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 .
In view of the pre appeal filed on 4/30/26, PROSECUTION IS HEREBY REOPENED. set forth below.
To avoid abandonment of the application, appellant must exercise one of the following two options:
(1) file a reply under 37 CFR 1.111 (if this Office action is non-final) or a reply under 37 CFR 1.113 (if this Office action is final); or,
(2) initiate a new appeal by filing a notice of appeal under 37 CFR 41.31 followed by an appeal brief under 37 CFR 41.37. The previously paid notice of appeal fee and appeal brief fee can be applied to the new appeal. If, however, the appeal fees set forth in 37 CFR 41.20 have been increased since they were previously paid, then appellant must pay the difference between the increased fees and the amount previously paid.
A Supervisory Patent Examiner (SPE) has approved of reopening prosecution by signing below:
.
/MARCUS SMITH/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2468
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.
Claim(s) 1, 7-8, 14-15, and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang et al. (U.S. Pub No. 2023/0388753 A1) in view of HUANG et al. (U.S. Pub No 2023/0046270 A1)
1, Wang teaches a method of multi-link monitoring[par 0170, An AP that receives a multi-link trigger frame from a non-AP STA requesting AP assistance may monitor the link that AP assisted blindness recovery or medium synchronization is requested for]
comprising: transmitting, by a station multi-link device first information to an access point multi-link device [par 0148, -0150, An NSTR non-AP MLD may request assistance from an AP MLD to provide synchronization assistance on NSTR links on which the NSTR non-AP MLD operates, or on the links pairs the STA MLD has informed the AP MLD that are operating in NSTR mode. STA1 or STA2 may indicate that it requires AP Assisted Blindness Recovery. For example, a bit in the Common Info field or in each of the Per STA Profile or in the field of NSTR pair indication, or any other subfield, may indicate that the MLD or STA is requesting AP Assisted Blindness Recovery],
wherein the first information is used for determining at least one target link that the access point multi-link device is required to assist the station multi-link device in monitoring [par 0148, 0150, 0170, An NSTR non-AP MLD may request assistance from an AP MLD to provide synchronization assistance on NSTR links on which the NSTR non-AP MLD operates, or on the links pairs the STA MLD has informed the AP MLD that are operating in NSTR mode. the non-AP MLD may have informed the AP MLD of such NSTR mode that the non-AP MLD is operating in. Link 1 and link 2 may be indicated as an NSTR pair in the basic variant of multi-link (ML) element transmitted by STA1 or STA2. STA 1 and STA2 are associated respectively with AP1 and AP2 that are affiliated with an AP MLD],
wherein the first information comprises identification (ID) information of the at least one target link, and the ID information of the at least one target link is indicated by a bitmap [par 0153, such a request may be indicated by an A-Control header, which may contain a Link ID bitmap and a Request Frame types. Such an A-Control header may be an AAR (AP Assistance Requested) A-Control header. The Link ID bitmap may indicate for which link the AP assistance is requested. In another example, the Link ID indication may be explicit and indicate the ID of each of the IDs indicated].
Wang fails to show wherein the access point multi-link device assists the station multi-link device in monitoring whether the at least one target is in idle state.
In an analogous HUANG show wherein the access point multi-link device assists the station multi-link device in monitoring whether the at least one target is in idle state [par 0130, 0165-0167, The enable/disable state of each link indicates whether an AP of each link in the AP MLD is enabled. The AP-CSN of each link is used for assisting the non-AP MLD in performing link switching or link status transition in the foregoing link processing. The channel utilization of the link in an enable state is used for selecting a link in response to the non-AP MLD recommending link switching, or used for selecting a recommended or used link in response to the non-AP MLD recommending link status transition. The quantity of stations of the link in an enable state is used for assisting the non-AP MLD in evaluating a congestion degree of an AP based on a quantity of stations connected to the AP of the link. Optionally, the multi-link probe request (multi-link probe request) frame or the multi-link association request frame carries a quantity of radio frequencies of a device and a link status. The previous link refers to that in response to a plurality of pieces of link information being indicated, a link status of the previous link of the link is disable or enable. In response to the link status being enable, the link is in an awake state or a doze state is further indicated].
