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 .
Priority
Applicant’s claim for the benefit of a prior-filed application, PCT/CN2021/070515 filed 1-6-21, under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) or under 35 U.S.C. 120, 121, 365(c), or 386(c) is acknowledged.
Information Disclosure Statement
These information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 7-5-23 & 4-27-24. The submissions are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, these information disclosure statements are being considered by the examiner.
Drawings
The drawings were received on 7-5-23. These drawings are acceptable.
Specification
The lengthy specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1, 3, 18, 20 & 21 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1-2) as being anticipated by Lin (US 2021/0351894 A1).
Regarding Claim 20.
An electronic device {Lin (US 2021/0351894 A1): STA 120/130/140-Fig.2}, comprising:
a memory {Lin: storage device 30-Fig.2 & ¶0044}, a processor {Lin: controller 20-Fig.2 & ¶0041}, and a computer program {Lin: program code, ¶0041} stored on the memory and executable on the processor, wherein the processor implements a communication method when executing the computer program, wherein the communication method comprises:
determining a first message frame {Lin: s1020-Fig.10 for determine a combination of RUs to be used in a TB PPDU according to the first RU Allocation subfield in a trigger frame indicating support of 320 MHz bandwidth to an STA, s1010-Fig.10 & ¶0033}, wherein the first message frame comprises physical layer capability information, and the physical layer capability information at least indicates a capability of a device operating at a second bandwidth {Lin: B0 of the RU Allocation subfield is set to 0 to indicate that the RU allocation applies to the primary 160 MHz channel of the 320 MHz bandwidth, and is set to 1 to indicate that the RU allocation applies to the secondary 160 MHz channel of the 320 MHz bandwidth & ¶0068} for receiving or sending a physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) of a first bandwidth {Lin: one additional bit is newly introduced as the first bit (i.e., B0) in the RU Allocation subfield to indicate support of 320 MHz bandwidth in EHT & ¶0068}, wherein the first bandwidth is greater than 160 MHz, the second bandwidth is 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz or 160 MHz; and
performing a communication operation based on the first message frame,
wherein the physical layer capability information {RU Allocation subfield, Fig.4} comprises a first identifier {Lin: one additional bit is newly introduced as the first bit (i.e., B0) in the RU Allocation subfield to indicate support of 320 MHz bandwidth in EHT & ¶0068} and a second identifier {Lin: the second bit (i.e., B1) of the RU Allocation subfield indicates whether the RU allocation applies to the primary 80 MHz channel of the 320 MHz bandwidth & ¶0068},
wherein the first identifier {Lin: B0 of the RU Allocation subfield is set to 1 to indicate that the RU allocation applies to the secondary 160 MHz channel of the 320 MHz bandwidth, ¶0068} indicates a support capability of the device operating at the second bandwidth {160 MHz bandwidth} for receiving or sending the PPDU of the first bandwidth,
the second identifier {Lin: B1 of the RU Allocation subfield is set to 0 to indicate that the RU allocation applies to the primary 80 MHz channel, and is set to 1 to indicate that the RU allocation applies to the secondary 80 MHz channel, ¶0069} comprises a plurality of bits configured to indicate information of a channel bandwidth and/or a resource unit (RU) supported of the device,
wherein a support capability for PPDU transmission of at least one of the first bandwidth and the second bandwidth is identified by setting values {Lin: setting 1 of B1 to indicate that the RU allocation applies to the secondary 80 MHz channel, ¶0069} of the plurality of bits of the second identifier {B1} and a value {Lin: setting 1 of B0 to indicate that RU allocation applies to the secondary 160 MHz of the 320 MHz bandwidth, ¶0068} of the first identifier {B0} in combination.
Regarding Claim 21.
-Claim 21 is rejected with the same reasons as set forth in claim 20.
