DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, anycorrection of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground ofrejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would bethe same under either status.
Response to Amendment
The proposed reply filed on December 12th, 2025 has been entered. 1-3, 5-12 and 15-17 are amended. Claims 1-18 are pending in the application.
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.
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 non-obviousness.
Claim(s) 1 and 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jang et al. (US 2021/0050960 A1) in view of Hwang et al. (US 20220322473 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Jang et al. teach an electronic device comprising: a communication circuit configured to support wireless local area network (WLAN) communication (Fig. 1, [0029] the electronic device 101 in the network environment 100 may communicate with an electronic device 102 via a first network 198 (e.g., a short-range wireless communication network), or an electronic device 104 or a server 108 via a second network 199 (e.g., a long-range wireless communication network).
Jang et al. teach at least one processor comprising communication circuitry operatively connected with the communication circuit, and at least one processor configured to: establish a plurality of links with an external electronic device via the communication circuit (Figs. 1-2, [0029, 0050] the electronic device 101 may communicate with the electronic device 104 via the server 108. According to an embodiment, the electronic device 101 may include a processor 120, memory 130, an input device 150. User device 201 may establish a plurality of links, including a link 205 with device 202-1 and a link 210 with device 202-2. Since the user device 201 has to generate a plurality of links in order to transmit data packets to each device 202-1, 202-2).
Jang et al. teach and memory storing instructions, wherein the instructions, when executed individually and/or collectively by the at least one processor, cause the electronic device to (Figs. 1-2, 4, [0075], the user device 201 may include a processor 320 (e.g., the processor 120 of FIG. 1), a memory 330 (e.g., the memory 130 of FIG. 1), and a communication circuit 390 (e.g., the communication module 190 of FIG. 1). The processor 320 may be operatively connected to the communication circuit 390 and the memory 330. The memory 330 may store one or more instructions that, when executed, cause the processor 320 to perform various operations of the user device 201).
Jang et al. teach establish a plurality of links with an external electronic device via the communication circuit (Fig. 2, [0050], the user device 201 may establish a plurality of links, including a link 205 with device 202-1 and a link 210 with device 202-2. Since the user device 201 has to generate a plurality of links in order to transmit data packets to each device 202-1, 202-2).
Jang et al. teach identify at least one of channel state information or a number of times of reception of retransmission data of each of the plurality of links for a designated time period (Figs. 1-2, [0062, 0064], if a NACK message is received or a response message is not received within a specified time, the user device 201 may retransmit the same data packet. For another example, if a NACK message for a data packet is received or a response message is not received within the specified time, the user device 201 may cause another device (e.g., the first device 202-1) that has transmitted the ACK message to transmit the NACK message, or may cause another device (e.g., the second device 202-2) that has not transmitted the response message within the specified time to retransmit the data packet. The user device 201 may be configured to transmit a next data packet if the response message of the first device 202-1 received via the first link 205 and the response message of the second device 202-2 received via the second link 210 are both ACKs. For another example, the user device 201 may be configured to determine whether to retransmit the data packet if the response message from the first device 202-1 or the response message from the second device 202-2 indicates NACK. For another example, the user device 201 may be configured to retransmit a data packet if the response message from the first device 202-1 or the response message from the second device 202-2 indicates NACK).
Jang et al. teach identify a first link among the plurality of links satisfying a designated error condition related to the identified at least one of the channel state information or the number of times of reception of retransmission data (Fig. 1-2, [0070], the user device 201 may recognize a transmission failure of data transmitted via the first link 205. For example, the user device 201 may recognize the transmission failure of data if the user device 201 receives a response message indicating NACK from the second device 202-2 via the first link 205 or fails to receive a response message within a specified time. For another example, the user device 201 may recognize the transmission failure of data by receiving a response message indicating NACK, which has been transmitted from the first device 202-1, via the first link 205).
Jang et al. teach based on identifying that the plurality of links includes the first link satisfying the designated error condition, identify a second link related to the first link among the plurality of links, wherein the first link is configured as a retransmission link for the second link (Figs. 1-2, 5, [0129-0130, 0133], the user device 201 may identify the communication quality of the first link 205 based on at least one of a received signal strength, acknowledgement (ACK)-negative acknowledgement (NACK) ratio, or error rate associated with the first link 205, and the user device 201 may retransmit the first data via the first link 205 when the communication quality is at least specified quality. When it is determined that the first device 202-1 should retransmit the first data, the user device 201 may transmit, to the first device 202-1 via the first link 205, a signal for instructing retransmission of the first data. the user device 201 may establish a second link (e.g., the second link 210 of FIG. 2) with the second device 202-2. The establishment of the second link 210 is exemplary, and embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited thereto. For example, the user device 201 and the second device 202-2 may establish the second link 210 before the establishment of the first link 205 (e.g., operation 505)).
Jang et al. teach and restrict the WLAN communication including transmission and reception of data via the second link (Figs.1-2, 4, [0109, 0186], in order to retransmit a data packet to the second device 202-2, the first device 202-1 may transmit, to the user device 201, a signal for instructing suspension of transmission of a subsequent data packet. After transmitting the signal for instructing suspension of transmission of a subsequent data packet, the first device 202-1 may retransmit a data packet to the second device 202-2 via the third link 215. For example, the first device 202-1 may transmit, to the user device 201, a signal that instructs suspension of transmission of a subsequent data packet, and may retransmit a data packet to the second device 202-2 via the third link 215).
Jang et al. is teaching is teaching communication between two multilink devices in WLAN. Adachi et al., however, fail to expressly teach that a number of times of reception of retransmission data of each of the plurality of links. (Emphasis added).
