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 19th February 2025 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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Claim Objections
Claims 17 and 19 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 17: replace “.” with -- ; -- after the first “total in-BSS channel utilization for the first BSS” condition; and
Claim 19: insert -- ; -- prior to the final “one or more BSS load percentile values over the averaging window” condition.
Appropriate correction is required.
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Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
Claims 1, 2, 9, 10, 16 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Liu et al (US 2012/0052900 A1).
Claim 1. Liu shows a method (abstract), comprising: by a first wireless device (figs. 1 and 2: device 105/205): receiving, from a second wireless device (figs. 1 and 2: device 110/207), basic service set (BSS) load information ([0059]: the communication process can select the identified primary channel of the second wireless communication device as the primary channel for the first wireless communication device… a VHT AP (e.g. the first wireless communication device), operable in the communication process, can start an 80 MHz or 160 MHz BSS (80/160 BSS) by selecting a primary channel that overlaps with an existing primary channel (e.g. the identified primary channel for the second wireless communication device)… the VHT AP can further select a primary channel of the 80/160 BSS to overlap with the least busy channel of the existing primary channels; [0063]: with respect to the traffic loads of the channels, when both the new BSS and the existing BSS are fully loaded (e.g. experiencing a channel utilization rate of greater than 90%, other numerical values are possible), all the channels can be fully utilized) comprising overlapping BSS (OBSS) channel utilization information for one or more BSSs (fig. 8 and [0079]: the primary channel (channel 815A, channel 815B, or both) of the new BSS 810 can be selected to at least partially overlap with the S2 and S3 channels 825C, 825D of the existing BSS 820); and selecting a BSS with which to associate based at least in part on the OBSS channel utilization information (see above; [0080]: the primary channel 815C of the new BSS 810 can be selected to overlap with the primary channel 825A of the existing BSS 820; [0063], [0068], [0079] and [0080]: with respect to the traffic loads of the channels, when both the new BSS and the existing BSS are fully loaded (e.g. experiencing a channel utilization rate of greater than 90%, other numerical values are possible), all the channels can be fully utilized).
Claim 2. Liu shows the method of claim 1, wherein the BSS load information further comprises in-BSS channel utilization information for the one or more BSSs ([0063], [0068], [0079] and [0080]: with respect to the traffic loads of the channels, when both the new BSS and the existing BSS are fully loaded (e.g. experiencing a channel utilization rate of greater than 90%, other numerical values are possible), all the channels can be fully utilized – signifies (in-BSS) “traffic associated with the BSS” condition), wherein selecting a BSS with which to associate is further based at least in part on the in-BSS channel utilization information (see above).
Claim 9. Liu shows the method of claim 1, wherein the BSS load information is received on a first link, wherein the one or more BSSs comprise one or more of: a BSS provided by the second wireless device on the first link ([0064]: the primary channel 515B of the new BSS 510 can be selected to overlap with the primary channel 525A of the existing BSS 520… the new BSS 510 can share the usage of 515B with the existing BSS 520, and the new BSS 510 can access channels 515C and 515D when it gains access to channel 515B wherein with respect to the traffic loads of the channels, when the new BSS 510 is fully loaded, it can gain access to channels 515C and 515D if the new BSS 510 has a TXOP and when the new BSS 510 is lightly loaded and the existing BSS 520 is fully loaded, the new BSS 510 can compete with the existing BSS 520 for accessing channel 515B); a BSS provided by the second wireless device on a second link (see above); or a BSS provided by a third wireless device on a third link (see above).
