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 .
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 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.
Election/Restrictions
In response to the Applicant Arguments filed on 05/14/26, the Applicant argues that the traverse is based on the fact that the claims of Group I and Group II are closely related, and it would not place an undue burden on the Examiner to consider the claims in a single application. Accordingly, it is requested that the Examiner reconsider and withdraw the restriction requirement. This is not found persuasive because the first group of claims is directed access point detail while the second group of claims is directed to a station (STA) detail. Therefore, it requires a different field of search. Additionally, it is noted that the prior art applicable to claims directed to group I would not likely be applicable to claims directed to group II, and therefore if the Examiner were “to consider all claims in a single application,” additional searches would need to be performed in order to obtain prior art applicable to the claims directed to the other group. Thus, there would at least be an undue search burden on the Examiner if the Examiner were “to consider all claims in a single application.” Furthermore, the Examiner is not required to exam an application has multiple inventions. Therefore, the restriction/election mailed 03/20/26 is proper and required different search areas.
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
Information Disclosure Statement
The references listed in the Information Disclosure Statement filed on 10/03/25 have been considered by the examiner (see attached PTO-1449 form or PTO/SB/08A and 08B).
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.
Claims 1-7 and 12-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Huang (U.S. 20250227537) in view of Choi et al. (U.S. 20240429968) and further in view of Hart et al. (U.S. 20250159547) and further in view of Henry et al. (U.S. 20250203442) and further in view of Lee et al. (U.S. 20150281102).
For claim 1, Huang discloses a method of operating an access point (AP), comprising:
receiving a Stream Classification Service (SCS) Request frame from a station, said SCS Request frame including an SCS descriptor element including a classifier type field indicating that a corresponding classifier parameters field included in SCS descriptor element will include one or more qualifiers indicating how the AP is to treat data, which is to be transmitted by the access point (at least [0119]-[0127]. The STA may send the SCS request to the AP associated with the STA, report the low-delay traffic stream by using the SCS request, and indicate a corresponding QoS requirement (or referred to as a QoS parameter). The SCS request may be referred to as an SCS request frame. The SCS request includes a category (category) field, a robust action field, a dialog token field, and an SCS descriptor list field. For example, the category field may indicate a category to which the action frame (that is, the SCS request frame) belongs. The robust action field may indicate a frame in a corresponding category that the SCS request frame belongs to. The dialog token field may be used to match a corresponding SCS request frame and SCS response frame. The SCS descriptor list field may include one or more SCS descriptor elements, and each SCS descriptor element may indicate related information of an SCS stream. In an embodiment, when a plurality of SCS streams are mapped to a same TID, the transmitting end may report QoS requirements of the plurality of SCS streams to the receiving end by sending a plurality of SCS requests, or the transmitting end may report the QoS requirements of the plurality of SCS streams to the receiving end by using a plurality of SCS descriptor elements. The SCS descriptor element may include at least one of the following: an element identifier (element ID) field, a length field, an SCS identifier (SCSID) field, and a request type field. In an embodiment, the SCS descriptor element may further include at least one of the following: an intra-access category priority element, a traffic classification (TCLAS, or may be referred to as communication classification or business classification) element (TCLAS element), a traffic classification processing element (TCLAS processing element), a quality of service characteristics element (service of quality characteristics element), and another optional subelement. In this embodiment of this application, whether the SCS descriptor element includes all the intra-access category priority element, the traffic classification element, the traffic classification processing element, and the quality of service characteristics element, or whether the SCS descriptor element includes none of the intra-access category priority element, the traffic classification element, the traffic classification processing element, and the quality of service characteristics element is not limited. A value and an indication function of the request type may be shown in Table 1. TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 1 Value of the request type Indication function 0 Add, that is, add/request to create an SCS stream 1 Remove, that is, request to remove an SCS stream 2 Change, that is, request to change an SCS stream [0128] (5) A specific format of the intra-access category priority element is shown in (a) in FIG. 5b, and includes an element identifier (element ID) field, a length field, and an intra-access priority field. The intra-access priority field may be 1 octet, and may include at least one of the following: a user priority field, an alternative queue field, a drop eligibility field, and a reserved field. [0129] (6) The TCLAS element indicates how to identify an SCS stream, and the element carries a criterion for determining the SCS stream. The TCLAS element may include at least one of the following: an element identifier (element ID) field, a length field, a user priority field, and a frame classifier field. [0130] (7) The TCLAS processing element indicates how to process a plurality of TCLAS elements when the plurality of TCLAS elements exist. [0131] (8) The QoS characteristics element indicates information such as a TID to which a corresponding SCS stream is mapped, and a corresponding QoS parameter. For example, the QoS parameter may include a delay bound and an MSDU delivery ratio. The delay bound may indicate a maximum delay allowed by the SCS stream. The MSDU delivery ratio may indicate a required packet delivery ratio under a given delay bound requirement.) However, Huang does not disclose a classifier type field set to an integer value in the range of 11-255, said value indicating that a corresponding classifier parameters field included in SCS descriptor element will include one or more qualifiers indicating how the AP is to treat data, which is to be transmitted by the access point; receiving a media access control (MAC) service data unit (MSDU) with associated ECN bits, said associated ECN bits including an associated Explicit Congestion Notification (ECN) Capable Transport (ECT) bit and an associated Congestion Experienced (CE) bit; and determining, based on whether the ECN bits associated with the MSDU are set to 11, whether to provide the MSDU priority transmission treatment corresponding to an ECN setting of 11 or a standard level of transmission treatment.
