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 Amendment
This is in response to an amendment/response/communication filed 2/14/2026.
Claims 23-26 and 31 have been cancelled.
Claims 32-41 have been added.
Claims(s) 1-22, 27-30 and 32-41 is/are currently pending.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see page 1, filed 2/14/2026, with respect to rejection of claim 27 under 35 U.S.C. 101 have been fully considered and are persuasive. The rejection has been withdrawn.
Applicant’s arguments, see pages 1-3, filed 2/14/2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1 and claim 1 dependent claims under 35 U.S.C. 103 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 Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn.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 Ajami et al. US 20240137980.
Applicant's arguments filed 2/14/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
On pages 3-4 of the remarks, in regard to claims 15 (should have been claim 14 not claim 15), claim 15 dependent claims and claim 27, the Applicant notes “For applicable reasons…are allowable as well”, however, the “applicable reasons” were not noted. The Examiner has considered “applicable reasons” as the same arguments as noted with regards to claim 1, however, claims 14 and 27 were not amended in a similar manner as claim 1 was amended, therefore, the Examiner had interpreted this as indicating the Applicant has not made any arguments with regards to claim 14, claim 14 dependent claims and claim 27 and the rejection as noted in the previous office action is maintained.
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 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)(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, 2 and 32 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Ajami et al. US 20240137980.
As to claim 1:
Ajami et al. discloses:
A method comprising:
at a first wireless access point, receiving a first communication wirelessly transmitted from a first mobile communication device over a first wireless channel,
(“To establish a communication link 106 with an AP 102, each of the STAs 104 is configured to perform passive or active scanning operations (“scans”) on frequency channels in one or more frequency bands (such as the 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 6 GHz or 60 GHz bands). To perform passive scanning, a STA 104 listens for beacons, which are transmitted by respective APs 102 at a periodic time interval referred to as the target beacon transmission time (TBTT) (measured in time units (TUs) where one TU may be equal to 1024 microseconds (μs)). To perform active scanning, a STA 104 generates and sequentially transmits probe requests on each channel to be scanned and listens for probe responses from APs 102. Each STA 104 may identify, determine, ascertain, or select an AP 102 with which to associate in accordance with the scanning information obtained through the passive or active scans, and to perform authentication and association operations to establish a communication link 106 with the selected AP 102. The AP 102 assigns an association identifier (AID) to the STA 104 at the culmination of the association operations, which the AP 102 uses to track the STA 104.”; Ajami et al.; 0031)
(where
“AP 102” maps to “first wireless access point”,
“STA 104” maps to “first mobile communication device”
“channel” maps to “first wireless channel”
“To perform active scanning, a STA 104 generates and sequentially transmits probe requests on each channel to be scanned and listens for probe responses from APs 102” maps to “receiving a first communication wirelessly transmitted from a first mobile communication device over a first wireless channel”
the first mobile communication device required to implement a clear channel assessment function to acquire use of the first wireless channel prior to the first mobile communication device wirelessly transmitting over the first wireless channel;
(“In some implementations, the wireless communication device may implement the DCF through the use of carrier sense multiple access (CSMA) with collision avoidance (CA) (CSMA/CA) techniques. According to such techniques, before transmitting data, the wireless communication device may perform a clear channel assessment (CCA) and may determine (such as identify, detect, ascertain, calculate, or compute) that the relevant wireless channel is idle.”; Ajami et al.; 0038)
(“…For example, if the BSS color associated with the wireless packet is the same as the BSS color of the AP 102 or STA, the AP 102 or STA 104 may use a first received signal strength indication (RSSI) detection threshold when performing a CCA on the wireless channel. However, if the BSS color associated with the wireless packet is different than the BSS color of the AP 102 or STA, the AP 102 or STA 104 may use a second RSSI detection threshold in lieu of using the first RSSI detection threshold when performing the CCA on the wireless channel, the second RSSI detection threshold being greater than the first RSSI detection threshold. In this way, the criteria for winning contention are relaxed when interfering transmissions are associated with an OBSS.”; Ajami et al.; 0041)
(where
“the wireless communication device may implement the DCF through the use of carrier sense multiple access (CSMA) with collision avoidance (CA) (CSMA/CA) techniques. According to such techniques, before transmitting data, the wireless communication device may perform a clear channel assessment (CCA) and may determine (such as identify, detect, ascertain, calculate, or compute) that the relevant wireless channel is idle.”/”the … STA 104 may use a first received signal strength indication (RSSI) detection threshold when performing a CCA on the wireless channel” maps to “the first mobile communication device required to implement a clear channel assessment function to acquire use of the first wireless channel prior to the first mobile communication device wirelessly transmitting over the first wireless channel”
via the first communication, determining a channel quality associated with the first wireless channel;
(where
”the … STA 104 may use a first received signal strength indication (RSSI) detection threshold when performing a CCA on the wireless channel” maps to “via the first communication, determining a channel quality associated with the first wireless channel”, where “RSSI” maps to “determining a channel quality”
based on the determined channel quality, controlling conveyance of a second communication over a wireless communication link established between the first mobile communication device and the first wireless access point using the first wireless channel.
(“In accordance with the interference measurement phase 605, the AP 102-a and the AP 102-b may each obtain a link measurement (such as an RSSI value or a pathloss value) of the response frame 620 transmitted by the client device 205-a. In some aspects, the AP 102-a may measure or learn a value C.sub.1 (such as a receive power of the response frame 620 measured at the AP 102-a) and the AP 102-b may measure or lean a value C.sub.2 (such as a receive power of the response frame 620 measured at the AP 102-b). In some implementations, the AP 102-a may schedule data transmissions with client devices of the AP 102-a prior to transmitting a C-SR grant associated with the TXOP. The AP 102-a may transmit TXOP sharing information 625 (which may be a TXS' message in the example of FIG. 6) to the AP 102-b. The TXOP sharing information 625 may include a C-SR grant and information (through the TXS' message) associated with one or more C-SR parameters that the AP 102-b may use to compute a transmit power for downlink communication from the AP 102-b within the shared TXOP. In some implementations, such a transmit power may be computed such that a target downlink SINR constraint is satisfies at the client device 205-a. The AP 102-b may transmit a frame 630 (which may be a CTS frame in the example of FIG. 6) and, in scenarios in which the AP 102-b is able to use the computed transmit power (such as without adversely impacting an SINR or QoS target at the client device 205-b), the AP 102-a may transmit a downlink message 635 and the AP 102-b may transmit a downlink message 640 concurrently.”; Ajami et al.; 0094)
(also see FIG. 6)
Ajami et al. teaches an AP and a STA performing CCA for performing communications.
As to claim 2:
Ajami et al. discloses:
wherein determining the channel quality associated with the first wireless channel includes:
retrieving channel quality feedback from the first communication, the first communication received from the first mobile communication device, the channel quality feedback indicative of a wireless signal quality associated with the first mobile communication device receiving a wireless signal transmitted from the first wireless access point over the first wireless channel to the first mobile communication device.
(“For example, in accordance with the communication timeline 400, a client may measure a downlink RSSI from one or more APs 102 at scheduled times and may report the measurements to an AP 102 associated with the client for quality and interference control, such signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) control. For example, the interference measurement phase 405 may include background interference measurement collection according to which one or more APs 102 (such as all involved APs 102) may learn a pathloss for each of their respective client devices with respect to each of one or more neighboring APs 102. For example, the AP 102-a may learn about interference to one or more client devices (such as the client device 205-a) of the AP 102-a that is caused by the AP 102-b.”; Ajami et al.; 0080)
As to claim 32:
Ajami et al. discloses:
wherein the channel quality indicates a quality of the first mobile communication device receiving a wireless signal transmitted from the first wireless access point over the first wireless channel.
(“For example, in accordance with the communication timeline 400, a client may measure a downlink RSSI from one or more APs 102 at scheduled times and may report the measurements to an AP 102 associated with the client for quality and interference control, such signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) control. For example, the interference measurement phase 405 may include background interference measurement collection according to which one or more APs 102 (such as all involved APs 102) may learn a pathloss for each of their respective client devices with respect to each of one or more neighboring APs 102. For example, the AP 102-a may learn about interference to one or more client devices (such as the client device 205-a) of the AP 102-a that is caused by the AP 102-b.”; Ajami et al.; 0080)
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 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) 3, 4, 5, 11, 33 and 34 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ajami et al. US 20240137980 in view of Takamatsu US 20110026481 (cited in Non-Final Rejection dated 11/14/2025).
As to claim 3:
Ajami et al. as described above does not explicitly teach:
wherein controlling the conveyance of the second communication between the first mobile communication device and the first wireless access point over the first wireless channel includes:
in response to detecting that the determined channel quality is below a threshold level, preventing the conveyance of the second communication over the established wireless communication link via the first wireless channel.
However, Takamatsu further teaches an threshold capability which includes:
wherein controlling the conveyance of the second communication between the first mobile communication device and the first wireless access point over the first wireless channel includes:
in response to detecting that the determined channel quality is below a threshold level, preventing the conveyance of the second communication over the established wireless communication link via the first wireless channel.
(“The base station 120 receives the selection response from the PHS terminal 110, holds the switching channel included in the selection response, and starts count of the valid timer 236 (S412).
[0100] If the base station 120 detects that the communication quality of the anchor channel becomes the second threshold value or lower (S420), the base station 120 transmits a channel switching instruction including the held switching channel to the PHS terminal 110 (S422). And, in the base station 120, count of the base station response confirmation timer 240 is started simultaneously with the transmission of the channel switching instruction.”; Takamatsu; 0099-0100)
(“Upon receiving the downlink control signal of the new anchor channel and the previous anchor channel, the PHS terminal 110 concludes that downlink synchronization has been established, and stops the PHS terminal response confirmation timer 334 (S432). And, the PHS terminal 110 disconnects and opens the previous anchor channel (S434) and transmits that to the base station 120 through the new anchor channel (S436).”; Takamatsu; 0103)
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the threshold capability of Takamatsu et al. into Ajami et al. By modifying the processing/communications of Ajami et al. to include the threshold capability as taught by the processing/communications of Takamatsu et al., the benefits of improved throughput (Ajami et al.; 0045) with improved efficiency (Takamatsu; Abstract) are achieved.
As to claim 4:
Ajami et al. discloses:
the first mobile communication device required to implement the clear channel assessment function to acquire use of the second wireless channel prior to the first mobile communication device wirelessly transmitting over the second wireless channel.