A computer readable storage medium {Lin: storage device 30-Fig.2 & ¶0044} wherein having stored thereon computer programs that, when executed by a processor {Lin: controller 20-Fig.2 & ¶0041}, cause a communication method to be implemented, wherein the communication method comprises:
determining a first message frame, wherein the first message frame comprises physical layer capability information, and the physical layer capability information at least indicates a capability of a device operating at a second bandwidth for receiving or sending a physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) of a first bandwidth, wherein the first bandwidth is greater than 160 MHz, the second bandwidth is 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz or 160 MHz; and
performing a communication operation based on the first message frame,
wherein the physical layer capability information comprises a first identifier and a second identifier,
wherein the first identifier indicates a support capability of the device operating at the second bandwidth for receiving or sending the PPDU of the first bandwidth,
the second identifier comprises a plurality of bits configured to indicate information of a channel bandwidth and/or a resource unit (RU) supported of the device,
wherein a support capability for PPDU transmission of at least one of the first bandwidth and the second bandwidth is identified by setting values of the plurality of bits of the second identifier and a value of the first identifier in combination.
Regarding Claim 1.
-Claim 1 is rejected with the same reasons as set forth in claim 20.
A communication method, comprising:
determining a first message frame, wherein the first message frame comprises physical layer capability information, and the physical layer capability information at least indicates a capability of a device operating at a second bandwidth for receiving or sending a physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) of a first bandwidth, wherein the first bandwidth is greater than 160 MHz, the second bandwidth is 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz or 160 MHz; and
performing a communication operation based on the first message frame,
wherein the physical layer capability information comprises a first identifier and a second identifier,
wherein the first identifier indicates a support capability of the device operating at the second bandwidth for receiving or sending the PPDU of the first bandwidth,
the second identifier comprises a plurality of bits configured to indicate information of a channel bandwidth and/or a resource unit (RU) supported of the device,
wherein a support capability for PPDU transmission of at least one of the first bandwidth and the second bandwidth is identified by setting values of the plurality of bits of the second identifier and a value of the first identifier in combination.
Regarding Claim 3. With the same reasons as set forth in the communication method of claim 1, wherein in case that the first identifier is set to a first value, the first identifier indicates that the device operating at the second bandwidth supports receiving or sending the PPDU of the first bandwidth; and in case that the first identifier is set to a second value, the first identifier indicates that the device operating at the second bandwidth does not support receiving or sending the PPDU of the first bandwidth {Lin: Fig.4 & ¶0065-¶0069, e.g. ¶0068 wherein B0 of the RU Allocation subfield is set to 0 to indicate that the RU allocation applies to the primary 160 MHz channel of the 320 MHz bandwidth, and is set to 1 to indicate that the RU allocation applies to the secondary 160 MHz channel of the 320 MHz bandwidth}.
Regarding Claim 18. With the same reasons as set forth in the communication method of claim 1, wherein the physical layer capability information is encapsulated in an extreme high throughput physical layer (EHT PHY) capability information element or a multi-Link (ML) information element {Lin: ¶0010 wherein “ the trigger frame is an Extremely-High Throughput (EHT) trigger frame and the TB PPDU is an EHT TB PPDU in compliance with Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11be standard.”}
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 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.
Claim(s) 4, 7-11 & 13-17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 over Lin (US 2021/0351894 A1) in view of Asterjadhi (US 2020/0015219 A1).
Regarding Claim 17. With the same reasons as set forth in the communication method of claim 1, Lin does not explicitly disclose wherein the first message frame is a probe request frame, a multi-Link probe request frame or an association request frame.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Asterjadhi (US 2020/0015219 A1) disclose wherein the first message frame is a probe request frame, a multi-Link probe request frame or an association request frame {Asterjadhi: ¶0095 wherein “At 605, an AP 105-b may transmit a trigger frame to one or more STAs, including an STA 115-b to coordinate uplink transmission. The trigger frame may be formatted to include one or more subfields spanning a sequence of bits. The one or more subfields of the trigger frame include information such as a payload length, bandwidth, RU allocation, and modulation scheme, as well as one or more request indications for reporting by the receiving STA 115-b”; also ¶0012}.
Therefore, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to Asterjadhi’s teaching to Lin’s system with the motivation being to “provide flexible enhancements to reporting mechanisms or subfield indications signaled by an AP or STA, for increased granularity for channel bitmap or operating bandwidth indication”{Asterjadhi: ¶0006 & ¶0052}.
