Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 08/21/2026 has been entered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1-2, 7-8, and 13-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being anticipated by Jiang et al. (2020/0204386), hereinafter Jiang in view of Lee et al. (2021/0036806), hereinafter Lee, and Ponnuswamy (2014/0256664).
Re. Claims 1 and 13, Jiang teaches a communication apparatus, comprising: a processor; a communication interface to perform information exchange with another communication device; and a memory to store program instructions (Fig. 2), which when executed by the processor, cause the communication device is to perform a method, the method comprising: receiving, through a multicast physical channel (¶0046 - The network interface 16 includes a medium access control (MAC) processor 18 and a physical layer (PHY) processor 20. The PHY processor 20 includes a number of transceivers 21-1, 21-2 and 21-3 (collectively, transceivers 21), and the transceivers 21 are coupled to a number of antennas 24-1, 24-2, and 24-3), a first multicast frame sent by a second device, wherein the first multicast frame comprises first information (¶0005 - a method includes transmitting, at a first wireless communication device, an announcement frame indicating a broadcast or multicast service period to a number of second wireless communication devices); and when the first information indicates that the first multicast frame is the last multicast frame sent by the second device within a preset time period (¶0022 - the announcement frame indicates (i) an end time of the broadcast or multicast service period and (ii) an order of a sequence of frames to be directed to the number of second wireless communication devices, each of the sequence of frames to be directed to a respective one of the number of second wireless communication devices, & ¶0023 - the announcement frame further indicates an end time of a last frame in the sequence of frames within the broadcast or multicast service period), stopping receiving through the multicast physical channel within the preset time period ((¶0022 - the announcement frame indicates (i) an end time of the broadcast or multicast service period and (ii) an order of a sequence of frames to be directed to the number of second wireless communication devices, each of the sequence of frames to be directed to a respective one of the number of second wireless communication devices, & ¶0023 - the announcement frame further indicates an end time of a last frame in the sequence of frames within the broadcast or multicast service period. Examiner interprets that in implementing the commands provided by the physical channel, the end time provided will act as a means of stopping reception).
However, Jiang does not expressly teach wherein the first information is determined based on a storage status of a new transmission storage area after the second device reads and removes a first data unit from the new transmission storage area.
Yet, Lee explicitly teaches wherein the first information is determined based on a storage status of a new transmission storage area after the second device reads and removes a first data unit from the new transmission storage area (¶0133 - when the source node 204, 208 receives the broadcast/multicast message including the packets, it identifies itself as the source of the packets and the node initiator 1802 removes those packets from the re-send flow);
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add the teaching of Lee to the teaching of Jiang. The motivation for such would be to improve storage capability by performing a check for storage status after removing a data unit as Lee discloses (¶0133, Lee). All of the claimed elements were known in the prior art and one skilled in the art could have combined the elements, as claimed by known methods, and the combination would have yielded predictable results to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention.
Further still, the combination of Jiang and Lee does not expressly teach when no data unit is stored in the new transmission storage area, the first information indicates that the first multicast frame is the last multicast frame sent by the second device within the preset time period, and when a data unit is still stored in the new transmission storage area after the second device moves the first data unit from the new transmission storage area, the first information indicates that the first multicast frame is not the last multicast frame sent by the second device within the preset time period.
Yet, Ponnuswamy explicitly teaches when no data unit is stored in the new transmission storage area, the first information indicates that the first multicast frame is the last multicast frame sent by the second device within the preset time period (Fig. 4a, ¶0049 - One embodiment of MCAST_STATUS_REPORT message 156 may include, but is not limited or restricted to one or more of the following: (i) total number of multicast frames received during the measurement period 400, (ii) time of receipt of the multicast frames 410, (iii) sequence numbers from sequence control fields within MAC headers of the first and last multicast frames during the measurement period 420 and 430, and/or (iv) current multicast rate 440), and when a data unit is still stored in the new transmission storage area after the second device moves the first data unit from the new transmission storage area, the first information indicates that the first multicast frame is not the last multicast frame sent by the second device within the preset time period (Fig. 4a, ¶0049 - One embodiment of MCAST_STATUS_REPORT message 156 may include, but is not limited or restricted to one or more of the following: (i) total number of multicast frames received during the measurement period 400, (ii) time of receipt of the multicast frames 410, (iii) sequence numbers from sequence control fields within MAC headers of the first and last multicast frames during the measurement period 420 and 430, and/or (iv) current multicast rate 440)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add the teaching of Ponnuswamy to the teaching of Jiang and Lee. The motivation for such would be to improve transmission efficiency by adequately marking the final transmission of data in the time period as Ponnuswamy discloses (Fig. 4a, ¶0049, Ponnuswamy). All of the claimed elements were known in the prior art and one skilled in the art could have combined the elements, as claimed by known methods, and the combination would have yielded predictable results to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention.
