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 .
Specification
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
The following title is suggested: AN ACCESS POINT APPARATUS, A STATION APPARATUS, AND A COMMUNICATION METHOD FOR HIGH-QUALITY TRANSMISSION/RECEPTION APPARATUS FOR A HIGH FREQUENCY BAND.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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)(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, 2, 7 and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Kim (US 20230254920, hereinafter “Kim”).
Regarding claim 1, Kim discloses,
A station apparatus (As shown in FIG. 1, a communication node 100 may be an access point, a station, an access point (AP) multi-link device (MLD), or a non-AP MLD, [0048] ) for connecting to an access point apparatus (FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a first embodiment of multi-links configured between MLDs.), the station apparatus comprising:
a receiver (transceiver 130; Fig. 1) configured to receive a first frame (AP1 may transmit a beacon frame in the first link (S602). The beacon frame transmitted in the first link may include information on the transmission power of the beacon frame of the AP1… The STA1 may receive the beacon frame of the AP1 in the first link and may identify the information included in the beacon frame, [0103]); and
a transmitter (transceiver 130; Fig. 1) configured to transmit a response frame for the first frame (The operation of checking availability (e.g., reachability) of the second link may be performed as follows. The STA2 may generate a reachability check request frame and may transmit the reachability check request frame in the second link (S603). [0109]) in a second frequency band that is the same as or different from a first frequency band in which the first frame is received (When the reachability check request frame is received, the first MLD (e.g., AP2) may determine that a frame is reachable in the second link, which is different from the first link [0109]), wherein the transmitter transmits the response frame at a different transmit power in a case of transmitting the response frame in the first frequency band and in a case of transmitting the response frame in the second frequency band (in response to determining that the second link is in the unreachable state, performing communication with the second device using a first transmission power in the first link; and performing communication with the second device using a second transmission power in the second link, wherein the second transmission power is greater than the first transmission power [0016].)
Regarding claim 2, Kim discloses,
wherein in a case that the second frequency band includes a frequency lower than the first frequency band (the frequency band of the first link may be a 2.4 GHz band and the frequency band of the second link may be a 5 GHz band or 6 GHz band, Fig. 4 and [0074]-0075]), a transmit power in a case that the transmitter transmits the response frame in the second frequency band is lower than a transmit power in a case that the transmitter transmits the response frame in the first frequency band (in response to determining that the second link is in the unreachable state, performing communication with the second device in the first link without repeated transmissions of a frame; and performing communication with the second device in the second link by repeatedly transmitting a frame [0017]... The first frame may further include information indicating a second transmission power in the second link, and the second frame may be transmitted using the second transmission power indicated by the first frame. The first frame may further include information indicating a first transmission power in the first link, wherein the first transmission power is lower than the second transmission power [0027]-[0028]).
Regarding claim 7, Kim discloses,
An access point (As shown in FIG. 1, a communication node 100 may be an access point, a station, an access point (AP) multi-link device (MLD), or a non-AP MLD, [0048]) apparatus for connecting to a station apparatus, the access point apparatus comprising:
a transmitter (transceiver 130; Fig. 1) configured to transmit a first frame (AP1 may transmit a beacon frame in the first link (S602). The beacon frame transmitted in the first link may include information on the transmission power of the beacon frame of the AP1… The STA1 may receive the beacon frame of the AP1 in the first link and may identify the information included in the beacon frame, [0103])), and
a receiver (transceiver 130; Fig. 1) configured to receive a response frame for the first frame (The operation of checking availability (e.g., reachability) of the second link may be performed as follows. The STA2 may generate a reachability check request frame and may transmit the reachability check request frame in the second link (S603). [0109]) in a second frequency band that is the same as or different from a first frequency band in which the first frame is transmitted (When the reachability check request frame is received, the first MLD (e.g., AP2) may determine that a frame is reachable in the second link, which is different from the first link [0109]), wherein a transmit power configured for the response frame in a case that the first frequency band is used for transmission is different from a transmit power configured for the response frame in a case that the second frequency band is used for transmission (in response to determining that the second link is in the unreachable state, performing communication with the second device using a first transmission power in the first link; and performing communication with the second device using a second transmission power in the second link, wherein the second transmission power is greater than the first transmission power [0016].)
