CTNF 18/667,986 CTNF 80845 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. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 07-30-02 AIA The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b): (b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention. The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA), second paragraph: The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention. 07-34-01 Claims 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 15, 16, 17, 19 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention. Claim 1 recites the term “collectivelyby”. It is unclear on what is meant by such term. Examiner suggests clarifying such subject matter. 07-34-05 AIA Claim 4 recites the limitation " the information " in line 1 . There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. 07-34-05 AIA Claim 5 recites the limitation " the information " in line 1 . There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Claim 6 recites the term “TCLAS” in line 1. It is however unclear on what is meant by such term. Examiner suggests defining such term. Dependent Claim 7 recites the subject matter “an AP around” in line 2. It is unclear of if such AP is referring to the AP introduced in claim 1 or is a different AP. Examiner suggests defining such subject matter. 07-34-05 AIA Claim 8 recites the limitation " the information " in line 1 . There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. 07-34-05 AIA Claim 10 recites the limitation " the scheduling information " in line 1 . There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Claim 15 recites the term “TCLAS” in line 1. It is however unclear on what is meant by such term. Examiner suggests defining such term. Dependent Claim 16 recites the subject matter “an AP around” in line 2. It is unclear of if such AP is referring to the AP introduced in claim 11 or is a different AP. Examiner suggests defining such subject matter. 07-34-05 AIA Claim 17 recites the limitation " the information " in line 1 . There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. 07-34-05 AIA Claim 19 recites the limitation " the scheduling information " in line 1 . There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. 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 – 07-12-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) 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Han et al. (US 2024/0040642) . Regarding claim 20, Han discloses a method of operating an electronic device, comprising: identifying a service through the electronic device ( detecting, by a station(STA), a triggering event, the STA being served by an associated access point (AP); analyzing, by the STA, the STA's service needs in response to the triggering event , [0011]-[0012] and [0017] and [0041] and [0048] and [0052]) ; negotiating multi-AP coordination for the service ( a request for initializing multi-AP coordination …the message/ request is included a designated frame and an AP-to-AP nego tiation process for multi-AP coordination and After the AP receives and evaluates the request from STA 210, the AP will further decide whether to initiate multi-AP coordination 220, or simply follow the routine of standalone transmission 205, [0012]-[0013] and [0060]-[0061] and figure 5 and [0047]-[0048] and figure 4 and [0077] and figure 6 and [0010]) ; and receiving traffic of the service through the multi-AP coordination ( communicat ion using multiple access points (multi-AP) and the AP will further decide whether to initi ate multi-AP coordination 220 and the multi-AP coordination starts 770. Data packet will be transmitted by using one of the previously discussed multi-AP coordination schemes , [0002] and [0061] and [0079] and [0034] and [0065]) . 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 1, 3, 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Han et al. (US 20240040642), in view of Lu et al. (US 2025/0294633) Regarding claim 1, Han discloses an electronic device ( a station (STA) device including at least one processor , [0017]-[0021] and [0086]-[0088] and figure 8) , comprising: at least one wireless communication circuit configured to transmit and receive a wireless signal; at least one processor operatively connected with the at least one wireless communication circuit; and at least one memory configured to store instructions, wherein the instructions are executed individually or collectivelyby the at least one processor to cause the electronic device ( a station (STA) device including at least one processor ; at least one wireless interface for communicating with at least one access point (AP); and machine readable memory storing machine readable instructions. The machine readable instructions, when executed by the processor configures the STA for, [0017]-[0021] and [0086]-[0088] and figure 8) to : transmit, to an access point (AP) associated with the electronic device, a request frame requesting multi-AP coordination for a service through the electronic device ( a request for initializing multi-AP coordination …the message/ request is included a designated frame and After the AP receives and evaluates the request from STA 210, the AP will further decide whether to initiate multi-AP coordination 220, or simply follow the routine of standalone transmission 205, [0012] and [0060]-0061] and figure 5 and [0047]-[0048] and figure 4 and [0077] and figure 6) ; and communicate traffic of the service through the multi-AP coordination ( communicat ion using multiple access points (multi-AP) and the AP will further decide whether to initi ate multi-AP coordination 220 and the multi-AP coordination starts 770. Data packet will be transmitted by using one of the previously discussed multi-AP coordination schemes , [0002] and [0061] and [0079] and [0034] and [0065]). Han fails to disclose receive a response frame to the request frame through the AP. However in a similar field of endeavor, Lu discloses receive a response frame to the request frame through the AP ( The STA1-2 first transmits an R-TWT request to the