DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claims 1-20 are pending in Instant Application.
Priority
Examiner acknowledges Applicant’s claim to priority benefits of U.S. Provisional Application Serial No. 63/643301 filed May 6, 2024 and U.S. Provisional Application Serial No. 63/580139 filed September 1, 2023.
Claim Objections
Claim 14 is objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 14 recites “A wireless device comprising circuitry arranged to detect an announcement of one NPCA primary channel of a basic service set (BSS) operating channel for frame transmission … " in lines 1-2. To separate the preamble from the body of the claim , it is suggested to add a ( : ), change to “A wireless device comprising: circuitry arranged to detect an announcement of one NPCA primary channel of a basic service set (BSS) operating channel for frame transmission …”.
Claims 15-20 are also objected to since they are dependent on the objected base independent claim 14 as set forth above.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102 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.
Claims 1-6, 8-9, and 11-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yu et al. (US Pub. No.: 2025/0039926), and further in view of Lu et al. (US Pub. No.: 2021/0266960).
As per claim 1, Yu disclose A method comprising:
detecting an announcement of one non-primary channel access (NPCA) primary channel of a basic service set (BSS) operating channel for frame transmission (see para. 0023, Fig.4, para. 0063-0070, Fig.9, para. 0096-0100, detecting that the maximum supportable bandwidth of a particular TXOP (e.g., which depends on the maximum supportable bandwidths of the APs/STAs involved in the TXOP) is smaller than the maximum supportable bandwidth of the AP/STA base on an announcement of one non-primary channel access (NPCA) primary channel of a basic service set (BSS) operating channel for frame transmission);
determining that a primary channel is busy (see Fig.9, para. 0096-0100, the primary channel is busy);
switching to the NPCA primary channel in response to the primary channel being busy, wherein the switching is based on an overlapping BSS (OBSS) activity (see Fig.8, para. 0092-0094, Fig.9, para. 0096-0100, Fig.10-Fig.12, para. 0101-0108, when STA2 and STA3 know that the maximum supportable bandwidth of TXOP 1260 is 80 MHz (e.g., because STA1's operating bandwidth is 80 MHz), STA2 and STA3 set their NAV only in the primary 80 MHz channel and establish a P2P link in the secondary 80 MHz channel. During TXOP 1260, STA2 transmits RTS frame 1235 to STA3 in the secondary 80 MHz channel and STA3 responds by transmitting CTS frame 140 to STA2 in the secondary 80 MHz channel / switching to the NPCA primary channel in response to the primary channel being busy . The RTS and CTS frame exchange between STA2 and STA3 establishes TXOP 1270 in the secondary 80 MHz channel, switching to the NPCA primary channel in response to the primary channel being busy, wherein the switching is based on an overlapping BSS (OBSS) activity, shown in Fig. 12, see also para. 0109-0112, APs/STAs determines when a non-primary channel will be idle during a TXOP and access the non-primary channel during the TXOP, which allows for achieving higher spectrum utilization in the wireless network); and
transmitting a frame over the NPCA primary channel to a wireless device (see Fig.13, para. 0113-0120, At operation 1310, responsive to a determination that the maximum supportable bandwidth of the primary TXOP is smaller than a maximum supportable bandwidth of the STA, the STA establishes a secondary TXOP in the non-primary channel. In an embodiment, establishing the secondary TXOP in the non-primary channel involves operations 1315 and 1320. At operation 1310, the STA transmits a RTS frame to a second STA during the primary TXOP in the non-primary channel / transmitting a frame over the NPCA primary channel to a wireless device, see also Fig. 4, para. 0063-0070).
Although Yu disclose transmitting a frame over the NPCA primary channel to a wireless device.
Yu however does not explicitly disclose transmitting a frame over the NPCA primary channel to a wireless device when a backoff counter of the NPCA primary channel reaches a predefined value, the backoff counter set based on an enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA) parameter set.
