CTNF 18/618,515 CTNF 92397 DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. Information Disclosure Statement 06-52 The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted was filed after the mailing date. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner. Priority 02-25 AIA Acknowledgment is made of applicant's claim for foreign priority based on an application filed in Japan on 9/30/2021 . It is noted, however, that applicant has not filed a certified copy of the foreign priority application as required by 37 CFR 1.55. Specification 06-11 AIA 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. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 07-07-aia AIA 07-07 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 – 07-08-aia AIA (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. 07-12-aia AIA (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. 07-15-03-aia AIA Claim(s) 1, 3, 9, 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Kwon et al. (“Kwon”) (US 20210385692 A1) . Regarding claim 1, Kwon teaches: A communication apparatus configured to operate as a Multi-Link Device based on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) series standards [¶0056, AP is MLD device comprising multiple APs communicating with MLD STA comprising multiple STAs, and see ¶0115 AP1 and AP2 are part of same MLD AP device] , the communication apparatus comprising: a detection unit [¶0199 processing components] configured to detect reception of a second initiation frame for initiating a frame exchange sequence over a second Enhanced multi-link multi-radio (EMLMR) link [Figure 6, ¶0142 trigger frame TRG2 42 received at AP2 of MLD AP device within predetermined time TO] different from a first EMLMR link from another communication apparatus in a period from reception of a first initiation frame for initiating the frame exchange sequence over the first EMLMR link from the other communication apparatus to transmission of a response frame to the first initiation frame [¶0142, Figure 6, within period T0 from receiving TRG1 620 from STA1 of MLD STA, and see ¶0132 this predetermined time is preconfigured to wait for the another trigger frame (trigger frame for establishing EMLMR link, Examiner notes this may occur before response frame which may be RTS or DATA as the claim does not specify the response frame, see also Figure 4 wherein TRG1 and TRG2 occur at same time thus in time period before ACK 412] ; and a control unit configured to perform control to continue the frame exchange sequence over the first EMLMR link or the second EMLMR link in a case where the reception of the second initiation frame in the period is detected by the detection unit [¶0142, process continues over first link including RTS, CTS, data transmission] . Regarding claim 3, Kwon teaches: The communication apparatus according to Claim 1, wherein the control unit performs control to continue the frame exchange sequence over the first EMLMR link or the second EMLMR link based on an EMLMR link establishment order of each link in Multi-Link communication [¶0142, Figure 6, link established over e.g. link1 based on order of multi-link communication, the order being TRG1, RTS, CTS, DATA] . Regarding claim 9, see similar rejection for claim 1 which teaches the physical structure performing the corresponding method. Regarding claim 11, Kwon teaches: A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing a program for causing a computer to function as each unit of the communication apparatus according to Claim 1 [¶0199-201] . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-23-aia AIA 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kwon et al. (“Kwon”) (US 20210385692 A1) in view of Chu (US 20220303893 A1, effective filing date provisional application 63164121 filed March 22, 2021) . Regarding claim 2, Kwon teaches: The communication apparatus according to Claim 1. Kwon teaches links but not link IDs. Chu teaches wherein the control unit performs control to continue the frame exchange sequence over the first EMLMR link or the second EMLMR link based on a link identifier (link ID) assigned to each link in Multi-Link communication [¶0059-64, Link ID bitmap, thus links identified by IDs] . It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to specify link IDs. Kwon teaches multiple links called link 1 and link 2 and it would have been obvious to have IDs assigned as in Chu who teaches this allows for addressing the issue of not knowing the links for which MLD will work ¶0063 . 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kwon et al. (“Kwon”) (US 20210385692 A1) in view of Lopez et al. (“Lopez”) (US 20240196331 A1) . Regarding claim 4, Kwon teaches: The communication apparatus according to Claim 1, wherein the control unit performs control to continue the frame exchange sequence over the first EMLMR link or the second EMLMR link [¶0142, Figure 6, link established over e.g. link1 of the multi-link] . Kwon teaches multiple links but not based on performance. Lopez wherein the control unit performs control to continue the frame exchange sequence over the first link or the second link based on communication performance of each link in Multi-Link communication [¶0077-79 select link based on performance] . It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to specify link selection based on performance of the link as in Lopez who teaches this results in low latency ¶0078 . 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 5-6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kwon et al. (“Kwon”) (US 20210385692 A1) in view of Kwon et al. (US 20220104261 A1, hereinafter ‘261) . Regarding claim 5, Kwon teaches: The communication apparatus according to Claim 1, wherein in a case where the control unit performs control to continue the frame exchange sequence over the first EMLMR link with the communication apparatus or the other communication apparatus that operates as a non-access point multi-link device (Non-AP MLD) [¶0142, Figure 6, link established over e.g. link1 of the multi-link]. Kwon teaches multiple links but not based on spatial streams. ‘261 teaches the control unit performs control to continue the frame exchange sequence with a number of spatial streams up to a value defined in an EMLMR SUPPORTED MCS AND NSS SET subfield by the communication apparatus or the other communication apparatus that operates as a non-access point multi-link device (Non-AP MLD) [¶0052, frame exchange continues based on spatial streams and MCS indicated in the initiation frames]. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to specify indicating the MCS and NSS information with spatial streams as in ‘261 in order that each device may transmit and receive frames on the link where the initial frame was received ¶0053. Regarding claim 6, Kwon teaches: The communication apparatus according to Claim 1, wherein in a case where the control unit performs control to start the frame exchange sequence over the second EMLMR link with the communication apparatus or the other communication apparatus that operates as a Non-AP MLD [¶0142, Figure 6, link established over e.g. link2 of the multi-link]. Kwon teaches multiple links but not based on spatial streams. ‘261 teaches the control unit performs control to continue the frame exchange sequence with a number of spatial streams up to a value defined in an EMLMR SUPPORTED MCS AND NSS SET subfield by the communication apparatus or the other communication apparatus that operates as a Non-AP MLD [¶0052, frame exchange includes spatial streams and MCS] . It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to specify indicating the MCS and NSS information with spatial streams as in ‘261 in order that each device may transmit and receive frames on the links where the initial frame was received ¶0053 . 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kwon et al. (“Kwon”) (US 20210385692 A1) in view of Chu et al. (“Chu”) (US 20220330366 A1, effective filing date provisional application 63173845 filed April 12, 2021) . Regarding claim 7, Kwon teaches: The communication apparatus according to Claim 1. Kwon teaches EMLMR links but not removing. Chu teaches wherein the control unit removes the EMLMR link used to perform the frame exchange sequence in a case where the frame exchange sequence ends [¶0049, links may be removed after association] . It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to specify removing the EMLMR link after association as this is an obvious combination of prior art elements according to known techniques to reconfigure the multi-link connection as in ¶0047 . 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 8, 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kwon et al. (“Kwon”) (US 20210385692 A1) in view of Kwon et al. (US 20220174536 A1, hereinafter ‘536) . Regarding claim 8, Kwon teaches: A communication apparatus configured to operate as a Multi-Link Device based on the IEEE 802.11 series standards, the communication apparatus [¶056, AP is MLD device comprising multiple APs communicating with MLD STA comprising multiple STAs, and see ¶0115 AP1 and AP2 are part of same MLD AP device] comprising: a detection unit [¶0199 processing components] configured to detect reception of a second initiation frame for initiating a frame exchange sequence over a second EMLMR link [Figure 6, ¶0142 trigger frame TRG2 42 received at AP2 of MLD AP device within predetermined time TO] different from a first EMLMR link from another communication apparatus in a period from reception of a first initiation frame for initiating the frame exchange sequence over the first EMLMR link from the other communication apparatus to transmission of a response frame to the first initiation frame [¶0142, Figure 6, within period T0 from receiving TRG1 620 from STA1 of MLD STA, and see ¶0132 this predetermined time is preconfigured to wait for the another trigger frame (trigger frame for establishing EMLMR link, Examiner notes this may occur before response frame which may be RTS or DATA as the claim does not specify the response frame, see also Figure 4 wherein TRG1 and TRG2 occur at same time thus in time period before ACK 412] ; and a control unit configured to perform control to perform the frame exchange sequence in a case where the reception of the second initiation frame in the period is detected by the detection unit [¶0142, process continues over both first and second link including RTS, CTS, data transmission] . Kwon teaches multiple links but not spatial streams. ‘536 teaches per-link spatial streams allocated to the first EMLMR link and a number of per-link spatial streams allocated to the second EMLMR link [¶0069 “receive PPDUs with the number of spatial streams up to the value as indicated in the EMLMR Rx NSS subfield of Multi-Link element”]. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to specify the link comprises per-link spatial streams. Kwon teaches multiple links and it would have been obvious to specify spatial streams as in ‘536 as this is an obvious combination of prior art elements according to known techniques in the art for configuring multiple radio links on multiple spatial streams as indicated in EMLMR Rx NSS during initial frame exchange so that the space-time streams may be established ¶0069. Regarding claim 10, see similar rejection for claim 8 which teaches the physical structure performing the corresponding method. Examiner’s Note Examiner recommends specifying the “response frame” in the independent claim as e.g. a CTS and specifying the contents of the initiation frame, as any frame sent by the AP to the STA may be considered a “response frame.” Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JAY L. VOGEL whose telephone number is (303)297-4322. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8AM-4:30 PM MT. 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, Joseph Avellino can be reached at 571-272-3905. 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. /JAY L VOGEL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2478 Application/Control Number: 18/618,515 Page 2 Art Unit: 2478 Application/Control Number: 18/618,515 Page 3 Art Unit: 2478 Application/Control Number: 18/618,515 Page 4 Art Unit: 2478 Application/Control Number: 18/618,515 Page 5 Art Unit: 2478 Application/Control Number: 18/618,515 Page 6 Art Unit: 2478 Application/Control Number: 18/618,515 Page 7 Art Unit: 2478
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