CTNF 18/652,534 CTNF 100191 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 The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 1/23/2025 and 2/9/2025 were filed in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements are being considered by the examiner. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status. 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, 7-13, and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Park et al. (US 2024/0322965 A1), hereinafter Park . Re. Claim 1, Park teaches: An access point (AP), (Fig. 1 – 110 & ¶0064 an operation of a device indicated as an AP in the specification described below may be performed in the first STA 110 or the second STA 120. For example, if the first STA 110 is the AP , the operation of the device indicated as the AP may be controlled by the processor 111 of the first STA 110, & ¶0290 The example of FIG. 22 is performed in a transmitting STA, and the transmitting STA may correspond to a beamformer or an access point (AP) .) configured to perform a sounding procedure with one or more associated non-AP stations in a wireless local area network, (¶0186 Transmit beamforming and DL MU-MIMO (DownLink Multi User-Multi Input Multi Output) require knowledge of channel conditions to calculate a steering matrix applied to the transmit signal to optimize reception at one or more receivers. The EHT STA determines channel state information using the EHT sounding protocol. The EHT sounding protocol provides explicit feedback mechanisms defined as EHT non-trigger-based (non-TB) sounding and EHT trigger-based (TB) sounding . Here, the EHT beamformee measures the channel using the training signal transmitted by the EHT beamformer (i.e., the EHT sounding NDP) and sends back a transformed estimate of the channel state. The EHT beamformer uses this estimate to derive a steering matrix. & ¶0295 When the receiving STA is one STA, a non-Trigger Based (non-TB) sounding method is used as in steps S2210 to S2230. However, when the receiving STA is multiple STAs (i.e., in the case of MU feedback), a TB sounding method [ i.e. a sounding procedure with multiple STAs (non-AP stations) ] that triggers the feedback frame using a Beamforming Report Poll (BFRP) trigger frame between steps S2220 and S2230 can be used . & ¶0137 the EHT PPDU may be used in an EHT system and/or a new WLAN system enhanced from the EHT system.) wherein the AP comprises: a processing circuitry (¶0064 an operation of a device indicated as an AP in the specification described below may be performed in the first STA 110 or the second STA 120. For example, if the first STA 110 is the AP, the operation of the device indicated as the AP may be controlled by the processor 111 of the first STA 110) configured to generate a null data PHY protocol data unit (PPDU) announcement (NDPA) frame, (¶0179 a signal represented as a (TX/RX/UL/DL) signal, a (TX/RX/UL/DL) frame, a (TX/RX/UL/DL) packet, a (TX/RX/UL/DL) data unit, (TX/RX/UL/DL) data, or the like may be a signal transmitted/received based on the PPDU of FIG. 10. The PPDU of FIG. 10 may be used to transmit/receive frames of various types. For example, the PPDU of FIG. 10 may be used for a control frame. An example of the control frame may include a request to send (RTS), a clear to send (CTS), a power save-poll (PS-poll), BlockACKReq, BlockAck, a null data packet (NDP) announcement , and a trigger frame. & ¶0271 the transmitting device may construct/generate a PPDU based on the acquired control information . Configuring/generating the PPDU may include configuring/generating each field of the PPDU.) wherein the NDPA frame comprises for each of the one or more associated non-AP stations a station info field, (¶0201 FIG. 14 shows an example of an EHT NDP Announcement frame format. & ¶0203 The VHT/HE/EHT NDP Announcement frame includes at least one STA Info field ) wherein the station info field comprises a partial bandwidth (BW) info subfield, (Fig. 14 – Partial BW Info within STA Info 1 & ¶0219 The Partial BW Info subfield is defined in the format at the bottom of FIG. 14.) including a feedback bitmap (Fig. 14 – Partial BW Info contains a Feedback bitmap & ¶0219 The Feedback Bitmap subfield indicates each resolution bandwidth for which the beamformer requests feedback.) and an indication of a resolution and/or a range of the feedback bitmap with a 20 MHz or 40 MHz subchannel resolution for a Sounding null data PPDU (NDP) with a bandwidth of up to 320 MHz; (¶0219 The Partial BW Info subfield is defined in the format at the bottom of FIG. 14. The resolution bit indicates the feedback resolution bandwidth . The Resolution bit is set to 0 to indicate a resolution of 20 MHz when the BW subfield is set to 0 to 3, and is set to 1 to indicate a resolution of 40 MHz when the BW subfield is set to 4 . [ i.e. Resolution bit indicates either a 20 MHz or 40 MHz resolution ] & ¶0230 At this time, NDP can be used for PPDU for sounding . & ¶0245 When the bandwidth of the NDP frame is 320 MHz , the feedback unit is 40 MHz (484 RU) and the Resolution bit is set to 1.) and a communication interface configured to transmit the NDPA frame to the one or more associated non-AP stations. (Fig. 13 & ¶0009 the receiving STA may correspond to a beamformee or at least one STA (station) . A transmitting STA may correspond to a beamformer or an access point (AP) . & ¶0059-¶0060 The first STA 110 may include a processor 111, a memory 112, and a transceiver 113. & The transceiver 113 of the first STA performs a signal transmission/reception operation. & ¶0199 An EHT beamformer initiating an EHT TB sounding sequence must transmit an EHT NDP Announcement frame including two or more STA information fields and an RA field set to a broadcast address . [ i.e. broadcasting NDPA frame to EHT beamformees (associated non-AP stations) ]) Re. Claim 7, Park teaches claim 1. Park further teaches: wherein the Sounding NDP has a bandwidth of 160 MHz or less, (¶0217 The BW subfield of FIG. 15 indicates the channel width used to determine the start and end subcarriers when interpreting the Partial BW Info subfields. The value of the BW subfield corresponds to the bandwidth of the EHT NDP and is set to 0 for 20 MHz, 1 for 40 MHz, 2 for 80 MHz, 3 for 160 MHz , and 4 for 320 MHz. & ¶0230 in order to transmit SU/MU MIMO PPDU, a Q matrix can be configured using channel information, and for this, a procedure for receiving sounding and channel information feedback is required. At this time, NDP can be used for PPDU for sounding .) and the indication for the resolution and/or the range of the feedback bitmap indicates every bit of the feedback bitmap representing a 20 MHz subchannel of the Sounding NDP. (¶0245-¶0246 If the bandwidth of the NDP frame is less than 320 MHz , the feedback unit is 20 MHz (242 RU) and the Resolution bit is set to 0. The 8-bit feedback bitmap may indicate a feedback request for each resolution bandwidth from the lowest frequency to the highest frequency. W hen B0=0, the 8-bit feedback bitmap indicates a feedback request for each 20 MHz subchannel within 160 MHz .) Re. Claim 8, Park teaches claim 1. Park further teaches: wherein the Sounding NDP has a bandwidth of greater than 160 MHz with a primary 160 MHz channel and a secondary 160 MHz channel (¶0217 The BW subfield of FIG. 15 indicates the channel width used to determine the start and end subcarriers when interpreting the Partial BW Info subfields. The value of the BW subfield corresponds to the bandwidth of the EHT NDP and is set to 0 for 20 MHz, 1 for 40 MHz, 2 for 80 MHz, 3 for 160 MHz, and 4 for 320 MHz. [ i.e. NDP has a bandwidth of 320 MHz (greater than 160 MHz) ] & ¶0256 the Partial BW Info subfield of the first STA Info field can indicate partial BW feedback at Primary 160 MHz or low frequency 160 MHz. This can indicate the RU or MRU situation corresponding to the channel requested at 160 MHz, the same as the case of 160 MHz BW in the table above. [0259] 3) The Partial BW Info subfield of the second STA Info field can indicate partial BW feedback at secondary 160 MHz or high frequency 160 MHz. & ¶0302 