Lu however disclose transmitting a frame over the NPCA primary channel to a wireless device when a backoff counter of the NPCA primary channel reaches a predefined value, the backoff counter set based on an enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA) parameter set (see Fig. 5, para 0054-0059, 0076, to support PBSR based on EDCA, a device maintains two backoff function states, with a first backoff function state used on the primary channel and a second backoff function state used on one or more selected non-primary channels. Under the proposed scheme, a device performing EDCA on the primary channel may suspend an operation of its EDCA function (EDCAF) when the primary channel is busy, and the device may store a value of each of the backoff parameters (e.g., backoff counter, contention window (CW[AC]), quality of service (QoS) station (STA) retry counter (QSRC[AC]/ a backoff counter of the NPCA primary channel reaches a predefined value), and so on) as the first backoff function state. To obtain a PBSR TXOP on a non-primary channel, the EDCAF of the device invokes a new PBT backoff procedure or resume the first backoff procedure as the PBT backoff for accessing the wireless medium on the selected non-primary channel(s) / transmitting a frame over the NPCA primary channel to a wireless device based on an enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA) parameter set, see also Fig. 13, para. 0069-0071, Fig. 15, Fig.16, para. 0073-0076, to obtain a PBSR TXOP on a non-primary channel, the EDCAF of the device may invoke a new PBT backoff procedure or resume a first backoff procedure as the PBT backoff for accessing the wireless medium on the selected non-primary channel(s). Under the proposed schemes, the EDCA parameters for PBT backoff may include, for example and without limitation, (1) a contention window (CW) which may be truncated by a portion of a regular CW, (2) a PBT backoff counter which may be set to an initial value based on a value of the first backoff counter, (3) an EDCA backoff CCA-ED threshold which may be adjusted, and (4) a TXOP limit which may be limited by the status of the primary channel. Additionally, under the proposed schemes, a PBT backoff procedure invoked in parallel or in sequence (sequentially) on multiple selected non-primary channels. Moreover, under the proposed schemes, at the end of a PBSR TXOP on a non-primary channel, the EDCAF of the device may resume a restored first backoff procedure or invoke a new backoff procedure on the primary channel, see also para. 0042-0047, 0050-0053, 0078, 0079, 0085, 0089-0093, 0108, 0128).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the functionality of transmitting a frame over the NPCA primary channel to a wireless device when a backoff counter of the NPCA primary channel reaches a predefined value, the backoff counter set based on an enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA) parameter set, as taught by Lu, in the system of Yu, so that when the primary channel is busy while one or more of the non-primary channels is/are idle, a device may be allowed to transmit on the unoccupied non-primary channel(s) in the wideband operating channels, thereby improving bandwidth utilization when the primary channel is not available, see Lu, paragraphs 4-10.
As per claim 2, the combination of Yu and Lu disclose the method of claim 1.
Lu further disclose determining one or more secondary channels of the BSS operating channel is idle; and combining the NPCA primary channel with the one or more secondary channels to transmit the frame (see paras. 0007-0008, 0042-0046, 0048-0049, the AP device assigns one channel segment for a non-AP device to park on and monitor transmissions. The non-AP device negotiates with the AP device for the channel segment to park on and monitor transmissions. Moreover, the non-AP device may switch between the primary channel segment and a non-primary channel segment. For instance, when parking on the non-primary channel segment, the non-AP device may switch to the primary channel segment. The non-AP device may do so: (1) based on an indication from the AP device, (2) by indicating to the AP device to disable a trigger-based UL transmission, and/or (3) by an indication of channel segment switching announcement. Moreover, when parking on the primary channel segment, the non-AP device may indicate that it is switching to a non-primary channel segment / combining the NPCA primary channel with the one or more secondary channels to transmit the frame, see also Fig.2, Fig.5, para. 0050, 0055-0064, under a proposed scheme in accordance with the present disclosure, a PBSR TXOP may be performed sequentially on multiple selected non-primary channels within a PBSR period. Once a PBSR TXOP is finished on the selected non-primary channel, one or more other PBT backoff procedures may be invoked to obtain another PBSR TXOP sequentially. The corresponding PBT backoff counter may be initialized with a different random number based on the corresponding CW[AC] of the pending MPDU targeting at the recipients on the selected non-primary channel or with the same random number within a specific CW[AC] for PBSR. The corresponding PBT backoff counter may be initialized with a different random number based on the first backoff function state of the pending MPDU targeting at the recipients on the selected non-primary channel, see also para. 0065-0076).