(“In some implementations, the wireless communication device may implement the DCF through the use of carrier sense multiple access (CSMA) with collision avoidance (CA) (CSMA/CA) techniques. According to such techniques, before transmitting data, the wireless communication device may perform a clear channel assessment (CCA) and may determine (such as identify, detect, ascertain, calculate, or compute) that the relevant wireless channel is idle.”; Ajami et al.; 0038)
(“…For example, if the BSS color associated with the wireless packet is the same as the BSS color of the AP 102 or STA, the AP 102 or STA 104 may use a first received signal strength indication (RSSI) detection threshold when performing a CCA on the wireless channel. However, if the BSS color associated with the wireless packet is different than the BSS color of the AP 102 or STA, the AP 102 or STA 104 may use a second RSSI detection threshold in lieu of using the first RSSI detection threshold when performing the CCA on the wireless channel, the second RSSI detection threshold being greater than the first RSSI detection threshold. In this way, the criteria for winning contention are relaxed when interfering transmissions are associated with an OBSS.”; Ajami et al.; 0041)
Ajami et al. as described above does not explicitly teach:
wherein controlling the conveyance of the second communication between the first mobile communication device and the first wireless access point over the first wireless channel includes:
allocating use of a second wireless channel to support conveyance of the second communication over the established wireless communication link between the first mobile communication device and the first wireless access point as a substitute to allocating the first wireless channel to convey the second communication over the established wireless communication link.
However, Takamatsu further teaches a channel capability which includes:
wherein controlling the conveyance of the second communication between the first mobile communication device and the first wireless access point over the first wireless channel includes:
allocating use of a second wireless channel to support conveyance of the second communication over the established wireless communication link between the first mobile communication device and the first wireless access point as a substitute to allocating the first wireless channel to convey the second communication over the established wireless communication link.
(“The base station 120 receives the selection response from the PHS terminal 110, holds the switching channel included in the selection response, and starts count of the valid timer 236 (S412).
[0100] If the base station 120 detects that the communication quality of the anchor channel becomes the second threshold value or lower (S420), the base station 120 transmits a channel switching instruction including the held switching channel to the PHS terminal 110 (S422). And, in the base station 120, count of the base station response confirmation timer 240 is started simultaneously with the transmission of the channel switching instruction.”; Takamatsu; 0099-0100)
(“Upon receiving the downlink control signal of the new anchor channel and the previous anchor channel, the PHS terminal 110 concludes that downlink synchronization has been established, and stops the PHS terminal response confirmation timer 334 (S432). And, the PHS terminal 110 disconnects and opens the previous anchor channel (S434) and transmits that to the base station 120 through the new anchor channel (S436).”; Takamatsu; 0103)
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the channel capability of Takamatsu et al. into Ajami et al. By modifying the processing/communications of Ajami et al. to include the channel capability as taught by the processing/communications of Takamatsu et al., the benefits of improved throughput (Ajami et al.; 0045) with improved efficiency (Takamatsu; Abstract) are achieved.
As to claim 5:
Ajami et al. as described above does not explicitly teach:
receiving the first communication at the first wireless access point in response to the first wireless access point wirelessly communicating a command to the first mobile communication device, the command indicating to provide channel quality information associated with the first mobile communication device receiving a wireless signal from the first wireless access point.
However, Takamatsu further teaches a channel capability which includes:
receiving the first communication at the first wireless access point in response to the first wireless access point wirelessly communicating a command to the first mobile communication device, the command indicating to provide channel quality information associated with the first mobile communication device receiving a wireless signal from the first wireless access point.
(“FIG. 6 is a sequence view showing a flow of processes of the wireless communication method. The PHS terminal 110 performs communication through an anchor channel provided in a channel designated by SCCH (Signaling Control Channel) from the base station 120, and an extra channel designated through the anchor channel (S400). Here, if the base station 120 detects that the communication quality of the anchor channel becomes the first threshold value or lower (S402), the base station 120 performs carrier sense for all channels capable of performing communication to extract one or more of switching channel candidates capable of performing wireless communication with the PHS terminal 110 (S404). And, the base station 120 transmits a switching channel selection instruction (CQI Report Indication) including the switching channel candidates to the PHS terminal 110 through EDCH (EXCH Data Channel) (S406).”; Takamatsu; 0097)
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the channel capability of Takamatsu et al. into Ajami et al. By modifying the processing/communications of Ajami et al. to include the channel capability as taught by the processing/communications of Takamatsu et al., the benefits of improved throughput (Ajami et al.; 0045) with improved efficiency (Takamatsu; Abstract) are achieved.
As to claim 11:
Ajami et al. as described above does not explicitly teach:
at a first wireless access point, receiving a third communication from the
first mobile communication device; via the third communication, determining a channel quality associated with a second wireless channel, the second wireless channel acquirable by the first mobile communication device via clear channel assessment; and
selecting amongst the first wireless channel and the second wireless channel to allocate to the first mobile communication device based on the channel quality associated with the first wireless channel and the channel quality associated with the second wireless channel.
However, Takamatsu further teaches a channel capability which includes:
at a first wireless access point, receiving a third communication from the
first mobile communication device; via the third communication, determining a channel quality associated with a second wireless channel, the second wireless channel acquirable by the first mobile communication device via clear channel assessment; and
selecting amongst the first wireless channel and the second wireless channel to allocate to the first mobile communication device based on the channel quality associated with the first wireless channel and the channel quality associated with the second wireless channel.
(“In response to the switching channel selection instruction from the base station 120, the PHS terminal 110 performs carrier sense for the switching channel candidates (S408), and transmits to the base station 120 a selection response (CQI Report) including a switching channel, which is capable of performing wireless communication with the base station 120 and has the highest communication quality (S410). Meanwhile, as described above, the switching channel may not be a channel having the highest communication quality if it is capable of performing wireless communication with the base station 120.”; Takamatsu; 0098)
(“The base station 120 receives the selection response from the PHS terminal 110, holds the switching channel included in the selection response, and starts count of the valid timer 236 (S412).”; Takamatsu; 0099)
(“Upon receiving the downlink control signal of the new anchor channel and the previous anchor channel, the PHS terminal 110 concludes that downlink synchronization has been established, and stops the PHS terminal response confirmation timer 334 (S432). And, the PHS terminal 110 disconnects and opens the previous anchor channel (S434) and transmits that to the base station 120 through the new anchor channel (S436).”; Takamatsu; 0103)
(“Upon receiving this, the base station 120 concludes that uplink synchronization has been established, and stops the base station response confirmation timer 240 (S438). And, the base station 120 disconnects and opens the previous anchor channel (S440). In this way, communication through the new anchor channel is established (S442).”; Takamatsu; 0104)
(where FIG. 6 is considered as being performed repetitively)
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the channel capability of Takamatsu et al. into Ajami et al. By modifying the processing/communications of Ajami et al. to include the channel capability as taught by the processing/communications of Takamatsu et al., the benefits of improved throughput (Ajami et al.; 0045) with improved efficiency (Takamatsu; Abstract) are achieved.
As to claim 33:
Ajami et al. as described above does not explicitly teach:
receiving the first communication at the first wireless access point in response to the first wireless access point wirelessly communicating a command to the first mobile communication device, the command notifying the first mobile communication device to provide channel quality information associated with the first mobile communication device receiving the wireless signal.
However, Takamatsu further teaches a channel capability which includes:
receiving the first communication at the first wireless access point in response to the first wireless access point wirelessly communicating a command to the first mobile communication device, the command notifying the first mobile communication device to provide channel quality information associated with the first mobile communication device receiving the wireless signal.
(“FIG. 6 is a sequence view showing a flow of processes of the wireless communication method. The PHS terminal 110 performs communication through an anchor channel provided in a channel designated by SCCH (Signaling Control Channel) from the base station 120, and an extra channel designated through the anchor channel (S400). Here, if the base station 120 detects that the communication quality of the anchor channel becomes the first threshold value or lower (S402), the base station 120 performs carrier sense for all channels capable of performing communication to extract one or more of switching channel candidates capable of performing wireless communication with the PHS terminal 110 (S404). And, the base station 120 transmits a switching channel selection instruction (CQI Report Indication) including the switching channel candidates to the PHS terminal 110 through EDCH (EXCH Data Channel) (S406).”; Takamatsu; 0097)
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the channel capability of Takamatsu et al. into Ajami et al. By modifying the processing/communications of Ajami et al. to include the channel capability as taught by the processing/communications of Takamatsu et al., the benefits of improved throughput (Ajami et al.; 0045) with improved efficiency (Takamatsu; Abstract) are achieved.
As to claim 34:
Ajami et al. as described above does not explicitly teach:
in response to detecting that the determined channel quality associated with the first wireless channel as indicated by the first communication is poor with respect to a channel quality associated with a second mobile communication device receiving the wireless signal, preventing the conveyance of the second communication over the wireless communication link using the first wireless channel.
However, Takamatsu further teaches a threshold capability which includes:
in response to detecting that the determined channel quality associated with the first wireless channel as indicated by the first communication is poor with respect to a channel quality associated with a second mobile communication device receiving the wireless signal, preventing the conveyance of the second communication over the wireless communication link using the first wireless channel.
(“The base station 120 receives the selection response from the PHS terminal 110, holds the switching channel included in the selection response, and starts count of the valid timer 236 (S412).
[0100] If the base station 120 detects that the communication quality of the anchor channel becomes the second threshold value or lower (S420), the base station 120 transmits a channel switching instruction including the held switching channel to the PHS terminal 110 (S422). And, in the base station 120, count of the base station response confirmation timer 240 is started simultaneously with the transmission of the channel switching instruction.”; Takamatsu; 0099-0100)
(“Upon receiving the downlink control signal of the new anchor channel and the previous anchor channel, the PHS terminal 110 concludes that downlink synchronization has been established, and stops the PHS terminal response confirmation timer 334 (S432). And, the PHS terminal 110 disconnects and opens the previous anchor channel (S434) and transmits that to the base station 120 through the new anchor channel (S436).”; Takamatsu; 0103)
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the threshold capability of Takamatsu et al. into Ajami et al. By modifying the processing/communications of Ajami et al. to include the threshold capability as taught by the processing/communications of Takamatsu et al., the benefits of improved throughput (Ajami et al.; 0045) with improved efficiency (Takamatsu; Abstract) are achieved.
Claim(s) 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ajami et al. US 20240137980 in view of Sharma US 20050215265 (cited in Non-Final Rejection dated 11/14/2025) and Pawar et al. US 9674861 (cited in Non-Final Rejection dated 11/14/2025).