Re. Claim 7, Jiang teaches a communication method, comprising: generating, by a second device, a first multicast frame (¶0054 - the MAC processor 18 and the PHY processor 20 of the AP 14-1 are configured to generate data units conforming to the communication protocol and having formats described herein), wherein the first multicast frame comprises first information, and the first information indicates whether the first multicast frame is the last multicast frame sent by the second device within a preset time period (¶0022 - the announcement frame indicates (i) an end time of the broadcast or multicast service period and (ii) an order of a sequence of frames to be directed to the number of second wireless communication devices, each of the sequence of frames to be directed to a respective one of the number of second wireless communication devices, & ¶0023 - the announcement frame further indicates an end time of a last frame in the sequence of frames within the broadcast or multicast service period); and sending, by the second device, the first multicast frame to a plurality of first devices (¶0005 - a method includes transmitting, at a first wireless communication device, an announcement frame indicating a broadcast or multicast service period to a number of second wireless communication devices. Examiner interprets that the use of the term “first” and “second” in this reference is acceptable as there is still a device sending information and receiving information, the order the devices are labelled does not impede their function) through a multicast physical channel (¶0046 - The network interface 16 includes a medium access control (MAC) processor 18 and a physical layer (PHY) processor 20. The PHY processor 20 includes a number of transceivers 21-1, 21-2 and 21-3 (collectively, transceivers 21), and the transceivers 21 are coupled to a number of antennas 24-1, 24-2, and 24-3).
However, Jiang does not expressly teach wherein the first information is determined based on a storage status of a new transmission storage area after the second device reads and removes a first data unit from the new transmission storage area.
Yet, Lee explicitly teaches wherein the first information is determined based on a storage status of a new transmission storage area after the second device reads and removes a first data unit from the new transmission storage area (¶0133 - when the source node 204, 208 receives the broadcast/multicast message including the packets, it identifies itself as the source of the packets and the node initiator 1802 removes those packets from the re-send flow);
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add the teaching of Lee to the teaching of Jiang. The motivation for such would be to improve storage capability by performing a check for storage status after removing a data unit as Lee discloses (¶0133, Lee). All of the claimed elements were known in the prior art and one skilled in the art could have combined the elements, as claimed by known methods, and the combination would have yielded predictable results to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention.
Further still, the combination of Jiang and Lee does not expressly teach when no data unit is stored in the new transmission storage area, the first information indicates that the first multicast frame is the last multicast frame sent by the second device within the preset time period, and when a data unit is still stored in the new transmission storage area after the second device moves the first data unit from the new transmission storage area, the first information indicates that the first multicast frame is not the last multicast frame sent by the second device within the preset time period.