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Claim 10. Liu shows a processor comprising memory configured to cause the processor to perform operations (figs. 1 and 2: processor electronics and memory) comprising: receiving basic service set (BSS) load information ([0059]: the communication process can select the identified primary channel of the second wireless communication device as the primary channel for the first wireless communication device… a VHT AP (e.g. the first wireless communication device), operable in the communication process, can start an 80 MHz or 160 MHz BSS (80/160 BSS) by selecting a primary channel that overlaps with an existing primary channel (e.g. the identified primary channel for the second wireless communication device)… the VHT AP can further select a primary channel of the 80/160 BSS to overlap with the least busy channel of the existing primary channels; [0063]: with respect to the traffic loads of the channels, when both the new BSS and the existing BSS are fully loaded (e.g. experiencing a channel utilization rate of greater than 90%, other numerical values are possible), all the channels can be fully utilized) comprising overlapping BSS (OBSS) channel utilization information (fig. 8 and [0079]: the primary channel (channel 815A, channel 815B, or both) of the new BSS 810 can be selected to at least partially overlap with the S2 and S3 channels 825C, 825D of the existing BSS 820) and in-BSS channel utilization information for a BSS (see above; [0080]: the primary channel 815C of the new BSS 810 can be selected to overlap with the primary channel 825A of the existing BSS 820; [0063], [0068], [0079] and [0080]: with respect to the traffic loads of the channels, when both the new BSS and the existing BSS are fully loaded (e.g. experiencing a channel utilization rate of greater than 90%, other numerical values are possible), all the channels can be fully utilized – clearly signifies (in-BSS) “traffic associated with the BSS” condition).
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Claim 16. Liu shows a wireless device (figs. 1 and 2: device 105/205), comprising: one or more antennas (figs. 1 and 2: antenna 220/222); a radio operably coupled to the one or more antennas (figs. 1 and 2: transceiver electronics); and a processor operably coupled to the radio (figs. 1 and 2: processor electronics); wherein the wireless device is configured to: provide basic service set (BSS) load information comprising at least overlapping BSS (OBSS) channel utilization information for the first BSS ([0059]: the communication process can select the identified primary channel of the second wireless communication device as the primary channel for the first wireless communication device… a VHT AP (e.g. the first wireless communication device), operable in the communication process, can start an 80 MHz or 160 MHz BSS (80/160 BSS) by selecting a primary channel that overlaps with an existing primary channel (e.g. the identified primary channel for the second wireless communication device)… the VHT AP can further select a primary channel of the 80/160 BSS to overlap with the least busy channel of the existing primary channels; [0063]: with respect to the traffic loads of the channels, when both the new BSS and the existing BSS are fully loaded (e.g. experiencing a channel utilization rate of greater than 90%, other numerical values are possible), all the channels can be fully utilized; fig. 8 and [0079]: the primary channel (channel 815A, channel 815B, or both) of the new BSS 810 can be selected to at least partially overlap with the S2 and S3 channels 825C, 825D of the existing BSS 820).
Claim 20. Liu shows the wireless device of claim 16, wherein the BSS load information further comprises at least OBSS channel utilization information for a second BSS ([0068]: when the new BSS 620 is fully loaded, and both the existing BSS’s are lightly loaded, the new BSS 620 can have sufficient usage of channels 625A and 625B, and can gain some usage of channels 625C and 625D, and when the new BSS 620 is lightly loaded and the existing BSS’s are fully loaded, the existing BSS’s 610, 630 can have most of the usage of channels 625C and 625D; [0080]: the primary channel 815C of the new BSS 810 can be selected to overlap with the primary channel 825A of the existing BSS 820).
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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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 3, 6, 8, 11, 13, 14, 17 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu et al in view of Liu et al in view of Wang et al (US 2015/0359008 A1).
Claim 3. Liu shows the method of claim 2; Liu does not very expressly describe wherein the in-BSS channel utilization information comprises an indication of one or more of: in-BSS triggered utilization; in-BSS uplink enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA) utilization; in-BSS downlink utilization; or in-BSS transmit opportunity (TXOP) shared peer-to-peer (P2P) transmission utilization.Wang teaches features of in-BSS channel utilization information comprising: in-BSS uplink enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA) utilization for the first BSS (fig. 2 and [0067]: EDCA access factor); and in-BSS transmit opportunity (TXOP) shared peer-to-peer (P2P) transmission utilization for the first BSS ([0002]: such traffic between STAs within a BSS is peer-to-peer traffic… such peer-to-peer traffic may be sent directly between the source and destination STAs with a direct link setup (DLS) using an 802.11e DLS or an 802.11z tunneled DLS (TDLS); [0146]: different groups of STAs may be assigned to different TXOPs/RAWs/PRAWs, other access windows, or TXOP as generally defined above that may span different bandwidths… such assigned TXOPs/RAWs/PRAWs/or other access windows may be negotiated with neighboring networks such that the resources may be optimally shared through coordination among overlapping networks).It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the feature(s) as taught by Wang in the in-BSS channel utilization information of Liu to facilitate enabling coordination in OBSS and channel preference and assignment procedures.
