DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
This is the initial Office Action based on the application filed 09/27/2024. Claims 1-20 are presented for examination and have been considered below.
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer.
Claims 1-20 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-14 of U.S. Patent No. 12,119929. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because every limitation claimed in the present application is anticipated by the claimed invention of U.S. Patent No. 12,119929, as follows:
Present application
US 12,119,929
1. A communication device, comprising: a transceiver configured to transmit and/or receive a data frame based on a set of pre- and post-Forward Error Correction (pre- and post-FEC) parameters and a set of packet extension (PE) parameters; wherein the set of pre- and post-FEC parameters is based on an extension of a set of pre- and post-FEC parameters defined for a second radio transmission technology with respect to a size of resource units (RUs) supported by a first radio transmission technology, wherein the set of pre- and post-FEC parameters is based on a combination of RUs that is supported by the first radio transmission technology; and wherein the set of PE parameters is based on an extension of a set of PE parameters defined for the second radio transmission technology with respect to a constellation size, a number of total space time streams, and a resource unit (RU) allocation size supported by the first radio transmission technology.
2. The communication device of claim 1, further comprising: a processor configured to determine where a post-padding begins in the data frame based on the set of pre- and post-FEC parameters, wherein the set of pre- and post-FEC parameters is based on: an integer number of data subcarriers for a last symbol of the data frame (NSD_Short) as defined by an extended NSD_Short table, wherein the extended NSD_Short table is an extension of a NSD_Short table defined by the second radio transmission technology with respect to additional values of NSD_Short defined by the first radio transmission technology, an integer number of coded bits per symbol for the last symbol of the data frame (NCBPS_Short), wherein NCBPS_Short depends on NSD_Short, and an integer number of data bits per symbol for the last symbol of the data frame (NDBPS_Short), wherein NDBPS_Short depends on NCBPS_Short.
3. The communication device of claim 2, wherein the set of pre- and post-FEC parameters is based on an extension of an NSD_Short table defined for the second radio transmission technology with respect to combinations of RU values supported by the first radio transmission technology; and wherein the NSD_Short table comprises predefined numbers of NSD_Short values.
4. The communication device of claim 3, wherein the extended NSD_Short table defines the numbers of NSD_Short values for a dual-carrier modulation (DCM) switched on and/or a DCM switched off.
5. The communication device of claim 4, wherein: for an RU size of 52+26 a value of NSD_Short is 18 for DCM=0, and is 8 for DCM=1, for an RU size of 106+26 a value of NSD_Short is 30 for DCM=0, and is 14 for DCM=1, for an RU size of 484+242 a value of NSD_Short is 180 or 174 for DCM=0, and is 90 for DCM=1, for an RU size of 996+484 a value of NSD_Short is 360 for DCM=0, and is 180 for DCM=1, for an RU size of 242+484+996 a value of NSD_Short is 420 for DCM=0, and is 210 for DCM=1, for an RU size of 484+2x996 a value of NSD_Short is 600 or 606 or 612 for DCM=0, and is 300 or 306 for DCM=1, for an RU size of 3x996 a value of NSD_Short is 720 or 726 or 738 for DCM=0, and is 360 or 366 for DCM=1, for an RU size of 484+3x996 a value of NSD_Short is 840 or 846 or 852 for DCM=0, and is 420 or 426 for DCM=1, for an RU size of 4x996 a value of NSD_Short is 978 or 984 or 990 for DCM=0, and is 486 or 492 for DCM=1.
6. The communication device of claim 5, wherein the processor is further configured to: add a single padding bit after every 2XNDBPS for the combination of RU values equal to 106 + 26, DCM switched-on, single stream and binary phase shift keying modulation with code-rate ½.
7. The communication device of claim 1, wherein the extension of the set of PE parameters is defined for at least one of an extended modulation scheme of 4K-QAM or higher, an extended number of spatial streams greater than 8, or an extended bandwidth of 240 MHz or higher.
