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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1, 9-10, and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Choi et al. (US 2024/0019922 A1), hereinafter “Choi”, in view of Yonge, III et al. (US 2011/0268200 A1), hereinafter “Yonge”, and further in view of Arora et al. (US 2006/0164982 A1), hereinafter “Arora”.
Claims 1 and 9 are directed towards method claims that recite similar limitations to device claims 10 and 15. Therefore, claims 1 and 9 are rejected for similar reasons as claims 10 and 15.
Re. Claim 10, Choi teaches:
A low power Wi-Fi device (¶0002 Various embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to an electronic device and a method of operating the electronic device, and more specifically to a wireless communication technology that supports a TWT mode or a power saving mode. & ¶0015 FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an electronic device, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. & ¶0060 The wireless communication may refer to a variety of communication methods that the electronic device 310 and/or the external electronic device 320 may support. For example, the wireless communication may be Wi-Fi.)
comprising: a Wi-Fi network interface; (¶0045 The communication module 190 may include one or more communication processors that are operable independently from the processor 120 (e.g., the application processor (AP)) and supports a direct (e.g., wired) communication or a wireless communication. According to an embodiment, the communication module 190 may include a wireless communication module 192 [i.e. wireless network interface] A corresponding one of these communication modules may communicate with the external electronic device via the first network 198 (e.g., a short-range communication network, such as Bluetooth™, wireless-fidelity (Wi-Fi) direct, or infrared data association (IrDA)) & ¶0060 The wireless communication may refer to a variety of communication methods that the electronic device 310 and/or the external electronic device 320 may support. For example, the wireless communication may be Wi-Fi. [i.e. wireless network interface is a Wi-Fi network interface])
a processing unit; (¶0029 ¶0029 FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an electronic device 101 in a network environment 100 according to various embodiments. According to an embodiment, the electronic device 101 may include a processor 120)
and a memory device in communication with the processing unit comprising instructions, which when executed by the processing unit, enable the low power Wi-Fi device to: (¶0258 Various embodiments as set forth herein may be implemented as software (e.g., the program 140) including one or more instructions that are stored in a storage medium (e.g., internal memory 136 or external memory 138) that is readable by a machine (e.g., the electronic device 101). For example, a processor (e.g., the processor 120) of the machine (e.g., the electronic device 101) may invoke at least one of the one or more instructions stored in the storage medium, and execute it, with or without using one or more other components under the control of the processor.)
receive an incoming TCP packet during a first Target Wake Time (TWT) service period; (¶0073 The electronic device 310, while connected to the external electronic device 320, may negotiate with the external electronic device 320 to enable the TWT function and configure TWT parameters. The TWT parameters may be parameters that are required to perform the TWT function. According to an embodiment, the TWT parameters may include at least one of: target wake time 411 which indicates a point in time of activation of data transmission and/or reception; TWT durations (or TWT service periods (SPs)) 412-a, 412-b, and 412-c which each indicate a duration in which data transmission and/or reception may be performed; & ¶0074 The electronic device 310 may transmit the generated TWT parameters to the external electronic device 320 in a negotiation process related to the activation of the TWT function. The external electronic device 320 may transmit data to the electronic device 310 for a particular period of time (e.g., 412-a, 412-b, and/or 412-c) on the basis of the TWT parameters. [i.e. electronic device receiving data (incoming TCP packet) during period of time based on TWT parameters (TWT service period)])
Yet, Choi does not explicitly teach: determine a number of bytes in a payload of the TCP packet; transmit a TCP acknowledgment during the first TWT service period if the number of bytes is greater than a first predetermined value or less than a second predetermined value; and delay transmission of the TCP acknowledgment if the number of bytes is more than the second predetermined value and less than the first predetermined value.
