DETAILED ACTION
This action is responsive to amendments filed on 6/23/2025.
The application was filed on 11/10/2023.
Claims 1-20 were pending in previous office action mailed 4/11/2025.
Claims 1 and 12 have been amended.
Claims 1-20 remain pending for examination with Claims 1 and 12 being independent.
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 .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for domestic benefit/national stage under 35 U.S.C. 119(e), 120, 121, 365(c), or 386(c) for parent Application Nos
63/383,444 filed on 11/11/2022
63,589,105 filed on 10/10/2023
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d). Receipt is acknowledged of certified copy required by 37 CFR 1.55 for parent Application No CN202311473101.6 filed on 11/07/2023.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see Applicant’s remarks pg. 6-10, filed 6/23/2025, with respect to Claims 1-20 under 35 U.S.C 102/103 have been fully considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on the references as applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the arguement. In view of amendments, a new ground of rejection is made in view of Kim et al. (US 2023/0103810 A1; hereinafter Kim) and newly found prior art Zhou et al. (US 2024/0023003 A1; hereinafter Zhou). See rejection below.
Furthermore, in response to applicant's argument that the references fail to show certain features of the invention, it is noted that the features upon which applicant relies (i.e., that the AP device is an AP-MLD rather than a traditional single link device) are not recited in the rejected claim(s). Although the claims are interpreted in light of the specification, limitations from the specification are not read into the claims. See In re Van Geuns, 988 F.2d 1181, 26 USPQ2d 1057 (Fed. Cir. 1993).
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.
Claims 1, 3-6, 10-12, 14-16, and 18-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim et al. (US 2023/0103810 A1; hereinafter Kim) and further in view of Zhou et al. (US 2024/0023003 A1; hereinafter Zhou).
Regarding Claim 1, Kim disclose(s):
An access point (AP) device for facilitating wireless communication, the AP device comprising:
one or more APs affiliated with the AP device; and [Kim discloses an AP MLD with multiple APs associated with it (¶ 299-300; Fig. 23-25)]
one or more processors coupled to the one or more APs, the one or more processors configured to cause: [Kim discloses at least one processor associated with APs (¶ 602; Fig. 1 and 19)]
receiving setup information from one or more [Kim discloses a network discovery operation which may include a scanning operation to identify a compatible network through a beacon frame transmitted by an AP in a basic service set (BSS) before participating in a wireless network (¶ 84; ¶93-96; Fig. 2-3). Kim also discloses that an MLD may transmit information about a link that the corresponding MLD can support through ML setup (¶279).]
generating data traffic to be transmitted to a station (STA) affiliated with a non-AP device via a link established between the AP device and the non-AP device; [Kim discloses that both an AP multi-link device (MLD) and an AP non-MLD may both exchange various information per current link and information related to the link state including information on data traffic (¶ 309; ¶279)]
detecting that the link is not available; [Kim discloses that information related to link state may include configuration as enabled or disabled (¶ 309)]
selecting one [Kim discloses that both the AP MLD and the Non-AP MLD may select a link that is more appropriate or adequate for transmitting and/or receiving signals based on various information per current link including data traffic and link state (¶ 309; Fig. 25)]
transferring the data traffic to the selected [Kim discloses switching or reconnecting to a link other than the initially connected link so as to increase its performance (¶ 310-314; Fig. 25)]
Kim does not explicitly disclose:
receiving setup information from one or more external AP devices, the setup information including at least one available link of at least one AP affiliated with each of the one or more external AP devices;
selecting one external AP device among the one or more external AP devices based on the setup information received from the one or more external AP devices; and
transferring the data traffic to the selected external AP device through an available link of an AP affiliated with the selected external AP device.
However Zhou, analogous art that also discloses AP devices does disclose:
receiving setup information from one or more external AP devices, the setup information including at least one available link of at least one AP affiliated with each of the one or more external AP devices; [(See Zhou ¶48; ¶62-64; ¶79-80; Fig. 3-6; Fig. 10-12)
[0048] As shown in FIG. 3, a wireless backhaul is used between a MAP and SAPs. There are many APs deployed in the network, and one MAP cannot cover all SAPs. Therefore, multiple APs with similar locations can form a group. Each group has 1 MAP, and then a controller is needed to manage these MAPs in a centralized manner. In this scenario, multiple MAPs and one controller are required. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, MAP1 covers SAP1 and SAP2, MAP2 covers SAPS and SAP4, and the controller manages MAP1 and MAP2 in a centralized manner.