this embodiment proposes a method for requesting, by the beamformer to the beamformee, feedback information on the primary 160 MHz channel (or a 160 MHz channel with a lower frequency in the 320 MHz band) in the first STA information field included in the NDPA frame and feedback information on the secondary 160 MHz channel (or a 160 MHz channel with a higher frequency in the 320 MHz band) in the second STA information field included in the NDPA frame. & ¶0230 At this time, NDP can be used for PPDU for sounding . & ¶0310 The NDP frame and the feedback frame may be transmitted in the same band as the NDPA frame [ i.e. NDP used for sounding transmitted in same band as NDPA and corresponding to BW subfield, which was indicated as 320 MHz above, the PPDU also includes Partial BW (bandwidth) Info indicating Primary 160 MHz and Secondary 160 MHz ]) and the indication for the resolution and/or the range of the feedback bitmap indicates every bit of the feedback bitmap representing a 20 MHz subchannel of the primary 160 MHz channel. (¶0245-¶0246 The Partial BW Info field includes a 1-bit resolution bit and an 8-bit feedback bitmap. The resolution bit may indicate a resolution bandwidth (20 MHz or 40 MHz ) for each bit of the feedback bitmap . & ¶0256 the Partial BW Info subfield of the first STA Info field can indicate partial BW feedback at Primary 160 MHz ) Re. Claim 9, Park teaches claim 1. wherein the Sounding NDP has a bandwidth of greater than 160 MHz with a primary 160 MHz channel and a secondary 160 MHz channel (¶0217 The BW subfield of FIG. 15 indicates the channel width used to determine the start and end subcarriers when interpreting the Partial BW Info subfields. The value of the BW subfield corresponds to the bandwidth of the EHT NDP and is set to 0 for 20 MHz, 1 for 40 MHz, 2 for 80 MHz, 3 for 160 MHz, and 4 for 320 MHz. [ i.e. NDP has a bandwidth of 320 MHz (greater than 160 MHz) ] & ¶0256 the Partial BW Info subfield of the first STA Info field can indicate partial BW feedback at Primary 160 MHz or low frequency 160 MHz. This can indicate the RU or MRU situation corresponding to the channel requested at 160 MHz, the same as the case of 160 MHz BW in the table above. [0259] 3) The Partial BW Info subfield of the second STA Info field can indicate partial BW feedback at secondary 160 MHz or high frequency 160 MHz. & ¶0302 this embodiment proposes a method for requesting, by the beamformer to the beamformee, feedback information on the primary 160 MHz channel (or a 160 MHz channel with a lower frequency in the 320 MHz band) in the first STA information field included in the NDPA frame and feedback information on the secondary 160 MHz channel (or a 160 MHz channel with a higher frequency in the 320 MHz band) in the second STA information field included in the NDPA frame. & ¶0230 At this time, NDP can be used for PPDU for sounding . & ¶0310 The NDP frame and the feedback frame may be transmitted in the same band as the NDPA frame [ i.e. NDP used for sounding transmitted in same band as NDPA and corresponding to BW subfield, which was indicated as 320 MHz above, the PPDU also includes Partial BW (bandwidth) Info indicating Primary 160 MHz and Secondary 160 MHz ]) and the indication for the resolution and/or the range of the feedback bitmap indicates every bit of the feedback bitmap representing a 20 MHz subchannel of the secondary 160 MHz channel. (¶0245-¶0246 The Partial BW Info field includes a 1-bit resolution bit and an 8-bit feedback bitmap. The resolution bit may indicate a resolution bandwidth (20 MHz or 40 MHz) for each bit of the feedback bitmap . If the bandwidth of the NDP frame is less than 320 MHz , the feedback unit is 20 MHz (242 RU) and the Resolution bit is set to 0. The 8-bit feedback bitmap may indicate a feedback request for each resolution bandwidth from the lowest frequency to the highest frequency. When B0=0, the 8-bit feedback bitmap indicates a feedback request for each 20 MHz subchannel within 160 MHz . & ¶0259 The Partial BW Info subfield of the second STA Info field can indicate partial BW feedback at secondary 160 MHz or high frequency 160 MHz.) Re. Claim 10, Park teaches claim 1. Park further teaches: wherein the Sounding NDP has a bandwidth of greater than 160 MHz, (¶0217 The BW subfield of FIG. 15 indicates the channel width used to determine the start and end subcarriers when interpreting the Partial BW Info subfields. The value of the BW subfield corresponds to the bandwidth of the EHT NDP and is set to 0 for 20 MHz, 1 for 40 MHz, 2 for 80 MHz, 3 for 160 MHz, and 4 for 320 MHz . & ¶0230 in order to transmit SU/MU MIMO PPDU, a Q matrix can be configured using channel information, and for this, a procedure for receiving sounding and channel information feedback is required. At this time, NDP can be used for PPDU for sounding .) and the indication for the resolution and/or the range of the feedback bitmap indicates every bit of the feedback bitmap representing a 40 MHz subchannel of the Sounding NDP. (¶0245-¶0246 The Partial BW Info field includes a 1-bit resolution bit and an 8-bit feedback bitmap. The resolution bit may indicate a resolution bandwidth ( 20 MHz or 40 MHz) for each bit of the feedback bitmap . & ¶0252 When the bandwidth of the EHT NDPA frame is 320 MHz, the Resolution bit B0 is set to 1 to indicate a resolution of 40 MHz. ) Re. Claim 11, Park teaches claim 1. Park further teaches: wherein the Sounding NDP has a bandwidth of greater than 160 MHz with a primary 160 MHz channel and a secondary 160 MHz channel, (¶0217 The BW subfield of FIG. 15 indicates the channel width used to determine the start and end subcarriers when interpreting the Partial BW Info subfields. The value of the BW subfield corresponds to the bandwidth of the EHT NDP and is set to 0 for 20 MHz, 1 for 40 MHz, 2 for 80 MHz, 3 for 160 MHz, and 4 for 320 MHz. [ i.e. NDP has a bandwidth of 320 MHz (greater than 160 MHz) ] & ¶0256 the Partial BW Info subfield of the first STA Info field can indicate partial BW feedback at Primary 160 MHz or low frequency 160 MHz. This can indicate the RU or MRU situation corresponding to the channel requested at 160 MHz, the same as the case of 160 MHz BW in the table above. [0259] 3) The Partial BW Info subfield of the second STA Info field can indicate partial BW feedback at secondary 160 MHz or high frequency 160 MHz. & ¶0302 this embodiment proposes a method for requesting, by the beamformer to the beamformee, feedback information on the primary 160 MHz channel (or a 160 MHz channel with a lower frequency in the 320 MHz band) in the first STA information field included in the NDPA frame and feedback information on the secondary 160 MHz channel (or a 160 MHz channel with a higher frequency in the 320 MHz band) in the second STA information field included in the NDPA frame. & ¶0230 At this time, NDP can be used for PPDU for sounding . & ¶0310 The NDP frame and the feedback frame may be transmitted in the same band as the NDPA frame [ i.e. NDP used for sounding transmitted in same band as NDPA and corresponding to BW subfield, which was indicated as 320 MHz above, the PPDU also includes Partial BW (bandwidth) Info indicating Primary 160 MHz and Secondary 160 MHz ]) and the indication for the resolution and/or the range of the feedback bitmap indicates every bit of the feedback bitmap representing a 20 MHz subchannel of the primary 160 MHz channel (¶0245-¶0246 The Partial BW Info field includes a 1-bit resolution bit and an 8-bit feedback bitmap. The resolution bit may indicate a resolution bandwidth (20 MHz or 40 MHz ) for each bit of the feedback bitmap . & ¶0256 the Partial BW Info subfield of the first STA Info field can indicate partial BW feedback at Primary 160 MHz ) and a further feedback bitmap representing a 20 MHz subchannel of the secondary 160 MHz channel. (¶0256 the beamformer can configure NDPA with two STA Info fields only when partial BW feedback in units of 20 MHz (or 242RU) is required in 320 MHz NDPA . [0258] 2) In this case, the Partial BW Info subfield of the first STA Info field can indicate partial BW feedback at Primary 160 