DETAILED ACTION
This action is in response to applicant’s amendment filed on 02 August 2024. Claims 1-29 are now pending in the present application. This office action is made Non-Final.
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(s) (IDS) submitted on
02 August 2024
is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97 and is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim(s) 1-29 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Abraham et al. (hereinafter Abraham; US 2013/0336196 A1) in view of further support by Jeong et al. (hereinafter Jeong; US 2016/0183162 A1).
Regarding claims 21, 1, 3, 10, and 13, Abraham discloses a method performed by a relay station (STA) (e.g., 320) implemented by a wireless device (e.g., 320) to act as a relay between a non-relay STA (e.g., 306) and an access point (AP) (e.g., 304) { (see pg. 7, [0111, 0106]; Figs. 3-4) }, the method comprising:
wirelessly receiving an association request frame (e.g., 435) for associating with the AP (e.g., 304) from the non-relay STA (e.g., 306) { (see pg. 8, [0115, 0118, 0119]; Figs. 4 ‘ref. 435’ & 5A-6D), where the system provides an association message };
relaying the association request frame from the non-relay STA (e.g., 306) to the AP (e.g., 304) { (see pg. 8, [0115, 0118, 0119]; Figs. 4 ‘ref. 435’ & 5A-6D), where the system provides an association message };
wirelessly receiving an association response frame (e.g., 445) from the AP (e.g., 304) { (see pg. 8, [0115, 0118, 0119]; Figs. 4 ‘ref. 435’ & 5A-6D), where the system provides an association message };
relaying the association response frame from the AP (e.g., 304) to the non-relay STA (e.g., 306) { (see pg. 8, [0115]; Figs. 4 ‘ref. 435’ & 5A-6D), where the system provides an association message };
wirelessly receiving a data frame (e.g., 915) from the non-relay STA (e.g., 306), wherein the data frame (e.g., 915) includes data originated by the non-relay STA (e.g., 306) that is intended for the AP (e.g., 304) { (see pg. 11, [0132, lines 9-15]; Figs. 8A-12B) };
wirelessly transmitting a first acknowledgement (ACK) (e.g., 925) frame to the non-relay STA that acknowledges that the relay STA received the data (e.g., 915, 920) { (see pg. 11, [0132, lines 9-15]; Figs. 8A-12B) };
relaying the data (e.g., 915, 920) originated by the non-relay STA (e.g., 306) from the non-relay STA (e.g., 306) to the AP (e.g., 304) { (see pg. 11, [0132, lines 9-15]; Figs. 8A-12B) }; and
wirelessly transmitting a second ACK frame to the non-relay STA (e.g., 306) that acknowledges that the AP (e.g., 304) received the data { (see pg. 11, [0132, lines 9-15]; Figs. 8A-12B) }.
Abraham inexplicitly disclose having the feature(s) relaying the association response frame from the AP to the non-relay STA. However, in the alternative, the examiner maintains that the feature(s) relaying the association response frame from the AP to the non-relay STA was well known in the art, as taught by Jeong.
As further alternative support in the same field of endeavor, Jeong discloses the feature(s)
relaying the association response frame from the AP to the non-relay STA { (see pg. 1, [0019]; pg. 6, [0130, lines 10-13]; pg. 7, [0138]; Figs. 2, 9, & 11), where the system provides a response from the AP }.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Abraham as further alternatively supported by Jeong to have the feature(s) relaying the association response frame from the AP to the non-relay STA, in order to provide a data transmission/reception device for improving the efficiency of a WLAN system, as taught by Jeong (see pg. 1, [0006]).
Regarding claims 22 and 2, the combination of Abraham and Jeong discloses every limitation claimed, as applied above (see claim 21), in addition Abraham further discloses the method of claim 21, further comprising: wirelessly receiving a relay request frame from the non-relay STA; and responsive to receiving the relay request frame, wirelessly transmitting a relay response frame to the non-relay STA { (see pg. 8, [0115, 0118, 0119]; pg. 7, [0106]; Figs. 4 ‘ref. 435’ & 5A-6D), where the system provides an association message }.
Regarding claim 23, the combination of Abraham and Jeong discloses every limitation claimed, as applied above (see claim 22), in addition Abraham further discloses the method of claim 22, further comprising: wirelessly receiving a relay confirmation frame from the non-relay STA that confirms that the relay STA has been selected to act as the relay between the non-relay STA and the AP { (see pg. 8, [0115, 0118, 0119]; pg. 7, [0106]; Figs. 4 ‘ref. 435’ & 5A-6D), where the system provides an association message }.
Regarding claims 24, 4, and 11, the combination of Abraham and Jeong discloses every limitation claimed, as applied above (see claim 21), in addition Abraham further discloses the method of claim 21, wherein the data originated by the non-relay STA is relayed by transmitting a multi-user (MU) frame that includes the data originated by the non-relay STA and data originated by the relay STA that is intended for the AP { (see pg. 11, [0132, lines 9-15]; Figs. 8A-12B) }.
Regarding claims 25 and 5, the combination of Abraham and Jeong discloses every limitation claimed, as applied above (see claim 24), in addition Abraham further discloses the method of claim 24, wherein the data originated by the non-relay STA and the data originated by the relay STA are multiplexed in the MU frame in a frequency domain { (see pg. 11, [0132, lines 9-15]; pg. 5, [0086]; Figs. 8A-12B) }.
Regarding claims 26, 6, and 12, the combination of Abraham and Jeong discloses every limitation claimed, as applied above (see claim 25), in addition Abraham further discloses the method of claim 25, wherein the MU frame includes padding to align an end of a portion that includes the data originated by the non-relay STA with an end of a portion that includes the data originated by the relay STA { (see pg. 11, [0132, lines 9-15]; Figs. 8A-12B) }.
