DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Response to Amendment
The reply filed 02/09/2026 has been entered into record. Claims 1-18 remain pending.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see Remarks filed 02/09/2026, regarding the rejection of the claims under 35 U.S.C. 102 in view of Seok (US 2020/0336176) have been fully considered but are not persuasive. Applicant argues the claimed "AP identifier (APID)" is not the same as the BSSID subfield of Seok. See, for example, paragraph [0122] of the publication of the present application where APID and BSSID are discussed. Accordingly, the BSSID subfield of Seok does not anticipate pending claim 1.
Examiner respectfully disagrees. Paragraph [0122] of the publication of the present application states “Examples of the APID may include the least significant 7 bits of the AID11 assigned to each AP in the Multi-AP coordinating group; the entire AID11 assigned to each AP in the Multi-AP coordinating group; a part of the compressed BSSID of the AP that the STA is associated with; or the entire compressed BSSID of the AP that this STA is associated with.” This language provides a non-limiting, non-exhaustive list of examples of the types of information used to define the claimed APID. Seok teaches a collaborative BSSID subfield with the BSSID of an AP associated with the second BSS ([0089]).
Since the claim language does not define the length or content of the AP identifier, the collaborative BSSID subfield of Seok is a recognized equivalent to the examples provided in the specification. 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). For these reasons, the collaborative BSSID of Seok anticipates the broadest reasonable interpretation of the claimed “AP identifier” in light of the instant specification, and the rejections are maintained.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-3, 6, 10-12, 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) & 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Seok et al (US 2020/0336176).
Regarding Claim 1, Seok teaches a station (STA) associated with a first access point (AP) that is a member of a multi-AP set ([0047], Fig. 1, collaborative AP1 and AP2 services wireless stations STA1, STA2, STA3, and STA4. In this example, AP1, STA1, and STA2 belong to a first basic service set (BSSID1), and AP2, STA3, and STA4 belong to a second basic service set (BSSID2). The first basic service set and the second basic service set can be considered one basic service set; however, the first basic service set is associated with a first BSSID and the second basic service set is associated with a second BSSID. The dashed lines represent potential interference between channels. The solid lines represent downlink data transmissions. It is appreciated that the APs and the STAs can also be configured to perform beamforming for cooperative uplink (UL) transmissions, see also Fig. 12), the STA comprising: a transceiver configured to receive a trigger frame from a second AP that is also a member of the multi-AP set, wherein the STA is not associated with the second AP ([0087], Fig. 11, At step 1105, a wireless AP associated with a first BSS transmitting a BFRP trigger frame to wireless STAs of the first BSS and to wireless STAs of a second BSS),
the trigger frame including an association identifier (AID) relating to the association between the STA and the first AP, and an AP identifier (APID) of the first AP ([0089], Fig. 11, According to some embodiments, step 1115 includes a respective wireless STA matching a collaborative BSSID subfield with the BSSID of an AP associated with the second BSS, and matching an AID11 subfield of the received BFRP Trigger frame with the respective wireless STA's AID); and
the transceiver further configured to transmit a feedback message, to the second AP ([0089], Fig. 11, At step 1115, a BF reports are received at the wireless AP from the wireless STAs of the second BSS. The BF reports are transmitted responsive to the BFRP trigger frame and include interference channel BF of the wireless STAs of the second BSS),
including information indicative of a channel quality of a communication channel between the STA and the second AP ([0090], Fig. 11, At step 1120, the wireless AP is configured according to the BF reports received from the wireless STAs of the first BSS and the wireless STAs of the second BSS. It is appreciated that the above steps can be repeated by a collaborative AP so that the collaborative AP can be configured for collaborative beamforming according to BF reports received from the wireless STAs of the first BSS and the wireless STAs of the second BSS, [0063], collaborative sounding beamforming feedback phase includes an STA associated with an AP transmitting a BF Report frame that contains both Data Channel (D-CH) BF and interference channel (I-CH) BF responsive to a Beamforming Feedback Report (BFRP) trigger frame sent by a wireless AP).
