 9 and 12 are referring to since there are “determining a multi-hop communication control parameter related to a communication path” and “determining a multi-hop communication control parameter again” in claim 9.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 1, 3-6, and 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 20220322352 by Yukawa.
Regarding claim 1, Yukawa teaches a data processing apparatus comprising (fig. 3, shows hardware; ¶ 31, FIG. 3 illustrates a hardware configuration of each of the AP 102):
signal processing circuitry configured to receive data wirelessly transmitted from a terminal apparatus (fig. 3, communication unit 306; ¶ 35, communication unit 306 transmits and receives a wireless signal for wireless communication by controlling the wireless antennae 307, 308, and 309. Each of the AP 102 and the STA 103 communicates content, such as image data, document data, and video data, with other communication apparatuses through the communication unit 306; fig. 1, shows bidirection communication between AP 102 and STA 103);
and processing circuitry configured to (fig. 3, control unit 302; ¶ 33; ¶ 46, FIG. 8 is a flowchart of processing performed by the AP 102, and the operations in each step are processed by the control unit 302 of the AP 102 executing programs stored in the storage unit 301)
execute a first operation of determining a transmission control parameter used for wireless communication of the terminal apparatus (fig. 8, shows a second iteration of s801 of performing use frequency band determination processing; ¶ 47, in step S801, the AP 102 determines use frequency bands for the AP 102 itself. More specifically, the AP 102 determines the frequency bands to be used from the three frequency bands of the 2.4 GHz band, the 5 GHz band, and the 6 GHz band, which are usable by the AP 102…communication is performed by using the two frequency bands of the 2.4 GHz band and the 5 GHz band; ¶ 60, STA 103 can recognize the plurality of frequency bands supported by the AP 102 in the above-described manner, appropriately establish connections in the plurality of frequency bands based on the supported frequency bands, and transmit and receive data)
and repeatedly determining a transmission control parameter again using the determined transmission control parameter under a constraint condition related to the wireless communication of the terminal apparatus (fig. 8, shows at least third and fourth iterations of s801 of performing use frequency band determination processing using at least the second iteration of s801 of performing use frequency band determination processing under s804 of change use frequency band determination; ¶ 47, in step S801, the AP 102 determines use frequency bands for the AP 102 itself. More specifically, the AP 102 determines the frequency bands to be used from the three frequency bands of the 2.4 GHz band, the 5 GHz band, and the 6 GHz band, which are usable by the AP 102…communication is performed by using the two frequency bands of the 2.4 GHz band and the 5 GHz band; ¶ 60, STA 103 can recognize the plurality of frequency bands supported by the AP 102 in the above-described manner, appropriately establish connections in the plurality of frequency bands based on the supported frequency bands, and transmit and receive data; ¶ 35, communication unit 306 includes a wireless LAN chip, and controls wireless communication complying with the IEEE802.11 standard series; ¶ 3, IEEE 802.11 standard series includes IEEE80.111a/b/g/n/ac/ax standards and the like) when the determined transmission control parameter is different from a transmission control parameter before the determination (fig. 8, shows a second iteration of s801 of performing use frequency band determination processing after a first iteration of s801 of performing use frequency band determination processing; ¶ 47, in step S801, the AP 102 determines use frequency bands for the AP 102 itself. More specifically, the AP 102 determines the frequency bands to be used from the three frequency bands of the 2.4 GHz band, the 5 GHz band, and the 6 GHz band, which are usable by the AP 102…communication is performed by using the two frequency bands of the 2.4 GHz band and the 5 GHz band; ¶ 40, discloses a situation where 2.4 GHz band and the 5 GHz band as the use frequency bands and a situation where 5 GHz band and the 6 GHz band as the use frequency bands. In view of the above, Yukawa teaches that during a first iteration of s801 the use frequency bands could be 5 GHz and 6 GHz and then during a second iteration of s801 the use frequency bands could be 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz which is different from use frequency bands of 5 GHz and 6 GHz)
and apply the transmission control parameter finally obtained through the first operation to the terminal apparatus (¶ 47, in step S801, the AP 102 determines use frequency bands for the AP 102 itself. More specifically, the AP 102 determines the frequency bands to be used from the three frequency bands of the 2.4 GHz band, the 5 GHz band, and the 6 GHz band, which are usable by the AP 102…communication is performed by using the two frequency bands of the 2.4 GHz band and the 5 GHz band; ¶ 52, STA 103 receives the use frequency band information, thus detecting that the AP 102 is usable in the 6 GHz band. Thereafter, in steps S9012 to S9052, the AP 102 and the STA 103 perform communication connection processing in the 6 GHz band; ¶ 60, STA 103 can recognize the plurality of frequency bands supported by the AP 102 in the above-described manner, appropriately establish connections in the plurality of frequency bands based on the supported frequency bands, and transmit and receive data).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Yukawa’s teachings with Yukawa’s one or more other embodiments’ teachings. The motivation is flexibly performing communication using appropriate frequency bands (Yukawa ¶ 53).
