DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claims status
3. This office action is a response to an application filed on April 11, 2024 in which claims 1-30 are pending for examination.
Drawings
4. The Examiner contends that the drawings submitted on April 11, 2024 are acceptable for examination proceedings.
Information Disclosure Statement
5. The Examiner has considered the reference(s) listed on the Information Disclosure Statement submitted on April 11, 2024.
35 USC § 112 (f) Claim Limitations Analysis
6. The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
7. The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
CLAIM INTERPRETATION
8. Use of the word “means” (or “step for”) in a claim with functional language creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim element is to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. § 112(f) (pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph). The presumption that § 112(f) (pre-AIA § 112, sixth paragraph) is invoked is rebutted when the function is recited with sufficient structure, material, or acts within the claim itself to entirely perform the recited function.
Absence of the word “means” (or “step for”) in a claim creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim element is not to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. § 112(f) (pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph). The presumption that § 112(f) (pre-AIA § 112, sixth paragraph) is not invoked is rebutted when the claim element recites function but fails to recite sufficiently definite structure, material or acts to perform that function.
Claim elements in this application that use the word “means” (or “step for”) are presumed to invoke § 112(f) except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. Similarly, claim elements that do not use the word “means” (or “step for”) are presumed not to invoke § 112(f) except as otherwise indicated in an Office action.
Claim 29 has been analyzed under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph.
Regarding claim 29, since the claim limitation(s), “means for operating”, “means for receiving” and “means for exchanging” invoke 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, the claims have been interpreted to cover the corresponding structure described in the specification that achieves the claimed function, and equivalents thereof [Note: claim limitation(s), “means for operating”, “means for receiving” and “means for exchanging” are being treated in accordance with 112(f) or 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph because the functions of “operating”, “receiving” and “exchanging” are modified by the term “means” which is a word that serves as a generic placeholder for structure that performs the recited functions].
A review of the specification (e.g., Figs. 14-20, 22-28 and 29, paragraphs [0012], [0014], [0030], [0032], [0047], [0049], [0071], [0086], [0087], [0100], [0102], [0116], [0118], [0125], [0127] and [0419]-[0420] of the Publication) appears to show the corresponding structure (i.e. “various illustrative blocks and modules described in connection with the disclosure herein may be implemented or performed with a general-purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, an FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described; the functions described herein may be implemented in hardware, software executed by a processor, firmware, or any combination thereof; if implemented in software executed by a processor, the functions may be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium; other examples and implementations are within the scope of the disclosure and appended claims. For example, due to the nature of software, functions described above may be implemented using software executed by a processor, hardware, firmware, hardwiring, or combinations of any of these”) described in the specification for the 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph limitation.
The structures are either defined in the specification as a particular structure or known by one skilled in the art as denoting a type of structure device. [Note: MPEP 2181, Non-specialized functions: functions known by those of ordinary skill in the art as being commonly performed by a general purpose computer or computer component].
If Applicant wishes to provide further explanation or dispute the Examiner's interpretation of the corresponding structure, Applicant must identify the corresponding structure with reference to the specification by page and line number, and to the drawing, if any, by reference characters in response to this Office Action.
If the Applicant does not intend to have the claimed limitation(s) treated under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, Applicant may amend the claim(s) so that it/they will clearly not invoke 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, present a sufficient showing that the claim recites/recite sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function to preclude application of 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph.
For more information, see MPEP § 2173 et seq. and Supplementary Examination Guidelines for Determining Compliance with 35 U.S.C. 112 and for Treatment of Related Issues in Patent Applications, 76 FR 7162, 7167 (Feb. 9, 2011).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
9. 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.
10. Claims 1-12, 16-25 and 28-30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen et al. (US 2017/0367095 A1), hereinafter “Chen” in view of Lou et al. (US 2019/0007973 A1), hereinafter “Lou”.
