DETAILED ACTION
This office action is a response to the application 18/855,171 filed on October 8th, 2024.
Claim Status
This office action is based upon claims received on 10/14/2024, which replace all prior or other submitted versions of the claims.
Claims 9 – 14 are canceled.
Claims 1 – 8 and 15 – 25 are pending.
Claims 1 – 8 and 15 – 25 are rejected.
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 10/08/2024, 08/07/2025, and 06/18/2026 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claim 8 is objected to because of the following informalities:
The limitation recites “(WLAN) sensing measurement performed a sensing receiver” in line 2. The word “by” after the term “performed” is required for definiteness of the claim.
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.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1 – 4 and 15 – 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Regarding Claim 1, claim 1 recites the limitation “wherein the first NDP frame indicates the transmitter to comprise at least one of the second identifier of the receiver or a third identifier of the sensing initiator in a second NDP frame and send the second NDP frame”. First, the construction of the sentence of the claim makes it difficult to understand, i.e., “the first NDP frame indicates the transmitter to comprise”. It is unclear if the intended construction should have been “the first NDP frame indicates to the transmitter to comprise” or if the construction should have been “the first NDP frame indicates that the transmitter comprises”. The first option (“the first NDP frame indicates to the transmitter to comprise”) implies that the transmitter has to perform the action of obtaining or acquiring or determining the identifier information as recited in the rest of the claim language. While the second option (“the first NDP frame indicates that the transmitter comprises”) implies that the transmitter already has the identifier information as recited in the rest of the claim language. Based on the specification and the understanding of how NDPA provides the identifier information of the devices involved in the sensing process, a person having ordinary skill in the art will find the second option a more plausible meaning for the phrase as recited in the claim limitation.
Likewise, in the last section of the claim limitation “and send the second NDP frame”, it is unclear who is performing the action of sending the second NDP frame. Starting from the top of the claim limitation, the method is for a WLAN sensing measurement, performed by a sensing initiator. Therefore, any action verb (i.e., the verb “send” as recited in the limitation) described in the claim limitation is understood to be performed by the sensing initiator. However, based on Figure 9 and paragraphs 55 – 60 of the specification of this instant application, it appears that the STA1 (i.e., the transmitter as recited in the claim limitation) is the device performing the action of “send” as recited in the limitation and “send the second NDP frame”.
For the purposes of examination, the claim limitation will be understood as “ wherein the first NDP frame indicates that the transmitter comprises at least one of the second identifier of the receiver or a third identifier of the sensing initiator in a second NDP frame and wherein the transmitter sends ”.
Claims 2 – 4, and 15 – 19 are also rejected since they depend upon rejected base claim 1.
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.
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.
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 – 2, 4 – 5, 7 – 8, and 15 – 17, 19 – 20, and 22 – 25 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim et al. [US 20230319875 A1] hereinafter Kim, and further in view of Yu et al. [US 20240275544 A1] hereinafter Yu.
Regarding claim 1, as best understood, Kim teaches a method for wireless local area network (WLAN) sensing measurement (Kim: Fig. 2, Fig. 3, ¶ 50, Fig. 11, ¶ 91-98; in view of the WLAN sensing scenario using multiple sensing transmitting and receiving apparatuses for sensing measurement signal processing), performed by a sensing initiator (Kim: Fig. 2, Fig. 3, Fig. 11, ¶ 91-98; in view of the WLAN sensing initiator), comprising:
sending a null data packet announcement (NDPA) frame (Kim: Fig. 2, Fig. 3, Fig. 11, ¶ 91-98; wherein an existing frame (e.g. a Null Data Packet Announcement (NDPA) frame) or a new frame may be used as a sensing initiation frame for initiating a WLAN sensing session. The NDPA or new frame used as the sensing initiation frame may include an indicator indicating that the purpose is WLAN sensing), wherein the NDPA frame comprises at least one of: a first identifier of a transmitter or a second identifier of a receiver (Kim: Fig. 11, ¶ 91-98; wherein WLAN sensing initiator may transmit a frame notifying the initiation of a sensing session (for example, a sensing initiation frame) (i.e., the NDPA frame). The frame notifying the initiation of a sensing session may include information about STAs participating in sensing as a responder (for example, AID, STA ID, etc.), wideband width information, sensing information. Therefore, the NDPA frame includes the STA ID of the STAs that are participating in the sensing to include the STA ID of the transmitter STA (i.e., the first identifier of a transmitter) and the STA ID of the receiver STA (i.e., the second identifier of a receiver)); and
sending a first null data packet (NDP) frame (Kim: Fig. 11, ¶ 91-98; wherein after transmitting the sensing initiation frame, the WLAN sensing initiator may transmit n NDP frames (i.e., multiple NDP frames)), wherein the first NDP frame indicates the transmitter to comprise at least one of the second identifier of the receiver or a third identifier of the sensing initiator in a second NDP frame and send the second NDP frame (Kim: Fig. 11, ¶ 84- 86, ¶ 91-98; wherein WLAN sensing initiator may transmit a frame notifying the initiation of a sensing session (for example, a sensing initiation frame) (i.e., the NDPA frame). The frame notifying the initiation of a sensing session may include information about STAs participating in sensing as a responder (for example, AID, STA ID, etc.), wideband width information, sensing information… and WLAN Sensing Responder: An STA that can participate in WLAN Sensing according to the instructions of the WLAN Sensing initiator and perform the instructed sensing, deliver signals to the initiator, or transmit signals for sensing according to the instructions of the initiator. The sensing initiator can transmit information related to a specific band, bandwidth, and a number of transmissions used when transmitting sensing signals to sensing responders. Signals for sensing (that is, sensing signals) may be transmitted from sensing responders to sensing initiators. And sensing responders may use a new frame or an existing frame for signal transmission. For example, a Null Data Packet (NDP) frame defined in an existing WLAN (for example, Wi-Fi) may be used as a sensing signal.