[0062] The setup of a multi-AP set can be divided into the following two stages: [0063] Stage 1: Discovery of surrounding APs. As shown in FIG. 5, APs discover each other by receiving beacon frames or related management frames transmitted by surrounding APs (such as SAPs). The beacon frames or management frames carry information on capability of participating in multi-AP coordinated transmission. [0064] Stage 2: Setup of multi-AP set. As shown in FIG. 6, an MAP transmits request frames to the surrounding APs (such as SAPs), and assigns an identifier (ID) for multi-AP coordinated transmission to each SAP and assigns an ID for a multi-AP coordination set (Multi-AP Group ID). Then, each SAP returns a response frame to the MAP, and the response frame carries IDs of STAs associated with the SAP and capability information of these STAs to participate in multi-AP coordinated transmission. In addition, the response frame may further carry priority information for the STA to participate in multi-AP transmission.
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selecting one external AP device among the one or more external AP devices based on the setup information received from the one or more external AP devices; and [(See Zhou ¶48; ¶62-64; ¶79-80; ¶86-89; Fig. 3-6; Fig. 9-12)]
transferring the data traffic to the selected external AP device through an available link of an AP affiliated with the selected external AP device. [(See Zhou ¶48; ¶62-64; ¶79-80; ¶86-89; Fig. 3-6; Fig. 9-12)]
It would have been obvious by one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the communication system of Kim with that of Zhou in order to designate MAP devices with different group numbers to coordinate and manage multiple APs in a similar location, as per Zhou (¶48), with reasonable expectation of success.
Regarding Claim 3, Kim and Zhou disclose:
The AP device of claim 1, wherein the STA affiliated with the non-AP device is associated with an AP affiliated with the selected external AP device. [Kim discloses STA1 associated with a Non-AP MLD is connected with AP1 which is associated with an AP MLD (¶ 299-300; Fig. 23). Zhou discloses a case where a STA may be affiliated with two separate APs with two group ID’s (Fig. 9)]
Regarding Claim 4, Kim and Zhou disclose:
The AP device of claim 1, wherein the setup information further includes buffer status of the at least one AP affiliated with each of the one or more external AP devices. [Kim discloses after discovery and authentication, the association process may include information related to various capabilities, a status code (mapped to buffer status), an association ID, a supported rate, and a QoS map (¶ 99; Fig. 3). Zhou discloses external AP devices and setup information (¶48; ¶62-64; ¶79-80; ¶86-89; Fig. 3-6; Fig. 9-12).]