Regarding claim 1, Chen discloses a wireless access point (Figs. 4A-4B, high-level system operational flow diagrams illustrating subchannel selection and related operations and messaging as performed by a client station (STA) and an access point (AP)), comprising:
a processing system that includes processor circuitry and memory circuitry that stores code (Fig. 3, apparatus comprising: memory; and processing circuitry), the processing system configured to cause the wireless access point to:
operate using a plurality of subchannels of a total operating bandwidth of the wireless access point (Fig. 4B, 432, paragraphs [0019], [0028], [0050], bandwidth of the subchannels), the plurality of subchannels (Fig. 4B, 432, paragraphs [0019], [0028], [0050], 80-MHz channels have a primary 40-MHz (which includes the primary 20-MHz) subchannel and a secondary 40-MHz subchannel) including a primary subchannel (Fig. 4B, 432, paragraphs [0019], [0028], [0050], STA associates with AP on primary channel P) and one or more secondary subchannels (Fig. 4B, 432, paragraphs [0019], [0028], [0050], initial subchannel on which the association takes place may be a secondary subchannel);
receive, from a wireless station associated with the wireless access point (Fig.4B, 434-436, paragraphs [0052], [0111], subchannel change request message (e.g., in the form of a MAC frame) to the AP), an indication that the wireless station (Fig.4B, 434-436, paragraphs [0052], [0111], the STA may indicate one or more candidate subchannels that it determined to be potentially better-performing subchannels to carry communications to and from the AP) is available to exchange frames on at least one of the one or more secondary subchannels (Fig.4B, 434-436, paragraphs [0052], [0111], subchannel change request message indicates a plurality of available secondary subchannels); and
exchange, based at least in part on the indication (Fig. 4B, 438-440, paragraph [0055], in response to receiving the subchannel change response message, the STA will relocate to the new subchannel, shown as S_20A in the example depicted, at 440, and park on that subchannel to send and receive communications to and from the AP), one or more frames with the wireless station using one or more resource units of the at least one of the one or more secondary subchannels (Fig. 4B, 438-440, paragraph [0055], subchannel change response message indicating which subchannel is to be used by the STA) .
[Note: Chen et al. (US 2017/0367095 A1):
“HEW frame may be configurable to have the same bandwidth as a subchannel. The bandwidth of a subchannel may be 20 MHz, 40 MHz, or 80 MHz, 160 MHz, 320 MHz contiguous bandwidths or an 80+80 MHz (160 MHz) non-contiguous bandwidth. In some embodiments, the bandwidth of a subchannel may be 1 MHz, 1.25 MHz, 2.03 MHz, 2.5 MHz, 5 MHz and 10 MHz, or a combination thereof or another bandwidth that is less or equal to the available bandwidth may also be used. In some embodiments the bandwidth of the subchannels may be based on a number of active subcarriers. In some embodiments the bandwidth of the subchannels are multiples of 26 (e.g., 26, 52, 104, etc.) active subcarriers or tones that are spaced by 20 MHz. In some embodiments the bandwidth of the subchannels is 256 tones spaced by 20 MHz. In some embodiments the subchannels are multiple of 26 tones or a multiple of 20 MHz” (paragraph [0019]);
“One of the more notable recent enhancements to the 802.11 standard is the support for wider channels, as well as both, dynamic, and static channel access More recent releases (e.g., 802.11ac and later) call for all devices to support 20, 40, and 80 MHz channels. In addition, support is provided for operation on 160-MHz channels. Similar to legacy versions such as 802.11n, channels that are 40 MHz or wider always require a primary 20-MHz-wide sub-channel. Additionally, 80-MHz channels have a primary 40-MHz (which includes the primary 20-MHz) subchannel and a secondary 40-MHz subchannel. The same applies to 160-MHz channels” (paragraph [0028]);
“At 434, the STA scans one or more other 20-MHz subchannels than the current subchannel. If the STA determines that one or more 20 MHz subchannels have greater availability (e.g., less congestion or less interference) than the current subchannel, the STA may initiate a subchannel change negotiation at 436. Accordingly, the STA may generate and send a subchannel change request message (e.g., in the form of a MAC frame) to the AP. The subchannel change request message may be sent on the current subchannel (which may be the primary subchannel P_20 or a secondary subchannel S_20A-S_20C), or on the primary subchannel P_20 if the current subchannel is one of the secondary subchannels as another embodiment. In the subchannel change request message, the STA may indicate the one or more candidate subchannels that it determined to be potentially better-performing subchannels to carry communications to and from the AP” (paragraph [0052]);
“At 438, the AP generates and sends the subchannel change response message to the STA. The subchannel change response message may indicate which subchannel is to be used by the STA if this is not implicit (e.g. if the STA provided more than one candidate subchannel in the request message). In response to receiving the subchannel change response message, the STA will relocate to the new subchannel, shown as S_20A in the example depicted, at 440, and park on that subchannel to send and receive communications to and from the AP” (paragraph [0055]);
“In Example 37, the subject matter of Example 36 optionally includes wherein the subchannel change request message indicates a plurality of available secondary subchannels, and wherein the processing circuitry is to further configure the AP to: in response to the subchannel change request message, select the second subchannel from among the plurality of available secondary subchannels as indicated in the subchannel change request message, and indicate the selected second subchannel in the subchannel change response message” (paragraph [0111])].
