C symbols searchedDETAILED ACTION
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 1-16 and 19-30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Asterjadhi et al. (US 20160219512 A1) in view of Cherian et al. (US 20190037595 A1).
Considering claim 1, Asterjadhi teaches a communication method in a communication network comprising
a plurality of nodes connected to at least one access point node (Fig.1, [0042] an AP 104, which communicates with STAs (e.g., STAs 112, 114, 116, and 118).), the nodes being able to transmit data on at least one communication channel using a contention access method according to a contention parameter set ([0082] CWMIN, CWMAX, TXOP, and/or AIFSN values), the method comprising at a node:
transmitting a given type of traffic during a dedicated service period allocated by the access point node (Fig.2, [0078] the STA 306 and the AP 302 may negotiate the TWT scheduling …STA 306 may set the flow type to indicate announced TWT [0082] a TWT service period during which the AP 302 has indicated its intention to transmit a trigger frame by setting the trigger field of the TWT element…),
switching, at the dedicated service period, from a first contention parameter set to a second contention parameter set (channel access (EDCA) parameters) for contention access to the communication channel after a successful transmission of the given type of traffic during the dedicated service period ([0078], [0082] if the STA 306 has data to transmit outside of a TWT SP, then the STA 306 may contend for the medium using lower priority enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA) parameters with respect to other STAs. Lower priority may be achieved, for example, by using EDCA parameters allocated to MU STAs or to TWT STAs. Such EDCA parameters may be associated with lower access categories such as access category best effort).
Asterjadhi do not clearly teach switching, at the end of the dedicated service period, from a first contention parameter set to a second contention parameter set.
Cherian teaches switching, at the end of the dedicated service period, from a first contention parameter set to a second contention parameter set ([0140] the parameter set may include information to indicate to the second apparatus to start using the parameter set and to be in the associated EDCA mode as soon as the second apparatus receives the parameter set, [0144]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of effective filling date of the application to provide above teaching of Cherian to Asterjadhi, in order to provide advantages for devices in a wireless network.
Considering claim 13, Asterjadhi teaches a communication method in a communication network comprising a plurality of nodes connected to at least one access point node, the nodes being able to transmit data on at least one communication channel using a contention access method according to a contention parameter set (Fig.1, [0042] an AP 104, which communicates with STAs (e.g., STAs 112, 114, 116, and 118).), the nodes being able to transmit data on at least one communication channel using a contention access method according to a contention parameter set ([0082] CWMIN, CWMAX, TXOP, and/or AIFSN values), the method comprising at the access point node:
initializing at least one second contention parameter set ([0082] channel access (EDCA) parameters… CWMIN, CWMAX, TXOP, and/or AIFSN values);
transmitting information relating to the at least one second contention parameter set to at least one node, allocating a dedicated service period (TWT service period) for transmission of a given type of traffic ([0078] the STA 306 and the AP 302 may negotiate the TWT scheduling …STA 306 may set the flow type to indicate announced TWT, [0082] a TWT service period during which the AP 302 has indicated its intention to transmit a trigger frame by setting the trigger field of the TWT element exchanged during the TWT setup);
wherein, after a successful transmission during the dedicated service period, the node switches, at the dedicated service period, from a first contention parameter set to a second contention parameter set for contention access to the communication channel ([0078], [0082] if the STA 306 has data to transmit outside of a TWT SP, then the STA 306 may contend for the medium using lower priority enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA) parameters with respect to other STAs. Lower priority may be achieved, for example, by using EDCA parameters allocated to MU STAs or to TWT STAs. Such EDCA parameters may be associated with lower access categories such as access category best effort).
Asterjadhi do not clearly teach switching, at the end of the dedicated service period, from a first contention parameter set to a second contention parameter set.
Cherian teaches switching, at the end of the dedicated service period, from a first contention parameter set to a second contention parameter set ([0140] the parameter set may include information to indicate to the second apparatus to start using the parameter set and to be in the associated EDCA mode as soon as the second apparatus receives the parameter set, [0144]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of effective filling date of the application to provide above teaching of Cherian to Asterjadhi, in order to provide advantages for devices in a wireless network.
Considering claim 27, Asterjadhi teaches a communication device forming node in a communication network comprising a plurality of nodes connected to at least one access point node, the nodes being able to transmit data on at least one communication channel using a contention access method according to a contention parameter set, the communication device forming node (Fig.1, [0042] an AP 104, which communicates with STAs (e.g., STAs 112, 114, 116, and 118).), the nodes being able to transmit data on at least one communication channel using a contention access method according to a contention parameter set ([0082] CWMIN, CWMAX, TXOP, and/or AIFSN values) comprising a microprocessor configured for carrying out the following steps:
transmitting a given type of traffic during a dedicated service period allocated by the access point node (Fig.2, [0078] the STA 306 and the AP 302 may negotiate the TWT scheduling …STA 306 may set the flow type to indicate announced TWT [0082] a TWT service period during which the AP 302 has indicated its intention to transmit a trigger frame by setting the trigger field of the TWT element…),
switching, at the dedicated service period, from a first contention parameter set to a second contention parameter set (channel access (EDCA) parameters) for contention access to the communication channel after a successful transmission of the given type of traffic during the dedicated service period ([0078], [0082] if the STA 306 has data to transmit outside of a TWT SP, then the STA 306 may contend for the medium using lower priority enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA) parameters with respect to other STAs. Lower priority may be achieved, for example, by using EDCA parameters allocated to MU STAs or to TWT STAs. Such EDCA parameters may be associated with lower access categories such as access category best effort).