Therefore, the NDPA frame includes the AID, STA ID of the STAs that are participating in the sensing to include the STA ID of the transmitter STA (i.e., the first identifier of a transmitter) and the STA ID of the receiver STA (i.e., the second identifier of a receiver) and the STAs also have this information already provided to them in the NDPA frame that was received, Hence, if the received NDP requires the transmitting STA to communicate with another STA in the sensing system, the ID of the receiving STA will be indicated to the transmitting STA. Likewise, the STAs (i.e., sensing responders) will participate in the sensing process according to the instructions of the WLAN sensing initiator. If the sensing initiator wants the transmitter STA to send a new NDP (i.e., a second NDP) to the sensing initiator and the receiver STA, the transmitter STA will follow the instructions as provided).
Assuming arguendo that Kim does not explicitly show that the transmitter STA sends an NDP to the receiver STA or to the sensing initiator, referring to the invention of Yu, Yu teaches that a slave AP can send NDP to an STA (i.e., a receiver STA) based on the instructions of the Master AP (i.e., the WLAN sensing initiator) (Yu: Fig. 16, ¶ 28, ¶ 111-114; wherein the master AP may initiate the frame exchange sequence by transmitting multi-AP NDP announcement frames 1602 and 1604 to the slave AP and STA1 (which is under the master AP)… wherein, Multi-AP NDP announcement frame 1602 and multi-AP NDP announcement frame 1604 may collectively be referred to herein as a NDP announcement frame that includes two sets of information (one for the slave AP and one for STA1). The NDP announcement frames 1602 and 1604 may have two objectives: (1) for the slave AP, the NDP announcement frame 1602 indicates that the slave AP is to transmit a NDP frame to STA1 to obtain channel information; (2) for STA1, the NDP announcement frame 1604 indicates that the slave AP will transmit an NDP frame. In response to receiving the NDP announcement frame 1602, the slave AP transmits a NDP frame 1606 to STA1. In response to receiving the NDP frame 1606, STA1 transmits an EHT CBF/CQI frame 1608 to the slave AP. Next, the slave AP may send modified multi-AP NDP announcement frames 1610 and 1612 to the master AP and STA2 (which is under the slave AP), respectively (i.e., the modified multi-AP NDPA frame is a second NDP frame sent from the sensing transmitter to the sensing initiator, wherein a modified NDPA frame is a type of NDP frame)).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the Slave AP sending NDP to the STA or to the Master AP teachings of Yu into the WLAN sensing teachings of Kim in order for the overhead for initiating and initializing AP cooperation to be reduced, which can improve efficiency in a wireless network (Yu: ¶ 26).
Regarding claim 2, as best understood, Kim in view of Yu teaches the method according to claim 1, wherein sending the first NDP frame comprises:
sending the first NDP frame to at least one of: a device corresponding to the first identifier or a device corresponding to the second identifier (Kim: Fig. 11, ¶ 91-98; wherein after transmitting the sensing initiation frame, the WLAN sensing initiator may transmit n NDP frames (i.e., multiple NDP frames)… to a plurality of WLAN sensing responders (i.e., at least to a device that corresponds to a second identifier)).
