DETAILED ACTION
This office action is a response to the request for continued examination filed on 12/24/2025.
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Response to Amendment
Applicant’s amendment filed on 12/24/2025 has been entered. Claims 20 and 23-31 have been amended. Claims 32-34 have been added. Claims 20-34 are still pending in this application, with claims 20, 24 and 28-31 being independent.
Claim Objections
Claim 30 is objected to because of the following informalities: Claim 30 includes multiple periods. A claim should begin with a capital letter and end with a period. See MPEP § 608.01(m). Appropriate correction is required.
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, 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 20, 23-24 and 27-31 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Oteri et al. (US 2021/0385779, hereinafter Oteri) in view of Chu et al. (US 2021/0051574, hereinafter Chu), and further in view of Jamieson (US 2021/0112470).
Regarding claim 20, Oteri discloses a communication apparatus operating as an access point conforming to the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 Series standard, the communication apparatus, comprising: at least one processing circuit, causing the communication apparatus to perform operations comprising [Oteri Figure 1A discloses a communications system comprising WTRUs and base stations, which may be an access point (Oteri paragraphs 0049 and 0050). A processor is implicit in a base station or an AP apparatus. Oteri further discloses that the base station and the WTRUs may implement radio technologies such as IEEE 802.11 (Oteri paragraph 0057)]:
Controlling to obtain, from other communication apparatus, an Association Request frame including information element indicating that multiple links are activated by the other communication apparatus [Oteri discloses that an STA may transmit AP association request frames to AP (Oteri paragraph 0144)];
Controlling to transmit, to the other communication apparatus, an Association Response frame including information element indicating that multiple links are activated by the communication apparatus [Oteri discloses that the STA may receive AP association response frame indicating acceptance/rejection of multiple AP operation (Oteri paragraph 0145)].
Oteri does not expressly disclose the features of an Association request frame including information element indicating that multiple links are activated by the other communication apparatus; an Association response frame including information element indicating that multiple links are activated; controlling to establish, after the Association response frame is transmitted, multiple links between the communication apparatus and the other communication apparatus, wherein the information element included in the Association Request frame includes respective MAC address of a plurality of wireless communication interface which is included in the other communication apparatus and is used for communication using the multiple links; and informing, after the multiple links are established between the communication apparatus and said other communication apparatus, a controller of information about an association between the communication apparatus and said other communication apparatus, the controller being used to interconnect Basic Service Set (BSS) of the communication apparatus and Local Area Network (LAN).
However, in the same or similar field of invention, Chu discloses techniques for announcing information for multiple links (e.g. multiple BSSID among multiple bands) using association request/response frame exchanges for multi-link association by multi-link STA with multi-link AP (Chu paragraphs 0024 and 0036) (i.e. similar to an Association request frame including information element indicating that multiple links are activated by the other communication apparatus; an Association response frame including information element indicating that multiple links are activated). An Association Response frame includes capabilities and operating parameters of all links where the multi-link AP entity is working. Once the association is done, a multi-link STA entity knows the information for frame exchange in all of its links. The Association Request frame includes the capabilities and operating parameters of all links where the multi-link STA entity is working (Chu paragraph 0032); indicating establishing multiple links between the communication apparatuses after association exchange. Chu further discloses that management frames (e.g. Association request) carries information associated with multi-link AP entity such as MAC address information for all links (Chu paragraphs 0036, 0039).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Oteri to have the features of an Association request frame including information element indicating that multiple links are activated by the other communication apparatus; an Association response frame including information element indicating that multiple links are activated; controlling to establish, after the Association response frame is transmitted, multiple links between the communication apparatus and the other communication apparatus, wherein the information element included in the Association Request frame includes respective MAC address of a plurality of wireless communication interface which is included in the other communication apparatus and is used for communication using the multiple links; as taught by Chu. The suggestion/motivation would have been to decrease management overhead of a communications network (Chu paragraph 0036).
Oteri and Chu do not expressly disclose the features of informing, after the multiple links are established between the communication apparatus and said other communication apparatus, a controller of information about an association between the communication apparatus and said other communication apparatus, the controller being used to interconnect Basic Service Set (BSS) of the communication apparatus and Local Area Network (LAN).
However, in the same or similar field of invention, Jamieson discloses that certain LANs utilize APs coupled with a controller, and the APs may share BSSID. When a client associates with an AP, the association can be synchronized with other APs in the network (i.e. after links are established, informing a controller of the association information). This can be accomplished by opening a connection to other APs in the network and sending the information about association state with other APs over ethernet backhaul (Jamieson paragraph 0062).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Oteri and Chu to have the features of informing, after the multiple links are established between the communication apparatus and said other communication apparatus, a controller of information about an association between the communication apparatus and said other communication apparatus, the controller being used to interconnect Basic Service Set (BSS) of the communication apparatus and Local Area Network (LAN); as taught by Jamieson. The suggestion/motivation would have been to provide improvement in TCP and UDP performances in a multi-client network (Jamieson paragraph 0034).