Asterjadhi do not clearly teach switching, at the end of the dedicated service period, from a first contention parameter set to a second contention parameter set.
Cherian teaches switching, at the end of the dedicated service period, from a first contention parameter set to a second contention parameter set ([0140] the parameter set may include information to indicate to the second apparatus to start using the parameter set and to be in the associated EDCA mode as soon as the second apparatus receives the parameter set, [0144]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of effective filling date of the application to provide above teaching of Cherian to Asterjadhi, in order to provide advantages for devices in a wireless network.
Considering claim 28, Asterjadhi teaches an access point in a communication network comprising a plurality of nodes connected to the access point, the nodes being able to transmit data on at least one communication channel using a contention access method according to a contention parameter set (Fig.1, [0042] an AP 104, which communicates with STAs (e.g., STAs 112, 114, 116, and 118).), the nodes being able to transmit data on at least one communication channel using a contention access method according to a contention parameter set ([0082] CWMIN, CWMAX, TXOP, and/or AIFSN values), the access point comprising at least one microprocessor configured for carrying out the following steps:
initializing at least one second contention parameter set ([0082] channel access (EDCA) parameters… CWMIN, CWMAX, TXOP, and/or AIFSN values);
transmitting information relating to the at least one second contention parameter set to at least one node, allocating a dedicated service period (TWT service period) for transmission of a given type of traffic ([0078] the STA 306 and the AP 302 may negotiate the TWT scheduling …STA 306 may set the flow type to indicate announced TWT, [0082] a TWT service period during which the AP 302 has indicated its intention to transmit a trigger frame by setting the trigger field of the TWT element exchanged during the TWT setup);
wherein, after a successful transmission during the dedicated service period, the node switches, at the dedicated service period, from a first contention parameter set to a second contention parameter set for contention access to the communication channel ([0078], [0082] if the STA 306 has data to transmit outside of a TWT SP, then the STA 306 may contend for the medium using lower priority enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA) parameters with respect to other STAs. Lower priority may be achieved, for example, by using EDCA parameters allocated to MU STAs or to TWT STAs. Such EDCA parameters may be associated with lower access categories such as access category best effort).
Asterjadhi do not clearly teach switching, at the end of the dedicated service period, from a first contention parameter set to a second contention parameter set.
Cherian teaches switching, at the end of the dedicated service period, from a first contention parameter set to a second contention parameter set ([0140] the parameter set may include information to indicate to the second apparatus to start using the parameter set and to be in the associated EDCA mode as soon as the second apparatus receives the parameter set, [0144]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of effective filling date of the application to provide above teaching of Cherian to Asterjadhi, in order to provide advantages for devices in a wireless network.
Considering claim 2, Asterjadhi and Cherian further teach switching back to the first contention parameter set after a predetermined time period (Cherian: [0140] terminate the SU EDCA mode and switch to the MU EDCA mode to start using the parameter set associated with the MU EDCA mode).
Considering claim 3, Asterjadhi and Cherian further teach wherein the second contention parameter set reduces a probability for the node to access the communication channel through contention (Asterjadhi [0082]).
Considering claim 4, Asterjadhi and Cherian further teach receiving a beacon frame from the access point node, the beacon frame broadcasting network information about the communication network to the plurality of nodes, wherein a received beacon frame includes at least one second contention parameter set (Asterjadhi: [0042], [0082]).
Considering claim 5, Asterjadhi and Cherian further teach wherein the received beacon frame includes a plurality of second contention parameter sets associated with respective selection criterions, and the method further comprises, at the node: selecting a second contention parameter set from the plurality, to be applied for the switching, based on associated selection criterions (Asterjadhi [0082]).
Considering claim 6, Asterjadhi and Cherian further teach wherein the associated selection criterions are requirement of the given type of traffic to be transmitted during the dedicated service period, such as a mean data rate or a maximum time interval (Asterjadhi [0082]).
Considering claim 7, Asterjadhi and Cherian further teach before the transmission: negotiating with the access point node to be allowed to transmit data of the given type of traffic within the dedicated service period (Asterjadhi [0082]).
Considering claim 8, Asterjadhi and Cherian further teach wherein the switching is conditional to the receiving of a command from the access point node during the negotiation, validating the switch using the second contention parameter set (Asterjadhi [0082]).
Considering claim 9, Asterjadhi and Cherian further teach wherein the method further comprises, during the negotiation: providing to the access point node, information relating to traffic queues having data of the given type of traffic awaiting to be sent at the node; wherein the received command from the access point node, take into consideration the received information relating to amounts of data of the given type of traffic awaiting to be sent at nodes of the network (Asterjadhi [0079]).