Regarding claim 4, as best understood, Kim in view of Yu teaches the method according to claim 1, wherein after sending the first NDP frame, the method comprising:
receiving the second NDP frame (Yu: Fig. 16, ¶ 28, ¶ 111-114; wherein in response to receiving the NDP announcement frame 1602, the slave AP transmits a NDP frame 1606 to STA1… Next, the slave AP may send modified multi-AP NDP announcement frames 1610 (i.e., a second NDP frame sent from the sensing transmitter to the sensing initiator, wherein a modified NDPA frame is a type of NDP frame) and 1612 to the master AP and STA2 (which is under the slave AP), respectively); wherein a receiver address (RA) of the second NDP frame comprises at least one of: address information of the sensing initiator or address information of the receiver (Yu: Fig. 11, Fig. 13, ¶ 100 – 107; wherein the HE NDP announcement frame format in 802.11ax … includes a RA field 1106 (6 octets) (i.e., wherein a RA field is known to comprise the receiver address. In this case it could be the sensing initiator or the STA1 or both, since they both receive the modified NDPA from the Slave AP)); wherein a transmitter address (TA) of the second NDP frame comprises address information of the transmitter (Yu: Fig. 11, Fig. 13, ¶ 100 – 107; wherein the HE NDP announcement frame format in 802.11ax … includes a TA field 1108 (6 octets) (i.e., wherein a TA field is known to comprise the transmitter address. In this case it would be the slave AP information, since the slave AP is the device sending the modified NDPA)).
Regarding claim 5, Kim teaches a method for wireless local area network (WLAN) sensing measurement (Kim: Fig. 2, Fig. 3, ¶ 50, Fig. 11, ¶ 91-98; in view of the WLAN sensing scenario using multiple sensing transmitting and receiving apparatuses for sensing measurement signal processing), performed by a sensing transmitter (Kim: Fig. 2, Fig. 3, Fig. 11, ¶ 97-100; in view of the WLAN sensing responders, Sensing transmitters as shown in Fig. 2), comprising:
receiving a null data packet announcement (NDPA) frame and a first null data packet (NDP) frame (Kim: Fig. 2, Fig. 3, Fig. 11, ¶ 91-100; wherein an existing frame (e.g. a Null Data Packet Announcement (NDPA) frame) or a new frame may be used as a sensing initiation frame for initiating a WLAN sensing session. The WLAN sensing initiator may transmit a sensing initiation frame (for example, an NDPA frame). After transmitting the sensing initiation frame, the WLAN sensing initiator may transmit n NDP frames (i.e., the first of the n NDP frames is a first NDP frame). Therefore, the WLAN sensing responders will receive the NDPA frame as well as the n NDP frames transmitted by the sensing initiator);
obtaining at least one of a second identifier of a receiver or a third identifier of an initiator comprised in the NDPA frame (Kim: Fig. 11, ¶ 84- 86, ¶ 91-98; wherein WLAN sensing initiator may transmit a frame notifying the initiation of a sensing session (for example, a sensing initiation frame) (i.e., the NDPA frame). The frame notifying the initiation of a sensing session may include information about STAs participating in sensing as a responder (for example, AID, STA ID, etc.). Therefore, the NDPA frame includes the AID, STA ID of the STAs that are participating in the sensing to include the STA ID of the receiver STA (i.e., the second identifier of a receiver)); and
sending a second NDP frame and comprising the at least one of the second identifier or the third identifier in the second NDP frame (Kim: Fig. 11, ¶ 84- 86, ¶ 91-98; wherein WLAN sensing initiator may transmit a frame notifying the initiation of a sensing session (for example, a sensing initiation frame) (i.e., the NDPA frame). The frame notifying the initiation of a sensing session may include information about STAs participating in sensing as a responder (for example, AID, STA ID, etc.), wideband width information, sensing information… and WLAN Sensing Responder: An STA that can participate in WLAN Sensing according to the instructions of the WLAN Sensing initiator and perform the instructed sensing, deliver signals to the initiator, or transmit signals for sensing according to the instructions of the initiator. The sensing initiator can transmit information related to a specific band, bandwidth, and a number of transmissions used when transmitting sensing signals to sensing responders. Signals for sensing (that is, sensing signals) may be transmitted from sensing responders to sensing initiators. And sensing responders may use a new frame or an existing frame for signal transmission. For example, a Null Data Packet (NDP) frame defined in an existing WLAN (for example, Wi-Fi) may be used as a sensing signal.
