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 Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-2, 4-7, 9-11, 13-16, 18-24 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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, 4, 9-11, 13, 18-24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(2) as being anticipated by Lim et al. (US 12250631 B2).
Lim et al. discloses a sensor procedure method comprising the following features: regarding claim 1, sending, by a first device (Fig. 3, Sensing Initiator), a first request frame to a second device, the first request frame being configured to request establishing a measurement of target type (see paragraph 97, “Role 1 (Initiator & Transmitter): When the sensing initiator plays the role of a transmitter that sends measurement frames for channel estimation to the sensing responder.”), wherein the first device is a station (STA) device (Fig. 1 STA 1), the second device is an access point (AP) device, and the second device is used as proxy of the first device to establish a measurement process (see paragraph 122, “an AP that receives a request frame from a non-AP STA may transmit information about whether to perform a sensing operation or measurement, or whether to act as a proxy”), wherein the first request frame comprises indication information configured to indicate measurement setup request information corresponding to sensing responder(s) participating in the measurement (see paragraph 116, “3. D. 1. During the sensing negotiation/setup, the initiator may transmit a sensing request frame or an initial sensing measurement frame to the responder. In this case, the frame may include sounding/sensing dialog token information for sensing measurement. 3. D. 1. A. The sounding dialog token information transmitted in the frame may be set to a sensing measurement setup ID or measurement ID field.”), wherein the measurement setup request information corresponding to the sensing responder(s) comprises role information of the sensing responder(s) in the measurement (see paragraph 97, “the sensing initiator can perform the sensing operation based on the following roles. Role 1 (Initiator & Transmitter): When the sensing initiator plays the role of a transmitter that sends measurement frames for channel estimation to the sensing responder. Role 2 (Initiator & Receiver): When performing the role of a receiver, which is responsible for requesting the transmission of measurement frames for channel estimation to the responder and receiving said frames. Role 3 (only initiator):”), wherein role information of each of the sensing responder(s) in the measurement is indicated by a first bit and a second bit, wherein the first bit indicates whether the sensing responder is used as a sensing receiver to participate in the measurement, and the second bit indicates whether the sensing responder is used as a sensing transmitter to participate in the measurement (see paragraph 102, “(102) For example, if the indication is 1 bit, and the indication is transmitted via the initiator type subfield, the subfield may indicate a transmitter if the subfield indicates ‘0’, and the subfield may indicate a receiver if the subfield indicates ‘1’.”).
Regarding claims 2, 11 and 20, wherein the measurement setup request information corresponding to the sensing responder(s) further comprises at least one of following: report type information of how the sensing responder(s) report the measurement result(s), or measurement threshold information (see paragraph 124, “the feedback request frame transmitted by the non-AP STA to the AP may include a report control field. This field may include the following information: 1. Type of CSI 2. Nss: Nss used to transmit feedback 3. Bit size for the CSI 4. Scaling factor for the CSI or quantization value for the CSI 5. RU allocation, which includes preamble puncturing 6. MCS 7. Coding: BCC or LDPC”).
Regarding claims 4 and 13, wherein the first response frame comprising comprises measurement setup response information of at least one sensing responder and/or measurement setup response information of the second device (see paragraph 119, transmitting a response frame to a poll frame or TB frame 1. E. The above RU allocation may be configured as an RU size of 20 MHz or more, i.e. 242 RUs or more. 1. F. Sensing initial request or sensing starting 1. G. Sensing channel confirmation request 1. H. Whether to request sensing feedback 1. I. sensing measurement ID or sensing measurement setup ID or dialog token information 2).
Regarding claims 9 and 18, wherein the measurement of target type is a Trigger Based (TB) measurement (see paragraph 116, The information may be information indicating whether the sounding sequence used by the initiator for sensing is trigger based (TB) ).
