DETAILED ACTION
Response to Remark
This communication is considered fully responsive to the amendment filed on 08/12/26.
a. Independent claims have been amended.
b. Objection to specification is withdrawn since it has been amended accordingly.
c. Double Patenting rejection is withdrawn since it has been filed T.D.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102 of this title, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 1, 2, 6, 8, 9, 13, 15, 16, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chun et al. (US 2016/0278081, “Chun”, Provisional No. 61/901,362, filed on Nov. 7, 2013 includes same figures of Fig.1 & Fig.3-6 of Chun; hereinafter “Prov’362”) in view of Kwon et al. (US 2016/0242195, “Kwon”).
Regarding claim 1, Chun discloses a data transmission indication method, by an access point, comprising:
- sending, to a terminal, a physical layer signaling that indicates, to the terminal (See Prov’362, pg.3, Sec.2.2, Figure b, receiving DL MU MIMO PPDU (Physical Layer Protocol Data Unit) frame comprising VHT-SIG A and VHT-SIG B; See pg.5, Fig.1, AP sends DL indication frame), a subchannel allocated to the terminal for receiving downlink orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) data information (See Prov’362, pg.5, Fig.2, ‘DL indication frame’ as shown below:
PNG
media_image1.png
266
789
media_image1.png
Greyscale
See Fig.1-2, frequency or spatial domain for each of Users 1-3 as subchannel allocated to each of the users/terminals; pg.3, Sec.2.3, A first allocated STA transmits block ACK (BA) after DL MU MIMO frame + SIFS, and thereafter transmits BA sequentially after receiving a block ACK request (BAR); pg.5, 1st ¶, “In this case, a DL indication frame for transmission of the UL data frame must be first transmitted. An STA ID, frame length, STA allocation scheme, or the like for the UL data frame must be included in the DL indication frame; See pg.10, OFDMA in a channel or in multiple channels; Examiner’s Note: Kwon discloses the limitation “a subchannel”);
- sending the downlink OFDMA data information on the subchannel allocated to the terminal, wherein the downlink OFDMA data information carries OFDMA data, and wherein the OFDMA data comprises a request that is used to instruct the terminal to send a response to the access point in an OFDMA mode (See Prov’362, pg.3, Sec.2.3, a first allocated STA transmits block ACK (BA) after DL MU MIMO frame + SIFS, and thereafter transmits BA sequentially after receiving a block ACK request (BAR); Examiner’s Note: Kwon discloses the newly added limitations “the downlink OFDMA data information carries OFDMA data, and wherein the OFDMA data comprises a request”); and
- receiving, from the terminal, in the OFDMA mode, the response, wherein the response is either an acknowledge (ACK) response or a block acknowledge (BA) response (See Prov’362, pg.6, Fig.3-5 and Sec.2, “if a DL frame is transmitted in a DL MU MIMO manner, a BA (Block ACK) is transmitted sequentially for each STA in the conventional method. However, in case of using UL MU, ACK (whether it has an ACK form or a block ACK form) can be transmitted concurrently.”
PNG
media_image2.png
199
575
media_image2.png
Greyscale
PNG
media_image3.png
197
595
media_image3.png
Greyscale
PNG
media_image4.png
208
728
media_image4.png
Greyscale
).
Chun discloses the method of allocating frequency or spatial domain for STAs or Users as shown in Fig.1-2, but does not explicitly disclose the limitation “a subchannel” and “the downlink OFDMA data information carries OFDMA data, and wherein the OFDMA data comprises a request.”