As to claim 6:
Ajami et al. as described above does not explicitly teach:
wherein controlling conveyance of the second communication between the first mobile communication device and the first wireless access point via the first wireless channel includes:
implementing a load balancing scheduler function, the load balancing scheduler function operative to allocate use of the first wireless channel and a second wireless channel depending on the determined channel quality associated with the first wireless channel and a determined channel quality associated with the second wireless channel.
However, Sharma further teaches a load balancing capability which includes:
wherein controlling conveyance of the second communication between the first mobile communication device and the first wireless access point via the first wireless channel includes:
implementing a load balancing … function, the load balancing scheduler function operative to allocate use of the first wireless channel and a second wireless channel depending on the determined channel quality associated with the first wireless channel and a determined channel quality associated with the second wireless channel.
(“One aspect of the invention provides a load balancing system which does not require extra hardware equipment such as a wireless switch, or an external server, or additional software such as management software. In one embodiment of the invention, the access point acts as a local and centralized server which makes its own decision on load balancing based on information such as channel loads, quality of service (QoS) requirements and the received signal strength indication (RSSI) values of the associated channels in order to transfer a load from an overloaded channel to an underloaded channel.”; 0029)
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the LBT reservation capability of Sharma into Ajami et al. By modifying the processing/communications of Ajami et al. to include the LBT reservation capability as taught by the processing/communications of Sharma, the benefits of improved throughput (Ajami et al.; 0045) with improved loading (Sharma; Abstract) are achieved.
However, Pawar et al. further teaches a load balancing/scheduling capability which includes:
scheduler
(“(2) In certain circumstances, a portion of the network may experience high load, e.g., loading above a threshold, that stems from large amounts of data traffic or poor channel conditions. The access node may implement a pre-configured and fixed scheduler that manages a sequence of packet transmissions based on radio frequency (RF) needs of connected wireless devices. Because the scheduler is primarily driven by RF needs, there is no dynamic scheduling based on user experience. Accordingly, a dynamic, channel-aware system that effectively balances load and dynamically schedules packet transmissions from an access node to provide a high quality service to users is desirable.”; Pawar et al.; col. 1, lines 15-26)
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the load balancing/scheduling reservation capability of Pawar et al. into Ajami et al. By modifying the processing/communications of Ajami et al. to include the load balancing/scheduling reservation capability as taught by the processing/communications of Pawar et al., the benefits of improved throughput (Ajami et al.; 0045) with improved scheduling (Pawar et al.; Abstract) are achieved.
Claim(s) 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ajami et al. US 20240137980 in view of Han et al. US 20200205035 (cited in Non-Final Rejection dated 11/14/2025).
As to claim 7:
Ajami et al. as described above does not explicitly teach:
wherein the clear channel assessment requires each of multiple mobile communication devices including the first mobile communication device to implement a respective listen before talk function to acquire use of the first wireless channel prior to transmitting over the first wireless channel.
However, Han et al. further teaches a load balancing/quality indication capability which includes:
wherein the clear channel assessment requires each of multiple mobile communication devices including the first mobile communication device to implement a respective listen before talk function to acquire use of the first wireless channel prior to transmitting over the first wireless channel.
(“The wireless networking device of claim 1, wherein the indication that a load balancing is to be initiated comprises an indication based on supporting a quality of service for a channel other than the single data communication channel between the remote wireless access point and the wireless networking device.”; Han et al.; claim 6)
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the load balancing/quality indication capability of Han et al. into Ajami et al. By modifying the processing/communications of Ajami et al. to include the load balancing/quality indication capability as taught by the processing/communications of Han et al., the benefits of improved throughput (Ajami et al.; 0045) with improved load balancing (Han et al.; Abstract) are achieved.
Claim(s) 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ajami et al. US 20240137980 in view of Alabbasi et al. US 20240172283 (cited in Non-Final Rejection dated 11/14/2025).
As to claim 8:
Ajami et al. as described above does not explicitly teach:
wherein the clear channel assessment requires each of multiple mobile communication devices including the first mobile communication device to implement a respective listen before talk function to acquire use of the first wireless channel prior to transmitting over the first wireless channel.
However, Alabbasi et al. further teaches a LBT capability which includes:
wherein the clear channel assessment requires each of multiple mobile communication devices including the first mobile communication device to implement a respective listen before talk function to acquire use of the first wireless channel prior to transmitting over the first wireless channel.
(“5G New Radio-Unlicensed (NR-U) extends 5G NR to unlicensed bands (see, for example, 3GPP TR 38.889, entitled “Study on NR-based access to unlicensed spectrum”). In NR-U (standalone (SA) or Licensed Assisted Access (LAA)), spectrum sensing is part of the specification to secure accurate media access with minimum interference. UEs and gNBs are required to perform the so-called Listen-Before-Talk (LBT) procedure before making transmissions to ensure the channel is not acquired by another device. The LBT procedure is described in technical specification TS 37.213 entitled: “Physical layer procedures for shared spectrum channel access”.
[0003] In LBT, a radio transmitter first senses its radio environment before starting a transmission to find a free channel. The accuracy of LBT can be enhanced through distributed sensing where a plurality of nodes listen to a channel and combine their collected insights to provide a more accurate determination of whether a channel is in use, before the transmitter transmits over the channel.”; Alabbasi et al.; 0002-0003)
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the LBT reservation capability of Alabbasi et al. into Ajami et al. By modifying the processing/communications of Ajami et al. to include the LBT reservation capability as taught by the processing/communications of Alabbasi et al., the benefits of improved throughput (Ajami et al.; 0045) with improved accuracy (Alabbasi et al.; 0032) are achieved.
Claim(s) 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ajami et al. US 20240137980 in view of Sevindik et al. US 20210195446 (cited in Non-Final Rejection dated 11/14/2025).
As to claim 9:
Ajami et al. as described above does not explicitly teach:
wherein the determined channel quality is a first channel quality, the method further comprising: at the first wireless access point, receiving a third communication from a second mobile communication device;
via the third communication, determining a second channel quality, the second channel quality associated with a second wireless channel, the second wireless channel acquirable by the first mobile communication device and the second mobile communication device via clear channel assessment; and
wherein controlling conveyance of the second communication between the first mobile communication device and the wireless access point over the first wireless channel includes: based on the determined first channel quality and the determined second channel quality, controlling conveyance of the second communication between the first mobile communication device and the first 20 wireless access point over the first wireless channel.
However, Sevindik et al. further teaches an allocation capability which includes:
wherein the determined channel quality is a first channel quality, the method further comprising: at the first wireless access point, receiving a third communication from a second mobile communication device;
via the third communication, determining a second channel quality, the second channel quality associated with a second wireless channel, the second wireless channel acquirable by the first mobile communication device and the second mobile communication device via clear channel assessment; and
wherein controlling conveyance of the second communication between the first mobile communication device and the wireless access point over the first wireless channel includes: based on the determined first channel quality and the determined second channel quality, controlling conveyance of the second communication between the first mobile communication device and the first 20 wireless access point over the first wireless channel.
(“In processing operation 930, the allocation management resource 140-1 controls conveyance of communications over the second wireless connectivity 127 based on the measured link quality information provided by the first wireless connectivity 126.”; Svindik et al.; 0138)
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the allocation capability of Svindik et al. into Ajami et al. By modifying the processing/communications of Ajami et al. to include the allocation capability as taught by the processing/communications of Svindik et al., the benefits of improved throughput (Ajami et al.; 0045) with improved wireless communication (Sevindik et al.; 0004) are achieved.
Claim(s) 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ajami et al. US 20240137980 in view of Yerramalli et al. US 20170280475 (cited in Non-Final Rejection dated 11/14/2025).
As to claim 10:
Ajami et al. as described above does not explicitly teach:
via the first communication, receiving status information indicative of a buffer status of the first mobile communication device, the buffer status indicating an amount of data queued for transmission to the first wireless access point over the first wireless channel; and
wherein controlling conveyance of the second communication between the first mobile communication device and the first wireless access point via the first wireless channel includes: controlling conveyance of the second communication between the first mobile communication device and the first wireless access point over the first wireless channel based on the buffer status associated with the first mobile communication device.
However, Yerramalli et al. further teaches an amount of uplink/LBT priority class capability which includes:
via the first communication, receiving status information indicative of a buffer status of the first mobile communication device, the buffer status indicating an amount of data queued for transmission to the first wireless access point over the first wireless channel; and
wherein controlling conveyance of the second communication between the first mobile communication device and the first wireless access point via the first wireless channel includes: controlling conveyance of the second communication between the first mobile communication device and the first wireless access point over the first wireless channel based on the buffer status associated with the first mobile communication device.
(“In one example, another method for wireless communication at a network access device is described. The method may include determining, based at least in part on a buffer status report (BSR) associated with a UE, an amount of uplink traffic of the UE associated with each LBT priority class of a plurality of LBT priority classes; selecting, based at least in part on the determined amount of uplink traffic of the UE associated with each LBT priority class, a LBT priority class for performing a LBT procedure; and contending for access to a shared spectrum by performing the LBT procedure based at least in part on the selected LBT priority class.”; Yerramalli et al.; 0032)
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the amount of uplink/LBT priority class capability of Yerramalli et al. into Ajami et al. By modifying the processing/communications of Ajami et al. to include the amount of uplink/LBT priority class capability as taught by the processing/communications of Yerramalli et al., the benefits of improved throughput (Ajami et al.; 0045) with improved LBT (Yarramalli et al.; Abstract) are achieved.
Claim(s) 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ajami et al. US 20240137980 in view of Takamatsu US 20110026481 (cited in Non-Final Rejection dated 11/14/2025) and in further view of Khan Beigi et al. US 20250266915 (cited in Non-Final Rejection dated 11/14/2025).
As to claim 12:
Ajami et al. as described above does not explicitly teach:
wherein selecting amongst the first wireless channel and the second wireless channel to allocate to the first mobile communication device includes:
comparing the channel quality associated with the first wireless channel and the channel quality associated with the second wireless channel; and
in response to detecting that the channel quality associated with the first wireless channel is better than a channel quality associated with the second wireless channel, assigning the first wireless channel for use by the first mobile communication device to transmit the second communication from the first mobile communication device to the wireless access point.