Assuming Arguendo that Chen does not explicitly disclose or strongly suggest: “receive, from a wireless station associated with the wireless access point, an indication that the wireless station is available to exchange frames on at least one of the one or more secondary subchannels; and exchange, based at least in part on the indication, one or more frames with the wireless station using one or more resource units of the at least one of the one or more secondary subchannels”, Lou from the same or similar field of endeavor explicitly discloses the processing system configured to cause the wireless access point to: receive, from a wireless station associated with the wireless access point (Figs. 6, 12, 14, paragraphs [0078], [0137], [0142], user specific sequence (USS), which may be transmitted with the channel availability information), an indication that the wireless station is available to exchange frames on at least one of the one or more secondary subchannels (Fig. 6, paragraphs [0078], [0137], [0142], USS frame indicating channel or sub-channel availability); and
exchange, based at least in part on the indication (Figs. 6, 12, 14, 16, paragraphs [0090], [0113], [0131], [0143], [0149], availability of the STA on one or more sub-channels may be exchanged using the second Trigger frame and the following USS frame), one or more frames with the wireless station using one or more resource units (Figs. 14, 16, paragraphs [0090], [0113], [0131], [0143], [0149], RU allocation) of the at least one of the one or more secondary subchannels (Figs. 14, 16, paragraphs [0090], [0113], [0131], [0143], [0149], trigger frame to trigger UL data from the set of STAs with resources allocated to STAs (such as sub-channels, RUs, channels, and/or spatial streams) according to the STAs' availability and/or preference indicated by the STAs in their USS).
[Note: Lou et al. (US 2019/0007973 A1):
“As described in more detail below, the split CTS frame may include a CTS frame followed by the channel availability information (e.g., the channel availability information may be sent an interframe space after the CTS frame or the channel availability information may appended at the end of the CTS frame). As further described below, the split CTS frame may include identifying information for the STA, such as a user specific sequence (USS), which may be transmitted with the channel availability information. Split CTS is described in detail below, and the split CTS described in this paragraph may incorporate any or all of the features of split CTS described elsewhere herein.” (paragraph [0078]);
“With regard to allocated resources, the AP may specify the allocated resources for the STAs to transmit their USS frame to indicate their channel or sub-channel availability, for example, the channels, sub-channels or RUs on which the STAs should indicate their availability. Availability may include, for example, channel conditions, spatial reuse opportunities, or STA capabilities.” (paragraph [0137]);
“Such data may be used to indicate whether the STA is available on a particular RU or channel and may also be used to indicate whether the availability of the STA is limited by spatial reuse and/or channel conditions or user capabilities. Such data may also be used to indicate whether a channel, sub-channel and/or RU is preferred or not preferred” (paragraph [0142]);
“Using this method, a STA addressed by the MU-RTS frame may transmit CTS frames after an inter-frame space (e.g., short inter-frame space (SIFS) period) if the NAV at the STA receiving the MU-RTS frame indicates that the medium is idle in all of the sub-channels. The STA may need to perform primary channel CCA, secondary channel CCA and/or CCA on all of the 20 MHz sub-channels” (paragraph [0090]);
“the non-AP STAs may be able to transmit on a narrower channel or one or more sub-channels based on the STA's capability, carrier sensing and/or virtual carrier sensing results. Information regarding the availability of the STA on one or more sub-channels may be exchanged using the second Trigger frame and the following USS frame. To achieve this, the AP may need to distinguish packets transmitted by each STA” (paragraph [0113]);
