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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 1 – 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to a judicial exception (i.e., a law of nature, a natural phenomenon, or an abstract idea) without “significantly more”. Claims 1 – 11 are directed to Abstract Idea such as an idea standing alone such as an instantiated concept, pan or scheme, as well as a mental process (thinking) that can be performed in the human mind, or by a human using a pen and paper for example, “performing resource allocation for multi-user transmission according to a regulated frequency band boundary and a resource unit RU type; and sending information indicative of resource allocation for Wi-Fi communication method”.
The method claims 1 - 11 recites limitation, “performing resource allocation for multi-user transmission according to a regulated frequency band boundary and a resource unit RU type; and sending information indicative of resource allocation for Wi-Fi communication method”. Since the claim is directed to a process and a machine, which is one of the statutory categories of the invention (Step 1: YES).
The claim is then analyzed to determine whether it is directed to any judicial exception. The claim recites - a Wi-Fi communication method comprising: performing resource allocation for multi-user transmission orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) according to a regulated frequency band boundary and a resource unit (RU) type, wherein the RU type comprises at least one of regular RU (rRU) and distributed-tone RU (dRU), the resource allocation indicates RUs or multiple RUs (MRUs) allocated in a channel, the channel is across the regulated frequency band boundary, and an RU or MRU allocated per user in the channel is not across the regulated frequency band boundary when using rRU; and sending information indicative of the resource allocation. The performing resource allocation for multi-user transmission according to a regulated frequency band boundary and a resource unit RU type - i. e., collecting information, and sending information step- i.e., analyzing it and then transmitting step - i. e., outputting certain results of the obtaining and analysis steps are recited at a high level of generality such that they could practically be performed in the human mind, Electric Power Group v. Alstom, S.A., 830 F.3d 1350, 1353-54, 119 USPQ2d 1739, 1741-42 (Fed. Cir. 2016) is no more than an abstract idea i.e., mental process of "collecting information, analyzing it, and displaying certain results of the collection and analysis," etc. (Step 2A: Prong One Abstract Idea=Yes).
The claim is then analyzed if it requires an additional elements or a combination of additional elements in the claim to apply, rely on, or use the judicial exception in a manner that imposes a meaningful limit on the judicial exception, such that the claim is more than a drafting effort designed to monopolize the exception – i.e., limitation that are indicative of integration into a practical application: improving to the functioning of a computer or to any other technology or technical field. In the current claims, there is no additional elements that would integrate the abstract idea into a practical application (Step 2A: Prong Two Abstract Idea=Yes).
Next the claim as a whole is analyzed to determine if there are additional limitation recited in the claim such that the claim amount to significantly more than an abstract idea. The claim requires the additional limitation of a computer with the central processing unit, memory, a printer, an input and output terminal and a program. These generic computer components are claimed to perform the basic functions of storing, retrieving and processing data through the program that enables. In the current scenario, there are no additional elements that would amount to significantly more than the abstract idea. Therefore, the claim does not amount to significantly more than the abstract idea itself (Step 2B: No). Accordingly, the claim is not patent eligible.
The dependent claims 2 - 11 does not carry any positive limitation or step that recite within the scope of the claim and does not carry patentable weight they are also rejected for the same reasons as independent claims.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
Claim limitation “resource unit RU, regular RU distributed-tone RU, multiple RU” invokes 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. However, the written description fails to disclose the corresponding structure, material, or acts for performing the entire claimed function and to clearly link the structure, material, or acts to the function. Therefore, the claim is indefinite and is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, second paragraph.
Applicant may:
(a) Amend the claim so that the claim limitation will no longer be interpreted as a limitation under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph;
(b) Amend the written description of the specification such that it expressly recites what structure, material, or acts perform the entire claimed function, without introducing any new matter (35 U.S.C. 132(a)); or
(c) Amend the written description of the specification such that it clearly links the structure, material, or acts disclosed therein to the function recited in the claim, without introducing any new matter (35 U.S.C. 132(a)).
If applicant is of the opinion that the written description of the specification already implicitly or inherently discloses the corresponding structure, material, or acts and clearly links them to the function so that one of ordinary skill in the art would recognize what structure, material, or acts perform the claimed function, applicant should clarify the record by either:
(a) Amending the written description of the specification such that it expressly recites the corresponding structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function and clearly links or associates the structure, material, or acts to the claimed function, without introducing any new matter (35 U.S.C. 132(a)); or
(b) Stating on the record what the corresponding structure, material, or acts, which are implicitly or inherently set forth in the written description of the specification, perform the claimed function. For more information, see 37 CFR 1.75(d) and MPEP §§ 608.01(o) and 2181.
