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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 08/07/2024 was filed. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claim 5 is objected to because of the following informalities: Claim 5 recites "The method of claim of claim 4" which contains a duplicated/erroneous phrase; it should read "The method of claim 4". Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 2, 5, 11, and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
Regarding claims 2, 11, and 16, the claims recite the limitation "the block ACK frame" in the clause reciting "the block ACK frame and the duplicated block ACK frame are transmitted simultaneously". There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claims. To advance compact prosecution, the Examiner interprets the claim limitation "the block ACK frame" as referring to the previously recited "first block ACK frame" (MPEP 2173.06).
Regarding claim 5, claim 5 depends from "claim of claim 4," which is a duplicative and grammatically improper dependency statement that renders the claim's antecedent dependency unclear. To advance compact prosecution, the Examiner interprets the claim limitation "claim of claim 4" as a dependency on claim 4 (MPEP 2173.06).
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.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Xi (US 2018/0041917 A1) in view of Hedayat (US 2019/0109674 A1) and further in view of Nezou (US 2020/0245359 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Xi discloses: wirelessly receiving a plurality of data frames from a second wireless device in a plurality of subchannels, because Xi teaches an AP that sends a plurality of data PPDUs to a group of WTRUs over a plurality of respective sub-channels or resource units, so that a recipient WTRU receives data frames across multiple subchannels (Xi, para [0106] “AP 705 may transmit data PPDUs 706, 708, 710 and 712 to WTRUs 701, 702, 703, and 704, respectively”… para [0106] “The data PPDUs 706, 708, 710 and 712 may be transmitted in parallel over different channel(s) or sub-channel(s)”).
Moreover, Xi discloses: wherein the first block ACK frame includes ACK information for the plurality of subchannels, since Xi teaches a block ACK aggregated-ACK response frame carrying a BA/AA bitmap that conveys the receive status across up to eight aggregated channels, so a single BA frame reports ACK information for the plurality of subchannels (Xi, para [0160] "a concatenation of BAs from up to eight aggregated channels may be included the BA AA frame 1600" … para [0159] "The AA bitmap field 1515 may indicate the receive status for up to eight MAC service data units (MSDUs) carried on up to eight channels").
Further, Xi teaches aggregated block-ACK frames acknowledging data carried on up to eight channels, returned by a recipient device to the AP (Xi, para [0160] "The BA AA response frame 1600 may be sent by a WTRU to an AP") however, Xi does not explicitly disclose that transmitting the block ACK back on one of the plurality of subchannels rather than over a single full-band response: wirelessly transmitting a first block ACK frame to the second wireless device in one of the plurality of subchannels.
Nevertheless, Xi in view of Hedayat teaches an AP filling a designated ACK/BA (i.e., block acknowledgement) sub-band field with the sub-band that the STA uses to place its ACK or BA frame, so the block ACK is sent in a designated subchannel. Specifically, in Hedayat each payload of a downlink multi-user frame carries, in its MAC header, the HT Control field 1300 with the HECE subfield 1320 shown in FIG. 13, and the AP fills the designated ACK/BA sub-band field of that subfield to assign where the receiving STA is to send its acknowledgment (Hedayat, para [0173] "fill the designated “ACK/BA sub-band(s)” field with the sub-band(s) that the STA may use to send its ACK or BA frame"). When this field is present, it directs the STA to place its block ACK in the sub-band the AP assigned within the uplink multiplexed ACK/BA frame, that is, in a designated subchannel of the uplink OFDMA frame shown in FIG. 12 (Hedayat, para [0173] "it indicates the sub-band or sub-bands that the AP assigns to the STA in order to place its ACK/BA frame in the multiplexed or MU ACK/BA frame in uplink direction"). This designation-based placement aligns with the block ACK scheme the instant application (published as US 2025/0047447) describes for user devices operating behind the AP: a STA that receives data frames in multiple subchannels of an A-PPDU responds by carrying its block ACK on one OFDMA subchannel of the uplink transmission (instant application, para [0029] "a STA that receives multiple data frame in multiple subchannels (e.g., as part of an A-PPDU) may respond by transmitting a block ACK frame in one of the subchannels") while its outgoing data frames occupy other subchannels of the same transmission, so the acknowledgment piggy-backs on one subchannel of the multiplexed uplink frame (instant application, para [0029] "may transmit one or more data frames (e.g., that include low latency data) simultaneously with the block ACK frame in one or more unused subchannels"; para [0133] "the STA may transmit a block ACK frame 1410 in subchannel #1 that includes ACK information for subchannels #1-4").
