CTFR 18/563,263 CTFR 85715 DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. Applicant amended claims 1-2, 5-7, 9-12, and 14, canceled claims 3, 4, 13, and 15, and added claims 16-17 in the amendment filed on 02/24/2026. The claims 1-15 are pending. Response to Arguments Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1 and 14 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 07-07-aia AIA 07-07 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 – 07-08-aia AIA (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. 07-15 AIA Claim s 1-3, 5-7, 9, and 12-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102( a)(1 ) as being anticipated by Patil et al (US Publication No. 2019/0215884 A1) . With respect to claim 1, Patil teaches a terminal, comprising: a receiver which, in operation, receives a control frame indicating to the terminal to operate in a non-primary channel (paragraph 0056; 0068; 0094 disclose receiving, on the primary channel, a trigger frame from the access point, and identifying, based on the received trigger frame, a resource unit of the first secondary channel of the one or more secondary channels for the station to use to transmit uplink frames to the access point in response to the received trigger frame), the non-primary channel being outside of a primary channel and being within a Basic Service Set (BSS) (paragraph 0154; 0163 disclose a secondary channel (e.g., another portion of the total frequency bandwidth over which the BSS operates); and transmitter, which, in operation, transmits a response signal to the control frame in the non-primary channel (paragraph 0202; disclose STA 115- c may identify, based on the trigger frame, a RU of the secondary channel to use to transmit uplink frames to AP 105- b in response to the trigger frame). With respect to claim 2, Patil teaches wherein the control frame indicates a timing at which a base station transmits data signals after transmission of the control frame (paragraph 0190 disclose trigger frame 515 may contain RU allocation information specifying AID 3 for RU 2, which falls in secondary channel 510- b . Trigger frame 515 may also contain RU allocation information indicating random access RU(s) for secondary channel 510- b . By way of example, the RU allocation information may include AID 2008 for RU 1, which may indicate to STAs 115 parked on secondary channel 510- b that RU 1 is available for random access transmissions). With respect to claim 5, Patil teaches wherein the control frame includes information regarding a period during which a base station is allowed to transmit downlink signals (paragraph 0190 disclose trigger frame 515 may contain RU allocation information specifying AID 3 for RU 2, which falls in secondary channel 510- b . Trigger frame 515 may also contain RU allocation information indicating random access RU(s) for secondary channel 510- b . By way of example, the RU allocation information may include AID 2008 for RU 1, which may indicate to STAs 115 parked on secondary channel 510- b that RU 1 is available for random access transmissions). With respect to claim 6, Patil teaches wherein the control frame includes at least one of information regarding presence or absence of transmission of downlink signals and information regarding a frequency resource for performing a reception process (paragraph 0189-0192; 0244 disclose trigger frame 515 may include RU allocation information similar to that contained in the preamble 1305 of packet 1300). With respect to claim 7, Patil teaches wherein the control frame is a Trigger frame (paragraph 0056; 0068; 0094 disclose receiving, on the primary channel, a trigger frame from the access point, and identifying, based on the received trigger frame, a resource unit of the first secondary channel of the one or more secondary channels for the station to use to transmit uplink frames to the access point in response to the received trigger frame). With respect to claim 9, Patil teaches wherein a type of the Trigger frame is a type for a base station to notify the terminal of control information (paragraph 0056; 0068; 0094 disclose receiving, on the primary channel, a trigger frame from the access point, and identifying, based on the received trigger frame, a resource unit of the first secondary channel of the one or more secondary channels for the station to use to transmit uplink frames to the access point in response to the received trigger frame). With respect to claim 12, Patil teaches wherein a frequency resource for performing a reception process is a channel guaranteed to be a channel receivable by the terminal (paragraph 0190 disclose Trigger frame 515 may also contain RU allocation information indicating random access RU(s) for secondary channel 510- b . By way of example, the RU allocation information may include AID 2008 for RU 1, which may indicate to STAs 115 parked on secondary channel 510- b that RU 1 is available for random access transmissions). The limitations of claim 14 are rejected in the analysis of claim 1 above, and the claim is rejected on that basis. With respect to claim 16, Patil teaches wherein the receiver receives the control frame prior to a data signal (paragraph 0190; 0244-0245 disclose Trigger frame 515 containing RU allocation information indicating random access RU(s) for secondary channel 510- b .; RU 1340 may carry multiple MPDUs 1325, 1330, and 1335 of an A-MPDU 1320). With respect to claim 17, Patil teaches wherein the receiver a data signal in the non-primary channel within a transmission opportunity, after a transmission of a response to the control frame (paragraph 0169; 0190; 0244-0245 disclose Trigger frame 515 containing RU allocation information indicating random access RU(s) for secondary channel 510- b .; RU 1340 may carry multiple MPDUs 1325, 1330, and 1335 of an A-MPDU 1320) . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-21-aia AIA 7. Claim s 8, 10, and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Patil et al (US Publication No. 2019/0215884 A1) in view of Lou et al (WO 2017/120418 A1) . With respect to claim 8, Patil discloses the claimed subject matter as discussed above except wherein a type of the Trigger frame is a Multi-User Request-To-Send (MU RTS). However, Lou teaches wherein a type of the Trigger frame is a Multi-User Request-To-Send (MU RTS) (paragraph 0096; 0101 disclose trigger frames with different trigger types including a trigger frame with Trigger Type MU-RTS) in order to request a channel availability from a plurality of stations (Abstract). Therefore, based on Patil in view of Lou, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the teaching of Lou to the system of Patil in order to request a channel availability from a plurality of stations. With respect to claim 10, Patil discloses the claimed subject matter as discussed above except wherein the control frame is different from a Trigger frame. However, Lou teaches wherein the control frame is different from a Trigger frame (paragraph 0070; 0096-0098 disclose the MU RTS frame as a variation of a trigger frame including control information a per Fig. 3) in order to request a channel availability from a plurality of stations (Abstract). Therefore, based on Patil in view of Lou, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the teaching of Lou to the system of Patil in order to request a channel availability from a plurality of stations. With respect to claim 11, Patil teaches wherein the control frame includes a Request-To-Send (RTS) (paraph 0172 disclose a Request to Send (RTS)). Conclusion 07-40 AIA 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 CHEIKH T NDIAYE whose telephone number is (571)270-3914. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:00am-5:30pm. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, JOON H HWANG can be reached at 571-272-4036. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /CHEIKH T NDIAYE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2447 5/28/2026 Application/Control Number: 18/563,263 Page 2 Art Unit: 2447 Application/Control Number: 18/563,263 Page 3 Art Unit: 2447 Application/Control Number: 18/563,263 Page 4 Art Unit: 2447 Application/Control Number: 18/563,263 Page 5 Art Unit: 2447 Application/Control Number: 18/563,263 Page 6 Art Unit: 2447 Application/Control Number: 18/563,263 Page 7 Art Unit: 2447 Application/Control Number: 18/563,263 Page 8 Art Unit: 2447
Prosecution Insights