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 – 11 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.
Use of the word “resource unit RU, regular RU distributed-tone RU, multiple RU” in a claim without supported structure invokes 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 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 1 – 11 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.
Claim limitation “resource unit RU, regular RU distributed-tone RU, multiple RU”. The written description fails to disclose the corresponding structure, material, or acts for performing the entire claimed function and to clearly link the structure, material, or acts to the function. Therefore, the claim is indefinite and is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, second paragraph.
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.
Claims 1 – 6 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over
Hedayat US PGPub: US 2023/0043655 Feb. 9, 2023 and in view of
Guan US PGPub: US 2012/0263132 A1 Oct. 18, 2012.
Regarding claim 1, Hedayat discloses,
a Wi-Fi communication method (an access point AP communicates to one or more stations STAs information indicating a set of channels and/or resource units RUs, corresponding to a wideband basis service set BSS for an authorized unlicensed radio local area network RLAN using 6 GHz spectrum, which are subject to a lower power spectral density PSD level than other portions of the BSS frequency range or are not to be used for transmission – ABSTRACT, paragraphs 0005 – 0009, 0048, 0051. An exemplary RLAN operational channel 412 - e.g., an 802.11 ax/be 40 MHz channel, and exemplary incumbent RX bandwidth BW 414, and resource units RU106 422, RU26 424, RU106 426, and RU242 428 corresponding to the RLAN channel 412 – paragraph 0062. A communications system 1100 includes a plurality of first type radio local area network RLAN devices RLAN device 1A 1102 - e.g., WiFi AP 1A or new radio unlicensed NRU gNB 1A, RLAN device 2A 1104 - e.g., WiFi AP 2A or NRU gNB 2A, . . . , RLAN device NA 1106 - e.g., WiFi AP NA or NR gNB NA, each with a corresponding wireless coverage area 1103, 1105, . . . , 1107, respectively – paragraphs 0105, 0107, 0145) comprising:
performing resource allocation (the access point identifies, based on the received information from the AFC system, a set of channels - e.g., 20 MHz channels, and/or a set of resource units RUs which are to be subject to a lower PSD constraint or no transmission as compared to the rest of the BSS bandwidth – paragraph 0005) for multi-user transmission (IEEE 802.11ax has single-user Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing OFDM signaling and it has multi-user Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access OFDMA signaling both for uplink UL and downlink DL – paragraph 0056) orthogonal frequency division multiple access OFDMA (OFDMA signaling, the bandwidth is partitioned to include multiple resource units. The RU naming indicates the number of tones per RU: RU26, RU52, RU106, RU242. RU26 indicates a RU of 26 tones, RU52 indicates a RU of 52 tones, RU 106 indicates a RU of 242 tones and RU 242 indicates a RU of 242 tone – paragraph 0057) according to a regulated frequency band boundary (an access point, seeking to operate as a RLAN device, receives authorization from an automated frequency controller AFC system for unlicensed operational use of a frequency range, e.g., a frequency range within 6 GHz spectrum – paragraph 0004. The Federal Communications Commission FCC has recently authorized unlicensed use of 6 GHZ spectrum under conditions - see “FCC 6 GHz Report and Order”, April 2020. The 6 GHz spectrum is partitioned into several sections labelled Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure-5 UNII-5, UNII-6, UNII-7 and UNII-8 – paragraph 0048) and a resource unit RU type (the Federal Communications Commission FCC has recently authorized unlicensed use of 6 GHZ spectrum under conditions - see “FCC 6 GHz Report and Order”, April 2020. The 6 GHz spectrum is partitioned into several sections labelled Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure-5 UNII-5, UNII-6, UNII-7 and UNII-8 – paragraph 0048),
the resource allocation indicates RUs or multiple RUs MRUs allocated in a channel (an access point AP communicates to one or more stations STAs information indicating a set of channels and/or resource units RUs, corresponding to a wideband basis service set BSS for an authorized unlicensed radio local area network RLAN using 6 GHz spectrum, which are subject to a lower power spectral density PSD level than other portions of the BSS frequency range or are not to be used for transmission – ABSTRACT, paragraphs 0005 – 0009), the channel is across the regulated frequency band boundary (an access point, seeking to operate as a RLAN device, receives authorization from an automated frequency controller AFC system for unlicensed operational use of a frequency range, e.g., a frequency range within 6 GHz spectrum – paragraph 0004. The Federal Communications Commission FCC has recently authorized unlicensed use of 6 GHZ spectrum under conditions - see “FCC 6 GHz Report and Order”, April 2020. The 6 GHz spectrum is partitioned into several sections labelled Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure-5 UNII-5, UNII-6, UNII-7 and UNII-8 – paragraphs 0048, 0051, 0052), and an RU or MRU allocated per user in the channel is not across the regulated frequency band boundary when using rRU (IEEE 802.11ax has single-user Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing OFDM signaling and it has multi-user Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access OFDMA signaling both for uplink UL and downlink DL – i. e., the channel is not across the regulated frequency band boundary when using rRU – paragraph 0056); and
sending information indicative of the resource allocation (the access point generates and transmits broadcast signals, e.g., in beacon frames, and/or unicast signals, e.g., in probe response, association response, re-association response, to stations STAs, which associate with the AP, to communicate the set of channels - e.g., 20 MHz channels, and/or the set of resource units RUs – paragraph 0006. An access point transmitting the first set of transmit power information – paragraph 0011),
but, does not disclose, wherein the RU type comprises at least one of regular RU rRU and distributed-tone RU dRU.
