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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Claims 1-20 are pending.
Claim Objections
Claim 19 objected to because of the following informalities: Line 2 recites “performed” which appears to be a typo of “perform”. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 15, 16, 17, 18 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Fukuda (US 2010/0254379).
For claim 1, Fukuda teaches: A wireless access point (see at least 0081-0083, fig. 4, 8, a connection apparatus may comprise processing functionality for communications), comprising:
a first sublayer operable to perform first operations in accordance with a first standard, where the first standard is associated with the wireless access point (see at least 0011, fig. 8, MAC layer 107 of the connection apparatus may receive and process 802.11 packets from PHY layer 106, comprising a first standard); and
a second sublayer communicatively coupled to the first sublayer (see at least 0011, fig. 8, MAC layer 107 may be connected to a protocol stack comprising PHY, MAC, upper, and bridge layers 109-112 (also see 0071)), comprising:
a protocol stack operable to perform second operations in accordance with a second standard and to interface with a transmission medium to facilitate data transmissions between the wireless access point and a device (see at least 0011, fig. 8, PHY, MAC, upper layers 110-112 may process Ethernet packets for transmission, comprising a second standard); and
an adaptive layer to facilitate communications between the protocol stack and the first sublayer (see at least 0011, fig. 8, bridge 109 may bridge packets from 802.11 standard to Ethernet standard).
For claim 2, Fukuda teaches claim 1, Fukuda further teaches: further comprising a third sublayer communicatively coupled to the first sublayer, wherein: the third sublayer is operable to perform third operations in accordance with the first standard; and the third sublayer is operable to interface with a second transmission medium to facilitate data transmissions between the wireless access point and a second device (see at least 0011, fig. 8, MAC layer 107 may receive 802.11 packets from PHY layer 106 of an 802.11 protocol stack (third sublayer); packets may be originally received by PHY layer 106 from terminal 100).
For claim 3, Fukuda teaches claim 2, Fukuda further teaches: wherein the first sublayer is common between the second sublayer and the third sublayer, and the first sublayer is operable to perform the first operations relative to at least the second sublayer and the third sublayer (see at least 0011, fig. 8, MAC layer is comprised in both the 802.11 protocol stack (third sublayer) and Ethernet protocol stack in the connection apparatus, thus being common; MAC layer 107 may forward packets from PHY layer 106 to bridge/Ethernet layers 109-112, thus being relative to the second and third sublayers).
For claim 6, Fukuda teaches claim 1, Fukuda further teaches: wherein the second standard is a non-IEEE 802.11 standard (see at least 0011, fig. 8, PHY, MAC, upper layers 110-112 may process Ethernet packets for transmission, comprising a non-802.11 standard).
For claim 7, Fukuda teaches claim 6, Fukuda further teaches: wherein the second standard is one of G.hn, Multimedia over Coax Alliance, fiber optics, passive optical network, or Ethernet (see at least 0011, fig. 8, PHY, MAC, upper layers 110-112 may process Ethernet packets for transmission).
For claim 8, Fukuda teaches claim 1, Fukuda further teaches: wherein the second operations correspond to the second standard and the transmission medium (see at least 0011, fig. 8, PHY, MAC, upper layers 110-112 may process Ethernet packets for transmission).
For claim 9, Fukuda teaches claim 1, Fukuda further teaches: wherein the transmission medium is a wired connection (see at least 0016, Ethernet may be wired network).
For claim 10, Fukuda teaches: A method, comprising:
obtaining a first data frame from a first sublayer in a wireless access point, the first data frame corresponding to a first standard associated with the first sublayer and the wireless access point (see at least 0081-0083, fig. 4, 8, a connection apparatus may comprise processing functionality for communications. See at least 0011, fig. 8, bridge 109 of the connection apparatus may receive 802.11 packets from MAC layer 107, comprising a first standard);
adapting the first data frame from the first standard to a second standard to obtain an adapted frame, the adapted frame corresponding to a second standard (see at least 0011, fig. 8, bridge 109 may bridge packets from 802.11 standard to Ethernet standard); and
transmitting the adapted frame to a protocol stack in the wireless access point, wherein the second standard is associated with the protocol stack (see at least 0011, fig. 8, bridged Ethernet packets may be sent to PHY, MAC, upper layers 110-112 for transmission, comprising a second standard).
