DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . This action is in response to the communication filed on 11/5/2025. Claims 21-38 are pending.
Examiner Note
The examiner is here to serve, to assist, and to help applicant to the very best of his ability. The Primary Patent Examiner position is a position of serving and it is an honor to externally serve the applicant and attorney and to internally serve junior examiners and supervisors. The goal of the examiner is to work with and assist applicant to move cases along as efficiently as possible.
Applicant is encouraged to call examiner to schedule an interview if applicant has any questions about this action, wants to discuss any possible paths forward, has proposed amendments to the claims to run by the examiner, or for any other issues that applicant would like to discuss.
Examiner can normally be reached at (571) 270-3863 or michael.keller@uspto.gov, Monday-Friday, from about 6 AM - 10 PM EST and if your call is missed examiner will try to return call quickly, thank you.
Priority
This application claims priority of PCT/CN2021/118364, filed 9/14/2021. The assignee of record is GUANGDONG OPPO MOBILE TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORP., LTD. The listed inventor(s) is/are: LU, Liuming; HUANG, Lei; LUO, Chaoming.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement(s) (IDS) submitted on 3/8/2024 & 12/4/2025 is/are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the IDS(s) is/are being considered by the examiner.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 22-24, 26, 28-30, 32, 34-36, & 38 objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims provided that all other rejections under 35 USC 101/112 (if any) are obviated upon upcoming amendments/arguments without raising new issues that necessitate further consideration/search.
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the claims at issue are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); and In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on a nonstatutory double patenting ground provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with this application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP §§ 706.02(l)(1) - 706.02(l)(3) for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/forms/. The filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to http://www.uspto.gov/patents/process/file/efs/guidance/eTD-info-I.jsp.
Claims 21-38 rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over the claims of U.S. Patent Application 19/270,156. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because all the claimed limitations recited in the present application are transparently found in the listed patent(s) with obvious wording variations.
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.
(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.
Claim(s) 21, 25, 27, 31, 33, & 37 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Chu et al. (US 20240163916 A1, hereinafter Ryu).
For Claim 21, Ryu teaches a wireless communication method, comprising: pausing, by a non-access point station (Non-AP STA), an execution of a backoff process in one or more restricted target wake time (r-TWT) service periods, according to a role of the Non-AP STA, being one of a r-TWT scheduled station and a r-TWT non- scheduled station (Ryu [0158] Non-AP STA 1412 may not be scheduled in r-TWT SP 1420. As mentioned above, non-AP STA 1412 may transmit data frame 1425 before the start of r-TWT SP 1420. In an example, upon receiving frame 1415 indicating r-TWT SP 1420, non-AP STA 1412 may stop transmitting data frame 1415 before the start of r-TWT SP 1420. In an example, non-AP STA 1412 may defer enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA) channel access for the transmission of a buffered data frame with any TID until the end of r-TWT SP 1420.
[0165] Non-AP STA 1512 may not be scheduled in r-TWT SP 1520. As mentioned above, non-AP STA 1512 may transmit data frame 1516 before the start of r-TWT SP 1520. In an example, upon receiving frame 1514 indicating r-TWT SP 1520, non-AP STA 1512 may stop transmitting data frame 1516 before the start of r-TWT SP 1520. In an example, non-AP STA 1512 may defer EDCA channel access for transmission of a buffered data frame with any TID until the end of the r-TWT SP 1520.
Please see screenshot of Ryu Fig. 14 below, thank you:
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For Claim 25, Ryu teaches the method according to claim 21, wherein in response to the role of the Non-AP STA being the r-TWT non-scheduled station, and types of the one or more r-TWT service periods being a non-trigger-enable service period, stopping performing channel access based on an EDCA rule in the r-TWT service period, comprises:stopping, by the Non-AP STA, the backoff process in the r-TWT service period, or un-performing transmission, by the Non-AP STA, to a wireless medium in the one or more r- TWT service periods by setting a corresponding network allocation vector (NAV) (Chu ¶ 0051, 0063-0070 and please see the Figures of Chu).
For Claim(s) 27, the claim(s) is/are substantially similar to claim 21 and therefore is/are rejected for the same reasoning set forth above.
For Claim(s) 31, the claim(s) is/are substantially similar to claim 25 and therefore is/are rejected for the same reasoning set forth above.
For Claim(s) 33, the claim(s) is/are substantially similar to claim 21 and therefore is/are rejected for the same reasoning set forth above.
For Claim(s) 37, the claim(s) is/are substantially similar to claim 25 and therefore is/are rejected for the same reasoning set forth above.
Citation of Pertinent Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure is listed below, thank you:
i. US 20230026249 A1, Chu
Chu teaches a wireless communication method, comprising: pausing, by a non-access point station (Non-AP STA), an execution of a backoff process in one or more restricted target wake time (r-TWT) service periods, according to a role of the Non-AP STA, being one of a r-TWT scheduled station and a r-TWT non- scheduled station (Chu ¶ 0051 a non-AP STA operating in accordance with an EHT communication protocol (e.g., an EHT non-AP STA) may need to stop its transmission at the beginning of a wake period of an rTWT SP so that an AP that is associated with the non-AP STA can exchange low latency traffic during the rTWT SP.
Please also see Chu ¶ 0063-0070.
Please see screenshots of Chu Figs. 3 and 9 below, thank you:
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Please see PTO-892 for additional listing of relevant prior art made of record but not relied upon, thank you.
Conclusion
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/MICHAEL A KELLER/
Primary Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2446