Regarding claim 3, Yukawa teaches the data processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to (Yukawa fig. 3, control unit 302; ¶ 33; ¶ 46, FIG. 8 is a flowchart of processing performed by the AP 102, and the operations in each step are processed by the control unit 302 of the AP 102 executing programs stored in the storage unit 301) use communication information of the terminal apparatus collected from the terminal apparatus when the transmission control parameter is determined again (Yukawa fig. 8, shows before at least the at least third and fourth iterations of s801 of performing use frequency band determination processing performing S804 of change use frequency band; ¶ 51, AP 102 periodically determines whether to change the use frequency bands again; ¶ 50, In step S804 (S906), the AP 102 determines whether to change the use frequency bands. In the present exemplary embodiment, the AP 102 periodically detects the above-described congestion, and determines whether to change the use frequency bands, based on change in the congestion; ¶ 39, As a method of checking the congestion degree, there is a method in which Probe Request is transmitted in the frequency bands to be checked, and the number of Probe Requests for each of which a Probe Response has been received as a response is counted; fig. 5, shows probe responses from STA 103).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Yukawa’s teachings with Yukawa’s one or more other embodiments’ teachings. The motivation is flexibly performing communication using appropriate frequency bands (Yukawa ¶ 53).
Regarding claim 4, Yukawa teaches the data processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to (Yukawa fig. 3, control unit 302; ¶ 33; ¶ 46, FIG. 8 is a flowchart of processing performed by the AP 102, and the operations in each step are processed by the control unit 302 of the AP 102 executing programs stored in the storage unit 301) collect the communication information of the terminal apparatus from the terminal apparatus (Yukawa ¶ 39, As a method of checking the congestion degree, there is a method in which Probe Request is transmitted in the frequency bands to be checked, and the number of Probe Requests for each of which a Probe Response has been received as a response is counted; fig. 5, shows probe responses from STA 103) based on a change in a first control parameter among transmission control parameters in the first operation (Yukawa fig. 8, shows a second iteration of s801 of performing use frequency band determination processing then performing S804 of change use frequency band for third and fourth iterations of s804 (resulting in different combinations of use frequency bands such as 2.4 GHz band and the 5 GHz band to 2.4 GHz band and the 6 GHz band to 5 GHz band and the 6 GHz band); ¶ 51, AP 102 periodically determines whether to change the use frequency bands again; ¶ 50, In step S804 (S906), the AP 102 determines whether to change the use frequency bands. In the present exemplary embodiment, the AP 102 periodically detects the above-described congestion, and determines whether to change the use frequency bands, based on change in the congestion; ¶ 39, As a method of checking the congestion degree, there is a method in which Probe Request is transmitted in the frequency bands to be checked, and the number of Probe Requests for each of which a Probe Response has been received as a response is counted; fig. 5, shows probe responses from STA 103),
and use the collected communication information of the terminal apparatus to determine a subsequent transmission control parameter (Yukawa fig. 8, shows before at least the at least third and fourth iterations of s801 of performing use frequency band determination processing performing S804 of change use frequency band; ¶ 50, In step S804 (S906), the AP 102 determines whether to change the use frequency bands. In the present exemplary embodiment, the AP 102 periodically detects the above-described congestion, and determines whether to change the use frequency bands, based on change in the congestion; ¶ 39, As a method of checking the congestion degree, there is a method in which Probe Request is transmitted in the frequency bands to be checked, and the number of Probe Requests for each of which a Probe Response has been received as a response is counted; fig. 5, shows probe responses from STA 103; ¶ 47, in step S801, the AP 102 determines use frequency bands for the AP 102 itself. More specifically, the AP 102 determines the frequency bands to be used from the three frequency bands of the 2.4 GHz band, the 5 GHz band, and the 6 GHz band, which are usable by the AP 102).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Yukawa’s teachings with Yukawa’s one or more other embodiments’ teachings. The motivation is flexibly performing communication using appropriate frequency bands (Yukawa ¶ 53).
Regarding claim 5, Yukawa teaches the data processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the constraint condition (Yukawa ¶ 35, wireless communication complying with the IEEE802.11 standard series; ¶ 3, IEEE 802.11 standard series includes IEEE80.111a/b/g/n/ac/ax standards and the like) includes a time in which the terminal apparatus is able to transmit and which is determined based on a transmission time ratio by law (Yukawa ¶ 26, each of the AP 102 and the STA 103…can transmit and receive frames at the same time by using a plurality of wireless channels; ¶ 44, a maximum throughput usable in each of the frequency bands; ¶ 3, discloses throughput in terms of Gbps which is a transmission time ratio; ¶ 35, complying with the IEEE802.11 standard series).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Yukawa’s teachings with Yukawa’s one or more other embodiments’ teachings. The motivation is flexibly performing communication using appropriate frequency bands (Yukawa ¶ 53).
