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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 07/23/2026 has been entered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1, 3-12, and 14, are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
In particular independent claims 1, 12, and 14, have been amended to recite, in part:
“Wherein, the A-Control field includes the single control subfield related to the information on the available frequency unit of a secondary channel of an operation channel width, without another control sub-field related to information on an available frequency unit of a primary channel of the operating channel width, and without information indicating the primary channel or the secondary channel”
As a first matter it is unclear how the A-Control Field includes the single control subfield related to the information on the available frequency unit of a secondary channel without including information indicating the primary channel or the secondary channel. How then is the secondary channel identified? Additionally, the disclosure as filed does not teach these features. For example PG PUB (US 2024/0334411 A1) fig.15(a) depicts the available channel bitmap (8-bits) and reserved subfield (2-bits) and par.[0200]. There is no explicit indication of which frequency band the BQR is directed to, see par.[0201 – 0205]. Thus, the claims are rejected. Applicant may overcome the rejection by directing the office to the paragraphs which teach the claimed subject matter.
Additionally, claim 14 is directed to a STA but the steps appear to be more directed to an Access Point (AP). For example, the claim recites, in part, “receive, through the at least one transceiver, a physical protocol data unit (PPDU) including a frame including information on an available frequency unit”. Claims 1 and 12 say the station transmits the PPDU, see “transmitting, by the STA, a physical protocol data unit (PPDU) including the frame”.
How does a STA transmit and receive the PPDU, wherein the PPDU comprises the BQR? The specification as claimed does not recite that the STA receives the PPDU, and the fig.16 teaches that the STA transmits to the AP.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 14-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
As discussed above, claim 14 recites as station but appears to be directed to an AP. As discussed the STA transmit on the uplink to the AP. How does the station receive the PPDU, when it transmits the PPDU on the uplink, see fig.16.
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.
Claim(s) 1 and 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Min et al. (US 2020/0214036 A1).
Regarding claim(s) 1 and 12, Min discloses:
a station (STA) (fig.5 depicts wireless devices) in a wireless local area network (WLAN) system (fig.5 depicts a wireless LAN system), the device comprising:
at least one transceiver (fig.4 depicts a transceiver); and
at least one processor (fig.6 depicts a processor) connected to the at least one transceiver (fig.6 transceiver which is communicatively coupled with the processor via BUS/Interconnect), wherein the at least one processor is configured to:
perform a method performed by the station (STA) (fig.5 a plurality of Stations) in a wireless local area network (WLAN) system (fig.5 depicts a wireless LAN system), the method comprising:
generating, by a station (STA), a frame (par.[0102] which recites, in part, “At operation 815, the AP 502 may receive an uplink frame from an STA 504.”) including information on an available frequency unit (par.[0102] which recites, in part, “At operation 820, the AP 502 may determine frequency resources (such as frequency bands, channels and/or other) for the STA 504.”); and
transmitting, by the STA (par.[0102] the uplink transmission), a physical protocol data unit (PPDU), including the frame (par.[0102] the uplink frame, par.[0120] which recites, in part, “The STAs 504 can also report BQR voluntarily using the A-Control field in their UL PPDU transmissions (Implicit BQR operation).”), wherein the information on the available frequency unit is included in a single control subfield in an aggregated-control (A-Control) field of the frame (par.[0120] which recites, in part, “The STAs 504 can also report BQR voluntarily using the A-Control field in their UL PPDU transmissions (Implicit BQR operation).”. That is, the UE may transmit in the A-Control field a BQR which is single control subfield which can implicitly indicate a frequency band either primary or secondary, and the available subchannels in the primary or secondary frequency band),
wherein, the A-Control field (par.[0120] the aforecited A-Control Field) includes the single control subfield (par.[0120] which describes the Bandwidth Query Report (BQR) which is a control subfield in the A-Control field) related to the information on the available frequency unit of a secondary channel of an operating channel width (par.[0138] which recites, in part, “1) If the STA 504 only reports the channel availability of the current band in which the frame is transmitted, then the STA 504 may set the “Band Bitmap” subfield to “00” and include one “Available Channel Bitmap” subfield.”. That is, the STA may be using either the primary or secondary channel, and transmits the BQR, known as implicit indication as discussed in par.[0120] directed to the channel it is currently using either primary or secondary), without another control subfield related to information on an available frequency unit of a primary channel of the operating channel width (par.[0130] sets the reserved field to “00” and does not contain information on another band), and without information indicating the primary or the secondary channel (par.[0120] which describes the implicit indication, and the disclosure as it pertains to reserved field of fig.13 wherein the reserved field is set to “00”).
