DETAILED ACTION
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 submission filed on 03/27/2026 has been entered. Claims 1-9, 11-18, and 20-22 are pending.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
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.
Claims 2-6 and 12-16 are 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.
Claims 2 and 12 each recite the limitation "wherein the quantities of spatial streams of the channel matrix" (emphasis added). There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Examiner suggests that the limitation should read "wherein quantities of spatial streams of the channel matrix". For the purposes of examination, the limitation is interpreted as such. Dependent claims 3-6 are rejected due to their dependency on claim 2. Dependent claims 13-16 are rejected due to their dependency on claim 12.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
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.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1-3, 5-6, 9, 11-13, 15-16, and 20-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shellhammer et al. (US 2021/0194629), hereinafter "Shellhammer", in view of Kwon et al. (US 2024/0380446), hereinafter “Kwon”, and further in view of Shashidhar et al. (US 2006/0182196), hereinafter “Shashidhar”.
Regarding claims 1, 11, Shellhammer teaches:
A wireless device or a method for wireless communications at a wireless device (see Shellhammer, Fig. 1, item 11), comprising:
a processing system that includes processor circuitry and memory circuitry (see Shellhammer, Fig. 23, items 2306 and 2308, par. [0129], lines 8-12: The wireless communication device 2300 may be used as a transmitting WLAN device or receiving WLAN device (such as the first WLAN device 110 and the second WLAN device 120, and see Shellhammer, par. [0130], lines 11-15: the wireless communication device 2300 further includes one or more processors, processing blocks or processing elements 2306 (collectively “the processor 2306”) and one or more memory blocks or elements 2308 (collectively “the memory 2308”)) that stores code, the processing system configured to cause the wireless device (see Shellhammer, Fig. 23, par. [0135], lines 1-13: The memory 2308 can include tangible storage media such as random-access memory (RAM) or read-only memory (ROM), or combinations thereof. The memory 2308 also can store non-transitory processor- or computer-executable software (SW) code containing instructions that, when executed by the processor 2306, cause the processor to perform various operations described herein for wireless communication, including the generation, transmission, reception and interpretation of MPDUs, frames or packets. For example, various functions of components disclosed herein, or various blocks or steps of a method, operation, process or algorithm disclosed herein, can be implemented as one or more modules of one or more computer programs) to:
transmit a first packet (see Shellhammer, Fig. 1, item 172, par. [0061], lines 1-5: The first WLAN device 110 may include a link adaptation test packet transmission unit 152. The link adaptation test packet transmission unit 152 may be configured to transmit a first packet (which may be referred to as a link adaptation test packet 172) to the second WLAN device 120; in this case, the link adaptation test packet corresponds to a first packet) including one or more of a preamble and a data portion, the preamble including a long training field (LTF) (see Shellhammer, Fig. 11B, par. [0106], lines 1-8: FIG. 11B depicts an example link adaptation test packet 1101 in which the link adaptation test collection is included in a link adaptation portion 1105 of a data carrying packet. The link adaptation portion 1105 may be populated with link quality estimation test collection 1012 as described with reference to FIG. 10. In FIG. 11B, the link adaptation portion 1105 may follow the preamble (such as the L-STF 1004, the L-LTF 1006, and the L-SIG 1008; in this case, the link adaptation portion corresponds to a data portion), the first packet including a request for one or more proposed fast link adaptation (FLA) parameter values (see Shellhammer, Fig. 11B, par. [0106], lines 1-6: FIG. 11B depicts an example link adaptation test packet 1101 in which the link adaptation test collection is included in a link adaptation portion 1105 of a data carrying packet. The link adaptation portion 1105 may be populated with link quality estimation test collection 1012 as described with reference to FIG. 10, and see Shellhammer, par. [0062], lines 1-7: The first WLAN device 110 may include a link adaptation unit 154 that is configured to determine a transmission rate or other link configuration for a subsequent packet 176 for transmission to the second WLAN device 120. For example, the link adaptation unit 154 may receive feedback information 174 from the second WLAN device 120 in response to the link adaptation test packet 172; in this case, link adaptation feedback information (corresponding to proposed FLA parameter values) is received in response to the link adaptation test packet (corresponding to the first packet requesting parameter values)), the data portion being associated with a first quantity of one or more spatial streams (see Shellhammer, par. [0061], lines 22-28: the link adaptation test packet 172 may be formatted as a MIMO transmission and may include one or more portions for SINR estimation of the spatial streams of the MIMO transmission. Thus, a single link adaptation test packet 172 may support SINR estimation for different spatial streams based on current channel conditions; in this case, the portions of the link adaptation test packet are associated with spatial streams based on current channel conditions (corresponding to a first quantity of spatial streams));