For claim 11, Fukuda teaches claim 10, Fukuda further teaches: wherein the first sublayer is common to the protocol stack and a second sublayer, and the first sublayer is operable to perform first operations relative to at least the protocol stack and the second sublayer (see at least 0011, fig. 8, MAC layer is comprised in both the 802.11 protocol stack (second sublayer) and Ethernet protocol stack in the connection apparatus, thus being common; MAC layer 107 of the connection apparatus may forward packets from PHY layer 106 to bridge/Ethernet layers 109-112, thus being relative to the Ethernet protocol stack and second sublayer).
For claim 12, Fukuda teaches claim 11, Fukuda further teaches: wherein the second sublayer performs second operations to a second data frame in accordance with the first standard (see at least 0011, fig. 8, 802.11 protocol stack may process 802.11 packets).
For claim 15, Fukuda teaches claim 10, Fukuda further teaches: wherein the second standard is a non-IEEE 802.11 standard (see at least 0011, fig. 8, PHY, MAC, upper layers 110-112 may process Ethernet packets for transmission, comprising a non-802.11 standard).
For claim 16, Fukuda teaches claim 10, Fukuda further teaches: wherein the second standard is one of G.hn, Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCA), fiber optics, passive optical network (PON), or Ethernet (see at least 0011, fig. 8, PHY, MAC, upper layers 110-112 may process Ethernet packets for transmission).
For claim 17, Fukuda teaches: A system, comprising:
a first sublayer operable to perform first operations in accordance with a first standard, where the first standard is associated with a wireless access point (see at least 0081-0083, fig. 4, 8, a connection apparatus may comprise processing functionality for communications. See at least 0011, fig. 8, MAC layer 107 of the connection apparatus may receive and process 802.11 packets from PHY layer 106, comprising a first standard);
a second sublayer communicatively coupled to the first sublayer (see at least 0011, fig. 8, MAC layer 107 may be connected to a protocol stack comprising PHY, MAC, upper, and bridge layers 109-112 (also see 0071)), comprising:
a protocol stack operable to perform second operations in accordance with a second standard comprising interfacing with a transmission medium to facilitate data transmissions between the wireless access point and a device (see at least 0011, fig. 8, PHY, MAC, upper layers 110-112 may process Ethernet packets for transmission, comprising a second standard); and
an adaptive layer to facilitate communications between the protocol stack and first sublayer (see at least 0011, fig. 8, bridge 109 may bridge packets from 802.11 standard to Ethernet standard); and
a third sublayer communicatively coupled to the first sublayer (see at least 0011, fig. 8, MAC layer 107 may receive 802.11 packets from PHY layer 106 of an 802.11 protocol stack (third sublayer)), wherein:
the third sublayer is operable to perform third operations in accordance with the first standard (see at least 0011, fig. 8, packets may be originally received by PHY layer 106 in the 802.11 standard); and
the third sublayer is operable to interface with a second transmission medium to facilitate data transmissions between the wireless access point and a second device (see at least 0011, fig. 8, packets may be originally received by PHY layer 106 from terminal 100).
For claim 18, Fukuda teaches claim 17, Fukuda further teaches: wherein the first sublayer is common between the second sublayer and the third sublayer, and the first sublayer is operable to perform the first operations relative to at least the second sublayer and the third sublayer (see at least 0011, fig. 8, MAC layer is comprised in both the 802.11 protocol stack (third sublayer) and Ethernet protocol stack in the connection apparatus, thus being common; MAC layer 107 may forward packets from PHY layer 106 to bridge/Ethernet layers 109-112, thus being relative to the second and third sublayers).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102 of this title, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
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.
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 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.