As per claim 3, the combination of Yu and Lu disclose the method of claim 1.
Lu further disclose wherein a backoff procedure in the NPCA primary channel uses the enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA) parameters set which is the same as an EDCA parameters set of the primary channel and a same multi-user (MU) EDCA parameters set as a MU EDCA parameters set of the primary channel (see para. 0076-0081, the AP device may involve a PBT backoff procedure on a specific bandwidth part (e.g., bandwidth part 4 shown in FIG. 17), for example, using EDCA channel access, and the AP device control channel access mode for non-AP devices parking on the auxiliary primary 20-MHz channels to be restricted from contention-based channel access. For instance, the AP device changes EDCA parameters to low priority parameters or allow trigger-based UL only, or the AP device changes an MU-EDCA counter setting to a specific value to disallow EDCA / a same multi-user (MU) EDCA parameters set as a MU EDCA parameters set of the primary channel).
As per claim 4, the combination of Yu and Lu disclose the method of claim 1.
Lu further disclose setting a counter value of the backoff counter based on a contention window (CW) of an access category (AC) of the NPCA primary channel when switching to the NPCA primary channel (see Fig.5. para. 0054-0057, Fig.7, para. 0058-0061, setting a backoff counter value of the backoff counter based on a contention window (CW) of an access category (AC) of the NPCA primary channel when switching to the NPCA primary channel, each PBT backoff counter is initialized with a different random number based on the first backoff function state of the pending MPDU targeting at the recipients on the selected non-primary channel).
As per claim 5, the combination of Yu and Lu disclose the method of claim 1.
Lu further disclose setting a counter value of the backoff counter based on a minimum contention window (CW) (see para. 0057, each PBT backoff counter is initialized with the same random number within a specific CW[AC] for PBSR or which may be decided by the first backoff function state of the pending MPDU targeting at the recipients on all the selected non-primary channels (e.g., Min(CW[AC])) of an access category (AC) of the NPCA primary channel when switching to the NPCA primary channel (see Fig.5. para. 0054-0057, Fig.7, para. 0058-0061, setting a backoff counter of the backoff counter based on a minimum contention window (CW) of an access category (AC) of the NPCA primary channel when switching to the NPCA primary channel, once a PBT backoff counter reaches zero, a PBT may be performed on the non-primary channel which wins the medium. The other non-primary channels within one 80-MHz channel segment or multiple 80-MHz channel segments may be used in case of detection of PIFS idle before the start of the transmission).
As per claim 6, the combination of Yu and Lu disclose the method of claim 1.
Lu further disclose wherein a quality of service short retry counter (QSRC) of the NPCA primary channel for all access categories is set to zero when switching to the NPCA primary channel (see para. 0047, 0051-0055, under the proposed scheme, a device performing EDCA on the primary channel may suspend an operation of its EDCA function (EDCAF) when the primary channel is busy, and the device may store a value of each of the backoff parameters (e.g., backoff counter, contention window (CW[AC]), quality of service (QoS) station (STA) retry counter (QSRC[AC]), and so on) as the first backoff function state, QSRC of the NPCA primary channel for all access categories is set to zero when switching to the NPCA primary channel).
As per claim 8, the combination of Yu and Lu disclose the method of claim 1.