receive, in accordance with the request, a second packet indicating the one or more proposed FLA parameter values (see Shellhammer, Fig. 1, item 174, par. [0062], lines 1-17: The first WLAN device 110 may include a link adaptation unit 154 that is configured to determine a transmission rate or other link configuration for a subsequent packet 176 for transmission to the second WLAN device 120. For example, the link adaptation unit 154 may receive feedback information 174 from the second WLAN device 120 in response to the link adaptation test packet 172. The link adaptation unit 154 may determine a selected MCS or other transmission rate option to use for the subsequent packet 176 based on the feedback information 174. In some implementations, the feedback information 174 may include link quality metrics (such as SINR or EVM) regarding the link adaptation test packet 172. Alternatively, or additionally, the feedback information 174 may include an indicator that indicates a transmission rate option selected by the second WLAN device 120 based on the link adaptation test packet 172; in this case, based on the link adaptation test packet (i.e. first packet with a request), feedback information (i.e. a second packet) including a selected MCS or other transmission rate option and link quality metrics (corresponding to proposed FLA parameter values) is generated and received from a second device), the one or more proposed FLA parameter values associated with a second quantity of one or more spatial streams (see Shellhammer, par. [0045], lines 52-58: the receiving WLAN device may determine a selected transmission rate option based on the link quality metrics and send the selected transmission rate option in the link adaptation feedback. The transmission rate option may include an MCS option, a quantity of spatial streams, a spatial stream configuration, or any combination thereof; in this case, the transmission rate option (corresponding to proposed FLA parameter values) includes a quantity of spatial streams (i.e. is associated with a second quantity of streams)) of the LTF of the preamble of the first packet (see Shellhammer, Fig. 11B, par. [0106], lines 1-8: FIG. 11B depicts an example link adaptation test packet 1101 in which the link adaptation test collection is included in a link adaptation portion 1105 of a data carrying packet. The link adaptation portion 1105 may be populated with link quality estimation test collection 1012 as described with reference to FIG. 10. In FIG. 11B, the link adaptation portion 1105 may follow the preamble (such as the L-STF 1004, the L-LTF 1006, and the L-SIG 1008); and
transmit a third packet in accordance with the one or more proposed FLA parameter values (see Shellhammer, Fig. 1, par. [0062], lines 1-10: The first WLAN device 110 may include a link adaptation unit 154 that is configured to determine a transmission rate or other link configuration for a subsequent packet 176 for transmission to the second WLAN device 120. For example, the link adaptation unit 154 may receive feedback information 174 from the second WLAN device 120 in response to the link adaptation test packet 172. The link adaptation unit 154 may determine a selected MCS or other transmission rate option to use for the subsequent packet 176 based on the feedback information 174, and see Shellhammer, par. [0062], lines 17-20: After the selected transmission rate option is determined by the link adaptation unit 154, the first WLAN device 110 may transmit subsequent packets 176 using the selected MCS option; in this case, a subsequent packet corresponds to a third packet and is transmitted using the selected transmission rate option (corresponding to in accordance with the proposed FLA parameter values)) and in accordance with the second quantity of one or more spatial streams (see Shellhammer, par. [0062], lines 1-10: The first WLAN device 110 may include a link adaptation unit 154 that is configured to determine a transmission rate or other link configuration for a subsequent packet 176 for transmission to the second WLAN device 120. For example, the link adaptation unit 154 may receive feedback information 174 from the second WLAN device 120 in response to the link adaptation test packet 172. The link adaptation unit 154 may determine a selected MCS or other transmission rate option to use for the subsequent packet 176 based on the feedback information 174, and see Shellhammer, par. [0045], lines 52-58: the receiving WLAN device may determine a selected transmission rate option based on the link quality metrics and send the selected transmission rate option in the link adaptation feedback. The transmission rate option may include an MCS option, a quantity of spatial streams, a spatial stream configuration, or any combination thereof; in this case, the subsequent packet (i.e. third packet) is transmitted based on feedback information, including a quantity of spatial streams (corresponding to the second quantity of streams)) associated with the LTF of the preamble of the first packet (see Shellhammer, Fig. 11B, par. [0106], lines 1-8: FIG. 11B depicts an example link adaptation test packet 1101 in which the link adaptation test collection is included in a link adaptation portion 1105 of a data carrying packet. The link adaptation portion 1105 may be populated with link quality estimation test collection 1012 as described with reference to FIG. 10. In FIG. 11B, the link adaptation portion 1105 may follow the preamble (such as the L-STF 1004, the L-LTF 1006, and the L-SIG 1008)
However, Shellhammer does not teach:
wherein the LTF is associated with a channel matrix, and the channel matrix comprising one or more columns corresponding to the one or more spatial streams;
wherein the third packet is transmitted in accordance with a mapping of the second quantity of one or more spatial streams to an equal quantity of sequentially first contiguous columns in the channel matrix
Kwon, in the same field of endeavor, teaches:
wherein the LTF is associated with a channel matrix (see Kwon, Fig. 12, par. [0151]: In Equation 15, SNRper_awgn is the required SNR value on AWGN channel for input MCS, bandwidth, guard interval and LTF type, and SNReff(mod(MCS)) is the effective SNR value at the modulation order for the specific MCS level),
wherein the third packet is transmitted in accordance with a mapping of the second quantity of one or more spatial streams to an equal quantity of sequentially first contiguous columns in the channel matrix (see Kwon, par. [0212]: the AP STA may determine a plurality of steering Q matrices. Each of the plurality of steering matrices is associated with a respective one of the users of the selected group. The AP STA may transmit a MU PPDU in MU-MIMO for the users of the selected group. The final MCS levels and the plurality of steering matrices may be applied to the MU PPDU, and see Fig. 12, par. [0151]: In Equation 15, SNRper_awgn is the required SNR value on AWGN channel for input MCS, bandwidth, guard interval and LTF type, and SNReff(mod(MCS)) is the effective SNR value at the modulation order for the specific MCS level, and par. [0157], lines 1-6: in FIG. 12, may the MCS inference matrix include a 2-dimensional rectangular array of elements arranged in rows and columns. The element in the k-th row and the m-th column may include the selected MCS MCSukum for the k-th user considering interference from the m-th user, and see Kwon, Fig. 14, pars. [0173-0182]: At 1413, the AP STA may calculate RBIR values for k-th user according to Equation 12 or a look-up table which can be derived from Equation 12. The RBIR values may be associated with a respective one of a plurality of subcarriers and a respective one of a plurality of OFDM symbols and a respective one of a plurality of spatial streams (or space-time streams). At 1415, the AP STA may check whether all RBIRs have been calculated. If all RBIRs have been calculated, the AP STA may go to the operation S1417. Otherwise, the AP STA may go to the operation 1411. At 1417, the AP STA may compute the average RBIR over all RBIRs according to Equation 13. At 1419, the AP STA may convert the average RBIR to effective SNR for modulation level according to idxLUT by using a RBIR-to-SNR table which can be derived by FIG. 10. At 1421, the AP STA may check whether the index idxLUT is equal to a maximum number of the index. In some embodiment, the maximum number may be 7. If index idxLUT is equal to a maximum number of the index, the AP STA may go to the operation 1423. Otherwise, the AP STA may go back to the operation 1409 and then perform operations 1409 to 1419. At 1423, the AP STA may obtain effective SNRs for a plurality of different modulation levels via operations 1401 to 1421. In some embodiments, the plurality of different modulation levels may include BPSK, QPSK, 16-QAM, 64-QAM, 256-QAM, 1024-QAM, 4096-QAM. In some embodiments, the number of the plurality of different modulation levels may be 7. At 1425, the AP STA may look up the SNR table as shown in Table 1 to satisfy 0.1 PER on AWGN to obtains required SNRs for a plurality of MCS levels. At 1427, the AP STA may select a recommended MCS MCSukum for the k-th user considering interference from the m-th user according to Equation 15 to output the recommended MCS level and the effective SNR value SNReff,ukum for the recommended MCS level. At 1429, the AP STA may save the effective SNR value SNReff,ukum in the SNR inference matrix at k-th row and m-th column. At 1431, the AP STA may save the recommended MCS value MCSukum in the MCS inference matrix at k-th row and m-th column; in this case, MCS values are each mapped to a column (i.e. to an equal quantity) in order based on users and streams, MCS, channels, SNR, and LTF are all associated with each other through operations)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the device or method of Shellhammer with the streams being associated with an MCS which is mapped to an equal quantity of columns of a matrix of Kwon with a reasonable expectation of success. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification for the benefit of efficient user selection and MCS selection by reducing required computation (see Kwon, pars. [0010] and [0036]).
However, the combination of Shellhammer in view of Kwon does not teach:
the channel matrix comprising one or more columns corresponding to the one or more spatial streams;
Shashidhar, in the same field of endeavor, teaches:
the channel matrix comprising one or more columns corresponding to the one or more spatial streams (see Shashidhar, par. [0028]: The symbol
H
~
in Equation 2 represents the second channel matrix of each transmission scheme. Performing a vector operation on each entity of the equation stacks the columns of the first channel matrix into a single column vector. Once the second channel matrix for each transmission scheme of the space-time coding schemes has been computed, a singular value decomposition (SVD) is performed on the second channel matrix to obtain the channel gain for that transmission scheme, at 415. The process of singular value decomposition involves replacing the
H
~
matrix of each transmission scheme with a UλVH matrix where U is a unitary matrix that does not change the second channel matrix when multiplied with it, the VH is also a unitary matrix that does not change the value of the matrix it is multiplied with and the λ is a diagonal matrix that comprises channel gains corresponding to each stream of data sent by the transmitting antennas; in this case, a channel matrix is calculated using a matrix for each stream of data, corresponding to the channel matrix having columns for one or more spatial streams);
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the channel matrix of the combination of Shellhammer in view of Kwon with the channel matrix columns corresponding to spatial streams of Shashidhar with a reasonable expectation of success. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification for the benefit of reducing error rate of communication (see Shashidhar, par. [0026]).