8. The communication device of claim 1, wherein the extension of the set of PE parameters is based on an extension of a PHY packet extension (PPE) thresholds field defined for the second radio transmission technology; and wherein the PPE thresholds field is extended by extending a NSTS (number of spatial streams) subfield size to at least 4 bits and a RU index bitmask size to at least 6 bits.
9. The communication device of claim 1, wherein the extension of the set of PE parameters is based on an extension of a resource unit allocation index field defined for the second radio transmission technology; and wherein the extension of the resource unit allocation index field comprises extended resource unit allocation sizes of 3x996 and/or 4x996 or higher.
10. The communication device of claim 1, wherein the extension of the set of PE parameters is based on an extension of a constellation index field defined for the second radio transmission technology; and wherein the extension of the constellation index field comprises one or more extended constellations of 4096-QAM or higher.
11. The communication device of claim 1, wherein the extension of the set of PE parameters is based on reusing a PHY packet extension (PPE) thresholds field defined for the second radio transmission technology; and wherein the PPE thresholds field is defined for modulation schemes less or equal than 1K-QAM, a number of spatial streams less or equal than 8, and resource unit sizes less or equal than 2x996.
12. The communication device of claim 1, wherein the extension of the set of PE parameters is based on reusing a PHY packet extension (PPE) thresholds field defined for the second radio transmission technology and based on: using a single bit indicating use of a modulation scheme of 4K-QAM; or indicating a constellation of 4096-QAM in an extended constellation index field without using the single bit.
13. The communication device of claim 1, wherein the extension of the set of PE parameters is based on: using a single bit indicating use of a modulation scheme of 4K-QAM, including a constellation of 4096-QAM in an extended constellation index field, and extending a PHY packet extension (PPE) thresholds field defined for the second radio transmission technology by extending a NSTS (number of spatial streams) subfield size to at least 4 bits in order to support up to 16 spatial streams; or indicating a constellation of 4096-QAM in the extended constellation index field without using the single bit.
14. The communication device of claim 1, wherein the extended set of PE parameters is based on: using a single bit indicating use of a modulation scheme of 4K-QAM, including a constellation of 4096-QAM in an extended constellation index field, and extending a PHY packet extension (PPE) thresholds field defined for the second radio transmission technology by extending the size of a resource unit index bitmask to at least 6 bits; or indicating a constellation of 4096-QAM in the extended constellation index field without using the single bit.
15. The communication device of claim 1, wherein the extended set of PE parameters is based on: using a single bit indicating use of a modulation scheme of 4K-QAM, including a constellation of 4096-QAM in an extended constellation index field, and extending a PHY packet extension (PPE) thresholds field defined for the second radio transmission technology by extending a NSTS (number of spatial streams) subfield size to at least 4 bits and a RU index bitmask size to at least 6 bits; or indicating a constellation of 4096-QAM in the extended constellation index field without using the single bit.
16. A method, comprising: transmitting and/or receiving a data frame based on a set of pre- and post-Forward Error Correction (pre- and post-FEC) parameters and a set of packet extension (PE) parameters; wherein the set of pre- and post-FEC parameters is based on an extension of a set of pre- and post-FEC parameters defined for a second radio transmission technology with respect to a size of resource units (RUs) supported by a first radio transmission technology, wherein the set of pre- and post-FEC parameters is based on a combination of RUs that is supported by the first radio transmission technology; and wherein the set of PE parameters is based on an extension of a set of PE parameters defined for the second radio transmission technology with respect to a constellation size, a number of total space time streams, and a resource unit (RU) allocation size supported by the first radio transmission technology.
17. The method of claim 16, further comprising: determining where a post-padding begins in the data frame based on the set of pre- and post-FEC parameters, wherein the set of pre- and post-FEC parameters is based on: an integer number of data subcarriers for a last symbol of the data frame (NSD_Short) as defined by an extended NSD_Short table, wherein the extended NSD_Short table is an extension of a NSD_Short table defined by the second radio transmission technology with respect to additional values of NSD_Short defined by the first radio transmission technology, an integer number of coded bits per symbol for the last symbol of the data frame (NCBPS_Short), wherein NCBPS_Short depends on NSD_Short, and an integer number of data bits per symbol for the last symbol of the data frame (NDBPS_Short), wherein NDBPS_Short depends on NCBPS_Short.