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed to modify Xi in view of Hedayat in order to place each block-ACK in an assigned subchannel so that multiple acknowledgments and data can share the band by frequency division.
Further, Xi teaches aggregation of ACK or short data packets together with other transmissions in WLAN systems (Xi, para [0090] "ACK and/or short data packets may be aggregated in DL, UL, and/or peer-to-peer transmissions in WLAN systems") however, Xi does not explicitly disclose that sending the block ACK and outgoing data frames at the same time on different subchannels: wherein the first block ACK frame and the first one or more data frames are transmitted simultaneously in different subchannels.
Nonetheless, Xi in view of Hedayat teaches a single wireless device assigned one or more sub-bands of a multiplexed uplink OFDMA frame placing its block ACK in a designated ACK/BA sub-band and its data in another sub-band of the same frame, the sub-bands of a single OFDMA frame being transmitted in parallel and therefore at the same instant (Hedayat, para [0165] "one or more resource units (or sub-bands) assigned to each of the STAs for transmitting its uplink frame"; Xi, para [0106] "The data PPDUs 706, 708, 710 and 712 may be transmitted in parallel over different channel(s) or sub-channel(s)").
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed to further modify Xi in view of Hedayat in order to assign a single wireless device more than one sub-band and to place its block ACK frame in a designated ACK/BA sub-band while carrying its data frame in another sub-band of one multiplexed OFDMA frame, the sub-bands of which are transmitted in parallel, so that the block ACK frame and the data frame are transmitted simultaneously in different subchannels, MPEP 2143(I)(A): the prior art contained each element, namely Xi's aggregation of an acknowledgment with data packets in a single transmission and Hedayat's assignment of more than one sub-band to a single station for its uplink frame (MPEP 2143(I)(A)(1)); these elements are combinable using the known OFDMA sub-band framing each reference already employs, each performing its same function (MPEP 2143(I)(A)(2)); and a skilled artisan would have recognized the predictable result of one device delivering its acknowledgment and its data to the recipient simultaneously on different subchannels of one parallel OFDMA transmission (MPEP 2143(I)(A)(3)).
Doing so would predictably reduce frame-exchange overhead by overlapping acknowledgment and data on separate subchannels.
Regarding claim 2, the claim recites: The method of claim 1, further comprising: wirelessly transmitting a duplicated block ACK frame to the second wireless device in one of the plurality of subchannels, wherein the duplicated block ACK frame is a duplicate of the first block ACK frame, wherein the block ACK frame and the duplicated block ACK frame are transmitted simultaneously in different subchannels. As set forth in the 35 U.S.C. 112(b) rejection above, the recited "block ACK frame" is interpreted as the previously recited "first block ACK frame," and the claim is rejected as so interpreted. Xi discloses this subject matter; since Xi teaches an aggregated block-ACK frame in which a concatenation of BAs from up to eight aggregated channels is included, so the same block-ACK content can be carried across multiple subchannels at once (Xi, para [0160] "a concatenation of BAs from up to eight aggregated channels may be included the BA AA frame 1600"). Further, as set forth for claim 1, Xi in view of Hedayat teaches that a single wireless device assigned more than one sub-band places the block ACK frame and the duplicated block ACK frame on different sub-bands of one multiplexed OFDMA frame whose sub-bands are transmitted in parallel, so that they are transmitted simultaneously in different subchannels (Xi, para [0106]; Hedayat, para [0165]).