Claim 6. Liu shows the method of claim 1; Liu does not expressly describe wherein the method further comprises: transmitting, to the second wireless device, a probe request frame; and receiving, from the second wireless device, a probe response frame comprising the BSS load information.Wang teaches feature of: transmitting, to a second wireless device, a probe request ([0123]: a STA may also include the interference reporting and coordination capability IE in its probe request, association request, or other types of frames to specify its interference reporting capabilities and coordination capabilities (such as capable of relaying coordination information to another STA)); and receiving, from the second wireless device, a probe response frame comprising the BSS load information ([0124]: an AP, relay STA, RAP, or PCP may include the interference reporting and coordination capability IE in its beacon, short beacon, probe response, association response or other type of frames to announce that its own capabilities as well as interference reporting features that a STA may have to have in order to associate with it).It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the probe features as taught by Wang in the method of Liu to facilitate enabling coordination in OBSS and channel preference and assignment procedures.
Claim 11. Liu shows the processor of claim 10; Liu does not very expressly describe wherein the in-BSS channel utilization information comprises an indication of one or more of: in-BSS triggered utilization for the BSS; in-BSS uplink enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA) utilization for the BSS; in-BSS downlink utilization for the BSS; or in-BSS transmit opportunity (TXOP) shared peer-to-peer (P2P) transmission utilization for the BSS.Wang teaches in-BSS channel utilization information indicating: in-BSS uplink enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA) utilization for the first BSS (fig. 2 and [0067]: EDCA access factor); and in-BSS transmit opportunity (TXOP) shared peer-to-peer (P2P) transmission utilization for the first BSS ([0002]: such traffic between STAs within a BSS is peer-to-peer traffic… such peer-to-peer traffic may be sent directly between the source and destination STAs with a direct link setup (DLS) using an 802.11e DLS or an 802.11z tunneled DLS (TDLS); [0146]: different groups of STAs may be assigned to different TXOPs/RAWs/PRAWs, other access windows, or TXOP as generally defined above that may span different bandwidths… such assigned TXOPs/RAWs/PRAWs/or other access windows may be negotiated with neighboring networks such that the resources may be optimally shared through coordination among overlapping networks).It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the feature(s) as taught by Wang in the in-BSS channel utilization information of Liu to facilitate enabling coordination in OBSS and channel preference and assignment procedures.Claim 13. Liu shows the processor of claim 10; Liu does not expressly describe wherein the BSS load information further comprises cooperative BSS utilization information for the BSS.Wang teaches BSS load information comprising cooperative BSS utilization for the first BSS ([0069]: HCCA APs may cooperatively create new HCCA schedules with other HCCA APs that are collaboration candidates… the HCCA APs in an OBSS may be configured to directly exchange frames without the use of a third-party STA).It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the feature as taught by Wang in the BSS load information of Liu to facilitate enabling coordination in OBSS and channel preference and assignment procedures.Claim 14. Liu shows the processor of claim 10; Liu does not expressly describe wherein the BSS load information further comprises transmit opportunity duration distribution information for the BSS.Wang teaches BSS load information comprising transmit opportunity duration distribution for the first BSS ([0217]: the CAP (in centralized coordination procedures)/CorAP (in distributed coordination procedures) may evaluate whether the total traffic load in the new and existing TXOP/RAWs/UL access window in overlapping CCs may be accommodated without degrading the QoS performance to an unacceptable level).It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the feature as taught by Wang in the BSS load information of Liu to facilitate enabling coordination in OBSS and channel preference and assignment procedures.