18. The method of claim 17, wherein the set of pre- and post-FEC parameters is based on an extension of an NSD_Short table defined for the second radio transmission technology with respect to combinations of RU values supported by the first radio transmission technology; and wherein the NSD_Short table comprises predefined numbers of NSD_Short values.
19. The method of claim 18, wherein the extended NSD_Short table defines the numbers of NSD_Short values for a dual-carrier modulation (DCM) switched on and/or a DCM switched off.
20. The method of claim 19, wherein: for an RU size of 52+26 a value of NSD_Short is 18 for DCM=0, and is 8 for DCM=1, for an RU size of 106+26 a value of NSD_Short is 30 for DCM=0, and is 14 for DCM=1, for an RU size of 484+242 a value of NSD_Short is 180 or 174 for DCM=0, and is 90 for DCM=1, for an RU size of 996+484 a value of NSD_Short is 360 for DCM=0, and is 180 for DCM=1, for an RU size of 242+484+996 a value of NSD_Short is 420 for DCM=0, and is 210 for DCM=1, for an RU size of 484+2x996 a value of NSD_Short is 600 or 606 or 612 for DCM=0, and is 300 or 306 for DCM=1, for an RU size of 3x996 a value of NSD_Short is 720 or 726 or 738 for DCM=0, and is 360 or 366 for DCM=1, for an RU size of 484+3x996 a value of NSD_Short is 840 or 846 or 852 for DCM=0, and is 420 or 426 for DCM=1, for an RU size of 4x996 a value of NSD_Short is 978 or 984 or 990 for DCM=0, and is 486 or 492 for DCM=1.
1. A communication device, comprising: a transceiver configured to transmit and/or receive a data frame based on a set of pre&post-Forward Error Correction (pre&post-FEC) parameters and a set of packet extension (PE) parameters; wherein the set of pre&post-FEC parameters is based on an extension of a set of pre&post-FEC parameters defined for a second radio transmission technology with respect to a size of resource units (RUS) supported by a first radio transmission technology, wherein the set of pre&post-FEC parameters is based on a combination of RUs that is supported by the first radio transmission technology; wherein the set of PE parameters is based on an extension of a set of PE parameters defined for the second radio transmission technology with respect to a constellation size, a number of total space time streams, and a resource unit (RU) allocation size supported by the first radio transmission technology; wherein the extension of the set of PE parameters is based on an extension of a constellation index field defined for the second radio transmission technology; and wherein the extension of the constellation index field comprises one or more extended constellations of 4096-QAM or higher.
2. The communication device of claim 1, further comprising: a processor configured to determine where a post-padding begins in the data frame based on the set of pre&post-FEC parameters, wherein the set of pre&post-FEC parameters is based on: an integer number of data subcarriers for a last symbol of the data frame (N.sub.SD_Short) as defined by an extended N.sub.SD_Short table, wherein the extended N.sub.SD_Short table is an extension of a N.sub.SD_Short table defined by the second radio transmission technology with respect to additional values of N.sub.SD_Short defined by the first radio transmission technology, an integer number of coded bits per symbol for the last symbol of the data frame (N.sub.CBPS_Short), wherein N.sub.CBPS_Short depends on N.sub.SD_Short, and an integer number of data bits per symbol for the last symbol of the data frame (N.sub.DBPS_Short), wherein N.sub.DBPS_Short depends on N.sub.CBPS_Short.
3. The communication device of claim 2, wherein the set of pre&post-FEC parameters is based on an extension of an N.sub.SD_Short table defined for the second radio transmission technology with respect to combinations of RU values supported by the first radio transmission technology; and wherein the N.sub.SD_Short table comprises predefined numbers of N.sub.SD_Short values.
4. The communication device of claim 3, wherein the extended N.sub.SD_Short table defines the numbers of N.sub.SD_Short values for a dual-carrier modulation (DCM) switched on and/or a DCM switched off.