Regarding Claim 4. With the same reasons as set forth in the communication method of claims 1 & 17, wherein the PPDU of the first bandwidth received is an extreme high throughput (EHT) multi-user (MU) PPDU of 160+160 MHz or 320 MHz; and wherein the PPDU of the first bandwidth sent is an EHT trigger-based (TB) PPDU of 160+160 MHz or 320MHz {Asterjadhi (US 2020/0015219 A1): ¶0115-¶0117 wherein ¶0115-“the AP may transmit a trigger frame to allocate resources for one or more HE TB PPDUs, which may coordinate uplink transmissions by the STA. The trigger frame may include a payload length, bandwidth, RU allocation, and modulation scheme information for the responding STA. The trigger frame may be formatted to include a sequence of one or more subfields, which may be included in a MAC header. The sequence of one or more subfields may include a common information field, spanning 8 or more octets, and a user information field, spanning 5 or more octets”; ¶0116-“The common information field may be formatted to include one or more subfields, including an UL BW subfield spanning 2 bits. The UL BW subfield may indicate the bandwidth in the HE-SIG-A field of the HE TB PPDU. The 2-bit structure of the UL BW subfield may correspond to 4 bit combination values (for example, 0, 1, 2, or 3) associated with reporting the operating bandwidth (e.g. UL BW Subfield value of 3 for 160+160MHz or 320 MHz, Fig.9) for uplink signaling”; and ¶0117-“Based on the supported EHT functionality at the responding STA, the AP may extend an encoding scheme or resource allocation structure within the one or more subfields of the common information field to indicate granularity associated with the mode of operation at the STA. The AP may enable a different encoding scheme within the UL BW subfield of the common information field, to support operable granularity at the receiving STA of the trigger frame based on the active mode (for example, EHT functionality).”}
Regarding Claim 7. With the same reasons as set forth in the communication method of claims 1 & 17, wherein the plurality of bits comprise at least one of following: a first bit, configured to identify the support capability of the device for the channel bandwidths of 40 MHz and 80 MHz; a second bit, configured to identify the support capability of the device for the channel bandwidth of 160 MHz; a third bit, configured to identify the support capability of the device for the channel bandwidth of 160 MHz or 80+80 MHz {Asterjadhi: ¶0115-¶0117 and Fig.9 wherein UL BW Subfield value of 2 for 80+80MHz or 160 MHz}; a fourth bit, configured to identify the support capability of the device for the channel bandwidth of 320 MHz {Asterjadhi: ¶0115-¶0117 and Fig.9 wherein UL BW Subfield value of 3 for 320 MHz}; a fifth bit, configured to identify the support capability of the device for the channel bandwidth of 320 MHz or 160+160 MHz {Asterjadhi: ¶0115-¶0117 and Fig.9 wherein UL BW Subfield value of 3 for 160+160MHz or 320 MHz}; a sixth bit, configured to identify the support capability of the device for transmitting the PPDU of the first bandwidth by using the resource unit with a size smaller than a first size; and a seventh bit, configured to identify the support capability of the device for transmitting the PPDU of the first bandwidth by using the resource unit with a size equal to the first size.
Regarding Claim 8. With the same reasons as set forth in the communication method of claim 7, wherein in case that the first bit is set to a third value and the sixth bit is set to a fourth value {Asterjadhi: ¶0115-¶0117 wherein UL BW Subfield value of 3 for 160+160MHz or 320 MHz, Fig.9}, it is indicated that the device supports an orthogonal frequency-division multiple access {Asterjadhi: ¶0050, ¶0226-¶0227-OFDMA} transmission of 160 MHz, 160 MHz+160 MHz, 320 MHz or 240 MHz {Asterjadhi: Figs.4-5, 7 & 9-10}.
Regarding Claim 9. With the same reasons as set forth in the communication method of claim 7, wherein in case that the second bit is set to a fifth value and the sixth bit is set to a sixth value, it is indicated that the device supports an OFDMA transmission of 160 MHz+160 MHz, 320 MHz or 240 MHz {Asterjadhi: ¶0115-¶0117 and Fig.9 wherein UL BW Subfield value of 3 for 160+160MHz or 320 MHz}.
Regarding Claim 10. With the same reasons as set forth in the communication method of claim 8, wherein the OFDMA transmission {Asterjadhi: ¶0050, ¶0226-¶0227} supports a multiple resource unit (MRU) {Asterjadhi: ¶0095 wherein “At 605, an AP 105-b may transmit a trigger frame to one or more STAs… the trigger frame include information such as a payload length, bandwidth, RU allocation” and Figs.1, 6 & 11; In other words, OFDMA transmission of sending the trigger frame to multiple STAs inherently supports multiple resource unit (MRU) allocations to multiple STAs, emphasis added}.