However, Khan Beigi et al. further teaches a channel/quality capability which includes:
wherein selecting amongst the first wireless channel and the second wireless channel to allocate to the first mobile communication device includes:
comparing the channel quality associated with the first wireless channel and the channel quality associated with the second wireless channel; and
in response to detecting that the channel quality associated with the first wireless channel is better than a channel quality associated with the second wireless channel, assigning the first wireless channel for use by the first mobile communication device to transmit the second communication from the first mobile communication device to the wireless access point.
(“The WTRU and the gNB may determine a granted resources based on the first channel and/or interference report and the second channel and/or interference report. For example, for the cases in which a first channel quality of the first CSI report is lower than or equal to a second channel quality of the second CSI report, the WTRU and the gNB may determine the second granted resource. In another example, for the cases in which the first channel quality is higher than the second quality, the WTRU and the gNB may determine the first granted resource. The first channel quality and the second channel quality may be, for example, but not limited to, one or more of CQI, L1-RSRP, L1-SINR, and the like. In another example, for the cases in which a first interference quality of the first interference report is higher than or equal to a second interference quality of the second interference report, the WTRU and the gNB may determine the second granted resource. In another example, for the cases in which the first interference quality is lower than the second quality, the WTRU and the gNB may determine the first granted resource. The first and second interference quality may be, for example, but not limited to, one or more of CLI-RSSI, SRS-RSRP, L1-CLI-RSSI, and the like.”; Khan Beigi et al.; 0159)
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the channel/quality capability of Khan Beigi et al. into Ajami et al. By modifying the processing/communications of Ajami et al. to include the channel/quality capability as taught by the processing/communications of Khan Beigi et al., the benefits of improved throughput (Ajami et al.; 0045) with improved CLI processing (Khan Beigi et al.; Abstract) are achieved.
Claim(s) 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ajami et al. US 20240137980 in view of Elshafie et al. US 20220104248 (cited in Non-Final Rejection dated 11/14/2025).
As to claim 13:
Ajami et al. as described above does not explicitly teach:
wherein the channel quality is a first channel quality associated with the first wireless channel, the method further comprising: at the first wireless access point, receiving a third communication from a second mobile communication device;
via the third communication, determining a second channel quality associated with the first wireless channel, the first wireless channel acquirable by the second mobile communication device via clear channel assessment; and selecting allocation of the first wireless channel to the first mobile communication device and not the second mobile communication device based on determining that the first channel quality is greater than the second channel quality.
However, Elshafie et al. further teaches a quality capability which includes:
wherein the channel quality is a first channel quality associated with the first wireless channel, the method further comprising: at the first wireless access point, receiving a third communication from a second mobile communication device;
via the third communication, determining a second channel quality associated with the first wireless channel, the first wireless channel acquirable by the second mobile communication device via clear channel assessment; and selecting allocation of the first wireless channel to the first mobile communication device and not the second mobile communication device based on determining that the first channel quality is greater than the second channel quality.
(“Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein may further include operations, features, means, or instructions for determining that a first channel quality associated with the first UE may be less than a second channel quality associated with the second UE based on the indication, where determining the resource assignment may be based on determining that the first channel quality associated with the first UE may be less than the second channel quality associated with the second UE.”; Elshafie et al.; 0038)
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the quality capability of Elshafie et al. into Ajami et al. By modifying the processing/communications of Ajami et al. to include the quality capability as taught by the processing/communications of Elshafie et al., the benefits of improved throughput (Ajami et al.; 0045) with improved resource assignments (Elshafie et al.; 0004) are achieved.
Claim(s) 28, 29 and 41 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ajami et al. US 20240137980 in view of Khan Beigi et al. US 20250266915 (cited in Non-Final Rejection dated 11/14/2025).
As to claim 28:
Ajami et al. as described above does not explicitly teach:
wherein controlling conveyance of the second communication between the first mobile communication device and the first wireless access point over the first wireless channel includes scheduling conveyance of the second communication for transmission in a downlink from the first wireless access point to the first mobile communication device.
However, Khan Beigi et al. further teaches a schedule capability which includes:
wherein controlling conveyance of the second communication between the first mobile communication device and the first wireless access point over the first wireless channel includes scheduling conveyance of the second communication for transmission in a downlink from the first wireless access point to the first mobile communication device.
(“The DCI may include a downlink (DL) assignment indicating the first reference sub-band to schedule a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH).”; Khan Beigi et al.; 0011)
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement schedule capability of Khan Beigi et al. into Ajami et al. By modifying the processing/communications of Ajami et al. to include the schedule capability as taught by the processing/communications of Khan Beigi et al., the benefits of improved throughput (Ajami et al.; 0045) with improved CLI processing (Khan Beigi et al.; Abstract) are achieved.
As to claim 29:
Ajami et al. as described above does not explicitly teach:
wherein controlling conveyance of the second communication between the first mobile communication device and the first wireless access point over the first wireless channel includes scheduling conveyance of the second communication in an uplink for transmission from the first mobile communication device to the first wireless access point.
However, Khan Beigi et al. further teaches a UL capability which includes:
wherein controlling conveyance of the second communication between the first mobile communication device and the first wireless access point over the first wireless channel includes scheduling conveyance of the second communication in an uplink for transmission from the first mobile communication device to the first wireless access point.
(“Each of the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may be associated with a particular cell (not shown) and may be configured to handle radio resource management decisions, handover decisions, scheduling of users in the UL and/or DL, and the like. As shown in FIG. 1C, the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may communicate with one another over an X2 interface.”; Khan Beigi et al.; 0047)
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement UL capability of Khan Beigi et al. into Ajami et al. By modifying the processing/communications of Ajami et al. to include the UL capability as taught by the processing/communications of Khan Beigi et al., the benefits of improved throughput (Ajami et al.; 0045) with improved CLI processing (Khan Beigi et al.; Abstract) are achieved.
As to claim 41:
Ajami et al. as described above does not explicitly teach:
receiving the second communication at the first wireless access
point, the second communication transmitted from the first mobile
communication device over the first wireless channel in a time slot granted
to the first mobile communication device by the first wireless access point,
the second communication transmitted from the first mobile
communication device in the granted time slot in response to the first
mobile communication device detecting a wireless energy in the first
wireless channel below a threshold level.
However, Khan Beigi et al. further teaches a threshold capability which includes:
receiving the second communication at the first wireless access
point, the second communication transmitted from the first mobile
communication device over the first wireless channel in a time slot granted
to the first mobile communication device by the first wireless access point,
the second communication transmitted from the first mobile
communication device in the granted time slot in response to the first
mobile communication device detecting a wireless energy in the first
wireless channel below a threshold level.
(“The WTRU may determine one or more preferred modes of operation based on interference strength. For example, the WTRU may determine, identify, and/or be configured with resources to measure interference (e.g., CLI) in one or more of the granted resources. The determined, identified, and/or configured resources may be, for example, but not limited to NZP-CSI-RS for IMR, ZP-CSI-RS for IMR, SRS resources for SRS-RSRP, and the like. As such, the WTRU may determine to use dynamic determination mode if the measured interference strength and/or quality in one or more of the granted resources is higher than respective thresholds. In an example, the WTRU may dynamically report, request, and/or switch between the granted resources based on the interference strength.”; Khan Beigi et al.; 0137)
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the threshold capability of Khan Beigi et al. into Ajami et al. By modifying the processing/communications of Ajami et al. to include the threshld capability as taught by the processing/communications of Khan Beigi et al., the benefits of improved throughput (Ajami et al.; 0045) with improved CLI processing (Khan Beigi et al.; Abstract) are achieved.
Claim(s) 30 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ajami et al. US 20240137980 in view of Hu et al. US 20220124807 (cited in Non-Final Rejection dated 11/14/2025).
As to claim 30:
Ajami et al. as described above does not explicitly teach:
wherein absence of receiving link quality information feedback is used as a scheduling decision to communicate the second communication over the established wireless communication link.
However, Hu et al. further teaches a failure capability which includes:
wherein absence of receiving link quality information feedback is used as a scheduling decision to communicate the second communication over the established wireless communication link.
(“In the 2.sup.nd solution, the DCI_New or DCI_New2 DCIs sent over q0 beams should either validate periodic CSI-RS signals that corresponds to q0 and q1 beams or trigger aperiodic CSI-RS signals that corresponds to q0 and q1 beams. Likewise, the DCI_New or DCI_New2 DCIs sent over q1 beams should either validate periodic CSI-RS signals that correspond to q0 and q1 beams or trigger aperiodic CSI-RS signals that correspond to q0 and q1 beams. The network can smartly minimize the overhead and send DCIs only over all good beams in q0 and q1 by estimating or predicting the potential good beams in q0 and q1 based on the UE reporting the most recent good beams to network periodically via existing active beam between the UE and network. When beam failure over q0 occurs, the UE cannot report the current good beams in q0 and q1 to the network. However, the network can predict the good beams in q0 and q1 based on recent data from UE reporting and machine learning algorithms. The UE complexity of simultaneously monitoring all the CORESET TCI States corresponding to all the beams in q0 and q1 will be reduced whenever possible.”; Hu et al.; 0161)
(“When all carriers experience beam failure over q_0, the UE cannot receive any DCI_New for the CSI-RS validation over all serving carriers. Thus, the UE served by primary carrier monitors the CORESETs which are QCL'ed with the set of q_1 beams in the primary carrier in order to receive DCI_New when the set of q_0 experiences the beam failure in all carriers (when gNB does not receive any uplink CSI-RS measurement report at primary carrier for a timer T, gNB sends DCI_New in replication over q_1 beams in primary carrier). Even when all carriers experience beam failure over q_0, the UE can still perform beam recovery at all carriers by the CSI-RS validation from received DCI_New over q_1 in the primary carrier. If all beams in q_0 and q_1 at all carriers fail, after UE cannot receive any DCI_New from any beams in q_0 and q_1 at any serving carrier for a timer K, UE assumes both q_0 and q_1 beams fail, and the UE starts performing BFR using SSB in the DRS windows at each carrier. In addition, there can also be CSI-RS transmissions in DRS window at each carrier, which can be used for further narrow beam refinement in this case.”; Hu et al.; 0167)
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the failure capability of Hu et al. into Ajami et al. By modifying the processing/communications of Ajami et al. to include the failure capability as taught by the processing/communications of Hu et al., the benefits of improved throughput (Ajami et al.; 0045) with improved coverage (Hu et al.; 0008) are achieved.
Claim(s) 35, 38 and 39 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ajami et al. US 20240137980 in view of Pao et al. US 20200154475.
As to claim 35:
Ajami et al. as described above does not explicitly teach:
prior to receiving the first communication, transmitting a first grant
communication from the first wireless access point, the first grant
communication indicating a first time slot allocated for transmission of the
first communication over the first wireless channel.