5. The communication device of claim 4, wherein: for an RU size of 52+26 a value of N.sub.SD_Short is 18 for DCM=0, and is 8 for DCM=1, for an RU size of 106+26 a value of N.sub.SD_Short is 30 for DCM=0, and is 14 for DCM=1, for an RU size of 484+242 a value of N.sub.SD_Short is 180 or 174 for DCM=0, and is 90 for DCM=1, for an RU size of 996+484 a value of N.sub.SD_Short is 360 for DCM=0, and is 180 for DCM=1, for an RU size of 242+484+996 a value of N.sub.SD_Short is 420 for DCM=0, and is 210 for DCM=1, for an RU size of 484+2×996 a value of N.sub.SD_Short is 600 or 606 or 612 for DCM=0, and is 300 or 306 for DCM=1, for an RU size of 3×996 a value of N.sub.SD_Short is 720 or 726 or 738 for DCM=0, and is 360 or 366 for DCM=1, for an RU size of 484+3×996 a value of N.sub.SD_Short is 840 or 846 or 852 for DCM=0, and is 420 or 426 for DCM=1, for an RU size of 4×996 a value of N.sub.SD_Short is 978 or 984 or 990 for DCM=0, and is 486 or 492 for DCM=1.
6. The communication device of claim 5, wherein the processor is further configured to: add a single padding bit after every 2×N.sub.DBPS for the combination of RU values equal to 106+26, DCM switched-on, single stream and binary phase shift keying modulation with code-rate ½.
7. The communication device of claim 1, wherein the extension of the set of PE parameters is defined for at least one of an extended modulation scheme of 4K-QAM or higher, an extended number of spatial streams greater than 8, or an extended bandwidth of 240 MHz or higher.
8. A method, comprising: transmitting and/or receiving a data frame based on a set of pre&post-Forward Error Correction (pre&post-FEC) parameters and a set of packet extension (PE) parameters; wherein the set of pre&post-FEC parameters is based on an extension of a set of pre&post-FEC parameters defined for a second radio transmission technology with respect to a size of resource units (RUs) supported by a first radio transmission technology, wherein the set of pre&post-FEC parameters is based on a combination of RUs that is supported by the first radio transmission technology; wherein the set of PE parameters is based on an extension of a set of PE parameters defined for the second radio transmission technology with respect to a constellation size, a number of total space time streams, and a resource unit (RU) allocation size supported by the first radio transmission technology; wherein the extension of the set of PE parameters is based on an extension of a constellation index field defined for the second radio transmission technology; and wherein the extension of the constellation index field comprises one or more extended constellations of 4096-QAM or higher.
9. The method of claim 8, further comprising: determining where a post-padding begins in the data frame based on the set of pre&post-FEC parameters, wherein the set of pre&post-FEC parameters is based on: an integer number of data subcarriers for a last symbol of the data frame (N.sub.SD_Short) as defined by an extended N.sub.SD_Short table, wherein the extended N.sub.SD_Short table is an extension of a N.sub.SD_Short table defined by the second radio transmission technology with respect to additional values of N.sub.SD_Short defined by the first radio transmission technology, an integer number of coded bits per symbol for the last symbol of the data frame (N.sub.CBPS_Short), wherein N.sub.CBPS_Short depends on N.sub.SD_Short, and an integer number of data bits per symbol for the last symbol of the data frame (N.sub.DBPS_Short), wherein N.sub.DBPS_Short depends on N.sub.CBPS_Short.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein the set of pre&post-FEC parameters is based on an extension of an N.sub.SD_Short table defined for the second radio transmission technology with respect to combinations of RU values supported by the first radio transmission technology; and wherein the N.sub.SD_Short table comprises predefined numbers of N.sub.SD_Short values.
11. The method of claim 10, wherein the extended N.sub.SD_Short table defines the numbers of N.sub.SD_Short values for a dual-carrier modulation (DCM) switched on and/or a DCM switched off.