Regarding claim 23, Oteri, Chu and Jamieson disclose the communication apparatus according to claim 20. Oteri, Chu and Jamieson further disclose wherein the Association request frame and the Association Response frame are compliant with the IEEE 802.11 standards series [Oteri discloses that in IEEE 802.11 systems, an STA may send an association request to an AP, and receive an association response from the AP (Oteri paragraph 0125); indicating a compliance with the IEEE 802.11 standards series]. In addition, the same motivation is used as the rejection of claim 20.
Regarding claim 24, Oteri discloses a communication apparatus conforming to the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 Series standard, the communication apparatus, comprising: at least one processing circuit, causing the communication apparatus to perform operations comprising [Oteri Figure 1A discloses a communications system comprising WTRUs and base stations, which may be an access point (Oteri paragraphs 0049 and 0050). Oteri Figure 1B discloses an example WTRU comprising a processor, a transceiver, etc. (Oteri Figure 1B, paragraphs 0062-0071). Oteri further discloses that the base station and the WTRUs may implement radio technologies such as IEEE 802.11 (Oteri paragraph 0057)]:
Controlling to transmit, to an access point apparatus, an Association Request frame including information element indicating that multiple links are activated by the communication apparatus [Oteri discloses that an STA may transmit AP association request frames to AP (Oteri paragraph 0144)];
Controlling to receive, from the access point apparatus, and Association Response frame including information element indicating that multiple links are activated by the access point apparatus [Oteri discloses that the STA may receive AP association response frame indicating acceptance/rejection of multiple AP operation (Oteri paragraph 0145). Once the STA receives the association response frame, it may transmit/receive data from the APs (Oteri paragraph 0147); indicating that an association response is received from the AP. Oteri further discloses that the WLAN systems may support multiple channels and may include a primary channel (Oteri paragraph 0104)].
Oteri does not expressly disclose the features of an Association request frame including information element indicating that multiple links are activated by the communication apparatus; an Association response frame including information element indicating that multiple links are activated; controlling, to establish, after receiving the Association Response, frame, multiple links between the communication apparatus and the access point apparatus, wherein the information element included in the Association Request frame includes respective MAC address of a plurality of wireless communication interface which is included in the communication apparatus and is used for communication using the multiple links; and informing, after the multiple links are established between the communication apparatus and the access point apparatus, a controller of information about an association between the communication apparatus and the access point apparatus, the controller being used to interconnect Basic Service Set (BSS) of the communication apparatus and Local Area Network (LAN).
However, in the same or similar field of invention, Chu discloses techniques for announcing information for multiple links (e.g. multiple BSSID among multiple bands) using association request/response frame exchanges for multi-link association by multi-link STA with multi-link AP (Chu paragraphs 0024 and 0036) (i.e. similar to an Association request frame including information element indicating that multiple links are activated by the other communication apparatus; an Association response frame including information element indicating that multiple links are activated). An Association Response frame includes capabilities and operating parameters of all links where the multi-link AP entity is working. Once the association is done, a multi-link STA entity knows the information for frame exchange in all of its links. The Association Request frame includes the capabilities and operating parameters of all links where the multi-link STA entity is working (Chu paragraph 0032); indicating establishing multiple links between the communication apparatuses after association exchange. Chu further discloses that management frames (e.g. Association request) carries information associated with multi-link AP entity such as MAC address information for all links (Chu paragraphs 0036, 0039).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Oteri to have the features of an Association request frame including information element indicating that multiple links are activated by the communication apparatus; an Association Response frame including information element indicating that multiple links are activated; controlling, to establish, after receiving the Association Response, frame, multiple links between the communication apparatus and the access point apparatus, wherein the information element included in the Association Request frame includes respective MAC address of a plurality of wireless communication interface which is included in the communication apparatus and is used for communication using the multiple links; as taught by Chu. The suggestion/motivation would have been to decrease management overhead of a communications network (Chu paragraph 0036).
Oteri and Chu do not expressly disclose the features of informing, after the multiple links are established between the communication apparatus and the access point apparatus, a controller of information about an association between the communication apparatus and the access point apparatus, the controller being used to interconnect Basic Service Set (BSS) of the communication apparatus and Local Area Network (LAN).
However, in the same or similar field of invention, Jamieson discloses that certain LANs utilize APs coupled with a controller, and the APs may share BSSID. When a client associates with an AP, the association can be synchronized with other APs in the network (i.e. after links are established, informing a controller of the association information). This can be accomplished by opening a connection to other APs in the network and sending the information about association state with other APs over ethernet backhaul (Jamieson paragraph 0062).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Oteri and Chu to have the features of informing, after the multiple links are established between the communication apparatus and the access point apparatus, a controller of information about an association between the communication apparatus and the access point apparatus, the controller being used to interconnect Basic Service Set (BSS) of the communication apparatus and Local Area Network (LAN); as taught by Jamieson. The suggestion/motivation would have been to provide improvement in TCP and UDP performances in a multi-client network (Jamieson paragraph 0034).