Regarding Claim 5, Kim and Zhou disclose:
The AP device of claim 1, wherein the setup information further includes a first list of STAs associated with the at least one AP affiliated with each of the one or more external AP devices. [Kim discloses that during multi-link setup, an enabled link may be determined from at least one of a plurality of links determined as enabled (¶ 274-276). Zhou discloses external AP devices and setup information including group IDs and AP’s included in those groups (¶48; ¶62-64; ¶79-80; ¶86-89; Fig. 3-6; Fig. 9-12)]
Regarding Claim 6, Kim and Zhou disclose:
The AP device of claim 5, wherein the selecting one external AP device is further based on the first list of STAs and a second list of STAs associated with the AP device. [Kim discloses that during multi-link setup, an enabled link may be determined from at least one of a plurality of links determined as enabled (¶ 274-276). Kim further discloses a list of anchored links and that an anchored link may be selected from that list for a frame exchange (¶293-295; ¶ 440-444) and that operations of a STA may be performed by an AP and vice versa (¶ 70-74)]
Regarding Claim 10, Kim and Zhou disclose(s):
The AP device of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause informing the selected external AP device of a primary channel of the link established between the AP device and the non-AP device. [Kim discloses a beacon being sent in every channel indicating the presence of a wireless network and also storing such information (¶ 94-95). Kim discloses a PHY layer protocol data unit (PPDU) used in IEEE standard which may include an HE-SIG-B field (¶ 101-105; Fig. 4), and that the number of STAs allocated to a specific channel may be determined based on the resource unit allocation information of the common field in the HE-SIG-B (¶ 130; Fig. 8). Kim also discloses designating a primary channel in the PPDU which may be included in U-SIG or EHT-SIG fields in the PPDU (¶ 206-207). Zhou discloses external AP devices(¶48; ¶62-64; ¶79-80; ¶86-89; Fig. 3-6; Fig. 9-12)]
Regarding Claim 11, Kim and Zhou disclose(s):
The AP device of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause transmitting, to the selected external AP device, an address or an identifier of the STA affiliated with the non-AP device. [Kim discloses that during the association process during setup, the STA may transmit an association request frame which may include a service set identifier (SSID) (¶ 99; Fig. 3). Zhou discloses external AP devices(¶48; ¶62-64; ¶79-80; ¶86-89; Fig. 3-6; Fig. 9-12)]
Regarding Claim 12, Kim disclose(s):
An access point (AP) device for facilitating wireless communication, the AP device comprising:
one or more APs affiliated with the AP device; and [Kim discloses an AP MLD with multiple APs associated with it (¶ 299-300; Fig. 23-25)]
one or more processors coupled to the one or more APs, the one or more processors configured to cause: [Kim discloses at least one processor associated with APs (¶ 602; Fig. 1 and 19)]
transmitting setup information to an [Kim discloses a network discovery operation which may include a scanning operation to identify a compatible network through a beacon frame transmitted by an AP in a basic service set (BSS) before participating in a wireless network (¶ 84; ¶93-96; Fig. 2-3) Kim also discloses that an MLD may transmit information about a link that the corresponding MLD can support through ML setup (¶279).]
receiving data traffic, from the [Kim discloses that both an AP multi-link device (MLD) and an AP non-MLD may both exchange various information per current link and information related to the link state including information on data traffic (¶ 309; ¶279)]
forwarding the received data traffic to the STA affiliated with the non-AP device. [Kim discloses that both an AP multi-link device (MLD) and an AP non-MLD may both exchange various information per current link and information related to the link state including information on data traffic (¶ 309)]
Kim does not explicitly disclose:
transmitting setup information to an external AP device, the setup information including at least one available link of at least one AP affiliated with the AP device;
receiving data traffic, from the external AP device, to be transmitted to a station (STA) affiliated with a non-AP device through an available link of at least one AP affiliated with the AP device; and
However Zhou, analogous art that also discloses AP devices does disclose:
transmitting setup information to an external AP device, the setup information including at least one available link of at least one AP affiliated with the AP device; [(See Zhou ¶48; ¶62-64; ¶79-80; Fig. 3-6; Fig. 10-12)]
receiving data traffic, from the external AP device, to be transmitted to a station (STA) affiliated with a non-AP device through an available link of at least one AP affiliated with the AP device; and [(See Zhou ¶48; ¶62-64; ¶79-80; Fig. 3-6; Fig. 10-12)]
It would have been obvious by one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the communication system of Kim with that of Zhou in order to designate MAP devices with different group numbers to coordinate and manage multiple APs in a similar location, as per Zhou (¶48), with reasonable expectation of success.
Regarding Claim 14, Kim and Zhou disclose(s):
The AP device of claim 12, wherein the STA affiliated with the non-AP device is associated with an AP affiliated with the AP device. [Kim discloses an AP MLD with multiple APs associated with it (¶ 299-300; Fig. 23-25)]
Regarding Claim 15, Kim and Zhou disclose(s):
The AP device of claim 12, wherein the setup information further includes buffer status of the at least one AP affiliated with the AP device. [Kim discloses after discovery and authentication, the association process may include information related to various capabilities, a status code (mapped to buffer status), an association ID, a supported rate, and a QoS map (¶ 99; Fig. 3). Zhou discloses external AP devices and setup information (¶48; ¶62-64; ¶79-80; ¶86-89; Fig. 3-6; Fig. 9-12).]