However, Kwon discloses the limitation “a subchannel allocated to the terminal” (Kwon, See ¶.5, performing channel sounding on a plurality of subchannels and identifying subchannels selected by stations among the subchannels; See ¶.19, identifying a subchannel with the MU-MIMO mode selected as a group ID to conduct signaling; See ¶.97, the STAs successfully receiving the frames from the AP may transmit an acknowledgement (ACK) frame to the AP at determined times for the respective STAs. When a Block Acknowledgement Request (BAR) frame is received from the AP, the STAs may transmit a Block Acknowledgement (BA) frame to the AP) and “the downlink OFDMA data information carries OFDMA data, and wherein the OFDMA data comprises a request” (Kwon, See ¶.78, the AP 110 may start data transmission. In this case, data transmission may be conducted following sounding in the same TXOP as for sounding or be conducted in a new TXOP. Through sounding, all time resources and power resources by STAs may be allocated. STAs participating in actual OFDMA data exchanges may vary considering BF sounding and power control, in which case new frequency resources may be allocated. Resource scheduling information regarding frequency, time and power may be broadcast through an OFDMA indication frame broadcast by the AP; See ¶.133, In the OFDMA communication system, when an AP transmits an OFDMA indication frame and transmits data after an SIFS; See ¶.97, the STAs successfully receiving the frames from the AP may transmit an acknowledgement (ACK) frame 320 to the AP at determined times for the respective STAs. When a Block Acknowledgement Request (BAR) frame is received from the AP, the STAs may transmit a Block Acknowledgement (BA) frame to the AP; See ¶.117, Here, a BAR frame and a BA frame are basically transmitted only via the subchannels of the STAs but may also be transmitted in bandwidth iteration mode to prevent access by other STAs between the data frame and the BAR frame).”
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to apply the method of “allocating a subchannel to a terminal” and “the downlink OFDMA data information carries OFDMA data, and wherein the OFDMA data comprises a request” as taught by Kwon into the system of Chun, so that it provides a way of scheduling communications between the AP and the stations based on the selected subchannels; and transmitting a data frame to the stations through the subchannels based on a scheduling result (Kwon, See ¶.5) in the OFDMA communication system (Kwon, See ¶.133).
Regarding claim 2, Chun and Kwon disclose “receiving uplink OFDMA data information to the terminal (Prov’362 of Chun, See pg.10, OFDMA in a channel or in multiple channels; Kwon, See ¶.87, when the wireless device 200 operates as an AP in an OFDMA communication system, the receiver 240 may receive feedback frames including information on a preferred candidate subchannel among a plurality of subchannels from a plurality of STAs through at least one antenna).” Therefore, this claim is rejected with the similar reasons and motivation set forth in the rejection of claim 1.
Regarding claim 6, Chun and Kwon disclose “the physical layer signaling comprises an identifier of the terminal (See, Prov’362 of Chun, pg.2, STA info, AID) and information of the subchannel (Kwon, See ¶.19, identifying a subchannel with the SU-MIMO mode selected as an association ID (AID) to conduct signaling and identifying a subchannel with the MU-MIMO mode selected as a group ID to conduct signaling).” Therefore, this claim is rejected with the similar reasons and motivation set forth in the rejection of claim 1.
Regarding claim 8, it is an apparatus claim corresponding to the method claim 1, except the limitations “a processor and a non-transitory computer readable medium (See Fig.8, a processor and a memory)” and is therefore rejected for the similar reasons set forth in the rejection of the claim.
Regarding claims 9 and 13, they are claims corresponding to claims 2 & 6, respectively and are therefore rejected for the similar reasons set forth in the rejection of the claims.
Regarding claim 15, it is a non-transitory computer readable storage medium claim corresponding to the method claim 1 and is therefore rejected for the similar reasons set forth in the rejection of the claim.
Regarding claims 16 and 20, they are claims corresponding to claims 2 & 6, respectively and are therefore rejected for the similar reasons set forth in the rejection of the claims.
Claims 3, 7, 10, 14, and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chun in view of Kwon and further in view of Ktenas et al. (US 2011/0273981, “Ktenas”).
Regarding claim 3, Chun and Kwon disclose OFDMA, but do not explicitly disclose what Ktenas discloses “an interval between subcarriers in an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) mode is K multiples of an interval between subcarriers in the OFDMA mode, and wherein K is an integer (Ktenas, See ¶.68, where the cooperative network is an OFDMA telecommunication system and the transmission resources consist of the subcarrier intervals of an OFDM multiplex or pluralities of such intervals).”
