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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
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)(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.
Claims 1-2, 5-8, 10-11, 14, 18, 23 and 25 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a2) as being anticipated by Hu et al (US20250024503A1, Foreign PCT Priority Date: Apr 02, 2022).
Regarding claim 1 (Currently Amended), Hu’503 discloses a communication method, performed by an access point device (see, Fig. 3-4, APs communicates with non-AP STAs in WLAN communication system, par 0119, 0124), comprising:
determining a null data packet announcement (NDPA) frame (see, Fig. 3, first device (AP) generates NDPA frame, par 0120, 0246), wherein the NDPA frame comprises information about a transmitter and a receiver (see, Fig. 1, NDPA frames comprises TA (transmitter address) field and RA (receiver address) field, par 0103), wherein the transmitter is configured to transmit a sensing measurement frame and the receiver is configured to receive the sensing measurement frame (see, sensing transmitter transmits PPDU for sensing measurement and sensing receiver receives the PPDU transmitted by the sensing transmitter and performs sensing measurement, par 0085-0086); and
transmitting the NDPA frame (see, Fig. 5 S501, first device (AP) transmits NDPA frame, par 0120, 0136).
Regarding claim 2 (Original), Hu’503 discloses the communication method according to claim 1 (see, Fig. 3-4, APs communicates with non-AP STAs in WLAN communication system, par 0119, 0124), wherein the NDPA frame comprises a first information field (see, Fig. 1, NDPA frames comprises TA (transmitter address) field, par 0103), wherein the first information field comprises information of a first station device as the transmitter (see, TA field indicates transmitter address and non-AP STA as transmitter, par 0103, 0120).
Regarding claim 5 (Original), Hu’503 discloses the communication method according to claim 1 (see, Fig. 3-4, APs communicates with non-AP STAs in WLAN communication system, par 0119, 0124), wherein the NDPA frame comprises a second information field (see, Fig. 1, NDPA frames comprises RA field, par 0103), wherein the second information field comprises information of a second station device as the receiver (see, Fig. 3 and 5, RA field indicates receiver address and second device (non-AP STA) as receiver, par 0103, 0120).
Regarding claim 6 (Currently Amended), Hu’503 discloses the communication method according to claim 5 (see, Fig. 3-4, APs communicates with non-AP STAs in WLAN communication system, par 0119, 0124), wherein the second information field comprises at least one of:
an identifier or address identifying the second station device (see, RA field indicates receiver address, par 0103);
information identifying a resource used by the second station device to receive the sensing measurement frame;
information identifying a number of spatial streams used by the second station device to receive the sensing measurement frame; and
information identifying a received power of the second station device to receive the sensing measurement frame (note, the examiner picks an option to reject).
Regarding claim 7 (Original), Hu’503 discloses the communication method according to claim 1 (see, Fig. 3-4, APs communicates with non-AP STAs in WLAN communication system, par 0119, 0124), wherein the NDPA frame comprises a third information field (see, Fig. 1, NDPA frames comprises RA field, par 0103), wherein the third information field comprises information of the access point device as the receiver (see, Fig. 3 and 5, RA field indicates receiver address and second device (AP) as receiver, par 0103, 0120).
Regarding claim 8 (Currently Amended), Hu’503 discloses the communication method according to claim 7 (see, Fig. 3-4, APs communicates with non-AP STAs in WLAN communication system, par 0119, 0124), wherein the third information field comprises at least one of:
an identifier or address identifying the access point device (see, Fig. 3 and 5, RA field indicates receiver address and second device (AP) as receiver, par 0103, 0120);
information identifying a resource used by the access point device to receive the sensing measurement frame;
information identifying a number of spatial streams used by the access point device to receive the sensing measurement frame; and
information identifying a received power of the access point device to receive the sensing measurement frame (note, the examiner picks an option to reject).
Regarding claim 10 (Currently Amended), Claim 10 recites a communication method performed by a station device performing the steps recited in claim 1 and thereby, is rejected for the reasons discussed above with respect to claim 1.
Regarding claim 11 (Original), Claim 11 recites a communication method performed by a station device performing the steps recited in claim 2 and thereby, is rejected for the reasons discussed above with respect to claim 2.
Regarding claim 14 (Original), Claim 14 recites a communication method performed by a station device performing the steps recited in claim 5 and thereby, is rejected for the reasons discussed above with respect to claim 5.
Regarding claim 18 (Original), Claim 18 recites a communication method performed by a station device performing the steps recited in claim 7 and thereby, is rejected for the reasons discussed above with respect to claim 7.