Regarding Claim 2, Seok teaches the STA of claim 1, further comprising: a processor configured to determine that the AID included in the trigger frame corresponds to a stored AID relating to the association between the STA and the first AP, to determine that the APID included in the trigger frame corresponds to an APID of the first AP, and to generate the feedback message ([0062], if the NDPA is not sent from its associated AP, the Collaborative BSSID subfield of the Collaborative STA Info field of the received NDPA is matched with the BSSID of its associated AP, and the AID11 subfield of the Collaborative STA Info field is matched with the STA's AID, the STA measures the subsequent NDP and calculates the interference channel BF. In this case, the interference channel BF represents the channel state between the STA and its collaborative AP).
Regarding Claim 3, Seok teaches the STA of claim 2, wherein the feedback message is a beamforming report ([0089], Fig. 11, At step 1115, a BF reports are received at the wireless AP from the wireless STAs of the second BSS. The BF reports are transmitted responsive to the BFRP trigger frame and include interference channel BF of the wireless STAs of the second BSS).
Regarding Claim 6, Seok teaches the STA of claim 1, wherein the trigger frame is a beamforming report poll (BFRP) trigger frame ([0087], Fig. 11, At step 1105, a wireless AP associated with a first BSS transmitting a BFRP trigger frame to wireless STAs of the first BSS and to wireless STAs of a second BSS).
Regarding Claim 10, Seok teaches a method for use in a station (STA) associated with a first access point (AP) that is a member of a multi-AP set ([0047], Fig. 1, collaborative AP1 and AP2 services wireless stations STA1, STA2, STA3, and STA4. In this example, AP1, STA1, and STA2 belong to a first basic service set (BSSID1), and AP2, STA3, and STA4 belong to a second basic service set (BSSID2). The first basic service set and the second basic service set can be considered one basic service set; however, the first basic service set is associated with a first BSSID and the second basic service set is associated with a second BSSID. The dashed lines represent potential interference between channels. The solid lines represent downlink data transmissions. It is appreciated that the APs and the STAs can also be configured to perform beamforming for cooperative uplink (UL) transmissions, see also Fig. 12), the method comprising:
receiving a trigger frame from a second AP that is also a member of the multi- AP set, wherein the STA is not associated with the second AP ([0087], Fig. 11, At step 1105, a wireless AP associated with a first BSS transmitting a BFRP trigger frame to wireless STAs of the first BSS and to wireless STAs of a second BSS),
the trigger frame including an association identifier (AID) relating to the association between the STA and the first AP, and an AP identifier (APID) of the first AP ([0089], Fig. 11, According to some embodiments, step 1115 includes a respective wireless STA matching a collaborative BSSID subfield with the BSSID of an AP associated with the second BSS, and matching an AID11 subfield of the received BFRP Trigger frame with the respective wireless STA's AID); and
transmitting a feedback message, to the second AP ([0089], Fig. 11, At step 1115, a BF reports are received at the wireless AP from the wireless STAs of the second BSS. The BF reports are transmitted responsive to the BFRP trigger frame and include interference channel BF of the wireless STAs of the second BSS),
including information indicative of a channel quality of a communication channel between the STA and the second AP ([0090], Fig. 11, At step 1120, the wireless AP is configured according to the BF reports received from the wireless STAs of the first BSS and the wireless STAs of the second BSS. It is appreciated that the above steps can be repeated by a collaborative AP so that the collaborative AP can be configured for collaborative beamforming according to BF reports received from the wireless STAs of the first BSS and the wireless STAs of the second BSS, [0063], collaborative sounding beamforming feedback phase includes an STA associated with an AP transmitting a BF Report frame that contains both Data Channel (D-CH) BF and interference channel (I-CH) BF responsive to a Beamforming Feedback Report (BFRP) trigger frame sent by a wireless AP).
