DETAILED ACTION
This Office action is a response to an application filed on October 16, 2024, and to a preliminary amendment filed on even date. Prior to the preliminary amendment, claims 1-14 were pending. By the preliminary amendment, claims 1-4, 7, 13 and 14 were amended, claims 9-12 were canceled, and claims 15-21 were newly added. Accordingly, claims 1-8 and 13-21 are currently pending and ready for examination.
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 statements (IDS) submitted on October 16, 2024, August 21, 2025 and on June 10, 2026 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements are being considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claims 3 and 18 each recite the limitation “and/or,” which is ordinarily not per se improper. However, in the context of these claims, because it results in the claim scope that encompasses a situation where a NDPA Sounding both preceding and succeeding a TF Sounding, which situation is a physical impossibility, the “and/or” language in this instance is improper.
For the purpose of the examination, the limitations is construed to mean an “or.”
An appropriate correction is required.
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 (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.
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)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section151, 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 1-4, 6-8, 13-19 and 21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. §102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Jang et al. (US Published Patent Application No. US2025/0119939) (“Jang”).
Regarding claim 1, Jang discloses a WLAN sensing measurement method (See, e.g., Fig. 21), applied to a sensing initiator (See, e.g., Fig. 21, S2110; and ¶[0260], “The AP may transmit a sensing measurement setup request frame containing first information indicating the role of the STA to the STA (S2110).”), wherein the method comprises:
determining a sensing measurement setup request frame (See, Fig. 21, S2110; ¶[0260], “The AP may transmit a sensing measurement setup request frame containing first information indicating the role of the STA to the STA (S2110);” ¶[0269], “The sensing measurement request frame or/and the sensing measurement response frame may include a measurement setup (group) ID, role information, and order information of DL/UL sounding;” and ¶[0268], “the sensing initiator may determine the measurement setup ID and role of other sensing STAs in the sensing measurement setup step.”);
wherein the sensing measurement setup request frame comprises first indication information (See, Fig. 21, S2130; “THE FIRST INFORMATION AND THE SECOND INFORMATION;” ¶[0245], “a sensing measurement setup request frame including first information indicating the role of the STA;” and ¶[0248], “the sensing measurement setup request frame may include a measurement setup ID or/and second information indicating the order of the first type of measurement procedure and the second type of measurement procedure.” Throughout the remainder of this Office Action, the claimed first indication information corresponds to the set of information including at least the first information (indicating the role), the measurement setup ID (information for identifying the parameter assigned to the sensing measurement parameter element, see, ¶[0270] and the second information (indicating the type and order of the sounding process.), the first indication information comprises at least one of a sounding type (See, ¶[0248], “the sensing measurement setup request frame may include a measurement setup ID or/and second information indicating the order of the first type of measurement procedure and the second type of measurement procedure.”) or a processing order of a sensing measurement instance (See, e.g., ¶[0269], “The sensing measurement request frame or/and the sensing measurement response frame may include a measurement setup (group) ID, role information, and order information of DL/UL sounding;” Table 4, showing ‘value = 2’ indicating “First DL sounding + Second UL sounding,” and ‘value = 3’ indicating “First UL sounding + Second DL Sounding;” and ¶[0297], “in the sensing measurement setup step, DL/UL sounding order information may be transmitted from the AP to each STA.”), and the sounding type comprises at least one of a trigger frame sounding (TF Sounding) or a null data packet announcement sounding (NDPA Sounding) (See, ¶[0251], “the first type of measurement procedure (or DL sounding step/procedure) is performed based on NDP announcement frames, and the second type of measurement procedure (or UL sounding step/procedure) may be performed based on a trigger frame.” See, e.g., also Fig. 22.); and
sending the sensing measurement setup request frame (See, Fig. 21, S2110; and ¶[0260], “The AP may transmit a sensing measurement setup request frame containing first information indicating the role of the STA to the STA (S2110)”.) during a sensing measurement setup procedure (¶[0266] “Hereinafter, it is described in detail how the sensing STA negotiates its role in the TB/non-TB measurement instance in the sensing measurement setup stage.”).