Therefore, the NDPA frame includes the AID, STA ID of the STAs that are participating in the sensing to include the STA ID of the transmitter STA (i.e., the first identifier of a transmitter) and the STA ID of the receiver STA (i.e., the second identifier of a receiver) and the STAs also have this information already provided to them in the NDPA frame that was received, Hence, if the received NDP requires the transmitting STA to communicate with another STA in the sensing system, the ID of the receiving STA will be indicated to the transmitting STA. Likewise, the STAs (i.e., sensing responders) will participate in the sensing process according to the instructions of the WLAN sensing initiator. If the sensing initiator wants the transmitter STA to send a new NDP (i.e., a second NDP) to the sensing initiator and the receiver STA, the transmitter STA will follow the instructions as provided).
Assuming arguendo that Kim does not explicitly show that the transmitter STA sends an NDP to the receiver STA or to the sensing initiator, referring to the invention of Yu, Yu teaches that a slave AP can send NDP to an STA (i.e., a receiver STA) based on the instructions of the Master AP (i.e., the WLAN sensing initiator) (Yu: Fig. 16, ¶ 28, ¶ 111-114; wherein the master AP may initiate the frame exchange sequence by transmitting multi-AP NDP announcement frames 1602 and 1604 to the slave AP and STA1 (which is under the master AP)… wherein, Multi-AP NDP announcement frame 1602 and multi-AP NDP announcement frame 1604 may collectively be referred to herein as a NDP announcement frame that includes two sets of information (one for the slave AP and one for STA1). The NDP announcement frames 1602 and 1604 may have two objectives: (1) for the slave AP, the NDP announcement frame 1602 indicates that the slave AP is to transmit a NDP frame to STA1 to obtain channel information; (2) for STA1, the NDP announcement frame 1604 indicates that the slave AP will transmit an NDP frame. In response to receiving the NDP announcement frame 1602, the slave AP transmits a NDP frame 1606 to STA1. In response to receiving the NDP frame 1606, STA1 transmits an EHT CBF/CQI frame 1608 to the slave AP. Next, the slave AP may send modified multi-AP NDP announcement frames 1610 and 1612 to the master AP and STA2 (which is under the slave AP), respectively (i.e., the modified multi-AP NDPA frame is a second NDP frame sent from the sensing transmitter to the sensing initiator, wherein a modified NDPA frame is a type of NDP frame)).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the Slave AP sending NDP to the STA or to the Master AP teachings of Yu into the WLAN sensing teachings of Kim in order for the overhead for initiating and initializing AP cooperation to be reduced, which can improve efficiency in a wireless network (Yu: ¶ 26).
Regarding claim 7, Kim in view of Yu teaches the method according to claim 5, wherein sending the second NDP frame comprises:
sending the second NDP frame to the initiator and the receiver (Yu: Fig. 16, ¶ 28, ¶ 111-114; wherein in response to receiving the NDP announcement frame 1602, the slave AP transmits a NDP frame 1606 to STA1… Next, the slave AP (i.e., the sensing transmitter) may send modified multi-AP NDP announcement frames 1610 (i.e., a second NDP frame sent from the sensing transmitter to the sensing initiator (i.e., the master AP), wherein a modified NDPA frame is a type of NDP frame) to the master AP and 1612 to STA2 (which is under the slave AP) (i.e., a receiver), respectively);
wherein a receiver address (RA) of the second NDP frame comprises at least one of: address information of the initiator or address information of the receiver (Yu: Fig. 11, Fig. 13, ¶ 100 – 107; wherein the HE NDP announcement frame format in 802.11ax … includes a RA field 1106 (6 octets) (i.e., wherein a RA field is known to comprise the receiver address. In this case it could be the sensing initiator or the STA1 or both, since they both receive the modified NDPA from the Slave AP)); wherein a transmitter address (TA) of the second NDP frame comprises address information of the transmitter (Yu: Fig. 11, Fig. 13, ¶ 100 – 107; wherein the HE NDP announcement frame format in 802.11ax … includes a TA field 1108 (6 octets) (i.e., wherein a TA field is known to comprise the transmitter address. In this case it would be the slave AP information, since the slave AP is the device sending the modified NDPA)).
