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 .
Claims 1-15 are pending.
Claims 16-18 have been cancelled.
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.
The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied 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, 4, 7-9, 12, and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ROH et al. (Pub. No.: US 20150256238 A1), hereinafter ROH, in view of XIN et al. (Pub. No.: US 20230121274 A1), hereinafter XIN, and further in view of YU et al. (Pub. No.: US 20230006771 A1), hereinafter YU.
With respect to claim 1, ROH teaches A method in a wireless local area network (WLAN) system, the method comprising (Abstract, a method in a WLAN system):
receiving, by a receiving station (STA), a Physical Protocol Data Unit (PPDU) from a transmitting STA ([0082, 0087], receiving STAs receiving PPDU 400 from a transmitting STA);
obtaining, by the receiving STA, control information by decoding the PPDU ([0082, 0087, 0195], obtaining control information by decoding the PPDU); and
decoding, by the receiving STA, a data field of the PPDU based on the control information (figure 4, [0082, 0087, 0195], decoding a data field of the PPDU based on the control information).
ROH does not explicitly teach wherein the control information includes first or second information on a Resource Unit (RU) or a Multi-Resource Unit (MRU) within a bandwidth of the PPDU.
However, XIN teaches wherein the control information includes first or second information on a Resource Unit (RU) or a Multi-Resource Unit (MRU) within a bandwidth of the PPDU ([0009], the control information includes first information on a Resource Unit (RU) within a bandwidth of the PPDU).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of XIN, the control information includes first information on a Resource Unit (RU) within a bandwidth of the PPDU, into the teachings of ROH, in order to enable transmission of link adaptation parameters for single-user multiple input multiple output (SU-MIMO), and multi-user multiple input multiple output MU-MIMO (XIN, [0004]).
The combination of ROH and XIN does not explicitly teach wherein the first information includes first allocation information on a third MRU that is an aggregate of a first RU or a first MRU within a first channel and a second RU or a second MRU within a second channel, wherein the first and second channels are adjacent 20 MHz channels, wherein the first RU or first MRU is a 242-tone RU, a 106-tone RU or a 106+26-tone MRU located at a boundary of the first channel adjacent to the second channel, and wherein the second RU or second MRU is a 106-tone RU or a 106+26-tone MRU located at a boundary of the second channel adjacent to the first channel.
However, YU teaches wherein the first information includes first allocation information on a third MRU that is an aggregate of a first RU or a first MRU within a first channel and a second RU or a second MRU within a second channel (figures 7 and 8, [0156-0163], the first information includes first allocation information on a third MRU that is an aggregate of a first RU within a first channel and a second RU),
wherein the first and second channels are adjacent 20 MHz channels (figures 7 and 8, [0156-0163], the first and second channels are adjacent 20 MHz channels),
wherein the first RU or first MRU is a 242-tone RU, a 106-tone RU or a 106+26-tone MRU located at a boundary of the first channel adjacent to the second channel (figures 7 and 8, [0156-0163], the first RU is a 242-tone RU, a 106-tone RU located at a boundary of the first channel adjacent to the second channel), and
wherein the second RU or second MRU is a 106-tone RU or a 106+26-tone MRU located at a boundary of the second channel adjacent to the first channel (figures 7 and 8, [0156-0163], the second RU is a 106-tone RU located at a boundary of the second channel adjacent to the first channel).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of YU, wherein the first information includes first allocation information on a third MRU that is an aggregate of a first RU or a first MRU within a first channel and a second RU or a second MRU within a second channel, wherein the first and second channels are adjacent 20 MHz channels, wherein the first RU or first MRU is a 242-tone RU, a 106-tone RU or a 106+26-tone MRU located at a boundary of the first channel adjacent to the second channel, and wherein the second RU or second MRU is a 106-tone RU or a 106+26-tone MRU located at a boundary of the second channel adjacent to the first channel, into the teachings of ROH and XIN, in order to transmit a data packet based on preamble puncturing information, resulting in reducing signaling overheads (YU, [0006, 0008]).
With respect to claim 4, the combination of ROH, XIN, and Yu teaches the method of claim 1. ROH teaches the receiving STA including first and second STAs, and the second STA ([0082, 0087]).
The combination of ROH and XIN does not explicitly teach operating at 20 MHz, and the first RU or the first MRU being a 242-tone RU, and the second RU or the second MRU being a 106+26-tone MRU, the first STA is assigned to an MRU in which the 242-tone RU and the 106+26-tone MRU are aggregated, and the second STA is assigned to a 106-tone RU excluding the 106+26-tone MRU in the second channel.