However, in the analogous art, Yonge teaches such limitations:
determine a number of bytes in a payload of the TCP packet; (¶0123 the transmitter can use the number of bytes and/or duration of a payload (e.g., in number of OFDM symbols) to determine whether delayed acknowledgements can be used for a transmission. & ¶0126 Delayed acknowledgement can be used with UDP traffic as well as TCP traffic.)
transmit a TCP acknowledgment during the first TWT service period if the number of bytes is (¶0031 The communication medium 110 can include one or more types of physical communication media such as coaxial cable, unshielded twisted pair, power lines, or wireless channels (using electromagnetic waves propagating between transmitting and receiving antennas) & ¶0123 In some implementations the transmitter can determine whether delayed acknowledgements can be used for different transmissions. For example, for delay sensitive traffic like Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP), a transmitter can request the receiver to provide an acknowledgement immediately [i.e. immediate acknowledgment implies the device being in an active state for communication throughout the process, therefore being considered occurring during a period of being awake or not idle (equivalent to TWT service period)] for the whole payload. the transmitter can use the number of bytes and/or duration of a payload (e.g., in number of OFDM symbols) to determine whether delayed acknowledgements can be used for a transmission. [i.e. determining based on bytes of a payload whether delayed ACK is used] For example, the transmitter can use delayed acknowledgement when the number of bytes is larger than a predetermined threshold. [i.e. using delayed ACK when number of bytes is larger than threshold equivalent to not using delayed ACK (transmitting ACK) when number of bytes is less than the threshold] & ¶0124 the transmitter and receiver can negotiate (for example, using management messages) with one another the parameters associated with the delayed acknowledgements before the delayed acknowledgments are used. [i.e. receiver and transmitter share the same ack configuration])
and delay transmission of the TCP acknowledgment if the number of bytes is more than the second predetermined value . (¶0031 The communication medium 110 can include one or more types of physical communication media such as coaxial cable, unshielded twisted pair, power lines, or wireless channels (using electromagnetic waves propagating between transmitting and receiving antennas) & ¶0123 the transmitter can use the number of bytes and/or duration of a payload (e.g., in number of OFDM symbols) to determine whether delayed acknowledgements can be used for a transmission. For example, the transmitter can use delayed acknowledgement when the number of bytes is larger than a predetermined threshold. [i.e. using delayed ACK when number of bytes is larger than threshold, equivalent to delaying TCP acknowledgment if number of bytes is more than a second predetermined value] & ¶0124 the transmitter and receiver can negotiate (for example, using management messages) with one another the parameters associated with the delayed acknowledgements before the delayed acknowledgments are used. [i.e. receiver and transmitter share the same ack configuration])
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Choi’s invention of a device for supporting target wake time mode or power saving mode to include Yonge’s teaching of delaying acknowledgement when a number of bytes of the received packet is larger than a predetermined value, because it would allow the device to decide when to turn off delayed acknowledgments for certain types of traffic, such as high priority traffic, enabling lower latency communication. (see Yonge ¶0125)
Although Yonge discloses a second predetermined value threshold used for determining if delayed acknowledgements are to be implemented, the combined references do not explicitly teach: transmit a TCP acknowledgment during the first TWT service period if the number of bytes is greater than a first predetermined value or less than a second predetermined value; and delay transmission of the TCP acknowledgment if the number of bytes is more than the second predetermined value and less than the first predetermined value.