Regarding claims 2, 12, the combination of Shellhammer in view of Kwon, and further in view of Shashidhar, teaches the device or method. Shellhammer further teaches:
wherein a total quantity of spatial streams associated with the LTF is greater than the first quantity of one or more spatial streams (see Shellhammer, par. [0061], lines 22-28: the link adaptation test packet 172 may be formatted as a MIMO transmission and may include one or more portions for SINR estimation of the spatial streams of the MIMO transmission. Thus, a single link adaptation test packet 172 may support SINR estimation for different spatial streams based on current channel conditions, and see Shellhammer, par. [0104], lines 12-29: The link adaptation test packet 1000 may include more LTF symbols (as the link adaptation test signal) than would otherwise be needed for the current packet. For example, in a normal packet, only two LTFs (the L-LTF and the RL-LTF) would be needed for MIMO transmission with two spatial streams. However, the link adaptation test packet 1000 may include additional LTFs (such as within a preamble, in a designated test portion of the packet, or at the end of the packet, among other examples) to facilitate a determination of the link quality metrics, based on the spatial stream configuration. In some implementations, the quantity of additional LTFs may be based on the quantity of spatial streams that will be included in the subsequent packet. As an example, a transmitting WLAN device may include 8 LTFs in the link adaptation test packet 1000 to support determination of the link quality metrics of the channel if the transmitting WLAN device will include 8 spatial streams in the subsequent packet; in this case, the two LTFs in a normal packet plus additional LTFs are all associated with a quantity of streams corresponding to a total quantity. In this case, the additional LTFs are associated with streams in a subsequent packet. Therefore, the total quantity of streams adds more streams than the first quantity, which is based on current channel conditions)
The combination of Shellhammer in view of Kwon does not teach, but Shashidhar teaches:
wherein the quantities of spatial streams of the channel matrix includes the total quantity of spatial streams (Shashidhar, par. [0028]: The symbol
H
~
in Equation 2 represents the second channel matrix of each transmission scheme. Performing a vector operation on each entity of the equation stacks the columns of the first channel matrix into a single column vector. Once the second channel matrix for each transmission scheme of the space-time coding schemes has been computed, a singular value decomposition (SVD) is performed on the second channel matrix to obtain the channel gain for that transmission scheme, at 415. The process of singular value decomposition involves replacing the
H
~
matrix of each transmission scheme with a UλVH matrix where U is a unitary matrix that does not change the second channel matrix when multiplied with it, the VH is also a unitary matrix that does not change the value of the matrix it is multiplied with and the λ is a diagonal matrix that comprises channel gains corresponding to each stream of data sent by the transmitting antennas; in this case, a channel matrix is calculated using a matrix for each stream of data, corresponding the total quantity of spatial streams).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the channel matrix of the combination of Shellhammer in view of Kwon with the channel matrix columns corresponding to spatial streams of Shashidhar with a reasonable expectation of success. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification for the benefit of reducing error rate of communication (see Shashidhar, par. [0026]).
Regarding claims 3, 13, the combination of Shellhammer in view of Kwon, and further in view of Shashidhar, teaches the device or method. Shellhammer further teaches:
wherein, to transmit the first packet, the processing system is configured to cause the wireless device to:
transmit an indication of one or more extra spatial streams associated with the LTF of the preamble of the first packet, wherein the one or more extra spatial streams include spatial streams associated with the LTF that are in excess of the first quantity of one or more spatial streams (see Shellhammer, Fig. 1, item 172, par. [0061], lines 1-5: The first WLAN device 110 may include a link adaptation test packet transmission unit 152. The link adaptation test packet transmission unit 152 may be configured to transmit a first packet (which may be referred to as a link adaptation test packet 172) to the second WLAN device 120, and see Shellhammer, par. [0061], lines 22-28: the link adaptation test packet 172 may be formatted as a MIMO transmission and may include one or more portions for SINR estimation of the spatial streams of the MIMO transmission. Thus, a single link adaptation test packet 172 may support SINR estimation for different spatial streams based on current channel conditions, and see Shellhammer, par. [0104], lines 12-29: The link adaptation test packet 1000 may include more LTF symbols (as the link adaptation test signal) than would otherwise be needed for the current packet. For example, in a normal packet, only two LTFs (the L-LTF and the RL-LTF) would be needed for MIMO transmission with two spatial streams. However, the link adaptation test packet 1000 may include additional LTFs (such as within a preamble, in a designated test portion of the packet, or at the end of the packet, among other examples) to facilitate a determination of the link quality metrics, based on the spatial stream configuration. In some implementations, the quantity of additional LTFs may be based on the quantity of spatial streams that will be included in the subsequent packet. As an example, a transmitting WLAN device may include 8 LTFs in the link adaptation test packet 1000 to support determination of the link quality metrics of the channel if the transmitting WLAN device will include 8 spatial streams in the subsequent packet; in this case, as part of the transmission of the first packet, additional LTFs associated with additional streams may be transmitted (i.e. an indication of extra spatial streams associated with the LTF). These additional streams are in addition to (i.e. in excess of) the streams associated with the LTFs in a normal packet (i.e. the first quantity)).