Considering claim 10, Asterjadhi and Cherian further teach wherein the method further comprises: providing, before the transmission, to the access point node, information relating to traffic queues having data of the given type of traffic awaiting to be sent at the node; receiving, during the negotiation, from the access point an information relating to a selected second contention parameter set to be applied for the switching, based on provided information from the nodes of the network during the negotiation (Asterjadhi [0079]).
Considering claim 11, Asterjadhi and Cherian further teach wherein the information relating to traffic queues is a traffic identifier (Asterjadhi [0118]).
Considering claim 12, Asterjadhi and Cherian further teach wherein in the beacon frame, each second contention parameter set is associated with a unique identifier, and the received information relating to a selected second contention parameter set to be applied is an identifier associated with the selected second contention parameter set (Cherian: [0140]).
Considering claim 14, Asterjadhi and Cherian further teach before the data transmission, negotiating with the node for allowing the node to transmit data of the given type of traffic within the dedicated service period (Asterjadhi [0082]).
Considering claim 15, Asterjadhi and Cherian further teach collecting from the node information relating to traffic queues having data of the given type of traffic awaiting to be sent; selecting a second contention parameter set, from the retrieved at least one contention parameter set, to be applied for the switching, based on predetermined selection criterions and the collection results (Cheria: [0140], [0144]).
Considering claim 16, Asterjadhi and Cherian further teach wherein the transmitted information relating to the at least one second contention parameter set comprises the selected second contention parameter set (Cheria: [0140], [0144]).
Considering claim 19, Asterjadhi and Cherian further teach during the negotiation: collecting from the node information relating to traffic queues having data of the given type of traffic awaiting to be sent (Asterjadhi [0078], [0082], Cheria: [0140], [0144]); selecting a second contention parameter set, from the retrieved at least one second contention parameter set, to be applied for the switching, based on predetermined selection criterions and the collection results; transmitting the selected second contention parameter set to the node (Asterjadhi [0078], [0082], Cheria: [0140], [0144]).
Considering claim 20, Asterjadhi and Cherian further teach wherein the transmitted information comprises information relating to a plurality of second contention parameter sets, the method further comprising: sending a command to the node during the negotiation validating or suspending the use of one of the second contention parameter sets, based on a received information relating to a second contention parameter set selected by the node (Asterjadhi [0078], [0082], Cheria: [0140], [0144]).
Considering claim 21, Asterjadhi and Cherian further teach wherein the predetermined period is a defined by a LLEDCATimer value included within the second contention parameter set (Asterjadhi: Fig.2, design choices).
Considering claims 22, 29, Asterjadhi and Cherian further teach wherein the given type of traffic is a low latency traffic (Asterjadhi [0078], [0082], Cheria: [0140], [0144]).
Considering claims 23, 30, Asterjadhi and Cherian further teach wherein the dedicated service period is a Target Wake Time, TWT, service period (Asterjadhi [0082]).
Considering claim 24, wherein the second contention parameter set is based on a requirement of the given type of traffic to be transmitted during the dedicated service period (Asterjadhi [0078], [0082]).
Considering claim 25, Asterjadhi and Cherian further teach wherein information relating to traffic queues having data of the given type of traffic awaiting to be sent is provided within a TWT information element in an uplink frame (Asterjadhi [0078], [0082]).
Considering claim 26, Asterjadhi and Cherian further teach wherein information relating to traffic queues having data of the given type of traffic awaiting to be sent is provided within a downlink frame (Asterjadhi [0051], [0080]), such as a TSPEC frame or a TCLAS frame (Asterjadhi [0051], [0080]).
Claims 17-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Asterjadhi et al. (US 20160219512 A1), in view of Cherian et al. (US 20190037595 A1), and further in view of Zhou et al. (US 20170202023 A1).
Considering claim 17, Asterjadhi and Cherian further teach wherein the transmitted information comprises information relating to a plurality of second contention parameter sets each associated with an identifier (Asterjadhi: [0056] a unique TWT flow identifier, [0082], [0134] EDCA parameters associated with AC_BE or AC_BK), and the method further comprises,
Asterjadhi and Cherian do not clearly teach after the selection: transmitting the identifier associated with the selected second contention parameter set.
Zhou teaches after the selection ([0037] select an EDCA parameter based on the type of STA and/or based on the UL-MU capabilities of the STA): transmitting the identifier associated with the selected second contention parameter set (Fig.4, [0055]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of effective filling date of the application to provide above teaching of Zhou to Asterjadhi and Cherian, in order to reduce the amount of traffic passing between the access point and the multiple terminals.
Considering claim 18, Asterjadhi, Cherian, and Zhou further teach sending a command to the node during the negotiation validating or suspending the use of one of the second contention parameter sets (Asterjadhi: [0053] wireless devices to negotiate and/or transmit TWT schedules, a signaling mechanism that identifies the different parameters associated with TWT scheduling is needed, [0055]), based on the selected contention parameter set (Asterjadhi: [0156]).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KHAI MINH NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)272-7923. The examiner can normally be reached 6-3.
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, 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.
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.
/KHAI M NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2641