Regarding Claim 11. With the same reasons as set forth in the communication method of claim 8, wherein the OFDMA transmission {Asterjadhi: ¶0050, ¶0226-¶0227} supports a single type resource unit (SRU) {Asterjadhi: ¶0095 wherein “At 605, an AP 105-b may transmit a trigger frame to one or more STAs… the trigger frame include information such as a payload length, bandwidth, RU allocation” and Figs.1, 6 & 11; In other words, OFDMA transmission of sending the trigger frame to one STA inherently supports single resource unit (SRU) allocation to one STA, emphasis added}.
Regarding Claim 13. With the same reasons as set forth in the communication method of claim 7, wherein in case that the second bandwidth is 20 MHz {Asterjadhi: ¶0115-¶0117 wherein UL BW Subfield value of 3 for 160+160MHz or 320 MHz, Fig.9}, the resource unit with the first size is 242-tone, and the resource unit with the size smaller than the first size is: 26-tone, 52-tone, 106-tone, 52+26-tone or 106+26-tone {Asterjadhi: Fig.10}.
Regarding Claim 14. With the same reasons as set forth in the communication method of claim 7, wherein in case that the second bandwidth is 40 MHz {Asterjadhi: ¶0115-¶0117 wherein UL BW Subfield value of 3 for 160+160MHz or 320 MHz, Fig.9}, the resource unit with the first size is 484-tone, and the resource unit with the size smaller than the first size is: 26-tone, 52-tone, 106-tone, 52+26-tone or 106+26-tone {Asterjadhi: Fig.10}.
Regarding Claim 15. With the same reasons as set forth in the communication method of claim 7, wherein in case that the second bandwidth is 80 MHz {Asterjadhi: ¶0115-¶0117 wherein UL BW Subfield value of 3 for 160+160MHz or 320 MHz, Fig.9}, the resource unit with the first size is 996-tone, and the resource unit with the size smaller than the first size is: 26-tone, 52-tone, 106-tone, 52+26-tone, 106+26-tone or 484+242-tone {Asterjadhi: Fig.10}.
Regarding Claim 16. With the same reasons as set forth in the communication method of claim 7, wherein in case that the second bandwidth is 160 MHz {Asterjadhi: ¶0115-¶0117 wherein UL BW Subfield value of 3 for 160+160MHz or 320 MHz, Fig.9}, the resource unit with the first size is 996×2-tone, and the resource unit with the size smaller than the first size is: 26-tone, 52-tone, 106-tone, 52+26-tone, 106+26-tone, 484+996-tone or 996+484+242-tone {Asterjadhi: Fig.10}.
Regarding Claims 2, 5-6 & 19. (canceled)
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 12 is 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding Claim 12. The prior art fails to teach the communication method of claim 7, wherein:
in case that the seventh bit is set to a seventh value and the first identifier is set to the second value, it is indicated that receiving or sending the PPDU of 40 MHz and/or 80 MHz is supported, and
in case that the seventh bit is set to an eighth value and the first identifier is set to the first value, it is indicated that receiving or sending the PPDU of 40 MHz, 80 MHz, 160 MHz, 80+80 MHz, 320 MHz and/or 160 MHz+160 MHz is supported.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, filed 1-21-26, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1, 3-4, 7-18 & 20-21 under 102 rejections have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Lin (US 2021/0351894 A1).
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Dong (US 20240121039 A1, same assignee) discloses that a communication method includes: determining a first message frame, the first message frame comprising information identifying the maximum single-type resource unit and/or the maximum composite resource unit supported when dual carrier modulation is used; and sending the first message frame {Claims 1-18 & 21-24}.
Verma (US 20190116545 A1) discloses systems, devices, apparatus and methods, including computer programs encoded on storage media, for techniques for an access point (AP) in a basic service set (BSS) to advertise or indicate 320 MHz bandwidth operation and frequency segment composition in the 320 MHz bandwidth to a station (STA) in a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN). Also, a WLAN device may advertise or indicate its 320 MHz bandwidth support capability to other WLAN devices in the WLAN {Figs.1-10}.
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.
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/PHUONGCHAU BA NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2464