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.
Claim(s) 1-3, 7-12, and 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Asterjadhi et al. (US 2020/0015219 A1).
Regarding claim(s) 1 and 12, Asterjadhi discloses:
a station (STA) (fig.1 depicts wireless devices element 115) in a wireless local area network (WLAN) system (fig.1 depicts a wireless LAN system), the device comprising:
at least one transceiver (fig.2 depicts a transceiver); and
at least one processor (fig.2 depicts a processor) connected to the at least one transceiver (fig.2 transceiver which is communicatively coupled with the processor via BUS/Interconnect element 205), wherein the at least one processor is configured to:
perform a method performed by the station (STA) (fig.1 a plurality of Stations) in a wireless local area network (WLAN) system (fig.1 depicts a wireless LAN system), the method comprising:
generating, by a station (STA), a frame (par.[0054] describes the BQR in the A-Control information field which is included in an uplink frame from the Station (STA) to the Access Point (AP)) including information on an available frequency unit (par.[0054] which recites, in part, “The BQR indication may include an available channel bitmap for indication of which sub-channels of the operating bandwidth are available at the STA. Each bit in the channel bitmap may correspond to a particular sub-channel (for example, a 20 MHz channel) within the operating bandwidth width of the BSS with which the STA is associated.”); and
transmitting, by the STA (par.[0054] the uplink transmission including the BQR), a physical protocol data unit (PPDU), including the frame (par.[0097] the PPDU which is transmitted from the Station), wherein the information on the available frequency unit is included in a single control subfield in an aggregated-control (A-Control) field of the frame (fig.4a and par.[0076] which recites, in part, “The control field may contain a sequence of one or more control subfields (for example, as part of an A-Control subfield)”. The fig.4 comprises the BQR which comprises the Available Channel Bit-MAP which is 8bits, and Reserved bits which are 2-bits),
wherein, the A-Control field (par.[0076] the aforecited A-Control Field) includes the single control subfield (see fig.4a, wherein the control information (e.g. the A-Control Field) comprises the BQR, which recites, in part, “For example, the BQR indication within the control information subfield may include an available channel bitmap spanning 8 bits, for indication of which sub-channels of the operating bandwidth are available at the STA. Each bit in the channel bitmap may correspond to a particular sub-channel within the operating bandwidth width of the BSS with which the STA is associated.”, par.[0077]) related to the information on the available frequency unit of a secondary channel of an operating channel width (par.[0077] wherein the STA reports the subchannels in channel they are operating in, see par.[0006] which recites, in part, “Based on modes of operation, an enhanced operability AP or STA may support broadened operating bandwidth relative to legacy device operation or operation within primary or secondary channel bandwidth spectrum.”), without another control subfield related to information on an available frequency unit of a primary channel of the operating channel width (fig.4a depicts the BQR which reports the subchannels in the channel bandwidth it is operating), and without information indicating the primary or the secondary channel (fig.4a, and par.[0077 – 0078] wherein the BQR includes the channel availability of the subchannels within the channel bandwidth, and the reserved bits do not indicate the primary or secondary channel, par.[0053]).