Yet, Ponnuswamy explicitly teaches when no data unit is stored in the new transmission storage area, the first information indicates that the first multicast frame is the last multicast frame sent by the second device within the preset time period (Fig. 4a, ¶0049 - One embodiment of MCAST_STATUS_REPORT message 156 may include, but is not limited or restricted to one or more of the following: (i) total number of multicast frames received during the measurement period 400, (ii) time of receipt of the multicast frames 410, (iii) sequence numbers from sequence control fields within MAC headers of the first and last multicast frames during the measurement period 420 and 430, and/or (iv) current multicast rate 440), and when a data unit is still stored in the new transmission storage area after the second device moves the first data unit from the new transmission storage area, the first information indicates that the first multicast frame is not the last multicast frame sent by the second device within the preset time period (Fig. 4a, ¶0049 - One embodiment of MCAST_STATUS_REPORT message 156 may include, but is not limited or restricted to one or more of the following: (i) total number of multicast frames received during the measurement period 400, (ii) time of receipt of the multicast frames 410, (iii) sequence numbers from sequence control fields within MAC headers of the first and last multicast frames during the measurement period 420 and 430, and/or (iv) current multicast rate 440)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add the teaching of Ponnuswamy to the teaching of Jiang and Lee. The motivation for such would be to improve transmission efficiency by adequately marking the final transmission of data in the time period as Ponnuswamy discloses (Fig. 4a, ¶0049, Ponnuswamy). All of the claimed elements were known in the prior art and one skilled in the art could have combined the elements, as claimed by known methods, and the combination would have yielded predictable results to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention.
Re. Claims 2 and 14, Jiang, Lee and Ponnuswamy teach Claims 1 and 13.
Additionally, Jiang further teaches wherein the first information is located in a physical layer frame header of the first multicast frame (¶0099 - all of these types of information can be included in additional control field in MAC Header or a certain field in enhanced DMG (EDMG) header); and the method further comprises: parsing, by a physical layer of the first device, the physical layer frame header of the first multicast frame, to determine the first information (¶0017 - the programming instructions instruct the processor electronics to operate the transceiver to decode, from the announcement frame, an end time of a last frame in the sequence of frames within the broadcast or multicast service period).
Re. Claim 8, Jiang, Lee and Ponnuswamy teach Claim 7.
Additionally, Jiang further teaches wherein the first information is located in a physical layer frame header of the first multicast frame (¶0099 - all of these types of information can be included in additional control field in MAC Header or a certain field in enhanced DMG (EDMG) header); and the generating, by a second device, a first multicast frame comprises: generating, by a physical layer of the second device, the physical layer frame header (¶0054 - the MAC processor 18 and the PHY processor 20 of the AP 14-1 are configured to generate data units conforming to the communication protocol and having formats described herein).
Claims 3-5, 9-11, and 15-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jiang in view of Lee, Ponnuswamy, and Shirakawa et al. (2024/0297734), hereinafter Shirakawa.
Re. Claims 3 and 15, Jiang, Lee and Ponnuswamy teach claims 1 and 13.
Additionally, Jiang further teaches parsing, by a preset layer of the first device, the payload header, to determine the first information, wherein the preset layer is a higher layer relative to the physical layer (¶0017 - to operate the transceiver to decode, from the announcement frame, an end time of a last frame in the sequence of frames within the broadcast or multicast service period. Examiner interprets that if the layer used is the higher layer outlined in the payload header, the higher layer can be used to operate to decode the transmission).
However, Jiang does not explicitly teach wherein the first information is located in a payload header of a physical layer of the first multicast frame.
Yet, Shirakawa expressly teaches wherein the first information is located in a payload header of a physical layer of the first multicast frame (¶0112 - The PHY header includes a PLCP preamble for synchronization detection, a PLCP header for determining a Modulation and Coding Scheme in accordance with a received signal strength);
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add the teaching of Shirakawa to the teaching of Jiang, Lee and Ponnuswamy. The motivation for such would be as Shirakawa provides that the first information is within the payload header of the physical layer (Shirakawa, ¶0112). All of the claimed elements were known in the prior art and one skilled in the art could have combined the elements, as claimed by known methods, and the combination would have yielded predictable results to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention.
Re. Claims 4 and 16, Jiang, Lee and Ponnuswamy teach claims 1 and 13.
However, Jiang does not explicitly teach examining, by the first device, the first multicast frame; when a result of examining the first multicast frame indicates that the first multicast frame is correct, stopping, by the first device, receiving through the multicast physical channel within the preset time period, and when the result of examining the first multicast frame indicates that the first multicast frame is incorrect, sending, by the first device, retransmission indication information to the second device, wherein the retransmission indication information instructs the second device to resend the first multicast frame.