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to apply the method of “an interval between subcarriers in an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) mode is K multiples of an interval between subcarriers in the OFDMA mode, and wherein K is an integer” as taught by Ktenas into the system of Chun and Kwon, so that in OFDMA system, it provides a way for various users to be assigned distinct subcarrier intervals (or frequency chunks) of an OFDM multiplex (Ktenas, See ¶.9).
Regarding claim 7, Chun and Kwon do not explicitly disclose what Ktenas discloses “the physical layer signaling is sent by using OFDM (See ¶.68, the transmission resources consist of the subcarrier intervals of an OFDM multiplex or pluralities of such intervals; See Claim 15, the transmission resources are subcarrier intervals of an OFDM multiplex or pluralities of such intervals). Therefore, this claim is rejected with the similar reasons and motivation set forth in the rejection of claim 3.
Regarding claims 10, 14, and 17, they are claims corresponding to claims 3, 7, & 3, respectively and are therefore rejected for the similar reasons set forth in the rejection of the claims.
Claims 4, 11, and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chun in view of Kwon and further in view of Hamaguchi (US 2018/0146482, “Hamaguchi”).
Regarding claim 4, Chun and Kwon do not explicitly disclose what Hamaguchi discloses “the quantity of subcarriers in the OFDMA mode is 64*K per 20 MHz (Hamaguchi, See Claim 1, wherein each of the frequency sub-channels has a bandwidth of 20 MHZ and comprises 64 subcarriers; See ¶.16, Subcarriers of the OFDM will be divided and allocated to the frequency channels. Since it is assumed that the OFDM has 768 subcarriers, 64 subcarriers are allocated to each channel if divided equally among twelve slots).”
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to apply the method of “the quantity of subcarriers in the OFDMA mode is 64*K per 20 MHz” as taught by Hamaguchi into the system of Chun and Kwon, so that it provides a way for subcarriers of the OFDM to be divided and allocated to the frequency channels (Hamaguchi, See ¶.16).
Regarding claims 11 and 18, they are claims corresponding to claims 4 & 4, respectively and are therefore rejected for the similar reasons set forth in the rejection of the claims.
Claims 5, 12, and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chun in view of Kwon and further in view of Cai (US 2008/0240275, “Cai”).
Regarding claim 5, Chun and Kwon do not explicitly disclose what Cai discloses “the subchannel includes one or more subcarriers (Cai, See ¶.4, In OFDM, an allocated channel is divided into a number of orthogonal subchannels. Each subchannel has an equal bandwidth and is made of a unique group of subcarrier signals).”
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to apply the method of “the subchannel includes one or more subcarriers” as taught by Cai into the system of Chun and Kwon, so that it provides a way of utilizing the spectrum of OFDM for multicarrier data transmission that has been standardized for several wireless network physical layers (Cai, See ¶.4).
Regarding claims 12 and 19, they are claims corresponding to claims 5 & 5, respectively and are therefore rejected for the similar reasons set forth in the rejection of the claims.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed have been considered. But, in view of the applicant’s amendment to the claims, examiner has clarified and remapped the rejection to the argued added claim limitations, using the prior art of record in the current prosecution of the claims. Especially, the prior art by Kwon discloses and/or suggests the newly added claim limitations.
At pages 7-9, with respect to claim 1, applicant argues that “the OFDMA data itself comprises a request that is used to instruct the terminal to send a response (acknowledging reception of the OFDMA data) to the access point in an OFDMA mode. See Applicant's original Specification at least at paragraphs [0014-15], [0185], and [0330]. b. The combined teachings of the references do not render Applicant's invention obvious Applicant, in view of the current clarifying amendments to each of the independent claims, traverses the rejection of each of the independent claims 1, 8 and 15 that recite substantially the same combination of elements. Chun, upon which the Office action primarily relies, describes an AP sending a DL indication frame to a user 1, a user 2 and a user 3. The DL indication frame allocates resources for an UL (uplink) MU transmission. See Chun, at page 5 and Figs. 1 and 2. However, Chun does not describe Applicant's now-claimed: sending the downlink OFDMA data information on the subchannel allocated to the terminal, wherein the downlink OFDMA data information carries OFDMA data, the OFDMA data comprises a request that is used to instruct the terminal to send a response to the access point in an OFDMA mode [applicant’s emphasis added].