Claim 17. Liu shows the wireless device of claim 16; Liu does not very expressly describe wherein the BSS load information further comprises information indicating one or more of: total in-BSS channel utilization for the first BSS; in-BSS triggered utilization for the first BSS; in-BSS uplink enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA) utilization for the first BSS; in-BSS downlink utilization for the first BSS; in-BSS transmit opportunity (TXOP) shared peer-to-peer (P2P) transmission utilization for the first BSS; a percent of time when the wireless device has BSS load measurement ongoing; a measurement start time for BSS load measurement by the wireless device; a percent of time when the wireless device is in power save operation; cooperative BSS utilization for the first BSS; or transmit opportunity duration distribution for the first BSS.Wang teaches BBS load information comprising information indicating: total in-BSS channel utilization for the first BSS ([0217]: if the SharingPolicy for UL access window is set to Shared, the CAP (in centralized coordination procedures)/CorAP (in distributed coordination procedures) may evaluate whether the total traffic load in the new and existing TXOP/RAWs/UL access window in overlapping CCs may be accommodated without degrading the QoS performance to an unacceptable level); in-BSS uplink enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA) utilization for the first BSS (fig. 2 and [0067]: EDCA access factor); in-BSS transmit opportunity (TXOP) shared peer-to-peer (P2P) transmission utilization for the first BSS ([0002]: such traffic between STAs within a BSS is peer-to-peer traffic… such peer-to-peer traffic may be sent directly between the source and destination STAs with a direct link setup (DLS) using an 802.11e DLS or an 802.11z tunneled DLS (TDLS); [0146]: different groups of STAs may be assigned to different TXOPs/RAWs/PRAWs, other access windows, or TXOP as generally defined above that may span different bandwidths… such assigned TXOPs/RAWs/PRAWs/or other access windows may be negotiated with neighboring networks such that the resources may be optimally shared through coordination among overlapping networks); cooperative BSS utilization for the first BSS ([0069]: HCCA APs may cooperatively create new HCCA schedules with other HCCA APs that are collaboration candidates… the HCCA APs in an OBSS may be configured to directly exchange frames without the use of a third-party STA); and transmit opportunity duration distribution for the first BSS ([0217]: the CAP (in centralized coordination procedures)/CorAP (in distributed coordination procedures) may evaluate whether the total traffic load in the new and existing TXOP/RAWs/UL access window in overlapping CCs may be accommodated without degrading the QoS performance to an unacceptable level).It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the feature(s) as taught by Wang in the BSS load information of Liu to facilitate enabling coordination in OBSS and channel preference and assignment procedures.Claim 18. Liu shows the wireless device of claim 16; Liu does not expressly describe wherein the BSS load information is provided in one of: a broadcast beacon frame; a probe response frame; or a BSS transition management (BTM) request.Wang teaches BSS load information being provided in: a broadcast beacon frame ([0104]: the monitoring STA may also monitor the broadcast beacons, short beacons or any control and management frames received from all relay STAs, RAPs, PCPs, APs, etc.); and a probe response frame ([0123]: a STA may also include the interference reporting and coordination capability IE in its probe request, association request, or other types of frames to specify its interference reporting capabilities and coordination capabilities (such as capable of relaying coordination information to another STA)).It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the feature(s) as taught by Wang in the BSS load information of Liu to facilitate enabling coordination in OBSS and channel preference and assignment procedures.
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Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu et al in view of Huang et al (US 2019/0200171 A1).
Claim 4. Liu shows the method of claim 1; Liu does not expressly describe wherein the method further comprises: receiving, from the second wireless device, a delivery traffic indication message (DTIM) beacon frame comprising the BSS load information.Huang teaches feature of receiving, from a second wireless device, a delivery traffic indication message (DTIM) beacon frame comprising BSS load information ([0023]: a STA may enter a power saving mode until a time when the AP indicates that traffic is ready to be sent to the STA wherein a beacon frame or probe response frame may include a different delivery traffic indication map (DTIM) which indicates whether traffic is buffered at the AP for a BSS).It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the DTIM feature as taught by Huang in the method of Liu to facilitate balancing device battery life with network traffic delivery.
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Claims 5 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu et al in view of Chu et al (US 2024/0422845 A1).