However, in the analogous art, Arora teaches such limitations:
transmit a TCP acknowledgment during the first TWT service period if the number of bytes is greater than a first predetermined value The traditional receiver TCP implementation delays sending an acknowledgement to a sender until it has data to send on the reverse path (allowing it to attach the ACK to the data), until it has at least two full-sized segments (2 times MSS bytes) to acknowledge, [i.e. transmits the ACK when two full sized segments or 2 times MSS bytes (max segment size) is received, equivalent to transmitting the ACK when number of bytes is greater than a first predetermined threshold (2 times MSS bytes)] & ¶0024 Network 106 may be any type of data communications channel, such as the Internet, an intranet, a LAN, a WAN, an Ethernet network, or a wireless network. In one embodiment, network 106 utilizes the TCP/IP protocols. & ¶0041-¶0041 While the network connection is active, the receiver computer system 104 may receive a small segment from a sender computer system 102 at element 204. a receiver computer system 104 will not transmit an acknowledgement of a small segment until it may be piggybacked on another data packet, enough small segments are received so that their sum is greater than twice the MSS [i.e. occurs while the network connection is active, therefore equivalent to a TWT service period where the device is awake or not currently in idle state])
and delay transmission of the TCP acknowledgment if the number of bytes is less than the first predetermined value. (¶0006 The traditional receiver TCP implementation delays sending an acknowledgement to a sender until it has data to send on the reverse path (allowing it to attach the ACK to the data), until it has at least two full-sized segments (2 times MSS bytes) to acknowledge, [i.e. delays the ACK if number of bytes is less than the first predetermined threshold (2 times MSS bytes)] & ¶0024 Network 106 may be any type of data communications channel, such as the Internet, an intranet, a LAN, a WAN, an Ethernet network, or a wireless network. In one embodiment, network 106 utilizes the TCP/IP protocols. & ¶0041-¶0041 While the network connection is active, the receiver computer system 104 may receive a small segment from a sender computer system 102 at element 204. a receiver computer system 104 will not transmit an acknowledgement of a small segment until it may be piggybacked on another data packet, enough small segments are received so that their sum is greater than twice the MSS)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Choi and Yonge’s invention of a device for supporting target wake time mode or power saving mode to include Arora’s teaching of delaying acknowledgement while the segment size is less than a predetermined threshold value and transmitting acknowledgment when greater than the predetermined threshold, because it would enable the an efficient implementation of delayed TCP acknowledgements based on using a maximum segment size threshold to determine whether acknowledgments will be delayed or not. (see Arora ¶0007-¶0009)
Re. Claim 15, Choi combined with Yonge and Arora teach claim 10.
Arora further teaches:
wherein the first predetermined value is equal to a maximum segment size (MSS). (¶0040-¶0041 As part of establishing the TCP connection, the two computer systems may negotiate a MSS for the connection. & At decision block 206, the transport module 110 determines whether or not to transmit a delayed acknowledgement to the sender computer system 102 in response to the receiver small segment. In one embodiment, a receiver computer system 104 will not transmit an acknowledgement of a small segment until it may be piggybacked on another data packet, enough small segments are received so that their sum is greater than twice the MSS, or [i.e. second predetermined value is equal to twice the MSS (representative of a maximum segment size MSS)])
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Choi and Yonge’s invention of a device for supporting target wake time mode or power saving mode to include Arora’s teaching of delaying acknowledgement while the segment size is less than a predetermined threshold value (twice the MSS) and transmitting acknowledgment when greater than the predetermined threshold, because it would enable an efficient implementation of delayed TCP acknowledgements based on using a maximum segment size threshold to determine whether acknowledgments will be delayed or not. (see Arora ¶0007-¶0009)
Claims 2 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Choi, Yonge, Arora, and in further view of Clevorn (US 2016/0316433 A1), hereinafter “Clevorn”.
Claim 2 is directed towards a method claim that recites similar limitations to device claim 11. Therefore, claim 2 is rejected for similar reasons as claim 11.
Re. Claim 11, Choi combined with Yonge and Arora teach claim 10.
Choi further teaches:
further comprising instructions, which when executed by the processing unit, (¶0258 a processor (e.g., the processor 120) of the machine (e.g., the electronic device 101) may invoke at least one of the one or more instructions stored in the storage medium, and execute it)
Although the combined references teach transmitting the TCP acknowledgment if the number of bytes is greater than the first predetermined value or less than the second predetermined value as noted in claim 10 rejection, the references do not explicitly disclose: enable the low power Wi-Fi device to: transmit the TCP acknowledgment within 20 milliseconds of receipt of the incoming TCP packet.
However, in the analogous art, Clevorn teaches such a limitation:
enable the low power Wi-Fi device to: transmit the TCP acknowledgment within 20 milliseconds of receipt of the incoming TCP packet if the number of bytes is greater than the first predetermined value or less than the second predetermined value. (Fig. 2B & Fig. 2C & ¶0035 In a first time interval I′, the server 20 may transmit a further DL TCP data packet to the client 10. After receiving the DL TCP data packet, the client 10 may acknowledge the reception of the DL TCP data packet by transmitting an Uplink (UL) TCP ACK data packet to the server 20. In contrast to the time interval I of the non-continuous data transmission in FIG. 2B, the client 10 does not necessarily respond to the server 20 with a further scheduling request. A time required for performing the described acts of the first time interval I′ may have a value of about 20 milliseconds or smaller.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Choi, Yonge and Arora’s invention of a device for supporting target wake time mode or power saving mode to include Clevorn’s teaching of transmitting the TCP acknowledgment within 20 milliseconds of receiving the incoming TCP packet, because it would allow faster acknowledgments by not requiring scheduling requests in stable data transmission scenarios. (see Clevorn ¶0036)
Claims 3-4 and 12-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Choi, Yonge, Arora, and in further view of Ajitomi et al. (US 2016/0087907 A1), hereinafter “Ajitomi”.