In reply, the limitations “the downlink OFDMA data information carries OFDMA data, the OFDMA data comprises a request that is used to instruct the terminal to send a response to the access point in an OFDMA mode” explicitly read on:
¶.[0027] of Chun discloses “If the uplink transmission performed by each of the plurality of STAs is performed on the frequency domain, a different frequency resource may be allocated as an uplink transmission resource for each of the plurality of STAs on the basis of orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA). A transmission method using such a different frequency resource may also be expressed by a term ‘UL MU OFDMA transmission method.” [emphasis added].
¶.[0073] of Kwon discloses “also, when the AP conducts scheduling by a plurality of predetermined adjacent subchannels, a list of bands with channel status information greater than a threshold among bands including the plurality of adjacent subchannels may be fed back to the AP. Here, to apply frequency selectivity as an advantage of OFDMA, resources may be classified into groups of a plurality of smaller tones other than a single subchannel, and a list of the resources and channel information by resource may be fed back.”
¶.[0074] of Kwon discloses “The AP collecting indication information on the STAs 120a to 120i may schedule resources to allocate to the STAs 120a to 120i based on the collected indication information. Here, the AP 110 may schedule frequency resources of the STAs. Scheduling information may include a list of STAs to simultaneously use a divided frequency resource and information on a resource to be used by each STA. The scheduling information may be constructed as an STA identification (ID) list by sequentially allocating unit frequencies to STAs, or as an index list by determining an OFDMA group in advance like an MU-MIMO group, transmitting an OFDMA group ID only, and allocating an index of an STA in the OFDMA group for resource allocation.”
¶.[0077] of Kwon discloses “the AP may define and announce an existing NDPA frame or new Announcement frame so that the STAs match durations of uplink frames and do not extend a bandwidth beyond subchannels thereof to conduct transmission since other subchannels are used for transmission.” [emphasis added].
¶.[0078] of Kwon discloses “the AP may start data transmission. In this case, data transmission may be conducted following sounding in the same TXOP as for sounding or be conducted in a new TXOP. Through sounding, all time resources and power resources by STAs may be allocated. STAs participating in actual OFDMA data exchanges may vary considering BF sounding and power control, in which case new frequency resources may be allocated. Resource scheduling information regarding frequency, time and power may be broadcast through an OFDMA indication frame broadcast by the AP.” [emphasis added].
¶.[0079] of Kwon discloses “the STAs may receive the OFDMA indication frame and identify from the OFDMA indication frame whether the STAs are included in a schedule, durations and locations of frequency resources allocated to the STAs.” [emphasis added].
¶.[0097] of Kwon discloses “the STAs successfully receiving the frames from the AP may transmit an acknowledgement (ACK) frame to the AP at determined times for the respective STAs. When a Block Acknowledgement Request (BAR) frame is received from the AP, the STAs may transmit a Block Acknowledgement (BA) frame to the AP.”
¶.[0121] of Kwon discloses “in the OFDMA system, the AP determines a subchannel to allocate to each STA, and the STA may transmit coarse feedback information.”
¶.[0133] of Kwon discloses “In the OFDMA communication system, when an AP transmits an OFDMA indication frame and transmits data after an SIFS, the same operation as in SST may be performed.”
In other words, Kwon discloses the method that an AP transmits an OFDMA indication frame and data for STA’s feedback and then STA sends BA frame to the AP based on the scheduled uplink feedback in OFDMA format. Therefore, the examiner respectfully disagrees.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the date of this final action.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Jung H Park whose telephone number is 571-272-8565. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 7:00 AM-3:00 PM.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Derrick Ferris can be reached on 571-272-3123. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/JUNG H PARK/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2411
Prosecution Insights