Lu further disclose storing a counter value of the backoff counter of the primary channel before switching to the NPCA primary channel; switching back to the primary channel; and setting the backoff counter of the primary channel to the stored counter value (see para. 0055, 0065, 0071, switching back to the primary channel; and setting the backoff counter of the primary channel to the stored counter value).
As per claim 9, the combination of Yu and Lu disclose the method of claim 1.
Lu further disclose storing a CW of the primary channel before switching to the NPCA primary channel; switching back to the primary channel; and setting a CW of the primary channel to the stored CW (see para. 0058-0061, under a proposed scheme in accordance with the present disclosure, a PBT backoff procedure may be invoked sequentially on multiple selected non-primary channels within the PBSR TXOP. In case multiple PBT backoff counters are initiated as new PBT backoff procedures sequentially, each PBT backoff counter or timer may be initialized with a different random number based on the corresponding CW[AC] of the pending MPDU targeting at the recipients on the selected non-primary channel, 0071-0076, switching back to the primary channel; and setting a CW of the primary channel to the stored CW).
As per claim 11, the combination of Yu and Lu disclose the method of claim 1.
Lu further disclose wherein switching to the NPCA primary channel in response to the primary channel being busy comprises determining that an overlapping basic service set (BSS) transmit opportunity (TXOP) is not less than a TXOP duration threshold announced by an AP in the BSS (see para. 0046, 0066, Fig.7, para. 0077-0079, the AP device may suspend its ongoing backoff procedure when the frame transmission is detected. In an event that the AP device detects an OBSS frame with a signal strength equal to or greater than a specific level (e.g., −62 dBm), the AP device may initiate the PBT TXOP on the pre-configured bandwidth part, a PBT period refers to a duration set by the TXOP duration information in the received OBSS frame, determining that an overlapping basic service set (BSS) transmit opportunity (TXOP) is not less than a TXOP duration threshold announced by an AP in the BSS, see also para. 0050-0051, 0053-0054).
As per claim 12, the combination of Yu and Lu disclose the method of claim 1.
Yu further disclose wherein a same one NPCA primary channel is announced by an AP without multiple BSSID support or all the APs of a multiple basic service set id (BSSID set) or all APs of a co-hosted AP set (see para. 0077, an AP receiving a CF-End frame having a Basic Service Set Identifier (BSSID) of the AP as a destination address responds by transmitting two more CF-End frames: a first CF-End frame using Space Time Block Coding (STBC) and a second CF-End frame using non-STBC).
As per claim 13, the combination of Yu and Lu disclose the method of claim 1.
Lu further disclose wherein after switching to the NPCA primary channel, a first clear channel assessment (CCA) level is used to determine whether a medium is idle or busy; and when a frame exchange is successful switching to a second CCA level (see para. 0049, 0065, 0066, 0072, 0074-0076, an EDCA backoff CCA-ED threshold is adjusted, when a frame exchange is successful switching to a second CCA level).
As per claim 14, claim 14 is rejected the same way as claim 1. Lu also disclose A wireless device (see Fig.2, Fig.3A-B, a wireless device 104) comprising circuitry (see Fig.2, a baseband processor 210).
As per claim 15, claim 15 is rejected the same way as claim 11.
As per claim 16, claim 16 is rejected the same way as claim 13.
As per claim 17, the combination of Yu and Lu disclose the wireless device of claim 14.