Claims 3-4 are directed towards method claims that recite similar limitations to device claims 12-13. Therefore, claims 3-4 are rejected for similar reasons as claims 12-13.
Re. Claim 12, Choi combined with Yonge and Arora teach claim 10.
Yet, the combined references do not explicitly teach: wherein the second predetermined value is a number indicative of a “keep alive” packet.
However, in the analogous art, Ajitomi teaches such a limitation:
wherein the second predetermined value is a number indicative of a “keep alive” packet. (¶0032-¶0033 The connection keeper 112 transmits packets to keep the connection (keep-alive packets or heartbeat packets, which will be hereafter uniformly referred to as keep-alive packets) When a keep-alive packet is received by the server device 301, an ACK packet is transmitted as a response under TCP.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Choi, Yonge and Arora’s invention of a device for supporting target wake time mode or power saving mode to include Ajitomi’s teaching of the second predetermined value being indicative of a keep-alive packet, because it would allow the device to determine based on receiving the packet that the TCP connection will not be disconnected. (see Ajitomi ¶0032)
Re. Claim 13, Choi combined with Yonge, Arora and Ajitomi teach claim 12.
Ajitomi further teaches:
wherein the “keep alive” packet is associated with maintenance of a TCP connection (¶0032 The connection keeper 112 transmits packets to keep the connection (keep-alive packets or heartbeat packets, which will be hereafter uniformly referred to as keep-alive packets) with timing under a predetermined method such that the TCP connection is not disconnected by the relay device 201 or the like. [i.e. keep alive packet is associated with keeping the TCP connection active, which is equivalent to maintenance of a TCP connection]) *Examiner notes that due to the presence of alternative limitations, only one limitation has been examined in this application.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Choi, Yonge and Arora’s invention of a device for supporting target wake time mode or power saving mode to include Ajitomi’s teaching of the second predetermined value being indicative of a keep-alive packet and is associated with maintenance of a TCP connection, because it would allow the device to determine based on receiving the packet that the TCP connection will not be disconnected. (see Ajitomi ¶0032)
Claims 5 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Choi, Yonge, Arora, and in further view of Palanisamy (US 2024/0195720 A1), hereinafter “Palanisamy”.
Claim 5 is directed towards a method claim that recites similar limitations to device claim 14. Therefore, claim 5 is rejected for similar reasons as claim 14.
Re. Claim 14, Choi combined with Yonge, Arora and Ajitomi teach claim 12.
Yet, the combined references do not explicitly teach: wherein the second predetermined value is 90 bytes or less.
However, in the analogous art, Palanisamy teaches such a limitation:
wherein the second predetermined value is 90 bytes or less. (¶0062 the ACK size is reviewed and determined if the payload is less than a particular predetermined size, for example, 90 bytes. [i.e. a predetermined value of 90 bytes or less for a payload])
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Choi, Yonge, Arora and Ajitomi’s invention of a device for supporting target wake time mode or power saving mode to include Palanisamy’s teaching of a predetermined packet payload value of 90 bytes or less, because it would enable the device to determine packet parameters for acknowledgment packets including size of the packet. (see ¶Palanisamy ¶0007)
Claims 6-7 and 17-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Choi, Yonge, Arora, and in further view of Retnamony et al. (US 2020/0053009 A1), hereinafter “Retnamony”.
Re. Claim 6, Choi combined with Yonge and Arora teach claim 1.
Yet, the combined references do not explicitly teach: wherein delaying transmission of the TCP acknowledgment comprises transmitting the TCP acknowledgment at least 100 milliseconds after receipt of the incoming TCP packet.