AP1 associated with the STA1-2, and the AP1 and the AP2 negotiate to establish the multi-AP coordination-based R-TWT after the AP1 receives the R-TWT request. The multi-AP coordinated transmission mode (for example, the joint transmission) within the R-TWT SP may be specified. In a case where the AP1 and the AP2 agree to establish the multi-AP coordination-based R-TWT, the AP1 transmits the R-TWT response to the STA1-1 to confirm successful establishment , [0173]-[0174] and [0176] and [0008] and [0109]). It 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 to incorporate the concept of receiving a response frame for a request for an establishment of multi-AP coordination as disclosed by Lu into the method for multiple access point coordination comprising a request frame as disclosed by Han in order to improve the method and flexibly indicate to a station when initial izing multi-AP coordination is established. Regarding claim 11, Han discloses the electronic device ( a station (STA) device including at least one processor , [0017]-[0021] and [0086]-[0088] and figure 8) comprising: at least one wireless communication circuit configured to transmit and receive a wireless signal; at least one processor operatively connected with the at least one wireless communication circuit; and at least one memory configured to store instructions, wherein the instructions are executed individually or collectively by the at least one processor to cause the electronic device ( a station (STA) device including at least one processor ; at least one wireless interface for communicating with at least one access point (AP); and machine readable memory storing machine readable instructions. The machine readable instructions, when executed by the processor configures the STA for, [0017]-[0021] and [0086]-[0088] and figure 8) to: transmit, to an access point (AP) associated with the electronic device, a request frame requesting multi-AP coordination comprising traffic flow information of a service ( a request for initializing multi-AP coordination …the message/ request is included a designated frame…message about a change in multi-AP coordination parameters includes: i) sending timeliness parameters (correlating to flow information): (acknowledgement) ACK delay, jitter ; ii) bandwidth parameters (correlating to flow information): effective throughput, buffer size ; and iii) reliability, stability, and availability parameters: SINR variation, average bit error rate and average frame loss rate and After the AP receives and evaluates the request from STA 210, the AP will further decide whether to initiate multi-AP coordination 220, or simply follow the routine of standalone transmission 205, [0012] and [0060]-0061] and figure 5 and [0047]-[0048] and figure 4 and [0077] and figure 6 and [0017] and [0056]) ; and receive traffic of the service through the multi-AP coordination ( communicat ion using multiple access points (multi-AP) and the AP will further decide whether to initi ate multi-AP coordination 220 and the multi-AP coordination starts 770. Data packet will be transmitted by using one of the previously discussed multi-AP coordination schemes , [0002] and [0061] and [0079] and [0034] and [0065]). . Han fails to disclose receive a response frame to the request frame through the AP. However in a similar field of endeavor, Lu discloses receive a response frame to the request frame through the AP ( The STA1-2 first transmits an R-TWT request to the AP1 associated with the STA1-2, and the AP1 and the AP2 negotiate to establish the multi-AP coordination-based R-TWT after the AP1 receives the R-TWT request. The multi-AP coordinated transmission mode (for example, the joint transmission) within the R-TWT SP may be specified. In a case where the AP1 and the AP2 agree to establish the multi-AP coordination-based R-TWT, the AP1 transmits the R-TWT response to the STA1-1 to confirm successful establishment , [0173]-[0174] and [0176] and [0008] and [0109]). It 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 to incorporate the concept of receiving a response frame for a request for an establishment of multi-AP coordination as disclosed by Lu into the method for multiple access point coordination comprising a request frame as disclosed by Han in order to improve the method and flexibly indicate to a station when initial izing multi-AP coordination is established. Regarding claim 3, Han discloses wherein the request frame comprises information about the service ( such a message can request for initializing multi-AP coordination, or such a message can be in response by a triggering event detected by the STA. In response to such a triggering event, the STA can analyze the STA's service needs , and send the message about a change in multi-AP coordination parameters and the request includes a report of analyzed conditions, [0009] and [0012] and [0017] and [0047]) . 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 2, 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Han et al., in view of Lu et al., in further view of Pan et al. (US 2025/0048176) . Regarding claim 2, 12, Han and Lu fails to disclose wherein the service is a real-time service. Han however discloses triggering event is triggered by an internal factor related to an application running on the STA . Examples of internal factors can be the launch of (or a request by) a bandwidth-hungry or delay-sensitive applications executing on the STA device and of rich application domains (e.g., multi-party cloud gaming and Extended Reality )([0048] and [0035]). In a similar field of endeavor, Pan discloses service is a real-time service ( real-time services such as extended reality (XR) and cloud gaming, [0003]). It 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 to incorporate the concept correlating such services as cloud gaming and extended reality to a real-time service as disclosed by Pan into the method for multiple access point coordination comprising a request frame associated with applications running on a station (such as multi-party cloud gaming and Extended Reality ) as disclosed by Han and Lu in order to improve the method and flexibly associate application with proper services, such as real-time services . 