However, YU teaches operating at 20 MHz, and the first RU or the first MRU being a 242-tone RU, and the second RU or the second MRU being a 106+26-tone MRU, assigned to an MRU in which the 242-tone RU and the 106+26-tone MRU are aggregated, and assigned to a 106-tone RU excluding the 106+26-tone MRU in the second channel (figures 7 and 8, [0156-0163]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of YU, operating at 20 MHz, and the first RU or the first MRU being a 242-tone RU, and the second RU or the second MRU being a 106+26-tone MRU, assigned to an MRU in which the 242-tone RU and the 106+26-tone MRU are aggregated, and assigned to a 106-tone RU excluding the 106+26-tone MRU in the second channel, into the teachings of ROH and XIN, in order to transmit a data packet based on preamble puncturing information, resulting in reducing signaling overheads (YU, [0006, 0008]).
With respect to claim 7, the combination of ROH, XIN, and Yu teaches the method of claim 1. ROH teaches wherein the PPDU is transmitted ([0082, 0087]).
The combination of ROH and XIN does not explicitly teach based on Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA).
However, YU teaches based on Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) ([0074]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of YU, based on Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), into the teachings of ROH and XIN, in order to transmit a data packet based on preamble puncturing information, resulting in reducing signaling overheads (YU, [0006, 0008]).
With respect to claim 8, ROH teaches A receiving station (STA) in a wireless local area network (WLAN) system, the receiving STA comprising ([0082, 0087], a receiving station (STA) in a wireless local area network (WLAN) system):
a memory ([0201], memory); a transceiver ([0201], transceiver); and a processor being operatively connected to the memory and the transceiver, wherein the processor is configured to ([0201], a processor being operatively connected to the memory and the transceiver):
receive a Physical Protocol Data Unit (PPDU) from a transmitting STA ([0082, 0087], receiving STAs receiving PPDU 400 from a transmitting STA);
obtain control information by decoding the PPDU ([0082, 0087, 0195], obtaining control information by decoding the PPDU); and
decode a data field of the PPDU based on the control information (figure 4, [0082, 0087, 0195], decoding a data field of the PPDU based on the control information).
ROH does not explicitly teach wherein the control information includes first or second information on a Resource Unit (RU) or a Multi-Resource Unit (MRU) within a bandwidth of the PPDU.
However, XIN teaches wherein the control information includes first or second information on a Resource Unit (RU) or a Multi-Resource Unit (MRU) within a bandwidth of the PPDU ([0009], the control information includes first information on a Resource Unit (RU) within a bandwidth of the PPDU).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of XIN, the control information includes first information on a Resource Unit (RU) within a bandwidth of the PPDU, into the teachings of ROH, in order to enable transmission of link adaptation parameters for single-user multiple input multiple output (SU-MIMO), and multi-user multiple input multiple output MU-MIMO (XIN, [0004]).
The combination of ROH and XIN does not explicitly teach wherein the first information includes first allocation information on a third MRU that is an aggregate of a first RU or a first MRU within a first channel and a second RU or a second MRU within a second channel, wherein the first and second channels are adjacent 20 MHz channels, wherein the first RU or first MRU is a 242-tone RU, a 106-tone RU or a 106+26-tone MRU located at a boundary of the first channel adjacent to the second channel, and wherein the second RU or second MRU is a 106-tone RU or a 106+26-tone MRU located at a boundary of the second channel adjacent to the first channel.
However, YU teaches wherein the first information includes first allocation information on a third MRU that is an aggregate of a first RU or a first MRU within a first channel and a second RU or a second MRU within a second channel (figures 7 and 8, [0156-0163], the first information includes first allocation information on a third MRU that is an aggregate of a first RU within a first channel and a second RU),
wherein the first and second channels are adjacent 20 MHz channels (figures 7 and 8, [0156-0163], the first and second channels are adjacent 20 MHz channels),
wherein the first RU or first MRU is a 242-tone RU, a 106-tone RU or a 106+26-tone MRU located at a boundary of the first channel adjacent to the second channel (figures 7 and 8, [0156-0163], the first RU is a 242-tone RU, a 106-tone RU located at a boundary of the first channel adjacent to the second channel), and
wherein the second RU or second MRU is a 106-tone RU or a 106+26-tone MRU located at a boundary of the second channel adjacent to the first channel (figures 7 and 8, [0156-0163], the second RU is a 106-tone RU located at a boundary of the second channel adjacent to the first channel).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of YU, wherein the first information includes first allocation information on a third MRU that is an aggregate of a first RU or a first MRU within a first channel and a second RU or a second MRU within a second channel, wherein the first and second channels are adjacent 20 MHz channels, wherein the first RU or first MRU is a 242-tone RU, a 106-tone RU or a 106+26-tone MRU located at a boundary of the first channel adjacent to the second channel, and wherein the second RU or second MRU is a 106-tone RU or a 106+26-tone MRU located at a boundary of the second channel adjacent to the first channel, into the teachings of ROH and XIN, in order to transmit a data packet based on preamble puncturing information, resulting in reducing signaling overheads (YU, [0006, 0008]).