Regarding claim 2/1, Jang discloses a WLAN sensing measurement method comprising all elements recited in claim 1 as discussed above.
Jang further discloses that the first indication information comprises identity information (See, ¶[0269], “The sensing measurement request frame or/and the sensing measurement response frame may include a measurement setup (group) ID, role information, and order information of DL/UL sounding;” and ¶[0214], “The role of the STA may be defined as a sensing initiator, sensing responder, sensing transmitter, and sensing receiver.” See, also, Table 2.);
in a case where the identity information comprises a sensing transmitter (See, Fig. 22, “STA 1”), the sounding type comprises the NDPA Sounding (See, ¶[0293], “Depending on the role field value (e.g., 2) corresponding to STA 1, roles that can participate in both UL/DL sounding (i.e., sensing transmitter and sensing receiver) may be set for STA 1; and ¶[0251], “the first type of measurement procedure (or DL sounding step/procedure) is performed based on NDP announcement frames, and the second type of measurement procedure (or UL sounding step/procedure) may be performed based on a trigger frame); and/or1
in a case where the identity information comprises a sensing receiver (See, Fig. 22, “STA 1”), the sounding type comprises the TF Sounding (See, ¶[0293], “Depending on the role field value (e.g., 2) corresponding to STA 1, roles that can participate in both UL/DL sounding (i.e., sensing transmitter and sensing receiver) may be set for STA 1; and ¶[0251], “the first type of measurement procedure (or DL sounding step/procedure) is performed based on NDP announcement frames, and the second type of measurement procedure (or UL sounding step/procedure) may be performed based on a trigger frame).
Regarding claim 3/1, Jang discloses a WLAN sensing measurement method comprising all elements recited in claim 1 as discussed above.
Jang further discloses that in a case where the first indication information indicates the processing order (See, e.g., ¶[0269], “The sensing measurement request frame or/and the sensing measurement response frame may include a measurement setup (group) ID, role information, and order information of DL/UL sounding”.),
the first indication information is a first parameter value (Table 4, showing value = 2), and a processing order of the NDPA Sounding precedes a processing order of the TF Sounding (See, Table 4, showing value = 2 indicating “First DL sounding + Second UL sounding;” ¶[0294], “If the value of the DL/UL sounding order field is set to 2, it may mean that both DL sounding and UL sounding will be performed and DL sounding will be performed first;” and ¶[0251], “the first type of measurement procedure (or DL sounding step/procedure) is performed based on NDP announcement frames, and the second type of measurement procedure (or UL sounding step/procedure) may be performed based on a trigger frame.”); and/or
the first indication information is a second parameter value (Table 4, showing value = 3), and the processing order of the TF Sounding precedes the processing order of the NDPA Sounding (See, Table 4, showing value = 3 indicating “First UL sounding + Second DL sounding;” ¶[0251], “the first type of measurement procedure (or DL sounding step/procedure) is performed based on NDP announcement frames, and the second type of measurement procedure (or UL sounding step/procedure) may be performed based on a trigger frame.”).
Regarding claim 4/1, Jang discloses a WLAN sensing measurement method comprising all elements recited in claim 1 as discussed above.
Jang further discloses that in a case where the first indication information indicates the sounding type (See, Table 3; and ¶[0284], “Order information of DL/UL sounding may include information about what type of sounding procedure (e.g., DL sounding, UL sounding, or both UL/DL sounding) is performed and which sounding procedure is performed first.”),
the first indication information is a third parameter value (See, Table 3, ‘Value = 2’), and the sounding type comprises the TF Sounding and the NDPA Sounding (See, Table 3, “Both of Downlink sounding and Uplink sounding;” ¶[0280], “when the role information value is set to 2, the sensing STA that received the sensing request frame is instructed/set to participate in both UL/DL sounding;” and ¶[0251], “the first type of measurement procedure (or DL sounding step/procedure) is performed based on NDP announcement frames, and the second type of measurement procedure (or UL sounding step/procedure) may be performed based on a trigger frame.”); and/or
the first indication information is a fourth parameter value (See, Table 3, ‘Value = 0 or 1’), and the sounding type comprises the TF Sounding (See, Table 3, ‘Value = 1,’ “Uplink sounding only;” ¶[0251], “the second type of measurement procedure (or UL sounding step/procedure) may be performed based on a trigger frame.”) or the NDPA Sounding (See, Table 3, ‘Value = 0,’ “Downlink sounding only;” ¶[0251], “the first type of measurement procedure (or DL sounding step/procedure) is performed based on NDP announcement frames”.).