MHz or low frequency 160 MHz. This can indicate the RU or MRU situation corresponding to the channel requested at 160 MHz, the same as the case of 160 MHz BW in the table above. [0259] 3) The Partial BW Info subfield of the second STA Info field can indicate partial BW feedback at secondary 160 MHz or high frequency 160 MHz .) Re. Claim 12, Park teaches claim 1. Park further teaches: wherein the communication interface is configured to receive from each of the one or more associated non-AP stations that were included in the preceding NDPA frame a compressed beamforming feedback report, (CBFR) frame, (Fig. 13 EHT beamformees transmit EHT Compressed Beamforming CQI report & ¶0197 The EHT TB sounding sequence is initiated by the EHT beamformer using a broadcast EHT NDP Announcement frame [ i.e. preceeding NDPA frame ] with two or more STA information fields, an EHT sounding NDP is transmitted after the SIFS, and a BFRP (Beamforming Report) trigger frame following the SIFS is transmitted .) wherein the CBFR frame comprises a Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) control field with a partial BW info subfield, (¶0186-¶0187 Transmit beamforming and DL MU-MIMO (DownLink Multi User-Multi Input Multi Output) require knowledge of channel conditions to calculate a steering matrix applied to the transmit signal to optimize reception at one or more receivers. The EHT STA determines channel state information using the EHT sounding protocol. The EHT sounding protocol provides explicit feedback mechanisms defined as EHT non-trigger-based (non-TB) sounding and EHT trigger-based (TB) sounding. Here, the EHT beamformee measures the channel using the training signal transmitted by the EHT beamformer (i.e., the EHT sounding NDP) and sends back a transformed estimate of the channel state. The EHT beamformer uses this estimate to derive a steering matrix. The EHT beamformer returns an estimate of a channel state in an EHT compressed beamforming/CQI report included in one or more EHT Compressed Beamforming/CQI frames . & ¶0214 Subfields of the EHT MIMO Control field may be defined as follows . & ¶0219 The Partial BW Info subfield [ i.e. subfield of the EHT MIMO Control field ] is defined in the format at the bottom of FIG. 14. The resolution bit indicates the feedback resolution bandwidth) wherein the partial BW info subfield of the MIMO control field comprises a response feedback bitmap (¶0214 Subfields of the EHT MIMO Control field may be defined as follows . & ¶0219 The Feedback Bitmap subfield indicates each resolution bandwidth for which the beamformer requests feedback. Each bit in the Feedback Bitmap subfield is set to 1 if feedback for the corresponding bandwidth is requested and set to 0 otherwise.) and an indication of a resolution and/or a range of the response feedback bitmap with a 20 MHz or 40 MHz subchannel resolution for the Sounding NDP with a bandwidth of up to 320 MHz. (¶0214 Subfields of the EHT MIMO Control field may be defined as follows . & ¶0217 The BW subfield of FIG. 15 indicates the channel width used to determine the start and end subcarriers when interpreting the Partial BW Info subfields. The value of the BW subfield corresponds to the bandwidth of the EHT NDP and is set to 0 for 20 MHz, 1 for 40 MHz, 2 for 80 MHz, 3 for 160 MHz, and 4 for 320 MHz . [ i.e. bandwidth of NDP set up to 320 MHz ] & ¶0219 The Partial BW Info subfield is defined in the format at the bottom of FIG. 14 . The resolution bit indicates the feedback resolution bandwidth. The Resolution bit is set to 0 to indicate a resolution of 20 MHz when the BW subfield is set to 0 to 3, and is set to 1 to indicate a resolution of 40 MHz when the BW subfield is set to 4 . & ¶0230 At this time, NDP can be used for PPDU for sounding .) Re. Claim 13, Park teaches: A method of performing a sounding procedure between an access point (AP), and one or more associated non-AP stations in a wireless local area network, (¶0295 When the receiving STA is one STA, a non-Trigger Based (non-TB) sounding method is used as in steps S2210 to S2230. However, when the receiving STA is multiple STAs (i.e., in the case of MU feedback), a TB sounding method [ i.e. a sounding procedure with multiple STAs (non-AP stations) ] that triggers the feedback frame using a Beamforming Report Poll (BFRP) trigger frame between steps S2220 and S2230 can be used . & ¶0137 the EHT PPDU may be used in an EHT system and/or a new WLAN system enhanced from the EHT system.) wherein the method which is implemented by the AP comprises: generating a Null Data PHY protocol data unit (PPDU) announcement (NDPA) frame by the AP, (¶0179 a signal represented as a (TX/RX/UL/DL) signal, a (TX/RX/UL/DL) frame, a (TX/RX/UL/DL) packet, a (TX/RX/UL/DL) data unit, (TX/RX/UL/DL) data, or the like may be a signal transmitted/received based on the PPDU of FIG. 10. The PPDU of FIG. 10 may be used to transmit/receive frames of various types. For example, the PPDU of FIG. 10 may be used for a control frame. An example of the control frame may include a request to send (RTS), a clear to send (CTS), a power save-poll (PS-poll), BlockACKReq, BlockAck, a null data packet (NDP) announcement , and a trigger frame. & ¶0271 the transmitting device may construct/generate a PPDU based on the acquired control information . Configuring/generating the PPDU may include configuring/generating each field of the PPDU.) wherein the NDPA frame comprises for each of the one or more associated non-AP stations a station info field, (¶0201 FIG. 14 shows an example of an EHT NDP Announcement frame format. & ¶0203 The VHT/HE/EHT NDP Announcement frame includes at least one STA Info field ) wherein the station info field comprises a partial bandwidth (BW) info subfield, (Fig. 14 – Partial BW Info within STA Info 1 & ¶0219 The Partial BW Info subfield is defined in the format at the bottom of FIG. 14.) including a feedback bitmap (Fig. 14 – Partial BW Info contains a Feedback bitmap & ¶0219 The Feedback Bitmap subfield indicates each resolution bandwidth for which the beamformer requests feedback.) and an indication of a resolution and/or a range of the feedback bitmap with a 20 MHz or 40 MHz subchannel resolution for a Sounding null data PPDU (NDP) with a bandwidth of up to 320 MHz; (¶0219 The Partial BW Info subfield is defined in the format at the bottom of FIG. 14. The resolution bit indicates the feedback resolution bandwidth . The Resolution bit is set to 0 to indicate a resolution of 20 MHz when the BW subfield is set to 0 to 3, and is set to 1 to indicate a resolution of 40 MHz when the BW subfield is set to 4 . [ i.e. Resolution bit indicates either a 20 MHz or 40 MHz resolution ] & ¶0230 At this time, NDP can be used for PPDU for sounding . & ¶0245 When the bandwidth of the NDP frame is 320 MHz , the feedback unit is 40 MHz (484 RU) and the Resolution bit is set to 1.) and transmitting the NDPA frame to the one or more associated non-AP stations. (Fig. 13 & ¶0009 the receiving STA may correspond to a beamformee or at least one STA (station) . A transmitting STA may correspond to a beamformer or an access point (AP) . & ¶0059-¶0060 The first STA 110 may include a processor 111, a memory 112, and a transceiver 113. & The transceiver 113 of the first STA performs a signal transmission/reception operation. & ¶0199 An EHT beamformer initiating an EHT TB sounding sequence must transmit an EHT NDP Announcement frame including two or more STA information fields and an RA field set to a broadcast address . [ i.e. broadcasting NDPA frame to EHT beamformees (associated non-AP stations) ]) Re. Claim 18, Park teaches: A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, storing a program code which upon being executed by a computer or a processor causes a computer or a processor to perform operations (¶0335 The technical features of the present disclosure may be implemented based on a computer readable medium (CRM). For example, a CRM according to the present disclosure is at least one computer readable medium including instructions designed to be executed by at least one processor.) comprising: generating a