Regarding claim 27, Oteri, Chu and Jamieson disclose the communication apparatus according to claim 24. Oteri, Chu and Jamieson further disclose wherein the Association request frame and the Association Response frame are compliant with the IEEE 802.11 standards series [Oteri discloses that in IEEE 802.11 systems, an STA may send an association request to an AP, and receive an association response from the AP (Oteri paragraph 0125); indicating a compliance with the IEEE 802.11 standards series]. In addition, the same motivation is used as the rejection of claim 24.
Regarding claim 28, Oteri discloses a control method executed by a communication apparatus operating as an access point, conforming to the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 Series standard [Oteri Figure 1A discloses a communications system comprising WTRUs and base stations, which may be an access point (Oteri paragraphs 0049 and 0050). A processor is implicit in a base station or an AP apparatus. Oteri further discloses that the base station and the WTRUs may implement radio technologies such as IEEE 802.11 (Oteri paragraph 0057)], the control method, comprising:
obtaining, from other communication apparatus, an Association Request frame including information element indicating that multiple links are activated by the other communication apparatus [Oteri discloses that an STA may transmit AP association request frames to AP (Oteri paragraph 0144)];
transmitting, to the other communication apparatus, an Association Response frame including information element indicating that multiple links are activated by the communication apparatus [Oteri discloses that the STA may receive AP association response frame indicating acceptance/rejection of multiple AP operation (Oteri paragraph 0145)].
Oteri does not expressly disclose the features of an Association request frame including information element indicating that multiple links are activated by the other communication apparatus; an Association response frame including information element indicating that multiple links are activated; establishing, after the Association response frame is transmitted, multiple links between the communication apparatus and the other communication apparatus, wherein the information element included in the Association Request frame includes respective MAC address of a plurality of wireless communication interface which is included in the other communication apparatus and is used for communication using the multiple links; and informing, after the multiple links are established between the communication apparatus and said other communication apparatus, a controller of information about an association between the communication apparatus and said other communication apparatus, the controller being used to interconnect Basic Service Set (BSS) of the communication apparatus and Local Area Network (LAN).
However, in the same or similar field of invention, Chu discloses techniques for announcing information for multiple links (e.g. multiple BSSID among multiple bands) using association request/response frame exchanges for multi-link association by multi-link STA with multi-link AP (Chu paragraphs 0024 and 0036) (i.e. similar to an Association request frame including information element indicating that multiple links are activated by the other communication apparatus; an Association response frame including information element indicating that multiple links are activated). An Association Response frame includes capabilities and operating parameters of all links where the multi-link AP entity is working. Once the association is done, a multi-link STA entity knows the information for frame exchange in all of its links. The Association Request frame includes the capabilities and operating parameters of all links where the multi-link STA entity is working (Chu paragraph 0032); indicating establishing multiple links between the communication apparatuses after association exchange. Chu further discloses that management frames (e.g. Association request) carries information associated with multi-link AP entity such as MAC address information for all links (Chu paragraphs 0036, 0039).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Oteri to have the features of an Association request frame including information element indicating that multiple links are activated by the other communication apparatus; an Association Response frame including information element indicating that multiple links are activated; establishing, after the Association Response frame is transmitted, multiple links between the communication apparatus and the other communication apparatus, wherein the information element included in the Association Request frame includes respective MAC address of a plurality of wireless communication interface which is included in the other communication apparatus and is used for communication using the multiple links; as taught by Chu. The suggestion/motivation would have been to decrease management overhead of a communications network (Chu paragraph 0036).
Oteri and Chu do not expressly disclose the features of informing, after the multiple links are established between the communication apparatus and said other communication apparatus, a controller of information about an association between the communication apparatus and said other communication apparatus, the controller being used to interconnect Basic Service Set (BSS) of the communication apparatus and Local Area Network (LAN).
However, in the same or similar field of invention, Jamieson discloses that certain LANs utilize APs coupled with a controller, and the APs may share BSSID. When a client associates with an AP, the association can be synchronized with other APs in the network (i.e. after links are established, informing a controller of the association information). This can be accomplished by opening a connection to other APs in the network and sending the information about association state with other APs over ethernet backhaul (Jamieson paragraph 0062).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Oteri and Chu to have the features of informing, after the multiple links are established between the communication apparatus and said other communication apparatus, a controller of information about an association between the communication apparatus and said other communication apparatus, the controller being used to interconnect Basic Service Set (BSS) of the communication apparatus and Local Area Network (LAN); as taught by Jamieson. The suggestion/motivation would have been to provide improvement in TCP and UDP performances in a multi-client network (Jamieson paragraph 0034).