Regarding claim 8, Kim teaches a method for wireless local area network (WLAN) sensing measurement (Kim: Fig. 2, Fig. 3, ¶ 50, Fig. 11, ¶ 91-98; in view of the WLAN sensing scenario using multiple sensing transmitting and receiving apparatuses for sensing measurement signal processing), performed a sensing receiver (Kim: Fig. 2, Fig. 3, Fig. 11, ¶ 97-100; in view of the WLAN sensing responders as shown in Fig. 2), comprising:
receiving a null data packet announcement (NDPA) frame and a first null data packet (NDP) frame sent by an initiator (Kim: Fig. 2, Fig. 3, Fig. 11, ¶ 91-100; wherein an existing frame (e.g. a Null Data Packet Announcement (NDPA) frame) or a new frame may be used as a sensing initiation frame for initiating a WLAN sensing session. The WLAN sensing initiator may transmit a sensing initiation frame (for example, an NDPA frame). After transmitting the sensing initiation frame, the WLAN sensing initiator may transmit n NDP frames (i.e., the first of the n NDP frames is a first NDP frame). Therefore, the WLAN sensing responders will receive the NDPA frame as well as the n NDP frames transmitted by the sensing initiator);
receiving a second NDP frame sent by a transmitter (Kim: Fig. 11, ¶ 84- 86, ¶ 91-98; wherein WLAN Sensing Responder: An STA that can participate in WLAN Sensing according to the instructions of the WLAN Sensing initiator and perform the instructed sensing, deliver signals to the initiator, or transmit signals for sensing according to the instructions of the initiator (or the sensing transmitter). Signals for sensing (that is, sensing signals) may be transmitted from sensing responders to sensing initiators.
Therefore, if the received (i.e., first) NDP requires the transmitting STA to communicate with another STA in the sensing system, the ID of the receiving STA will be indicated to the transmitting STA. Likewise, the STAs (i.e., sensing responders) will participate in the sensing process according to the instructions of the WLAN sensing initiator. If the sensing initiator wants the transmitter STA to send a new NDP (i.e., a second NDP) to the sensing initiator and the receiver STA, the transmitter STA will follow the instructions as provided, and the sensing STA will receive the second NDP frame); and
sending a sensing measurement report frame to the initiator (Kim: Fig. 12, ¶ 98-105; wherein WLAN sensing responders may transmit feedback on the channel environment according to the number of base bands selected by themselves or allocated by the initiator).
Assuming arguendo that Kim does not explicitly show that the transmitter STA sends an NDP to the receiver STA or to the sensing initiator, referring to the invention of Yu, Yu teaches that a slave AP can send NDP to an STA (i.e., a receiver STA) based on the instructions of the Master AP (i.e., the WLAN sensing initiator) (Yu: Fig. 16, ¶ 28, ¶ 111-114; wherein the master AP may initiate the frame exchange sequence by transmitting multi-AP NDP announcement frames 1602 and 1604 to the slave AP and STA1 (which is under the master AP)… wherein, Multi-AP NDP announcement frame 1602 and multi-AP NDP announcement frame 1604 may collectively be referred to herein as a NDP announcement frame that includes two sets of information (one for the slave AP and one for STA1). The NDP announcement frames 1602 and 1604 may have two objectives: (1) for the slave AP, the NDP announcement frame 1602 indicates that the slave AP is to transmit a NDP frame to STA1 to obtain channel information; (2) for STA1, the NDP announcement frame 1604 indicates that the slave AP will transmit an NDP frame. In response to receiving the NDP announcement frame 1602, the slave AP transmits a NDP frame 1606 to STA1. In response to receiving the NDP frame 1606, STA1 transmits an EHT CBF/CQI frame 1608 to the slave AP. Next, the slave AP may send modified multi-AP NDP announcement frames 1610 and 1612 to the master AP and STA2 (which is under the slave AP), respectively (i.e., the modified multi-AP NDPA frame is a second NDP frame sent from the sensing transmitter to the sensing initiator, wherein a modified NDPA frame is a type of NDP frame)).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the Slave AP sending NDP to the STA or to the Master AP teachings of Yu into the WLAN sensing teachings of Kim in order for the overhead for initiating and initializing AP cooperation to be reduced, which can improve efficiency in a wireless network (Yu: ¶ 26).
Regarding claim 15, as best understood, Kim in view of Yu teaches an electronic device, comprising:
a processor (Kim: Fig. 1, Fig. 9, ¶ 29-30, ¶167: in view of processing chips 114 and 124 of FIG. 1, or may be implemented based on the processors 111 and 121); and
a memory having a computer program stored on (Kim: Fig. 1, Fig. 9, ¶ 29-30, ¶167: in view of memories 112 and 122 of FIG. 1, or may be implemented based on the processor 910 and memory 920 of FIG. 9),
wherein the processor is configured to perform the method according to claim 1.
Regarding claim 16, as best understood, Kim in view of Yu teaches a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer program that, when executed by a processor, implements the method according to claim 1 ((Kim: Fig. 1, Fig. 9, ¶ 29-30, ¶167-169: in view of the CRM of the present specification may be the memories 112 and 122 of FIG. 1 or the memory 920 of FIG. 9 or a separate external memory/storage medium/disk or the like) likewise, (Yu: Fig 2, ¶ 33, ¶ 140; wherein the baseband processor 210 may utilize the memory 232, which may include a non-transitory computer/machine readable medium having software (e.g., computer/machine programing instructions) and data stored therein)).
