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 .
Examiner’s note
Claims 1 and 11 having an alternative language in the phrase “based on the first trigger frame, transmitting a first physical layer protocol data unit PPDU to the second AP or at least one station STA” and
“wherein the first PPDU transmitted to the at least one STA includes a second trigger frame”.
For examination purpose the examiner had considered “based on the first trigger frame, transmitting a first physical layer protocol data unit PPDU to the second AP”, so alternative or at least one station STA” and “wherein the first PPDU transmitted to the at least one STA includes a second trigger frame” are not considered in examination of the claim language.
Claim 13 having an alternative language in the phrase “receive a first physical layer protocol data unit PPDU based on the first trigger frame or a second PPDU received from at least one station STA from the first AP through the at least one transceiver” and
“wherein the second PPDU is based on the second trigger frame transmitted by
the first AP to the at least one STA”.
For examination purpose the examiner had considered “receive a first physical layer protocol data unit PPDU based on the first trigger frame through the at least one transceiver”, so alternative or a second PPDU received from at least one station STA from the first AP through the at least one transceiver” and “wherein the second PPDU is based on het second trigger frame transmitted by the first AP to the at least one STA” are not considered in examination of the claim language.
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.
Claims 1 – 5, 7 – 11 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being unpatentable by
Huang US PGPub: US 2020/0045555 A1 Feb. 6, 2020.
Regarding claim 1, Huang discloses,
a method for transmitting a response to an AP-to-AP trigger by a first access point AP in a wireless LAN system (the multi-AP group 515 may include the master AP 502 and one or more other APs 502 - Fig. 5, 8/805, paragraphs 0099, 0108. The AP 502 may receive capability information from other APs 502 of the multi-AP group 515. Here, other APs 502 reads on the claimed - a first access point AP – Fig. 8/820, paragraph 0108), the method comprising:
receiving a first trigger frame from a second AP (the master AP 502 may: transmit one or more messages to advertise the multi-AP group 515; exchange signaling with one or more of the other APs 502, wherein the signaling may include at least one message related to one of the other APs 502 joining the multi-AP group 515. Here, the master AP 502 reads on the claimed – a second AP – Fig. 5, paragraph 0099. The AP 502 may exchange signaling with APs 502 of the multi-AP group 515 - Figs. 8/815, paragraph 0108); and
based on the first trigger frame, transmitting a first physical layer protocol data unit PPDU to the second AP (the master AP 502 may receive capability information from other APs 502 of the multi-AP group 515 – Fig. 8/820, paragraph 0108. OFDMA and MU-MIMO HE PPDU formats – paragraph 0073)
or at least one station STA,
wherein the first trigger frame is transmitted from the second AP to the at least one AP including the first AP (the AP 502 may transmit an AP TF to other APs 502 of the multi-AP group 515 – Fig. 8/835, paragraph 0108. The master AP 502 may establish the multi-AP group 515 to enable usage of AP Trigger Frames AP TFs for coordination of resources to be used for downlink transmissions of the APs 502 of the multi-AP group 515 – paragraph 0110),
wherein the first PPDU transmitted to the second AP includes information related to multi-AP operation (the master AP 502 may receive capability information from other APs 502 of the multi-AP group 515 – Fig. 8/820, paragraph 0108. OFDMA and MU-MIMO HE PPDU formats – paragraph 0073), and
wherein the first PPDU transmitted to the at least one STA includes a second trigger frame.
Regarding claim 2, Huang discloses,
the method of claim 1, wherein: the information related to the multi-AP operation includes at least one of information on whether the first AP participates in the multi-AP operation (the master AP 502 may receive capability information from other APs 502 of the multi-AP group 515 – Fig. 8/820, paragraph 0108. OFDMA and MU-MIMO HE PPDU formats – paragraph 0073) and information on an STA that can participate in the multi-AP operation among the at least one STA associated with the first AP (the master AP 1212 and/or coordinated APs 1214 may communicate with one or more STAs 1216 – Fig. 12/1212, paragraph 0148); and
the first PPDU further includes at least one of capability information of the first AP (the master AP 502 may receive capability information from other APs 502 of the multi-AP group 515 – Fig. 8/820, paragraph 0108. OFDMA and MU-MIMO HE PPDU formats – paragraph 0073), information included in an operation element of the first AP, or a buffer state of the first AP.