Regarding claim 6/1, Jang discloses a WLAN sensing measurement method comprising all elements recited in claim 1 as discussed above.
Jang further discloses that the sensing measurement setup request frame comprises a sensing measurement parameters element (See, ¶[0270], “the measurement setup ID refers to information for identifying the parameter assigned to the sensing measurement parameter element to be used in the sensing measurement instance (or sensing session); and
the first indication information is carried in the sensing measurement parameters element (¶[0248], “the sensing measurement setup request frame may include a measurement setup ID or/and second information indicating the order of the first type of measurement procedure and the second type of measurement procedure.” See, also, ¶[0270] above).
Regarding claim 7, Jang discloses a WLAN sensing measurement method (See, e.g., Fig. 20), applied to a sensing responder (See, e.g., Fig. 22, STA 1 – 4; ¶[0246], “the STA may be a sensing responder, and the AP may be a sensing initiator.”), wherein the method comprises:
receiving a sensing measurement setup request frame (See, Fig. 20, S2010; and ¶[0245], “The STA may receive a sensing measurement setup request frame including first information indicating the role of the STA from an access point (AP) (S2010).”) during a sensing measurement setup procedure (¶[0243], “Hereinafter, the method by which the sensing STA negotiates its role in the TB/non-TB measurement instance in the sensing measurement setup stage will be described.”),
wherein the sensing measurement setup request frame comprises first indication information (See, Fig. 20, S2030; “THE FIRST INFORMATION AND THE SECOND INFORMATION;” ¶[0245], “a sensing measurement setup request frame including first information indicating the role of the STA;” and ¶[0248], “the sensing measurement setup request frame may include a measurement setup ID or/and second information indicating the order of the first type of measurement procedure and the second type of measurement procedure.”), the first indication information comprises at least one of a sounding type (See, ¶[0248], “the sensing measurement setup request frame may include a measurement setup ID or/and second information indicating the order of the first type of measurement procedure and the second type of measurement procedure.”) or a processing order of a sensing measurement instance (See, e.g., ¶[0269], “The sensing measurement request frame or/and the sensing measurement response frame may include a measurement setup (group) ID, role information, and order information of DL/UL sounding;” Table 4, showing ‘value = 2’ indicating “First DL sounding + Second UL sounding,” and ‘value = 3’ indicating “First UL sounding + Second DL Sounding;” and ¶[0297], “in the sensing measurement setup step, DL/UL sounding order information may be transmitted from the AP to each STA.”), and the sounding type comprises at least one of a trigger frame sounding (TF Sounding) or a null data packet announcement sounding (NDPA Sounding) (See, ¶[0251], “the first type of measurement procedure (or DL sounding step/procedure) is performed based on NDP announcement frames, and the second type of measurement procedure (or UL sounding step/procedure) may be performed based on a trigger frame.” See, e.g., also Fig. 22.).
Regarding claim 8/7, Jang discloses a WLAN sensing measurement method comprising all elements recited in claim 7 as discussed above.