“FIG. 14 is a diagram 1400 of an example User Information field of a trigger frame. The example User Information field illustrated in FIG. 14 includes a number of sub-fields, including an AID sub-field 1402, an RU Allocation sub-field 1404, a Coding Type sub-field 1406, an MCS sub-field 1408, a DCM sub-field 1410, and an SS Allocation sub-field 1412. The AID sub-field 1402 may indicate the STA AID. The RU Allocation sub-field 1404 may indicate the RU allocation as usual. Alternatively, if only RU allocation on a basic/minimum channel (e.g., 20 MHz channel in IEEE 802.11ax) is needed (e.g., as signaled using the Common Information field), this sub-field may be modified to use less bits” (paragraph [0131]);
“On a condition that the AP receives one or more USSs from the STAs, it may transmit DL traffic (1228 in FIG. 12) in the form of a DL MU packet to one or more STAs on RUs on which the STAs have indicated availability or preferences in their USS's. Additionally or alternatively, when the AP receives one or more USS from the STAs, it may then transmit another trigger frame to trigger UL data from the set of STAs with resources allocated to STAs (such as sub-channels, RUs, channels, and/or spatial streams) according to the STAs' availability and/or preference indicated by the STAs in their USS” (paragraph [0143]);
“An inter-frame space (e.g., SIFS duration) after the AP receives the simultaneous CTS, the AP 1102 may send a regular trigger frame 1116 to schedule the user data. The STAs 1104, 1106, 1108 and 1110 may send their data 1118 a, 1118 b, 1118 c, 1118 d, respectively, on the scheduled resource, and, in response, the AP 1102 may send a block acknowledgement (ACK) 1120 to the STAs 1104, 1106, 1108 and 1110” (paragraph [0149]);
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to provide “receive, from a wireless station associated with the wireless access point, an indication that the wireless station is available to exchange frames on at least one of the one or more secondary subchannels; and exchange, based at least in part on the indication, one or more frames with the wireless station using one or more resource units of the at least one of the one or more secondary subchannels” as taught by Lou, in the system of Chen, so that it would provide channel availability information for a plurality of channels in response to the trigger frame for protection of multi-user transmission enabling multiple wireless users to access such content through the sharing of system resources (Lou, paragraph [0002]).
Regarding claim 2, Chen in view of Lou disclose the wireless access point according to claim 1.
Lou further discloses the processing system is configured to cause the wireless access point to assign the one or more resource units of the at least one of the one or more secondary subchannels to the wireless station (Figs. 14, 16, paragraphs [0090], [0113], [0131], [0143], [0149], trigger frame to trigger UL data from the set of STAs with resources allocated to STAs (such as sub-channels, RUs, channels, and/or spatial streams) according to the STAs' availability and/or preference indicated by the STAs in their USS).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to provide “the processing system is configured to cause the wireless access point to assign the one or more resource units of the at least one of the one or more secondary subchannels to the wireless station” as taught by Lou, in the system of Chen, so that it would provide channel availability information for a plurality of channels in response to the trigger frame for protection of multi-user transmission enabling multiple wireless users to access such content through the sharing of system resources (Lou, paragraph [0002]).
Regarding claim 3, Chen in view of Lou disclose the wireless access point according to claim 2.
Lou further discloses the processing system is configured to cause the wireless access point to transmit a trigger frame to the wireless station that assigns the one or more resource units of the at least one of the one or more secondary subchannels to the wireless station (Figs. 14, 16, paragraphs [0131], [0149], user information field of trigger frame including AID sub-field and RU allocation filed).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to provide “the processing system is configured to cause the wireless access point to transmit a trigger frame to the wireless station that assigns the one or more resource units of the at least one of the one or more secondary subchannels to the wireless station” as taught by Lou, in the system of Chen, so that it would provide channel availability information for a plurality of channels in response to the trigger frame for protection of multi-user transmission enabling multiple wireless users to access such content through the sharing of system resources (Lou, paragraph [0002]).
