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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Claims 1-9, 13-14 and 16-24 are currently pending.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55, application number. KR10-2023-0071007 filed June 01, 2023.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on March 26, 2024 and October 17, 2024 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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)(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.
Claims 1, 4, 6-7, 9, 13-14, 16, 18 and 22-24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Hu et al. (WO 2022/237520 A1, CN 202110513712.3, for citation and translation please see US 2024/0080827 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Hu discloses a wireless communication method of a first device, the wireless communication method comprising: receiving, from a second device through a channel having a bandwidth of 20 megahertz (MHz), a physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU), based on a non-orthogonal frequency-division multiple access (non-OFDMA) (Paragraphs 0124, 0198 discloses a resource allocation method applied to a receiving end, and the method includes: receiving a frequency band indication and a resource unit allocation indication, where the bandwidth of the PPDU is 20 MHz, and the resource unit is 242-tone RU, then the 242-tone RU is non-OFDMA 242-tone RU); based on values of a plurality of fields being related to resource allocation of the channel and included in a signal field of a preamble included in the PPDU, identifying whether a multi-resource unit (MRU) to replace a resource unit (RU) comprising a 242-tone is allocated to the first device (Paragraphs 0115, 0117-0119, Figure 6, disclose there can be up to 9 26-tone RUs per 20MHz, or 4 52-tone RUs, or 2 106-tone RUs, or 1 242-tone RU, of course, RUs per 20MHz It may also be a combination of the above RUs with different sizes optionally, the access point may allocate multiple resource units to a station, that is, the multiple resource units are combined or combined as resources allocated to the station, thereby improving transmission efficiency. Wherein, the possible combination scheme of the multi-resource unit (MRU) may be: 52+26-tone MRU, 106+26-tone MRU", Further resource allocation tables 6, 10 and 13 contain subfield included in a preamble in PPDU, can take multiple values also for 20 MHz case, where one of the options is 242-tone RU and there are other options corresponding to different MRU cases; hence this subfield can be utilized to identify if a particular MRU configuration replaces the 242-tone RU configuration); and based on a result of the identifying, decoding a payload included in the PPDU (Paragraphs 0123-0125 disclose the receiving device first identifies the RU or MRU configuration based on the index, and then subsequent reception process steps are operated, which implicitly including the decoding of payload in the PPDU. Paragraph 0124 discloses after receiving a trigger frame, a STA may parse out user information field that matches an AID of the STA, and then send a TB PPDU on an RU indicated by a resource unit allocation subfield in the user information field).
Regarding claim 18, Hu discloses a wireless communication method of a second device for communicating with a first device, the wireless communication method comprising: allocating, to the first device, a first multi-resource unit (MRU) to replace a resource unit (RU) comprising a 242-tone; generating a field indicating that the first MRU is allocated to the first device (Paragraphs 0115, 0117-0119, Figure 6, disclose there can be up to 9 26-tone RUs per 20MHz, or 4 52-tone RUs, or 2 106-tone RUs, or 1 242-tone RU, of course, RUs per 20MHz It may also be a combination of the above RUs with different sizes optionally, the access point may allocate multiple resource units to a station, that is, the multiple resource units are combined or combined as resources allocated to the station, thereby improving transmission efficiency. Wherein, the possible combination scheme of the multi-resource unit (MRU) may be: 52+26-tone MRU, 106+26-tone MRU", Further resource allocation tables 6, 10 and 13 contain subfield included in a preamble in PPDU, can take multiple values also for 20 MHz case, where one of the options is 242-tone RU and there are other options corresponding to different MRU cases; hence this subfield can be utilized to identify if a particular MRU configuration replaces the 242-tone RU configuration); and transmitting, to the first device through a channel having a bandwidth of 20 megahertz (MHz), a physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) including the field, based on a non-orthogonal frequency-division multiple access (non-OFDMA) (Paragraphs 0124, 0198 discloses a resource allocation method applied to a receiving end, and the method includes: receiving a frequency band indication and a resource unit allocation indication, where the bandwidth of the PPDU is 20 MHz, and the resource unit is 242-tone RU, then the 242-tone RU is non-OFDMA 242-tone RU).
Regarding claim 4, Hu discloses wherein the MRU comprises a 2×106-tone (Paragraph 0119 and Fig. 6 discloses MRU comprises a 2×106-tone).