Regarding claim 1, Hwang et al. teach identify at least one of channel state information or a number of times of reception of retransmission data of each of the plurality of links for a designated time period (Fig. 1, [0074, 0131-0132, 0137, 0170, 0177] each of the communication nodes STA1, STA2 (i.e., AP1), STA3, STA4, STA5 (i.e., AP2), STA6, STA7, and STA8 included in the WLAN system is a multi-link device (see fig. 2). When an error occurs due to an aggregated MAC protocol data unit (A-MPDU) being transmitted, retransmission is performed a predetermined number of times to recover a MPDU in which an error has occurred. Since feedback should be performed immediately after HARQ transmission, the originator may omit transmission of a BAR frame requesting a block ACK. In addition, the originator may transmit a BA immediately after a lapse of a SIFS after data is received. When the maximum number of transmissions including retransmission is 3, the originator may set a transmission time in a MAC header and a preamble during the initial transmission process to (3×A-MPDU transmission time+5×SIFS time+3×BA). The TXOP may be set to the above time. The BA may be transmitted through a primary link. On a link other than the primary link, a null packet may be transmitted or the same BA may be transmitted during the same period. Therefore, it is possible to prevent other communication nodes from accessing. A block ACK may be performed in an uplink environment in which a STA MLD is an originator and an AP MLD is a recipient. The STA MLD may have a MAC-service access point 1 (MAC-SAP1) address representing the MLD, and may have a MAC address (e.g., MAC1, MAC2, or MAC3) indicating STA1, STA2, or STA3 under the corresponding MAC-SAP1 address. The STA MLD and the AP MLD may transmit and receive data using a single link transmission method (S1905). In addition, the STA MLD may record the MAC4, MACS, and MAC6 in the transmit buffer set. Thereafter, the transmit buffer named as the <MAC-SAP2/TID> tuple may be updated by using a block ACK whose TA is the MAC4, MACS, or MAC6. Thereafter, the STA MLD and the AP MLD may transmit and receive data using a multi-link method. In other words, switching to a multi-link transmission scheme in methods of managing a transmit buffer and a reordering buffer when performing a block ACK on multiple links).
It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Adachi et al. by incorporating the features as taught by Hwang et al. in order to provide a more effective and efficient system that is capable of identify a number of times of reception of retransmission data of each of the plurality of links for a designated time period. The motivation is to support an improved method for performing block acknowledgement in a wireless LAN (see [0001]).
Regarding claim 10, Jang et al. teach an operation method of an electronic device, comprising: establishing a plurality of links with an external electronic device, based on wireless local area network (WLAN) communication (Fig. 1, [0029, 0050] the electronic device 101 in the network environment 100 may communicate with an electronic device 102 via a first network 198 (e.g., a short-range wireless communication network), or an electronic device 104 or a server 108 via a second network 199 (e.g., a long-range wireless communication network. The user device 201 may establish a plurality of links, including a link 205 with device 202-1 and a link 210 with device 202-2. Since the user device 201 has to generate a plurality of links in order to transmit data packets to each device 202-1, 202-2 ).
Jang et al. teach identifying at least one of channel state information or a number of times of reception of retransmission data of each of the plurality of links for a designated time period (Figs. 1-2, [0062, 0064], if a NACK message is received or a response message is not received within a specified time, the user device 201 may retransmit the same data packet. For another example, if a NACK message for a data packet is received or a response message is not received within the specified time, the user device 201 may cause another device (e.g., the first device 202-1) that has transmitted the ACK message to transmit the NACK message, or may cause another device (e.g., the second device 202-2) that has not transmitted the response message within the specified time to retransmit the data packet. The user device 201 may be configured to transmit a next data packet if the response message of the first device 202-1 received via the first link 205 and the response message of the second device 202-2 received via the second link 210 are both ACKs. For another example, the user device 201 may be configured to determine whether to retransmit the data packet if the response message from the first device 202-1 or the response message from the second device 202-2 indicates NACK. For another example, the user device 201 may be configured to retransmit a data packet if the response message from the first device 202-1 or the response message from the second device 202-2 indicates NACK).
Jang et al. teach identifying a first link among the plurality of links satisfying a designated error condition related to the identified at least one of the channel state information or the number of times of reception of retransmission data (Fig. 1-2, [0070], the user device 201 may recognize a transmission failure of data transmitted via the first link 205. For example, the user device 201 may recognize the transmission failure of data if the user device 201 receives a response message indicating NACK from the second device 202-2 via the first link 205 or fails to receive a response message within a specified time. For another example, the user device 201 may recognize the transmission failure of data by receiving a response message indicating NACK, which has been transmitted from the first device 202-1, via the first link 205).
Jang et al. teach based on identifying that the plurality of links includes the first link satisfying the designated error condition, identifying a second link related to the first link satisfying the designated error condition among the plurality of links, wherein the first link is configured as a retransmission link for the second link (Figs. 1-2, 5, [0129-0130, 0133], the user device 201 may identify the communication quality of the first link 205 based on at least one of a received signal strength, acknowledgement (ACK)-negative acknowledgement (NACK) ratio, or error rate associated with the first link 205, and the user device 201 may retransmit the first data via the first link 205 when the communication quality is at least specified quality. When it is determined that the first device 202-1 should retransmit the first data, the user device 201 may transmit, to the first device 202-1 via the first link 205, a signal for instructing retransmission of the first data. the user device 201 may establish a second link (e.g., the second link 210 of FIG. 2) with the second device 202-2. The establishment of the second link 210 is exemplary, and embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited thereto. For example, the user device 201 and the second device 202-2 may establish the second link 210 before the establishment of the first link 205 (e.g., operation 505)).