Claim 4, 13, 19 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fukuda (US 2010/0254379) in view of Chitrakar et al. (US 2021/0227547).
For claim 4, Fukuda teaches claim 1, but not explicitly: wherein the first sublayer is an upper medium access control layer configured to perform multi-link operations in the wireless access point. Chitrakar from an analogous art teaches (see at least 0104, fig. 20, an upper MAC layer may provide interface between upper layers and lower MAC layers). Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to incorporate Chitrakar to the system of claim 1, so the sublayer comprises an upper MAC layer between lower MAC and upper layers, as suggested by Chitrakar. The motivation would have been to enhance communications by implementing upper MAC interface for lower MAC layers (Chitrakar 0104).
For claim 13, Fukuda teaches claim 10, but not explicitly: wherein the first sublayer is an upper medium access control layer configured to perform multi-link operations in the wireless access point. Chitrakar from an analogous art teaches (see at least 0104, fig. 20, an upper MAC layer may provide interface between upper layers and lower MAC layers). Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to incorporate Chitrakar to the system of claim 10, so the sublayer comprises an upper MAC layer between lower MAC and upper layers, as suggested by Chitrakar. The motivation would have been to enhance communications by implementing upper MAC interface for lower MAC layers (Chitrakar 0104).
For claim 19, Fukuda teaches claim 17, but not explicitly: wherein the first sublayer is an upper medium access control layer configured to performed multi-link operations in the wireless access point, and the third sublayer is a lower medium access control layer. Chitrakar from an analogous art teaches (see at least 0104, fig. 20, an upper MAC layer may provide interface between upper layers and lower MAC layers). Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to incorporate Chitrakar to the system of claim 17, so the first sublayer comprises an upper MAC layer connected to the third sublayer comprising lower MAC layer, as suggested by Chitrakar. The motivation would have been to enhance communications by implementing upper MAC interface for lower MAC layers (Chitrakar 0104).
Claim 5, 14, 20 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fukuda (US 2010/0254379) in view of Patil et al. (US 2021/0014911).
For claim 5, Fukuda teaches claim 1, Fukuda further teaches: wherein the first standard is Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 (see at least 0011, fig. 8, MAC layer 107 of the connection apparatus may receive and process IEEE 802.11 packets) but not explicitly: and the 802.11be amendment. Patil from an analogous art teaches (see at least 0088, PDUs may be formatted in accordance with 802.11be amendment). Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to incorporate Patil to the system of claim 1, so the packets are in 802.11be standard, as suggested by Patil. The motivation would have been to enhance communications by implementing well known 802.11be protocol (Patil 0088).
For claim 14, Fukuda teaches claim 10, Fukuda further teaches: wherein the first standard is Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 (see at least 0011, fig. 8, MAC layer 107 of the connection apparatus may receive and process IEEE 802.11 packets) but not explicitly: and the 802.11be amendment. Patil from an analogous art teaches (see at least 0088, PDUs may be formatted in accordance with 802.11be amendment). Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to incorporate Patil to the system of claim 10, so the packets are in 802.11be standard, as suggested by Patil. The motivation would have been to enhance communications by implementing well known 802.11be protocol (Patil 0088).
For claim 20, Fukuda teaches claim 17, Fukuda further teaches: …and the second standard is one of G.hn, Multimedia over Coax Alliance, fiber optics, passive optical network, or Ethernet (see at least 0011, fig. 8, PHY, MAC, upper layers 110-112 may process Ethernet packets for transmission) but not explicitly: wherein the first standard is Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers 802.11be. Patil from an analogous art teaches (see at least 0088, PDUs may be formatted in accordance with 802.11be amendment). Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to incorporate Patil to the system of claim 17, so the first standard packets are in 802.11be standard, as suggested by Patil. The motivation would have been to enhance communications by implementing well known 802.11be protocol (Patil 0088).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Zhou et al. (US 2019/0150214) discloses packet based link aggregation architectures.
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/Siren Wei/
Patent Examiner
Art Unit 2467
Prosecution Insights