Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Objection
Claims 7 is objected for being duplicate of claim 6.
Claim Interpretation Under 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
3. Claims 1-7 invoke 35 U.S.C. 112(f) (or herein pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph) based on the following guidance.
Claim limitations “a front-end module” has been interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, because it uses a non-structural term “module” coupled with functional language “to receive” without reciting sufficient structure to achieve the function. Furthermore, the non-structural term is not preceded by a structural modifier.
Since this claim limitation invokes 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, claim 1 interpreted to cover the corresponding structure described in the specification that achieves the claimed function, and equivalents thereof.
A review of the specification shows that the following appears to be the corresponding structure described in the specification for the 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph limitation:
“a front end module” corresponds to 430 of fig. 4 (Para 0049). If applicant wishes to provide further explanation or dispute the examiner’s interpretation of the corresponding structure, applicant must identify the corresponding structure with reference to the specification by page and line number, and to the drawing, if any, by reference characters in response to this Office action.
If applicant does not wish to have the claim limitation treated under 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, applicant may amend the claim so that it will clearly not invoke 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, or present a sufficient showing that the claim recites sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function to preclude application of 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph.
For more information, see Supplementary Examination Guidelines for Determining Compliance with 35 U.S.C. § 112 and for Treatment of Related Issues in Patent Applications, 76 FR 7162, 7167 (Feb. 9, 2011).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the 20claimed 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.
4. Claims 1, 5-8, 12-13, 15, and 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Alpman (WO 2018/119153, hereinafter Alpman) in view of Li (CN 109274395, hereinafter Li).
Regarding claim 1, Alpman discloses an access point device (para 03267; system would be implemented in an access point) for providing 6 Gigahertz (GHz) connectivity (para 0668; 6GHz) comprising: a dual-channel composite radio (para 02949; dual channel radio, Fig. 4), the dual channel composite radio comprising: a front-end module (FEM) (505 of fig. 5A); a 6 GHz antenna (520 of fig. 5A; para 0668) connected to the FEM; a summation circuit (6920 of fig. 69), wherein the summation circuit receives a first transmit signal and a second transmit signal (6914s) and outputs a transmit output signal to the FEM (output signal from 6920); a bandpass filter (6904), wherein the bandpass filter receives a receive input signal (6923) from the FEM (fig. 69) when the FEM is in a receive state and outputs a first receive signal and a second receive signal (para 01793 & 01873).
Alpman does not explicitly disclose wherein 6 GHz connectivity is provided by the FEM sending the transmit output signal to the 6 GHz antenna when in a transmit state and receiving the receive input signal from the 6 GHz antenna when in the receive state.
In an analogous art, Li discloses wherein 6 GHz connectivity is provided by the FEM sending the transmit output signal to the 6 GHz antenna when in a transmit state and receiving the receive input signal from the 6 GHz antenna when in the receive state (page 03, para 02; page 06, para 02; page 11, para 02).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Alpman’s method/system by having Li’s disclosure in order to provide wide working frequency band with wide application prospect.
Regarding claim 8, Alpman discloses a method for an access point device
(para 03267; system would be implemented in an access point) comprising a dual-channel composite radio connectivity (para 02949; dual channel radio, Fig. 4) for providing 6 GHz (para 0668; 6GHz), the method comprising:
receiving, at a summation circuit (6920 of fig. 69) of the dual channel composite radio, a first transmit signal and a second transmit signal (6914s);
outputting, by the summation circuit (output signal from 6920), a transmit output signal to a front-end module (FEM) of the dual-channel composite radio connected to a 6 gigahertz (GHz) antenna of dual- channel composite radio (output of 6920);
receiving, by a bandpass filter (6904) of the dual-channel composite radio, a receive input signal from a FEM of the dual-channel composite radio when the FEM is in a receive state and outputs a first receive signal and a second receive signal (para 01793 & 01873).
Alpman does not explicitly disclose providing 6 GHz connectivity by the FEM sending the transmit output signal to the 6 GHz antenna when in a transmit state and receiving the receive input signal from the 6 GHz antenna when in the receive state.
In an analogous art, Li discloses providing 6 GHz connectivity by the FEM sending the transmit output signal to the 6 GHz antenna when in a transmit state and receiving the receive input signal from the 6 GHz antenna when in the receive state (page 03, para 02; page 06, para 02; page 11, para 02).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Alpman’s method/system by having Li’s disclosure in order to provide wide working frequency band with wide application prospect.