Jang further discloses that in a case where the first indication information indicates the sounding type (See, ¶[0248], “the sensing measurement setup request frame may include a measurement setup ID or/and second information indicating the order of the first type of measurement procedure and the second type of measurement procedure.”) and the processing order (See, e.g., ¶[0269], “The sensing measurement request frame or/and the sensing measurement response frame may include a measurement setup (group) ID, role information, and order information of DL/UL sounding;” Table 4, showing ‘value = 2’ indicating “First DL sounding + Second UL sounding,” and ‘value = 3’ indicating “First UL sounding + Second DL Sounding;” and ¶[0297], “in the sensing measurement setup step, DL/UL sounding order information may be transmitted from the AP to each STA.”), and the sounding type includes the TF Sounding and the NDPA Sounding (See, ¶[0251], “the first type of measurement procedure (or DL sounding step/procedure) is performed based on NDP announcement frames, and the second type of measurement procedure (or UL sounding step/procedure) may be performed based on a trigger frame.” See, e.g., also Fig. 22.);
after receiving the sensing measurement setup request frame (See, Fig. 20, S2030, “based on the first information and the second information,” which information is included in the sensing measurement setup request frame (see, Fig. 20, S2010), clearly indicating step S2030 is performed after step S2010.), the method further comprises:
determining a target sounding type in which the sensing responder participates (¶[0252], “Specifically, based on the STA's role being set as a sensing receiver by the first information, the STA may perform the first type of measurement procedure. And, based on the STA's role being set as a sensing transmitter by the first information, the STA may perform the second type of measurement procedure. Based on the STA's role being set as both a sensing transmitter and a sensing receiver by the first information, the STA may perform both the first type of measurement and the second type of procedure.”); and
determining a processing order of the target sounding type (¶[0253], “When the role of the STA is set as both a sensing transmitter and a sensing receiver by the first information, the order of the first type of measurement and the second type of measurement procedure may be determined according to the second information.”).
Regarding claim 13, Jang discloses an electronic device (Fig. 1, #100 or #200), comprising:
a processor (Fig. 1, #102 or #202); and
a memory (Fig. 1, #104 or #204) storing a computer program stored in the memory and executable by the processor (¶[0045], “A processor 102 may control a memory 104 and/or a transceiver 106 and may be configured to implement description, functions, procedures, proposals, methods and/or operation flow charts disclosed in the present disclosure. For example, a processor 102 may transmit a wireless signal including first information/signal through a transceiver 106 after generating first information/signal by processing information in a memory 104. … A memory 104 may be connected to a processor 102 and may store a variety of information related to an operation of a processor 102.), wherein when the computer program is executed by the processor, wherein the processor is configured to perform the method according to claim 1 (See, ¶[0041], “the first device 100 and the second device 200 include an access point (AP)”).
Regarding claim 14, Jang discloses a non-transitory computer-readable storage storing a computer program that when executed by a processor, causes the processor to perform the method according to claim 1 (See, ¶¶[0306]-[0307], “A scope of the present disclosure includes software or machine-executable commands (e.g., an operating system, an application, a firmware, a program, etc.) which execute an operation according to a method of various embodiments in a device or a computer and a non-transitory computer-readable medium that such a software or a command, etc. are stored and are executable in a device or a computer;” and “A memory or alternatively, nonvolatile memory device(s) in a memory include a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. A feature described in the present disclosure may be stored in any one of machine-readable mediums to control a hardware of a processing system and may be integrated into a software and/or a firmware which allows a processing system to interact with other mechanism utilizing a result from an embodiment of the present disclosure.”).
Regarding claim 15, Jang discloses a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program that, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to perform the method according to claim 7 (See, ¶¶[0306]-[0307], “A scope of the present disclosure includes software or machine-executable commands (e.g., an operating system, an application, a firmware, a program, etc.) which execute an operation according to a method of various embodiments in a device or a computer and a non-transitory computer-readable medium that such a software or a command, etc. are stored and are executable in a device or a computer;” and “A memory or alternatively, nonvolatile memory device(s) in a memory include a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. A feature described in the present disclosure may be stored in any one of machine-readable mediums to control a hardware of a processing system and may be integrated into a software and/or a firmware which allows a processing system to interact with other mechanism utilizing a result from an embodiment of the present disclosure.”).