Regarding Claim 11, Seok teaches the method of claim 10, further comprising; determining that the AID included in the trigger frame corresponds to a stored AID relating to the association between the STA and the first AP; determining that the APID included in the trigger frame corresponds to an APID of the first AP; and generating the feedback message ([0062], if the NDPA is not sent from its associated AP, the Collaborative BSSID subfield of the Collaborative STA Info field of the received NDPA is matched with the BSSID of its associated AP, and the AID11 subfield of the Collaborative STA Info field is matched with the STA's AID, the STA measures the subsequent NDP and calculates the interference channel BF. In this case, the interference channel BF represents the channel state between the STA and its collaborative AP).
Regarding Claim 12, Seok teaches the STA method of claim 11, wherein the feedback message is a beamforming report ([0089], Fig. 11, At step 1115, a BF reports are received at the wireless AP from the wireless STAs of the second BSS. The BF reports are transmitted responsive to the BFRP trigger frame and include interference channel BF of the wireless STAs of the second BSS).
Regarding Claim 14, Seok teaches the STA method of claim 10, wherein the second AP is associated with an overlapping basic service set (OBSS) AP ([0027], During the sounding procedure, each of the multiple APs may obtain channel information from one or more STAs that are associated with neighboring overlapping basic service set (OBSS) Aps).
Regarding Claim 15, Seok teaches the STA method of claim 10, wherein the trigger frame is a beamforming report poll (BFRP) trigger frame ([0087], Fig. 11, At step 1105, a wireless AP associated with a first BSS transmitting a BFRP trigger frame to wireless STAs of the first BSS and to wireless STAs of a second BSS).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 4 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Seok et al (US 2020/0336176), in view of Asterjadhi et al (US 2020/00765190).
Regarding Claims 4 and 13, Seok teaches all aspects of the invention according to Claims 2 and 11 above, except the following, which in the same field of endeavor, Asterjadhi teaches wherein the feedback message includes channel quality information (CQI) ([0144], AP 105 may transmit a report trigger 325, which triggers an interference report 330 from the STAs 115 or the set of STAs 115 indicated by second message 315. Report trigger 325 may be, for instance, a bandwidth query report poll (BQRP), or a channel quality information (CQI) trigger. In response to the report trigger 325, the one or more STAs 115 from the first set of STAs 115 (e.g., the STAs 115 indicated by second message 315) may transmit interference report 330. Interference report 330 may be a bandwidth query report (BQR) or a CQI report. Interference report 330 may indicate to AP 105 what interference was monitored during uplink transmission 320).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include channel quality information, as taught in Asterjadhi, in the BFRP feedback reporting of Seok, in order to more efficiently adjust beamforming to ensure quality and mitigate interference.
Claims 5, 7-8, 14, and 16-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Seok et al (US 2020/0336176), in view of Cherian et al (US 2021/0152396).
Regarding Claims 5 and 14, Seok teaches all aspects of the invention according to Claims 1 and 10 above, except the following, which in the same field of endeavor, Cherian teaches wherein the second AP is associated with an overlapping basic service set (OBSS) AP ([0027], During the sounding procedure, each of the multiple APs may obtain channel information from one or more STAs that are associated with neighboring overlapping basic service set (OBSS) Aps).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention incorporate OBSS and AID indicators, as taught in Cherian, in the trigger and sounding exchanges of Seok, in order to more efficiently identify the specific device or group of devices targeted for communication.
Regarding Claims 7 and 16, Seok teaches all aspects of the invention according to Claims 6 and 15 above, except the following, which in the same field of endeavor, Cherian teaches wherein the trigger frame includes a User Info field that includes the AID, and the User Info field includes a Trigger Dependent User Info field that includes an overlapping basic service set (OBSS) indicator and the APID of the first AP ([0029], each of the multiple APs may notify its associated STAs within its own BSS, which OBSS APs to listen to during the sounding procedure so that the STAs do not listen to random OBSS APs. In some aspects, each of the multiple APs may decide which of its associated STAs will participate in the sounding procedure. In some aspects, each of the unique identifiers may comprise an association identifier (AID) of a participating STA in combination with a color code, or BSS color identifier, of the BSS or AP that is associated with the participating STA, [0071], The trigger request from the AP 405a may therefore include identifiers of the STAs 415a and 415c. Since the trigger request sent from the AP 405a may identify the STAs associated with other APs, the trigger request may therefore identify STAs in BSS of the AP 405a and OBSSs of the AP 405a).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention incorporate OBSS and AID indicators, as taught in Cherian, in the trigger and sounding exchanges of Seok, in order to more efficiently identify the specific device or group of devices targeted for communication.