Regarding claim 15, Alpman discloses a non-transitory computer-readable medium of an access point (para 03267; system would be implemented in an access point) comprising a dual-channel composite radio (para 02949; dual channel radio, Fig. 4) for providing a 6 GHz connectivity (para 0668; 6GHz), the one or more computer- readable instructions that when executed by a processor of the access point device cause the access point device to perform the method steps of claim 8 (para 0676 and 04347 – computer readable instructions stored in the memory to be executed by a processor to perform the method steps).
Regarding claim 5, 12, and 19, Alpman discloses wherein the dual-channel composite radio comprises a plurality of radio chains (435s’ of fig. 4), the 6 GHz antenna comprises a plurality of 6 GHz antennas (para 01620), wherein the summation circuit comprises a plurality of summation circuits (fig. 26; multiple summation circuits; 2620 & 2634), the bandpass filter comprises a plurality of bandpass filters (para 0943; 01001; bandpass filters), and the FEM comprises a plurality of FEMS (para 0114; fig. 65; RFEM 1 & 2), wherein each of the plurality of radio chains comprises a corresponding 6 GHz antenna of the plurality of 6 GHz antennas, a corresponding summation circuit of the plurality of the summation circuits, a corresponding bandpass filter of the plurality of bandpass filters, and a corresponding FEM of the plurality of FEMS (para 0644; 0658; and 0800).
Regarding claim 6, 7, and 13, Alpman discloses wherein the plurality of radio chains comprises four radio chains (para 03318; four radio chains).
Regarding claim 20, Alpman discloses wherein the plurality of radio chains comprises four radio chains or three radio chains (para 03318; four radio chains).
Claims 2, 9, and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Alpman/Li in view of Chung et al. (US 2007/0257746, hereinafter Chung).
Regarding claims 2, 9 and 16, Alpman/Li does not explicitly disclose wherein the first receive signal is output from a high band side of the bandpass filter and the second receive signal is output from the low band side of the bandpass filter.
In an analogous art, Chung discloses wherein the first receive signal is output from a high band side of the bandpass filter and the second receive signal is output from the low band side of the bandpass filter (para 0006 & 0007).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Alpman/Li’s method/system by having Chung’s disclosure in order to improve signal quality and reduce interference in a communication system.
Claims 3, 10 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Alpman/Li in view of Rofougaran et al. (US 2024/0129022, hereinafter Rofougaran).
Regarding claims 3, 10 and 17, Alpman/Li does not explicitly disclose wherein the 6 GHz antenna sends the first transmit signal to a network device via a 6 GHz backhaul connection and the second transmit signal to a client device via a 6 GHz fronthaul connection.
In an analogous art, Rofougaran discloses wherein the 6 GHz antenna sends the first transmit signal to a network device via a 6 GHz backhaul connection (para 0015; 0024) and the second transmit signal to a client device via a 6 GHz fronthaul connection (para 0024; 0033; 0036).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Alpman/Li’s method/system by having Rofougaran’s disclosure in order to improve signal quality and reduce interference in a communication system.
Claims 4, 11, and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Alpman/Li in view of Bennett (KR 2019/0018157, hereinafter Bennett).
Regarding claims 4, 11, and 18, Alpman/Li does not explicitly disclose wherein the 6 GHz antenna receives the first receive signal from a network device and the second receive signal from a client device.
Alpman/Li does not explicitly disclose wherein the 6 GHz antenna receives the first receive signal from a network device and the second receive signal from a client device.
In an analogous art, Bennett discloses wherein the 6 GHz antenna receives the first receive signal from a network device and the second receive signal from a client device (page 96; para 01- 6GHz; page 83; para 01- receiving signal from a client; page 135; para 02; 137; para 01 – receiving from a network device).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Alpman/Li’s method/system by having Bennett’s disclosure in order to provide higher bandwidth capabilities to address increased demand of a communication system.
Claim 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Alpman/Li in view of Epstein (TW 202133646, hereinafter Epstein).
Regarding claim 14, Alpman/Li does not explicitly disclose wherein the plurality of radio chains comprise three radio chains.
In an analogous art, Epstein discloses wherein the plurality of radio chains comprise three radio chains (page 49; para 01).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Alpman/Li’s method/system by having Epstein’s disclosure in order to increase data throughput by allowing separate data streams simultaneously being transmitted.
Conclusion
9. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SAMINA CHOUDHRY whose telephone number is (571)270-7102. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday to Thursday (7:30 a.m. to 5.00p.m.).
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Yemane Mesfin can be reached on (571)272-3927. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/SAMINA F CHOUDHRY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2462
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