Regarding claim 29, Oteri discloses a control method executed by a communication apparatus conforming to the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 Series standard [Oteri Figure 1A discloses a communications system comprising WTRUs and base stations, which may be an access point (Oteri paragraphs 0049 and 0050). Oteri Figure 1B discloses an example WTRU comprising a processor, a transceiver, etc. (Oteri Figure 1B, paragraphs 0062-0071). Oteri further discloses that the base station and the WTRUs may implement radio technologies such as IEEE 802.11 (Oteri paragraph 0057)], the control method, comprising:
Transmitting, to an access point apparatus, an Association Request frame including information element indicating that multiple links are activated by the communication apparatus [Oteri discloses that an STA may transmit AP association request frames to AP (Oteri paragraph 0144)];
Receiving, from the access point apparatus, and Association Response frame including information element indicating that multiple links are activated by the access point apparatus [Oteri discloses that the STA may receive AP association response frame indicating acceptance/rejection of multiple AP operation (Oteri paragraph 0145). Once the STA receives the association response frame, it may transmit/receive data from the APs (Oteri paragraph 0147); indicating that an association response is received from the AP. Oteri further discloses that the WLAN systems may support multiple channels and may include a primary channel (Oteri paragraph 0104)].
Oteri does not expressly disclose the features of an Association request frame including information element indicating that multiple links are activated by the communication apparatus; an Association Response frame including information element indicating that multiple links are activated; establishing, after receiving the Association Response, frame, multiple links between the communication apparatus and the access point apparatus, wherein the information element included in the Association Request frame includes respective MAC address of a plurality of wireless communication interface which is included in the communication apparatus and is used for communication using the multiple links; and informing, after the multiple links are established between the communication apparatus and the access point apparatus, a controller of information about an association between the communication apparatus and the access point apparatus, the controller being used to interconnect Basic Service Set (BSS) of the access point apparatus and Local Area Network (LAN).
However, in the same or similar field of invention, Chu discloses techniques for announcing information for multiple links (e.g. multiple BSSID among multiple bands) using association request/response frame exchanges for multi-link association by multi-link STA with multi-link AP (Chu paragraphs 0024 and 0036) (i.e. similar to an Association request frame including information element indicating that multiple links are activated by the other communication apparatus; an Association response frame including information element indicating that multiple links are activated). An Association Response frame includes capabilities and operating parameters of all links where the multi-link AP entity is working. Once the association is done, a multi-link STA entity knows the information for frame exchange in all of its links. The Association Request frame includes the capabilities and operating parameters of all links where the multi-link STA entity is working (Chu paragraph 0032); indicating establishing multiple links between the communication apparatuses after association exchange. Chu further discloses that management frames (e.g. Association request) carries information associated with multi-link AP entity such as MAC address information for all links (Chu paragraphs 0036, 0039).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Oteri to have the features of an Association request frame including information indicating that multiple links are activated by the communication apparatus; an Association response frame including information indicating that multiple links are activated; establishing, after receiving the Association response, frame, multiple links between the communication apparatus and the access point apparatus, wherein the information included in the Association Request frame includes respective MAC address of a plurality of wireless communication interface which is included in the communication apparatus and is used for communication using the multiple links; as taught by Chu. The suggestion/motivation would have been to decrease management overhead of a communications network (Chu paragraph 0036).
Oteri and Chu do not expressly disclose the features of informing, after the multiple links are established between the communication apparatus and the access point apparatus, a controller of information about an association between the communication apparatus and the access point apparatus, the controller being used to interconnect Basic Service Set (BSS) of the access point apparatus and Local Area Network (LAN).
However, in the same or similar field of invention, Jamieson discloses that certain LANs utilize APs coupled with a controller, and the APs may share BSSID. When a client associates with an AP, the association can be synchronized with other APs in the network (i.e. after links are established, informing a controller of the association information). This can be accomplished by opening a connection to other APs in the network and sending the information about association state with other APs over ethernet backhaul (Jamieson paragraph 0062).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Oteri and Chu to have the features of informing, after the multiple links are established between the communication apparatus and the access point apparatus, a controller of information about an association between the communication apparatus and the access point apparatus, the controller being used to interconnect Basic Service Set (BSS) of the access point apparatus and Local Area Network (LAN); as taught by Jamieson. The suggestion/motivation would have been to provide improvement in TCP and UDP performances in a multi-client network (Jamieson paragraph 0034).