Jang et al. teach and restricting the WLAN communication including transmission and reception of data via the second link (Figs.1-2, 4, [0109, 0186], in order to retransmit a data packet to the second device 202-2, the first device 202-1 may transmit, to the user device 201, a signal for instructing suspension of transmission of a subsequent data packet. After transmitting the signal for instructing suspension of transmission of a subsequent data packet, the first device 202-1 may retransmit a data packet to the second device 202-2 via the third link 215. For example, the first device 202-1 may transmit, to the user device 201, a signal that instructs suspension of transmission of a subsequent data packet, and may retransmit a data packet to the second device 202-2 via the third link 215).
Jang et al. is teaching is teaching communication between two multilink devices in WLAN. Adachi et al., however, fail to expressly teach that a number of times of reception of retransmission data of each of the plurality of links. (Emphasis added).
Regarding claim 10, Hwang et al. teach identifying at least one of channel state information or a number of times of reception of retransmission data of each of the plurality of links for a designated time period (Fig. 1, [0074, 0131-0132, 0137, 0170, 0177] each of the communication nodes STA1, STA2 (i.e., AP1), STA3, STA4, STA5 (i.e., AP2), STA6, STA7, and STA8 included in the WLAN system is a multi-link device (see fig. 2). When an error occurs due to an aggregated MAC protocol data unit (A-MPDU) being transmitted, retransmission is performed a predetermined number of times to recover a MPDU in which an error has occurred. Since feedback should be performed immediately after HARQ transmission, the originator may omit transmission of a BAR frame requesting a block ACK. In addition, the originator may transmit a BA immediately after a lapse of a SIFS after data is received. When the maximum number of transmissions including retransmission is 3, the originator may set a transmission time in a MAC header and a preamble during the initial transmission process to (3×A-MPDU transmission time+5×SIFS time+3×BA). The TXOP may be set to the above time. The BA may be transmitted through a primary link. On a link other than the primary link, a null packet may be transmitted or the same BA may be transmitted during the same period. Therefore, it is possible to prevent other communication nodes from accessing. A block ACK may be performed in an uplink environment in which a STA MLD is an originator and an AP MLD is a recipient. The STA MLD may have a MAC-service access point 1 (MAC-SAP1) address representing the MLD, and may have a MAC address (e.g., MAC1, MAC2, or MAC3) indicating STA1, STA2, or STA3 under the corresponding MAC-SAP1 address. The STA MLD and the AP MLD may transmit and receive data using a single link transmission method (S1905). In addition, the STA MLD may record the MAC4, MACS, and MAC6 in the transmit buffer set. Thereafter, the transmit buffer named as the <MAC-SAP2/TID> tuple may be updated by using a block ACK whose TA is the MAC4, MACS, or MAC6. Thereafter, the STA MLD and the AP MLD may transmit and receive data using a multi-link method. In other words, switching to a multi-link transmission scheme in methods of managing a transmit buffer and a reordering buffer when performing a block ACK on multiple links).
It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Adachi et al. by incorporating the features as taught by Hwang et al. in order to provide a more effective and efficient system that is capable of identify a number of times of reception of retransmission data of each of the plurality of links for a designated time period. The motivation is to support an improved method for performing block acknowledgement in a wireless LAN (see [0001]).
Claim(s) 2, 6-7, 11 and 15-16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jang et al. (US 2021/0050960 A1) in view of Hwang et al. (US 20220322473 A1) as applied to claims 1 and 10 above, and further in view of Adachi et al. (US 2015/0264685 A1).
Jang et al. and Adachi et al. disclose the claimed limitations as described in paragraph 5 above. Jang et al. and Adachi et al. do not expressly disclose the following features: regarding claim 2, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the electronic device to: identify a reception rate of the retransmission data of each of the plurality of links for the designated time period, based on the number of times of reception of the retransmission data; and detect the first link satisfying the designated error condition, based on at least one of the channel state information of the first link or the reception rate of the retransmission data via the first link; regarding claim 6, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the electronic device to restrict data reception from the external electronic device via the second link by performing a TID-to-link mapping negotiation with the external electronic device; regarding claim 7, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the electronic device to maintain an active state of data transmission to the external electronic device via the second link in a state where the data reception from the external electronic device via the second link is restricted; regarding claim 11, further comprising: identifying a reception rate of the retransmission data of each of the plurality of links for the designated time period, based on the number of times of reception of the retransmission data; and detecting the first link satisfying the designated error condition, based on at least one of channel state information of the first link or the reception rate of the retransmission data via the first link; regarding claim 15, wherein the restricting of the WLAN communication comprises restricting data reception from the external electronic device via the second link by performing a TID-to-link mapping negotiation with the external electronic device; regarding claim 16, further comprising maintaining an active state of data transmission to the external electronic device via the second link in a state where the data reception from the external electronic device via the second link is restricted.