However, Pao et al. further teaches a grant/resource/slot capability which includes:
prior to receiving the first communication, transmitting a first grant
communication from the first wireless access point, the first grant
communication indicating a first time slot allocated for transmission of the
first communication over the first wireless channel.
(“In an embodiment, the gNB may further transmit an indication signal for the grant resource to the UE, where the indication signal instructs the UE to transmit a specific type of message in the grant resource. The specific type of message may be but not limited to a UL data, and/or a sounding reference signal for measurement. In an embodiment, the configuration of grant resources may be determined by the gNB based on received signal strength indication (RSSI) measurement reporting from the UE. For example, a sub-band having a higher RSSI value and/or a higher channel occupancy rate may imply that the sub-band may have a higher probability of LBT failure; hence, less grant resources or no grant resource may be configured in this sub-band. A sub-band having a lower RSSI value and/or a lower channel occupancy rate may imply that the sub-band may have a higher probability of LBT success; hence, more grant resources may be configured in this sub-band.”; Pao et al.; 0104)
(“TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Configured Value grant Description 0 {0} No available configured grant resource 1 {4, 8} 2 configured grant resources, slots {4, 8} 2 {1, 4, 7} 3 configured grant resources, slots {1, 4, 7} 3 {2} 1 configured grant resource, slot {2} 4 {2, 4, 6} 3 configured grant resource, slots {2, 4, 6} 5 {8, 9} 2 configured grant resource, slots {8, 9}”)
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the grant/resource/slot capability of Pao et al. into Ajami et al. By modifying the processing/communications of Ajami et al. to include the grant/resource/slot capability as taught by the processing/communications of Pao et al., the benefits of improved throughput (Ajami et al.; 0045) with improved LBT (Pao et al.; 0006) are achieved.
As to claim 38:
Ajami et al. as described above does not explicitly teach:
transmitting a second grant communication from the first wireless
access point to the first mobile communication device, the second grant
communication scheduling a second time slot for use by the first mobile
communication device to transmit the second communication over the first
wireless channel to the first wireless access point based on the
determined channel quality.
However, Pao et al. further teaches a grant/resource/slot capability which includes:
transmitting a second grant communication from the first wireless
access point to the first mobile communication device, the second grant
communication scheduling a second time slot for use by the first mobile
communication device to transmit the second communication over the first
wireless channel to the first wireless access point based on the
determined channel quality.
(“In an embodiment, the gNB may further transmit an indication signal for the grant resource to the UE, where the indication signal instructs the UE to transmit a specific type of message in the grant resource. The specific type of message may be but not limited to a UL data, and/or a sounding reference signal for measurement. In an embodiment, the configuration of grant resources may be determined by the gNB based on received signal strength indication (RSSI) measurement reporting from the UE. For example, a sub-band having a higher RSSI value and/or a higher channel occupancy rate may imply that the sub-band may have a higher probability of LBT failure; hence, less grant resources or no grant resource may be configured in this sub-band. A sub-band having a lower RSSI value and/or a lower channel occupancy rate may imply that the sub-band may have a higher probability of LBT success; hence, more grant resources may be configured in this sub-band.”; Pao et al.; 0104)
(“TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Configured Value grant Description 0 {0} No available configured grant resource 1 {4, 8} 2 configured grant resources, slots {4, 8} 2 {1, 4, 7} 3 configured grant resources, slots {1, 4, 7} 3 {2} 1 configured grant resource, slot {2} 4 {2, 4, 6} 3 configured grant resource, slots {2, 4, 6} 5 {8, 9} 2 configured grant resource, slots {8, 9}”)
(see FIG.1 and 7)
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the grant/resource/slot capability of Pao et al. into Ajami et al. By modifying the processing/communications of Ajami et al. to include the grant/resource/slot capability as taught by the processing/communications of Pao et al., the benefits of improved throughput (Ajami et al.; 0045) with improved LBT (Pao et al.; 0006) are achieved.
As to claim 39:
Ajami et al. as described above does not explicitly teach:
transmitting a grant communication from the first wireless access
point to the first mobile communication device, the grant communication
scheduling a time slot granted for use by the first mobile communication device to transmit the second communication over the first wireless
channel to the first wireless access point.
However, Pao et al. further teaches a grant/resource/slot capability which includes:
transmitting a grant communication from the first wireless access
point to the first mobile communication device, the grant communication
scheduling a time slot granted for use by the first mobile communication device to transmit the second communication over the first wireless
channel to the first wireless access point.
(“In an embodiment, the gNB may further transmit an indication signal for the grant resource to the UE, where the indication signal instructs the UE to transmit a specific type of message in the grant resource. The specific type of message may be but not limited to a UL data, and/or a sounding reference signal for measurement. In an embodiment, the configuration of grant resources may be determined by the gNB based on received signal strength indication (RSSI) measurement reporting from the UE. For example, a sub-band having a higher RSSI value and/or a higher channel occupancy rate may imply that the sub-band may have a higher probability of LBT failure; hence, less grant resources or no grant resource may be configured in this sub-band. A sub-band having a lower RSSI value and/or a lower channel occupancy rate may imply that the sub-band may have a higher probability of LBT success; hence, more grant resources may be configured in this sub-band.”; Pao et al.; 0104)
(“TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Configured Value grant Description 0 {0} No available configured grant resource 1 {4, 8} 2 configured grant resources, slots {4, 8} 2 {1, 4, 7} 3 configured grant resources, slots {1, 4, 7} 3 {2} 1 configured grant resource, slot {2} 4 {2, 4, 6} 3 configured grant resource, slots {2, 4, 6} 5 {8, 9} 2 configured grant resource, slots {8, 9}”)
(see FIG.1 and 7)
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the grant/resource/slot capability of Pao et al. into Ajami et al. By modifying the processing/communications of Ajami et al. to include the grant/resource/slot capability as taught by the processing/communications of Pao et al., the benefits of improved throughput (Ajami et al.; 0045) with improved LBT (Pao et al.; 0006) are achieved.
Claim(s) 36 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ajami et al. US 20240137980 in view of Pao et al. US 20200154475 and in further view of Panteleev et al. US 20220123902.
As to claim 36:
Ajami et al. as described above does not explicitly teach:
transmitting the first grant communication in response to detecting
that the first mobile communication device supports a scheduling mode in
which the first wireless access point schedules use of the first wireless
channel based at least in part on the determined channel quality
associated with the first wireless channel.
However, Pao et al. further teaches a RSSI capability which includes:
transmitting the first grant communication …in which the first wireless access point schedules use of the first wireless
channel based at least in part on the determined channel quality
associated with the first wireless channel.
(“In an embodiment, the gNB may further transmit an indication signal for the grant resource to the UE, where the indication signal instructs the UE to transmit a specific type of message in the grant resource. The specific type of message may be but not limited to a UL data, and/or a sounding reference signal for measurement. In an embodiment, the configuration of grant resources may be determined by the gNB based on received signal strength indication (RSSI) measurement reporting from the UE. For example, a sub-band having a higher RSSI value and/or a higher channel occupancy rate may imply that the sub-band may have a higher probability of LBT failure; hence, less grant resources or no grant resource may be configured in this sub-band. A sub-band having a lower RSSI value and/or a lower channel occupancy rate may imply that the sub-band may have a higher probability of LBT success; hence, more grant resources may be configured in this sub-band.”; Pao et al.; 0104)
(“TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Configured Value grant Description 0 {0} No available configured grant resource 1 {4, 8} 2 configured grant resources, slots {4, 8} 2 {1, 4, 7} 3 configured grant resources, slots {1, 4, 7} 3 {2} 1 configured grant resource, slot {2} 4 {2, 4, 6} 3 configured grant resource, slots {2, 4, 6} 5 {8, 9} 2 configured grant resource, slots {8, 9}”)
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the RSSI of Pao et al. into Ajami et al. By modifying the processing/communications of Ajami et al. to include the RSSI capability as taught by the processing/communications of Pao et al., the benefits of improved throughput (Ajami et al.; 0045) with improved LBT (Pao et al.; 0006) are achieved.
However, Panteleev et al. further teaches a scheduling capability which includes:
in response to detecting that the first mobile communication device supports a scheduling mode
(“The method can further include generating, by the UE, an indication indicating, as part of a capability reporting framework, whether the UE supports terminating the PUSCH transmission for a dynamically scheduled PUSCH.”; Panteleev et al.; 0007)
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the scheduling of Panteleev et al. into Ajami et al. By modifying the processing/communications of Ajami et al. to include the scheduling capability as taught by the processing/communications of Panteleev et al., the benefits of improved throughput (Ajami et al.; 0045) with improved functionality (Panteleev et al.; 0217) are achieved.
Claim(s) 37 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ajami et al. US 20240137980 in view of Pao et al. US 20200154475 and in further view of Mallik et al. US 20170215200.
As to claim 37:
Ajami et al. as described above does not explicitly teach:
wherein the first grant communication is
a broadcast message transmitted to the first mobile communication device
and a second mobile communication device.
However, Mallik et al. further teaches a broadcast CTS capability which includes:
wherein the first grant communication is
a broadcast message transmitted to the first mobile communication device
and a second mobile communication device.
(“Improved techniques to contend for a contention-based channel in unlicensed radio frequency (RF) spectrum are described. These techniques may enable a wireless device, for example a base station, to broadcast a channel reservation transmission that is understandable by other base stations and user equipments (UEs) operating in the same unlicensed RF spectrum. The channel reservation transmission may include a duration of a transmit opportunity and a clear channel assessment (CCA) procedure allocation of uplink (UL) and downlink (DL) resources for the base station and UEs. It may also include a channel state information (CSI) request for receiving UEs. The channel reservation transmission may also include within it a channel reservation transmission of a format understandable by other wireless devices operating in the same unlicensed RF spectrum, but operating according to a different radio access technology (RAT), for example Wi-Fi. The base station may broadcast a channel reservation transmission that includes, for example as a header, a Wi-Fi clear to send (CTS)-to-self control frame. The broadcast of the channel reservation transmission may be sent over a channel that includes multiple sub-bands (e.g. multiple channels), where the channel reservation transmission CTS-to-self control frame is sent in each of the multiple sub-bands, so that Wi-Fi devices that may only operate within one sub-band of the channel may receive and understand the Wi-Fi CTS-to-self frame.”; Mallik et al.; 0007)
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the broadcast CTS of Mallik et al. into Ajami et al. By modifying the processing/communications of Ajami et al. to include the broadcast CTS capability as taught by the processing/communications of Mallik et al., the benefits of improved throughput (Ajami et al.; 0045) with improved channel reservation (Mallik et al.; 0053) are achieved.