Regarding Claim 16, Kim disclose(s):
The AP device of claim 12, wherein the setup information further includes a first list of STAs associated with the at least one AP affiliated with the AP device. [Kim discloses that during multi-link setup, an enabled link may be determined from at least one of a plurality of links determined as enabled and that an anchored link may be referred to as a primary link (¶ 273-276).]
Regarding Claim 18, Kim disclose(s):
The AP device of claim 12, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause being informed, from the external AP device, of a primary channel of a link established between the external AP device and the non-AP device. [Kim discloses a beacon being sent in every channel indicating the presence of a wireless network and also storing such information (¶ 94-95). Kim discloses a PHY layer protocol data unit (PPDU) used in IEEE standard which may include an HE-SIG-B field (¶ 101-105; Fig. 4), and that the number of STAs allocated to a specific channel may be determined based on the resource unit allocation information of the common field in the HE-SIG-B (¶ 130; Fig. 8). Kim also discloses designating a primary channel in the PPDU which may be included in U-SIG or EHT-SIG fields in the PPDU (¶ 206-207; 266-273). Zhou discloses external AP devices (¶48; ¶62-64; ¶79-80; ¶86-89; Fig. 3-6; Fig. 9-12).]
Regarding Claim 19, Kim disclose(s):
The AP device of claim 18, wherein the received data traffic is forwarded to the STA affiliated with the non-AP device through the primary channel informed from the external AP device. [Kim discloses setting up a connection on a primary channel (¶ 273-274) and that both the AP and non-AP MLD may exchange data traffic (¶ 309). Zhou discloses external AP devices (¶48; ¶62-64; ¶79-80; ¶86-89; Fig. 3-6; Fig. 9-12).]
Regarding Claim 20, Kim disclose(s):
The AP device of claim 12, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause:
receiving an address or an identifier of the STA affiliated with the non-AP device; and [Kim discloses that during the association process, the STA may transmit an association request frame which may include a service set identifier (SSID) (¶ 99; Fig. 3)]
forwarding the received data traffic to the STA affiliated with the non-AP device using the address or the identifier of the STA affiliated with the non-AP device. [Kim discloses that during the association process in the setup procedure, the STA may transmit an association request frame which may include a service set identifier (SSID) (¶ 99; Fig. 3) and that both the AP and non-AP MLD may transceiver data traffic (¶ 309)]
Claims 2, 7-9, 13, and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim and Zhou and further in view of Smith et al. (US 2022 / 0225200 A1; hereinafter Smith).
Regarding Claim 2, Kim and Zhou disclose:
The AP device of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause receiving [Kim discloses that an MLD device may transmit information about a link that the corresponding MLD can support through ML setup including ACK (acknowledgement) policy information (¶ 279). Kim also discloses that part of the discovery process includes a probe response (¶ 94-96; Fig. 3)]
Kim and Zhou do not explicitly disclose:
The AP device of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause receiving an acknowledgment in response to the transferred data traffic.
However Smith, analogous art also teaching multi-AP MLDs, does disclose:
The AP device of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause receiving an acknowledgment in response to the transferred data traffic. [Smith discloses APs may perform an acknowledgment function after data traffic is transferred over a link (¶ 21; ¶ 41 Fig. 1-2)]
It would have been obvious by the effective filing date of the claimed invention for a person of ordinary skill in the art to have modified the MLD wireless communication system of Kim and Zhou with that of Smith to include an acknowledgement in response to received data traffic in order to establish a traffic ID (TID)-to-link map that assigns traffic IDs to each link, as per Smith (¶ 21), with reasonable expectation of success.