Yet, Shirakawa expressly teaches examining, by the first device, the first multicast frame; when a result of examining the first multicast frame indicates that the first multicast frame is correct, stopping, by the first device, receiving through the multicast physical channel within the preset time period (Fig. 16, Examiner interprets that where the block does not error and cause a retransmit (see ¶0115) then the channel performs the stop as commanded by the transmission frame); and when the result of examining the first multicast frame indicates that the first multicast frame is incorrect, sending, by the first device, retransmission indication information to the second device, wherein the retransmission indication information instructs the second device to resend the first multicast frame (Fig. 16, & ¶0115 - the MAC layer of the higher layer unit 10001-1 having received the Block Ack in the transmission frame retransmits MPDU #2 because an error has been detected in MPDU #2)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add the teaching of Shirakawa to the teaching of Jiang, Lee and Ponnuswamy. The motivation for such would be as Shirakawa provides that the multicast frame directs whether retransmission is required or not upon reception (Shirakawa, ¶0115). All of the claimed elements were known in the prior art and one skilled in the art could have combined the elements, as claimed by known methods, and the combination would have yielded predictable results to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention.
Re. Claims 5 and 17, Jian, Lee, Ponnuswamy, and Shirakawa teach claims 4 and 16.
However, Jiang does not explicitly teach wherein the first multicast frame further comprises second information, indicating that a multicast frame is stored in a retransmission storage area of the second device.
Yet, Shirakawa expressly teaches wherein the first multicast frame further comprises second information, indicating that a multicast frame is stored in a retransmission storage area of the second device (¶0115 - Each of block #3 and block #6 in FIG. 16 includes two or more MPDUs, and the former stores a part of the information bit sequence included in MPDUs #1 and #2 and the latter stores a part of the information bit sequence included in MPDUs #2 and #3. Note that, in this example, the MAC layer of the higher layer unit 10001-1 having received the Block Ack in the transmission frame retransmits MPDU #2 because an error has been detected in MPDU #2, & ¶0156 - information handled by these apparatuses is temporarily accumulated in a RAM at the time of processing, is then stored in various types of ROMs and HDDs, and is read by the CPU as necessary to be corrected and written).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add the teaching of Shirakawa to the teaching of Jiang, Lee, Ponnuswamy. The motivation for such would be as Shirakawa provides that the multicast frame is stored in memory before retransmission is performed (Shirakawa, ¶0115). All of the claimed elements were known in the prior art and one skilled in the art could have combined the elements, as claimed by known methods, and the combination would have yielded predictable results to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention.
Re. Claim 9, Jiang, Lee and Ponnuswamy teach Claim 7.
Additionally, Jiang further teaches generating, by a second device, a first multicast frame comprises: generating, by a preset layer of the second device, the payload header, wherein the preset layer is a higher layer relative to the physical layer (¶0054 - the MAC processor 18 and the PHY processor 20 of the AP 14-1 are configured to generate data units conforming to the communication protocol and having formats described herein. Examiner interprets that if the layer used is the higher layer outlined in the payload header, the higher layer can be used to operate to decode the transmission).
However, Jiang does not explicitly teach wherein the first information is located in a payload header of a physical layer of the first multicast frame.
Yet, Shirakawa wherein the first information is located in a payload header of a physical layer of the first multicast frame (¶0112 - The PHY header includes a PLCP preamble for synchronization detection, a PLCP header for determining a Modulation and Coding Scheme in accordance with a received signal strength).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add the teaching of Shirakawa to the teaching of Jiang, Lee, Ponnuswamy. The motivation for such would be as Shirakawa provides the first information is found in a payload header of a physical layer of the first multicast frame (Shirakawa, ¶0112). All of the claimed elements were known in the prior art and one skilled in the art could have combined the elements, as claimed by known methods, and the combination would have yielded predictable results to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention.
Re. Claim 10, Jiang, Lee and Ponnuswamy teach Claim 7.
However, Jiang does not expressly teach receiving, by the second device, retransmission indication information sent by the first device, wherein the retransmission indication information is sent when examining the first multicast frame by the first device fails; and resending, by the second device, the first multicast frame based on the retransmission indication information through the multicast physical channel.