Claim(s) 40 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ajami et al. US 20240137980 in view of Pao et al. US 20200154475 and in further view of Elshafie et al. US 20220104248 (cited in Non-Final Rejection dated 11/14/2025).
As to claim 40:
Ajami et al. as described above does not explicitly teach:
transmitting the grant communication from the wireless access
point to the first mobile communication device in response to detecting
that the first quality of the first mobile communication device receiving the
wireless signal transmitted from the first wireless access point is greater
than a second channel quality associated with a second mobile
communication device receiving the wireless signal.
However, Elshafie et al. further teaches a quality capability which includes:
prior to receiving the first communication, transmitting a first grant
communication from the first wireless access point, the first grant
communication indicating a first time slot allocated for transmission of the
first communication over the first wireless channel.
(“In some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, determining the resource assignment may include operations, features, means, or instructions for determining that the third grant for the third set of resources may be for the retransmission of the first data transmission from the first UE based on determining that the first channel quality associated with the first UE may be greater than the second channel quality associated with the second UE; and where transmitting the retransmission of the first data transmission or the third data transmission to the base station includes and transmitting, to one or both of the second UE or the base station over the third set of resources, the retransmission of the first data transmission.”; Elshafie et al.; 0020)
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the quality capability of Elshafie et al. into Ajami et al. By modifying the processing/communications of Ajami et al. to include the quality capability as taught by the processing/communications of Elshafie et al., the benefits of improved throughput (Ajami et al.; 0045) with improved resource assignments (Elshafie et al.; 0004) are achieved.
Claim(s) 14, 15, 16, 18 and 27 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Takamatsu US 20110026481 (cited in Non-Final Rejection dated 11/14/2025) in view of Koenck et al. US 20080274731 (cited in Non-Final Rejection dated 11/14/2025).
As to claim 14:
Takamatsu discloses:
A system comprising:
communication management hardware operative to: receive a first communication;
(“In response to the switching channel selection instruction from the base station 120, the PHS terminal 110 performs carrier sense for the switching channel candidates (S408), and transmits to the base station 120 a selection response (CQI Report) including a switching channel, which is capable of performing wireless communication with the base station 120 and has the highest communication quality (S410). Meanwhile, as described above, the switching channel may not be a channel having the highest communication quality if it is capable of performing wireless communication with the base station 120.”; Takamatsu; 0098)
(where
“base station” maps to “first wireless access point”,
“transmits to the base station 120 a selection response (CQI Report)” maps to “receiving a first communication”
via the first communication, determining a channel quality associated with a first wireless channel,
(“The base station 120 receives the selection response from the PHS terminal 110, holds the switching channel included in the selection response, and starts count of the valid timer 236 (S412).”; Takamatsu; 0099)
(where
“receives the selection response from the PHS terminal 110, holds the switching channel included in the selection response”/” selection response (CQI Report) including a switching channel, which is capable of performing wireless communication with the base station 120 and has the highest communication quality” maps to “via the first communication, determining a channel quality associated with a first wireless channel”, where “selection response” maps to “via the first communication”, “holds the switching channel” which has the “highest communication quality” maps to “determining a channel quality associated with a first wireless channel”, where “highest communication quality” maps to “channel quality”, “switching channel” maps to “a first wireless channel”, where “holds the switching channel” which has the “highest communication quality” maps to “determining”
the first wireless channel … by a first mobile communication device via clear channel assessment; and
(where
“the PHS terminal 110 performs carrier sense for the switching channel candidates (S408)…including a switching channel” maps to “the first wireless channel … by a first mobile communication device via clear channel assessment”, where “switching channel” maps to “the first wireless channel”, “PHS terminal 110” maps to “first mobile communication device”, “carrier sense” maps to “via clear channel assessment”,
based on the determined channel quality, controlling conveyance of a second communication over a wireless communication link established between the first mobile communication device and the first wireless access point over the first wireless channel.
(“Upon receiving the downlink control signal of the new anchor channel and the previous anchor channel, the PHS terminal 110 concludes that downlink synchronization has been established, and stops the PHS terminal response confirmation timer 334 (S432). And, the PHS terminal 110 disconnects and opens the previous anchor channel (S434) and transmits that to the base station 120 through the new anchor channel (S436).”; Takamatsu; 0103)
(“Upon receiving this, the base station 120 concludes that uplink synchronization has been established, and stops the base station response confirmation timer 240 (S438). And, the base station 120 disconnects and opens the previous anchor channel (S440). In this way, communication through the new anchor channel is established (S442).”; Takamatsu; 0104)
(where
Steps S436 and S442 “transmits to the base station 120 through the new anchor channel”/”communication through the new anchor channel is established” is performed based on the “CQI report” communicated to the base station in S410 which maps to “based on the determined channel quality”
“PHS terminal 110…transmits to the base station 120 through the new anchor channel (S436)/”communication though the new anchor channel is established (S442)” where FIG. 6 illustrates “S442” as bidirectional and the communication is not communicated through the “previous anchor channel” maps to “controlling conveyance of a second communication”,
“S442”/”new anchor channel is established”/FIG. 6 maps to “over a wireless communication link established between the first mobile communication device and the first wireless access point over the first wireless channel”
Takamatsu teaches a PHS terminal performing carrier sense to determine switching channel candidates which includes a switching channel which has the highest communication quality which are reported to a base station, where the base station, based on the report, determines a new anchor channel for performing communication.
Takamatsu et al. as described above does not explicitly teach:
[the first wireless channel] acquirable [by a first mobile communication device via clear channel assessment]
However, Koenck et al. further teaches an RFP/channel reservation capability which includes:
[the first wireless channel] acquirable [by a first mobile communication device via clear channel assessment]
(“FIG. 19 is a timing graph illustrating an exemplary communication exchange between a portable data terminal 901 and an access point 903. Upon determining that the channel is clear, the portable data terminal 901 begins by transmitting an RFP (request for poll) frame 905. After an interframe gap time 923, the access point 903 responds with a POLL frame 907 to indicate to the portable data terminal 901 that it is available to receive data. The portable data terminal 901 then sends a DATA frame 909. The access point 903 acknowledges receipt of DATA-frame 909 with a POLL frame 911. The portable data terminal 901 then transmits DATA frame 913 which indicates that data transmission is complete. The access point 915 then transmits a CLEAR frame 915 to acknowledge receipt.”; Koenk et al.; 0180)
(“FIG. 20 is a flow diagram illustrating an embodiment of the channel access reservation scheme described above. A portable data terminal (or mobile computer device ("MCD") wakes up to transmit data at a block 951. It then senses the channel for an interpoll gap time at a block 953 before determining if the channel is clear at a block 955. If the channel is clear, the portable data terminal transmits an RFP and the communication sequence begins (e.g., that shown in FIG. 19). If the channel is busy, the portable data terminal listens for the channel reservation information on the channel at a block 959, and calculates the time that it should "sleep" and powers down at a block 961. At the end of the calculated sleep period, the portable data terminal wakes up to transmit at a block 963 and repeats the process by sensing the channel for an interpoll gap time at block 953.”; Koenk et al.; 0183)
(where
“determining that the channel is clear”/”if the channel is clear, the portable data terminal transmits an RFP”/”channel access reservation”/”portable data terminal listens for the channel reservation information”/FIG. 19/FIG. 20 maps to “[the first wireless channel] acquirable [by a first mobile communication device via clear channel assessment]”
Koenck et al. teaches a portable data terminal performing a clear channel assessment and sending an RFP in order to reserve a channel.
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the RFP/channel reservation capability of Koenck et al. into Takamatsu et al. By modifying the processing/communications of Takamatsu et al. to include the RFP/channel reservation capability as taught by the processing/communications of Koenck et al., the benefits of improved efficiency (Takamatsu; Abstract) with elimination of back-off (Koenck et al.; 0180) are achieved.
As to claim 15:
Takamatsu discloses:
wherein determining the channel quality associated with the first wireless channel includes:
retrieving channel quality feedback from the first communication, the first communication received from the first mobile communication device, the channel quality feedback indicative of a wireless signal quality associated with the first mobile communication device receiving a wireless signal transmitted from the first wireless access point over the first wireless channel to the first mobile communication device.
(“The base station 120 receives the selection response from the PHS terminal 110, holds the switching channel included in the selection response, and starts count of the valid timer 236 (S412).
[0100] If the base station 120 detects that the communication quality of the anchor channel becomes the second threshold value or lower (S420), the base station 120 transmits a channel switching instruction including the held switching channel to the PHS terminal 110 (S422). And, in the base station 120, count of the base station response confirmation timer 240 is started simultaneously with the transmission of the channel switching instruction.”; Takamatsu; 0099-0100)
As to claim 16:
Takamatsu discloses:
wherein controlling the conveyance of the second communication between the first mobile communication device and the first wireless access point over the first wireless channel includes:
in response to detecting that the determined channel quality is below a threshold level, preventing the conveyance of the second communication over the established wireless communication link via the first wireless channel.
(“The base station 120 receives the selection response from the PHS terminal 110, holds the switching channel included in the selection response, and starts count of the valid timer 236 (S412).
[0100] If the base station 120 detects that the communication quality of the anchor channel becomes the second threshold value or lower (S420), the base station 120 transmits a channel switching instruction including the held switching channel to the PHS terminal 110 (S422). And, in the base station 120, count of the base station response confirmation timer 240 is started simultaneously with the transmission of the channel switching instruction.”; Takamatsu; 0099-0100)
(“Upon receiving the downlink control signal of the new anchor channel and the previous anchor channel, the PHS terminal 110 concludes that downlink synchronization has been established, and stops the PHS terminal response confirmation timer 334 (S432). And, the PHS terminal 110 disconnects and opens the previous anchor channel (S434) and transmits that to the base station 120 through the new anchor channel (S436).”; Takamatsu; 0103)
As to claim 18:
Takamatsu discloses:
receiving the first communication at the first wireless access point in response to the first wireless access point wirelessly communicating a command to the first mobile communication device, the command indicating to provide channel quality information associated with the first mobile communication device receiving a wireless signal from the first wireless access point.