Regarding claims 5, 15, the combination of Shellhammer in view of Kwon, and further in view of Shashidhar, teaches the device or method. Shellhammer further teaches:
wherein, to transmit the first packet, the processing system is further configured to cause the wireless device to:
transmit a first portion of the LTF associated with the first quantity of spatial streams in a first field of the preamble and a second portion of the LTF associated with the one or more extra spatial streams in a second field of the preamble (see Shellhammer, Fig. 1, item 172, par. [0061], lines 1-5: The first WLAN device 110 may include a link adaptation test packet transmission unit 152. The link adaptation test packet transmission unit 152 may be configured to transmit a first packet (which may be referred to as a link adaptation test packet 172) to the second WLAN device 120, and see Shellhammer, par. [0061], lines 22-28: the link adaptation test packet 172 may be formatted as a MIMO transmission and may include one or more portions for SINR estimation of the spatial streams of the MIMO transmission. Thus, a single link adaptation test packet 172 may support SINR estimation for different spatial streams based on current channel conditions, and see Shellhammer, par. [0104], Fig. 11B, lines 12-29: The link adaptation test packet 1000 may include more LTF symbols (as the link adaptation test signal) than would otherwise be needed for the current packet. For example, in a normal packet, only two LTFs (the L-LTF and the RL-LTF) would be needed for MIMO transmission with two spatial streams. However, the link adaptation test packet 1000 may include additional LTFs (such as within a preamble, in a designated test portion of the packet, or at the end of the packet, among other examples) to facilitate a determination of the link quality metrics, based on the spatial stream configuration. In some implementations, the quantity of additional LTFs may be based on the quantity of spatial streams that will be included in the subsequent packet. As an example, a transmitting WLAN device may include 8 LTFs in the link adaptation test packet 1000 to support determination of the link quality metrics of the channel if the transmitting WLAN device will include 8 spatial streams in the subsequent packet; in this case, two LTFs of a normal packet, corresponding to a first quantity of streams, may be transmitted in a portion of the preamble. Additional LTFs, corresponding to extra spatial streams, may be transmitted within a preamble as well (corresponding to a second portion in a second field)).
Regarding claims 6, 16, the combination of Shellhammer in view of Kwon, and further in view of Shashidhar, teaches the device or method. Shellhammer further teaches:
wherein the total quantity of spatial streams associated with the LTF is equal to the second quantity of one or more spatial streams (see Shellhammer, par. [0061], lines 22-28: the link adaptation test packet 172 may be formatted as a MIMO transmission and may include one or more portions for SINR estimation of the spatial streams of the MIMO transmission. Thus, a single link adaptation test packet 172 may support SINR estimation for different spatial streams based on current channel conditions, and see Shellhammer, par. [0104], lines 12-29: The link adaptation test packet 1000 may include more LTF symbols (as the link adaptation test signal) than would otherwise be needed for the current packet. For example, in a normal packet, only two LTFs (the L-LTF and the RL-LTF) would be needed for MIMO transmission with two spatial streams. However, the link adaptation test packet 1000 may include additional LTFs (such as within a preamble, in a designated test portion of the packet, or at the end of the packet, among other examples) to facilitate a determination of the link quality metrics, based on the spatial stream configuration. In some implementations, the quantity of additional LTFs may be based on the quantity of spatial streams that will be included in the subsequent packet. As an example, a transmitting WLAN device may include 8 LTFs in the link adaptation test packet 1000 to support determination of the link quality metrics of the channel if the transmitting WLAN device will include 8 spatial streams in the subsequent packet, and see Shellhammer, par. [0045], lines 52-58: the receiving WLAN device may determine a selected transmission rate option based on the link quality metrics and send the selected transmission rate option in the link adaptation feedback. The transmission rate option may include an MCS option, a quantity of spatial streams, a spatial stream configuration, or any combination thereof; in this case, the LTF symbols included in the link adaptation test packet for a normal packet plus additional symbols for use in the subsequent packet correspond to the total quantity of streams to be estimated for link quality metrics. The feedback information received based on link quality metrics includes a quantity of spatial streams corresponding to the second quantity which is equal to the total quantity).