Regarding claim 3, the claim recites: The method of claim 1, further comprising: wirelessly receiving a second block ACK frame from the second wireless device in one of the one or more subchannels in which the first one or more data frames were transmitted, wherein the second block ACK frame includes ACK information for the one or more subchannels in which the first one or more data frames were transmitted; and wirelessly receiving a second one or more data frames from the second wireless device in one or more of the plurality of subchannels, wherein the second block ACK frame and the second one or more data frames are received simultaneously in different subchannels. Xi discloses this subject matter; in particular because Xi teaches an AP simultaneously receiving ACKs or BAs from a group of WTRUs over a plurality of respective sub-channels or resource units, so block-ACK and data are received concurrently on different subchannels (Xi, para [0106] "another example scheduled channel procedure 700 for simultaneous ACKs/BAs for DL OFDMA over sub-channel(s)"). Further, as set forth for claim 1, Xi in view of Hedayat teaches that a single wireless device assigned more than one sub-band transmits the block ACK frame and the data frames on different sub-bands of one multiplexed OFDMA frame whose sub-bands are transmitted in parallel, so that they are received simultaneously in different subchannels (Xi, para [0106]; Hedayat, para [0165]).
Regarding claim 4, the claim recites: The method of claim 3, further comprising: wirelessly transmitting a third block ACK frame to the second wireless device in one of the one or more subchannels in which the second one or more data frames were received, wherein the third block ACK frame includes ACK information for the one or more subchannels in which the second one or more data frames were received; and wirelessly transmitting a third one or more data frames to the second wireless device in one or more of the plurality of subchannels, wherein the third block ACK frame and the third one or more data frames are transmitted simultaneously in different subchannels. Xi discloses this subject matter; particularly since Xi teaches the iterative exchange in which a recipient sends block ACKs in assigned sub-bands while aggregating ACKs or BAs with other packets, so the device again transmits block-ACK and data simultaneously on different subchannels (Xi, para [0217] "MU aggregation for short data packet and control frames such as ACK or short ACK"). Further, as set forth for claim 1, Xi in view of Hedayat teaches that a single wireless device assigned more than one sub-band transmits the block ACK frame and the data frames on different sub-bands of one multiplexed OFDMA frame whose sub-bands are transmitted in parallel, so that they are transmitted simultaneously in different subchannels (Xi, para [0106]; Hedayat, para [0165]).
Regarding claim 5, the claim recites: The method of claim of claim 4, further comprising: wirelessly transmitting padding bits in the subchannel in which the third block ACK frame is transmitted. As set forth in the claim objection and 35 U.S.C. 112(b) rejection above, claim 5 is interpreted as depending from claim 4, and is rejected as so interpreted. Xi in view of Hedayat teaches block-ACK frames exchanged simultaneously across respective OFDMA sub-channels in the iterative data/ACK procedure (Xi, para [0106]; Hedayat, para [0173]) however, Xi in view of Hedayat does not explicitly disclose that the block-ACK subchannel is filled with padding bits to maintain OFDMA synchronization.
Even so, Xi in view of Hedayat and further in view of Nezou teaches nodes sending padding data on the selected resource unit up to a time point at which all nodes simultaneously start transmitting, owing to OFDMA synchronization requirements (Nezou, para [0183] "the nodes implementing the second embodiments of the invention only send padding data").
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed to further modify Xi in view of Hedayat and further in view of Nezou in order to send padding bits in the block-ACK subchannel, because OFDMA symbol synchronization requires the subchannel to be kept occupied until all transmissions align.
Regarding claim 6, Xi teaches: The method of claim 4, further comprising: wirelessly transmitting a data frame in the subchannel in which the third block ACK frame is transmitted, wherein the data frame and the third one or more data frames are transmitted simultaneously. aggregation of short data packets together with control frames such as ACKs or BAs, so a data frame may be carried together with the block-ACK in the same subchannel and sent simultaneously with the other data frames (Xi, para [0217]).
Regarding claim 7, the claim recites: The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of data frames is received in an aggregated physical layer protocol data unit (A-PPDU) that includes a plurality of sub-PPDUs each occupying one of the plurality of subchannels. Xi in view of Hedayat teaches an AP sending a plurality of data PPDUs to the group of WTRUs over the plurality of respective sub-channels or resource units (Xi, para [0106]; Hedayat, para [0173]) however, Xi in view of Hedayat does not explicitly disclose that the data frames are delivered in an aggregated PPDU whose sub-PPDUs each occupy a separate subchannel.
Yet, Xi in view of Hedayat and further in view of Nezou teaches OFDMA combining OFDM on the physical layer with FDMA so different subcarriers grouped into sub-channels are assigned to different nodes, each sub-channel being a set of sub-carriers (Nezou, para [0026] "allowing different subcarriers to be assigned to different nodes in order to increase concurrency").