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 4, 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Han et al., in view of Lu et al., in further view of Liu (US 2007/0189274) . Regarding claim 4, 13, Han and Lu fails to disclose wherein the information about the service comprises Internet protocol (IP) information on traffic generated by the service. Han however discloses a request by a bandwidth -hungry or delay-sensitive applications executing on the STA device ([0048]) and of QoS metrices such as bandwidth ([0050]-[0052]). In a similar field of endeavor, Liu discloses wherein the information about the service comprises Internet protocol (IP) information on traffic generated by the service ( The resource request signaling contains the reservation parameters of the resource needed by a customer terminal, which includes customer traffic identification information (e.g., an IP 5-tuple message), a bandwidth requirement parameter and a QoS requirement parameter, etc., [0060] and [0063]). It 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 to incorporate the concept of including service IP information in a request by a terminal as disclosed by Liu into the method for multiple access point coordination comprising a request frame associated with applications running on a station as disclosed by Han and Lu in order to improve the method and flexibly indicate the proper parameters for a bandwidth hungry application . 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 5, 6, 14, 15 , is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Han et al., in view of Lu et al., in further view of Huang et al. (US 2025/0063620) . Regarding claim 5, 14, Han and Lu fails to disclose wherein the information about the service is specified in a traffic classification (TCLAS) element comprised in the request frame. However in a similar field of endeavor, Huang discloses wherein the information about the service is specified in a traffic classification (TCLAS) element comprised in the request frame ( STA may report the low-delay traffic stream by sending an SCS request frame to the associated AP, and indicate a corresponding QoS parameter and SCS descriptor includes the following fields:… a traffic classification (TCLAS) element, a TCLAS processing element , a QoS characteristics element, [0173]-[0176] and [0182] and figure 10). It 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 to incorporate the concept of including TCLAS element in a request by a terminal as disclosed by Huang into the method for multiple access point coordination comprising a request frame associated with applications running on a station as disclosed by Han and Lu in order to improve the method and flexibly indicate the proper parameters for a bandwidth hungry application. Regarding claim 6, 15, Han and Lu fails to disclose wherein, when a plurality of TCLAS elements is comprised in the request frame, a TCLAS processing element is comprised in the request frame. However in a similar field of endeavor, Huang discloses wherein, when a plurality of TCLAS elements is comprised in the request frame, a TCLAS processing element is comprised in the request frame ( STA may report the low-delay traffic stream by sending an SCS request frame to the associated AP, and indicate a corresponding QoS parameter and SCS descriptor includes the following fields:… a traffic classification (TCLAS) element, a TCLAS processing element , a QoS characteristics element and The TCLAS processing element indicates how to process multiple TCLAS elements when the multiple TCLAS elements exist, [0173]-[0176] and [0182] and [0187]-[0188] and figure 10). It 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 to incorporate the concept of including TCLAS elements and TCLAS processing element in a request by a terminal as disclosed by Huang into the method for multiple access point coordination comprising a request frame associated with applications running on a station as disclosed by Han and Lu in order to improve the method and flexibly indicate the proper parameters for a bandwidth hungry application . 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 7, 8, 16, 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Han et al., in view of Lu et al., in further view of Zhou et al. (US 2024/0023003) . Regarding claim 7, 16, Han and Lu fails to disclose wherein the request frame comprises information about an AP around the electronic device. However in a similar field of endeavor, Zhou discloses wherein the request frame comprises information about an AP around the electronic device ( STA requests multi-AP coordinated transmission , it only needs to recommend one or more suitable Group IDs to the MAP device according to its own environment information (such as received signal strength from surrounding APs , etc.), and then the MAP device confirms the best AP group for providing a multi-AP coordinated transmission service for the STA and the STA (such as STA2) that needs the multi-AP service recommends one or more AP identifiers from the plurality of AP groups included in the common AP group information to the MAP…via a Group Recomme nd frame, [0125] and [0163] and [0150] and [0214] and [0223] and [0101]). It 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 to incorporate the concept of including AP identifier information regarding surrounding APs in a message from a STA as disclosed by Zhou into the method for multiple access point coordination comprising a request frame associated with applications running on a station as disclosed by Han and Lu in order to improve the method and flexibly recommend surrounding APs for multiple access point coordination from a UE. Regarding claim 8, 17, Han and Lu fails to disclose wherein the information about the AP comprises a basic service set identifier (BSSID) or basic service set (BSS) color information. Zhou discloses