Regarding claim 4, Chen in view of Lou disclose the wireless access point according to claim 3.
Lou further discloses the trigger frame is transmitted to the wireless station on the primary subchannel (paragraphs [0127], [0128], trigger frame requesting channel availability report from STAs 1-10).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to provide “the trigger frame is transmitted to the wireless station on the primary subchannel” as taught by Lou, in the system of Chen, so that it would provide channel availability information for a plurality of channels in response to the trigger frame for protection of multi-user transmission enabling multiple wireless users to access such content through the sharing of system resources (Lou, paragraph [0002]).
Regarding claim 5, Chen in view of Lou disclose the wireless access point according to claim 2.
Lou further discloses the one or more resource units are directed resource units for the wireless station (Figs. 3, 14, paragraphs [0071], [0131], example trigger frame format for MU and example user information filed of trigger frame).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to provide “the one or more resource units are directed resource units for the wireless station” as taught by Lou, in the system of Chen, so that it would provide channel availability information for a plurality of channels in response to the trigger frame for protection of multi-user transmission enabling multiple wireless users to access such content through the sharing of system resources (Lou, paragraph [0002]).
Regarding claim 6, Chen in view of Lou disclose the wireless access point according to claim 1.
Lou further discloses the processing system is configured to cause the wireless access point to indicate, to a plurality of wireless stations that includes the wireless station, an exchange of traffic on the at least one of the one or more secondary subchannels, wherein the one or more frames are exchanged with the wireless station based at least in part on the indication (Fig. 16, paragraphs [0139], [0149], for example, the AP may send the second trigger frame to a group of STAs for UL random access, with one or more allocated channels, and for some RU size).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to provide “the processing system is configured to cause the wireless access point to indicate, to a plurality of wireless stations that includes the wireless station, an exchange of traffic on the at least one of the one or more secondary subchannels, wherein the one or more frames are exchanged with the wireless station based at least in part on the indication” as taught by Lou, in the system of Chen, so that it would provide channel availability information for a plurality of channels in response to the trigger frame for protection of multi-user transmission enabling multiple wireless users to access such content through the sharing of system resources (Lou, paragraph [0002]).
Regarding claim 7, Chen in view of Lou disclose the wireless access point according to claim 6.
Lou further discloses the processing system is configured to cause the wireless access point to transmit an indication of a unicast association identifier (AID) for the wireless station on the at least one of the one or more secondary subchannels with the one or more frames (Fig. 14, paragraph [0131], trigger frame including AID sub-filed and RU allocation sub-filed).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to provide “the processing system is configured to cause the wireless access point to transmit an indication of a unicast association identifier (AID) for the wireless station on the at least one of the one or more secondary subchannels with the one or more frames” as taught by Lou, in the system of Chen, so that it would provide channel availability information for a plurality of channels in response to the trigger frame for protection of multi-user transmission enabling multiple wireless users to access such content through the sharing of system resources (Lou, paragraph [0002]).
Regarding claim 8, Chen in view of Lou disclose the wireless access point according to claim 1.
Lou further discloses the processing system is configured to cause the wireless access point to exchange one or more second frames with a second wireless station using one or more resource units of the primary subchannel (Fig. 12, paragraphs [0115], [0127], [0143], resources allocated to STAs (such as sub-channels, RUs, channels, and/or spatial streams) according to the STAs' availability and/or preference indicated by the STAs in the USS).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to provide “the processing system is configured to cause the wireless access point to exchange one or more second frames with a second wireless station using one or more resource units of the primary subchannel” as taught by Lou, in the system of Chen, so that it would provide channel availability information for a plurality of channels in response to the trigger frame for protection of multi-user transmission enabling multiple wireless users to access such content through the sharing of system resources (Lou, paragraph [0002]).
Regarding claim 10, Chen in view of Lou disclose the wireless access point according to claim 1.