Regarding claim 2, Adachi et al. teach wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the electronic device to: identify a reception rate of the retransmission data of each of the plurality of links for the designated time period, based on the number of times of reception of the retransmission data; and detect the first link satisfying the designated error condition, based on at least one of the channel state information of the first link or the reception rate of the retransmission data via the first link (Fig. 7, [0094-0095, 0104], when the first MAC processor 11 is notified by a signal from the first PHY processor 15 that the A-MPDU is completely received, the first MAC processor 11 generates a Block Ack (BA) frame from the implicit block ack request indicated in the A-MPDU, reflects the information of the scoreboard 14 in the Block Ack Bitmap of the BA frame notifies that the frame having sequence number 1 is correctly received. Suppose a case where the wireless terminal on the transmitting side judges, from the information of the received BA frame, that many frames are unsuccessfully transmitted in the communication using the first channel/mode, and determines to use the channel/mode corresponding to the second transceiver 20 (here, the channel/mode is called a second channel/mode) when transmitting data thereafter. For example, the first transceiver 10 of the wireless terminal on the transmitting side manages the delivery situation of the transmission frame based on a delivery confirmation response frame from the wireless terminal on the receiving side, and determines to change the transmission source to the second transceiver 20 since a specific level of communication quality is not satisfied in the first channel/mode. Note that a judgment can be also made as to the change from the second transceiver 20 to the first transceiver 10, when the second transceiver 20 has the same function. The identification of a second channel/mode in response to determining the verification of a designated error condition in first channel/mode when a reception rate of the retransmission data corresponds to a total number of 4 retransmissions frames out of total 5 frames included in A-MPDU initially sent over first channel/mode).
Regarding claim 6, Adachi et al. teach wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the electronic device to restrict data reception from the external electronic device via the second link by performing a TID-to-link mapping negotiation with the external electronic device (Fig. 7, [0104, 0107-0108], when the notification frame includes the information to which the second channel/mode the transmission will be switched. The wireless terminal on the transmitting side transmits the notification frame, and when receiving a response frame to the notification frame, transmits frames from the second transceiver 20 corresponding to the second channel/mode. These frames are retransmitted frames whose sequence numbers were 2 to 5 when transmitted through the first channel/mode and are renumbered from 1 to 4 by the second MAC processor 21. All of the frames having new sequence numbers 1 to 4 and transmitted through the second channel/mode are correctly received. Thus, the normal reception of the frames having sequence numbers 1 to 4 is recorded in the scoreboard 24, and the frames having sequence numbers 1 to 4 are sequentially passed from the reordering buffer 30 to the upper layer of the MAC layer. As a result, the frames having sequence numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 in terms of the first channel/mode are sequentially received. The frames having sequence numbers 2 to 5 in the first MAC processor 11 are moved to the second MAC processor 21 and transmitted. The subsequent frames having the same TID and passed from the upper layer of the MAC layer are passed from the common MAC processor 2 to the second MAC processor 21 and assigned with successive sequence numbers).
regarding claim 7, Adachi et al. teach wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the electronic device to maintain an active state of data transmission to the external electronic device via the second link in a state where the data reception from the external electronic device via the second link is restricted (Fig. 7, [0095, 0097-0098, 0104], the first transceiver 10 of the wireless terminal on the transmitting side manages the delivery situation of the transmission frame based on a delivery confirmation response frame from the wireless terminal on the receiving side, and determines to change the transmission source to the second transceiver 20 since a specific level of communication quality is not satisfied in the first channel/mode. Note that a judgment can be also made as to the change from the second transceiver 20 to the first transceiver 10, when the second transceiver 20 has the same function. The wireless terminal on the transmitting side notifies the wireless terminal on the receiving side that the current channel/mode will be changed. In this example, the notification is given using a management frame different from a series of data frames to be exchanged (expressed as "Mg" in FIG. 7). This is because the object of the notification is not to transmit data but to control the operation of the wireless terminal. The notification frame is transmitted through the channel/mode after change. The notification frame includes the information showing that data are transmitted through the second channel/mode (active state). When the notification frame includes the information to which channel/mode (the second channel/mode in this example) the transmission will be switched and when the wireless terminal corresponds to only two channels/modes, the channel/mode not shown as the switched one is exclusively judged to be the channel/mode been used to exchange frames having the corresponding TID with the wireless terminal on the transmitting side, and the transceiver corresponding to the judged channel/mode can be identified).
Regarding claim 11, Adachi et al. teach further comprising: identifying a reception rate of the retransmission data of each of the plurality of links for the designated time period, based on the number of times of reception of the retransmission data; and detecting the first link satisfying the designated error condition, based on at least one of channel state information of the first link or the reception rate of the retransmission data via the first link (Fig. 7, [0094-0095, 0104], when the first MAC processor 11 is notified by a signal from the first PHY processor 15 that the A-MPDU is completely received, the first MAC processor 11 generates a Block Ack (BA) frame from the implicit block ack request indicated in the A-MPDU, reflects the information of the scoreboard 14 in the Block Ack Bitmap of the BA frame notifies that the frame having sequence number 1 is correctly received. Suppose a case where the wireless terminal on the transmitting side judges, from the information of the received BA frame, that many frames are unsuccessfully transmitted in the communication using the first channel/mode, and determines to use the channel/mode corresponding to the second transceiver 20 (here, the channel/mode is called a second channel/mode) when transmitting data thereafter. For example, the first transceiver 10 of the wireless terminal on the transmitting side manages the delivery situation of the transmission frame based on a delivery confirmation response frame from the wireless terminal on the receiving side, and determines to change the transmission source to the second transceiver 20 since a specific level of communication quality is not satisfied in the first channel/mode. Note that a judgment can be also made as to the change from the second transceiver 20 to the first transceiver 10, when the second transceiver 20 has the same function. The identification of a second channel/mode in response to determining the verification of a designated error condition in first channel/mode when a reception rate of the retransmission data corresponds to a total number of 4 retransmissions frames out of total 5 frames included in A-MPDU initially sent over first channel/mode).