wherein the information about the AP comprises a basic service set identifier (BSSID) or basic service set (BSS) color information ( the STA (such as STA2) that needs the multi-AP service recommends one or more AP identifiers from the plurality of AP groups included in the common AP group information to the MAP…via a Group Recomme nd frame and group recommend frame includes at least a group recommend field, and the group recommend field includes a field indicating a supported type of multi-AP coordinated transmission,…and a field indicating a BSSID of each AP , [0163] and [0185] and [0150] and [0214] and [0223] and [0101] and [0198] and [0246] and [0294]). It 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 to incorporate the concept of including AP identifier (such as BSSID) information regarding surrounding APs in a message from a STA as disclosed by Zhou into the method for multiple access point coordination comprising a request frame associated with applications running on a station as disclosed by Han and Lu in order to improve the method and flexibly recommend surrounding APs for multiple access point coordination from a UE . 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 9, 10, 18, 19 , is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Han et al., in view of Lu et al., in further view of Seok et al. (US 2014/0204821) . Regarding claim 9, 18, Han fails to disclose wherein the request frame comprises scheduling information for the service. Han however discloses the elected leader AP calculates and determines the most cost-effective coordination scheme, then performs resource schedul ing according to STA's request ([0078] and [0012] and [0017]). In a similar field of endeavor, Seok discloses request frame comprises scheduling information for the service ( scheduling information on the started scheduled service periods may be implemented by service period duration and a service period interval, and such information may be determined and shared by the STA and/or AP. For this, the service period duration information and service period interval information may be determined by the STA and be then sent to the AP…The service period duration information and the service period interval information may be sent included in a scheduled service period start request frame , [0211] and [0008]-[0010] and [0128]-[0130]). It 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 to incorporate the concept of including scheduling information such as interval and duration in a request frame as disclosed by Seok into the method for multiple access point coordination comprising a request frame associated with applications running on a station as disclosed by Han and Lu in order to improve the method and flexibly provide scheduling information to an AP such that resources may be correctly allocated. Regarding claim 10, 19, Han and Lu fails to disclose wherein the scheduling information comprises a service interval and a duration. Han however discloses the elected leader AP calculates and determines the most cost-effective coordination scheme, then performs resource schedul ing according to STA's request ([0078] and [0012] and [0017]). Seok discloses wherein the scheduling information comprises a service interval and a duration ( scheduling information on the started scheduled service periods may be implemented by service period duration and a service period interval, and such information may be determined and shared by the STA and/or AP. For this, the service period duration information and service period interval information may be determined by the STA and be then sent to the AP…The service period duration information and the service period interval information may be sent included in a scheduled service period start request frame , [0211] and [0008]-[0010] and [0128]-[0130]). It 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 to incorporate the concept of including scheduling information such as interval and duration in a request frame as disclosed by Seok into the method for multiple access point coordination comprising a request frame associated with applications running on a station as disclosed by Han and Lu in order to improve the method and flexibly provide scheduling information to an AP such that resources may be correctly allocated . Conclusion 07-96 AIA The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Sun et al. (US 2024/0422825) disclosing a first access point (AP) selects one or more other APs for participation with the first AP in a coordinated access point transmission session (abstract). Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NGUYEN HOANG NGO whose telephone number is (571)272-8398. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9am-5pm. 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, Kwang Yao can be reached at 571-272-3182. 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. /NGUYEN H NGO/Examiner, Art Unit 2473 Application/Control Number: 18/667,986 Page 2 Art Unit: 2473 Application/Control Number: 18/667,986 Page 3 Art Unit: 2473 Application/Control Number: 18/667,986 Page 4 Art Unit: 2473 Application/Control Number: 18/667,986 Page 5 Art Unit: 2473 Application/Control Number: 18/667,986 Page 6 Art Unit: 2473 Application/Control Number: 18/667,986 Page 7 Art Unit: 2473 Application/Control Number: 18/667,986 Page 8 Art Unit: 2473 Application/Control Number: 18/667,986 Page 9 Art Unit: 2473 Application/Control Number: 18/667,986 Page 10 Art Unit: 2473 Application/Control Number: 18/667,986 Page 11 Art Unit: 2473 Application/Control Number: 18/667,986 Page 12 Art Unit: 2473 Application/Control Number: 18/667,986 Page 13 Art Unit: 2473 Application/Control Number: 18/667,986 Page 14 Art Unit: 2473 Application/Control Number: 18/667,986 Page 15 Art Unit: 2473 Application/Control Number: 18/667,986 Page 16 Art Unit: 2473 Application/Control Number: 18/667,986 Page 17 Art Unit: 2473 Application/Control Number: 18/667,986 Page 18 Art Unit: 2473 Application/Control Number: 18/667,986 Page 19 Art Unit: 2473
Prosecution Insights