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed to further modify Xi in view of Hedayat and further in view of Nezou in order to map each data sub-PPDU to its own OFDMA sub-channel, because OFDMA assigns distinct sub-channels to distinct users within one aggregated transmission.
Regarding claim 8, the claim recites: The method of claim 7, wherein each of the plurality of sub-PPDUs includes a signal field that includes a subchannel index of the subchannel that the sub-PPDU occupies. Xi in view of Hedayat teaches data PPDUs sent over the respective sub-channels or resource units of an aggregated OFDMA transmission (Xi, para [0106]; Hedayat, para [0173]) however, Xi in view of Hedayat does not explicitly disclose that each sub-PPDU includes a signal field with a subchannel index identifying the subchannel it occupies.
On the other hand, Xi in view of Hedayat and further in view of Nezou teaches OFDMA assigning different subcarriers grouped into sub-channels to different nodes, so a per-subchannel signal field can index the sub-channel an individual sub-PPDU occupies (Nezou, para [0026] "allowing different subcarriers to be assigned to different nodes in order to increase concurrency").
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed to further modify Xi in view of Hedayat and further in view of Nezou in order to include a per-subchannel signal field carrying a subchannel index so the receiver can identify which sub-channel each sub-PPDU occupies.
Regarding claim 9, the claim recites: The method of claim 8, wherein the ACK information for the plurality of subchannels is encoded as bitmap information in the first block ACK frame. Xi discloses this subject matter; in particular because Xi teaches a BA/AA bitmap field included in the block-ACK frame for each aggregated ACK channel, encoding the receive status across the channels as bitmap information (Xi, para [0160] "a BA control field 1612 and BA/AA bitmap field 1615 may be included for each aggregated ACK channel").
Regarding claim 10, the claim recites: A method performed by a first wireless device in a wireless network to implement a block acknowledgement (ACK) scheme, the method comprising: wirelessly transmitting a plurality of data frames to a second wireless device in a plurality of subchannels; wirelessly receiving a first block ACK frame from the second wireless device in one of the plurality of subchannels, wherein the first block ACK frame includes ACK information for the plurality of subchannels; and wirelessly receiving a first one or more data frames from the second wireless device in one or more of the plurality of subchannels, wherein the first block ACK frame and the first one or more data frames are received simultaneously in different subchannels. Claim 10 is analogous to claim 1 and is rejected for the same reasons.
Regarding claim 11, the claim recites: The method of claim 10, further comprising: wirelessly receiving a duplicated block ACK frame from the second wireless device in one of the plurality of subchannels, wherein the duplicated block ACK frame is a duplicate of the first block ACK frame, wherein the block ACK frame and the duplicated block ACK frame are received simultaneously in different subchannels. Claim 11 is analogous to claim 2 and is rejected for the same reasons.
Regarding claim 12, the claim recites: The method of claim 10, further comprising: wirelessly transmitting a second block ACK frame to the second wireless device in one of the one or more subchannels in which the first one or more data frames were received, wherein the second block ACK frame includes ACK information for the one or more subchannels in which the first one or more data frames were received; and wirelessly transmitting a second one or more data frames to the second wireless device in one or more of the plurality of subchannels, wherein the second block ACK frame and the second one or more data frames are transmitted simultaneously in different subchannels. Claim 12 is analogous to claim 3 and is rejected for the same reasons.
Regarding claim 13, the claim recites: The method of claim 12, further comprising: wirelessly receiving a third block ACK frame from the second wireless device in one of the one or more subchannels in which the second one or more data frames were transmitted, wherein the third block ACK frame includes ACK information for the one or more subchannels in which the second one or more data frames were transmitted; and wirelessly receiving a third one or more data frames from the second wireless device in one or more of the plurality of subchannels, wherein the third block ACK frame and the third one or more data frames are received simultaneously in different subchannels. Claim 13 is analogous to claim 4 and is rejected for the same reasons.
Regarding claim 14, the claim recites: The method of claim 10, wherein the plurality of data frames is transmitted in an aggregated physical layer protocol data unit (A-PPDU) that includes a plurality of sub-PPDUs each occupying one of the plurality of subchannels. Claim 14 is analogous to claim 7 and is rejected for the same reasons.