Before the effective filing date it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of Wang and HUANG because the method reduces a waiting time before the data frame is transmitted on the switched-to second link or the second link whose status is transited. [HUANG par 0007]
7, Wang and HUANG disclose the method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving, by the station multi-link device a trigger frame transmitted by the access point multi-link device [WANG par 0169, The AP may transmit a requested packet or frame, such as an NDP packet, duplicate ACK/BA frames, trigger frame, or regular packet, on the know NSTR link(s) that is associated with the non-AP MLD with which the non-STA is affiliated],
wherein the trigger frame is used for determining at least one link state of the at least one target link that the access point multi-link device is required to assist the station multi-link device in monitoring [par 0164, 0169, The multi-link trigger frame may contain a multi-link trigger type: this field may indicate that the frame is a multi-link trigger, which may be used for blindness recovery or medium synchronization, which may be caused after NSTR transmissions or the current transmission. the AP may transmit the requested packets on the links for which Requested AP Assistance for blindness recovery are indicated in the Multi-link Trigger frame from the non-AP STA that is affiliated with an NSTR non-AP MLD].
8.Wang teaches a station multi-link device, comprising: a processor; and a memory for storing a computer program [par 0182, In addition, the methods described herein may be implemented in a computer program, software, or firmware incorporated in a computer-readable medium for execution by a computer or processor. Examples of computer-readable media include electronic signals (transmitted over wired or wireless connections) and computer-readable storage media. A processor in association with software may be used to implement a radio frequency transceiver for use in a WTRU, UE, terminal, base station, RNC, or any host computer],
wherein the processor is configured to invoke and execute the computer program stored in the memory to transmit first information to an access point multi-link device[par 0148, -0150, An NSTR non-AP MLD may request assistance from an AP MLD to provide synchronization assistance on NSTR links on which the NSTR non-AP MLD operates, or on the links pairs the STA MLD has informed the AP MLD that are operating in NSTR mode. STA1 or STA2 may indicate that it requires AP Assisted Blindness Recovery. For example, a bit in the Common Info field or in each of the Per STA Profile or in the field of NSTR pair indication, or any other subfield, may indicate that the MLD or STA is requesting AP Assisted Blindness Recovery],
wherein the first information is used for determining at least one target link that the access point multi-link device is required to assist the station multi-link device in monitoring[par 0148, 0150, 0170, An NSTR non-AP MLD may request assistance from an AP MLD to provide synchronization assistance on NSTR links on which the NSTR non-AP MLD operates, or on the links pairs the STA MLD has informed the AP MLD that are operating in NSTR mode. the non-AP MLD may have informed the AP MLD of such NSTR mode that the non-AP MLD is operating in. Link 1 and link 2 may be indicated as an NSTR pair in the basic variant of multi-link (ML) element transmitted by STA1 or STA2. STA 1 and STA2 are associated respectively with AP1 and AP2 that are affiliated with an AP MLD],
wherein the first information comprises identification (ID) information of the at least one target link, and the ID information of the at least one target link is indicated by a bitmap[par 0153, such a request may be indicated by an A-Control header, which may contain a Link ID bitmap and a Request Frame types. Such an A-Control header may be an AAR (AP Assistance Requested) A-Control header. The Link ID bitmap may indicate for which link the AP assistance is requested. In another example, the Link ID indication may be explicit and indicate the ID of each of the IDs indicated].
Wang fails to show wherein the access point multi-link device assists the station multi-link device in monitoring whether the at least one target is in idle state.
In an analogous HUANG show wherein the access point multi-link device assists the station multi-link device in monitoring whether the at least one target is in idle state [par 0130, 0165-0167, The enable/disable state of each link indicates whether an AP of each link in the AP MLD is enabled. The AP-CSN of each link is used for assisting the non-AP MLD in performing link switching or link status transition in the foregoing link processing. The channel utilization of the link in an enable state is used for selecting a link in response to the non-AP MLD recommending link switching, or used for selecting a recommended or used link in response to the non-AP MLD recommending link status transition. The quantity of stations of the link in an enable state is used for assisting the non-AP MLD in evaluating a congestion degree of an AP based on a quantity of stations connected to the AP of the link. Optionally, the multi-link probe request (multi-link probe request) frame or the multi-link association request frame carries a quantity of radio frequencies of a device and a link status. The previous link refers to that in response to a plurality of pieces of link information being indicated, a link status of the previous link of the link is disable or enable. In response to the link status being enable, the link is in an awake state or a doze state is further indicated].