Regarding Claim 7, Kim, Zhou, and Smith disclose(s):
The AP device of claim 2, wherein the acknowledgment is directly received from the non-AP device. [Kim discloses a method for requesting various information by a non-AP MLD to an AP MLD directly and can be used for various cases (¶ 343; ¶347; ¶393). Smith discloses APs may perform an acknowledgment function after data traffic is transferred over a link (¶ 21; ¶ 41 Fig. 1-2)]
Regarding Claim 8, Kim, Zhou, and Smith disclose(s):
The AP device of claim 2, wherein the acknowledgment is received through the selected external AP device from the non-AP device. [Kim discloses a method for requesting various information by a non-AP MLD to an AP MLD directly and can be used for various cases (¶ 343; ¶347; ¶393). Smith discloses APs may perform an acknowledgment function after data traffic is transferred over a link (¶ 21; ¶ 41 Fig. 1-2). Zhou discloses external AP devices(¶48; ¶62-64; ¶79-80; ¶86-89; Fig. 3-6; Fig. 9-12).]
Regarding Claim 9, Kim, Zhou, and Smith disclose(s):
The AP device of claim 2, wherein the acknowledgment is included in a group addressed frame indicating the AP device and the selected external AP device. [Kim discloses a method for requesting various information by a non-AP MLD to an AP MLD directly and can be used for various cases (¶ 343; ¶347; ¶393). Smith discloses APs may perform a block acknowledgment function after data traffic is transferred over a link (¶ 21; ¶ 41 Fig. 1-2). Zhou discloses external AP devices(¶48; ¶62-64; ¶79-80; ¶86-89; Fig. 3-6; Fig. 9-12).]
Regarding Claim 13, Kim and Zhou disclose(s):
The AP device of claim 12, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause:
receiving an [Kim discloses that an MLD device may transmit information about a link that the corresponding MLD can support through ML setup including ACK (acknowledgement) policy information (¶ 279). Kim also discloses that part of the discovery process includes a probe response (¶ 94-96; Fig. 3)]
forwarding the received [Kim discloses that information may be shared between a non-AP device and its associated STA and that operations performed by an STA may also be performed by an AP (¶ 70-75). Zhou discloses external AP devices(¶48; ¶62-64; ¶79-80; ¶86-89; Fig. 3-6; Fig. 9-12).]
Kim and Zhou do not explicitly disclose:
receiving an acknowledgment from the STA affiliated with the non-AP device;
forwarding the received acknowledgment to the external AP device.
However Smith, analogous art also teaching multi-AP MLDs, does disclose:
receiving an acknowledgment from the STA affiliated with the non-AP device; [Smith discloses APs may perform an acknowledgment function after data traffic is transferred over a link (¶ 21; ¶ 41 Fig. 1-2)]
forwarding the received acknowledgment to the external AP device. [Smith discloses APs may perform an acknowledgment function after data traffic is transferred over a link (¶ 21; ¶ 41 Fig. 1-2)]
It would have been obvious by the effective filing date of the claimed invention for a person of ordinary skill in the art to have modified the MLD wireless communication system of Kim and Zhou with that of Smith to include an acknowledgement in response to received data traffic in order to establish a traffic ID (TID)-to-link map that assigns traffic IDs to each link, as per Smith (¶ 21), with reasonable expectation of success.
Regarding Claim 17, Kim, Zhou, and Smith disclose(s):
The AP device of claim 13, wherein the acknowledgment is included in a group addressed frame indicating the AP device and the external AP device. [Kim discloses a method for requesting various information by a non-AP MLD to an AP MLD directly and can be used for various cases (¶ 343; ¶347; ¶393). Zhou discloses external AP devices(¶48; ¶62-64; ¶79-80; ¶86-89; Fig. 3-6; Fig. 9-12). Smith discloses APs may perform a block acknowledgment function after data traffic is transferred over a link (¶ 21; ¶ 41 Fig. 1-2)]
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Asterjadhi et al. (US 20230146138 A1)
Kim et al. (US 20230115361 A1)
Kim et al. (US 20140334447 A1)
Kim et al. (US 20240422613 A1)
Zhu et al. (US 20190132762 A1)
Qiang et al. (EP 1705835 A1) – See Fig. 5-6
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 Rowan K Fakhro whose telephone number is (703)756-1467. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8:00am - 5:00pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Marcus R Smith can be reached on (571) 270-1096. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/RKF/Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2468 /MARCUS SMITH/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2468
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