Regarding claim 23 (Currently Amended), Claim 23 recites an electronic device performing the steps recited in claim 1 and thereby, is rejected for the reasons discussed above with respect to claim 1.
Regarding claim 25 (New), Claim 25 recites an electronic device performing the steps recited in claim 10 and thereby, is rejected for the reasons discussed above with respect to claim 10.
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 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 col. 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.
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.
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.
Claims 3 and 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hu’503 in view of Katla et al (US20240291536A1, PCT Priority Date: Feb 11 , 2022).
Regarding claim 3 (Currently Amended), Hu’503 discloses the communication method according to claim 2 (see, Fig. 3-4, APs communicates with non-AP STAs in WLAN communication system, par 0119, 0124).
Hu’503 discloses all the claim limitations but fails to explicitly teach: wherein the first information field comprises at least one of:
a sensing measurement setup identifier identifying the first station device as the transmitter to transmit the sensing measurement frame; a sensing measurement instance identifier;
information identifying a bandwidth used by the first station device to transmit the sensing measurement frame; and
information identifying a number of spatial streams used by the first station device to transmit the sensing measurement frame.
However Katla’536 from the same field of endeavor (see, Fig.5, multi-STA assisted sensing (sensing-by-proxy) when one of sensing responders is a sensing transmitter while a sensing initiator is both receiver and processor, par 0138) discloses:
wherein the first information field comprises at least one of:
a sensing measurement setup identifier identifying the first station device as the transmitter to transmit the sensing measurement frame; a sensing measurement instance identifier;
information identifying a bandwidth used by the first station device to transmit the sensing measurement frame (see, Fig. 21, sensing BW subfield in STA info field of NDPA frame indicates bandwidth of the solicited NDP to be transmitted in the uplink by STA, par 0232, 0234); and
information identifying a number of spatial streams used by the first station device to transmit the sensing measurement frame (note, the examiner picks an option to reject).
In view of the above, it would have been obvious before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains to implement the communication method as taught by Katla’536 into that of Hu’503. The motivation would have been to improve sensing with high fidelity (par 0002).
Regarding claim 12 (Original), Claim 12 recites a communication method performed by a station device performing the steps recited in claim 3 and thereby, is rejected for the reasons discussed above with respect to claim 3.
Claims 4 and 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hu’503 in view of Katla’536 as applied to claims 3 and 12 respectively above, and further in view of Gao et al (US 20240357329 A1, PCT Priority Date: Jan 9, 2022).
Regarding claim 4 (Currently Amended), Hu’503 modified by Katla’536 discloses the communication method according to claim 3 (see, Fig. 3-4, APs communicates with non-AP STAs in WLAN communication system, par 0119, 0124).
The combination of Hu’503 and Katla’536 discloses all the claim limitations but fails to explicitly teach: wherein the sensing measurement setup identifier and the sensing measurement instance identifier are determined in a process of setting up sensing measurement between the access point device and the first station device.
However Gao’329 from the same field of endeavor (see, Fig.1, stations access the network through the access point, par 0126) discloses: wherein the sensing measurement setup identifier and the sensing measurement instance identifier are determined in a process of setting up sensing measurement between the access point device and the first station device (see, STAs (AP STA and non-AP STA) negotiate operating parameters related to a sensing measurement including Measurement Setup ID and measurement instance ID during Measurement Setup procedure, par 0127-0128, 0147, 0152, 0155).
In view of the above, it would have been obvious before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains to implement the communication method as taught by Gao’329 into that of Hu’503 modified by Katla’536. The motivation would have been to improving sensing performance by avoiding using only one NDP of a fixed physical layer version (par 0005).
Regarding claim 13 (Original), Claim 13 recites a communication method performed by a station device performing the steps recited in claim 4 and thereby, is rejected for the reasons discussed above with respect to claim 4.
Claims 16-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hu’503 in view of Gao et al (US 20240357329 A1, PCT Priority Date: Jan 9, 2022).
Regarding claim 16 (Currently Amended), Hu’503 discloses the communication method according to claim 14 (see, Fig. 3-4, non-AP STAs communicates with APs in WLAN communication system, par 0119, 0124), wherein in the case where the station device is the second station device as the receiver (see, non-AP STAs as second device (receiver), par 0119- 0120, 0136), the communication method further comprises:
receiving, by the second station device (see, non-AP STAs as second device (receiver) and thus any one of non-AP STAs can be equated to second station device, par 0119- 0120, 0136), a second sensing measurement frame from the access point device (see, second device (non-AP STA) receives second NDP from the first device (AP), par 0119- 0120, 0155-0156).