Before the effective filing date it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of Wang and HUANG because the method reduces a waiting time before the data frame is transmitted on the switched-to second link or the second link whose status is transited. [HUANG par 0007]
14. Wang and HUANG disclose the station multi-link device of claim 8, wherein the processor is further configured to receive a trigger frame transmitted by the access point multi-link device[Wang par 0169, The AP may transmit a requested packet or frame, such as an NDP packet, duplicate ACK/BA frames, trigger frame, or regular packet, on the know NSTR link(s) that is associated with the non-AP MLD with which the non-STA is affiliated],,
wherein the trigger frame is used for determining at least one link state of the at least one target link that the access point multi-link device is re1quired to assist the station multi-link device in monitoring [par 0164, 0169, The multi-link trigger frame may contain a multi-link trigger type: this field may indicate that the frame is a multi-link trigger, which may be used for blindness recovery or medium synchronization, which may be caused after NSTR transmissions or the current transmission. the AP may transmit the requested packets on the links for which Requested AP Assistance for blindness recovery are indicated in the Multi-link Trigger frame from the non-AP STA that is affiliated with an NSTR non-AP MLD].
15. Wang provides an access point multi-link device[par 0140-0143, STA1 may indicate it may go to sleep mode after the ML restricted transmission on Link 1 and contend channel and transmit on Link 2. In one method, the information may be carried in a control frame which may be aggregated to other frames and carried in the PPDU],
comprising: a processor; and a memory for storing a computer program[par 0182, In addition, the methods described herein may be implemented in a computer program, software, or firmware incorporated in a computer-readable medium for execution by a computer or processor. Examples of computer-readable media include electronic signals (transmitted over wired or wireless connections) and computer-readable storage media. A processor in association with software may be used to implement a radio frequency transceiver for use in a WTRU, UE, terminal, base station, RNC, or any host computer],
wherein the processor is configured to invoke and execute the computer program stored in the memory to receive first information transmitted by a station
multi-link device[par 0148, -0150, An NSTR non-AP MLD may request assistance from an AP MLD to provide synchronization assistance on NSTR links on which the NSTR non-AP MLD operates, or on the links pairs the STA MLD has informed the AP MLD that are operating in NSTR mode. STA1 or STA2 may indicate that it requires AP Assisted Blindness Recovery. For example, a bit in the Common Info field or in each of the Per STA Profile or in the field of NSTR pair indication, or any other subfield, may indicate that the MLD or STA is requesting AP Assisted Blindness Recovery],
wherein the first information is used for determining at least one target link that the access point multi-link device is required to assist the station multi-link device in monitoring[par 0148, 0150, 0170, An NSTR non-AP MLD may request assistance from an AP MLD to provide synchronization assistance on NSTR links on which the NSTR non-AP MLD operates, or on the links pairs the STA MLD has informed the AP MLD that are operating in NSTR mode. the non-AP MLD may have informed the AP MLD of such NSTR mode that the non-AP MLD is operating in. Link 1 and link 2 may be indicated as an NSTR pair in the basic variant of multi-link (ML) element transmitted by STA1 or STA2. STA 1 and STA2 are associated respectively with AP1 and AP2 that are affiliated with an AP MLD],
wherein the first information comprises identification (ID) information of the at least one target link, and the ID information of the at least one target link is indicated by a bitmap [par 0153, such a request may be indicated by an A-Control header, which may contain a Link ID bitmap and a Request Frame types. Such an A-Control header may be an AAR (AP Assistance Requested) A-Control header. The Link ID bitmap may indicate for which link the AP assistance is requested. In another example, the Link ID indication may be explicit and indicate the ID of each of the IDs indicated].
Wang fails to show wherein the access point multi-link device assists the station multi-link device in monitoring whether the at least one target is in idle state.