Regarding claim 6, Hu disclose wherein the MRU comprises a 2×106+26-tone (Paragraphs 0117-0118).
Regarding claim 7, Hu discloses wherein the MRU is any one of a first MRU comprising 2×106-tone and a second MRU comprising 2×106+26-tone (Paragraphs 0117-0118, 0198 disclose when the bandwidth of the PPDU is 80 MHz, 160 MHz, or 320 MHz, each 20 MHz supports various 52+26-tone MRUs and various 106+26-tone MRUs. This is because when the bandwidth of the PPDU is 20 MHz or 40 MHz, each 20 MHz supports various 52+26-tone MRUs and various 106+26-tone MRUs).
Regarding claim 9, Hu discloses wherein the MRU comprises an upper-frequency 106+26-tone (Paragraph 0117 and Fig. 6 discloses MRU comprises a 106+26-tone MRU).
Regarding claim 13, Hu discloses transmitting, to the second device, capability information of the first device indicating whether the MRU is supported (Paragraph 0180, 0198 discloses when the bandwidth of the PPDU is 80 MHz, 160 MHz, or 320 MHz, each 20 MHz supports various 52+26-tone MRUs. The resource unit allocation indication indicates an RU/MRU index of the RU/MRU on the band, and an index range corresponding to the resource unit allocation indication in the first bandwidth is reused for an index range of the resource unit allocation indication. When the first bandwidth is 320 MHz, the index range of the resource unit allocation indication is the same as an index range corresponding to the resource unit allocation indication in the 80 MHz/160 MHz bandwidth).
Regarding claim 14, Hu discloses wherein the PPDU is generated based on the capability information of the first device (Paragraph 0124-0125 discloses after receiving a trigger frame, a STA may parse out user information field that matches an AID of the STA, and then send a TB PPDU on an RU indicated by a resource unit allocation subfield in the user information field).
Regarding claim 16, Hu discloses transmitting, to the second device, capability information of the first device indicating whether reception of a modulation scheme for the RU comprising the 242-tone in the bandwidth of 20 MHz is supported (Paragraph 0180, 0198 discloses when the bandwidth of the PPDU is 80 MHz, 160 MHz, or 320 MHz, each 20 MHz supports various 52+26-tone MRUs. The resource unit allocation indication indicates an RU/MRU index of the RU/MRU on the band, and an index range corresponding to the resource unit allocation indication in the first bandwidth is reused for an index range of the resource unit allocation indication. When the first bandwidth is 320 MHz, the index range of the resource unit allocation indication is the same as an index range corresponding to the resource unit allocation indication in the 80 MHz/160 MHz bandwidth).
Regarding claim 22, Hu discloses wherein the first MRU comprises any one of an MRU comprising a 2×106-tone, an MRU comprising a 2×106+26-tone, (Paragraphs 0117-0118, 0198 disclose when the bandwidth of the PPDU is 80 MHz, 160 MHz, or 320 MHz, each 20 MHz supports various 52+26-tone MRUs and various 106+26-tone MRUs. This is because when the bandwidth of the PPDU is 20 MHz or 40 MHz, each 20 MHz supports various 52+26-tone MRUs and various 106+26-tone MRUs), an MRU comprising an upper-frequency 106+26-tone, and an MRU comprising a lower-frequency 106+26-tone (Paragraphs 0117-0118, 0198 disclose when the bandwidth of the PPDU is 80 MHz, 160 MHz, or 320 MHz, each 20 MHz supports various 52+26-tone MRUs and various 106+26-tone MRUs. This is because when the bandwidth of the PPDU is 20 MHz or 40 MHz, each 20 MHz supports various 52+26-tone MRUs and various 106+26-tone MRUs).
Regarding claim 23, Hu discloses receiving, from the first device, capability information indicating whether the first MRU is supported, wherein the allocating of the first MRU comprises allocating the first MRU to the first device based on the capability information (Paragraph 0180, 0198 discloses when the bandwidth of the PPDU is 80 MHz, 160 MHz, or 320 MHz, each 20 MHz supports various 52+26-tone MRUs. The resource unit allocation indication indicates an RU/MRU index of the RU/MRU on the band, and an index range corresponding to the resource unit allocation indication in the first bandwidth is reused for an index range of the resource unit allocation indication. When the first bandwidth is 320 MHz, the index range of the resource unit allocation indication is the same as an index range corresponding to the resource unit allocation indication in the 80 MHz/160 MHz bandwidth).