Regarding claim 8, Kim discloses,
A communication method for a station apparatus (As shown in FIG. 1, a communication node 100 may be an access point, a station, an access point (AP) multi-link device (MLD), or a non-AP MLD ) for connecting to an access point apparatus (FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a first embodiment of multi-links configured between MLDs.), the method comprising:
receiving a first frame (AP1 may transmit a beacon frame in the first link (S602). The beacon frame transmitted in the first link may include information on the transmission power of the beacon frame of the AP1… The STA1 may receive the beacon frame of the AP1 in the first link and may identify the information included in the beacon frame, [0103]); and
transmitting a response frame for the first frame (The operation of checking availability (e.g., reachability) of the second link may be performed as follows. The STA2 may generate a reachability check request frame and may transmit the reachability check request frame in the second link (S603). [0109]) in a second frequency band that is the same as or different from a first frequency band in which the first frame is received (When the reachability check request frame is received, the first MLD (e.g., AP2) may determine that a frame is reachable in the second link, which is different from the first link [0109]), wherein a transmit power varies in a case that the response frame is transmitted in the first frequency band and in a case that the response frame is transmitted in the second frequency band (in response to determining that the second link is in the unreachable state, performing communication with the second device using a first transmission power in the first link; and performing communication with the second device using a second transmission power in the second link, wherein the second transmission power is greater than the first transmission power [0016].)
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.
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 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim and further in view of Wang et al. (US 20160157264, hereinafter “Wang”).
Regarding claim 3, Kim discloses everything claimed as applied above (see claim 1), however Kim does not disclose, wherein a transmit power for the response frame is equal to or less than a CCA level configured in a BSS to which the station apparatus belongs.
In the same field of endeavor, Ali disclose, wherein a transmit power for the response frame is equal to or less than a CCA level configured in a BSS to which the station apparatus belongs (AP1 transmits a 20 MHz PPDU 1101 with a low transmit power, while AP2 transmits a 20 MHz PPDU 1102 with a high transmit power. The radio signal propagation of PPDU 1101 has a smaller coverage 1111 with radius R1, and the radio signal propagation of PPDU 1102 has a larger coverage 1112 with radius R2….. such power imbalance issue may be solved by having the high transmission power device (AP2) using a set of lower CCA levels and the low transmission power device (AP1) using a set of high CCA levels, Fig. 11 and Fig. 12 and [0049]-[0051]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kim by specifically providing wherein a transmit power for the response frame is equal to or less than a CCA level configured in a BSS to which the station apparatus belongs, as taught by Wang for the purpose of increasing the likelihood of wider channel width transmission and to alleviate the interference issues when raising the CCA levels and thereby increasing the network throughput [0008].
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim and further in view of Pettersson et al. (US 20240214945, hereinafter “Pettersson”).
Regarding claim 3, Kim discloses everything claimed as applied above (see claim 1), however Kim does not disclose, wherein the station apparatus acquires, from the access point apparatus, information associated with interference power allowed by the access point apparatus, and a transmit power for the response frame is lower than an allowed transmit power calculated from the information associated with the interference power.
In the same field of endeavor, Petterson discloses, wherein the station apparatus acquires, from the access point apparatus, information associated with interference power allowed by the access point apparatus (an AP informs a STA about a level of allowed interference on one or more shared resources, in particular shared resources of a TXOP shared by another AP. The STA may then determine a path loss to the other AP and, based on the path loss and the indicated level of allowed interference, [0042]), and a transmit power for the response frame is lower than an allowed transmit power calculated from the information associated with the interference power (the STA is provided with information which enables the STA to autonomously control the transmit power of the wireless random access transmission in such a way that the level of allowed interference on the one or more shared resources is not exceeded, [0042]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kim by specifically providing wherein the station apparatus acquires, from the access point apparatus, information associated with interference power allowed by the access point apparatus, and a transmit power for the response frame is lower than an allowed transmit power calculated from the information associated with the interference power, as taught by Pettersson for the purpose of providing a techniques which allow for improved utilization of coordinated spatial reuse for unscheduled uplink transmissions between [0016].
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim and further in view of Kim et al. (US 20240334482, hereinafter “Kim2”).