Regarding claim 17, as best understood, Kim in view of Yu teaches the electronic device according to claim 15, wherein, when sending the first NDP frame, the processor is configured to:
send the first NDP frame to at least one of: a device corresponding to the first identifier, or a device corresponding to the second identifier (Kim: Fig. 11, ¶ 91-98; wherein after transmitting the sensing initiation frame, the WLAN sensing initiator may transmit n NDP frames (i.e., multiple NDP frames)… to a plurality of WLAN sensing responders (i.e., at least to a device that corresponds to a second identifier)).
Regarding claim 19, as best understood, Kim in view of Yu teaches the electronic device according to claim 15, wherein after sending the first NDP frame, the processor is configured to:
receive the second NDP frame (Yu: Fig. 16, ¶ 28, ¶ 111-114; wherein in response to receiving the NDP announcement frame 1602, the slave AP transmits a NDP frame 1606 to STA1… Next, the slave AP may send modified multi-AP NDP announcement frames 1610 (i.e., a second NDP frame sent from the sensing transmitter to the sensing initiator, wherein a modified NDPA frame is a type of NDP frame) and 1612 to the master AP and STA2 (which is under the slave AP), respectively); wherein a receiver address (RA) of the second NDP frame comprises at least one of: address information of the sensing initiator or address information of the receiver (Yu: Fig. 11, Fig. 13, ¶ 100 – 107; wherein the HE NDP announcement frame format in 802.11ax … includes a RA field 1106 (6 octets) (i.e., wherein a RA field is known to comprise the receiver address. In this case it could be the sensing initiator or the STA1 or both, since they both receive the modified NDPA from the Slave AP)); wherein a transmitter address (TA) of the second NDP frame comprises address information of the transmitter (Yu: Fig. 11, Fig. 13, ¶ 100 – 107; wherein the HE NDP announcement frame format in 802.11ax … includes a TA field 1108 (6 octets) (i.e., wherein a TA field is known to comprise the transmitter address. In this case it would be the slave AP information, since the slave AP is the device sending the modified NDPA)).
Regarding claim 20, Kim in view of Yu teaches an electronic device, comprising:
a processor (Kim: Fig. 1, Fig. 9, ¶ 29-30, ¶167: in view of processing chips 114 and 124 of FIG. 1, or may be implemented based on the processors 111 and 121); and
a memory having a computer program stored on (Kim: Fig. 1, Fig. 9, ¶ 29-30, ¶167: in view of memories 112 and 122 of FIG. 1, or may be implemented based on the processor 910 and memory 920 of FIG. 9),
wherein the processor is configured to perform the method according to claim 5.
Regarding claim 22, Kim in view of Yu teaches the electronic device according to claim 20, wherein, when sending the second NDP frame, the processor is configured to:
send the second NDP frame to the initiator and the receiver (Yu: Fig. 16, ¶ 28, ¶ 111-114; wherein in response to receiving the NDP announcement frame 1602, the slave AP transmits a NDP frame 1606 to STA1… Next, the slave AP (i.e., the sensing transmitter) may send modified multi-AP NDP announcement frames 1610 (i.e., a second NDP frame sent from the sensing transmitter to the sensing initiator (i.e., the master AP), wherein a modified NDPA frame is a type of NDP frame) to the master AP and 1612 to STA2 (which is under the slave AP) (i.e., a receiver), respectively);
wherein a receiver address (RA) of the second NDP frame comprises at least one of: address information of the initiator or address information of the receiver (Yu: Fig. 11, Fig. 13, ¶ 100 – 107; wherein the HE NDP announcement frame format in 802.11ax … includes a RA field 1106 (6 octets) (i.e., wherein a RA field is known to comprise the receiver address. In this case it could be the sensing initiator or the STA1 or both, since they both receive the modified NDPA from the Slave AP)); wherein a transmitter address (TA) of the second NDP frame comprises address information of the transmitter (Yu: Fig. 11, Fig. 13, ¶ 100 – 107; wherein the HE NDP announcement frame format in 802.11ax … includes a TA field 1108 (6 octets) (i.e., wherein a TA field is known to comprise the transmitter address. In this case it would be the slave AP information, since the slave AP is the device sending the modified NDPA)).