Null Data PHY protocol data unit (PPDU) announcement (NDPA) frame, (¶0179 a signal represented as a (TX/RX/UL/DL) signal, a (TX/RX/UL/DL) frame, a (TX/RX/UL/DL) packet, a (TX/RX/UL/DL) data unit, (TX/RX/UL/DL) data, or the like may be a signal transmitted/received based on the PPDU of FIG. 10. The PPDU of FIG. 10 may be used to transmit/receive frames of various types. For example, the PPDU of FIG. 10 may be used for a control frame. An example of the control frame may include a request to send (RTS), a clear to send (CTS), a power save-poll (PS-poll), BlockACKReq, BlockAck, a null data packet (NDP) announcement , and a trigger frame. & ¶0271 the transmitting device may construct/generate a PPDU based on the acquired control information . Configuring/generating the PPDU may include configuring/generating each field of the PPDU.) wherein the NDPA frame comprises for each of the one or more associated non-AP stations a station info field, (¶0201 FIG. 14 shows an example of an EHT NDP Announcement frame format. & ¶0203 The VHT/HE/EHT NDP Announcement frame includes at least one STA Info field ) wherein the station info field comprises a partial bandwidth (BW) info subfield, (Fig. 14 – Partial BW Info within STA Info 1 & ¶0219 The Partial BW Info subfield is defined in the format at the bottom of FIG. 14.) including a feedback bitmap (Fig. 14 – Partial BW Info contains a Feedback bitmap & ¶0219 The Feedback Bitmap subfield indicates each resolution bandwidth for which the beamformer requests feedback.) and an indication of a resolution and/or a range of the feedback bitmap with a 20 MHz or 40 MHz subchannel resolution for a Sounding null data PPDU (NDP) with a bandwidth of up to 320 MHz; (¶0219 The Partial BW Info subfield is defined in the format at the bottom of FIG. 14. The resolution bit indicates the feedback resolution bandwidth . The Resolution bit is set to 0 to indicate a resolution of 20 MHz when the BW subfield is set to 0 to 3, and is set to 1 to indicate a resolution of 40 MHz when the BW subfield is set to 4 . [ i.e. Resolution bit indicates either a 20 MHz or 40 MHz resolution ] & ¶0230 At this time, NDP can be used for PPDU for sounding . & ¶0245 When the bandwidth of the NDP frame is 320 MHz , the feedback unit is 40 MHz (484 RU) and the Resolution bit is set to 1.) and transmitting the NDPA frame to the one or more associated non-AP stations. (Fig. 13 & ¶0009 the receiving STA may correspond to a beamformee or at least one STA (station) . A transmitting STA may correspond to a beamformer or an access point (AP) . & ¶0059-¶0060 The first STA 110 may include a processor 111, a memory 112, and a transceiver 113. & The transceiver 113 of the first STA performs a signal transmission/reception operation. & ¶0199 An EHT beamformer initiating an EHT TB sounding sequence must transmit an EHT NDP Announcement frame including two or more STA information fields and an RA field set to a broadcast address . [ i.e. broadcasting NDPA frame to EHT beamformees (associated non-AP stations) ]) Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status. 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. 07-20-02-aia AIA 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim s 2, 6, 14, and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park, in view of Vermani et al. (US 2022/0038241 A1), hereinafter referred to as Vermani . Re. Claim 2, Park teaches claim 1. Yet, Park does not explicitly teach: wherein the NDPA frame further comprises a disabled channel indication, which indicates one or more respective 20 MHz subchannels to be excluded in any further frames exchanged between the AP and the one or more non-AP stations associated with the AP. However, in the analogous art, Vermani teaches: wherein the NDPA frame further comprises a disabled channel indication, (¶0101-¶0102 FIG. 12B shows another example format of a STA information field 1210 for an enhanced NPDA frame according to some implementations. In some implementations, the STA information field 1210 may be an example of one of the STA information fields 1030, of FIG. 10, when the NDPA frame 1000 is configured in accordance with the non-legacy NDPA frame format. & In the example of FIG. 12B, the STA information field 1210 includes an AID11 subfield 1212, a disallowed subchannel bitmap subfield 1214 , and a disambiguation subfield 1216.) which indicates one or more respective 20 MHz subchannels to be excluded in any further frames exchanged between the AP and the one or more non-AP stations associated with the AP. (¶0086 FIG. 10 shows an example NDPA frame 1000 usable for channel sounding between an AP and a number of STAs according to some implementations. In some implementations the NDPA frame 1000 (also referred to herein as an “enhanced NDPA frame”) may be configured to request sounding feedback from one or more non-legacy STAs . [ i.e. sounding feedback (further frames) exchanged between an AP and one or more STAs (non-AP stations) ] & ¶0103 The disallowed subchannel bitmap subfield 1214 carries puncturing information identifying punctured subchannels associated with the bandwidth for the sounding feedback , [ i.e. punctured (excluded) subchannels for the sounding feedback (further frames) ] similar to the disallowed subchannel bitmap subfield 1114 of the STA information field 1110. While 8 bits can sufficiently describe all possible punctured subchannels of a 160 MHz channel (with a 20 MHz puncturing granularity), at least 16 bits are needed to describe all possible punctured subchannels of a 320 MHz channel . Thus, in some aspects, each bit of the disallowed subchannel bitmap subfield 1214 may indicate whether puncturing is performed on a respective 20 MHz subchannel of a 320 MHz channel . [ i.e. the disallowed subchannel bitmap indicates whether each 20MHz subchannel is punctured (excluded) ]) Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Park’s invention of a method and device for requesting feedback on partial band in 20MHZ unit in 320MHZ NDPA frame in wireless LAN system to include Vermani’s teaching of the NDPA frame comprising a disabled channel indication, because it would enable the device to determine from a null data packet announcement, which channels are punctured for the subsequent sounding feedback. (see Vermani ¶0010) Re. Claim 6, Park combined with Vermani teaches claim 2. Vermani further teaches: wherein the processing circuitry is configured to set the feedback bitmap in the NDPA frame based on the disabled channel indication. (¶0096-¶0097 FIG. 12A shows an example format of a STA information field 1200 for an enhanced NDPA frame according to some implementations. In the example of FIG. 12A, the STA information field 1200 includes an AID11 subfield 1201, a partial bandwidth information subfield 1202, a n Nc subfield 1203 , & ¶0103 T he disallowed subchannel bitmap subfield 1214 carries puncturing information identifying punctured subchannels associated with the bandwidth for the sounding feedback [ i.e. disallowed subchannel bitmap associated with bandwidth for sounding feedback, which is indicated with a feedback matrix, as cited below ] & ¶0135 the Nc subfield may indicate a number of spatial streams or a number of columns of a feedback matrix to be included in the sounding feedback . [ i.e. Nc subfield indicates a feedback matrix (a feedback bitmap) ]) Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Park’s invention of a method and device for requesting feedback on partial band in 20MHZ unit in 320MHZ NDPA frame in wireless LAN system to include Vermani’s teaching of the NDPA frame comprising a disabled channel indication, because it would enable the device to determine from a null data packet announcement, which channels are punctured for the subsequent sounding feedback. (see Vermani ¶0010) Re. Claim 14, Park teaches claim 13. Yet, Park does not explicitly teach: wherein the NDPA frame further comprises a disabled channel indication, which indicates one or more respective 20 MHz subchannels to be excluded in any further frames exchanged between the AP and the one or more non-AP stations associated