Regarding claim 24, Hu discloses receiving, from the first device, capability information indicating whether reception of a modulation scheme for the RU comprising the 242-tone in the bandwidth of 20 MHz is supported, wherein the allocating of the first MRU comprises allocating the first MRU to the first device based on the capability information (Paragraph 0180, 0198 discloses when the bandwidth of the PPDU is 80 MHz, 160 MHz, or 320 MHz, each 20 MHz supports various 52+26-tone MRUs. The resource unit allocation indication indicates an RU/MRU index of the RU/MRU on the band, and an index range corresponding to the resource unit allocation indication in the first bandwidth is reused for an index range of the resource unit allocation indication. When the first bandwidth is 320 MHz, the index range of the resource unit allocation indication is the same as an index range corresponding to the resource unit allocation indication in the 80 MHz/160 MHz bandwidth).
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 of this title, 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.
Claims 2-3, 5, 8 and 19-21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hu et al. (WO 2022/237520 A1, CN 202110513712.3, for citation and translation please see US 2024/0080827 A1) in view of Yu et al. (WO 2022262732 A1, CN202110675567.9 for citation and translation please see US 2024/0121030 A1).
Regarding claim 2, Hu does not explicitly disclose wherein the plurality of fields comprise a bandwidth field, a PPDU type and compression mode field, and a punctured channel information field.
In an analogous art, Yu discloses wherein the plurality of fields comprise a bandwidth field, a PPDU type and a punctured channel information field (Table 2 discloses a puncturing pattern may be indicated based on a punctured channel information field (bits B3 to B7) of a second symbol in a U-SIG field, and a PPDU bandwidth may be indicated based on a PPDU bandwidth indication field (bits B3 to B5) of a first symbol in the U-SIG field, which indicates the type of PPDU (as different PPDU are listed based on different bandwidth), and compression mode field (Paragraph 0119 discloses puncturing patterns for non-OFDMA transmission of an EHT MU PPDU are shown in Table 2 below. A puncturing pattern may be indicated based on a punctured channel information field (bits B3 to B7) of a second symbol in a U-SIG field, and a PPDU bandwidth may be indicated based on a PPDU bandwidth indication field (bits B3 to B5) of a first symbol in the U-SIG field).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the technique of Yu to the system of Hu to provide a communication method and a communication apparatus, which can improve flexibility of indicating a puncturing pattern of a first bitmap, thereby improving applicability (Paragraph 0007).
Regarding claim 3, Hu does not explicitly disclose wherein the identifying comprises: identifying, based on a value of the bandwidth field, that the bandwidth of the channel is 20 MHz; identifying, based on a value of the PPDU type and compression mode field, that the PPDU is based on non-OFDMA; and identifying, based on a value of the punctured channel information field, whether at least one of the RU comprising the 242-tone and the MRU has been allocated to the first device.
In an analogous art, Yu discloses identifying, based on a value of the bandwidth field, that the bandwidth of the channel is 20 MHz; identifying, based on a value of the PPDU type and compression mode field, that the PPDU is based on non-OFDMA (Table 2 discloses a puncturing pattern may be indicated based on a punctured channel information field (bits B3 to B7) of a second symbol in a U-SIG field, and a PPDU bandwidth may be indicated based on a PPDU bandwidth indication field (bits B3 to B5) of a first symbol in the U-SIG field, which indicates the type of PPDU (as different PPDU are listed based on different bandwidth); and identifying, based on a value of the punctured channel information field, whether at least one of the RU comprising the 242-tone and the MRU has been allocated to the first device (Paragraph 0165 discloses the first device may alternatively perform the non-OFDMA transmission by using a supported non-OFDMA puncturing pattern with a smaller size. For example, the first device may alternatively send the PPDU based on a puncturing pattern corresponding to the 242-tone RU 1 (that is, send the PPDU on the 242-tone RU 1 in the 320 MHz bandwidth). For another example, the first device may alternatively send the PPDU on the 484-tone RU 1 in the 320 MHz bandwidth. For still another example, the first device may alternatively send the PPDU on the 484+242-tone MRU 1 to the 484+242-tone MRU 4 in the 320 MHz bandwidth).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the technique of Yu to the system of Hu to provide a communication method and a communication apparatus, which can improve flexibility of indicating a puncturing pattern of a first bitmap, thereby improving applicability (Paragraph 0007).