Regarding claims 9, 21, the combination of Shellhammer in view of Kwon, and further in view of Shashidhar, teaches the device or method. Shellhammer further teaches:
wherein the second quantity of one or more spatial streams includes one spatial stream (see Shellhammer, par. [0061], lines 22-28: the link adaptation test packet 172 may be formatted as a MIMO transmission and may include one or more portions for SINR estimation of the spatial streams of the MIMO transmission. Thus, a single link adaptation test packet 172 may support SINR estimation for different spatial streams based on current channel conditions, and see Shellhammer, par. [0104], lines 12-29: The link adaptation test packet 1000 may include more LTF symbols (as the link adaptation test signal) than would otherwise be needed for the current packet. For example, in a normal packet, only two LTFs (the L-LTF and the RL-LTF) would be needed for MIMO transmission with two spatial streams. However, the link adaptation test packet 1000 may include additional LTFs (such as within a preamble, in a designated test portion of the packet, or at the end of the packet, among other examples) to facilitate a determination of the link quality metrics, based on the spatial stream configuration. In some implementations, the quantity of additional LTFs may be based on the quantity of spatial streams that will be included in the subsequent packet. As an example, a transmitting WLAN device may include 8 LTFs in the link adaptation test packet 1000 to support determination of the link quality metrics of the channel if the transmitting WLAN device will include 8 spatial streams in the subsequent packet, and see Shellhammer, par. [0045], lines 52-58: the receiving WLAN device may determine a selected transmission rate option based on the link quality metrics and send the selected transmission rate option in the link adaptation feedback. The transmission rate option may include an MCS option, a quantity of spatial streams, a spatial stream configuration, or any combination thereof), and the one or more proposed MCS indices include a first MCS index (see Shellhammer, Fig. 1, item 174, par. [0062], lines 1-10: The first WLAN device 110 may include a link adaptation unit 154 that is configured to determine a transmission rate or other link configuration for a subsequent packet 176 for transmission to the second WLAN device 120. For example, the link adaptation unit 154 may receive feedback information 174 from the second WLAN device 120 in response to the link adaptation test packet 172. The link adaptation unit 154 may determine a selected MCS or other transmission rate option to use for the subsequent packet 176 based on the feedback information 174, and see Shellhammer, par. [0045], lines 52-58: the receiving WLAN device may determine a selected transmission rate option based on the link quality metrics and send the selected transmission rate option in the link adaptation feedback. The transmission rate option may include an MCS option, a quantity of spatial streams, a spatial stream configuration, or any combination thereof; in this case a selected MCS option corresponds to a first MCS index)
Shellhammer does not teach, but Kwon teaches:
a first MCS index mapped to a sequentially first column of the channel matrix (see Kwon, Fig. 12, par. [0157], lines 1-6: in FIG. 12, may the MCS inference matrix include a 2-dimensional rectangular array of elements arranged in rows and columns. The element in the k-th row and the m-th column may include the selected MCS MCSukum for the k-th user considering interference from the m-th user, and see Kwon, Fig. 14, par. [0182], lines 1-3: At 1431, the AP STA may save the recommended MCS value MCSukum in the MCS inference matrix at k-th row and m-th column; in this case, MCS values (i.e. indices) are mapped to columns in a matrix).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the device or method of Shellhammer with the MCS being mapped to first column of a matrix of Kwon with a reasonable expectation of success. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification for the benefit of efficient user selection and MCS selection by reducing required computation (see Kwon, pars. [0010] and [0036]).
Regarding claims 20, 22, the combination of Shellhammer in view of Kwon, and further in view of Shashidhar, teaches the device or method. Shellhammer further teaches:
wherein the second quantity of one or more spatial streams includes one spatial stream (see Shellhammer, par. [0061], lines 22-28: the link adaptation test packet 172 may be formatted as a MIMO transmission and may include one or more portions for SINR estimation of the spatial streams of the MIMO transmission. Thus, a single link adaptation test packet 172 may support SINR estimation for different spatial streams based on current channel conditions, and see Shellhammer, par. [0104], lines 12-29: The link adaptation test packet 1000 may include more LTF symbols (as the link adaptation test signal) than would otherwise be needed for the current packet. For example, in a normal packet, only two LTFs (the L-LTF and the RL-LTF) would be needed for MIMO transmission with two spatial streams. However, the link adaptation test packet 1000 may include additional LTFs (such as within a preamble, in a designated test portion of the packet, or at the end of the packet, among other examples) to facilitate a determination of the link quality metrics, based on the spatial stream configuration. In some implementations, the quantity of additional LTFs may be based on the quantity of spatial streams that will be included in the subsequent packet. As an example, a transmitting WLAN device may include 8 LTFs in the link adaptation test packet 1000 to support determination of the link quality metrics of the channel if the transmitting WLAN device will include 8 spatial streams in the subsequent packet, and see Shellhammer, par. [0045], lines 52-58: the receiving WLAN device may determine a selected transmission rate option based on the link quality metrics and send the selected transmission rate option in the link adaptation feedback. The transmission rate option may include an MCS option, a quantity of spatial streams, a spatial stream configuration, or any combination thereof), and the third packet is transmitted (see Shellhammer, par. [0062], lines 1-10: The first WLAN device 110 may include a link adaptation unit 154 that is configured to determine a transmission rate or other link configuration for a subsequent packet 176 for transmission to the second WLAN device 120. For example, the link adaptation unit 154 may receive feedback information 174 from the second WLAN device 120 in response to the link adaptation test packet 172. The link adaptation unit 154 may determine a selected MCS or other transmission rate option to use for the subsequent packet 176 based on the feedback information 174, and see Shellhammer, par. [0062], lines 17-20: After the selected transmission rate option is determined by the link adaptation unit 154, the first WLAN device 110 may transmit subsequent packets 176 using the selected MCS option) associated with the LTF of the preamble of the first packet (see Shellhammer, Fig. 11B, par. [0106], lines 1-8: FIG. 11B depicts an example link adaptation test packet 1101 in which the link adaptation test collection is included in a link adaptation portion 1105 of a data carrying packet. The link adaptation portion 1105 may be populated with link quality estimation test collection 1012 as described with reference to FIG. 10. In FIG. 11B, the link adaptation portion 1105 may follow the preamble (such as the L-STF 1004, the L-LTF 1006, and the L-SIG 1008).