Regarding claim 15, Adachi et al. teach wherein the restricting of the WLAN communication comprises restricting data reception from the external electronic device via the second link by performing a TID-to-link mapping negotiation with the external electronic device (Fig. 7, [0104, 0107-0108], when the notification frame includes the information to which the second channel/mode the transmission will be switched. The wireless terminal on the transmitting side transmits the notification frame, and when receiving a response frame to the notification frame, transmits frames from the second transceiver 20 corresponding to the second channel/mode. These frames are retransmitted frames whose sequence numbers were 2 to 5 when transmitted through the first channel/mode and are renumbered from 1 to 4 by the second MAC processor 21. All of the frames having new sequence numbers 1 to 4 and transmitted through the second channel/mode are correctly received. Thus, the normal reception of the frames having sequence numbers 1 to 4 is recorded in the scoreboard 24, and the frames having sequence numbers 1 to 4 are sequentially passed from the reordering buffer 30 to the upper layer of the MAC layer. As a result, the frames having sequence numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 in terms of the first channel/mode are sequentially received. The frames having sequence numbers 2 to 5 in the first MAC processor 11 are moved to the second MAC processor 21 and transmitted. The subsequent frames having the same TID and passed from the upper layer of the MAC layer are passed from the common MAC processor 2 to the second MAC processor 21 and assigned with successive sequence numbers).
Regarding claim 16, Adachi et al. teach further comprising maintaining an active state of data transmission to the external electronic device via the second link in a state where the data reception from the external electronic device via the second link is restricted (Fig. 7, [0095, 0097-0098, 0104], the first transceiver 10 of the wireless terminal on the transmitting side manages the delivery situation of the transmission frame based on a delivery confirmation response frame from the wireless terminal on the receiving side, and determines to change the transmission source to the second transceiver 20 since a specific level of communication quality is not satisfied in the first channel/mode. Note that a judgment can be also made as to the change from the second transceiver 20 to the first transceiver 10, when the second transceiver 20 has the same function. The wireless terminal on the transmitting side notifies the wireless terminal on the receiving side that the current channel/mode will be changed. In this example, the notification is given using a management frame different from a series of data frames to be exchanged (expressed as "Mg" in FIG. 7). This is because the object of the notification is not to transmit data but to control the operation of the wireless terminal. The notification frame is transmitted through the channel/mode after change. The notification frame includes the information showing that data are transmitted through the second channel/mode (active state). When the notification frame includes the information to which channel/mode (the second channel/mode in this example) the transmission will be switched and when the wireless terminal corresponds to only two channels/modes, the channel/mode not shown as the switched one is exclusively judged to be the channel/mode been used to exchange frames having the corresponding TID with the wireless terminal on the transmitting side, and the transceiver corresponding to the judged channel/mode can be identified).
It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Jang et al. with Hwang et al. by incorporating the features as taught by Adachi et al. in order to provide a more effective and efficient system that is capable of identifying a reception rate of the retransmission data of each of the plurality of links for the designated time period, based on the number of times of reception of the retransmission data; device to restrict data reception from the external electronic device via the second link by performing a TID-to-link mapping negotiation with the external electronic device, and maintaining an active state of data transmission to the external electronic device via the second link in a state where the data reception from the external electronic device via the second link is restricted. The motivation is to support an improved method for changing the transceiver for transmitting and receiving frames between the wireless terminals LAN (see [0002]).
Claim(s) 3 and 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jang et al. (US 2021/0050960 A1) in view of Hwang et al. (US 20220322473 A1) as applied to claims 1 and 10 above, and further in view of Kim (US 2023/0155641 A1).
Jang et al. and Hwang et al. disclose the claimed limitations as described in paragraph 5 above. Jang et al. and Hwang et al. do not expressly disclose the following features: regarding claim 3, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor cause the electronic device to identify the second link having received a previous retransmission data or data related to the retransmission data before receiving the retransmission data from the external electronic device via the first link satisfying the designated error condition among the plurality of links, based on information related to a designated retransmission link; regarding claim 12, wherein the identifying of the
Regarding claim 3, Kim teaches wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor cause the electronic device to identify the second link having received a previous retransmission data or data related to the retransmission data before receiving the retransmission data from the external electronic device via the first link satisfying the designated error condition among the plurality of links, based on information related to a designated retransmission link (Fig. 7, [0103-0105, 0110], STA may receive the data frame from the AP in the first link and may transmit an ACK frame (or BA frame) for the data frame to the AP. The BA frame may be transmitted when a BAR frame is received from the AP. Alternatively, when an immediate response ACK policy is used, the BA frame may be transmitted without transmission of the BAR frame. When the ACK frame for the data frame is received in the first link, the AP may determine that the data frame has been successfully received by the STA. The STA may not receive the data frame from the AP in the second link and thus may not be able to transmit an ACK frame (or BA frame) to the AP. When the ACK frame for the data frame is not received in the second link, the AP may determine that the reception of the data frame has failed at the STA. In this case, the AP may retransmit the data frame after a preset time (e.g., SIFS, PIFS, or a time until a start of data transmission in the first link). For example, if an ACK frame is not received for SIFS+transmission period of ACK frame’ from a transmission end point of the data frame, the AP may determine that reception of the data frame has failed in the second link and may retransmit the data frame in the second link. he AP may receive the ML ACK frame from the STA and may identify active link(s) and/or inactive link(s) based on the active link bitmap included in the ML ACK frame. For example, the AP may determine that the first link is an active link and determine that the second link is an inactive link based on the active link bitmap. In this case, the AP may not perform a (re)transmission operation of the data frame in the second link. In other words, the AP may perform a (re)transmission operation of the data frame in the first link and/or other link(s) (e.g., link(s) other than the second link)).