Claim 5. Liu shows the method of claim 1; Liu does not expressly describe wherein the method further comprises: receiving, from the second wireless device, an ultra high reliability (UHR) beacon frame comprising the BSS load information.Chu teaches receiving, from a second wireless device, an ultra high reliability (UHR) beacon frame comprising the BSS load information ([0017]: the controller is further configured to generate an indication whether a critical change of UHR BSS operating parameters occurs and a BSS change count related to the critical change of the UHR BSS operating parameters, and beacon frames that include at least one delivery traffic indication map (DTIM) beacon frame).It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the UHR beacon feature as taught by Chu in the BSS load information of Liu to reduce channel overhead, saves medium transmission time and lowers power consumption for scanning devices.
Claim 12. Liu shows the processor of claim 10; Liu does not very expressly describe wherein the BSS load information further comprises power save operation information for a wireless device that provides the BSS.Chu teaches power save operation information for a wireless device that provides a BSS ([0098]: a new one-bit field, Nontransmitted BSSIDs AP Critical Update Information Acquiring Indication (NBACUIAI) field for nontransmitted BSSID APs, is defined to indicate whether an extreme power save STA associated with one nontransmitted BSSID AP needs to acquire an AP’s critical update).It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the power save operation information feature as taught by Chu in the BSS load information of Liu to reduce channel overhead, saves medium transmission time and lowers power consumption for scanning devices.
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Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu et al in view of Kasslin et al (US 2016/0302145 A1).
Claim 7. Liu shows the method of claim 1; Liu does not expressly describe wherein the method further comprises: transmitting, to the second wireless device, a BSS transition management (BTM) query frame; and receiving, from the second wireless device, a BTM request frame comprising the BSS load information.Kasslin teaches features of: transmitting, to a second wireless device, a BSS transition management (BTM) query frame ([0138] – [0140]: BSS transition management is provided by the IEEE 802.11 Standard to enable an AP to request associated STAs to transition to a specific AP, or to indicate to a STA a set of preferred APs, due to network load balancing or BSS Termination wherein the BSS Transition Management Query frame uses the Action frame body format and is transmitted by a STA requesting or providing information on BSS transition candidate APs); and receiving, from the second wireless device, a BTM request frame comprising a BSS load information ([0138] – [0140]: the BSS Transition Management Request frame uses the Action frame body format and is transmitted by an AP STA in response to a BSS Transition Management Query frame, or autonomously wherein the BSS Transition Management Response frame uses the Action frame body format and is optionally transmitted by a STA in response to a BSS Transition Management Request frame).It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the features as taught by Kasslin in the method of Liu to facilitate active load balancing across the network, preventing clients from holding onto weak signals and improved overall throughput, data rates and roaming efficiency.
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Claims 8 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu et al in view of Bahr (US 2017/0280337 A1).
Claim 8. Liu shows the method of claim 1; Liu does not expressly describe wherein the BSS load information further comprises load history information for the one or more BSSs.Bahr teaches BSS load information comprising load history information for one or more BSSs ([0011]: APs may receive CLM Information, such as but not limited to AP to Gateway link quality metrics (e.g. throughput, jitter, latency), client association metrics (e.g. the number of associations, the number of disassociations, disassociation/deauthentication reason codes, etc.), current client link metrics (throughput, PER, RSSI, SINR, MCS), client capabilities (operating channels and bands, support for 802.11k/11v), channel utilization/load report per BSS, client band association history and desired band for one or more certain clients (e.g. wireless printers: 2.4 GHz, set-top boxes: 5 GHz), client handoff/steering history (e.g. does a client allow itself to be steered?), CLM relevant AP Information contained in 802.11k Neighbor Reports for ESS and non-ESS neighbors (channel, QoS capable, APSD capable, part of a mobility domain, throughput capabilities (HT/VHT AP), BSS Transition Management preferences, etc.), and Traffic Stream/Traffic Category Measurement Report (e.g., between AP and client-validate capability with steering target AP)).It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the BSS load history information feature as taught in Bahr in the BSS load information of Liu to provide crucial data on past traffic congestion, power demand and usage patterns, and therefore optimizes resource management and operational efficiency.