Regarding claim 30, Oteri discloses a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that stores a program for causing a computer, included in a communication apparatus operating as an access point conforming to the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 Series standard, the communication apparatus, to perform operations comprising [Oteri Figure 1A discloses a communications system comprising WTRUs and base stations, which may be an access point (Oteri paragraphs 0049 and 0050). A processor and storage medium are implicit in a base station or an AP apparatus. Oteri discloses that the methods described may be implemented in a computer program, software, or firmware incorporated in a computer-readable medium for execution by a computer processor (Oteri paragraph 0265). Oteri further discloses that the base station and the WTRUs may implement radio technologies such as IEEE 802.11 (Oteri paragraph 0057)]:
Controlling to obtain, from other communication apparatus, an Association Request frame including information element indicating that multiple links are activated by the other communication apparatus [Oteri discloses that an STA may transmit AP association request frames to AP (Oteri paragraph 0144)];
Controlling to transmit, to the other communication apparatus, an Association Response frame including information element indicating that multiple links are activated by the communication apparatus [Oteri discloses that the STA may receive AP association response frame indicating acceptance/rejection of multiple AP operation (Oteri paragraph 0145)].
Oteri does not expressly disclose the features of an Association request frame including information element indicating that multiple links are activated by the other communication apparatus; an Association Response frame including information element indicating that multiple links are activated; controlling to establish, after the Association Response frame is transmitted, multiple links between the communication apparatus and the other communication apparatus, wherein the information element included in the Association Request frame includes respective MAC address of a plurality of wireless communication interface which is included in the other communication apparatus and is used for communication using the multiple links; and informing, after the multiple links are established between the communication apparatus and said other communication apparatus, a controller of information about an association between the communication apparatus and said other communication apparatus, the controller being used to interconnect Basic Service Set (BSS) of the communication apparatus and Local Area Network (LAN).
However, in the same or similar field of invention, Chu discloses techniques for announcing information for multiple links (e.g. multiple BSSID among multiple bands) using association request/response frame exchanges for multi-link association by multi-link STA with multi-link AP (Chu paragraphs 0024 and 0036) (i.e. similar to an Association request frame including information element indicating that multiple links are activated by the other communication apparatus; an Association response frame including information element indicating that multiple links are activated). An Association Response frame includes capabilities and operating parameters of all links where the multi-link AP entity is working. Once the association is done, a multi-link STA entity knows the information for frame exchange in all of its links. The Association Request frame includes the capabilities and operating parameters of all links where the multi-link STA entity is working (Chu paragraph 0032); indicating establishing multiple links between the communication apparatuses after association exchange. Chu further discloses that management frames (e.g. Association request) carries information associated with multi-link AP entity such as MAC address information for all links (Chu paragraphs 0036, 0039).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Oteri to have the features of an Association request frame including information element indicating that multiple links are activated by the other communication apparatus; an Association Response frame including information element indicating that multiple links are activated; controlling to establish, after the Association Response frame is transmitted, multiple links between the communication apparatus and the other communication apparatus, wherein the information element included in the Association Request frame includes respective MAC address of a plurality of wireless communication interface which is included in the other communication apparatus and is used for communication using the multiple links; as taught by Chu. The suggestion/motivation would have been to decrease management overhead of a communications network (Chu paragraph 0036).
Oteri and Chu do not expressly disclose the features of informing, after the multiple links are established between the communication apparatus and said other communication apparatus, a controller of information about an association between the communication apparatus and said other communication apparatus, the controller being used to interconnect Basic Service Set (BSS) of the communication apparatus and Local Area Network (LAN).
However, in the same or similar field of invention, Jamieson discloses that certain LANs utilize APs coupled with a controller, and the APs may share BSSID. When a client associates with an AP, the association can be synchronized with other APs in the network (i.e. after links are established, informing a controller of the association information). This can be accomplished by opening a connection to other APs in the network and sending the information about association state with other APs over ethernet backhaul (Jamieson paragraph 0062).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Oteri and Chu to have the features of informing, after the multiple links are established between the communication apparatus and said other communication apparatus, a controller of information about an association between the communication apparatus and said other communication apparatus, the controller being used to interconnect Basic Service Set (BSS) of the communication apparatus and Local Area Network (LAN); as taught by Jamieson. The suggestion/motivation would have been to provide improvement in TCP and UDP performances in a multi-client network (Jamieson paragraph 0034).
Regarding claim 31, Oteri discloses a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that stores a program for causing a computer, included in a communication apparatus conforming to the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 Series standard, the communication apparatus, to perform operations comprising [Oteri Figure 1A discloses a communications system comprising WTRUs and base stations, which may be an access point (Oteri paragraphs 0049 and 0050). Oteri Figure 1B discloses an example WTRU comprising a processor, a transceiver, etc. (Oteri Figure 1B, paragraphs 0062-0071). Oteri discloses that the methods described may be implemented in a computer program, software, or firmware incorporated in a computer-readable medium for execution by a computer processor (Oteri paragraph 0265). Oteri further discloses that the base station and the WTRUs may implement radio technologies such as IEEE 802.11 (Oteri paragraph 0057)]:
Controlling to transmit, to an access point apparatus, an Association Request frame including information element indicating that multiple links are activated by the communication apparatus [Oteri discloses that an STA may transmit AP association request frames to AP (Oteri paragraph 0144)];
Controlling to receive, from the access point apparatus, and Association Response frame including information element indicating that multiple links are activated by the access point apparatus [Oteri discloses that the STA may receive AP association response frame indicating acceptance/rejection of multiple AP operation (Oteri paragraph 0145). Once the STA receives the association response frame, it may transmit/receive data from the APs (Oteri paragraph 0147); indicating that an association response is received from the AP. Oteri further discloses that the WLAN systems may support multiple channels and may include a primary channel (Oteri paragraph 0104)].