Regarding claim 3, Huang discloses,
the method of claim 1, wherein: at least one second PPDU based on the second trigger frame is transmitted from the at least one STA associated with the first AP to the first AP (the master AP 1212 and/or coordinated APs 1214 may communicate with one or more STAs 1216 – Fig. 12/1212, paragraph 0148).
Regarding claim 4, Huang discloses,
the method of claim 3, wherein: the at least one second PPDU received from the at least one STA is transmitted by the first AP to the second AP (the master AP 1212 and/or coordinated APs 1214 may communicate with one or more STAs 1216 – Fig. 12/1212, paragraph 0148. The AP 502 may transmit an AP TF to other APs 502 of the multi-AP group 515 – Fig. 8/835, paragraph 0108. The master AP 502 may establish the multi-AP group 515 to enable usage of AP Trigger Frames AP TFs for coordination of resources to be used for downlink transmissions of the APs 502 of the multi-AP group 515 – paragraph 0110).
Regarding claim 5, Huang discloses,
the method of claim 3, wherein: the second PPDU includes at least one of whether the at least one STA participates in the multi-AP operation (the master AP 1212 and/or coordinated APs 1214 may communicate with one or more STAs 1216 – Fig. 12/1212, paragraph 0148),
capability information of the at least one STA,
information included in operation elements of the at least one STA, or
a buffer state of the at least one STA.
Regarding claim 7, Huang discloses,
the method of claim 1, wherein: the first trigger frame is transmitted to the at least one AP in a broadcast method (the master AP 502 may: transmit one or more messages to advertise the multi-AP group 515; exchange signaling with one or more of the other APs 502, wherein the signaling may include at least one message related to one of the other APs 502 joining the multi-AP group 515 – a second AP – Fig. 5, paragraph 0099. The AP 502 may exchange signaling with APs 502 of the multi-AP group 515 - Figs. 8/815, paragraph 0108. As described above, the negotiated availability window may be broadcasted by the master AP 502 and/or other to the slave AP (502 and/or other) and STAs (504 and/or other – paragraph 0201),
the at least one AP is allocated a response area by the second AP in an uplink OFDMA-based random access UORA method (OFDMA and MU-MIMO HE PPDU formats – paragraph 0073), and
in the allocated response area, the first PPDU is transmitted from the first AP among the at least one AP to the second AP (the master AP 502 may receive capability information from other APs 502 of the multi-AP group 515 – Fig. 8/820, paragraph 0108).
Regarding claim 8, Huang discloses,
the method of claim 1, wherein: the first trigger frame includes at least one of information indicating a type of multi-AP operation (the multi-AP may transmit or receive packets from the STA 504 and/or other simultaneously. To guarantee the efficiency of multi-AP cooperation, there may exist a master AP 504 and/or other which may control the resource schedule or allocation of the slave APs 502 and/or other locating in the vicinity of the master AP 502 and/or other – paragraph 0190) or information indicating that the first AP has been selected as a slave AP.
Regarding claim 9, Huang discloses,
the method of claim 1, wherein: the first PPDU includes at least one of
signal to noise ratio SNR,
channel measurement information,
received signal strength indicator RSSI, or
acknowledgment ACK information for the first trigger frame (the master AP 502 may receive capability information from other APs 502 of the multi-AP group 515 – Fig. 8/820, paragraph 0108. An AP 502 master AP 502 and/or other AP 502 may determine an availability window for channel sounding or data transmission. At operation 845, an AP 502 master AP 502 and/or other AP 502 may transmit an announcement frame that includes timing information of the availability window. Here, other AP 502 transmits an announcement frame that includes information of the availability window, reads on the claimed feature, acknowledgment ACK information for the first trigger frame – paragraph 0123).
Regarding claim 10, Huang discloses,
the method of claim 1, wherein: the first AP is a slave AP (the multi-AP group 515 may include the master AP 502 and one or more other APs 502 - Figs. 5, 8/805, paragraphs 0099, 0108. The AP 502 may receive capability information from other APs 502 of the multi-AP group 515. Here, other APs 502 reads on the claimed – the first AP is a slave AP – Fig. 8/820, paragraph 0108), and the second AP is a master AP (the master AP 502 may: transmit one or more messages to advertise the multi-AP group 515; exchange signaling with one or more of the other APs 502, wherein the signaling may include at least one message related to one of the other APs 502 joining the multi-AP group 515. Here, the master AP 502 reads on the claimed – the second AP is a master AP – Fig. 5, paragraph 0099).