Regarding claim 12, Kim teaches wherein the identifying of the second link comprises identifying the second link having received there transmission data or data related to the retransmission data before receiving the retransmission data from the external electronic device via the first link satisfying the designated error condition among the plurality of links, based on information related to a designated retransmission link (Fig. 7, [0103-0105, 0110], STA may receive the data frame from the AP in the first link and may transmit an ACK frame (or BA frame) for the data frame to the AP. The BA frame may be transmitted when a BAR frame is received from the AP. Alternatively, when an immediate response ACK policy is used, the BA frame may be transmitted without transmission of the BAR frame. When the ACK frame for the data frame is received in the first link, the AP may determine that the data frame has been successfully received by the STA. The STA may not receive the data frame from the AP in the second link and thus may not be able to transmit an ACK frame (or BA frame) to the AP. When the ACK frame for the data frame is not received in the second link, the AP may determine that the reception of the data frame has failed at the STA. In this case, the AP may retransmit the data frame after a preset time (e.g., SIFS, PIFS, or a time until a start of data transmission in the first link). For example, if an ACK frame is not received for SIFS+transmission period of ACK frame’ from a transmission end point of the data frame, the AP may determine that reception of the data frame has failed in the second link and may retransmit the data frame in the second link. he AP may receive the ML ACK frame from the STA and may identify active link(s) and/or inactive link(s) based on the active link bitmap included in the ML ACK frame. For example, the AP may determine that the first link is an active link and determine that the second link is an inactive link based on the active link bitmap. In this case, the AP may not perform a (re)transmission operation of the data frame in the second link. In other words, the AP may perform a (re)transmission operation of the data frame in the first link and/or other link(s) (e.g., link(s) other than the second link)).
It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Jang et al. with Hwang et al. by incorporating the features as taught by Kim in order to provide a more effective and efficient system that is capable of identifying another link having received the retransmission data or data related to the retransmission data before receiving the retransmission data from the external electronic device via the link satisfying the designated error condition among the plurality of links, based on information related to a designated retransmission link. The motivation is to support an improved method for simultaneously transmitting data in multiple links (see [0002]).
Claim(s) 4 and 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jang et al. (US 2021/0050960 A1) in view of Hwang et al. (US 20220322473 A1) and Kim (US 2023/0155641 A1) as applied to claims 1 and 10 above, and further in view of Sugaya et al. (US 2024/0022956 A1).
Jang et al., Hwang et al. and Kim disclose the claimed limitations as described in paragraph 5 above. Jang et al., Hwang et al. and Kim do not expressly disclose the following features: regarding claim 4, wherein the information related to the designated retransmission link is configured through consultation with the external electronic device at a time point of establishing the plurality of links with the external electronic device or after establishing the plurality of links; regarding claim 13, wherein the information related to the designated retransmission link is configured through consultation with the external electronic device at a time point of establishing the plurality of links with the external electronic device or after establishing the plurality of links.
Regarding claim 4, Sugaya et al. teach wherein the information related to the designated retransmission link is configured through consultation with the external electronic device at a time point of establishing the plurality of links with the external electronic device or after establishing the plurality of links (Fig. 5, [0344] the multi-link management unit 311 (fig. 20) determines whether or not there is a free link that has entered the transmission waiting state. When a determination is made that there is a free link, and the multi-link management unit 311 selects an earliest free link among the available links. Here, a link in the transmission waiting state may be selected or the retransmission link may be selected as the earliest available link).
Regarding claim 13, Sugaya et al. teach wherein the information related to the designated retransmission link is configured through consultation with the external electronic device at a time point of establishing the plurality of links with the external electronic device or after establishing the plurality of links (Fig. 5, [0344] the multi-link management unit 311 (fig. 20) determines whether or not there is a free link that has entered the transmission waiting state. When a determination is made that there is a free link, and the multi-link management unit 311 selects an earliest free link among the available links. Here, a link in the transmission waiting state may be selected or the retransmission link may be selected as the earliest available link).
It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Adachi et al. with Hwang et al. and Kim by incorporating the features as taught by Sugaya et al. in order to provide a more effective and efficient system that is capable of using designated retransmission link configured through consultation with the external electronic device at a time point of establishing the plurality of links with the external electronic device or after establishing the plurality of links. The motivation is to support an improved method for suitable retransmission of undelivered data (see [0002]).
Claim(s) 5 and 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jang et al. (US 2021/0050960 A1) in view of Hwang et al. (US 20220322473 A1) as applied to claims 1 and 10 above, and further in view of Bajko et al. (US 2021/0045008 A1).
Jang et al. and Hwang et al. disclose the claimed limitations as described in paragraph 5 above. Jang et al. and Hwang et al. do not expressly disclose the following features: regarding claim 5, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the electronic device to restrict the WLAN communication via the second link by performing a traffic identifier (TID)-to-link mapping negotiation with the external electronic device; regarding claim 14, wherein the restricting of the WLAN communication comprises restricting the WLAN communication via the second link by performing a traffic identifier (TID)-to-link mapping negotiation with the external electronic device.