Regarding claim 16, Jang discloses a network device operating as a sensing initiator (Fig. 22, “AP;” ¶[0292], “The AP (or sensing initiator) may transmit a sensing measurement request frame to STA 1 to STA 4 in the sensing measurement setup phase;” and Fig. 1, #100 or #200), and comprising:
a processor (Fig. 1, #102 or #202); and
a memory (Fig. 1, #104 or #204) storing a computer program executable by the processor (¶[0045], “A processor 102 may control a memory 104 and/or a transceiver 106 and may be configured to implement description, functions, procedures, proposals, methods and/or operation flow charts disclosed in the present disclosure. For example, a processor 102 may transmit a wireless signal including first information/signal through a transceiver 106 after generating first information/signal by processing information in a memory 104. … A memory 104 may be connected to a processor 102 and may store a variety of information related to an operation of a processor 102.),
wherein the processor is configured to:
determining a sensing measurement setup request frame (See, Fig. 21, S2110; ¶[0260], “The AP may transmit a sensing measurement setup request frame containing first information indicating the role of the STA to the STA (S2110);” ¶[0269], “The sensing measurement request frame or/and the sensing measurement response frame may include a measurement setup (group) ID, role information, and order information of DL/UL sounding;” and ¶[0268], “the sensing initiator may determine the measurement setup ID and role of other sensing STAs in the sensing measurement setup step.”);
wherein the sensing measurement setup request frame comprises first indication information (See, Fig. 21, S2130; “THE FIRST INFORMATION AND THE SECOND INFORMATION;” ¶[0245], “a sensing measurement setup request frame including first information indicating the role of the STA;” and ¶[0248], “the sensing measurement setup request frame may include a measurement setup ID or/and second information indicating the order of the first type of measurement procedure and the second type of measurement procedure.”), the first indication information comprises at least one of a sounding type (See, ¶[0248], “the sensing measurement setup request frame may include a measurement setup ID or/and second information indicating the order of the first type of measurement procedure and the second type of measurement procedure.”) or a processing order of a sensing measurement instance (See, e.g., ¶[0269], “The sensing measurement request frame or/and the sensing measurement response frame may include a measurement setup (group) ID, role information, and order information of DL/UL sounding;” Table 4, showing ‘value = 2’ indicating “First DL sounding + Second UL sounding,” and ‘value = 3’ indicating “First UL sounding + Second DL Sounding;” and ¶[0297], “in the sensing measurement setup step, DL/UL sounding order information may be transmitted from the AP to each STA.”), and the sounding type comprises at least one of a trigger frame sounding (TF Sounding) or a null data packet announcement sounding (NDPA Sounding) (See, ¶[0251], “the first type of measurement procedure (or DL sounding step/procedure) is performed based on NDP announcement frames, and the second type of measurement procedure (or UL sounding step/procedure) may be performed based on a trigger frame.” See, e.g., also Fig. 22.); and
sending the sensing measurement setup request frame (See, Fig. 21, S2110; and ¶[0260], “The AP may transmit a sensing measurement setup request frame containing first information indicating the role of the STA to the STA (S2110)”.) during a sensing measurement setup procedure (¶[0266] “Hereinafter, it is described in detail how the sensing STA negotiates its role in the TB/non-TB measurement instance in the sensing measurement setup stage.”).
Regarding claim 17/16, Jang discloses a network device comprising all elements recited in claim 16 as discussed above.
Jang further discloses that the first indication information comprises identity information (See, ¶[0269], “The sensing measurement request frame or/and the sensing measurement response frame may include a measurement setup (group) ID, role information, and order information of DL/UL sounding;” and ¶[0214], “The role of the STA may be defined as a sensing initiator, sensing responder, sensing transmitter, and sensing receiver.” See, also, Table 2.);
in a case where the identity information comprises a sensing transmitter (See, Fig. 22, “STA 1”), the sounding type comprises the NDPA Sounding (See, ¶[0293], “Depending on the role field value (e.g., 2) corresponding to STA 1, roles that can participate in both UL/DL sounding (i.e., sensing transmitter and sensing receiver) may be set for STA 1; and ¶[0251], “the first type of measurement procedure (or DL sounding step/procedure) is performed based on NDP announcement frames, and the second type of measurement procedure (or UL sounding step/procedure) may be performed based on a trigger frame); and/or2
in a case where the identity information comprises a sensing receiver (See, Fig. 22, “STA 1”), the sounding type comprises the TF Sounding (See, ¶[0293], “Depending on the role field value (e.g., 2) corresponding to STA 1, roles that can participate in both UL/DL sounding (i.e., sensing transmitter and sensing receiver) may be set for STA 1; and ¶[0251], “the first type of measurement procedure (or DL sounding step/procedure) is performed based on NDP announcement frames, and the second type of measurement procedure (or UL sounding step/procedure) may be performed based on a trigger frame).