Regarding claim 11, Huang discloses,
a first access point AP device that responds to an access point AP to-AP trigger in a wireless LAN system (the multi-AP group 515 may include the master AP 502 and one or more other APs 502 - Fig. 5, 8/805, paragraphs 0099, 0108. The AP 502 may receive capability information from other APs 502 of the multi-AP group 515. Here, other APs 502 reads on the claimed - a first access point AP – Fig. 8/820, paragraph 0108), the AP device comprising:
at least one transceiver (the wireless device 700 may be an AP 502 and/or STA 504 - e.g., FIG. 5 - Figs. 6/660, 7/702, paragraphs 0077, 0091); and
at least one processor connected to the at least one transceiver (the wireless device 700 may be an AP 502 and/or STA 504 -e.g., FIG. 5 - Figs. 6/602, 7/708, paragraphs 0077, 0091), wherein the at least one processor is configured to:
receive a first trigger frame from a second AP through the at least one transceiver (the master AP 502 may: transmit one or more messages to advertise the multi-AP group 515; exchange signaling with one or more of the other APs 502, wherein the signaling may include at least one message related to one of the other APs 502 joining the multi-AP group 515. Here, the master AP 502 reads on the claimed – a second AP – Fig. 5, paragraph 0099. The AP 502 may exchange signaling with APs 502 of the multi-AP group 515 - Figs. 8/815, paragraph 0108); and
based on the first trigger frame, transmit a first physical layer protocol data unit PPDU to the second AP (the master AP 502 may receive capability information from other APs 502 of the multi-AP group 515 – Fig. 8/820, paragraph 0108. OFDMA and MU-MIMO HE PPDU formats – paragraph 0073) or at least one station STA through the at least one transceiver,
wherein the first trigger frame is transmitted from the second AP to the at least one AP including the first AP (the AP 502 may transmit an AP TF to other APs 502 of the multi-AP group 515 – Fig. 8/835, paragraph 0108. The master AP 502 may establish the multi-AP group 515 to enable usage of AP Trigger Frames AP TFs for coordination of resources to be used for downlink transmissions of the APs 502 of the multi-AP group 515 – paragraph 0110),
wherein the first PPDU transmitted to the second AP includes information related to multi-AP operation (the master AP 502 may receive capability information from other APs 502 of the multi-AP group 515 – Fig. 8/820, paragraph 0108. OFDMA and MU-MIMO HE PPDU formats – paragraph 0073), and
wherein the first PPDU transmitted to the at least one STA includes a second trigger frame.
Regarding claim 13, Huang discloses,
a second AP performing access point AP-to-AP triggering in a wireless LAN system (the master AP 502 may: transmit one or more messages to advertise the multi-AP group 515; exchange signaling with one or more of the other APs 502, wherein the signaling may include at least one message related to one of the other APs 502 joining the multi-AP group 515. Here, the master AP 502 reads on the claimed – a second AP – Fig. 5, paragraph 0099. The AP 502 may exchange signaling with APs 502 of the multi-AP group 515 - Figs. 8/815, paragraph 0108), the second AP comprising:
at least one transceiver (the wireless device 700 may be an AP 502 and/or STA
504 - e.g., FIG. 5 - Figs. 6/660, 7/702, paragraphs 0077, 0091); and
at least one processor connected to the at least one transceiver (the wireless device 700 may be an AP 502 and/or STA 504 - e.g., FIG. 5 - Figs. 6/660, 7/702, paragraphs 0077, 0091),
transmit a first trigger frame to at least one AP including the first AP through the at least one transceiver (the master AP 502 may: transmit one or more messages to advertise the multi-AP group 515; exchange signaling with one or more of the other APs 502, wherein the signaling may include at least one message related to one of the other APs 502 joining the multi-AP group 515. Here, the master AP 502 reads on the claimed – a second AP – Fig. 5, paragraph 0099. The AP 502 may exchange signaling with APs 502 of the multi-AP group 515 - Figs. 8/815, paragraph 0108); and
receive a first physical layer protocol data unit PPDU based on the first trigger frame (the master AP 502 may receive capability information from other APs 502 of the multi-AP group 515 – Fig. 8/820, paragraph 0108. OFDMA and MU-MIMO HE PPDU formats – paragraph 0073) or a second PPDU received from at least one station STA from the first AP through the at least one transceiver,
wherein the first PPDU contains information related to multi-AP operation (the master AP 502 may receive capability information from other APs 502 of the multi-AP group 515 – Fig. 8/820, paragraph 0108. OFDMA and MU-MIMO HE PPDU formats – paragraph 0073), and
wherein the second PPDU is based on the second trigger frame transmitted by the first AP to the at least one STA.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
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 nonobviousness.