However, in the analogous art, Retnamony teaches such a limitation:
wherein delaying transmission of the TCP acknowledgment comprises transmitting the TCP acknowledgment at least 100 milliseconds after receipt of the incoming TCP packet. (¶0098 the system 100 or PEP 108 may be configured to delays ACKs no more than time Tmax. Tmax can be configured based on LAN end point TCP implementations. In these embodiments, Tack can not be greater than Tmax; or Tack<Tmax. Tmax may be a configurable maximum delay of the ACKs that is based on the TCP environment. It is considered that Tmax may be between 1 and 400 ms. In some cases it may be between 20 and 200 ms. In some instances, it is between 50 and 150 ms. In one instance, it is 50 ms+/−10 percent. [i.e. the ACK(s) will only be delayed for Tmax which in one instance is around 50 milliseconds max, therefore at least 100 ms after receipt of a packet])
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Choi and Yonge’s invention of a device for supporting target wake time mode or power saving mode to include Retnamony’s teaching of transmitting the acknowledgement at least 50 ms +/-10% after receipt of the incoming packet, because it would allow the device to have a configurable maximum amount of time to delay ACK’s. (see Retnamony ¶0098 & ¶0114)
Re. Claim 7, Choi combined with Yonge and Arora teach claim 1.
Yet, the combined references do not explicitly teach: wherein delaying transmission of the TCP acknowledgment comprises transmitting the TCP acknowledgment after additional incoming packets have been received.
However, in the analogous art, Retnamony teaches such a limitation:
wherein delaying transmission of the TCP acknowledgment comprises transmitting the TCP acknowledgment after additional incoming packets have been received. (¶0028 In some cases, one ACK can be used to acknowledge receipt of more than one specific message received by client 102 from server 104, such as when the ACK is delayed and confirms receipt of two or more specific messages sent by server 104 over the link 120.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Choi and Yonge’s invention of a device for supporting target wake time mode or power saving mode to include Retnamony’s teaching of transmitting the acknowledgement after addition incoming packets have been received, because it would enable the device to more efficiently coordinate or synchronize data communications between itself and a network server device. (see Retnamony ¶0027-¶0028)
Re. Claim 17, Choi combined with Yonge and Arora teach claim 10.
Choi further teaches:
further comprising instructions, which when executed by the processing unit, (¶0258 a processor (e.g., the processor 120) of the machine (e.g., the electronic device 101) may invoke at least one of the one or more instructions stored in the storage medium, and execute it)
Although the combined references teach transmitting the TCP acknowledgment if the number of bytes is greater than the first predetermined value or less than the second predetermined value as noted in claim rejection 10, the references do not explicitly disclose: transmit the TCP acknowledgment at least 100 milliseconds after receipt of the incoming TCP packet.
However, in the analogous art, Retnamony teaches
enable the low power Wi-Fi device to: transmit the TCP acknowledgment at least 100 milliseconds after receipt of the incoming TCP packet if the number of bytes is more than the second predetermined value and less than the first predetermined value. (¶0098 the system 100 or PEP 108 may be configured to delays ACKs no more than time Tmax. Tmax can be configured based on LAN end point TCP implementations. In these embodiments, Tack can not be greater than Tmax; or Tack<Tmax. Tmax may be a configurable maximum delay of the ACKs that is based on the TCP environment. It is considered that Tmax may be between 1 and 400 ms. In some cases it may be between 20 and 200 ms. In some instances, it is between 50 and 150 ms. In one instance, it is 50 ms+/−10 percent. [i.e. the ACK(s) will only be delayed for Tmax which in one instance is around 50 milliseconds max, therefore at least 100 ms after receipt of a packet])
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Choi and Yonge’s invention of a device for supporting target wake time mode or power saving mode to include Retnamony’s teaching of transmitting the acknowledgement at least 50 ms +/-10% after receipt of the incoming packet, because it would allow the device to have a configurable maximum amount of time to delay ACK’s. (see Retnamony ¶0098 & ¶0114)
Re. Claim 18, Choi combined with Yonge and Arora teach claim 10.