Oteri does not expressly disclose the features of an Association request frame including information element indicating that multiple links are activated by the communication apparatus; an Association Response frame including information element indicating that multiple links are activated; controlling, to establish, after receiving the Association Response, frame, multiple links between the communication apparatus and the access point apparatus, wherein the information element included in the Association Request frame includes respective MAC address of a plurality of wireless communication interface which is included in the communication apparatus and is used for communication using the multiple links; and informing, after the multiple links are established between the communication apparatus and the access point apparatus, a controller of information about an association between the communication apparatus and the access point apparatus, the controller being used to interconnect Basic Service Set (BSS) of the access point apparatus and Local Area Network (LAN).
However, in the same or similar field of invention, Chu discloses techniques for announcing information for multiple links (e.g. multiple BSSID among multiple bands) using association request/response frame exchanges for multi-link association by multi-link STA with multi-link AP (Chu paragraphs 0024 and 0036) (i.e. similar to an Association request frame including information element indicating that multiple links are activated by the other communication apparatus; an Association response frame including information element indicating that multiple links are activated). An Association Response frame includes capabilities and operating parameters of all links where the multi-link AP entity is working. Once the association is done, a multi-link STA entity knows the information for frame exchange in all of its links. The Association Request frame includes the capabilities and operating parameters of all links where the multi-link STA entity is working (Chu paragraph 0032); indicating establishing multiple links between the communication apparatuses after association exchange. Chu further discloses that management frames (e.g. Association request) carries information associated with multi-link AP entity such as MAC address information for all links (Chu paragraphs 0036, 0039).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Oteri to have the features of an Association request frame including information element indicating that multiple links are activated by the communication apparatus; an Association Response frame including information element indicating that multiple links are activated; controlling, to establish, after receiving the Association Response, frame, multiple links between the communication apparatus and the access point apparatus, wherein the information element included in the Association Request frame includes respective MAC address of a plurality of wireless communication interface which is included in the communication apparatus and is used for communication using the multiple links; as taught by Chu. The suggestion/motivation would have been to decrease management overhead of a communications network (Chu paragraph 0036).
Oteri and Chu do not expressly disclose the features of informing, after the multiple links are established between the communication apparatus and the access point apparatus, a controller of information about an association between the communication apparatus and the access point apparatus, the controller being used to interconnect Basic Service Set (BSS) of the access point apparatus and Local Area Network (LAN).
However, in the same or similar field of invention, Jamieson discloses that certain LANs utilize APs coupled with a controller, and the APs may share BSSID. When a client associates with an AP, the association can be synchronized with other APs in the network (i.e. after links are established, informing a controller of the association information). This can be accomplished by opening a connection to other APs in the network and sending the information about association state with other APs over ethernet backhaul (Jamieson paragraph 0062).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Oteri and Chu to have the features of informing, after the multiple links are established between the communication apparatus and the access point apparatus, a controller of information about an association between the communication apparatus and the access point apparatus, the controller being used to interconnect Basic Service Set (BSS) of the access point apparatus and Local Area Network (LAN); as taught by Jamieson. The suggestion/motivation would have been to provide improvement in TCP and UDP performances in a multi-client network (Jamieson paragraph 0034).
Claims 21-22 and 25-26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Oteri, Chu, Jamieson, and further in view of Kneckt et al. (US 2021/0076437, hereinafter Kneckt).
Regarding claim 21, Oteri, Chu and Jamieson disclose the communication apparatus according to claim 20. Oteri, Chu and Jamieson further disclose wherein the multiple links include a first link and a second link [Chu discloses techniques for announcing information for multiple links (e.g. multiple BSSID among multiple bands) using association request/response frame exchanges for multi-link association by multi-link STA with multi-link AP. The links could be link L1 and L2 (Chu paragraphs 0024 and 0036)].
Oteri, Chu and Jamieson do not expressly disclose the features of wherein a first frequency band used for the first link is a 2.4GHz frequency band and a second frequency band used for the second link is a 5GHz frequency band.