Lu further disclose wherein the wireless device is further arranged to combine the NPCA primary channel whose backoff counter becomes zero with secondary channels for the frame transmission(see paras. 0007-0008, 0042-0046, 0048-0049, the non-AP device: (1) based on an indication from the AP device, (2) by indicating to the AP device to disable a trigger-based UL transmission, and/or (3) by an indication of channel segment switching announcement, when parking on the primary channel segment, the non-AP device may indicate that it is switching to a non-primary channel segment / combining the NPCA primary channel with the one or more secondary channels to transmit the frame, see also Fig.2, Fig.5, para. 0050, 0055-0064, under a proposed scheme in accordance with the present disclosure, a PBSR TXOP may be performed sequentially on multiple selected non-primary channels within a PBSR period. Once a PBSR TXOP is finished on the selected non-primary channel, one or more other PBT backoff procedures may be invoked to obtain another PBSR TXOP sequentially. The corresponding PBT backoff counter may be initialized with a different random number based on the corresponding CW[AC] of the pending MPDU targeting at the recipients on the selected non-primary channel or with the same random number within a specific CW[AC] for PBSR. The corresponding PBT backoff counter may be initialized with a different random number based on the first backoff function state of the pending MPDU targeting at the recipients on the selected non-primary channel, see also para. 0065-0076).
As per claim 18, the combination of Yu and Lu disclose the wireless device of claim 14.
Lu further disclose wherein the wireless device is further arranged to store a counter value of the backoff counter of the primary channel before switching to the NPCA primary channel (see para. 0055, 0065, 0071, switching back to the primary channel; and setting the backoff counter of the primary channel to the stored counter value); switch back to the primary channel; and set the backoff counter of the primary channel to the stored counter value (see para. 0058-0061, under a proposed scheme in accordance with the present disclosure, a PBT backoff procedure may be invoked sequentially on multiple selected non-primary channels within the PBSR TXOP. In case multiple PBT backoff counters are initiated as new PBT backoff procedures sequentially, each PBT backoff counter or timer may be initialized with a different random number based on the corresponding CW[AC] of the pending MPDU targeting at the recipients on the selected non-primary channel, 0071-0076, switching back to the primary channel; and setting a CW of the primary channel to the stored CW).
As per claim 19, the combination of Yu and Lu disclose the wireless device of claim 14.
Lu further disclose wherein the EDCA parameter set of the NPCA primary channel is the same as the primary channel when switching to the NPCA primary channel, the backoff counter set based on the EDCA parameter set (see para. 0076-0081, the AP device may involve a PBT backoff procedure on a specific bandwidth part (e.g., bandwidth part 4 shown in FIG. 17), for example, using EDCA channel access, and the AP device control channel access mode for non-AP devices parking on the auxiliary primary 20-MHz channels to be restricted from contention-based channel access. For instance, the AP device changes EDCA parameters to low priority parameters or allow trigger-based UL only, or the AP device changes an MU-EDCA counter setting to a specific value to disallow EDCA / same as the primary channel when switching to the NPCA primary channel).
As per claim 20, the combination of Yu and Lu disclose the wireless device of claim 14.
Lu further disclose wherein a backoff procedure in the NPCA primary channel uses the enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA) parameters set which is the same as an EDCA parameters set of the primary channel and a same multi-user (MU) EDCA parameters set as a MU EDCA parameters set of the primary channel(see para. 0076-0081, the AP device may involve a PBT backoff procedure on a specific bandwidth part (e.g., bandwidth part 4 shown in FIG. 17), for example, using EDCA channel access, and the AP device control channel access mode for non-AP devices parking on the auxiliary primary 20-MHz channels to be restricted from contention-based channel access. For instance, the AP device changes EDCA parameters to low priority parameters or allow trigger-based UL only, or the AP device changes an MU-EDCA counter setting to a specific value to disallow EDCA / a same multi-user (MU) EDCA parameters set as a MU EDCA parameters set of the primary channel) .
Claims 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yu et al. (US Pub. No.: 2025/0039926), in view of Lu et al. (US Pub. No.: 2021/0266960) and further in view of Ko et al. (US Pub. No.: 2023/0284303).
As per claim 7, the combination of Yu and Lu disclose the method of claim 1.
Lu further disclose wherein one CW and one QSRC is maintained for each of the NPCA primary channel
(see para. 0047, 0051-0055, under the proposed scheme, a device performing EDCA on the primary channel may suspend an operation of its EDCA function (EDCAF) when the primary channel is busy, and the device may store a value of each of the backoff parameters (e.g., backoff counter, contention window (CW[AC]), quality of service (QoS) station (STA) retry counter (QSRC[AC])).