Regarding claim 15, the claim recites: A first wireless device to implement a block acknowledgement (ACK) scheme in a wireless network, the first wireless device comprising: a radio frequency transceiver; a memory device storing a set of instructions; and a processor coupled to the memory device, wherein the set of instructions when executed by the processor causes the first wireless device to: wirelessly receive a plurality of data frames from a second wireless device in a plurality of subchannels; wirelessly transmit a first block ACK frame to the second wireless device in one of the plurality of subchannels, wherein the first block ACK frame includes ACK information for the plurality of subchannels; and wirelessly transmit a first one or more data frames to the second wireless device in one or more of the plurality of subchannels, wherein the first block ACK frame and the first one or more data frames are transmitted simultaneously in different subchannels. Claim 15 is analogous to claim 1 and is rejected for the same reasons.
Regarding claim 16, the claim recites: The first wireless device of claim 15, wherein the set of instructions when executed by the processor further causes the first wireless device to: wirelessly transmit a duplicated block ACK frame to the second wireless device in one of the plurality of subchannels, wherein the duplicated block ACK frame is a duplicate of the first block ACK frame, wherein the block ACK frame and the duplicated block ACK frame are transmitted simultaneously in different subchannels. Claim 16 is analogous to claim 2 and is rejected for the same reasons.
Regarding claim 17, the claim recites: The first wireless device of claim 15, wherein the set of instructions when executed by the processor further causes the first wireless device to: wirelessly receive a second block ACK frame from the second wireless device in one of the one or more subchannels in which the first one or more data frames were transmitted, wherein the second block ACK frame includes ACK information for the one or more subchannels in which the first one or more data frames were transmitted; and wirelessly receive a second one or more data frames from the second wireless device in one or more of the plurality of subchannels, wherein the second block ACK frame and the second one or more data frames are received simultaneously in different subchannels. Claim 17 is analogous to claim 3 and is rejected for the same reasons.
Regarding claim 18, the claim recites: The first wireless device of claim 17, wherein the set of instructions when executed by the processor further causes the first wireless device to: wirelessly transmit a third block ACK frame to the second wireless device in one of the one or more subchannels in which the second one or more data frames were received, wherein the third block ACK frame includes ACK information for the one or more subchannels in which the second one or more data frames were received; and wirelessly transmit a third one or more data frames to the second wireless device in one or more of the plurality of subchannels, wherein the third block ACK frame and the third one or more data frames are transmitted simultaneously in different subchannels. Claim 18 is analogous to claim 4 and is rejected for the same reasons.
Regarding claim 19, the claim recites: The first wireless device of claim 15, wherein the plurality of data frames is received in an aggregated physical layer protocol data unit (A-PPDU) that includes a plurality of sub-PPDUs each occupying one of the plurality of subchannels. Claim 19 is analogous to claim 7 and is rejected for the same reasons.
Regarding claim 20, Xi discloses: the ACK information for the plurality of subchannels is encoded as bitmap information in the first block ACK frame, since Xi teaches a BA/AA bitmap field included in the block-ACK frame for each aggregated ACK channel, encoding the per-subchannel receive status as bitmap information (Xi, para [0160] "a BA control field 1612 and BA/AA bitmap field 1615 may be included for each aggregated ACK channel").
Further, Xi in view of Hedayat teaches data PPDUs sent over the respective sub-channels or resource units of an aggregated OFDMA transmission (Xi, para [0106]; Hedayat, para [0173]) however, Xi in view of Hedayat does not explicitly disclose that a per-subchannel signal field identifying the subchannel each sub-PPDU occupies: each of the plurality of sub-PPDUs includes a signal field that includes a subchannel index of the subchannel that the sub-PPDU occupies.
Nevertheless, Xi in view of Hedayat and further in view of Nezou teaches OFDMA assigning different subcarriers grouped into sub-channels to different nodes, so a per-subchannel signal field can index the sub-channel an individual sub-PPDU occupies (Nezou, para [0026] "allowing different subcarriers to be assigned to different nodes in order to increase concurrency").
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed to further modify Xi in view of Hedayat and further in view of Nezou in order to include a per-subchannel signal field carrying a subchannel index so the receiver can identify which sub-channel each sub-PPDU occupies.
Conclusion
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/CHONGSUH PARK/Examiner, Art Unit 2478
/JOSEPH E AVELLINO/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2478
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