In an analogous HUANG show wherein the access point multi-link device assists the station multi-link device in monitoring whether the at least one target is in idle state [par 0130, 0165-0167, The enable/disable state of each link indicates whether an AP of each link in the AP MLD is enabled. The AP-CSN of each link is used for assisting the non-AP MLD in performing link switching or link status transition in the foregoing link processing. The channel utilization of the link in an enable state is used for selecting a link in response to the non-AP MLD recommending link switching, or used for selecting a recommended or used link in response to the non-AP MLD recommending link status transition. The quantity of stations of the link in an enable state is used for assisting the non-AP MLD in evaluating a congestion degree of an AP based on a quantity of stations connected to the AP of the link. Optionally, the multi-link probe request (multi-link probe request) frame or the multi-link association request frame carries a quantity of radio frequencies of a device and a link status. The previous link refers to that in response to a plurality of pieces of link information being indicated, a link status of the previous link of the link is disable or enable. In response to the link status being enable, the link is in an awake state or a doze state is further indicated].
Before the effective filing date it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of Wang and HUANG because the method reduces a waiting time before the data frame is transmitted on the switched-to second link or the second link whose status is transited. [HUANG par 0007]
20. Wang and HUANG provide the access point multi-link device of claim 15, wherein the processor is further configured to transmit a trigger frame to the station multi-link device[Wang, par 0169, The AP may transmit a requested packet or frame, such as an NDP packet, duplicate ACK/BA frames, trigger frame, or regular packet, on the know NSTR link(s) that is associated with the non-AP MLD with which the non-STA is affiliated],
wherein the trigger frame is used for indicating at least one link state of the at least one target link[par 0164, 0169, The multi-link trigger frame may contain a multi-link trigger type: this field may indicate that the frame is a multi-link trigger, which may be used for blindness recovery or medium synchronization, which may be caused after NSTR transmissions or the current transmission. the AP may transmit the requested packets on the links for which Requested AP Assistance for blindness recovery are indicated in the Multi-link Trigger frame from the non-AP STA that is affiliated with an NSTR non-AP MLD].
Claim(s) 3, 5, 6, 10, 12, 13, 17-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang et al. (U.S. Pub No. 2023/0388753 A1) in view of HUANG et al. (U.S. Pub No 2023/0046270 A1) in further view of Li et al. (U.S. Pub No. 2023/0043522 A1).
3, Wang and HUANG provide the method of claim 1, wherein the first information comprises a first bitmap [par 0153, In one example, such a request may be indicated by an A-Control header, which may contain a Link ID bitmap and a Request Frame types. Such an A-Control header may be an AAR (AP Assistance Requested) A-Control header. The Link ID bitmap may indicate for which link the AP assistance is requested],
and different values of each bit are used for indicating whether at least one link corresponding to the bit is at least one target link that the access point multi-link device is required to assist the station multi-link device in monitoring [par 0150, 0153, For example, a bit in the Common Info field or in each of the Per STA Profile or in the field of NSTR pair indication, or any other subfield, may indicate that the MLD or STA is requesting AP Assisted Blindness Recovery. In one example, such a request may be indicated by an A-Control header, which may contain a Link ID bitmap and a Request Frame types. Such an A-Control header may be an AAR (AP Assistance Requested) A-Control header. The Link ID bitmap may indicate for which link the AP assistance is requested]
Wang and HUANG fail to show wherein the first bitmap comprises a plurality of bits, each of the plurality of bits corresponds to at least one link.
In an analogous art Li wherein the first bitmap comprises a plurality of bits, each of the plurality of bits corresponds to at least one link[par 0163, The indication information indicates the second link in a manner of a bitmap in the control information (control information) subfield. Each bit in the control information (control information) subfield may correspond to one link. When a bit correspond to a link is 1, it indicates that the link is the second link, or when a bit corresponding to a link is 0]
Before the effective filing date it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of Wang, HUANG, and Li because the second multi-link device can improve system transmission efficiency on the link by using a plurality of spatial flows. [Li par 0006]
5. Wang and HUANG fail to show the method of claim 1, Wang and HUANG fail to show wherein the first information is contained in an aggregate (A) control subfield in a high throughput (HT) control field of a first frame, wherein the first frame is one of: a control wrapper frame, a management frame or a data frame.