Regarding claim 10, A device for wireless communication, wherein the device is a first device and the device comprises: a memory, configured to store a computer program; and a processor, configured to call and run the computer program stored in the memory, to cause the device perform: sending a first request frame to a second device (see claim 5, “A non-access point (AP) station (STA) in a wireless local area network (LAN) system, the device comprising: a memory; and a processor operatively connected to the memory, wherein the processor is adapted to: transmit a sensing request frame to an AP”), the first request frame being configured to request establishing a measurement of target type (see paragraph 97, “Role 1 (Initiator & Transmitter): When the sensing initiator plays the role of a transmitter that sends measurement frames for channel estimation to the sensing responder.”),, wherein the first device is a station (STA) device (Fig. 1 STA 1), the second device is an access point (AP) device, and the second device is used as proxy of the first device to establish a measurement process (see paragraph 122, “an AP that receives a request frame from a non-AP STA may transmit information about whether to perform a sensing operation or measurement, or whether to act as a proxy”), wherein the first request frame comprises indication information configured to indicate measurement setup request information corresponding to sensing responder(s) participating in the measurement (see paragraph 116, “3. D. 1. During the sensing negotiation/setup, the initiator may transmit a sensing request frame or an initial sensing measurement frame to the responder. In this case, the frame may include sounding/sensing dialog token information for sensing measurement. 3. D. 1. A. The sounding dialog token information transmitted in the frame may be set to a sensing measurement setup ID or measurement ID field.”), wherein the measurement setup request information corresponding to the sensing responder(s) comprises role information of the sensing responder(s) in the measurement (see paragraph 97, “the sensing initiator can perform the sensing operation based on the following roles. Role 1 (Initiator & Transmitter): When the sensing initiator plays the role of a transmitter that sends measurement frames for channel estimation to the sensing responder. Role 2 (Initiator & Receiver): When performing the role of a receiver, which is responsible for requesting the transmission of measurement frames for channel estimation to the responder and receiving said frames. Role 3 (only initiator):”), wherein role information of each of the sensing responder(s) in the measurement is indicated by a first bit and a second bit, wherein the first bit indicates whether the sensing responder is used as a sensing receiver to participate in the measurement, and the second bit indicates whether the sensing responder is used as a sensing transmitter to participate in the measurement (see paragraph 102, “For example, if the indication is 1 bit, and the indication is transmitted via the initiator type subfield, the subfield may indicate a transmitter if the subfield indicates ‘0’, and the subfield may indicate a receiver if the subfield indicates ‘1’.”), wherein the processor is further configured to cause the device to perform: receiving a first response frame sent by the second device (see paragraph 120, “At this point, the initiator may receive feedback information about the sensing measurement, or may only be reported the final result of the sensing”), wherein the first response frame comprises third bit(s) and fourth bit(s), the third bit(s) indicates whether the sensing responder(s) is used as the sensing receiver(s) to participate in the measurement, and the fourth bit(s) indicates whether the sensing responder(s) is used as the sensing transmitter(s) to participate in the measurement (see paragraph 103, “As another example, if the indication is a 1-bit, when the indication is transmitted via a feedback report subfield, the subfield may indicate a receiver and no feedback is required if the subfield indicates ‘0’, and the subfield may indicate a transmitter and feedback is required if the subfield indicates ‘1’.”).
Regarding claim 19, A device for wireless communication, comprising: a memory, configured to store a computer program; and a processor, configured to call and run the computer program stored in the memory, to cause the device perform: receiving a first request frame sent by a first device, the first request frame being configured to request establishing a measurement of target type (See paragraph 122, an AP that receives a request frame from a non-AP STA), wherein the device is a second device, wherein the first device is a station (STA) device, the second device is an access point (AP) device, and the second device is used as proxy of the first device to establish a measurement process (see paragraph 122, “an AP that receives a request frame from a non-AP STA may transmit information about whether to perform a sensing operation or measurement, or whether to act as a proxy”), wherein the first request frame comprises indication information configured to indicate measurement setup request information of sensing responder(s) participating in the measurement (see paragraph 116, “3. D. 1. During the sensing negotiation/setup, the initiator may transmit a sensing request frame or an initial sensing measurement frame to the responder. In this case, the frame may include sounding/sensing dialog token information for sensing measurement. 3. D. 1. A. The sounding dialog token information transmitted in the frame may be set to a sensing measurement setup ID or measurement ID field.”), wherein the measurement setup request information corresponding to the sensing responder(s) comprises role information of the sensing responder(s) in the measurement (see paragraph 97, “the sensing initiator can perform the sensing operation based on the following roles. Role 1 (Initiator & Transmitter): When the sensing initiator plays the role of a transmitter that sends measurement frames for channel estimation to the sensing responder. Role 2 (Initiator & Receiver): When performing the role of a receiver, which is responsible for requesting the transmission of measurement frames for channel estimation to the responder and receiving said frames. Role 3 (only initiator):”), wherein role information of each of the sensing responder(s) in the measurement is indicated by a first bit and a second bit, wherein the first bit indicates whether the sensing responder is used as a sensing receiver to participate in the measurement, and the second bit indicates whether the sensing responder is used as a sensing transmitter to participate in the measurement (see paragraph 102, “(102) For example, if the indication is 1 bit, and the indication is transmitted via the initiator type subfield, the subfield may indicate a transmitter if the subfield indicates ‘0’, and the subfield may indicate a receiver if the subfield indicates ‘1’.”).
Regarding claims 21 and 23, receiving, by the first device, a first response frame sent by the second device (See paragraph 122, an AP that receives a request frame from a non-AP STA), wherein the first response frame comprises measurement setup response information of the sensing responder(s), and the measurement setup response information of the sensing responder(s) comprises role information of the sensing responder(s) in the measurement (see paragraph 97, “the sensing initiator can perform the sensing operation based on the following roles. Role 1 (Initiator & Transmitter): When the sensing initiator plays the role of a transmitter that sends measurement frames for channel estimation to the sensing responder. Role 2 (Initiator & Receiver): When performing the role of a receiver, which is responsible for requesting the transmission of measurement frames for channel estimation to the responder and receiving said frames. Role 3 (only initiator):”),, wherein role information of each of the sensing responder(s) in the measurement is indicated by a third bit and a fourth bit, the third bit indicates whether the sensing responder is used as the sensing receiver to participate in the measurement, and the fourth bit indicates whether the sensing responder is used as the sensing transmitter to participate in the measurement (see paragraph 103, “As another example, if the indication is a 1-bit, when the indication is transmitted via a feedback report subfield, the subfield may indicate a receiver and no feedback is required if the subfield indicates ‘0’, and the subfield may indicate a transmitter and feedback is required if the subfield indicates ‘1’.”).