Regarding claim 23, Kim in view of Yu teaches an electronic device, comprising:
a processor (Kim: Fig. 1, Fig. 9, ¶ 29-30, ¶167: in view of processing chips 114 and 124 of FIG. 1, or may be implemented based on the processors 111 and 121); and
a memory having a computer program stored on (Kim: Fig. 1, Fig. 9, ¶ 29-30, ¶167: in view of memories 112 and 122 of FIG. 1, or may be implemented based on the processor 910 and memory 920 of FIG. 9),
wherein the processor is configured to perform the method according to claim 8.
Regarding claim 24, Kim in view of Yu teaches a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer program that, when executed by a processor, implements the method according to claim 5 ((Kim: Fig. 1, Fig. 9, ¶ 29-30, ¶167-169: in view of the CRM of the present specification may be the memories 112 and 122 of FIG. 1 or the memory 920 of FIG. 9 or a separate external memory/storage medium/disk or the like) likewise, (Yu: Fig 2, ¶ 33, ¶ 140; wherein the baseband processor 210 may utilize the memory 232, which may include a non-transitory computer/machine readable medium having software (e.g., computer/machine programing instructions) and data stored therein)).
Regarding claim 25, Kim in view of Yu teaches a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer program that, when executed by a processor, implements the method according to claim 8 ((Kim: Fig. 1, Fig. 9, ¶ 29-30, ¶167-169: in view of the CRM of the present specification may be the memories 112 and 122 of FIG. 1 or the memory 920 of FIG. 9 or a separate external memory/storage medium/disk or the like) likewise, (Yu: Fig 2, ¶ 33, ¶ 140; wherein the baseband processor 210 may utilize the memory 232, which may include a non-transitory computer/machine readable medium having software (e.g., computer/machine programing instructions) and data stored therein)).
Claims 3, 6, 18, and 21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim et al., and Yu et al., as applied to claims 1, 5, and 8 above, and further in view of Berger et al. [US 20200132857 A1] hereinafter Berger.
Regarding claim 3, as best understood, Kim in view of Yu teaches the method according to claim 1, wherein the NDPA frame comprises at least one of a station information (STA info) field or a special STA info field (Yu: Fig. 11, Fig. 13, ¶ 100 – 107; wherein the HE NDP announcement frame format in 802.11ax … includes a RA field 1106 (6 octets), a TA field 1108 (6 octets), station (STA) info fields 1-n 1112A-N (each field is 4 octets)).
Kim in view of Yu does not explicitly teach that at least one of the first identifier, the second identifier or the third identifier is comprised in the at least one of the STA info field or the special STA info field.
Referring to the invention of Berger, Berger teaches that the identifier (AID) of an intended recipient of an NDPA frame is included in a subfield of the station information field (Berger: Fig. 5A, ¶ 120 – 124; wherein the NDPA frame 500 also includes one or more station information fields 524. Each station information field 524 includes an association identifier (AID) subfield 564 that includes at least a portion of an AID of an intended recipient of the NDPA frame 500. In an embodiment, the AID is a shortened network address (e.g., a MAC address) of an intended recipient of the NDPA frame 500).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the explicit declaration of the STA info field comprising the AID of the intended recipient teachings of Berger into the combined invention of Kim and Yu, in order to ensure targeted, efficient, and accurate channel sounding, to reduce unnecessary processing, support backward compatibility, and to enable precise control over high-bandwidth sounding operations especially in high-throughput and multi-STA environments where resource efficiency and correctness are critical.
In view of the Berger teachings where the AID of the intended recipient of an NDPA frame is included in the STA information field, the claim limitation “at least one of the first identifier, the second identifier or the third identifier is comprised in the at least one of the STA info field or the special STA info field” will obviously be met.
Regarding claim 6, Kim in view of Yu teaches the method according to claim 5, wherein obtaining at least one of the second identifier of the receiver or the third identifier of the initiator comprised in the NDPA frame comprises (Yu: Fig. 11, Fig. 13, ¶ 100 – 107; wherein the HE NDP announcement frame format in 802.11ax … includes a RA field 1106 (6 octets), a TA field 1108 (6 octets), station (STA) info fields 1-n 1112A-N (each field is 4 octets)).
Kim in view of Yu does not explicitly teach obtaining the at least one of the second identifier or the third identifier comprised in at least one of a station information (STA info) field or a special STA info field of the NDPA frame.