Yet, Shirakawa expressly teaches receiving, by the second device, retransmission indication information sent by the first device, wherein the retransmission indication information is sent when examining the first multicast frame by the first device fails; and resending, by the second device, the first multicast frame based on the retransmission indication information through the multicast physical channel (Fig. 16, & ¶0115 - the MAC layer of the higher layer unit 10001-1 having received the Block Ack in the transmission frame retransmits MPDU #2 because an error has been detected in MPDU #2).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add the teaching of Shirakawa to the teaching of Jiang, Lee, Ponnuswamy. The motivation for such would be as Shirakawa provides that the multicast frame directs whether retransmission is required or not upon reception (Shirakawa, ¶0115). All of the claimed elements were known in the prior art and one skilled in the art could have combined the elements, as claimed by known methods, and the combination would have yielded predictable results to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention.
Re. Claim 11, Jiang, Lee, Ponnuswamy, and Shirakawa teach Claim 10.
However, Jiang does not explicitly teach wherein the first multicast frame comprises second information indicating that a multicast frame is stored in a retransmission storage area of the second device, and resending the first multicast frame based on the second information through the multicast physical channel comprises: reading, by the second device, the first multicast frame from the retransmission storage area based on the second information, and resending, by the second device, the first multicast frame through the multicast physical channel
However, Shirakawa expressly teaches wherein the first multicast frame comprises second information indicating that a multicast frame is stored in a retransmission storage area of the second device (¶0115 - Each of block #3 and block #6 in FIG. 16 includes two or more MPDUs, and the former stores a part of the information bit sequence included in MPDUs #1 and #2 and the latter stores a part of the information bit sequence included in MPDUs #2 and #3. Note that, in this example, the MAC layer of the higher layer unit 10001-1 having received the Block Ack in the transmission frame retransmits MPDU #2 because an error has been detected in MPDU #2, & ¶0156 - information handled by these apparatuses is temporarily accumulated in a RAM at the time of processing, is then stored in various types of ROMs and HDDs, and is read by the CPU as necessary to be corrected and written), and resending the first multicast frame based on the second information through the multicast physical channel comprises: reading, by the second device, the first multicast frame from the retransmission storage area based on the second information (¶0115 - Each of block #3 and block #6 in FIG. 16 includes two or more MPDUs, and the former stores a part of the information bit sequence included in MPDUs #1 and #2 and the latter stores a part of the information bit sequence included in MPDUs #2 and #3. Note that, in this example, the MAC layer of the higher layer unit 10001-1 having received the Block Ack in the transmission frame retransmits MPDU #2 because an error has been detected in MPDU #2); and resending, by the second device, the first multicast frame through the multicast physical channel (¶0040 - a physical service data unit (PHY service data unit (PSDU) or MAC layer frame) that is a data unit processed in the physical layer, and the like. The PSDU can include an Aggregated MAC protocol data unit (MPDU) (A-MPDU) in which multiple MPDUs serving as retransmission units in a wireless section are aggregated).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add the teaching of Shirakawa to the teaching of Jiang, Lee, Ponnuswamy. The motivation for such would be as Shirakawa provides that the multicast frame is stored in memory before retransmission is performed (Shirakawa, ¶0115). All of the claimed elements were known in the prior art and one skilled in the art could have combined the elements, as claimed by known methods, and the combination would have yielded predictable results to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-5, 7-11, 13-17, filed on 07/23/2026 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection. As stated in the Advisory Action, Examiner has considered the argument that Lee does not teach the newly amended elements found in the amended language that was once Claim 6 et al. and has presented new amendment Ponnuswamy and included Lee alongside Jiang in the independent claims to reject under these new grounds. As such, Examiner has amended the rejection of the independent claims from 35 U.S.C. § 102(a)(1) to 35 U.S.C. § 103, and upholds the remaining dependent rejections on the grounds previously rejected.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Zhu et al (2017/0012742) - ¶0038-0081
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/N.J.S./Examiner, Art Unit 2475
/HASHIM S BHATTI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2475