In an analogous art Li show wherein the first information is contained in an aggregate (A) control subfield in a high throughput (HT) control field of a first frame[par 0158, First frame structure: The first frame is a data frame, the data frame includes a high throughput control (high throughput control, HT control) field of a high efficiency (high efficiency, HE) type, the high throughput control (HT control) field includes an A-control (A-control) subfield, the A-control (A-control) subfield includes a control (control) subfield, the control (control) subfield includes a control information (control information) subfield and a control identifier (control ID) subfield],
wherein the first frame is one of: a control wrapper frame, a management frame or a data frame [par 0159, As shown in FIG. 4, in an existing standard protocol, there is a high throughput control (HT control) field in the data frame, and whether the high throughput control field exists is indicated by using a frame control (frame control) field. A length of the high throughput control (HT control) field is 4 bytes]
Before the effective filing date it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of Wang, HUANG, and Li because the second multi-link device can improve system transmission efficiency on the link by using a plurality of spatial flows. [Li par 0006]
6. Wang, HUANG, and Li disclose the method of claim 5, Wang and HUANG fail to show wherein the A control subfield comprises at least one of a control identification (ID) field or a first bitmap field,
In an analogous art Li show wherein the A control subfield comprises at least one of a control identification (ID) field or a first bitmap field [par 0158, the high throughput control (HT control) field includes an A-control (A-control) subfield, the A-control (A-control) subfield includes a control (control) subfield, the control (control) subfield includes a control information (control information) subfield and a control identifier (control ID) subfield, the control information (control information) subfield carries the indication information]
Before the effective filing date it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of Wang, HUANG and Li because the second multi-link device can improve system transmission efficiency on the link by using a plurality of spatial flows. [Li par 0006]
Wang show wherein a value of the control ID field being a first value represents that the first bitmap field is used for uplink multi-link aggregation, and the first bitmap field is used for determining the at least one target link that the access point multi-link device is required to assist the station multi-link device in monitoring [par 0150, 0151, a bit in the Common Info field or in each of the Per STA Profile or in the field of NSTR pair indication, or any other subfield, may indicate that the MLD or STA is requesting AP Assisted Blindness Recovery. For example, a bit in the Common Info field or in each of the Per STA Profile or in the field of NSTR pair indication, or any other field or subfield, may indicate that the MLD or AP is granting or providing AP Assisted Blindness Recovery].
10. Wang and HUANG demonstrate the station multi-link device of claim 8, wherein the first information comprises a first bitmap[Wang par 0153, In one example, such a request may be indicated by an A-Control header, which may contain a Link ID bitmap and a Request Frame types. Such an A-Control header may be an AAR (AP Assistance Requested) A-Control header. The Link ID bitmap may indicate for which link the AP assistance is requested],
and different values of each bit are used for indicating whether at least one link corresponding to the bit is at least one target link that the access point multi-link device is required to assist the station multi-link device in monitoring[par 0150, 0153, For example, a bit in the Common Info field or in each of the Per STA Profile or in the field of NSTR pair indication, or any other subfield, may indicate that the MLD or STA is requesting AP Assisted Blindness Recovery. In one example, such a request may be indicated by an A-Control header, which may contain a Link ID bitmap and a Request Frame types. Such an A-Control header may be an AAR (AP Assistance Requested) A-Control header. The Link ID bitmap may indicate for which link the AP assistance is requested]
Wang and HUANG fail to show wherein the first bitmap comprises a plurality of bits, each of the plurality of bits corresponds to at least one link
In an analogous at Li wherein the first bitmap comprises a plurality of bits, each of the plurality of bits corresponds to at least one link[par 0163, The indication information indicates the second link in a manner of a bitmap in the control information (control information) subfield. Each bit in the control information (control information) subfield may correspond to one link. When a bit correspond to a link is 1, it indicates that the link is the second link, or when a bit corresponding to a link is 0]
Before the effective filing date it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of Wang, HUANG, and Li because the second multi-link device can improve system transmission efficiency on the link by using a plurality of spatial flows. [Li par 0006]
12. Wang and HUANG displays the station multi-link device of claim 8, Wang and HUANG fail to show wherein the first information is contained in an aggregate (A) control subfield in a high throughput (HT) control field of a first frame, wherein the first frame is one of: a control wrapper frame, a management frame or a data frame.