With respect to claim 9, ROH teaches A method in a wireless local area network (WLAN) system, the method comprising (Abstract, a method in a WLAN system):
obtaining, by a transmitting station (STA), control information ([0082, 0087], obtaining, by a transmitting station (STA), control information);
generating, by the transmitting STA, a Physical Protocol Data Unit (PPDU) based on the control information ([0082, 0087], generating, by the transmitting STA, a Physical Protocol Data Unit (PPDU) based on the control information); and
transmitting, by the transmitting STA, the PPDU to a receiving STA ([0082, 0087], transmitting, by the transmitting STA, the PPDU to a receiving STA),
ROH does not explicitly teach wherein the control information includes first or second information on a Resource Unit (RU) or a Multi-Resource Unit (MRU) within a bandwidth of the PPDU.
However, XIN teaches wherein the control information includes first or second information on a Resource Unit (RU) or a Multi-Resource Unit (MRU) within a bandwidth of the PPDU ([0009], the control information includes first information on a Resource Unit (RU) within a bandwidth of the PPDU).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of XIN, the control information includes first information on a Resource Unit (RU) within a bandwidth of the PPDU, into the teachings of ROH, in order to enable transmission of link adaptation parameters for single-user multiple input multiple output (SU-MIMO), and multi-user multiple input multiple output MU-MIMO (XIN, [0004]).
The combination of ROH and XIN does not explicitly teach wherein the first information includes first allocation information on a third MRU that is an aggregate of a first RU or a first MRU within a first channel and a second RU or a second MRU within a second channel, wherein the first and second channels are adjacent 20 MHz channels, wherein the first RU or first MRU is a 242-tone RU, a 106-tone RU or a 106+26-tone MRU located at a boundary of the first channel adjacent to the second channel, and wherein the second RU or second MRU is a 106-tone RU or a 106+26-tone MRU located at a boundary of the second channel adjacent to the first channel.
However, YU teaches wherein the first information includes first allocation information on a third MRU that is an aggregate of a first RU or a first MRU within a first channel and a second RU or a second MRU within a second channel (figures 7 and 8, [0156-0163], the first information includes first allocation information on a third MRU that is an aggregate of a first RU within a first channel and a second RU),
wherein the first and second channels are adjacent 20 MHz channels (figures 7 and 8, [0156-0163], the first and second channels are adjacent 20 MHz channels),
wherein the first RU or first MRU is a 242-tone RU, a 106-tone RU or a 106+26-tone MRU located at a boundary of the first channel adjacent to the second channel (figures 7 and 8, [0156-0163], the first RU is a 242-tone RU, a 106-tone RU located at a boundary of the first channel adjacent to the second channel), and
wherein the second RU or second MRU is a 106-tone RU or a 106+26-tone MRU located at a boundary of the second channel adjacent to the first channel (figures 7 and 8, [0156-0163], the second RU is a 106-tone RU located at a boundary of the second channel adjacent to the first channel).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of YU, wherein the first information includes first allocation information on a third MRU that is an aggregate of a first RU or a first MRU within a first channel and a second RU or a second MRU within a second channel, wherein the first and second channels are adjacent 20 MHz channels, wherein the first RU or first MRU is a 242-tone RU, a 106-tone RU or a 106+26-tone MRU located at a boundary of the first channel adjacent to the second channel, and wherein the second RU or second MRU is a 106-tone RU or a 106+26-tone MRU located at a boundary of the second channel adjacent to the first channel, into the teachings of ROH and XIN, in order to transmit a data packet based on preamble puncturing information, resulting in reducing signaling overheads (YU, [0006, 0008]).
With respect to claim 12, this claim recites the method of claim 4, and it is rejected for at least the same reasons.
With respect to claim 15, this claim recites the method of claim 7, and it is rejected for at least the same reasons.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-3, 5-6, 10-11, and 13-14 are 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.
Pub. No.: US 20230093344 A1; “Hu”, ([0007])
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/KIET TANG/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2469
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