Regarding claims 27 and 7, the combination of Abraham and Jeong discloses every limitation claimed, as applied above (see claim 24), in addition Abraham further discloses the method of claim 24, wherein the MU frame is transmitted using an interframe space (IFS) interval that is shorter compared to a distributed coordination function IFS (DIFS) interval { (see pg. 10, [0127]; pg. 11, [0132, lines 9-15]; Figs. 8A-12B) }. As a note, Abraham at the least further discloses the feature(s) wherein the MU frame is transmitted using an interframe space (IFS) interval that is shorter compared to a distributed coordination function IFS (DIFS) interval { (see pg. 9, [0184]) }.
Regarding claims 28 and 8, the combination of Abraham and Jeong discloses every limitation claimed, as applied above (see claim 24), in addition Abraham further discloses the method of claim 24, further comprising: wirelessly receiving a MU ACK frame from the AP that acknowledges that the AP received the data originated by the non-relay STA and the data originated by the relay STA, wherein the second ACK frame is transmitted to the non-relay STA responsive to receiving the MU ACK frame from the AP { (see pg. 11, [0132, lines 9-15]; pg. 10, [0127]; Figs. 8A-12B) }.
Regarding claim 29, the combination of Abraham and Jeong discloses every limitation claimed, as applied above (see claim 21), in addition Abraham further discloses the method of claim 21, wherein the first ACK frame includes an indication that the second ACK frame will be delayed { (see pg. 11, [0132, lines 9-15]; Figs. 8A-12B) }.
Regarding claim 9, the combination of Abraham and Jeong discloses every limitation claimed, as applied above (see claim 3), in addition Abraham further discloses the method of claim 3, wherein the association request frame is relayed from the non-relay STA to the AP responsive to detecting that the non-relay STA transmitted a plurality of association request frames for associating with the AP to the AP without the AP transmitting a corresponding association response frame to the non-relay STA { (see pg. 11, [0132, lines 9-15]; pg. 8, [0115, 0118, 0119]; pg. 7, [0106]; Figs. 4 & 5A-6D) }.
Regarding claim 14, the combination of Abraham and Jeong discloses every limitation claimed, as applied above (see claim 13), in addition Abraham further discloses the method of claim 13, further comprising: wirelessly transmitting a relay request frame; wirelessly receiving one or more relay response frames from one or more potential relay STAs including the relay STA; and selecting the relay STA from among the one or more potential relay STAs to act as a relay between the non-relay STA and the AP { (see pg. 8, [0115, 0118, 0119]; pg. 7, [0106]; pg. 11, [0132, lines 9-15]; Figs. 4 & 5A-6D) }.
Regarding claim 15, the combination of Abraham and Jeong discloses every limitation claimed, as applied above (see claim 14), in addition Abraham further discloses the
method of claim 14, further comprising: wirelessly transmitting a relay confirmation frame to the relay STA to confirm that the relay STA has been selected to act as the relay between the non-relay STA and the AP { (see pg. 6, [0096]; pg. 8, [0115, 0118, 0119]; pg. 7, [0106]; pg. 11, [0132, lines 9-15]; Figs. 4 & 5A-6D) }.
Regarding claim 16, the combination of Abraham and Jeong discloses every limitation claimed, as applied above (see claim 14), in addition Abraham further discloses the method of claim 14, wherein the relay request frame is transmitted responsive to transmitting a plurality of association request frames for associating with the AP to the AP without receiving a corresponding association response frame from the AP { (see pg. 8, [0115, 0118, 0119]; pg. 7, [0106]; pg. 11, [0132, lines 9-15]; Figs. 4 & 5A-6D) }.
Regarding claim 17, the combination of Abraham and Jeong discloses every limitation claimed, as applied above (see claim 13), in addition Abraham further discloses the method of claim 14, wherein the relay request frame is transmitted in a broadcast or multicast manner { (see pg. 6, [0096]; pg. 8, [0115, 0118, 0119]; pg. 7, [0106]; pg. 11, [0132, lines 9-15]; Figs. 4 & 5A-6D) }.
Regarding claim 18, the combination of Abraham and Jeong discloses every limitation claimed, as applied above (see claim 13), in addition Abraham further discloses the method of claim 13, wherein the relay STA transmits the second ACK frame to the non-relay STA responsive to receiving a third acknowledgement (ACK) frame from the AP that acknowledges that the AP received the data { (see pg. 6, [0096]; pg. 8, [0115, 0118, 0119]; pg. 7, [0106]; pg. 11, [0132, lines 9-15]; Figs. 4 & 5A-6D) }.
Regarding claim 19, the combination of Abraham and Jeong discloses every limitation claimed, as applied above (see claim 13), in addition Abraham further discloses the method of claim 13, wherein the AP transmits the second ACK frame to the non-relay STA, wherein the second ACK frame is a multi-user (MU) ACK frame that also acknowledges data originated by the relay STA that was transmitted by the relay STA to the AP { (see pg. 8, [0115, 0118, 0119]; pg. 7, [0106]; pg. 11, [0132, lines 9-15]; Figs. 4 & 5A-6D) }.
Regarding claim 20, the combination of Abraham and Jeong discloses every limitation claimed, as applied above (see claim 13), in addition Abraham further discloses the method of claim 13, wherein the first ACK frame includes an indication that the second ACK frame will be delayed { (see pg. 8, [0115, 0118, 0119]; pg. 7, [0106]; pg. 11, [0132, lines 9-15]; Figs. 4 & 5A-6D) }.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to WILLIE J DANIEL JR whose telephone number is (571)272-7907. The examiner can normally be reached on 9 - 6.
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/WILLIE J DANIEL JR/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2465
WJD,Jr
24 September 2026