with the AP. However, in the analogous art, Vermani teaches: wherein the NDPA frame further comprises a disabled channel indication, (¶0101-¶0102 FIG. 12B shows another example format of a STA information field 1210 for an enhanced NPDA frame according to some implementations. In some implementations, the STA information field 1210 may be an example of one of the STA information fields 1030, of FIG. 10, when the NDPA frame 1000 is configured in accordance with the non-legacy NDPA frame format. & In the example of FIG. 12B, the STA information field 1210 includes an AID11 subfield 1212, a disallowed subchannel bitmap subfield 1214 , and a disambiguation subfield 1216.) which indicates one or more respective 20 MHz subchannels to be excluded in any further frames exchanged between the AP and the one or more non-AP stations associated with the AP. (¶0086 FIG. 10 shows an example NDPA frame 1000 usable for channel sounding between an AP and a number of STAs according to some implementations. In some implementations the NDPA frame 1000 (also referred to herein as an “enhanced NDPA frame”) may be configured to request sounding feedback from one or more non-legacy STAs . [ i.e. sounding feedback (further frames) exchanged between an AP and one or more STAs (non-AP stations) ] & ¶0103 The disallowed subchannel bitmap subfield 1214 carries puncturing information identifying punctured subchannels associated with the bandwidth for the sounding feedback , [ i.e. punctured (excluded) subchannels for the sounding feedback (further frames) ] similar to the disallowed subchannel bitmap subfield 1114 of the STA information field 1110. While 8 bits can sufficiently describe all possible punctured subchannels of a 160 MHz channel (with a 20 MHz puncturing granularity), at least 16 bits are needed to describe all possible punctured subchannels of a 320 MHz channel . Thus, in some aspects, each bit of the disallowed subchannel bitmap subfield 1214 may indicate whether puncturing is performed on a respective 20 MHz subchannel of a 320 MHz channel . [ i.e. the disallowed subchannel bitmap indicates whether each 20MHz subchannel is punctured (excluded) ]) Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Park’s invention of a method and device for requesting feedback on partial band in 20MHZ unit in 320MHZ NDPA frame in wireless LAN system to include Vermani’s teaching of the NDPA frame comprising a disabled channel indication, because it would enable the device to determine from a null data packet announcement, which channels are punctured for the subsequent sounding feedback. (see Vermani ¶0010) Re. Claim 19, Park teaches claim 18. Yet, Park does not explicitly teach: wherein the NDPA frame further comprises a disabled channel indication which indicates one or more respective 20 MHz subchannels to be excluded in any further frames exchanged between an AP and the one or more non-AP stations associated with the AP. However, in the analogous art, Vermani teaches: wherein the NDPA frame further comprises a disabled channel indication (¶0101-¶0102 FIG. 12B shows another example format of a STA information field 1210 for an enhanced NPDA frame according to some implementations. In some implementations, the STA information field 1210 may be an example of one of the STA information fields 1030, of FIG. 10, when the NDPA frame 1000 is configured in accordance with the non-legacy NDPA frame format. & In the example of FIG. 12B, the STA information field 1210 includes an AID11 subfield 1212, a disallowed subchannel bitmap subfield 1214 , and a disambiguation subfield 1216.) which indicates one or more respective 20 MHz subchannels to be excluded in any further frames exchanged between an AP and the one or more non-AP stations associated with the AP. (¶0086 FIG. 10 shows an example NDPA frame 1000 usable for channel sounding between an AP and a number of STAs according to some implementations. In some implementations the NDPA frame 1000 (also referred to herein as an “enhanced NDPA frame”) may be configured to request sounding feedback from one or more non-legacy STAs . [ i.e. sounding feedback (further frames) exchanged between an AP and one or more STAs (non-AP stations) ] & ¶0103 The disallowed subchannel bitmap subfield 1214 carries puncturing information identifying punctured subchannels associated with the bandwidth for the sounding feedback , [ i.e. punctured (excluded) subchannels for the sounding feedback (further frames) ] similar to the disallowed subchannel bitmap subfield 1114 of the STA information field 1110. While 8 bits can sufficiently describe all possible punctured subchannels of a 160 MHz channel (with a 20 MHz puncturing granularity), at least 16 bits are needed to describe all possible punctured subchannels of a 320 MHz channel . Thus, in some aspects, each bit of the disallowed subchannel bitmap subfield 1214 may indicate whether puncturing is performed on a respective 20 MHz subchannel of a 320 MHz channel . [ i.e. the disallowed subchannel bitmap indicates whether each 20MHz subchannel is punctured (excluded) ]) Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Park’s invention of a method and device for requesting feedback on partial band in 20MHZ unit in 320MHZ NDPA frame in wireless LAN system to include Vermani’s teaching of the NDPA frame comprising a disabled channel indication, because it would enable the device to determine from a null data packet announcement, which channels are punctured for the subsequent sounding feedback. (see Vermani ¶0010) 07-21-aia AIA Claim s 3, 15, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park, in view of Lin et al. (US 2024/0275566 A1), hereinafter referred to as Lin . Re. Claim 3, Park teaches claim 1. Yet, Park does not explicitly teach: wherein the communication interface is further configured to transmit a beacon frame to the one or more associated non-AP stations, wherein the beacon frame comprises a disabled channel indication, and wherein the disabled channel indication indicates one or more respective 20 MHz subchannels to be excluded in any further frames exchanged between the AP and the one or more non-AP stations associated with the AP. However, in the analogous art, Lin teaches: wherein the communication interface is further configured to transmit a beacon frame to the one or more associated non-AP stations, (¶0175 FIG. 30 is a diagram illustrating an example non-TB sounding procedure 3000. Although one STA 3004 is shown, the example applies similarly to a scenario with multiple STAs . [ i.e. non-AP stations ] AP 3002 may transmit to STA 3004 a beacon frame 3006. ) wherein the beacon frame comprises a disabled channel indication, (¶0175 Beacon frame 3006 may include an indication of one or more (at least one) punctured subchannel and one or more (at least one) subchannel that is not punctured. The indication of the punctured subchannel(s) and subchannel(s) that is not punctured may be indicated as, for example, a disabled subchannel bitmap ) and wherein the disabled channel indication indicates one or more respective 20 MHz subchannels to be excluded in any further frames exchanged between the AP and the one or more non-AP stations associated with the AP. (Fig. 30 3012 feedback for the requested subchannels indicated by NDPA (further frames) & ¶0175 FIG. 30 is a diagram illustrating an example non-TB sounding procedure 3000. Although one STA 3004 is shown, the example applies similarly to a scenario with multiple STAs. AP 3002 may transmit to STA 3004 a beacon frame 3006. Beacon frame 3006 may include an indication of one or more (at least one) punctured subchannel and one or more (at least one) subchannel that is not punctured . The indication of the punctured subchannel(s) and subchannel(s) that is not punctured may be indicated as, for example, a disabled subchannel bitmap (e.g., a bit set to ‘1’ indicates a corresponding 20 MHz subchannel is punctured, and a bit set to ‘0’ indicates a corresponding 20 MHz subchannel is non-punctured) . The STA 3004 may transmit CSI feedback report frame 3012 to the AP 3002, where the CSI feedback report frame 3012 includes the generated CSI feedback. The CSI feedback may be transmitted on at least part of the indicated subchannel(s) .) Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Park’s invention of a method and device for requesting feedback on partial band in 20MHZ unit in 320MHZ NDPA frame in wireless LAN system to include Lin’s teaching of transmitting a beacon frame comprising a disabled channel indication, because it would enable the device to determine from a beacon frame, which channels are punctured for the subsequent feedback report frames. (see Lin ¶0175) Re. Claim 15, Park teaches claim 13. Yet, Park does not explicitly teach: further comprising: transmitting a beacon frame to the one or more associated non-AP stations, wherein the beacon frame comprises a disabled channel indication, which indicates indicative of one or more respective 20 MHz subchannels to be excluded in any further frames exchanged between the AP and the one or more non-AP stations associated with the AP. However, in the analogous art, Lin teaches: further comprising: transmitting a beacon frame to the one or more associated non-AP stations, (¶0175 FIG. 30 is a diagram illustrating an example non-TB sounding procedure 3000. Although one STA 3004 is shown, the example applies similarly to a scenario with multiple STAs . [ i.e. non-AP stations ] AP 3002 may transmit to STA 3004 a beacon frame 3006. ) wherein the beacon frame comprises a disabled channel indication, (¶0175 Beacon frame 3006 may include an indication of one or more (at least one) punctured subchannel and one or more (at least one) subchannel that is not punctured. The indication of the punctured subchannel(s) and subchannel(s) that is not punctured may be indicated as, for example, a disabled subchannel bitmap ) which indicates indicative of one or more respective 20 MHz subchannels to be excluded in any further frames exchanged between the AP and the one or more non-AP stations associated with the AP. (Fig. 30 3012 feedback for the requested subchannels indicated by NDPA (further frames) & ¶0175 FIG. 30 is a diagram illustrating an example non-TB sounding procedure 3000. Although one STA 3004 is shown, the example applies similarly to a scenario with multiple STAs. AP 3002 may transmit to STA 3004 a beacon frame 3006. Beacon frame 3006 may include an indication of one or more (at least one) punctured subchannel and one or more (at least one) subchannel that is not punctured . The indication of the punctured subchannel(s) and subchannel(s) that is not punctured may be indicated as, for example, a disabled subchannel bitmap (e.g., a bit set to ‘1’ indicates a corresponding 20 MHz subchannel is punctured, and a bit set to ‘0’ indicates a corresponding 20 MHz subchannel is non-punctured) . The STA 3004 may transmit CSI feedback report frame 3012 to the AP 3002, where the CSI feedback report frame 3012 includes the generated CSI feedback. The CSI feedback may be transmitted on at least part of the indicated subchannel(s) .) Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Park’s invention of a method and device for requesting feedback on partial band in 20MHZ unit in 320MHZ NDPA frame in wireless LAN system to include Lin’s teaching of transmitting a beacon frame comprising a disabled channel indication, because it would enable the device to determine from a beacon frame, which channels are punctured for the subsequent feedback report frames. (see Lin ¶0175) Re. Claim 20, Park teaches claim 18. Yet, Park does not explicitly teach: wherein the operations further include transmitting a beacon frame to the one or more associated non-AP stations, wherein the beacon frame comprises a disabled channel indication, which indicates one or more respective 20 MHz subchannels to be excluded in any further frames exchanged between an AP and the one or more non-AP stations associated with the AP. However, in the analogous art, Lin teaches: wherein the operations further include transmitting a beacon frame to the one or more associated non-AP stations, (¶0175 FIG. 30 is a diagram illustrating an example non-TB sounding procedure 3000. Although one STA 3004 is shown, the example applies similarly to a scenario with multiple STAs . [ i.e. non-AP stations ] AP 3002 may transmit to STA 3004 a beacon frame 3006. ) wherein the beacon frame comprises a disabled channel indication, (¶0175 Beacon frame 3006 may include an indication of one or more (at least one) punctured subchannel and one or more (at least one) subchannel that is not punctured. The indication of the punctured subchannel(s) and subchannel(s) that is not punctured may be indicated as, for example, a disabled subchannel bitmap ) which indicates one or more respective 20 MHz subchannels to be excluded in any further frames exchanged between an AP and the one or more non-AP stations associated with the AP. (Fig. 30 3012 feedback for the requested subchannels indicated by NDPA (further frames) & ¶0175 FIG. 30 is a diagram illustrating an example non-TB sounding procedure 3000. Although one STA 3004 is shown, the example applies similarly to a scenario with multiple STAs. AP 3002 may transmit to STA 3004 a beacon frame 3006. Beacon frame 3006 may include an indication of one or more (at least one) punctured subchannel and one or more (at least one) subchannel that is not punctured . The indication of the punctured subchannel(s) and subchannel(s) that is not punctured may be indicated as, for example, a disabled subchannel bitmap (e.g., a bit set to ‘1’ indicates a corresponding 20 MHz subchannel is punctured, and a bit set to ‘0’ indicates a corresponding 20 MHz subchannel is non-punctured) . The STA 3004 may transmit CSI feedback report frame 3012 to the AP 3002, where the CSI feedback report frame 3012 includes the generated CSI feedback. The CSI feedback may be transmitted on at least part of the indicated subchannel(s) .) Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Park’s invention of a method and device for requesting feedback on partial band in 20MHZ unit in 320MHZ NDPA frame in wireless LAN system to include Lin’s teaching of transmitting a beacon frame comprising a disabled channel indication, because it would enable the device to determine from a beacon frame, which channels are punctured for the subsequent feedback report frames. (see Lin ¶0175) 07-21-aia AIA Claim s 4-5 and 16-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park combined with Vermani, and further in view of Lim et al. (US 2024/0306199 A1), hereinafter referred to as Lim . Re. Claim 4, Park combined with Vermani teaches claim 2. Yet, the combined references do not explicitly teach: wherein the communication interface is configured to transmit the Sounding NDP to the one or more associated non-AP stations punctured in accordance with the disabled channel indication. However, in the analogous art, Lim teaches: wherein the communication interface is configured to transmit the Sounding NDP to the one or more associated non-AP stations punctured in accordance with the disabled channel indication. (¶0052 one of the STAs 100 and 200 may perform an intended operation of an AP, and the other of the STAs 100 and 200 may perform an intended operation of a non-AP STA. For example, the transceivers 106 and 206 of FIG. 1 may perform a transmission and reception operation of a signal (e.g., a packet or a physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU ) conforming to IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be). & ¶0201 A disallowed subchannel bitmap indicates the 20 MHz subchannel(s) and 242-tone RU(s) present in the sounding NDPs announced by the NDP announcement frame & ¶0217-¶0218 A HE beamformer that is an AP and transmits a HE NDP announcement frame to one or more HE beamformers may set the AID11 field of the STA information field identifying the non-AP STA to 11 LSB of the AID of the non-AP STA. The HE NDP announcement frame may not include multiple STA information fields with the same value in the AID11 subfield. & HE beamformer transmitting HE NDP announcement frame starting HE TB sounding