Claim 19. Liu shows the wireless device of claim 16; Liu does not expressly describe wherein the BSS load information further comprises load history information for the first BSS, wherein the load history information indicates one or more of: a number of BSS load samples included in the load history information; a duration of an averaging window for the load history information; one or more BSS load percentile values over the averaging window.Bahr teaches feature of BSS load information comprising load history for a BSS indicating a number of BSS load samples included in the load history information ([0011]: APs may receive CLM Information, such as but not limited to AP to Gateway link quality metrics (e.g. throughput, jitter, latency), client association metrics (e.g. the number of associations, the number of disassociations, disassociation/deauthentication reason codes, etc.), current client link metrics (throughput, PER, RSSI, SINR, MCS), client capabilities (operating channels and bands, support for 802.11k/11v), channel utilization/load report per BSS, client band association history and desired band for one or more certain clients (e.g. wireless printers: 2.4 GHz, set-top boxes: 5 GHz), client handoff/steering history (e.g. does a client allow itself to be steered?), CLM relevant AP Information contained in 802.11k Neighbor Reports for ESS and non-ESS neighbors (channel, QoS capable, APSD capable, part of a mobility domain, throughput capabilities (HT/VHT AP), BSS Transition Management preferences, etc.), and Traffic Stream/Traffic Category Measurement Report (e.g., between AP and client-validate capability with steering target AP)).It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the BSS load history information feature as taught in Bahr in the BSS load information of Liu to provide crucial data on past traffic congestion, power demand and usage patterns, and therefore optimizes resource management and operational efficiency.
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Claim 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu et al in view of Redlich et al (US 2022/0124693 A1).
Claim 15. Liu shows the processor of claim 10; Liu does not expressly describe wherein the BSS load information further comprises load history information for the BSS, wherein the load history information indicates one or more percentile values over an averaging window for one or more of: in-BSS load; OBSS load; one or more BSS load element fields; one or more extended BSS load element fields; or one or more high efficiency (HE) BSS load element fields.Redlich teaches features of BSS load information with load history information that indicates a percentile value over an averaging window for OBSS load ([0120] – [0124]: number of OBSS APs, each serves 1-3 clients… average load time percentage (a theoretical number: the % of time that the OBSS transmits assuming it is the only existing transmitter)… BW of each OBSS device (20 MHz or 40 MHz)… BSS BW capability (either 80 MHz or 160 MHz)… a single primary channel per BSS (multi-primary ideas are OOS)).It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the information feature as taught in Redlich in the BSS load information of Liu to facilitate puncturing to reduce limits on larger channel usage.
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Conclusion
The prior art made of record is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure.
1. Guntupalli et al, US 2022/0338022 A1: a method that relates to assigning a beam pattern with null-steering beamforming from a radio network node.
2. Wang et al, US 2016/0066198 A1: a first station (STA) that is IEEE 802.11 compatible, comprising a receiver configured to receive, from an access point (AP), an omni-directional request-to-send (RTS) frame indicating that an associated transmission opportunity (TXOP) will be a sectorized TXOP, wherein the omni-directional RTS frame further indicates a sector identifier (ID) associated with the sectorized TXOP; a transmitter configured to transmit an omni-directional clear-to-send (CTS) frame in response to the omni-directional RTS frame, wherein the omni-directional CTS frame indicates that the associated TXOP will be a sectorized TXOP, and wherein the omni-directional CTS frame further indicates the sector ID associated with the sectorized TXOP; and the receiver further configured to receive a sectorized transmission from the AP, wherein the sectorized transmission includes an indication of sectorized transmission and the sector ID associated with the sectorized TXOP.
3. Thubert et al, US 2008/0080414 A1: a method that includes tracking utilization of the backhaul wireless bandwidth of a mesh network related to time sensitive packet data, receiving a call admission request for a call from a client station of a first mesh access point of the mesh, ascertaining using the tracked utilization whether to approve the call admission request using a backhaul call admission control method, and approving the call by sending a positive call admission response if the backhaul call admission control method approves the call and if an access level call admission control method ascertains to approve the call admission request at the access level.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Xavier Szewai Wong whose telephone number is 571.270.1780. The examiner can normally be reached on 11:30 am - 8:30 pm Mon to Fri.
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, Jeffrey Rutkowski can be reached on 571.270.1215. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/XAVIER S WONG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2415 29th July 2026
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