Regarding claim 18/16, Jang discloses a network device comprising all elements recited in claim 16 as discussed above.
Jang further discloses that in a case where the first indication information indicates the processing order (See, e.g., ¶[0269], “The sensing measurement request frame or/and the sensing measurement response frame may include a measurement setup (group) ID, role information, and order information of DL/UL sounding”.),
the first indication information is a first parameter value (Table 4, showing value = 2), and a processing order of the NDPA Sounding precedes a processing order of the TF Sounding (See, Table 4, showing value = 2 indicating “First DL sounding + Second UL sounding;” ¶[0294], “If the value of the DL/UL sounding order field is set to 2, it may mean that both DL sounding and UL sounding will be performed and DL sounding will be performed first;” and ¶[0251], “the first type of measurement procedure (or DL sounding step/procedure) is performed based on NDP announcement frames, and the second type of measurement procedure (or UL sounding step/procedure) may be performed based on a trigger frame.”); and/or
the first indication information is a second parameter value (Table 4, showing value = 3), and the processing order of the TF Sounding precedes the processing order of the NDPA Sounding (See, Table 4, showing value = 3 indicating “First UL sounding + Second DL sounding;” ¶[0251], “the first type of measurement procedure (or DL sounding step/procedure) is performed based on NDP announcement frames, and the second type of measurement procedure (or UL sounding step/procedure) may be performed based on a trigger frame.”).
Regarding claim 19/16, Jang discloses a network device comprising all elements recited in claim 16 as discussed above.
Jang further discloses that in a case where the first indication information indicates the sounding type (See, Table 3; and ¶[0284], “Order information of DL/UL sounding may include information about what type of sounding procedure (e.g., DL sounding, UL sounding, or both UL/DL sounding) is performed and which sounding procedure is performed first.”),
the first indication information is a third parameter value (See, Table 3, ‘Value = 2’), and the sounding type comprises the TF Sounding and the NDPA Sounding (See, Table 3, “Both of Downlink sounding and Uplink sounding;” ¶[0280], “when the role information value is set to 2, the sensing STA that received the sensing request frame is instructed/set to participate in both UL/DL sounding;” and ¶[0251], “the first type of measurement procedure (or DL sounding step/procedure) is performed based on NDP announcement frames, and the second type of measurement procedure (or UL sounding step/procedure) may be performed based on a trigger frame.”); and/or
the first indication information is a fourth parameter value (See, Table 3, ‘Value = 0 or 1’), and the sounding type comprises the TF Sounding (See, Table 3, ‘Value = 1,’ “Uplink sounding only;” ¶[0251], “the second type of measurement procedure (or UL sounding step/procedure) may be performed based on a trigger frame.”) or the NDPA Sounding (See, Table 3, ‘Value = 0,’ “Downlink sounding only;” ¶[0251], “the first type of measurement procedure (or DL sounding step/procedure) is performed based on NDP announcement frames”.).
Regarding claim 21/16, Jang discloses a network device comprising all elements recited in claim 16 as discussed above.
Jang further discloses that the sensing measurement setup request frame comprises a sensing measurement parameters element (See, ¶[0270], “the measurement setup ID refers to information for identifying the parameter assigned to the sensing measurement parameter element to be used in the sensing measurement instance (or sensing session); and
the first indication information is carried in the sensing measurement parameters element (¶[0248], “the sensing measurement setup request frame may include a measurement setup ID or/and second information indicating the order of the first type of measurement procedure and the second type of measurement procedure.” See, also, ¶[0270] above).