Regarding claim 5, Bajko et al. teach wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the electronic device to restrict the WLAN communication via the second link by performing a traffic identifier (TID)-to-link mapping negotiation with the external electronic device (Fig. 1, [0044-0045, 0048-0049], wireless communication system 100 including a multi-band cooperative AP 105 and a multi-band cooperative STA 155. The AP 105 includes a 5 GHz transceiver 110 and a 2.4 GHz transceiver 115. The transceivers 110 and 115 of AP 105 exchange data and information with cooperative management unit 120 that coordinates information sent and/or received by transceivers 110 and 115. Multi-band cooperative ST 155 includes a 5 GHz transceiver 160 and a 2.4 GHz transceiver 165. The transceivers 160 and 165 of STA 155 exchange data and information with cooperative management unit 170 that coordinates information sent and received by transceivers 160 and 165. Frames belonging to a first Traffic Identifier (TID 1) can be allocated to a first link, and frames belonging to a second Traffic Identifier (TID 2) can be allocated to a second link. In this case, the AP may provide the TID-to-link mapping information for both links to the STA, where some data can only be sent on the first link, and other data can only be sent on the second link. Data transmitted over a first wireless link, such as the 5 GHz wireless link provided by 5 GHz transceiver 110 or 160, can be retransmitted over a different wireless link. For example, if a data transmission over the 5 GHz wireless link is sent unsuccessfully (e.g., no acknowledgment received), the data can be retransmitted over the 2.4 GHz wireless link provided by 2.4 GHz transceiver 115/165. The data can be retransmitted over the second link when an unscheduled channel switch to another channel occurs, or when transmitted a delay-sensitive packet over multiple links. Moreover, the data transmission (e.g., a PPDU) can be originally encoded for transmission on a first wireless link (e.g., a 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz wireless link), and the retransmitted data can be prepared for transmission according to embodiments of the present invention described herein for encrypting data for retransmission in a multi-link environment).
Regarding claim 14, Bajko et al. teach wherein the restricting of the WLAN communication comprises restricting the WLAN communication via the second link by performing a traffic identifier (TID)-to-link mapping negotiation with the external electronic device (Fig. 1, [0044-0045, 0048-0049] wireless communication system 100 including a multi-band cooperative AP 105 and a multi-band cooperative STA 155. The AP 105 includes a 5 GHz transceiver 110 and a 2.4 GHz transceiver 115. The transceivers 110 and 115 of AP 105 exchange data and information with cooperative management unit 120 that coordinates information sent and/or received by transceivers 110 and 115. Multi-band cooperative ST 155 includes a 5 GHz transceiver 160 and a 2.4 GHz transceiver 165. The transceivers 160 and 165 of STA 155 exchange data and information with cooperative management unit 170 that coordinates information sent and received by transceivers 160 and 165. Frames belonging to a first Traffic Identifier (TID 1) can be allocated to a first link, and frames belonging to a second Traffic Identifier (TID 2) can be allocated to a second link. In this case, the AP may provide the TID-to-link mapping information for both links to the STA, where some data can only be sent on the first link, and other data can only be sent on the second link. Data transmitted over a first wireless link, such as the 5 GHz wireless link provided by 5 GHz transceiver 110 or 160, can be retransmitted over a different wireless link. For example, if a data transmission over the 5 GHz wireless link is sent unsuccessfully (e.g., no acknowledgment received), the data can be retransmitted over the 2.4 GHz wireless link provided by 2.4 GHz transceiver 115/165. The data can be retransmitted over the second link when an unscheduled channel switch to another channel occurs, or when transmitted a delay-sensitive packet over multiple links. Moreover, the data transmission (e.g., a PPDU) can be originally encoded for transmission on a first wireless link (e.g., a 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz wireless link), and the retransmitted data can be prepared for transmission according to embodiments of the present invention described herein for encrypting data for retransmission in a multi-link environment).
It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Jang et al. with Hwang et al. by incorporating the features as taught by Bajko et al. in order to provide a more effective and efficient system that is capable of restricting the WLAN communication via the second link by performing a traffic identifier (TID)-to-link mapping negotiation with the external electronic device. The motivation is to support an improved method for retransmission of data within a wireless communication network (see [0002]).
Claim(s) 8 and 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jang et al. (US 2021/0050960 A1) in view of Hwang et al. (US 20220322473 A1) and Adachi et al. (US 2015/0264685 A1) as applied to claims 1 and 10 above, and further in view of Guo et al. (US 2023/0413175 A1).
Jang et al., Hwang et al. and Adachi et al. disclose the claimed limitations as described in paragraph 5 above. Jang et al., Hwang et al. and Adachi et al. do not expressly disclose the following features: regarding claim 8, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the electronic device to transmit, to the external electronic device, a TID-to-link mapping request frame comprising information related to the restriction of the data reception from the external electronic device via the second link; regarding claim 17, wherein the restricting of the WLAN communication comprises transmitting, to the external electronic device, a TID- to-link mapping request frame comprising information related to the restriction of the data reception from the external electronic device via the second link.