Regarding Claims 8 and 17, Seok, as modified by Cherian, teaches all aspects of the invention according to Claims 7 and 16 above, where Cherian further teaches wherein the OBSS indicator indicates that the APID is associated with an OBSS AP ([0089], first frame 725 may be a trigger frame, such as a multi-AP sounding initiate trigger frame. In some aspects, the first frame 725 may include an identifier such as a basic service set identifier (BSSID) of the initiating AP 705a. In some aspects, the first frame 725 may include an identifier, such as a BSSID, of each of the neighboring OBSS APs 705b and 705c. For each BSSID of the APs705b and 705c, the first frame 725 may include a set of unique, temporary identifiers for subsequent allocation to STAs that will participate in the sounding phase 720. In some aspects, the first frame 725 may include at least one temporary identifier to be used as a replacement to an association identifier (AID) of each STA that will participate in the sounding phase. Each temporary identifier may be unique across all of the BSSs such that none of the STAs have a same identifier. The set of unique identifiers may also be temporary such that they are used only for a specific duration, such as during only one sounding phase 720 and not during subsequent sounding phases. However, other specific durations for the unique, temporary identifiers may be used. By using identifiers that are unique and temporary, a secure technique may be provided to identify STAs during the sounding procedure).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention incorporate OBSS and AID indicators, as taught in Cherian, in the trigger and sounding exchanges of Seok, in order to more efficiently identify the specific device or group of devices targeted for communication.
Claims 9 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Seok et al (US 2020/0336176), in view of Guo (US 2021/0075566).
Regarding Claims 9 and 18, Seok teaches all aspects of the invention according to Claims 6 and 15 above, except the following, which in the same field of endeavor, Guo teaches wherein the trigger frame includes a New Special User Info field including a User Pointer field associated with a corresponding User Info field, wherein the User Pointer field includes the APID, and the corresponding User Info field includes the AID ([0077-0078], the radio frame includes identification information. The identification information is used to indicate a second access point to perform spatial reuse transmission during uplink data transmission performed by at least one first station associated with the first access point. The identification information may be an identifier (ID) of the second access point AP, or may be a media access control (MAC) address of the second access point, or may be an association identifier (AID) of the second access point. the radio frame is a first trigger frame, a user information field in the first trigger frame includes an association identifier field, and the identification information may be carried in the association identifier field. For example, the first trigger frame includes three user information fields, and an association identifier in one of the user information fields carries the identification information. A value of the association identifier may be a special value, or may be a 12-bit ID determined after negotiation between the first AP and second AP).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate special value identification information, as taught in Guo, in the trigger frames of Seok, in order to reduce inter-cell interference and improve transmission efficiency.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure: Sun et al (US 11,245,443) teaches AP may indicate what kind of acknowledgement frame is expected (e.g., ACK frame or Grant ACK frame). A duration field in a Grant frame may cover one or more (e.g., all) Grant and/or Grant ACK exchanges, e.g., that occur before MU-MIMO data transmission. A source associate ID (AID) field in a Grant frame may be set to an AID of an AP. A destination AID field in a Grant frame may be set to an AID of STA1. STA1 may detect a Grant frame that may be transmitted from an AP. STA1 may check an RA field of a Grant frame. AID for STA1 may be the same as a destination AID of a Grant frame. (col. 26)
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 MARGARET G WEBB whose telephone number is (571)270-7803. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00-6:00 PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Charles Appiah can be reached at (571) 272-7904. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MARGARET G WEBB/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2641
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