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.
Claims 5 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. §103 as being unpatentable over Jang in view of Lim et al. (US Published Patent Application No. US2024/0022934)(“ Lim”).
Regarding claim 5/4, Jang teaches a WLAN sensing measurement method comprising all elements recited in claim 4 as discussed above.
Jang further teaches a dialog token field of the sensing measurement setup request frame (See, Fig. 17, “Dialog Token” field included in an action frame; and ¶[0226], “As shown in FIG. 17, the sensing request frame may be defined as an action frame.”), and that the first indication information includes the measurement setup ID (See, ¶[0270], the measurement setup ID refers to information for identifying the parameter assigned to the sensing measurement parameter element to be used in the sensing measurement instance (or sensing session)”).
Jang, however, fails to teach explicitly that that the first indication information (i.e., the measurement setup ID, which Jang does disclose) is carried in the dialog token field.
Lim teaches that the first indication information is carried in a dialog token field (See, e.g., Lim, Fig. 18; and ¶[0268], the Sounding Dialog Token Number fields (B2 through B7) included in the Sensing NDPA frame may be used to indicate the Sensing Measurement Instance ID.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the WLAN sensing methods and devices taught by Jang to incorporate the above teaching of Lim in order to improve the identification of matching association between sensing measurement and the sensing reporting (See, e.g., Lim, ¶ [0159] “the value indicated by the Sounding Dialog Token Number field may be used to indicate which feedback frame or reporting frame is for which sensing measurement instance/burst.”.).
Regarding claim 20/19, Jang teaches a network device comprising all elements recited in claim 19 as discussed above.
Jang further teaches a dialog token field of the sensing measurement setup request frame (See, Fig. 17, “Dialog Token” field included in an action frame; and ¶[0226], “As shown in FIG. 17, the sensing request frame may be defined as an action frame.”), and that the first indication information includes the measurement setup ID (See, ¶[0270], the measurement setup ID refers to information for identifying the parameter assigned to the sensing measurement parameter element to be used in the sensing measurement instance (or sensing session)”).
Jang, however, fails to teach explicitly that that the first indication information (i.e., the measurement setup ID, which Jang does disclose) is carried in the dialog token field.
Lim teaches that the first indication information is carried in a dialog token field (See, e.g., Lim, Fig. 18; and ¶[0268], the Sounding Dialog Token Number fields (B2 through B7) included in the Sensing NDPA frame may be used to indicate the Sensing Measurement Instance ID.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the WLAN sensing methods and devices taught by Jang to incorporate the above teaching of Lim in order to improve the identification of matching association between sensing measurement and the sensing reporting (See, e.g., Lim, ¶ [0159] “the value indicated by the Sounding Dialog Token Number field may be used to indicate which feedback frame or reporting frame is for which sensing measurement instance/burst.”.).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to Applicant’s disclosure.
1) Jang et al. (US Published Patent Application No. US 2025/0024490) teaches various aspects pertinent to the claimed invention (See, e.g., Figs. 20 and 21, and the description thereof);
2) Trainin et al. (US Published Patent Application No. US 20230009140) teaches various aspects pertinent to the claimed invention (See, e.g., ¶¶[0137] and [0141]); and
3) Chitrakar et al. (US Published Patent Application No. US 2025/0047343) teaches various aspects pertinent to the claimed invention (See, e.g., Figs. 9 and 37, and the descriptions thereof).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KI S KIM whose telephone number is (571)272-9141. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th 7:00AM - 5:30PM.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Moo R Jeong can be reached at (571) 272-9617. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/K.S.K./Examiner, Art Unit 2418 August 24, 2026
/Moo Jeong/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2418
1 To the extent that this claim language, “and/or,” encompasses both “the identity information comprises a sensing transmitter” and “the identity information comprises a sensing receiver,” the STA 1, assigned the role of both a sensing transmitter and a sensing receiver, meets this claim language.
2 See footnote 1 above.
Prosecution Insights