Regarding claim 5, Hu does not explicitly disclose wherein the identifying further comprises: based on the value of the punctured channel information field being a first value, identifying that the RU comprising the 242-tone is allocated to the first device; and based on the value of the punctured channel information field being a second value, identifying that the MRU is allocated to the first device.
In an analogous art, Yu discloses wherein the identifying further comprises: based on the value of the punctured channel information field being a first value, identifying that the RU comprising the 242-tone is allocated to the first device (Table 2, Paragraphs 0125-0128 discloses a puncturing pattern may be indicated based on a punctured channel information field (bits B3 to B7) of a second symbol in a U-SIG field, and a PPDU bandwidth may be indicated based on a PPDU bandwidth indication field (bits B3 to B5) of a first symbol in the U-SIG field, which indicates the type of PPDU (as different PPDU are listed based on different bandwidth. Fig. 7 discloses the allocation 242 tone RU to users); and based on the value of the punctured channel information field being a second value, identifying that the MRU is allocated to the first device (Paragraph 0150 discloses the first device may allocate, to the second device based on the second puncturing pattern, one RU or MRU used for transmission of the EHT TB PPDU, so as to schedule the second device to send the EHT TB PPDU in a non-OFDMA transmission manner. If the resource unit indicated in the resource unit allocation sub-field in the trigger frame is a resource unit used to schedule the second device to perform OFDMA transmission, the first device may allocate, based on the first puncturing pattern, more than one (namely, two or more) RU or MRU to the second device, so as to schedule the second device to send the EHT TB PPDU in an OFDMA transmission manner).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the technique of Yu to the system of Hu to provide a communication method and a communication apparatus, which can improve flexibility of indicating a puncturing pattern of a first bitmap, thereby improving applicability (Paragraph 0007).
Regarding claim 8, Hu does not explicitly disclose wherein the identifying comprises: based on a value of a punctured channel information field being a first value, identifying that the RU comprising the 242-tone is allocated to the first device; based on the value of the punctured channel information field being a second value, identifying that the first MRU is allocated to the first device; and based on the value of the punctured channel information field being a third value, identifying that the second MRU is allocated to the first device.
In an analogous art, Yu discloses wherein the identifying comprises: based on a value of a punctured channel information field being a first value, identifying that the RU comprising the 242-tone is allocated to the first device (Figs. 7-8, paragraph 0127-0130, table 2, discloses punctured channel indication in an EHT MU PPDU in a case of non-OFDMA transmission Puncturing pattern Puncturing pattern PPDU bandwidth Case (RU or MRU index) Field value PPDU bandwidth Cases (RU or MRU index) Field value and the indicated 242 tone); based on the value of the punctured channel information field being a second value, identifying that the first MRU is allocated to the first device (Figs. 7-8, paragraph 0127-0130, table 2, discloses punctured channel indication in an EHT MU PPDU in a case of non-OFDMA transmission Puncturing pattern Puncturing pattern PPDU bandwidth Case (RU or MRU index) Field value PPDU bandwidth Cases (RU or MRU index) Field value and the indicated tone); and based on the value of the punctured channel information field being a third value, identifying that the second MRU is allocated to the first device (Figs. 7-8, paragraph 0127-0130, table 2, discloses punctured channel indication in an EHT MU PPDU in a case of non-OFDMA transmission Puncturing pattern Puncturing pattern PPDU bandwidth Case (RU or MRU index) Field value PPDU bandwidth Cases (RU or MRU index) Field value and the indicated tone).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the technique of Yu to the system of Hu to provide a communication method and a communication apparatus, which can improve flexibility of indicating a puncturing pattern of a first bitmap, thereby improving applicability (Paragraph 0007).
Regarding claim 19, Hu does not explicitly disclose wherein the plurality of fields comprise a bandwidth field, a PPDU type and compression mode field, and a punctured channel information field.