Regarding claim(s) 14, Asterjadhi discloses:
a station (STA) (fig.1 depicts wireless devices element 115) in a wireless local area network (WLAN) system (fig.1 depicts a wireless LAN system), the device comprising:
at least one transceiver (fig.2 depicts a transceiver); and
at least one processor (fig.2 depicts a processor) connected to the at least one transceiver (fig.2 transceiver which is communicatively coupled with the processor via BUS/Interconnect element 205), wherein the at least one processor is configured to:
receive, through the at least one transceiver, a physical protocol data unit (PPDU) including a frame including information on an available frequency unit (par.[0097] the PPDU which is transmitted from the Station, par.[0054] which recites, in part, “The BQR indication may include an available channel bitmap for indication of which sub-channels of the operating bandwidth are available at the STA. Each bit in the channel bitmap may correspond to a particular sub-channel (for example, a 20 MHz channel) within the operating bandwidth width of the BSS with which the STA is associated.”); and
perform a channel access operation based on the information on the available frequency unit (par.[0084] which recites, in part, The interaction indications may be used for scheduling purposes (for example, to allocate the STA in a sub-channel that is reported an idle) and interference avoidance (for example, not to allocate or transmit to the STA in a sub-channel reported as busy). Additionally, in some examples, the reported bandwidth may not be contiguous. In such cases, the BQR may apply to a sub-portion of the intermittent reported bandwidth, such as a primary spectrum, while preserving the legacy meaning of the field.”),
perform a method performed by the station (STA) (fig.1 a plurality of Stations) in a wireless local area network (WLAN) system (fig.1 depicts a wireless LAN system), the method comprising:
generating, by a station (STA), a frame (par.[0054] describes the BQR in the A-Control information field which is included in an uplink frame from the Station (STA) to the Access Point (AP)) including information on an available frequency unit (par.[0054] which recites, in part, “The BQR indication may include an available channel bitmap for indication of which sub-channels of the operating bandwidth are available at the STA. Each bit in the channel bitmap may correspond to a particular sub-channel (for example, a 20 MHz channel) within the operating bandwidth width of the BSS with which the STA is associated.”); and
transmitting, by the STA (par.[0054] the uplink transmission including the BQR), a physical protocol data unit (PPDU), including the frame (), wherein the information on the available frequency unit is included in a single control subfield in an aggregated-control (A-Control) field of the frame (fig.4a and par.[0076] which recites, in part, “The control field may contain a sequence of one or more control subfields (for example, as part of an A-Control subfield)”. The fig.4 comprises the BQR which comprises the Available Channel Bit-MAP which is 8bits, and Reserved bits which are 2-bits),
wherein, the A-Control field (par.[0076] the aforecited A-Control Field) includes the single control subfield (see fig.4a, wherein the control information (e.g. the A-Control Field) comprises the BQR, which recites, in part, “For example, the BQR indication within the control information subfield may include an available channel bitmap spanning 8 bits, for indication of which sub-channels of the operating bandwidth are available at the STA. Each bit in the channel bitmap may correspond to a particular sub-channel within the operating bandwidth width of the BSS with which the STA is associated.”, par.[0077]) related to the information on the available frequency unit of a secondary channel of an operating channel width (par.[0077] wherein the STA reports the subchannels in channel they are operating in, see par.[0006] which recites, in part, “Based on modes of operation, an enhanced operability AP or STA may support broadened operating bandwidth relative to legacy device operation or operation within primary or secondary channel bandwidth spectrum.”), without another control subfield related to information on an available frequency unit of a primary channel of the operating channel width (fig.4a depicts the BQR which reports the subchannels in the channel bandwidth it is operating), and without information indicating the primary or the secondary channel (fig.4a, and par.[0077 – 0078] wherein the BQR includes the channel availability of the subchannels within the channel bandwidth, and the reserved bits do not indicate the primary or secondary channel, par.[0053]).
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.
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(s) 3, and 7-11, is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Asterjadhi as applied to the independent claims, in view of Li et al. (US 2023/0064880 A1).
Regarding claim 3, the disclosure of Asterjadhi substantially discloses the independent claimed subject matter, but may not disclose:
Additional information indicating that the information on the available frequency unit is related to the secondary channel having a channel width other than 160 MHz is further included in the single control subfield.
In an analogous art, the disclosure of Li teaches:
additional information indicating that the information on the available frequency unit is related to the secondary channel having a channel width other than 160 MHz is further included in the single control subfield (fig(s).8which describes the additional information (par.[0142 - 0146] which describes the channel segment bit which indicates the primary or secondary channel which can be more or less than 160 MHz).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the instant application to combine the teachings of Asterjadhi BQR in the A-Control field with the modification of the reserved bits as discussed in Li in its BQR in the A-Control field. The motivation/suggestion would have been that the modification of the reserved bit fields allows for additional information to be conveyed concerning a channel which is utilized by the STA and other channels which may be utilized by the STA allowing for flexibility in signalling/reporting of available channels.