Referring to the invention of Berger, Berger teaches that the identifier (AID) of an intended recipient of an NDPA frame is included in a subfield of the station information field (Berger: Fig. 5A, ¶ 120 – 124; wherein the NDPA frame 500 also includes one or more station information fields 524. Each station information field 524 includes an association identifier (AID) subfield 564 that includes at least a portion of an AID of an intended recipient of the NDPA frame 500. In an embodiment, the AID is a shortened network address (e.g., a MAC address) of an intended recipient of the NDPA frame 500).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the explicit declaration of the STA info field comprising the AID of the intended recipient teachings of Berger into the combined invention of Kim and Yu, in order to ensure targeted, efficient, and accurate channel sounding, to reduce unnecessary processing, support backward compatibility, and to enable precise control over high-bandwidth sounding operations especially in high-throughput and multi-STA environments where resource efficiency and correctness are critical.
In view of the Berger teachings where the AID of the intended recipient of an NDPA frame is included in the STA information field, the claim limitation “at least one of the first identifier, the second identifier or the third identifier is comprised in the at least one of the STA info field or the special STA info field” will obviously be met.
Regarding claim 18, as best understood, Kim in view of Yu teaches the electronic device according to claim 15, wherein the NDPA frame comprises at least one of a station information (STA info) field or a special STA info field (Yu: Fig. 11, Fig. 13, ¶ 100 – 107; wherein the HE NDP announcement frame format in 802.11ax … includes a RA field 1106 (6 octets), a TA field 1108 (6 octets), station (STA) info fields 1-n 1112A-N (each field is 4 octets)).
Kim in view of Yu does not explicitly teach that at least one of the first identifier, the second identifier or the third identifier is comprised in the at least one of the STA info field or the special STA info field.
Referring to the invention of Berger, Berger teaches that the identifier (AID) of an intended recipient of an NDPA frame is included in a subfield of the station information field (Berger: Fig. 5A, ¶ 120 – 124; wherein the NDPA frame 500 also includes one or more station information fields 524. Each station information field 524 includes an association identifier (AID) subfield 564 that includes at least a portion of an AID of an intended recipient of the NDPA frame 500. In an embodiment, the AID is a shortened network address (e.g., a MAC address) of an intended recipient of the NDPA frame 500).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the explicit declaration of the STA info field comprising the AID of the intended recipient teachings of Berger into the combined invention of Kim and Yu, in order to ensure targeted, efficient, and accurate channel sounding, to reduce unnecessary processing, support backward compatibility, and to enable precise control over high-bandwidth sounding operations especially in high-throughput and multi-STA environments where resource efficiency and correctness are critical.
In view of the Berger teachings where the AID of the intended recipient of an NDPA frame is included in the STA information field, the claim limitation “at least one of the first identifier, the second identifier or the third identifier is comprised in the at least one of the STA info field or the special STA info field” will obviously be met.
Regarding claim 21, Kim in view of Yu teaches the electronic device according to claim 20, wherein, when obtaining at least one of the second identifier of the receiver or the third identifier of the initiator comprised in the NDPA frame, the processor is configured to (Yu: Fig. 11, Fig. 13, ¶ 100 – 107; wherein the HE NDP announcement frame format in 802.11ax … includes a RA field 1106 (6 octets), a TA field 1108 (6 octets), station (STA) info fields 1-n 1112A-N (each field is 4 octets)).
Kim in view of Yu does not explicitly teach obtain the at least one of the second identifier or the third identifier comprised in at least one of a station information (STA info) field or a special STA info field of the NDPA frame.
Referring to the invention of Berger, Berger teaches that the identifier (AID) of an intended recipient of an NDPA frame is included in a subfield of the station information field (Berger: Fig. 5A, ¶ 120 – 124; wherein the NDPA frame 500 also includes one or more station information fields 524. Each station information field 524 includes an association identifier (AID) subfield 564 that includes at least a portion of an AID of an intended recipient of the NDPA frame 500. In an embodiment, the AID is a shortened network address (e.g., a MAC address) of an intended recipient of the NDPA frame 500).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the explicit declaration of the STA info field comprising the AID of the intended recipient teachings of Berger into the combined invention of Kim and Yu, in order to ensure targeted, efficient, and accurate channel sounding, to reduce unnecessary processing, support backward compatibility, and to enable precise control over high-bandwidth sounding operations especially in high-throughput and multi-STA environments where resource efficiency and correctness are critical.
In view of the Berger teachings where the AID of the intended recipient of an NDPA frame is included in the STA information field, the claim limitation “at least one of the first identifier, the second identifier or the third identifier is comprised in the at least one of the STA info field or the special STA info field” will obviously be met.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Jang et al. [US 20230221428 A1]: Method and Apparatus for performing sensing in Wireless LAN Systems.
Ghosh et al. [US 20190373599 A1]: Trigger Frames for Range Estimation in Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN).
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/HD/Examiner, Art Unit 2414
/EDAN ORGAD/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2414
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