Choi further teaches:
further comprising instructions, which when executed by the processing unit, (¶0258 a processor (e.g., the processor 120) of the machine (e.g., the electronic device 101) may invoke at least one of the one or more instructions stored in the storage medium, and execute it)
Although the combined references teach transmitting the TCP acknowledgment if the number of bytes is greater than the first predetermined value or less than the second predetermined value as noted in claim 10 rejection, the references do not explicitly disclose: transmit the TCP acknowledgment after additional incoming packets have been received.
However, in the analogous art, Retnamony teaches such a limitation:
enable the low power Wi-Fi device to: transmit the TCP acknowledgment after additional incoming packets have been received if the number of bytes is more than the second predetermined value and less than the first predetermined value. (¶0028 In some cases, one ACK can be used to acknowledge receipt of more than one specific message received by client 102 from server 104, such as when the ACK is delayed and confirms receipt of two or more specific messages sent by server 104 over the link 120.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Choi and Yonge’s invention of a device for supporting target wake time mode or power saving mode to include Retnamony’s teaching of transmitting the acknowledgement after addition incoming packets have been received, because it would enable the device to more efficiently coordinate or synchronize data communications between itself and a network server device. (see Retnamony ¶0027-¶0028)
Claims 8 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Choi, Yonge, Arora, and in further view of Alpert et al. (US 2023/0068824 A1), hereinafter “Alpert”.
Re. Claim 8, Choi combined with Yonge and Arora teach claim 1.
Yet, the combined references do not explicitly teach: wherein delaying transmission of the TCP acknowledgment comprises transmitting the TCP acknowledgment during a second TWT service period, which occurs after the first TWT service period.
However, in the analogous art, Alpert teaches such a limitation:
wherein delaying transmission of the TCP acknowledgment comprises transmitting the TCP acknowledgment during a second TWT service period, which occurs after the first TWT service period. (Fig. 12 & ¶0083-¶0084 Timing diagram 1200 shows the transmission of data 1240 and feedback 1244 during two different service periods: The station may be configured to packetize data obtained by a sensor and transmit data 1240 in the form of a TCP packet. [i.e. feedback 1244 is acknowledgement transmitted in a second TWT service period that occurs after the first TWT SP])
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Choi and Yonge’s invention of a device for supporting target wake time mode or power saving mode to include Alpert’s teaching of transmitting the acknowledgment during a second TWT service period occurring after the first TWT service period, because it would reduce power consumption through negotiation between the first and second service periods using trigger-based TWT. (see Alpert ¶00043)
Re. Claim 16, Choi combined with Yonge and Arora teach claim 10.
Choi further teaches:
further comprising instructions, which when executed by the processing unit, (¶0258 a processor (e.g., the processor 120) of the machine (e.g., the electronic device 101) may invoke at least one of the one or more instructions stored in the storage medium, and execute it)
Although the combined references teach transmitting the TCP acknowledgment if the number of bytes is greater than the first predetermined value or less than the second predetermined value as noted in claim 10 rejection, the references do not explicitly disclose: transmit the TCP acknowledgment during a second TWT service period, which occurs after the first TWT service period.
However, in the analogous art, Alpert teaches such a limitation:
enable the low power Wi-Fi device to: transmit the TCP acknowledgment during a second TWT service period, which occurs after the first TWT service period if the number of bytes is more than the second predetermined value and less than the first predetermined value. (Fig. 12 & ¶0083-¶0084 Timing diagram 1200 shows the transmission of data 1240 and feedback 1244 during two different service periods: The station may be configured to packetize data obtained by a sensor and transmit data 1240 in the form of a TCP packet. [i.e. feedback 1244 is acknowledgement transmitted in a second TWT service period that occurs after the first TWT SP])
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Choi and Yonge’s invention of a device for supporting target wake time mode or power saving mode to include Alpert’s teaching of transmitting the acknowledgment during a second TWT service period occurring after the first TWT service period, because it would reduce power consumption through negotiation between the first and second service periods using trigger-based TWT. (see Alpert ¶00043)
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Venkatsuresh et al. (US 2017/0063498 A1); teaches in at least Fig. 4 & ¶0048-¶0049 transmitting a TCP acknowledgement after additional incoming packets have been received.
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/G/A/M/Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2417
/REBECCA E SONG/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2417