Guan teaches, the downlink resource mapping process generally includes: Subband Partitioning, Miniband Permutation, Frequency Partitioning, Contiguous Resource Unit/Distributed Resource Unit Allocation - referred to as CRU/DRU Allocation, and Subcarrier Permutation. The uplink resource mapping process includes: Subband Partitioning, Miniband Permutation, Frequency Partitioning, Contiguous Resource Unit/Distributed Resource Unit Allocation and Tile Permutation. Physical Resource Unit PRU which have been subjected to subcarrier mapping are called Distributed Logical Resource Units are referred to as DLRU, and those without being subjected to the subcarrier permutation are called Contiguous logical resource units are referred to as CLRU (paragraph 0004).
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 method and apparatus for operation in 6 GHz and coexistence with incumbents of Hedayat (Hedayat, ABSTRACT, paragraphs 0005 – 0009, 0048, 0051, 0062), wherein the system of Hedayat, would have incorporated, encoding resources indexes in wireless communication system of Guan (Guan, paragraph 0004) for the resource allocation indication, the method of resource allocation indication based on trinary tree, binary tree, combo tree or Bitmap also known as bit mapping (Guan, paragraph 0006).
Regarding claim 2, Hedayat discloses,
the Wi-Fi communication method of claim 1, wherein when using rRU, RUs or MRUs allocated at a standard-power frequency band are transmitted with higher power spectral density PSD (an RLAN included the capability to use PSD information and/or manage both frequencies subject to lower PSD constraints and/or frequencies subject to normal PSD constraints, e.g., which can be used at a higher power level than those frequencies subject to the lower PSD constraints – paragraph 0003. In UNII-5 and UNII-7, higher-power unlicensed transmission is allowed – paragraph 0051) than RUs or MRUs allocated at a lower power frequency band (an access point AP communicates to one or more stations STAs information indicating a set of channels and/or resource units RUs, corresponding to a wideband basis service set BSS for an authorized unlicensed radio local area network RLAN using 6 GHz spectrum, which are subject to a lower power spectral density PSD level than other portions of the BSS frequency range or are not to be used for transmission. The AP and the STAs do not encode data on the identified channels or RUs, but do encode data on other channels and/or other RUs, which are not subject to the lower PSD constraint – ABSTRACT, paragraphs 0005 – 0009, 0048, 0051).
Regarding claim 3, Hedayat discloses,
the Wi-Fi communication method of claim 1, wherein the resource allocation is defined for uplink UL transmission (IEEE 802.11ax has single-user Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing OFDM signaling and it has multi-user Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access OFDMA signaling both for uplink UL and downlink DL – paragraph 0056).
Regarding claim 4, Hedayat discloses,
the Wi-Fi communication method of claim 1, wherein the resource allocation is defined for downlink DL transmission (IEEE 802.11ax has single-user Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing OFDM signaling and it has multi-user Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access OFDMA signaling both for uplink UL and downlink DL – paragraph 0056).
Regarding claim 5, Hedayat discloses,
the Wi-Fi communication method of claim 1, wherein the RUs or MRUs defined by the resource allocation are allocated in a 6GHz band (The Federal Communications Commission FCC has recently authorized unlicensed use of 6 GHZ spectrum under conditions - see “FCC 6 GHz Report and Order”, April 2020. The 6 GHz spectrum is partitioned into several sections labelled Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure-5 UNII-5, UNII-6, UNII-7 and UNII-8 – paragraph 0048).