Regarding claims 22 and 24, wherein the first bit is independent from the second bit, and the third bit is independent from the fourth bit (it is noted that the cited examples in paragraphs 102 and 103 describe scenarios where a single bit in a subfield independently indicates either a transmitter or receiver role, based on its value. This demonstrates that each bit operates separately to convey distinct information. The claimed limitation, “wherein the first bit is independent from the second bit, and the third bit is independent from the fourth bit,” is supported by these examples because each bit (or subfield) is used independently to indicate a specific role or requirement, without being dependent on the value or function of another bit. Thus, the cited disclosure shows that the assignment and interpretation of each bit are independent, aligning with the claimed requirement for bit independence).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim(s) 5, 6, 14, 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lim et al. (US 12250631 B2) in view of Wu et al. (US 20220304081 A1).
Lim et al. disclose the claimed limitations above. Lim et al. does not disclose the following features: regarding claims 5 and 14, wherein the measurement setup response information of the sensing responder comprises at least one of following:a reason code of the sensing responder disagreeing to participate in the measurement, role information of the sensing responder in the measurement, report type information of how the sensing responder reports a measurement result, or measurement threshold information; regarding claims 6 and 15, wherein the measurement setup response information of the second device comprises at least one of following:whether the second device agrees to establish the measurement, a reason code of the second device disagreeing to establish the measurement, measurement setup identifier (ID), a type of the measurement determined to establish by the second device, or a method determined by the second device to process measurement result(s) reported by the sensing responder(s).
Wu et al. discloses a method for providing a WLAN sensing service comprising the following features: regarding claims 5 and 14, wherein the measurement setup response information of the sensing responder comprises at least one of following: a reason code of the sensing responder disagreeing to participate in the measurement (see paragraph 77, “The SCS receives the sensing service request frame, in a case that responding the sensing service response frame to agree to provide all or part of sensing services requested by the NSCS for the NSCS, the SCS sets a value of a parameter, namely status code, to be SUCCESS. If the SCS disagrees to provide a sensing service for the NSCS, the SCS sets the value of the parameter, namely status code, to be REFUSED and sends a sensing service response frame to the NSCS.” ), role information of the sensing responder in the measurement, report type information of how the sensing responder reports a measurement result, or measurement threshold information; regarding claims 6 and 15, wherein the measurement setup response information of the second device comprises at least one of following: whether the second device agrees to establish the measurement, a reason code of the second device disagreeing to establish the measurement (see paragraph 77, “The SCS receives the sensing service request frame, in a case that responding the sensing service response frame to agree to provide all or part of sensing services requested by the NSCS for the NSCS, the SCS sets a value of a parameter, namely status code, to be SUCCESS. If the SCS disagrees to provide a sensing service for the NSCS, the SCS sets the value of the parameter, namely status code, to be REFUSED and sends a sensing service response frame to the NSCS.” ), measurement setup identifier (ID), a type of the measurement determined to establish by the second device, or a method determined by the second device to process measurement result(s) reported by the sensing responder(s).
It would have been obvious to one ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Lim et al. by incorporating the teachings of Wu et al. This modification enhances the transparency and flexibility of the measurement setup process, enabling more robust and informative communication between devices.
Claim(s) 7 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lim et al. (US 12250631 B2) in view of Wu et al. (US 20220304081 A1) as applied to claims 1, 2, 4-6, 10, 11, 13-15 above, and further in view of Cui et al. (US 20230199521 A1).
Lim et al. (US 12250631 B2) and Wu et al. (US 20220304081 A1) disclose the claimed limitations above. Lim et al. (US 12250631 B2) and Wu et al. (US 20220304081 A1) do not disclose the following features: regarding claims 7 and 16, wherein the measurement setup ID is generated by the second device.
Cui et al. discloses regarding claims 7 and 16, wherein the measurement setup ID is generated by the second device (see abstract, A UE context setup response has a list of measurement object identifiers (IDs) associated to the selected frequency bands is sent to the gNB-CU node. The UE context modification request include the list of the selected and measurement object IDs per measurement configured).
It would have been obvious to one ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Lim et al. and Wu et al. by incorporating the teachings of Cui et al. This modification improves identification and management of measurement processes, ensuring clear association and tracking of measurement configurations.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Chen et al. (US 12137387 B2) discloses methods for report identification and power control for multi-device wireless sensing in a wireless network.
Lim (US 12114357 B2) discloses a new procedure of signal transmission or reception between STAs.
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KWANG B YAO whose telephone number is (571)272-3182. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-5.
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/KWANG B YAO/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2473
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