In the same field of endeavor, Choi et al. disclose a classifier type field set to an integer value in the range of 11-255, said value indicating that a corresponding classifier parameters field included in SCS descriptor element will include one or more qualifiers indicating how the AP is to treat data, which is to be transmitted by the access point (at least [0078]. Classifier types 11 to 255 may be used to specify traffic of a service that requests multi-AP coordination. For example, a new structure of the frame classifier field may be defined by setting the classifier type for specifying the traffic of the service requesting multi-AP coordination from classifier types 11 to 255 and adding information for specifying the traffic of the service to one or more parameters to be set.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to modify the invention of Huang as taught by Choi et al. for purpose of identifying traffic of a service.
In the same field of endeavor, Hart et al. disclose receiving a media access control (MAC) service data unit (MSDU) with associated ECN bits (at least [0031]. The L4S marking request 270 can also include other characteristics of the corresponding L4S flow (e.g., a Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) of the associated device, such as the STA 102), a recommended value for the congestion marking (e.g., a recommendation for the ECN field in the IP header within the MSDU), and/or the like. In further embodiments, queue information, other characteristics of the corresponding L4S flow, a recommended value for the congestion marking, and/or the like may be sent to layer 3 230 via a separate primitive or other mechanism.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to modify the invention of Huang as taught by Hart et al. for purpose of indicating that there is detected congestion or predicted congestion that will occur.
In the same field of endeavor, Henry et al. disclose said associated ECN bits including an associated Explicit Congestion Notification (ECN) Capable Transport (ECT) bit and an associated Congestion Experienced (CE) bit (at least [0038] and [0059]. e ECN indicator may be utilized for signaling congestion between endpoints and/or signaling that the data flow should be treated as LAS. Examples of the ECN indicators include but are not limited to, Congestion Experienced (CE) or ECN Capable Transport (ECT) which can further include ECT(1) and/or ECT(0). The device can thereafter determine that the data flow is the LAS data flow based on the ECN indicator.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to modify the invention of Huang as taught by Henry et al. for purpose of indicating that the data flow is the LAS data flow.
In the same field of endeavor, Lee et al. disclose determining, based on whether the ECN bits associated with the MSDU are set to 11, whether to provide the MSDU priority transmission treatment corresponding to an ECN setting of 11 or a standard level of transmission treatment (at least [0165]. The communication device 11-1 then transmits additional data packets corresponding to the respective data flows (Step S508, S509). When congestion occurs in the switch device 50-2 (Step S510), the ECN writing unit 505 in the switch device 50-2 rewrites the ECN flag in each of the data packets in the output queue in which the amount of data has become equal to or more than the predetermined amount to “11”. This process causes the switch device 50-2 to transmit the data packets of which ECN flag is set to “11” to the switch device 50-5 (Step S511). Because the switch device 50-5 is not congested, the switch device 50-5 transmits the data packets to the communication device 11-4 based on the respective destinations without rewriting the ECN flag.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to modify the invention of Huang as taught by Lee et al. for purpose of transmitting the notifying packet generated by the generating unit to another switch device.
For claim 2, the combination of Huang, Choi et al., Hart et al., Henry et al. and Lee et al. disclose the method of claim 1. Henry et al. disclose one of said one or more qualifiers includes a parameter which has an associated ECT bit set to 1 and an associated CE bit set to 1 (at least [0038] and [0059]. e ECN indicator may be utilized for signaling congestion between endpoints and/or signaling that the data flow should be treated as LAS. Examples of the ECN indicators include but are not limited to, Congestion Experienced (CE) or ECN Capable Transport (ECT) which can further include ECT(1) and/or ECT(0). The device can thereafter determine that the data flow is the LAS data flow based on the ECN indicator.)