Regarding claim 5, Kim discloses everything claimed as applied above (see claim 1), however Kim does not disclose, wherein a first response time range used in a case that the response frame is transmitted in the first frequency band and a second response time range used in a case that the response frame is transmitted in the second frequency band are configured respectively, and a range of configured values for the second response time range is wider than a range of configured values for the first response time range. In the same field of endeavor, Kim discloses, wherein a first response time range used in a case that the response frame is transmitted in the first frequency band and a second response time range used in a case that the response frame is transmitted in the second frequency band are configured respectively (The AP MLD may simultaneously perform a random backoff operation for transmitting the BSRP trigger frame on the link 1 and a random backoff operation on the link according to the above-described configuration (e.g., the link in which the single radio STAs operate). The BSRP trigger frame transmitted through the link 1 may be an initial control frame for communication of the single radio STA. When the random backoff operation succeeds only in the link 2, the AP MLD (e.g., AP 2) may transmit the UL trigger frame through the link 2. An end time of the UL trigger frame in the link 2 may be configured to be the same as the end time of the M-BA UL TF in the link 1, [0114]-[0117]), and a range of configured values for the second response time range is wider than a range of configured values for the first response time range (a transmission start time of the UL trigger frame through the link 2 may be configured to be the same as a transmission start time of the M-BA UL TF through the link 1, and padding may be added to the UL trigger frame of the link 2 to match a transmission end time of the UL trigger frame through the link 2 with a transmission end time of the M-BA UL TF through the link 1, [0104]-[0106]). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kim by specifically providing wherein a first response time range used in a case that the response frame is transmitted in the first frequency band and a second response time range used in a case that the response frame is transmitted in the second frequency band are configured respectively, and a range of configured values for the second response time range is wider than a range of configured values for the first response time range, as taught by Kim2 for the purpose of providing a technique where a transmission latency of the data frames can be reduced, and the performance of the wireless LAN system can be improved [0025].
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim and further in view of Park et al. (US 20220116918, hereinafter “Park”).
Regarding claim 6, Kim discloses everything claimed as applied above (see claim 1), however Kim does not disclose, wherein the station apparatus connects to a BSS including multiple access point apparatuses including the access point apparatus, and transmits the response frame for the first frame transmitted from the access point apparatus to at least one access point apparatus of the multiple access point apparatuses, the at least one access point apparatus being different from the access point apparatuses included in the BSS.
In the same field of endeavor, Park discloses, wherein the station apparatus connects to a BSS including multiple access point apparatuses including the access point apparatus (the BSS may include at least one STA, APs providing a distribution service, and a distribution system (DS) 210 connecting multiple Aps, [0071]-[0075]), and transmits the response frame for the first frame transmitted from the access point apparatus to at least one access point apparatus of the multiple access point apparatuses, the at least one access point apparatus being different from the access point apparatuses included in the BSS (each of the M-AP and the S-AP may decode a BA frame received in the allocated RU, and may know whether the STA has successfully received data or failed to receive data based on the decoding result, [0307]-[0308].. The STA may receive a PPDU used for the multi-AP data transmission (MAP transmission) from the S-AP (S3510). That is, the STA may receive data from the S-AP. The STA may transmit a BA frame for the received data to the S-AP based on the RU allocation information included in the received PPDU, [0331]-[0332]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kim by specifically providing wherein the station apparatus connects to a BSS including multiple access point apparatuses including the access point apparatus, and transmits the response frame for the first frame transmitted from the access point apparatus to at least one access point apparatus of the multiple access point apparatuses, the at least one access point apparatus being different from the access point apparatuses included in the BSS, as taught by Park for the purpose of improving the performance of the Mesh Wi-Fi by joint optimization of MAC and PHY for multi-AP system [0208].
Prior Art of the Record:
The prior art made of record not relied upon and considered pertinent to
Applicant’s disclosure:
US 20220124633: An object of an aspect of the present invention is to provide a communication method, a terminal apparatus, a base station apparatus, and an integrated circuit that enable efficient communication in a radio communication system as that described above.
US 20210022083: A terminal includes a transmitter that transmits, to a base station apparatus, UE capability including information indicating a supported frequency band and a power class at least defining spherical coverage in the frequency band; and a receiver that receives, from the base station apparatus, information on power control.
US 20190223118: Provided is a base station apparatus, a terminal apparatus, and a communication method, capable of improving communication performance such as throughput and communication efficiency in a system using a plurality of frame formats.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GOLAM SOROWAR whose telephone number is (571)270-3761. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri: 8:30AM-5PM.
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.
/GOLAM SOROWAR/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2641