sequence may include an STA information field with an AID11 subfield value of 2047 to indicate a disallowed subchannel during punctured channel operation . [ i.e. a disallowed subchannel bitmap (disabled channel indication) indicates the subchannels present for the sounding NDPs ]) Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Park and Vermani’s invention of a method and device for requesting feedback on partial band in 20MHZ unit in 320MHZ NDPA frame in wireless LAN system to include Lim’s teaching of transmitting a Sounding NDP to the one or more associated non-AP stations punctured in accordance with the disabled channel indication, because it would enable the device to indicate a disallowed subchannel during punctured channel operation, so that the device may know which subchannels are present in the sounding NDPs. (see Lim ¶0201 & ¶0218) Re. Claim 5, Park combined with Vermani teaches claim 2. Park further teaches: and in accordance with one or more feedback bitmaps for the one or more associated non-AP stations in the NDPA frame. (¶0242-¶0243 FIG. 19 shows an example of the STA Info field format of the EHT NDPA frame proposed in this specification. the STA Info field includes a Partial BW Info field , and the Partial BW Info field is defined as a 9-bit bitmap. & ¶0245-¶0246 The Partial BW Info field includes a 1-bit resolution bit and an 8-bit feedback bitmap . The resolution bit may indicate a resolution bandwidth (20 MHz or 40 MHz) for each bit of the feedback bitmap. If the bandwidth of the NDP frame is less than 320 MHz, the feedback unit is 20 MHz (242 RU) and the Resolution bit is set to 0. When the bandwidth of the NDP frame is 320 MHz, the feedback unit is 40 MHz (484 RU) and the Resolution bit is set to 1. The 8-bit feedback bitmap may indicate a feedback request for each resolution bandwidth from the lowest frequency to the highest frequency. When B0=0, the 8-bit feedback bitmap indicates a feedback request for each 20 MHz subchannel within 160 MHz. When B0=1, the 8-bit feedback bitmap indicates a feedback request for each 40 MHz subchannel within 320 MHz. Each bit of the feedback bitmap is set to 1 when feedback is requested in the corresponding resolution bandwidth . [ i.e. feedback unit is set according to bandwidth of NDP frame, the NDPA frame of STA (non-AP station) includes feedback bitmap used for the subsequent sounding NDP frame and CSI feedback (shown in Fig. 12) ]) Yet, the combined references do not explicitly teach: wherein the communication interface is configured to transmit the Sounding NDP to the one or more associated non-AP stations punctured in accordance with the disabled channel indication. Lim further teaches: wherein the communication interface is configured to transmit the Sounding NDP to the one or more associated non-AP stations punctured in accordance with the disabled channel indication (¶0052 one of the STAs 100 and 200 may perform an intended operation of an AP, and the other of the STAs 100 and 200 may perform an intended operation of a non-AP STA. For example, the transceivers 106 and 206 of FIG. 1 may perform a transmission and reception operation of a signal (e.g., a packet or a physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU ) conforming to IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be). & ¶0201 A disallowed subchannel bitmap indicates the 20 MHz subchannel(s) and 242-tone RU(s) present in the sounding NDPs announced by the NDP announcement frame & ¶0217-¶0218 A HE beamformer that is an AP and transmits a HE NDP announcement frame to one or more HE beamformers may set the AID11 field of the STA information field identifying the non-AP STA to 11 LSB of the AID of the non-AP STA. & HE beamformer transmitting HE NDP announcement frame starting HE TB sounding sequence may include an STA information field with an AID11 subfield value of 2047 to indicate a disallowed subchannel during punctured channel operation . [ i.e. a disallowed subchannel bitmap (disabled channel indication) for the sounding NDPs ]) Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Park and Vermani’s invention of a method and device for requesting feedback on partial band in 20MHZ unit in 320MHZ NDPA frame in wireless LAN system to include Lim’s teaching of transmitting a Sounding NDP to the one or more associated non-AP stations punctured in accordance with the disabled channel indication, because it would enable the device to indicate a disallowed subchannel during punctured channel operation, so that the device may know which subchannels are present in the sounding NDPs. (see Lim ¶0201 & ¶0218) Re. Claim 16, Park combined with Vermani teaches claim 14. Park further teaches: and optionally punctured in accordance with the one or more feedback bitmaps for the one or more associated non-AP stations in the NDPA frame. (Fig. 14 – Partial BW Info contains a Feedback bitmap & ¶0219 The Feedback Bitmap subfield indicates each resolution bandwidth for which the beamformer requests feedback. & ¶0246 The 8-bit feedback bitmap may indicate a feedback request for each resolution bandwidth from the lowest frequency to the highest frequency . When B0=0, the 8-bit feedback bitmap indicates a feedback request for each 20 MHz subchannel within 160 MHz . & ¶0310 The NDP frame and the feedback frame may be transmitted in the same band as the NDPA frame (the 320 MHz band). Partial bands for which feedback is requested through the bitmap may be punctured within the 320 MHz band or may be composed of various RUs or Multi Resource Units (MRUs). [ i.e. describes puncturing according to partial bands for which feedback is requested, which is what the feedback bitmap is used for indicating ]) Yet, the combined references do not explicitly teach: further comprising: transmitting the Sounding NDP to the one or more associated non-AP stations punctured in accordance with the disabled channel indication. However, in the analogous art, Lim teaches: further comprising: transmitting the Sounding NDP to the one or more associated non-AP stations punctured in accordance with the disabled channel indication (¶0052 one of the STAs 100 and 200 may perform an intended operation of an AP, and the other of the STAs 100 and 200 may perform an intended operation of a non-AP STA. For example, the transceivers 106 and 206 of FIG. 1 may perform a transmission and reception operation of a signal (e.g., a packet or a physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU ) conforming to IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be). & ¶0201 A disallowed subchannel bitmap indicates the 20 MHz subchannel(s) and 242-tone RU(s) present in the sounding NDPs announced by the NDP announcement frame & ¶0217-¶0218 A HE beamformer that is an AP and transmits a HE NDP announcement frame to one or more HE beamformers may set the AID11 field of the STA information field identifying the non-AP STA to 11 LSB of the AID of the non-AP STA. The HE NDP announcement frame may not include multiple STA information fields with the same value in the AID11 subfield. & HE beamformer transmitting HE NDP announcement frame starting HE TB sounding sequence may include an STA information field with an AID11 subfield value of 2047 to indicate a disallowed subchannel during punctured channel operation . [ i.e. a disallowed subchannel bitmap (disabled channel indication) indicates the subchannels present for the sounding NDPs ]) Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Park and Vermani’s invention of a method and device for requesting feedback on partial band in 20MHZ unit in 320MHZ NDPA frame in wireless LAN system to include Lim’s teaching of transmitting a Sounding NDP to the one or more associated non-AP stations punctured in accordance with the disabled channel indication, because it would enable the device to indicate a disallowed subchannel during punctured channel operation, so that the device may know which subchannels are present in the sounding NDPs. (see Lim ¶0201 & ¶0218) Re. Claim 17, Park combined with Vermani and Lim teaches claim 16. Park further teaches: further comprising: receiving