(“FIG. 6 is a sequence view showing a flow of processes of the wireless communication method. The PHS terminal 110 performs communication through an anchor channel provided in a channel designated by SCCH (Signaling Control Channel) from the base station 120, and an extra channel designated through the anchor channel (S400). Here, if the base station 120 detects that the communication quality of the anchor channel becomes the first threshold value or lower (S402), the base station 120 performs carrier sense for all channels capable of performing communication to extract one or more of switching channel candidates capable of performing wireless communication with the PHS terminal 110 (S404). And, the base station 120 transmits a switching channel selection instruction (CQI Report Indication) including the switching channel candidates to the PHS terminal 110 through EDCH (EXCH Data Channel) (S406).”; Takamatsu; 0097)
As to claim 27:
Takamatsu discloses:
Computer-readable storage hardware having instructions stored thereon, the instructions, when carried out by computer processor hardware, cause the 20 computer processor hardware to:
receive a first communication from a first mobile communication device;
(“In response to the switching channel selection instruction from the base station 120, the PHS terminal 110 performs carrier sense for the switching channel candidates (S408), and transmits to the base station 120 a selection response (CQI Report) including a switching channel, which is capable of performing wireless communication with the base station 120 and has the highest communication quality (S410). Meanwhile, as described above, the switching channel may not be a channel having the highest communication quality if it is capable of performing wireless communication with the base station 120.”; Takamatsu; 0098)
(where
“base station” maps to “first wireless access point”,
“transmits to the base station 120 a selection response (CQI Report)” maps to “receiving a first communication”
via the first communication, determining a channel quality associated with a first wireless channel,
(“The base station 120 receives the selection response from the PHS terminal 110, holds the switching channel included in the selection response, and starts count of the valid timer 236 (S412).”; Takamatsu; 0099)
(where
“receives the selection response from the PHS terminal 110, holds the switching channel included in the selection response”/” selection response (CQI Report) including a switching channel, which is capable of performing wireless communication with the base station 120 and has the highest communication quality” maps to “via the first communication, determining a channel quality associated with a first wireless channel”, where “selection response” maps to “via the first communication”, “holds the switching channel” which has the “highest communication quality” maps to “determining a channel quality associated with a first wireless channel”, where “highest communication quality” maps to “channel quality”, “switching channel” maps to “a first wireless channel”, where “holds the switching channel” which has the “highest communication quality” maps to “determining”
the first wireless channel … by a first mobile communication device via clear channel assessment; and
(where
“the PHS terminal 110 performs carrier sense for the switching channel candidates (S408)…including a switching channel” maps to “the first wireless channel … by a first mobile communication device via clear channel assessment”, where “switching channel” maps to “the first wireless channel”, “PHS terminal 110” maps to “first mobile communication device”, “carrier sense” maps to “via clear channel assessment”,
based on the determined channel quality, controlling conveyance of a second communication over a wireless communication link established between the first mobile communication device and the first wireless access point over the first wireless channel.
(“Upon receiving the downlink control signal of the new anchor channel and the previous anchor channel, the PHS terminal 110 concludes that downlink synchronization has been established, and stops the PHS terminal response confirmation timer 334 (S432). And, the PHS terminal 110 disconnects and opens the previous anchor channel (S434) and transmits that to the base station 120 through the new anchor channel (S436).”; Takamatsu; 0103)
(“Upon receiving this, the base station 120 concludes that uplink synchronization has been established, and stops the base station response confirmation timer 240 (S438). And, the base station 120 disconnects and opens the previous anchor channel (S440). In this way, communication through the new anchor channel is established (S442).”; Takamatsu; 0104)
(where
Steps S436 and S442 “transmits to the base station 120 through the new anchor channel”/”communication through the new anchor channel is established” is performed based on the “CQI report” communicated to the base station in S410 which maps to “based on the determined channel quality”
“PHS terminal 110…transmits to the base station 120 through the new anchor channel (S436)/”communication though the new anchor channel is established (S442)” where FIG. 6 illustrates “S442” as bidirectional and the communication is not communicated through the “previous anchor channel” maps to “controlling conveyance of a second communication”,
“S442”/”new anchor channel is established”/FIG. 6 maps to “over a wireless communication link established between the first mobile communication device and the first wireless access point over the first wireless channel”
Takamatsu teaches a PHS terminal performing carrier sense to determine switching channel candidates which includes a switching channel which has the highest communication quality which are reported to a base station, where the base station, based on the report, determines a new anchor channel for performing communication.
Takamatsu et al. as described above does not explicitly teach:
[the first wireless channel] acquirable [by a first mobile communication device via clear channel assessment]
However, Koenck et al. further teaches an RFP/channel reservation capability which includes:
[the first wireless channel] acquirable [by a first mobile communication device via clear channel assessment]
(“FIG. 19 is a timing graph illustrating an exemplary communication exchange between a portable data terminal 901 and an access point 903. Upon determining that the channel is clear, the portable data terminal 901 begins by transmitting an RFP (request for poll) frame 905. After an interframe gap time 923, the access point 903 responds with a POLL frame 907 to indicate to the portable data terminal 901 that it is available to receive data. The portable data terminal 901 then sends a DATA frame 909. The access point 903 acknowledges receipt of DATA-frame 909 with a POLL frame 911. The portable data terminal 901 then transmits DATA frame 913 which indicates that data transmission is complete. The access point 915 then transmits a CLEAR frame 915 to acknowledge receipt.”; Koenk et al.; 0180)
(“FIG. 20 is a flow diagram illustrating an embodiment of the channel access reservation scheme described above. A portable data terminal (or mobile computer device ("MCD") wakes up to transmit data at a block 951. It then senses the channel for an interpoll gap time at a block 953 before determining if the channel is clear at a block 955. If the channel is clear, the portable data terminal transmits an RFP and the communication sequence begins (e.g., that shown in FIG. 19). If the channel is busy, the portable data terminal listens for the channel reservation information on the channel at a block 959, and calculates the time that it should "sleep" and powers down at a block 961. At the end of the calculated sleep period, the portable data terminal wakes up to transmit at a block 963 and repeats the process by sensing the channel for an interpoll gap time at block 953.”; Koenk et al.; 0183)
(where
“determining that the channel is clear”/”if the channel is clear, the portable data terminal transmits an RFP”/”channel access reservation”/”portable data terminal listens for the channel reservation information”/FIG. 19/FIG. 20 maps to “[the first wireless channel] acquirable [by a first mobile communication device via clear channel assessment]”
Koenck et al. teaches a portable data terminal performing a clear channel assessment and sending an RFP in order to reserve a channel.
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the RFP/channel reservation capability of Koenck et al. into Takamatsu et al. By modifying the processing/communications of Takamatsu et al. to include the RFP/channel reservation capability as taught by the processing/communications of Koenck et al., the benefits of improved efficiency (Takamatsu; Abstract) with elimination of back-off (Koenck et al.; 0180) are achieved.
Claim(s) 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Takamatsu US 20110026481 (cited in Non-Final Rejection dated 11/14/2025) in view of Koenck et al. US 20080274731 (cited in Non-Final Rejection dated 11/14/2025) and in further view of Ajami et al. US 20240137980.
As to claim 17:
Takamatsu discloses:
wherein controlling the conveyance of the second communication between the first mobile communication device and the first wireless access point over the first wireless channel includes:
allocating use of a second wireless channel to support conveyance of the second communication over the established wireless communication link between the first mobile communication device and the first wireless access point as a substitute to allocating the first wireless channel to convey the second communication over the established wireless communication link.
(“The base station 120 receives the selection response from the PHS terminal 110, holds the switching channel included in the selection response, and starts count of the valid timer 236 (S412).
[0100] If the base station 120 detects that the communication quality of the anchor channel becomes the second threshold value or lower (S420), the base station 120 transmits a channel switching instruction including the held switching channel to the PHS terminal 110 (S422). And, in the base station 120, count of the base station response confirmation timer 240 is started simultaneously with the transmission of the channel switching instruction.”; Takamatsu; 0099-0100)
(“Upon receiving the downlink control signal of the new anchor channel and the previous anchor channel, the PHS terminal 110 concludes that downlink synchronization has been established, and stops the PHS terminal response confirmation timer 334 (S432). And, the PHS terminal 110 disconnects and opens the previous anchor channel (S434) and transmits that to the base station 120 through the new anchor channel (S436).”; Takamatsu; 0103).
Takamatsu et al. as described above does not explicitly teach:
the first mobile
communication device required to implement the clear channel assessment to
acquire use of the second wireless channel prior to the first mobile
communication device wirelessly transmitting over the second wireless channel.
However, Ajami et al. further teaches a CCA capability which includes:
the first mobile
communication device required to implement the clear channel assessment to
acquire use of the second wireless channel prior to the first mobile
communication device wirelessly transmitting over the second wireless channel.