Lou further discloses to exchange the one or more frames, the processing system is configured to cause the wireless access point to broadcast one or more data frames, one or more control frames, or one or more management frames for receipt by a plurality of wireless stations, including the wireless station, associated with the wireless access point on the at least one of the one or more secondary subchannels, wherein the one or more resource units comprise one or more broadcast resource units (Fig. 11, paragraphs [0111], [0136], AP 1122 has enhanced capability and transmits a new trigger frame 1134 (or a trigger variant) to solicit a USS from one or more enhanced non-AP STAs (STAs 1124 and 1126)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to provide “to exchange the one or more frames, the processing system is configured to cause the wireless access point to broadcast one or more data frames, one or more control frames, or one or more management frames for receipt by a plurality of wireless stations, including the wireless station, associated with the wireless access point on the at least one of the one or more secondary subchannels, wherein the one or more resource units comprise one or more broadcast resource units” as taught by Lou, in the system of Chen, so that it would provide channel availability information for a plurality of channels in response to the trigger frame for protection of multi-user transmission enabling multiple wireless users to access such content through the sharing of system resources (Lou, paragraph [0002]).
Regarding claim 11, Chen in view of Lou disclose the wireless access point according to claim 10.
Lou further discloses the processing system is configured to cause the wireless access point to transmit an indication of a broadcast association identifier (AID), with the one or more control frames or management frames, for the plurality of wireless stations, including the wireless station, associated with the wireless access point on the at least one of the one or more secondary subchannels (Fig. 11, paragraphs [0111], [0136], second trigger frame, or a variant of the trigger frame if transmitted for polling without sending an MU-RTS first, may include one or more of, for the intended set of STAs, a STA ID, allocated resources, user specific sequences or an index of user specific sequences of STAs. The STA ID may be the ID of the STAs, such as the MAC address, compressed MAC address, AID of the STA, Group ID, or one or more specific AIDs that are meant for a specific purpose, such as random access, in the Per User Information field).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to provide “the processing system is configured to cause the wireless access point to transmit an indication of a broadcast association identifier (AID), with the one or more control frames or management frames, for the plurality of wireless stations, including the wireless station, associated with the wireless access point on the at least one of the one or more secondary subchannels” as taught by Lou, in the system of Chen, so that it would provide channel availability information for a plurality of channels in response to the trigger frame for protection of multi-user transmission enabling multiple wireless users to access such content through the sharing of system resources (Lou, paragraph [0002]).
Regarding claim 12, Chen in view of Lou disclose the wireless access point according to claim 1.
Lou further discloses the one or more frames comprise control frames, data frames, or management frames (Fig. 16, paragraph [0149], control frames, data frames, or management frames).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to provide “the one or more frames comprise control frames, data frames, or management frames” as taught by Lou, in the system of Chen, so that it would provide channel availability information for a plurality of channels in response to the trigger frame for protection of multi-user transmission enabling multiple wireless users to access such content through the sharing of system resources (Lou, paragraph [0002]).
Regarding claim 16, Chen in view of Lou disclose the wireless access point according to claim 1.
Lou further discloses the wireless access point services the wireless station on a first subset of one or more secondary subchannels of the total operating bandwidth of the wireless access point, and services one or more wireless stations of a plurality of wireless stations, excluding the wireless station, on a second subset of one or more secondary subchannels of the total operating bandwidth of the wireless access point that are different from the first subset of secondary subchannels (Fig. 12, paragraphs [0115], [0127], [0143], in the example illustrated in fig, an AP may observe that channels 3 and 5 are busy while channels 1, 2, 4, 6, 7 and 8 are available; the AP may also intend to communicate with two STAs, STAs 1 and 2; in the illustrated example, STA 1 is available on channels 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, and STA 2 is available on channels 1, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to provide “the wireless access point services the wireless station on a first subset of one or more secondary subchannels of the total operating bandwidth of the wireless access point, and services one or more wireless stations of a plurality of wireless stations, excluding the wireless station, on a second subset of one or more secondary subchannels of the total operating bandwidth of the wireless access point that are different from the first subset of secondary subchannels” as taught by Lou, in the system of Chen, so that it would provide channel availability information for a plurality of channels in response to the trigger frame for protection of multi-user transmission enabling multiple wireless users to access such content through the sharing of system resources (Lou, paragraph [0002]).