For claim 3, the combination of Huang, Choi et al., Hart et al., Henry et al. and Lee et al. disclose the method of claim 1. Choi et al. disclose wherein said classifier type field is set to the value 11 (at least [0078]. Classifier types 11 to 255 may be used to specify traffic of a service that requests multi-AP coordination. For example, a new structure of the frame classifier field may be defined by setting the classifier type for specifying the traffic of the service requesting multi-AP coordination from classifier types 11 to 255 and adding information for specifying the traffic of the service to one or more parameters to be set.)
For claim 4, the combination of Huang, Choi et al., Hart et al., Henry et al. and Lee et al. disclose the method of claim 1. Huang discloses wherein said classifier type field and said classifier parameters field are part of a frame classifier included as part of a traffic classification (TCLAS) element (at least [0108]. The transmitting end may identify a corresponding MSDU based on a traffic filter (TCLAS filter) deployed above the MAC (for example, deployed at the LLC), and map the MSDU to a specified TID and SCSID. The MSDU is then delivered from the LLC layer to the MAC layer through a MAC layer service access point (MAC-SAP) by using a primitive request (for example, MA-UNITDATA.request primitive).)
For claim 5, the combination of Huang, Choi et al., Hart et al., Henry et al. and Lee et al. disclose the method of claim 1. Huang discloses wherein indicating how the AP is to treat data to be transmitted includes indicating Quality of Service (QOS) information (at least [0009]. A receiving end may effectively optimize QoS of an SCS stream based on QoS that is of the SCS stream and that is indicated by the measurement report, to perform targeted optimization on the QoS of the SCS stream. This not only improves optimization efficiency, but also effectively improves the QoS of the SCS stream.)
For claim 6, the combination of Huang, Choi et al., Hart et al., Henry et al. and Lee et al. disclose the method of claim 5. Huang discloses wherein said QoS information includes transmission frame rate information (at least [0133]. The QOS characteristics element includes at least one of the following: an element identifier (element ID) field, a length field, an element identifier extension (element ID extension) field, a control information field, a minimum service interval (minimum service interval) field, a maximum service interval field, a minimum data rate field, a delay bound field, a maximum MSDU size field, a service start time field, a mean data rate field, a burst size field, an MSDU lifetime field, an MSDU delivery ratio field, an MSDU count exponent field, a medium time field, and a bandwidth.)
For claim 7, the combination of Huang, Choi et al., Hart et al., Henry et al. and Lee et al. disclose the method of claim 1. Hart et al. disclose enabling, prior to receiving the MSDU, a WiFi Low Latency, Low Loss, and Scalable Throughput (L4S) mode of operation (at least [0025]-[0026]. The STA 102, the AP 110, and/or one or more of the network devices 120 can support L4S for predicted or otherwise detected congestion or upcoming congestion (e.g., short-term congestion) by supporting the marking request primitives and marking response primitives and/or using an ECN flag to indicate the detection of the congestion or upcoming congestion. In some embodiments, the STA 102, the AP 110, and/or one or more of the network devices 120 can predict or otherwise determine the presence short-term congestion using machine learning methods. Providing L4S marking for example can comprise determining, in layer 2, a MAC packet is experiencing congestion. A MAC packet may include a MAC Service Data Unit (MSDU), an Aggregate MSDU (AMSDU) which contains one or more MSDUs, a MAC Protocol Data Unit (MPDU) which contains an MSDU or an AMSDU, or an Aggregate MPDU (AMPDU) which contains one or more MPDUs. Thus, a MAC packet contains one or more MSDUs. Each MSDU contains a header, such as a LLC header, followed by a Data Link Service Data Unit (DLSDU) (i.e., a layer 3 packet).)
For claims 12-15, the claims have features similar to claims 1-4. Therefore, the claims are also rejected for the same reason in claims 1-4.
For claims 16, the claim has features similar to claim 6. Therefore, the claim is also rejected for the same reason in claim 6.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 8-11 and 17-18 are 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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DAI PHUONG whose telephone number is 571-272-7896. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday, 8am-5pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Kathy Wang-Hurst can be reached on 571-270-5371. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-7687.
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/DAI PHUONG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2644
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