(“To establish a communication link 106 with an AP 102, each of the STAs 104 is configured to perform passive or active scanning operations (“scans”) on frequency channels in one or more frequency bands (such as the 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 6 GHz or 60 GHz bands). To perform passive scanning, a STA 104 listens for beacons, which are transmitted by respective APs 102 at a periodic time interval referred to as the target beacon transmission time (TBTT) (measured in time units (TUs) where one TU may be equal to 1024 microseconds (μs)). To perform active scanning, a STA 104 generates and sequentially transmits probe requests on each channel to be scanned and listens for probe responses from APs 102. Each STA 104 may identify, determine, ascertain, or select an AP 102 with which to associate in accordance with the scanning information obtained through the passive or active scans, and to perform authentication and association operations to establish a communication link 106 with the selected AP 102. The AP 102 assigns an association identifier (AID) to the STA 104 at the culmination of the association operations, which the AP 102 uses to track the STA 104.”; Ajami et al.; 0031)
(“In some implementations, the wireless communication device may implement the DCF through the use of carrier sense multiple access (CSMA) with collision avoidance (CA) (CSMA/CA) techniques. According to such techniques, before transmitting data, the wireless communication device may perform a clear channel assessment (CCA) and may determine (such as identify, detect, ascertain, calculate, or compute) that the relevant wireless channel is idle.”; Ajami et al.; 0038)
(“…For example, if the BSS color associated with the wireless packet is the same as the BSS color of the AP 102 or STA, the AP 102 or STA 104 may use a first received signal strength indication (RSSI) detection threshold when performing a CCA on the wireless channel. However, if the BSS color associated with the wireless packet is different than the BSS color of the AP 102 or STA, the AP 102 or STA 104 may use a second RSSI detection threshold in lieu of using the first RSSI detection threshold when performing the CCA on the wireless channel, the second RSSI detection threshold being greater than the first RSSI detection threshold. In this way, the criteria for winning contention are relaxed when interfering transmissions are associated with an OBSS.”; Ajami et al.; 0041)
(“In accordance with the interference measurement phase 605, the AP 102-a and the AP 102-b may each obtain a link measurement (such as an RSSI value or a pathloss value) of the response frame 620 transmitted by the client device 205-a. In some aspects, the AP 102-a may measure or learn a value C.sub.1 (such as a receive power of the response frame 620 measured at the AP 102-a) and the AP 102-b may measure or lean a value C.sub.2 (such as a receive power of the response frame 620 measured at the AP 102-b). In some implementations, the AP 102-a may schedule data transmissions with client devices of the AP 102-a prior to transmitting a C-SR grant associated with the TXOP. The AP 102-a may transmit TXOP sharing information 625 (which may be a TXS' message in the example of FIG. 6) to the AP 102-b. The TXOP sharing information 625 may include a C-SR grant and information (through the TXS' message) associated with one or more C-SR parameters that the AP 102-b may use to compute a transmit power for downlink communication from the AP 102-b within the shared TXOP. In some implementations, such a transmit power may be computed such that a target downlink SINR constraint is satisfies at the client device 205-a. The AP 102-b may transmit a frame 630 (which may be a CTS frame in the example of FIG. 6) and, in scenarios in which the AP 102-b is able to use the computed transmit power (such as without adversely impacting an SINR or QoS target at the client device 205-b), the AP 102-a may transmit a downlink message 635 and the AP 102-b may transmit a downlink message 640 concurrently.”; Ajami et al.; 0094)
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the CCA capability of Ajami et al. into Takamatsu et al. By modifying the processing/communications of Takamatsu et al. to include the CCA capability as taught by the processing/communications of Ajami et al., the benefits of improved efficiency (Takamatsu; Abstract) with improved throughput (Ajami et al.; 0045) are achieved.
Claim(s) 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Takamatsu US 20110026481 (cited in Non-Final Rejection dated 11/14/2025) in view of Koenck et al. US 20080274731 (cited in Non-Final Rejection dated 11/14/2025) and in further view of Sharma US 20050215265 (cited in Non-Final Rejection dated 11/14/2025) and Pawar et al. US 9674861 (cited in Non-Final Rejection dated 11/14/2025).
As to claim 19:
Takamatsu et al. as described above does not explicitly teach:
wherein controlling conveyance of the second communication between the first mobile communication device and the first wireless access point via the first wireless channel includes:
implementing a load balancing scheduler function, the load balancing scheduler function operative to allocate use of the first wireless channel and a second wireless channel depending on the determined channel quality associated with the first wireless channel and a determined channel quality associated with the second wireless channel.
However, Sharma further teaches a load balancing capability which includes:
wherein controlling conveyance of the second communication between the first mobile communication device and the first wireless access point via the first wireless channel includes:
implementing a load balancing … function, the load balancing scheduler function operative to allocate use of the first wireless channel and a second wireless channel depending on the determined channel quality associated with the first wireless channel and a determined channel quality associated with the second wireless channel.
(“One aspect of the invention provides a load balancing system which does not require extra hardware equipment such as a wireless switch, or an external server, or additional software such as management software. In one embodiment of the invention, the access point acts as a local and centralized server which makes its own decision on load balancing based on information such as channel loads, quality of service (QoS) requirements and the received signal strength indication (RSSI) values of the associated channels in order to transfer a load from an overloaded channel to an underloaded channel.”; 0029)
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the LBT reservation capability of Sharma into Takamatsu et al. By modifying the processing/communications of Takamatsu et al. to include the LBT reservation capability as taught by the processing/communications of Sharma, the benefits of improved efficiency (Takamatsu; Abstract) with improved loading (Sharma; Abstract) are achieved.
However, Pawar et al. further teaches a load balancing/scheduling capability which includes:
scheduler
(“(2) In certain circumstances, a portion of the network may experience high load, e.g., loading above a threshold, that stems from large amounts of data traffic or poor channel conditions. The access node may implement a pre-configured and fixed scheduler that manages a sequence of packet transmissions based on radio frequency (RF) needs of connected wireless devices. Because the scheduler is primarily driven by RF needs, there is no dynamic scheduling based on user experience. Accordingly, a dynamic, channel-aware system that effectively balances load and dynamically schedules packet transmissions from an access node to provide a high quality service to users is desirable.”; Pawar et al.; col. 1, lines 15-26)
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the load balancing/scheduling reservation capability of Pawar et al. into Takamatsu et al. By modifying the processing/communications of Takamatsu et al. to include the load balancing/scheduling reservation capability as taught by the processing/communications of Pawar et al., the benefits of improved efficiency (Takamatsu; Abstract) with improved scheduling (Pawar et al.; Abstract) are achieved.
Claim(s) 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Takamatsu US 20110026481 (cited in Non-Final Rejection dated 11/14/2025) in view of Koenck et al. US 20080274731 (cited in Non-Final Rejection dated 11/14/2025) and in further view of Han et al. US 20200205035 (cited in Non-Final Rejection dated 11/14/2025).
As to claim 20:
Takamatsu et al. as described above does not explicitly teach:
wherein the clear channel assessment requires each of multiple mobile communication devices including the first mobile communication device to implement a respective listen before talk function to acquire use of the first wireless channel prior to transmitting over the first wireless channel.
However, Han et al. further teaches a load balancing/quality indication capability which includes:
wherein the clear channel assessment requires each of multiple mobile communication devices including the first mobile communication device to implement a respective listen before talk function to acquire use of the first wireless channel prior to transmitting over the first wireless channel.
(“The wireless networking device of claim 1, wherein the indication that a load balancing is to be initiated comprises an indication based on supporting a quality of service for a channel other than the single data communication channel between the remote wireless access point and the wireless networking device.”; Han et al.; claim 6)
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the load balancing/quality indication capability of Han et al. into Takamatsu et al. By modifying the processing/communications of Takamatsu et al. to include the load balancing/quality indication capability as taught by the processing/communications of Han et al., the benefits of improved efficiency (Takamatsu; Abstract) with improved load balancing (Han et al.; Abstract) are achieved.
Claim(s) 21 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Takamatsu US 20110026481 (cited in Non-Final Rejection dated 11/14/2025) in view of Koenck et al. US 20080274731 (cited in Non-Final Rejection dated 11/14/2025) and in further view of Alabbasi et al. US 20240172283 (cited in Non-Final Rejection dated 11/14/2025).
As to claim 21:
Takamatsu et al. as described above does not explicitly teach:
wherein the clear channel assessment requires each of multiple mobile communication devices including the first mobile communication device to implement a respective listen before talk function to acquire use of the first wireless channel prior to transmitting over the first wireless channel.
However, Alabbasi et al. further teaches a LBT capability which includes:
wherein the clear channel assessment requires each of multiple mobile communication devices including the first mobile communication device to implement a respective listen before talk function to acquire use of the first wireless channel prior to transmitting over the first wireless channel.
(“5G New Radio-Unlicensed (NR-U) extends 5G NR to unlicensed bands (see, for example, 3GPP TR 38.889, entitled “Study on NR-based access to unlicensed spectrum”). In NR-U (standalone (SA) or Licensed Assisted Access (LAA)), spectrum sensing is part of the specification to secure accurate media access with minimum interference. UEs and gNBs are required to perform the so-called Listen-Before-Talk (LBT) procedure before making transmissions to ensure the channel is not acquired by another device. The LBT procedure is described in technical specification TS 37.213 entitled: “Physical layer procedures for shared spectrum channel access”.
[0003] In LBT, a radio transmitter first senses its radio environment before starting a transmission to find a free channel. The accuracy of LBT can be enhanced through distributed sensing where a plurality of nodes listen to a channel and combine their collected insights to provide a more accurate determination of whether a channel is in use, before the transmitter transmits over the channel.”; Alabbasi et al.; 0002-0003)
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the LBT reservation capability of Alabbasi et al. into Takamatsu et al. By modifying the processing/communications of Takamatsu et al. to include the LBT reservation capability as taught by the processing/communications of Alabbasi et al., the benefits of improved efficiency (Takamatsu; Abstract) with improved accuracy (Alabbasi et al.; 0032) are achieved.
Claim(s) 22 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Takamatsu US 20110026481 (cited in Non-Final Rejection dated 11/14/2025) in view of Koenck et al. US 20080274731 (cited in Non-Final Rejection dated 11/14/2025) and in further view of Sevindik et al. US 20210195446 (cited in Non-Final Rejection dated 11/14/2025).
As to claim 22:
Takamatsu et al. as described above does not explicitly teach:
wherein the determined channel quality is a first channel quality, the method further comprising: at the first wireless access point, receiving a third communication from a second mobile communication device;
via the third communication, determining a second channel quality, the second channel quality associated with a second wireless channel, the second wireless channel acquirable by the first mobile communication device and the second mobile communication device via clear channel assessment; and
wherein controlling conveyance of the second communication between the first mobile communication device and the wireless access point over the first wireless channel includes: based on the determined first channel quality and the determined second channel quality, controlling conveyance of the second communication between the first mobile communication device and the first 20 wireless access point over the first wireless channel.
However, Sevindik et al. further teaches an allocation capability which includes:
wherein the determined channel quality is a first channel quality, the method further comprising: at the first wireless access point, receiving a third communication from a second mobile communication device;
via the third communication, determining a second channel quality, the second channel quality associated with a second wireless channel, the second wireless channel acquirable by the first mobile communication device and the second mobile communication device via clear channel assessment; and
wherein controlling conveyance of the second communication between the first mobile communication device and the wireless access point over the first wireless channel includes: based on the determined first channel quality and the determined second channel quality, controlling conveyance of the second communication between the first mobile communication device and the first 20 wireless access point over the first wireless channel.
(“In processing operation 930, the allocation management resource 140-1 controls conveyance of communications over the second wireless connectivity 127 based on the measured link quality information provided by the first wireless connectivity 126.”; Svindik et al.; 0138)
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the allocation capability of Svindik et al. into Takamatsu et al. By modifying the processing/communications of Takamatsu et al. to include the allocation capability as taught by the processing/communications of Svindik et al., the benefits of improved efficiency (Takamatsu; Abstract) with improved wireless communication (Sevindik et al.; 0004) are achieved.
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.
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MICHAEL K. PHILLIPS
Examiner
Art Unit 2464
/MICHAEL K PHILLIPS/Examiner, Art Unit 2464