Regarding claim 17, Chen in view of Lou disclose the wireless access point according to claim 1.
Lou further discloses the wireless access point services the wireless station on a first subset of secondary subchannels of the total operating bandwidth of the wireless access point, and concurrently services one or more wireless stations of a plurality of wireless stations, excluding the wireless station, on the primary subchannel (Fig. 12, paragraphs [0115], [0127], [0143], in the example illustrated in fig, an AP may observe that channels 3 and 5 are busy while channels 1, 2, 4, 6, 7 and 8 are available; the AP may also intend to communicate with two STAs, STAs 1 and 2; in the illustrated example, STA 1 is available on channels 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, and STA 2 is available on channels 1, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to provide “the wireless access point services the wireless station on a first subset of secondary subchannels of the total operating bandwidth of the wireless access point, and concurrently services one or more wireless stations of a plurality of wireless stations, excluding the wireless station, on the primary subchannel” as taught by Lou, in the system of Chen, so that it would provide channel availability information for a plurality of channels in response to the trigger frame for protection of multi-user transmission enabling multiple wireless users to access such content through the sharing of system resources (Lou, paragraph [0002]).
Regarding claim 18, the claim is rejected based on the same reasoning as presented in the rejection of claim 1.
Regarding claim 19, the claim is rejected based on the same reasoning as presented in the rejection of claim 2.
Regarding claim 20, the claim is rejected based on the same reasoning as presented in the rejection of claim 3.
Regarding claim 21, the claim is rejected based on the same reasoning as presented in the rejection of claim 4.
Regarding claim 22, the claim is rejected based on the same reasoning as presented in the rejection of claim 5.
Regarding claim 23, the claim is rejected based on the same reasoning as presented in the rejection of claim 6.
Regarding claim 24, the claim is rejected based on the same reasoning as presented in the rejection of claim 7.
Regarding claim 25, the claim is rejected based on the same reasoning as presented in the rejection of claim 8.
Regarding claim 28, the claim is rejected based on the same reasoning as presented in the rejection of claim 16.
Regarding claim 29, the claim is rejected based on the same reasoning as presented in the rejection of claim 1.
Regarding claim 30, the claim is rejected based on the same reasoning as presented in the rejection of claim 1.
11. Claims 13-15 and 27 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen et al. (US 2017/0367095 A1), hereinafter “Chen” in view of Lou et al. (US 2019/0007973 A1), hereinafter “Lou” in view of LI et al. (US 2018/0227917 A1), hereinafter “Li”.
Regarding claim 13, Chen in view of Lou disclose the wireless access point according to claim 1.
Neither Chen nor Lou explicitly discloses “the processing system is configured to cause the wireless access point to: receive, from the wireless station, an indication of a latency threshold; and exchange, based at least in part on the indication of the latency threshold, the one or more frames using the one or more resource units of the at least one of the one or more secondary subchannels with the wireless station”.
However, Li from the same or similar field of endeavor discloses the processing system is configured to cause the wireless access point to: receive, from the wireless station, an indication of a latency threshold; and exchange, based at least in part on the indication of the latency threshold, the one or more frames using the one or more resource units of the at least one of the one or more secondary subchannels with the wireless station (Fig.3, paragraphs [0028], [0040], [0043], [0068]-[0069], from the AP's point of view, moving one or more selected STAs to secondary channels allows the AP to do load balancing, interference management, and/or to maximize spectrum utilization; from a STA's point of view, moving to a secondary channel can lead to battery power savings, e.g., because no energy is spent sensing the WM); since more transmissions will be made on a scheduled basis, fewer collisions will occur and latency (or time delay) to deliver/receive a message will be improved; this corresponds to a network efficiency improvement).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to provide “the processing system is configured to cause the wireless access point to: receive, from the wireless station, an indication of a latency threshold; and exchange, based at least in part on the indication of the latency threshold, the one or more frames using the one or more resource units of the at least one of the one or more secondary subchannels with the wireless station” as taught by Li, in the combined system of Chen and Lou, so that it would provide effective use of the shared medium relate to wireless communication, including a basic bandwidth device moving from a primary channel to a secondary channel (Li, paragraph [0002]).