Regarding claim 6, Hedayat discloses,
the Wi-Fi communication method of claim 1, wherein the regulated frequency band boundary is a boundary of an Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure UNIT band specified by Federal Communications Commission FCC regulation (The Federal Communications Commission FCC has recently authorized unlicensed use of 6 GHZ spectrum under conditions - see “FCC 6 GHz Report and Order”, April 2020. The 6 GHz spectrum is partitioned into several sections labelled Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure-5 UNII-5, UNII-6, UNII-7 and UNII-8 – paragraph 0048), and the UNIT band is a UNII-7 band (the 6 GHz spectrum is partitioned into several sections labelled Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure-5 UNII-5, UNII-6, UNII-7 and UNII-8 – paragraph 0048).
Regarding claim 11, Hedayat discloses,
the Wi-Fi communication method of claim 1, wherein the channel has a 320MHz bandwidth (considering WiFi 6 GHz channelization, for BW<80 MHz partial overlap with an incumbent - e.g., a fixed service FS device such a FMS device, is likely, and for BW=160/320 MHz, it is likely to have full overlap – paragraphs 0061, 0068, 0114, 0130).
Claims 7 - 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over
Hedayat US PGPub: US 2023/0043655 Feb. 9, 2023 and in view of
Guan US PGPub: US 2012/0263132 A1 Oct. 18, 2012 and further in view of
Ghosh US PGPub: US 2016/0381664 A1 Dec. 29, 2016.
Regarding claim 7, Hedayat discloses,
the Wi-Fi communication method of claim 1, wherein one packet protocol data unit PPDU comprises RUs or MRUs in a rRU form, and further comprises RUs or MRUs in a dRU form that are also defined by the resource allocation.
Ghosh teaches, Orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) is a technique whereby a frequency spectrum is divided into relatively narrow band-width sub-channels. In the 802.11 family of standards, OFDMA is proposed to address communications efficiency in dense (e.g., a large number of devices) environments. For example, each wireless station (STA) may be allocated a portion of the channel bandwidth (unlike orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) where each STA is allocated the entire channel bandwidth). As noted above, the allocated portion of the channel bandwidth is referred to as a sub-channel and includes a set of OFDM sub-carriers (a type of resource unit) (ABSTRACT, paragraph 0002).
The AP may indicate which resource units to use. The SIG field in the PHY packet data unit PPDU - e.g., HE-SIG-B field defined for 802.11ax PPDUs may be used to signal resource unit allocations to the STAs (paragraph 0009).
The data unit is a PPDU in accordance with an IEEE 802.11 family of standards (paragraphs 0016, 0026, 0034).
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 method and apparatus for operation in 6 GHz and coexistence with incumbents of combined Hedayat and Guan (combined Hedayat and Guan, ABSTRACT, paragraphs 0005 – 0009, 0048, 0051, 0062), wherein the system of combined Hedayat and Guan, would have incorporated, dynamic patterned resource allocation in a wireless network of Ghosh (Ghosh, ABSTRACT, paragraphs 0002, 0009, 0016, 0026, 0034) to implement the data unit is a PPDU in accordance with an IEEE 802.11 family of standards (Ghosh, paragraphs 0016, 0026, 0034).
Regarding claim 8, Hedayat discloses,
the Wi-Fi communication method of claim 7, wherein the RUs or MRUs in the dRU form are across the regulated frequency band boundary (an access point, seeking to operate as a RLAN device, receives authorization from an automated frequency controller AFC system for unlicensed operational use of a frequency range, e.g., a frequency range within 6 GHz spectrum – paragraph 0004. The Federal Communications Commission FCC has recently authorized unlicensed use of 6 GHZ spectrum under conditions - see “FCC 6 GHz Report and Order”, April 2020. The 6 GHz spectrum is partitioned into several sections labelled Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure-5 UNII-5, UNII-6, UNII-7 and UNII-8 – paragraphs 0048, 0051, 0052).
