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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed on 06/25/2026 have been fully considered but they are moot with respect to the newly amended features and limitations to claims 7, 9-11, 14-16 and 19, which change the scopes of the claims. Therefore, it necessitates a new ground of rejection as detailed in the followings.
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)(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) 1-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Vajapeyam et al. (Pub. No. US 2016/0261382).
Regarding claim 1. (Currently Amended) Vajapeyam teaches a method (Vajapeyam, the Abstract), comprising:
receiving, by a first wireless device from a second wireless device, via a first link , an acknowledgment message (Vajapeyam, Fig. 4, Step 420, pp [55]-[59]: a base station 105b receives an acknowledge message), indicating:
an error in a first data unit being transmitted by the first wireless device to the second wireless device via a second link (Vajapeyam, Fig. 4, Step 410, pp [55]-[59]: data transmission with error being detected the UE 115b); and
a third link between the first wireless device and the second wireless device (Vajapeyam, Fig. 4, Step 445, pp [55]-[59], [64]: a third link between the UE 115b and the base station 105b); and
based on the acknowledgment message, transmitting, to the second wireless device and via the third link, a second data unit comprising at least part of the first data unit (Vajapeyam, Fig. 4, Step 445, pp [55]-[59], [64]: the base station transmits a third link for scheduling a retransmission for the failed transmission).
Regarding claim 9. (Currently Amended) Vajapeyam teaches a method (Vajapeyam, the Abstract), comprising:
transmitting, by a first wireless device to a second wireless device, via a first link, a first data unit (Vajapeyam, Fig. 4, Step 420, pp [55]-[59]: a base station 105b receives an acknowledge message);
during transmission of the first data unit, receiving, from the second wireless device and via a second link, an acknowledgment message indicating an error in the first data unit (Vajapeyam, Fig. 4, Step 410, pp [55]-[59]: data transmission with error being detected the UE 115b); and
during transmission of the first data unit and based on the acknowledgment message, transmitting, to the second wireless device and via a third link, a second data unit comprising at least part of the first data unit (Vajapeyam, Fig. 4, Step 445, pp [55]-[59], [64]: the base station transmits a third link for scheduling a retransmission for the failed transmission).
Regarding claim 16. (Currently Amended) Vajapeyam teaches a method (Vajapeyam, the Abstract), comprising:
determining, by a first wireless device and during reception of a first data unit from a second wireless device via a first link, an error in the first data unit (Vajapeyam, Fig. 4, Step 420, pp [55]-[59]: a base station 105b receives an acknowledge message); and
before an end of reception of the first data unit, transmitting to the second wireless device, via a second link, an acknowledgment message (Vajapeyam, Fig. 4, Step 410, pp [55]-[59]: data transmission with error being detected the UE 115b), indicating:
the error in the first data unit (Vajapeyam, Fig. 4, Step 410, pp [55]-[59]: data transmission with error being detected the UE 115b); and
one or more links between the first wireless device and the second wireless device (Vajapeyam, Fig. 4, Step 445, pp [55]-[59], [64]: the base station transmits a third link for scheduling a retransmission for the failed transmission).
Regarding claim 2. (Original) Vajapeyam teaches the method of claim 1, wherein:
the acknowledgment message comprises an acknowledgment frame, the first data unit comprises a first physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) (Vajapeyam, Fig. 4, pp [40]); and
the second data unit comprises a second PPDU (Vajapeyam, Fig. 4, pp [40]).
Regarding claim 3. (Original) Vajapeyam teaches the method of claim 1, wherein the first data unit comprises a physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU), and wherein the error comprises at least one of:
an error in a physical layer (PHY) header of the PPDU (Vajapeyam, Fig. 4, pp [40]); or
an error in a medium access control (MAC) protocol data unit (MPDU) of the PPDU (Vajapeyam, pp [40], [50]-[51]).
Regarding claim 4. (Original) Vajapeyam teaches the method of claim 1, wherein the acknowledgment message further indicates one or more links other than the third link (Vajapeyam, Fig. 4, pp [55]-[59], [64]).