Regarding claim 8, Yukawa teaches a non-transitory computer readable medium storing a computer program which is executed by a computer to provide the steps of (fig. 3, control unit 302; ¶ 33; ¶ 46, FIG. 8 is a flowchart of processing performed by the AP 102, and the operations in each step are processed by the control unit 302 of the AP 102 executing programs stored in the storage unit 301):
execute a first operation of determining a transmission control parameter used for wireless communication of a terminal apparatus (fig. 8, shows a second iteration of s801 of performing use frequency band determination processing; ¶ 47, in step S801, the AP 102 determines use frequency bands for the AP 102 itself. More specifically, the AP 102 determines the frequency bands to be used from the three frequency bands of the 2.4 GHz band, the 5 GHz band, and the 6 GHz band, which are usable by the AP 102…communication is performed by using the two frequency bands of the 2.4 GHz band and the 5 GHz band; ¶ 60, STA 103 can recognize the plurality of frequency bands supported by the AP 102 in the above-described manner, appropriately establish connections in the plurality of frequency bands based on the supported frequency bands, and transmit and receive data),
and repeatedly determining a transmission control parameter again using the determined transmission control parameter under a constraint condition related to the wireless communication of the terminal apparatus (fig. 8, shows at least third and fourth iterations of s801 of performing use frequency band determination processing using at least the second iteration of s801 of performing use frequency band determination processing under s804 of change use frequency band determination; ¶ 47, in step S801, the AP 102 determines use frequency bands for the AP 102 itself. More specifically, the AP 102 determines the frequency bands to be used from the three frequency bands of the 2.4 GHz band, the 5 GHz band, and the 6 GHz band, which are usable by the AP 102; ¶ 60, STA 103 can recognize the plurality of frequency bands supported by the AP 102 in the above-described manner, appropriately establish connections in the plurality of frequency bands based on the supported frequency bands, and transmit and receive data; ¶ 35, communication unit 306 includes a wireless LAN chip, and controls wireless communication complying with the IEEE802.11 standard series; ¶ 3, IEEE 802.11 standard series includes IEEE80.111a/b/g/n/ac/ax standards and the like) when the determined transmission control parameter is different from a transmission control parameter before the determination (fig. 8, shows a second iteration of s801 of performing use frequency band determination processing after a first iteration of s801 of performing use frequency band determination processing; ¶ 47, in step S801, the AP 102 determines use frequency bands for the AP 102 itself. More specifically, the AP 102 determines the frequency bands to be used from the three frequency bands of the 2.4 GHz band, the 5 GHz band, and the 6 GHz band, which are usable by the AP 102…communication is performed by using the two frequency bands of the 2.4 GHz band and the 5 GHz band; ¶ 40, discloses a situation where 2.4 GHz band and the 5 GHz band as the use frequency bands and a situation where 5 GHz band and the 6 GHz band as the use frequency bands. In view of the above, Yukawa teaches that during a first iteration of s801 the use frequency bands could be 5 GHz and 6 GHz and then during a second iteration of s801 the use frequency bands could be 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz which is different from use frequency bands of 5 GHz and 6 GHz);
and apply the transmission control parameter finally obtained through the first operation to the terminal apparatus (¶ 47, in step S801, the AP 102 determines use frequency bands for the AP 102 itself. More specifically, the AP 102 determines the frequency bands to be used from the three frequency bands of the 2.4 GHz band, the 5 GHz band, and the 6 GHz band, which are usable by the AP 102…communication is performed by using the two frequency bands of the 2.4 GHz band and the 5 GHz band; ¶ 52, STA 103 receives the use frequency band information, thus detecting that the AP 102 is usable in the 6 GHz band. Thereafter, in steps S9012 to S9052, the AP 102 and the STA 103 perform communication connection processing in the 6 GHz band; ¶ 60, STA 103 can recognize the plurality of frequency bands supported by the AP 102 in the above-described manner, appropriately establish connections in the plurality of frequency bands based on the supported frequency bands, and transmit and receive data).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Yukawa’s teachings with Yukawa’s one or more other embodiments’ teachings. The motivation is flexibly performing communication using appropriate frequency bands (Yukawa ¶ 53).
Regarding claim 6, claim 6 recite similar limitations of claim 8 and is thus rejected under similar rationale.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2, 7, and 9 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
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 PETER P CHAU whose telephone number is (571)270-7152. The examiner can normally be reached 9:30 A.M - 6 P.M. ET M-F.
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, Ayaz Sheikh can be reached at 571-272-3795. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/PETER P CHAU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2476
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