Regarding claim 7, Li discloses:
wherein:
the information on the available frequency unit indicates an available frequency unit within an operation channel width of up to 320MHz (par.[0080] which recites, “A larger bandwidth in this embodiment of this application is a bandwidth greater than 160 MHz, for example, a 240 MHz bandwidth or a 320 MHz bandwidth”).
Regarding claim 8, Li discloses:
the information on the available frequency unit indicates an available frequency unit within a primary 160MHz channel or a secondary 160MHz channel (fig.2 and par.[0130] as it relates to fig.6).
Regarding claim 9, Li discloses:
The STA is an access point (AP) STA or a non-AP STA (fig.1 and par.[0003] which depict the AP, and non-AP STA, par.[0089]).
Regarding claim 10, Li discloses:
The available frequency unit is related to an uplink transmission or a downlink transmission (fig.2 depicts the frequency units which are available for uplink and/or downlink transmissions, par.[0003], which recites, in part, “the AP is associated with a plurality of stations, and uplink and downlink communication is performed between the AP and the associated stations by using the IEEE 802.11 protocol.”).
Regarding claim 11, Li discloses:
The frequency unit is defined in a 20 MHz unit or in a unit other than 20 MHz (fig.2 depicts the 20Mhz frequency units or combination of the 20 MHz frequency unit up to 160 MHz in multiples of the 20 MHz frequency unit).
Claim(s) 4-6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Asterjadhi as applied to claim 1, 12, and 14, in view of Lou et al. (US 2024/0333465 A1) with priority to 63/215,167 06/25/2021.
Regarding claim 4, the disclosure of Asterjadhi teaches the aggregated control subfield, but does not disclose:
wherein the secondary channel is identified by being a region which a subchannel selective transmission (SST) operation is applied.
In an analogous art, the disclosure of Lou teaches:
wherein the secondary channel is identified by being a region which a subchannel selective transmission (SST) operation is applied (par.[0151 – 0152] which describes the SST in the aggregated control subfield, also Abstract).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date to combine the teachings Li with the disclosure of Lou. The motivation/suggestion would have been to provide more efficient SST which allows for better use of the bandwidth.
Regarding claim 5, the disclosure of Lou teaches:
wherein: based on a SST operation-related indication being transmitted or received before the information on the available frequency unit is transmitted, the information on the available frequency unit indicates an available frequency unit related to a region to which the SST operation is applied (par.[0004] which recites, in part, “The trigger frame may indicate a range of association identifiers (AIDs) and/or subchannel information. The subchannel information may identify one or more secondary subchannels for an SST. The STA may determine that the AID of the STA is within the range of AIDs indicted in the trigger frame. The STA may send feedback to the AP that indicates that the STA will monitor one or more of the secondary subchannels. The STA may receive the SST from the AP on a secondary subchannel of the one or more secondary subchannels. The STA may send an acknowledgment (ACK) to the AP on the secondary subchannel in response to receipt of the SST.” This provides an indication of which band the available resources reside on).
Regarding claim 6, Lou discloses:
wherein: based on the information on the available frequency unit being transmitted within a predetermined time period related to a SST operation, the information on the available frequency unit indicates an available frequency unit related to a region to which the SST operation is applied (par.[0103] which describes the SST with the Target Wake Time, and par.[0152] which recites, in part, “Individual SST negotiation using the A-Control field are described herein. A non-AP STA may transmit an SST request in an A-Control field in a data frame or management frame. On reception of the SST request in an A-Control field, an AP may respond with a full TWT element as SST response.”).
Response to Arguments
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 07/23/2026 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Asterjadhi et al. (US 2018/0205441 A1) “Short Uplink Feedback Related Methods and Apparatus”
Cariou et al. (US 2019/0349232 A1) “Control Fields for Null Data Packet Feedback Reports”
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JAMAAL HENSON whose telephone number is (571)272-5339. The examiner can normally be reached M-Thu: 7:30 am - 6:30 pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Derrick Ferris can be reached at (571)272-3123. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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JAMAAL HENSON
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2411
/JAMAAL HENSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2411