In an analogous art Li show wherein the first information is contained in an aggregate (A) control subfield in a high throughput (HT) control field of a first frame[par 0158, First frame structure: The first frame is a data frame, the data frame includes a high throughput control (high throughput control, HT control) field of a high efficiency (high efficiency, HE) type, the high throughput control (HT control) field includes an A-control (A-control) subfield, the A-control (A-control) subfield includes a control (control) subfield, the control (control) subfield includes a control information (control information) subfield and a control identifier (control ID) subfield],
wherein the first frame is one of: a control wrapper frame, a management frame or a data frame [par 0159, As shown in FIG. 4, in an existing standard protocol, there is a high throughput control (HT control) field in the data frame, and whether the high throughput control field exists is indicated by using a frame control (frame control) field. A length of the high throughput control (HT control) field is 4 bytes]
Before the effective filing date it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of Wang, HUANG, and Li because the second multi-link device can improve system transmission efficiency on the link by using a plurality of spatial flows. [Li par 0006]
13. Wang, HUANG, and Li discloses the station multi-link device of claim 12, Wang and HUANG fail to show wherein the A control subfield comprises at least one of a control identification (ID) field or a first bitmap field,
In an analogous art Li to show wherein the A control subfield comprises at least one of a control identification (ID) field or a first bitmap field[par 0158, the high throughput control (HT control) field includes an A-control (A-control) subfield, the A-control (A-control) subfield includes a control (control) subfield, the control (control) subfield includes a control information (control information) subfield and a control identifier (control ID) subfield, the control information (control information) subfield carries the indication information]
Before the effective filing date it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of Wang, HUANG, and Li because the second multi-link device can improve system transmission efficiency on the link by using a plurality of spatial flows. [Li par 0006]
Wang show wherein a value of the control ID field being a first value represents that the first bitmap field is used for uplink multi-link aggregation, and the first bitmap field is used for determining the at least one target link that the access point multi-link device is required to assist the station multi-link device in monitoring[par 0150, 0151, a bit in the Common Info field or in each of the Per STA Profile or in the field of NSTR pair indication, or any other subfield, may indicate that the MLD or STA is requesting AP Assisted Blindness Recovery. For example, a bit in the Common Info field or in each of the Per STA Profile or in the field of NSTR pair indication, or any other field or subfield, may indicate that the MLD or AP is granting or providing AP Assisted Blindness Recovery].
17. Wang and HUANG describe the access point multi-link device of claim 16, wherein the first information comprises a first bitmap[Wang par 0153, In one example, such a request may be indicated by an A-Control header, which may contain a Link ID bitmap and a Request Frame types. Such an A-Control header may be an AAR (AP Assistance Requested) A-Control header. The Link ID bitmap may indicate for which link the AP assistance is requested],
and different values of each bit are used for indicating whether at least one link corresponding to the bit is at least one target link that the access point multi-link device is required to assist the station multi-link device in monitoring[par 0150, 0153, For example, a bit in the Common Info field or in each of the Per STA Profile or in the field of NSTR pair indication, or any other subfield, may indicate that the MLD or STA is requesting AP Assisted Blindness Recovery. In one example, such a request may be indicated by an A-Control header, which may contain a Link ID bitmap and a Request Frame types. Such an A-Control header may be an AAR (AP Assistance Requested) A-Control header. The Link ID bitmap may indicate for which link the AP assistance is requested]
Wang and HUANG fail to show wherein the first bitmap comprises a plurality of bits, each of the plurality of bits corresponds to at least one link.
In an analogous art Li wherein the first bitmap comprises a plurality of bits, each of the plurality of bits corresponds to at least one link[par 0163, The indication information indicates the second link in a manner of a bitmap in the control information (control information) subfield. Each bit in the control information (control information) subfield may correspond to one link. When a bit correspond to a link is 1, it indicates that the link is the second link, or when a bit corresponding to a link is 0]
Before the effective filing date it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of Wang, HUANG, and Li because the second multi-link device can improve system transmission efficiency on the link by using a plurality of spatial flows. [Li par 0006]
18. Wang, HUANG, and Li demonstrate the access point multi-link device of claim 17, Wang and KIM fail to show wherein the first information is contained in an aggregate (A) control subfield in a high throughput (HT) control field of a first frame, wherein the first frame is one of: a control wrapper frame, a management frame or a data frame.