from each of the one or more associated non-AP stations that were included in the preceding NDPA frame a compressed beamforming feedback report, (CBFR) frame, (Fig. 13 EHT beamformees transmit EHT Compressed Beamforming CQI report & ¶0197 The EHT TB sounding sequence is initiated by the EHT beamformer using a broadcast EHT NDP Announcement frame [ i.e. preceeding NDPA frame ] with two or more STA information fields, an EHT sounding NDP is transmitted after the SIFS, and a BFRP (Beamforming Report) trigger frame following the SIFS is transmitted . & ¶0313 the receiving STA may correspond to a beamformee or at least one STA (station) . [ i.e. non-AP stations ] The transmitting STA of FIG. 23 may correspond to a beamformer or an access point (AP).) wherein the CBFR frame comprises a Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO} control field, (¶0186-¶0187 Transmit beamforming and DL MU-MIMO (DownLink Multi User-Multi Input Multi Output) require knowledge of channel conditions to calculate a steering matrix applied to the transmit signal to optimize reception at one or more receivers. The EHT STA determines channel state information using the EHT sounding protocol. The EHT sounding protocol provides explicit feedback mechanisms defined as EHT non-trigger-based (non-TB) sounding and EHT trigger-based (TB) sounding. Here, the EHT beamformee measures the channel using the training signal transmitted by the EHT beamformer (i.e., the EHT sounding NDP) and sends back a transformed estimate of the channel state. The EHT beamformer uses this estimate to derive a steering matrix. The EHT beamformer returns an estimate of a channel state in an EHT compressed beamforming/CQI report included in one or more EHT Compressed Beamforming/CQI frames . & ¶0214 Subfields of the EHT MIMO Control field may be defined as follows . & ¶0219 The Partial BW Info subfield [ i.e. subfield of the EHT MIMO Control field ] is defined in the format at the bottom of FIG. 14. The resolution bit indicates the feedback resolution bandwidth) and wherein the MIMO control field comprises a partial BW info subfield, (¶0214 Subfields of the EHT MIMO Control field may be defined as follows . & ¶0219 The Partial BW Info subfield is defined in the format at the bottom of FIG. 14 .) including a response feedback bitmap, (¶0214 Subfields of the EHT MIMO Control field may be defined as follows . & ¶0219 The Feedback Bitmap subfield indicates each resolution bandwidth for which the beamformer requests feedback. Each bit in the Feedback Bitmap subfield is set to 1 if feedback for the corresponding bandwidth is requested and set to 0 otherwise.) and an indication of a resolution and/or a range of the response feedback bitmap with a 20 MHz or 40 MHz subchannel resolution for the Sounding NDP with a bandwidth of up to 320 MHz (¶0214 Subfields of the EHT MIMO Control field may be defined as follows . & ¶0217 The BW subfield of FIG. 15 indicates the channel width used to determine the start and end subcarriers when interpreting the Partial BW Info subfields. The value of the BW subfield corresponds to the bandwidth of the EHT NDP and is set to 0 for 20 MHz, 1 for 40 MHz, 2 for 80 MHz, 3 for 160 MHz, and 4 for 320 MHz . [ i.e. bandwidth of NDP set up to 320 MHz ] & ¶0219 The Partial BW Info subfield is defined in the format at the bottom of FIG. 14 . The resolution bit indicates the feedback resolution bandwidth. The Resolution bit is set to 0 to indicate a resolution of 20 MHz when the BW subfield is set to 0 to 3, and is set to 1 to indicate a resolution of 40 MHz when the BW subfield is set to 4 . & ¶0230 At this time, NDP can be used for PPDU for sounding .) and an indication for the presence of the further feedback bitmap. (¶0263 The Partial BW Info subfield of the EHT MIMO Control field is set the same as the Partial BW Info subfield of NDPA . However, the Partial BW Info subfield of the EHT MIMO Control field, which can include both the Partial BW Info subfields in the above two consecutive STA Info fields proposed considering 20 MHz resolution in 320 MHz NDPA, is not currently defined. Therefore, when two consecutive STA Info fields are included to indicate partial BW feedback in 20 MHz resolution units in 320 MHz NDPA, it is proposed to configure the Partial BW Info subfield of the EHT MIMO Control field as follows. [0264] Resolution bit is set to 40 MHz. [0265] If there is feedback for at least one 20 MHz channel in the 40 MHz channel corresponding to each bit in the 8 bits of the Feedback Bitmap subfield, the corresponding bit is set to 1 . [ i.e. an indication for partial BW feedback when there are two consecutive STA info fields (further feedback bitmaps) ]) Conclusion 07-96 AIA The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Dong (US 2023/0388992 A1); at least Fig. 2, Fig. 3, and ¶0037 discloses for the case with the plurality of beamformees, the HE beamformer sends the HE NDPA frame and the NDP to the plurality of high efficiency beamformees (that is, from HE beamformee 1 to HE beamformee n) at the same time, and then may send BFRP Trigger (a beamforming report poll trigger frame) with a polling mode, so that the plurality of high efficiency beamformees send the feedback frames (that is, from HE Compressed Beamforming/CQI 1 to HE Compressed Beamforming/CQI n) . & ¶0043 discloses a Disallowed Subchannel Bitmap subfield may indicate a 20 MHz subchannel in the HE NDP announced by the HE NDPA frame [ i.e. teaches transmitting NDPA, NDP, and feedback frames in a sounding procedure, the NDPA frame including a disallowed subchannel bitmap ] Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GARY A MILLER whose telephone number is (571)272-4423. 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If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /G.A.M./Examiner, Art Unit 2417 /REBECCA E SONG/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2417 Application/Control Number: 18/652,534 Page 2 Art Unit: 2417 Application/Control Number: 18/652,534 Page 3 Art Unit: 2417 Application/Control Number: 18/652,534 Page 4 Art Unit: 2417 Application/Control Number: 18/652,534 Page 5 Art Unit: 2417 Application/Control Number: 18/652,534 Page 6 Art Unit: 2417 Application/Control Number: 18/652,534 Page 7 Art Unit: 2417 Application/Control Number: 18/652,534 Page 8 Art Unit: 2417 Application/Control Number: 18/652,534 Page 9 Art Unit: 2417 Application/Control Number: 18/652,534 Page 10 Art Unit: 2417 Application/Control Number: 18/652,534 Page 11 Art Unit: 2417 Application/Control Number: 18/652,534 Page 12 Art Unit: 2417 Application/Control Number: 18/652,534 Page 13 Art Unit: 2417 Application/Control Number: 18/652,534 Page 14 Art Unit: 2417 Application/Control Number: 18/652,534 Page 15 Art Unit: 2417 Application/Control Number: 18/652,534 Page 16 Art Unit: 2417 Application/Control Number: 18/652,534 Page 17 Art Unit: 2417 Application/Control Number: 18/652,534 Page 18 Art Unit: 2417 Application/Control Number: 18/652,534 Page 19 Art Unit: 2417 Application/Control Number: 18/652,534 Page 20 Art Unit: 2417 Application/Control Number: 18/652,534 Page 21 Art Unit: 2417 Application/Control Number: 18/652,534 Page 22 Art Unit: 2417 Application/Control Number: 18/652,534 Page 23 Art Unit: 2417 Application/Control Number: 18/652,534 Page 24 Art Unit: 2417 Application/Control Number: 18/652,534 Page 25 Art Unit: 2417 Application/Control Number: 18/652,534 Page 26 Art Unit: 2417 Application/Control Number: 18/652,534 Page 27 Art Unit: 2417 Application/Control Number: 18/652,534 Page 28 Art Unit: 2417 Application/Control Number: 18/652,534 Page 29 Art Unit: 2417 Application/Control Number: 18/652,534 Page 30 Art Unit: 2417 Application/Control Number: 18/652,534 Page 31 Art Unit: 2417 Application/Control Number: 18/652,534 Page 32 Art Unit: 2417 Application/Control Number: 18/652,534 Page 33 Art Unit: 2417 Application/Control Number: 18/652,534 Page 34 Art Unit: 2417 Application/Control Number: 18/652,534 Page 35 Art Unit: 2417 Application/Control Number: 18/652,534 Page 36 Art Unit: 2417
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