Lu however does not explicitly disclose “traffic identifier (TID)” of the NPCA primary channel;
Ko however disclose wherein one CW and one quality of service (QoS) is maintained for each traffic identifier (TID) of the NPCA primary channel (see Fig.10, para. 0143-0151, one CW and one QSRC is maintained for each traffic identifier (TID) of the NPCA primary channel, a TID is a traffic identifier, the TID is an identifier (ID) for classifying traffic, data, etc. to support a quality of service (QoS), one CW and one QSRC/QoS for each TID, see also para. 0430-0435).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the functionality of wherein one CW and one quality of service (QoS) is maintained for each traffic identifier (TID) of the NPCA primary channel, as taught by Ko, in the system of Yu and Lu, so to effectively perform a transmission and reception operation of a frame when a simultaneous transmission and reception operation is unavailable between multi-link devices (MLDs) corresponding to a set of logical entities, see Ko, paragraphs 0011-0018, 0026.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 10 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Kim (US Pub. No.:2026/0149764) – see para. 0312, “The AP MLD to change the primary AP may transmit a BSS transition management request frame through the existing primary AP (which becomes an auxiliary AP after a primary AP change). The BSS transition management request frame may be a frame indicating that a service of a BSS operated by the primary AP will terminate to a non-AP STA and non-AP MLDs that are connected (set up) only through the existing primary AP. The BSS transition management request frame transmitted by the AP MLD may be a BSS transition management request frame in which a Link Removal Imminent subfield is configured to 0 and a Primary Link Change field is configured to 1. The Primary Link Change field is a field that is configured to 1 when a link designated as a primary link is changed (and/or is scheduled to be changed) in a pair of the primary link (AP) and auxiliary links (APs) having overlapping operating channels. When receiving the BSS transition management request frame in which the Primary Link Change field is configured as 1, the non-AP MLD may interpret the BSS transition management request frame not as the primary BSS terminating the service but as indicating that the primary link (AP) and the auxiliary link (AP) will be changed. In this case, the AP MLD needs to update a Neighbor AP Information field regarding an auxiliary link and a Neighbor AP Information field regarding a primary link of an RNR element transmitted after the primary link and the auxiliary link are changed considering the changed primary link”.
Lv (CN113301574A) – “In the present invention, it is assumed that the basic service set (BSS) is set by using 320MHz or 160MHz operation bandwidth, the first access point (AP) of the BSS operates in the 320MHz bandwidth and the non-AP device belonging to the BSS supports 320MHz; 160 + 160 MHz, 240MHz, 160 + 80 MHz, 160 MHz, 80 + 80 MHz, or 80 MHz operating bandwidth. It is also assumed that the overlapping base service set (OBSS) operates on a frequency bandwidth of 80MHz, 160MHz or 320MHz, and the BSS and the OBSS have the same or different primary 20MHz channels for channel contention. In addition, in the present invention, the term "main channel" refers to a 20MHz channel, which allows for medium access through channel contention, and the term "non-primary channel" refers to a 20MHz channel that is not a primary channel in a wide band operating frequency bandwidth. In addition, the term "channel segment" refers to a set of 20MHz channels (e.g., 40MHz, 80MHz, 160MHz, or 240MHz bandwidth); and the "primary channel segment" refers to a set of 20MHz channels including a primary 20MHz channel. It should be noted that the access point (AP) or the AP station (STA) herein can be exchanged as "AP", and the "non-AP-STA" can be referred to as a STA in an exchangeable manner. The term "STA" is used to refer to a generic name "non-AP STA" or "AP STA”.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LAKERAM JANGBAHADUR whose telephone number is (571)272-1335. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F 7 am - 4 pm.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Ian Moore can be reached on 571-272-3085. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/LAKERAM JANGBAHADUR/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2469
Prosecution Insights