Shellhammer does not teach, but Kwon teaches:
the third packet is transmitted in accordance with a first column in the channel matrix (see Kwon, Fig. 12, par. [0157], lines 1-6: in FIG. 12, may the MCS inference matrix include a 2-dimensional rectangular array of elements arranged in rows and columns. The element in the k-th row and the m-th column may include the selected MCS MCSukum for the k-th user considering interference from the m-th user, and see Kwon, Fig. 14, par. [0182], lines 1-3: At 1431, the AP STA may save the recommended MCS value MCSukum in the MCS inference matrix at k-th row and m-th column; in this case, MCS values which are used for transmission are mapped to a first column in a matrix)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the third packet transmission based on MCS of Shellhammer with the MCS being mapped to first column of a matrix of Kwon with a reasonable expectation of success. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification for the benefit of efficient user selection and MCS selection by reducing required computation (see Kwon, pars. [0010] and [0036]).
Claims 4, 7-8, 14, and 17-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shellhammer in view of Kwon, and further in view of Shashidhar, as applied to claims 1-3, 5-6, 9, 11-13, 15-16, and 21-22 above, and further in view of Lim et al. (WO 2023/182854), hereinafter "Lim" (see "WO2023182854A1_Translation.pdf" for citations).
Regarding claims 4, 14, the combination of Shellhammer in view of Kwon, and further in view of Shashidhar, teaches the device or method. Shellhammer further teaches:
wherein the LTF is transmitted in a single field of the preamble (see Shellhammer, Fig. 1, item 172, par. [0061], lines 1-5: The first WLAN device 110 may include a link adaptation test packet transmission unit 152. The link adaptation test packet transmission unit 152 may be configured to transmit a first packet (which may be referred to as a link adaptation test packet 172) to the second WLAN device 120, and see Shellhammer, Fig. 11B, par. [0106], lines 1-8: FIG. 11B depicts an example link adaptation test packet 1101 in which the link adaptation test collection is included in a link adaptation portion 1105 of a data carrying packet. The link adaptation portion 1105 may be populated with link quality estimation test collection 1012 as described with reference to FIG. 10. In FIG. 11B, the link adaptation portion 1105 may follow the preamble (such as the L-STF 1004, the L-LTF 1006, and the L-SIG 1008)
The combination of Shellhammer in view of Kwon, and further in view of Shashidhar, does not teach, but Lim teaches:
wherein the LTF is transmitted in accordance with one or more rows of a pilot matrix (see Lim, Table 4, page 14: the number of LTF symbols according to SS used for transmission may be as shown in Table 4. Table 4 illustrates the number of LTF symbols (NLTF) required according to the number of SS (NSS), and see Lim, Table 2, page 14: the P matrix used when mapping SS for each tone can be defined so that the P matrix in Table 2 described above can be reused. The P matrix and the number of LTF symbols used to construct LTF symbols according to the number of SS (NSS) can be defined as follows. If NSS is 3 or 4, use P2x2. If NSS is 5, 6, 7, 8, use P4x4. If NSS is 9, 10, 11, 12, use P6x6. If NSS is 13, 14, 15, 16, use P2x2; in this case, LTF symbols used for transmission are mapped according to pilot matrices), the one or more rows corresponding to the total quantity of spatial streams associated with the LTF (see Lim, Table 4, page 14: the number of LTF symbols according to SS used for transmission may be as shown in Table 4. Table 4 illustrates the number of LTF symbols (NLTF) required according to the number of SS (NSS), and see Lim, Table 2, page 14: the P matrix used when mapping SS for each tone can be defined so that the P matrix in Table 2 described above can be reused. The P matrix and the number of LTF symbols used to construct LTF symbols according to the number of SS (NSS) can be defined as follows. If NSS is 3 or 4, use P2x2. If NSS is 5, 6, 7, 8, use P4x4. If NSS is 9, 10, 11, 12, use P6x6. If NSS is 13, 14, 15, 16, use P2x2; in this case, pilot matrices are selected based on the quantity of streams and the number of LTF symbols is associated with the quantity of streams).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the LTF transmission of the combination of Shellhammer in view of Kwon, and further in view of Shashidhar, with the LTF transmission based on a matrix of Lim with a reasonable expectation of success. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification for the benefit of reducing LTF overhead for multiple spatial streams (see Lim, page 14).