Regarding claim 5. (Original) Vajapeyam teaches the method of claim 1, wherein:
the first link corresponds to a first frequency channel (Vajapeyam, Fig. 4, pp [55]-[59], [64]);
the second link corresponds to a second frequency channel different from the first frequency channel (Vajapeyam, Fig. 4, pp [55]-[59], [64]); and
the third link corresponds to a third frequency channel different from the first frequency channel and different from the second frequency channel (Vajapeyam, Fig. 4, pp [55]-[59], [64]).
Regarding claim 6. (Original) Vajapeyam teaches the method of claim 1, further comprising transmitting the second data unit concurrently with transmitting the first data unit (Vajapeyam, pp [35], [49], [53).
Regarding claim 7. (Currently Amended) Vajapeyam teaches the method of claim 1, further comprising:
transmitting, to the second wireless device and via the first link, a message in response to the acknowledgment message (Vajapeyam, Fig. 4, pp [55]-[59], [64]).
Regarding claim 8. (Original) Vajapeyam teaches the method of claim 1, further comprising:
monitoring, during transmission of the first data unit, the first link for the acknowledgment message (Vajapeyam, Fig. 4, pp [55]-[59], [64]).
Regarding claim 10. (Currently Amended) Vajapeyam teaches the method of claim 9, wherein the acknowledgment message further indicates the third link (Vajapeyam, Fig. 4, pp [55]-[59], [64]).
Regarding claim 11. (Currently Amended) Vajapeyam teaches the method of claim 9, wherein the acknowledgment message further indicates a plurality of links comprising the third link, and wherein the method further comprises:
transmitting, to the second wireless device and via the first link, a response message indicating a selection of the third link among the plurality of links (Vajapeyam, Fig. 4, pp [55]-[59], [64]).
Regarding claim 12. (Original) Vajapeyam teaches the method of claim 9, wherein:
the first link corresponds to a first frequency channel (Vajapeyam, Fig. 4, pp [55]-[59], [64]);
the second link corresponds to a second frequency channel different from the first frequency channel (Vajapeyam, Fig. 4, pp [55]-[59], [64]); and
the third link corresponds to a third frequency channel different from the first frequency channel and different from the second frequency channel (Vajapeyam, Fig. 4, pp [55]-[59], [64]).
Regarding claim 13. (Original) Vajapeyam teaches the method of claim 9, wherein the first data unit comprises a physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU), and wherein the error comprises at least one of:
an error in a physical layer (PHY) header of the PPDU (Vajapeyam, pp [40], [50]-[51]); or
an error in a medium access control (MAC) protocol data unit (MPDU) of the PPDU (Vajapeyam, pp [40], [50]-[51]).
Regarding claim 14. (Currently Amended) Vajapeyam teaches the method of claim 9, wherein the second data unit comprises a part, of the first data unit, that comprises the error during the transmission of the first data unit (Vajapeyam, Fig. 4, pp [40], [55]-[59], [64]).
Regarding claim 15. (Currently Amended) Vajapeyam teaches the method of claim 9, further comprising:
monitoring the first link for the acknowledgment message, during transmission of the first data unit (Vajapeyam, Fig. 4, pp [55]-[59], [64]).
Regarding claim 17. (Original) Vajapeyam teaches the method of claim 16, further comprising:
determining, based on link measurements performed by the first wireless device, the one or more links (Vajapeyam, Fig. 4, pp [55]-[59], [64]).
Regarding claim 18. (Original) Vajapeyam teaches the method of claim 16, wherein the one or more links are different from at least one of:
the first link, or the second link (Vajapeyam, Fig. 4, pp [55]-[59], [64]).
Regarding claim 19. (Currently Amended) Vajapeyam teaches the method of claim 16, further comprising:
receiving, from the second wireless device, during reception of the first data unit and via one of the one or more links, a second data unit comprising at least part of the first data unit (Vajapeyam, Fig. 4, pp [40], [55]-[59], [64]).
Regarding claim 20. (Original) Vajapeyam teaches the method of claim 16, wherein the first data unit comprises a physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU), and wherein the error comprises at least one of:
an error in a physical layer (PH Y) header of the PPDU (Vajapeyam, pp [40], [50]-[51]); or
an error in a medium access control (MAC) protocol data unit (MPDU) of the PPDU (Vajapeyam, pp [40], [50]-[51]).
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HUY C HO whose telephone number is (571)270-1108. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8AM-5PM.
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/HUY C HO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2644
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