Regarding claim 9, Hedayat discloses,
the Wi-Fi communication method of claim 7, wherein the RUs or MRUs in the dRU form are not across the regulated frequency band boundary (an access point, seeking to operate as a RLAN device, receives authorization from an automated frequency controller AFC system for unlicensed operational use of a frequency range, e.g., a frequency range within 6 GHz spectrum – paragraph 0004. The Federal Communications Commission FCC has recently authorized unlicensed use of 6 GHZ spectrum under conditions - see “FCC 6 GHz Report and Order”, April 2020. The 6 GHz spectrum is partitioned into several sections labelled Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure-5 UNII-5, UNII-6, UNII-7 and UNII-8 – paragraphs 0048, 0051, 0052. IEEE 802.11ax has single-user Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing OFDM signaling and it has multi-user Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access OFDMA signaling both for uplink UL and downlink DL – i. e., wherein the RUs or MRUs in the dRU form are not across the regulated frequency band boundary – paragraph 0056) and are allocated at a lower power frequency band (an access point AP communicates to one or more stations STAs information indicating a set of channels and/or resource units RUs, corresponding to a wideband basis service set BSS for an authorized unlicensed radio local area network RLAN using 6 GHz spectrum, which are subject to a lower power spectral density PSD level than other portions of the BSS frequency range or are not to be used for transmission – ABSTRACT, paragraphs 0005 – 0009, 0048, 0051).
Regarding claim 10, Hedayat discloses,
the Wi-Fi communication method of claim 7, wherein the regulated frequency band boundary is a boundary of an Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure UNIT band specified by Federal Communications Commission FCC regulation (The Federal Communications Commission FCC has recently authorized unlicensed use of 6 GHZ spectrum under conditions - see “FCC 6 GHz Report and Order”, April 2020. The 6 GHz spectrum is partitioned into several sections labelled Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure-5 UNII-5, UNII-6, UNII-7 and UNII-8 – paragraph 0048), and the UNIT band is a UNII-7 band (the 6 GHz spectrum is partitioned into several sections labelled Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure-5 UNII-5, UNII-6, UNII-7 and UNII-8 – paragraph 0048).
The prior arts made of record and not relied upon are considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure.
Lee US PGPub: US 2017/0094664 A1 Mar. 30, 2017.
A maximum number of MU-MIMO users is limited to 8 per 20 MHz channel (paragraph 0333).
Yi US PGPub: US 2018/0102890 A1 Apr. 12, 2018.
The entire resource may be indicated by a single value where the number of resource units may be determined by number of resource unit per PRB*number of PRBs in a subband*number of subbands allocated for MTC UEs. For example, if 1 resource unit per PRB is used in 10 MHz system bandwidth which are used for MTC UEs, 8 bits may be necessary to indicate the location of PUSCH resource (paragraph 0078).
Xin US PGPub: US 2021/0218492 A1 Jul. 15, 2021.
Methods and devices for transmitting data in an Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) wireless local area network, comprising: selecting, for a first resource unit assigned to the target station, a first modulation type; selecting, for a second resource unit assigned to the target station, a second modulation type different from the first modulation type; and modulating coded data and mapping the modulated data onto subcarriers associated with the assigned resource units based on the respective modulation types selected for each of the assigned resource units.
In IEEE 802.11ax, RUs are defined based on RU sizes such as 26-tone RU, 52-tone RU, 106-tone RU, 242-tone RU, 484-tone RU, 996-tone RU and 2×996-tone RU (paragraph 0006).
Ihm US PGPub: US 2012/0184317 A1 Jul. 19, 2012.
The subframe includes a plurality of physical resource units (PRUs) in the frequency domain. The PRU is a basic unit for resource allocation, and includes a plurality of contiguous OFDM symbols in the time domain and a plurality of contiguous subcarriers in the frequency domain. For example, the number of OFDMA symbols within the PRU may be the same as the number of OFDM symbols included in the subframe. Accordingly, the number of OFDM symbols within the PRU may be determined depending on the type of the subframe. In the mean time, the number of subcarriers within the PRU may be 18. In this case, the PRU includes 6 OFDM symbols.times.18 subcarriers. The PRU may be referred to as a distributed resource unit (DRU) or a contiguous resource unit (CRU) depending on a resource allocation type (paragraph 0079).
Choi US PGPub: US 2017/0324525 A1 Nov. 9, 2017.
A technique for transmitting a PPDU by using a resource unit including carriers of different sizes. For example, a PPDU is transmitted by using five frequency bands, a left guard band, and a right guard band. Null subcarriers can be included in the five frequency bands according to the type of included resource unit. The null subcarriers can be the leftmost side or the rightmost side of each frequency band, and the number of included null subcarriers can be determined according to the size of the carrier included in each resource unit or the type of resource unit. A frequency band including DC carriers can include only one resource unit having a discontinuous carrier, and null subcarriers can be further included around the DC carriers.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NIMESH PATEL whose telephone number is (571)270-1228. The examiner can normally be reached Monday thru Friday: 6:30 AM - 3:30 PM EST.
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, Rafael Perez-Gutierrez can be reached at 571-272-7915. 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.
/NIMESH PATEL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2642
Prosecution Insights