Regarding claim 14, Chen in view of Lou disclose the wireless access point according to claim 1.
Neither Chen nor Lou explicitly discloses “the wireless access point is configured to communicate with the wireless station on the at least one of the one or more secondary subchannels according to a channel access protocol other than an Enhanced Distributed Channel Access (EDCA) protocol”.
However, Li from the same or similar field of endeavor discloses the wireless access point is configured to communicate with the wireless station on the at least one of the one or more secondary subchannels according to a channel access protocol other than an Enhanced Distributed Channel Access (EDCA) protocol (paragraph [0038], delay or latency between initiation of EDCA by a STA to send data and successful transmission of that data because the WM is an unscheduled, shared medium that can be prone to collisions when accessed via EDCA).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to provide “the wireless access point is configured to communicate with the wireless station on the at least one of the one or more secondary subchannels according to a channel access protocol other than an Enhanced Distributed Channel Access (EDCA) protocol” as taught by Li, in the combined system of Chen and Lou, so that it would provide effective use of the shared medium relate to wireless communication, including a basic bandwidth device moving from a primary channel to a secondary channel (Li, paragraph [0002]).
Regarding claim 15, Chen in view of Lou and Li disclose the wireless access point according to claim 14.
Lou further discloses the processing system is configured to cause the wireless access point to trigger the wireless station to exchange the one or more frames using the one or more resource units of the at least one of the one or more secondary subchannels (Figs. 6, 12, 14, 16, paragraphs [0090], [0113], [0131], [0143], [0149], availability of the STA on one or more sub-channels may be exchanged using the second Trigger frame and the following USS frame).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to provide “the processing system is configured to cause the wireless access point to trigger the wireless station to exchange the one or more frames using the one or more resource units of the at least one of the one or more secondary subchannels” as taught by Lou, in the combined system of Chen and Li, so that it would provide channel availability information for a plurality of channels in response to the trigger frame for protection of multi-user transmission enabling multiple wireless users to access such content through the sharing of system resources (Lou, paragraph [0002]).
Regarding claim 27, the claim is rejected based on the same reasoning as presented in the rejection of claim 14.
12. Claims 9 and 26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen et al. (US 2017/0367095 A1), hereinafter “Chen” in view of Lou et al. (US 2019/0007973 A1), hereinafter “Lou” in view of HEDAYAT (US 2016/0119927 A1), hereinafter “Hedayat”.
Regarding claim 9, Chen in view of Lou disclose the wireless access point according to claim 8.
Neither Chen nor Lou explicitly discloses “the processing system is configured to cause the wireless access point to exchange the one or more second frames with the second wireless station using the one or more resource units of the primary subchannel concurrent with the exchange of the one or more frames with the wireless station using the one or more resource units of the at least one of the one or more secondary subchannels”.
However, Hedayat from the same or similar field of endeavor discloses the processing system is configured to cause the wireless access point to exchange the one or more second frames with the second wireless station using the one or more resource units of the primary subchannel concurrent with the exchange of the one or more frames with the wireless station using the one or more resource units of the at least one of the one or more secondary subchannels (Fig. 14, paragraphs [0010], [0122], a frame including a schedule from the access point to a plurality of stations, the schedule including assignments of one or more sub-bands in at least one sub-channel of the wireless channel to each station in the plurality of stations, wherein each station in the plurality of stations uses the assigned sub-band for a multi-user, simultaneous communication with the access point).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to provide “the processing system is configured to cause the wireless access point to exchange the one or more second frames with the second wireless station using the one or more resource units of the primary subchannel concurrent with the exchange of the one or more frames with the wireless station using the one or more resource units of the at least one of the one or more secondary subchannels” as taught by Hedayat, in the combined system of Chen and Lou, so that it would provide improved performance in delivering their applications, including improved power consumption for battery-operated devices with the real-time requirements of some of the applications in wireless LAN devices (Hedayat, paragraph [0003]).
Regarding claim 26, the claim is rejected based on the same reasoning as presented in the rejection of claim 9.
Conclusion
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/SITHU KO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2414
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