However, in the same or similar field of invention, Kneckt discloses a multi-link device AP (e.g. EHT AP) may operate in multiple links (e.g. 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz,) and communicate via one or more transceivers with EHT STA via multiple links (Kneckt paragraph 0046). Kneckt Figure 11 discloses an example where pre-association and post-association operations may occur in any of the multiple links indicated in a request, which may be 2.4 GHz band (i.e. the first link may be a 2.4 GHz band) (Kneckt Figure 11, paragraphs 0048 and 0049). Kneckt example in Figure 13 further discloses that in a post-association state, EHT STA may utilize the multiple links in which the EHT AP operates (Kneckt Figure 13, paragraph 0061). It means that a second link may be a 5 GHz frequency band.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Oteri, Chu and Jamieson to have the features of wherein a first frequency band used for the first link is a 2.4GHz frequency band and a second frequency band used for the second link is a 5GHz frequency band; as taught by Kneckt. The suggestion/motivation would have been to enable power reduction in STAs and enable desired performance (Kneckt paragraph 0062).
Regarding claim 22, Oteri, Chu and Jamieson disclose the communication apparatus according to claim 20. Oteri, Chu and Jamieson further disclose wherein the multiple links include a first link and a second link [Chu discloses techniques for announcing information for multiple links (e.g. multiple BSSID among multiple bands) using association request/response frame exchanges for multi-link association by multi-link STA with multi-link AP. The links could be link L1 and L2 (Chu paragraphs 0024 and 0036)].
Oteri, Chu and Jamieson do not expressly disclose wherein the plurality of wireless communication interface include a first wireless interface for a communication using a first frequency band and a second wireless interface for a communication using a second frequency band different from the first frequency band, and wherein the communication apparatus configures a first network using the first frequency band and a second network using the second frequency band, and wherein the first link is established via the first network and the second link is established via the second network.
However, in the same or similar field of invention, Kneckt Figure 3 discloses a MLD AP (e.g. EHT AP) and a MLD station (e.g. EHT STA) supporting multilink BSSIDs. EHT AP may include three APs, each identified by a physical link corresponding to a frequency (e.g. 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 6 GHz). Each link also corresponds to a transceiver (i.e. wireless interface for communication using the respective frequency bands) (Kneckt paragraph 0036 and Figure 3). Kneckt Figure 6 discloses an example where an AP (e.g. EHT AP) can be a part of multiple networks such as office network SSID1, home network SSID2, etc. Each network can include multiple BSSs and SSID in a frequency band may correspond to a BSSID (see Kneckt Figure 6, paragraphs 0063-0065). Kneckt further discloses a BSSID structure where a linked 1 may correspond to 2.4 GHz band, linked 2 may correspond to 5 GHz band, etc. (see Kneckt paragraphs 0068-0072). Thus, a first network may be constructed using the first frequency band and a second network using the second frequency band.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Oteri, Chu and Jamieson to have the features of wherein the plurality of wireless communication interface include a first wireless interface for a communication using a first frequency band and a second wireless interface for a communication using a second frequency band different from the first frequency band, and wherein the communication apparatus configures a first network using the first frequency band and a second network using the second frequency band, and wherein the first link is established via the first network and the second link is established via the second network; as taught by Kneckt. The suggestion/motivation would have been to enable power reduction in STAs and enable desired performance (Kneckt paragraph 0062).
Regarding claim 25, Oteri, Chu and Jamieson disclose the communication apparatus according to claim 24. Oteri, Chu and Jamieson further disclose wherein the multiple links include a first link and a second link [Chu discloses techniques for announcing information for multiple links (e.g. multiple BSSID among multiple bands) using association request/response frame exchanges for multi-link association by multi-link STA with multi-link AP. The links could be link L1 and L2 (Chu paragraphs 0024 and 0036)].
Oteri, Chu and Jamieson do not expressly disclose the features of wherein a first frequency band used for the first link is a 2.4GHz frequency band and a second frequency band used for the second link is a 5GHz frequency band.
However, in the same or similar field of invention, Kneckt discloses a multi-link device AP (e.g. EHT AP) may operate in multiple links (e.g. 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz,) and communicate via one or more transceivers with EHT STA via multiple links (Kneckt paragraph 0046). Kneckt Figure 11 discloses an example where pre-association and post-association operations may occur in any of the multiple links indicated in a request, which may be 2.4 GHz band (i.e. the first link may be a 2.4 GHz band) (Kneckt Figure 11, paragraphs 0048 and 0049). Kneckt example in Figure 13 further discloses that in a post-association state, EHT STA may utilize the multiple links in which the EHT AP operates (Kneckt Figure 13, paragraph 0061). It means that a second link may be a 5 GHz frequency band.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Oteri, Chu and Jamieson to have the features of wherein a first frequency band used for the first link is a 2.4GHz frequency band and a second frequency band used for the second link is a 5GHz frequency band; as taught by Kneckt. The suggestion/motivation would have been to enable power reduction in STAs and enable desired performance (Kneckt paragraph 0062).
Regarding claim 26, Oteri, Chu and Jamieson disclose the communication apparatus according to claim 24. Oteri, Chu and Jamieson do not expressly disclose the features of wherein the plurality of wireless communication interface include a first wireless interface for a communication using a first frequency band and a second wireless interface for a communication using a second frequency band different from the first frequency band, wherein the communication apparatus configures a first network using the first frequency band and a second network using the second frequency band, and wherein the first link is established via the first network and the second link is established via the second network.