Regarding claim 8, Guo et al. teach wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the electronic device to transmit, to the external electronic device, a TID-to-link mapping request frame comprising information related to the restriction of the data reception from the external electronic device via the second link (Fig. 3, [0031, 0057, 0070], AP device 110 and the STA device 120 may communicate with each other by using the AP MLD 210 and the non-AP MLD 220. More particularly, the AP device 110 may perform effective communications control to effectively communicate with the STA device 120. in order to perform channel switching of a MLD link such as the link Link(2) efficiently, where the channel switching may comprise an operation of switching from an original DFS channel to a new channel among all channels {CH1, CH2, . . . } of the 5 GHz band. For example, when radar is detected in the original DFS channel, the channel switching of the MLD link is needed. The AP device 110 may send the associated information such as channel management information to the STA device 120 through other MLD link(s) such as the links Link(1) and Link(3). The channel switching notification control procedure may be illustrated with the working flow shown in fig. 6. The AP device 110 sends a TID-to-Link mapping request frame over the other MLD link(s) to the STA STA(x) to disable the TID(s) used in the 5 GHz band and enable the TID(s) in the 2.4 GHz band and/or the 6 GHz band);
Regarding claim 17, Guo et al. teach wherein the restricting of the WLAN communication comprises transmitting, to the external electronic device, a TID- to-link mapping request frame comprising information related to the restriction of the data reception from the external electronic device via the second link (Fig. 3, [0031, 0057, 0070] AP device 110 and the STA device 120 may communicate with each other by using the AP MLD 210 and the non-AP MLD 220. More particularly, the AP device 110 may perform effective communications control to effectively communicate with the STA device 120. in order to perform channel switching of a MLD link such as the link Link(2) efficiently, where the channel switching may comprise an operation of switching from an original DFS channel to a new channel among all channels {CH1, CH2, . . . } of the 5 GHz band. For example, when radar is detected in the original DFS channel, the channel switching of the MLD link is needed. The AP device 110 may send the associated information such as channel management information to the STA device 120 through other MLD link(s) such as the links Link(1) and Link(3). The channel switching notification control procedure may be illustrated with the working flow shown in fig. 6. The AP device 110 sends a TID-to-Link mapping request frame over the other MLD link(s) to the STA STA(x) to disable the TID(s) used in the 5 GHz band and enable the TID(s) in the 2.4 GHz band and/or the 6 GHz band).
It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Jang et al. with Hwang et al. and Adachi et al. by incorporating the features as taught by Guo et al. in order to provide a more effective and efficient system that is capable of transmitting, to the external electronic device, a TID-to-link mapping request frame comprising information related to the restriction of the data reception from the external electronic device via the another link related to the link satisfying the designated error condition. The motivation is to support an improved method for performing channel usage management with aid of MLO architecture (see [0004]).
Claim(s) 9 and 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jang et al. (US 2021/0050960 A1) in view of Hwang et al. (US 20220322473 A1) as applied to claims 1 and 10 above, and further in view of Wang et al. (US 2022/0182184 A1).
Jang et al. and Hwang et al. disclose the claimed limitations as described in paragraph 5 above. Jang et al. and Hwang et al. do not expressly disclose the following features: regarding claim 9, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the electronic device to identify the retransmission data in a retry field of a frame control field included in a media access control (MAC) header of data received from the external electronic device; regarding claim 18, further comprising identifying the retransmission data in a retry field of a frame control field included in a media access control (MAC) header of data received from the external electronic device.
Regarding claim 9, Wang et al. teach wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the electronic device to identify the retransmission data in a retry field of a frame control field included in a media access control (MAC) header of data received from the external electronic device (Fig. 6, [0046-0047, 0079], an AP MLD may be coupled with a plurality of non-AP MLDs (e.g., non-AP MLDs A, B, and C) over a plurality of links (e.g., link 1, link 2, and link 3) as described above with respect to, for example, FIG. 1B. Specifically, as shown, AP MLD may communicate with non-AP MLD A over links 1 and 2. AP MLD may further communicate with non-AP MLD B over links 2 and 3. AP MLD may further communicate with non-AP MLD C only over link 3. Please note that the behavior of a legacy STA that associates to one of the APs of the AP MLD and participates in the GCR-BA operation is similar to that of Non-AP MLD C. For group addressed frames and individually addressed frames without block-ack agreement, the SN based duplicate detection has been done only to the frames that have Retry field in MAC Header set to 1, i.e. duplicate detection is done only to the frames that are retransmitted. In a WLAN network that uses the block-ack scheme for unicast data frames, the receiver agrees to keep a record of receive status for some number of SNs (received, not received), and is capable to send block-ack to signal the status of the received frames and to reorder the frames in the SN order before the frames are forwarded to the application. The SN specific knowledge on whether a frame is already received or not allows the receiver to detect duplicate frames even if the Retry field in the MAC header is not set to 1 for a frame).
regarding claim 18, Wang et al. teach further comprising identifying the retransmission data in a retry field of a frame control field included in a media access control (MAC) header of data received from the external electronic device (Fig. 6, [0046-0047, 0079], an AP MLD may be coupled with a plurality of non-AP MLDs (e.g., non-AP MLDs A, B, and C) over a plurality of links (e.g., link 1, link 2, and link 3) as described above with respect to, for example, FIG. 1B. Specifically, as shown, AP MLD may communicate with non-AP MLD A over links 1 and 2. AP MLD may further communicate with non-AP MLD B over links 2 and 3. AP MLD may further communicate with non-AP MLD C only over link 3. Please note that the behavior of a legacy STA that associates to one of the APs of the AP MLD and participates in the GCR-BA operation is similar to that of Non-AP MLD C. For group addressed frames and individually addressed frames without block-ack agreement, the SN based duplicate detection has been done only to the frames that have Retry field in MAC Header set to 1, i.e. duplicate detection is done only to the frames that are retransmitted. In a WLAN network that uses the block-ack scheme for unicast data frames, the receiver agrees to keep a record of receive status for some number of SNs (received, not received), and is capable to send block-ack to signal the status of the received frames and to reorder the frames in the SN order before the frames are forwarded to the application. The SN specific knowledge on whether a frame is already received or not allows the receiver to detect duplicate frames even if the Retry field in the MAC header is not set to 1 for a frame).
It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Jang et al. with Hwang et al. by incorporating the features as taught by Wang et al. in order to provide a more effective and efficient system that is capable of configuring to identify the retransmission data in a retry field of a frame control field included in a media access control (MAC) header of data received from the external electronic device. The motivation is to support an improved method for group addressed frame delivery over multi-link systems (see [0003]).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-18 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.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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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/SYED M BOKHARI/Examiner, Art Unit 2473 2/22/2026
/KWANG B YAO/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2473