In an analogous art, Yu discloses wherein the field is a punctured channel information field (Table 2 discloses a puncturing pattern may be indicated based on a punctured channel information field (bits B3 to B7) of a second symbol in a U-SIG field, and a PPDU bandwidth may be indicated based on a PPDU bandwidth indication field (bits B3 to B5) of a first symbol in the U-SIG field, which indicates the type of PPDU (as different PPDU are listed based on different bandwidth)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the technique of Yu to the system of Hu to provide a communication method and a communication apparatus, which can improve flexibility of indicating a puncturing pattern of a first bitmap, thereby improving applicability (Paragraph 0007).
Regarding claim 20, Hu does not explicitly disclose wherein the punctured channel information field comprises a bit indicating any one of the RU comprising the 242-tone, and the first MRU.
In an analogous art, Yu discloses wherein the punctured channel information field comprises (Table 2 discloses a puncturing pattern may be indicated based on a punctured channel information field (bits B3 to B7) of a second symbol in a U-SIG field, and a PPDU bandwidth may be indicated based on a PPDU bandwidth indication field (bits B3 to B5) of a first symbol in the U-SIG field, which indicates the type of PPDU (as different PPDU are listed based on different bandwidth) a bit indicating any one of the RU comprising the 242-tone, and the first MRU (Paragraph 0165 discloses the first device may alternatively perform the non-OFDMA transmission by using a supported non-OFDMA puncturing pattern with a smaller size. For example, the first device may alternatively send the PPDU based on a puncturing pattern corresponding to the 242-tone RU 1 (that is, send the PPDU on the 242-tone RU 1 in the 320 MHz bandwidth). For another example, the first device may alternatively send the PPDU on the 484-tone RU 1 in the 320 MHz bandwidth. For still another example, the first device may alternatively send the PPDU on the 484+242-tone MRU 1 to the 484+242-tone MRU 4 in the 320 MHz bandwidth).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the technique of Yu to the system of Hu to provide a communication method and a communication apparatus, which can improve flexibility of indicating a puncturing pattern of a first bitmap, thereby improving applicability (Paragraph 0007).
Regarding claim 21, Hu does not explicitly disclose wherein the first MRU comprises any one of a plurality of second MRUs corresponding to different combinations, and the punctured channel information field comprises a plurality of bits indicating at least one of the RU comprising the 242-tone and a second MRU of the plurality of second MRUs.
In an analogous art, Yu discloses wherein the first MRU comprises any one of a plurality of second MRUs corresponding to different combinations, and the punctured channel information field comprises a plurality of bits indicating at least one of the RU comprising the 242-tone and a second MRU of the plurality of second MRUs (Paragraphs 0117-0118, 0198 disclose when the bandwidth of the PPDU is 80 MHz, 160 MHz, or 320 MHz, each 20 MHz supports various 52+26-tone MRUs and various 106+26-tone MRUs. This is because when the bandwidth of the PPDU is 20 MHz or 40 MHz, each 20 MHz supports various 52+26-tone MRUs and various 106+26-tone MRUs).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the technique of Yu to the system of Hu to provide a communication method and a communication apparatus, which can improve flexibility of indicating a puncturing pattern of a first bitmap, thereby improving applicability (Paragraph 0007).
Claim 17 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hu et al. (WO 2022/237520 A1, for citation and translation please see US 2024/0080827 A1) in view of Dong (US 2025/0301307 A1).
Regarding claim 17, Hu does not disclose the mechanism of wherein the modulation scheme is any one of a 1024-quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) and a 4096-QAM.
In an analogous art, Dong discloses wherein the modulation scheme is any one of a 1024-quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) and a 4096-QAM (Paragraph 0045, 0074).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the technique of Dong to the system of Hu to provide a method of transceiving capability information supported by devices such as 4096 QAM and 1024 QAM which utilize in performing communication session (Paragraph 0005).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Hu et al. (US 2022/0353029 A1) discloses a resource unit combination indication method and a communications apparatus, to support one or more users in transmitting data by using a plurality of contiguous or discontiguous RUs, and indicate a combination status of the plurality of RUs to the user. This improves RU allocation flexibility of a system, and improves spectrum utilization of the system (Abstract, Hu).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ROMANI OHRI whose telephone number is (571)272-5420. The examiner can normally be reached 8:00am-5:00pm.
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, UN C CHO can be reached at 5712727919. 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.
/ROMANI OHRI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2413
Prosecution Insights