In an analogous art Li show wherein the first information is contained in an aggregate (A) control subfield in a high throughput (HT) control field of a first frame[par 0158, First frame structure: The first frame is a data frame, the data frame includes a high throughput control (high throughput control, HT control) field of a high efficiency (high efficiency, HE) type, the high throughput control (HT control) field includes an A-control (A-control) subfield, the A-control (A-control) subfield includes a control (control) subfield, the control (control) subfield includes a control information (control information) subfield and a control identifier (control ID) subfield],
wherein the first frame is one of: a control wrapper frame, a management frame or a data frame[par 0159, As shown in FIG. 4, in an existing standard protocol, there is a high throughput control (HT control) field in the data frame, and whether the high throughput control field exists is indicated by using a frame control (frame control) field. A length of the high throughput control (HT control) field is 4 bytes]
Before the effective filing date it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of Wang, HUANG, and Li because the second multi-link device can improve system transmission efficiency on the link by using a plurality of spatial flows. [Li par 0006]
19. Wang, HUANG, and Li disclose the access point multi-link device of claim 18, Wang and KIM fail to show wherein the A control subfield comprises at least one of a control identification (ID) field or a first bitmap field,
In an analogous art Li show wherein the A control subfield comprises at least one of a control identification (ID) field or a first bitmap field[par 0158, the high throughput control (HT control) field includes an A-control (A-control) subfield, the A-control (A-control) subfield includes a control (control) subfield, the control (control) subfield includes a control information (control information) subfield and a control identifier (control ID) subfield, the control information (control information) subfield carries the indication information]
Before the effective filing date it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of Wang, HUANG, and Li because the second multi-link device can improve system transmission efficiency on the link by using a plurality of spatial flows. [Li par 0006]
Wang show wherein a value of the control ID field being a first value represents that the first bitmap field is used for uplink multi-link aggregation, and the first bitmap field is used for determining the at least one target link that the access point multi-link device is required to assist the station multi-link device in monitoring[par 0150, 0151, a bit in the Common Info field or in each of the Per STA Profile or in the field of NSTR pair indication, or any other subfield, may indicate that the MLD or STA is requesting AP Assisted Blindness Recovery. For example, a bit in the Common Info field or in each of the Per STA Profile or in the field of NSTR pair indication, or any other field or subfield, may indicate that the MLD or AP is granting or providing AP Assisted Blindness Recovery].
Claim(s) 4, 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang et al. (U.S. Pub No. 2023/0388753 A1), HUANG et al. (U.S. Pub No 2023/0046270 A1) in view of Li et al. (U.S. Pub No. 2023/0043522 A1) in further view of KWON et al. (U.S. Pub No. 2015/0288501 A1)
4. Wang, HUANG, and Li illustrate the method of claim 3, Wang, HUANG, and Li fail to show wherein the first information further comprises first indication information, wherein the first indication information is used for indicating that the at least one target link identified by the first bitmap is used for uplink multi-link aggregation.
In an analogous art Kwon to show wherein the first information further comprises first indication information, wherein the first indication information is used for indicating that the at least one target link identified by the first bitmap is used for uplink multi-link aggregation [par 0163, The information per TID subfield may include information of a corresponding station, for example identification information of the corresponding station. Therefore, the information per TID subfield may be called an information per station subfield. The block ACK bitmap subfield may indicate whether MPDUs aggregated in an A-MPDU included in the UL PPDU of the corresponding station have been received].
Before the effective filing date it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of Wang, Li, HUANG, and Kwon because this provides ACK method for acknowledging data received from a plurality of devices or data with a plurality of ACs and an uplink multi-user transmission method for transmitting uplink data by a plurality of devices.
11. Wang, HUANG, and Li create the station multi-link device of claim 10, Wang, HUANG, and Li fail to show wherein the first information further comprises first indication information, wherein the first indication information is used for indicating that the at least one target link identified by the first bitmap is used for uplink multi-link aggregation.
In an analogous art Kwon show wherein the first information further comprises first indication information, wherein the first indication information is used for indicating that the at least one target link identified by the first bitmap is used for uplink multi-link aggregation[par 0163, The information per TID subfield may include information of a corresponding station, for example identification information of the corresponding station. Therefore, the information per TID subfield may be called an information per station subfield. The block ACK bitmap subfield may indicate whether MPDUs aggregated in an A-MPDU included in the UL PPDU of the corresponding station have been received].
Before the effective filing date it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of Wang, HUANG, Li, and Kwon because this provides ACK method for acknowledging data received from a plurality of devices or data with a plurality of ACs and an uplink multi-user transmission method for transmitting uplink data by a plurality of devices.
Conclusion
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/JASON A HARLEY/Examiner, Art Unit 2468
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