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over
Huang US PGPub: US 2020/0045555 A1 Feb. 6, 2020 and in view of
Chen US PGPub: US 2020/0305006 A1 Sep. 24, 2020.
Regarding claim 6, Huang discloses all the claimed features,
but, does not disclose, the method of claim 1, wherein: the basic service set BSS color field of a third PPDU including the first trigger frame is set to a BSS color value of the first AP.
Chen teaches, when multi-AP joint processing is to be performed by the access point station AP STA, the AP STA may be configured to decode signaling provided the APs of the multi-AP network. The signaling from each of the APs may indicate a multi-AP basic-service set BSS color and a multi-AP BSSID (paragraph 0022).
BSS Color field is included in HE-SIGA so that an HE STA can determine if the received PPDU is from its own BSS intra-BSS PPDU or from another BSS inter-BSS PPDU. Each BSS has a BSS color as unique as possible that is known by all STAs. If the BSS Color in the BSS color field in the HE-SIGA of the received PPDU is the color of the BSS, then the STAs associated with this BSS treat this PPDU as an intra-BSS PPDU, otherwise, they treat it as an inter-BSS PPDU. If the BSS color value is 0 or if there is no color, then the STA cannot classify the PPDU as either intra-BSS or inter-BSS. (Note that there are other ways to classify (paragraph 0059).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the multi-AP group 515 may include the master AP 502 and one or more other APs 502 of Huang (Huang, Figs. 5, 8/805, paragraphs 0099, 0108) wherein the system of Huang, would have incorporated the signaling from each of the APs may indicate a multi-AP basic-service set BSS color and a multi-AP BSSID of Chen (Chen, paragraph 0022) for the multi-AP group formation message is encoded to notify the APs of the formation of an extremely-high throughput EHT multi-AP group, to designate whether an AP is a member of an EHT multi-AP group, and whether an AP can take the role of a coordinator AP or coordinated AP within the EHT multi-AP group (Chen, paragraph 0015).
The prior arts made of record and not relied upon are considered pertinent to applicants disclosure.
Chun US PGPub: US 2024/0283587 A1 Aug. 22, 2024.
A method and a device for an access point-to-access point trigger and response for a multi-access point operation in a wireless LAN system are disclosed. A method for responding to an access point (AP)-to-AP trigger by a first AP in a wireless LAN system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may comprise the steps of: receiving a first trigger frame including information related to a multi-AP operation from a second AP; and on the basis of the first trigger frame, transmitting a response frame for the first trigger to the second AP, wherein a common information field of the first trigger frame comprises information indicating the multi-AP operation.
Chang US PGPub: US 2021/0314951 A1 Oct. 7, 2021`.
The wireless transceiver performs wireless transmission and reception to and from an AP. The controller is coupled to the wireless transceiver, and is operable to configure the wireless communication terminal to operate as a non-AP STA, and transmit a MU PPDU with a single RU spanning a partial bandwidth of the MU PPDU to the AP via the wireless transceiver. In particular, the partial bandwidth excludes a frequency band of a primary channel.
Frederiksen US PGPub: US 2016/0337878 A1 Nov. 17, 2016.
A method, comprising: detecting, by a control node, which of the plurality of network nodes of a centrally coordinated network is currently serving as a master node, wherein the master node coordinates scheduling for one or more slave nodes in the network; identifying that one of the one or more slave nodes should be selected as the new master node on the basis of a predetermined selection criterion; and causing the identified slave node to serve as the new master node.
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/NIMESH PATEL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2642