Hu’503 discloses all the claim limitations but fails to explicitly teach:
performing sensing measurement based on the second sensing measurement frame, and feeding back a sensing measurement result to the access point device.
However Gao’329 from the same field of endeavor (see, Fig.1, stations access the network through the access point, par 0126) discloses: performing sensing measurement based on the second sensing measurement frame, and feeding back a sensing measurement result to the access point device (see, Fig. 2b, STA2 (non-AP STA) as sensing receiver performs measurement on NDP frame and report the measurement result to the sensing session initiator STA1 (AP STA), par 0127-0128, 0143, 0148-0149, 0154).
In view of the above, it would have been obvious before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains to implement the communication method as taught by Gao’329 into that of Hu’503. The motivation would have been to improving sensing performance by avoiding using only one NDP of a fixed physical layer version (par 0005).
Regarding claim 17 (Currently Amended), Hu’503 discloses the communication method according to claim 14 (see, Fig. 3-4, non-AP STAs communicates with APs in WLAN communication system, par 0119, 0124), wherein in the case where the station device is the second station device as the receiver (see, non-AP STAs as second device (receiver), par 0119- 0120, 0136), the communication method further comprises.
Hu’503 discloses all the claim limitations but fails to explicitly teach:
receiving, by the second station device, the first sensing measurement frame from the first station device as the transmitter; and
performing sensing measurement based on the first sensing measurement frame, and feeding back a sensing measurement result to the access point device.
However Gao’329 from the same field of endeavor (see, Fig.1, stations access the network through the access point, par 0126) discloses: receiving, by the second station device, the first sensing measurement frame (NDP, par 0154) from the first station device as the transmitter (see, Fig. 2C, STA2 (non-AP STA) as sensing receiver receives sensing signal NDP frame from STA3 (non-AP STA) as sensing transmitter, par 0127-0128, 0143, 0149, 0154); and
performing sensing measurement based on the first sensing measurement frame, and feeding back a sensing measurement result to the access point device (see, Fig. 2C, STA2 (non-AP STA) as sensing receiver performs measurement on NDP frame and report the measurement result to the sensing session initiator STA1 (AP STA), par 0127-0128, 0143, 0148-0149, 0154).
In view of the above, it would have been obvious before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains to implement the communication method as taught by Gao’329 into that of Hu’503. The motivation would have been to improving sensing performance by avoiding using only one NDP of a fixed physical layer version (par 0005).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim(s) 9 is/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.
Claim(s) 20 is/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.
Lim et al (US20240049135A1, PCT Priority Date: Dec 13, 2021) discloses: In WLAN sensing, a sensing initiator (or an initiator) can measure the channel by using the transmission and reception channels with multiple responders (or a sensing responder). In this case, the sensing initiator can perform the sensing operation based on the following roles.
Role 3 (only initiator): When performing only the initiation of sensing, i.e., the STA only sends a request for sensing, and the measurement for sensing can be accomplished through frame exchange between sensing responders. The above role may be established in consideration of collaboration or peer-to-peer (P2P) between devices.
(par 0101). This partially applies to claims 9 and 20.
Trainin et al (US20230009140A1, Priority Date: Jul 12, 2021) discloses: AP 802 operating as an initiator device and three STAs 804 operating as responder devices (par 0095); AP selects the three responder devices rSTA1-rSTA3 to participate in a measurement exchange based at least in part on the capabilities of rSTA1-rSTA3 and the capabilities of the AP (par 0118); The NDPA 1042 may announce the transmission of the NDP 1042 that follows the NDPA 1043, and may identify each of the responder devices rSTA1-rSTA3… TA field of the NDPA 1042 may be configured to verify the AID or UID of each of the responder devices rSTA1-rSTA3… RA field of the NDPA 1042 may be set to a broadcast address (par 0127); NDPA 1042 may indicate a type of measurement report requested by the AP. For example, in some instances, the type of measurement report may be one of … or a measurement report including CSI processed with one or more receive parameters used by the responder devices rSTA1-rSTA3 to receive the NDP 1043 (par 0129). This partially applies to claims 9 and 20.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to XUAN LU whose telephone number is (571)272-2844. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday - Friday 7:30am-5:30pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, KWANG Yao can be reached on (571)272-3182. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/XUAN LU/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2473
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