Regarding claims 7, 17, the combination of Shellhammer in view of Kwon, and further in view of Shashidhar, teaches the device or method. Shellhammer further teaches:
wherein, to receive the one or more proposed FLA parameter values, the processing system is configured to cause the wireless device to:
receive one or more proposed modulation and coding scheme (MCS) indices associated with the second quantity of one or more spatial streams (see Shellhammer, Fig. 1, item 174, par. [0062], lines 1-10: The first WLAN device 110 may include a link adaptation unit 154 that is configured to determine a transmission rate or other link configuration for a subsequent packet 176 for transmission to the second WLAN device 120. For example, the link adaptation unit 154 may receive feedback information 174 from the second WLAN device 120 in response to the link adaptation test packet 172. The link adaptation unit 154 may determine a selected MCS or other transmission rate option to use for the subsequent packet 176 based on the feedback information 174, and see Shellhammer, par. [0045], lines 52-58: the receiving WLAN device may determine a selected transmission rate option based on the link quality metrics and send the selected transmission rate option in the link adaptation feedback. The transmission rate option may include an MCS option, a quantity of spatial streams, a spatial stream configuration, or any combination thereof; in this case, an MCS option corresponds to an MCS index and is received as part of the feedback information),
Shellhammer does not teach, but Kwon teaches:
wherein the one or more proposed MCS indices are associated with one or more columns of the channel matrix (see Kwon, Fig. 12, par. [0151]: In Equation 15, SNRper_awgn is the required SNR value on AWGN channel for input MCS, bandwidth, guard interval and LTF type, and SNReff(mod(MCS)) is the effective SNR value at the modulation order for the specific MCS level, and par. [0157], lines 1-6: in FIG. 12, may the MCS inference matrix include a 2-dimensional rectangular array of elements arranged in rows and columns. The element in the k-th row and the m-th column may include the selected MCS MCSukum for the k-th user considering interference from the m-th user; in this case, MCS values (i.e. indices) are mapped to columns in a matrix and that MCS may be associated with channels. The MCS matrix includes elements for a plurality of users which use channels for communication)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the device or method of Shellhammer with the MCS being associated with columns of a matrix of Kwon with a reasonable expectation of success. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification for the benefit of efficient user selection and MCS selection by reducing required computation (see Kwon, pars. [0010] and [0036]).
The combination of Shellhammer in view of Kwon, and further in view of Shashidhar, does not teach, but Lim teaches:
in accordance with the mapping of the second quantity of one or more spatial streams to the portion of the LTF (see Lim, page 18: For example, as in the above-described embodiment, the predefined mapping relationship may follow a two-tone unit mapping, that is, the LTF sequence corresponding to each spatial stream is mapped for every two tones. As a specific example, the LTF sequence for an odd spatial stream among the plurality of spatial streams may be mapped to an odd tone, and the LTF sequence for an even spatial stream among the plurality of spatial streams may be mapped to an even tone).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the device or method of the combination of Shellhammer in view of Kwon, and further in view of Shashidhar, with the mapping of spatial streams to the LTF of Lim with a reasonable expectation of success. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification for the benefit of reducing LTF overhead for multiple spatial streams (see Lim, page 14).
Regarding claims 8, 18, the combination of Shellhammer in view of Kwon, and further in view of Shashidhar, and further in view of Lim, teaches the device or method.
Shellhammer does not teach, but Kwon teaches:
in accordance with the one or more proposed MCS indices being mapped to an equal quantity of sequentially first contiguous columns of the channel matrix (see Kwon, Fig. 12, par. [0157], lines 1-6: in FIG. 12, may the MCS inference matrix include a 2-dimensional rectangular array of elements arranged in rows and columns. The element in the k-th row and the m-th column may include the selected MCS MCSukum for the k-th user considering interference from the m-th user, and see Kwon, Fig. 14, par. [0182], lines 1-3: At 1431, the AP STA may save the recommended MCS value MCSukum in the MCS inference matrix at k-th row and m-th column; in this case, MCS values are each mapped to a column (i.e. to an equal quantity) in order based on users).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the device or method of Shellhammer with the MCS being mapped to an equal quantity of columns of a matrix of Kwon with a reasonable expectation of success. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification for the benefit of efficient user selection and MCS selection by reducing required computation (see Kwon, pars. [0010] and [0036]).
The combination of Shellhammer in view of Kwon, and further in view of Shashidhar, does not teach, but Lim teaches:
wherein the mapping of the second quantity of one or more spatial streams to the portion of the LTF is defined (see Lim, page 18: For example, as in the above-described embodiment, the predefined mapping relationship may follow a two-tone unit mapping, that is, the LTF sequence corresponding to each spatial stream is mapped for every two tones. As a specific example, the LTF sequence for an odd spatial stream among the plurality of spatial streams may be mapped to an odd tone, and the LTF sequence for an even spatial stream among the plurality of spatial streams may be mapped to an even tone)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the device or method of the combination of Shellhammer in view of Kwon, and further in view of Shashidhar, with the mapping of spatial streams to the LTF of Lim with a reasonable expectation of success. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification for the benefit of reducing LTF overhead for multiple spatial streams (see Lim, page 14).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1 and 11 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Yamaura (US 7,746,943) teaches a wireless communication system which performs data transmission from a first terminal including N antennas to a second terminal including M antennas using spatially multiplexed streams.
Zhang et al. (US 9,596,715) teaches methods including long wireless local rea network packets with midambles.
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 mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CALEB J BALLOWE whose telephone number is (571)270-0410. The examiner can normally be reached MON-FRI 7:30-5.
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, Nishant B. Divecha can be reached at (571) 270-3125. 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.
/C.J.B./Examiner, Art Unit 2419
/Nishant Divecha/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2419
Prosecution Insights