However, in the same or similar field of invention, Kneckt Figure 3 discloses a MLD AP (e.g. EHT AP) and a MLD station (e.g. EHT STA) supporting multilink BSSIDs. EHT AP may include three APs, each identified by a physical link corresponding to a frequency (e.g. 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 6 GHz). Each link also corresponds to a transceiver (i.e. wireless interface for communication using the respective frequency bands) (Kneckt paragraph 0036 and Figure 3). Kneckt Figure 6 discloses an example where an AP (e.g. EHT AP) can be a part of multiple networks such as office network SSID1, home network SSID2, etc. Each network can include multiple BSSs and SSID in a frequency band may correspond to a BSSID (see Kneckt Figure 6, paragraphs 0063-0065). Kneckt further discloses a BSSID structure where a linked 1 may correspond to 2.4 GHz band, linked 2 may correspond to 5 GHz band, etc. (see Kneckt paragraphs 0068-0072). Thus, a first network may be constructed using the first frequency band and a second network using the second frequency band.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Oteri, Chu and Jamieson to have the features of wherein the plurality of wireless communication interface include a first wireless interface for a communication using a first frequency band and a second wireless interface for a communication using a second frequency band different from the first frequency band, wherein the communication apparatus configures a first network using the first frequency band and a second network using the second frequency band, and wherein the first link is established via the first network and the second link is established via the second network; as taught by Kneckt. The suggestion/motivation would have been to enable power reduction in STAs and enable desired performance (Kneckt paragraph 0062).
Claims 32-34 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Oteri, Chu, Jamieson, and further in view of Ahn et al. (US 2021/0385778, hereinafter Ahn).
Regarding claim 32, Oteri, Chu and Jamieson disclose the communication apparatus according to claim 20. Oteri, Chu and Jamieson do not expressly disclose the features of controlling to transmit AP-Autoconfiguration Search message to the controller; and controlling to receive, after a transmission of the AP-Autoconfiguration Search message and before obtaining of the Association Request, AP-Autoconfiguration Response message from the controller in response to the AP-Autoconfiguration Search message.
However, in the same or similar field of invention, Ahn discloses that an AP-autoconfiguration search message may be transmitted to a controller through a backhaul link. The controller may transmit an AP-autoconfiguration response message back (Ahn paragraph 0086).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Oteri, Chu and Jamieson to have the features of controlling to transmit AP-Autoconfiguration Search message to the controller; and controlling to receive, after a transmission of the AP-Autoconfiguration Search message and before obtaining of the Association Request, AP-Autoconfiguration Response message from the controller in response to the AP-Autoconfiguration Search message; as taught by Ahn. The suggestion/motivation would have been to provide a method for onboarding in a multiple access point network and increase efficiency in the network (Ahn paragraphs 0030, 0075).
Regarding claim 33, Oteri, Chu and Jamieson disclose the communication apparatus according to claim 20. Oteri, Chu and Jamieson do not expressly disclose the feature of controlling to notify respective MAC address of a plurality of wireless communication interface included in the communication apparatus of the controller.
However, in the same or similar field of invention, Ahn discloses that a controller may transmit an AP-autoconfiguration response message; and through this process MAC address may be obtained by the enrollee device (See Ahn paragraphs 0086 and 0109).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Oteri, Chu and Jamieson to have the feature of controlling to notify respective MAC address of a plurality of wireless communication interface included in the communication apparatus of the controller; as taught by Ahn. The suggestion/motivation would have been to provide a method for onboarding in a multiple access point network and increase efficiency in the network (Ahn paragraphs 0030, 0075).
Regarding claim 34, Oteri, Chu and Jamieson disclose the communication apparatus according to claim 24. Oteri, Chu and Jamieson do not expressly disclose the features of controlling to transmit, after a receiving of the Association Response, AP- Autoconfiguration Search to the controller; and controlling to receive, AP-Autoconfiguration Response in response to the AP- Autoconfiguration Search.
However, in the same or similar field of invention, Ahn discloses that an AP-autoconfiguration search message may be transmitted to a controller through a backhaul link. The controller may transmit an AP-autoconfiguration response message back (Ahn paragraph 0086).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Oteri, Chu and Jamieson to have the features of controlling to transmit, after a receiving of the Association Response, AP- Autoconfiguration Search to the controller; and controlling to receive, AP-Autoconfiguration Response in response to the AP- Autoconfiguration Search; as taught by Ahn. The suggestion/motivation would have been to provide a method for onboarding in a multiple access point network and increase efficiency in the network (Ahn paragraphs 0030, 0075).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments filed on 12/24/2025 with respect to claim rejection under 35 U.S.C. § 103 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument. The rejection has been revised according to the amended claims.
Conclusion
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/SAUMIT SHAH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2414