12. The method of claim 11, wherein: for an RU size of 52+26 a value of N.sub.SD_Short is 18 for DCM=0, and is 8 for DCM=1, for an RU size of 106+26 a value of N.sub.SD_Short is 30 for DCM=0, and is 14 for DCM=1, for an RU size of 484+242 a value of N.sub.SD_Short is 180 or 174 for DCM=0, and is 90 for DCM=1, for an RU size of 996+484 a value of N.sub.SD_Short is 360 for DCM=0, and is 180 for DCM=1, for an RU size of 242+484+996 a value of N.sub.SD_Short is 420 for DCM=0, and is 210 for DCM=1, for an RU size of 484+2×996 a value of N.sub.SD_Short is 600 or 606 or 612 for DCM=0, and is 300 or 306 for DCM=1, for an RU size of 3×996 a value of N.sub.SD_Short is 720 or 726 or 738 for DCM=0, and is 360 or 366 for DCM=1, for an RU size of 484+3×996 a value of N.sub.SD_Short is 840 or 846 or 852 for DCM=0, and is 420 or 426 for DCM=1, for an RU size of 4×996 a value of N.sub.SD_Short is 978 or 984 or 990 for DCM=0, and is 486 or 492 for DCM=1.
13. The method of claim 12, further comprising: add a single padding bit after every 2×N.sub.DBPS for the combination of RU values equal to 106+26, DCM switched-on, single stream and binary phase shift keying modulation with code-rate ½.
14. The method of claim 8, wherein the extension of the set of PE parameters is defined for at least one of an extended modulation scheme of 4K-QAM or higher, an extended number of spatial streams greater than 8, or an extended bandwidth of 240 MHz or higher.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (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 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.
Claim(s) 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over BLANKSBY (US 9,860,082 B2) and further in view of Deng et al., “IEEE 802.11be - Wi-Fi 7: New Challenges and Opportunities,” arXiv:2007.13401 (2020) (hereafter “the Wi-Fi 7 Survey”).
Claim 1: Blanksby teaches a communication device, comprising: a transceiver configured to transmit and/or receive a data frame (see Fig. 1; Fig. 2; col. 6–7) based on a set of pre- and post-Forward Error Correction (pre- and post-FEC) parameters (e.g. Blanksby teaches, in Fig. 5; Fig. 11; Fig. 12; Fig. 16; col. 9–13: determining segment boundary parameters related to the final OFDM symbol, including the number of short symbols and data subcarriers; computing coded bits per symbol and data bits per symbol and using these parameters to determine post-FEC padding and packet extension duration) and a set of packet extension (PE) parameters (e.g. Blanksby teaches, in Fig. 3, Fig. 4, Fig. 9A–9D; col. 3–5, col. 14–16: PHY packet extension (PE) appended after the data field; PE duration determined based on receiver capabilities and PE used for additional processing time without violating SIFS). Blanksby, further teaches MU transmissions where a common segment boundary parameter and the longest required PE duration among users are applied to all users (col. 20, lines 35-45; col. 21, lines 1-15).
Not explicitly taught by Blanksby is that the set of pre- and post-FEC parameters is based on an extension of a set of pre- and post-FEC parameters defined for a second radio transmission technology with respect to a size of resource units (RUs) supported by a first radio transmission technology, wherein the set of pre- and post-FEC parameters is based on a combination of RUs that is supported by the first radio transmission technology; and wherein the set of PE parameters is based on an extension of a set of PE parameters defined for the second radio transmission technology with respect to a constellation size, a number of total space time streams, and a resource unit (RU) allocation size supported by the first radio transmission technology.
However, the Wi-Fi 7 Survey provides explicit motivation and specific technical requirements for extending prior-generation Wi-Fi systems. In particular, the Survey identifies the following enhancements as key features of Wi-Fi 7:
Multi-RU assignment to a single user and new RU combinations, including but not limited to 242+484+996 and 3×996, as disclosed in Sections I.A and II.B and summarized in Table II;
Introduction of 4096-QAM modulation to improve peak data rates, as disclosed in Sections I.A and II.D;
MIMO enhancements supporting up to 16 spatial streams, as disclosed in Sections I.B and IV; and
New bandwidth modes up to 320 MHz, as disclosed in Sections I.A and II.A.
Therefore, a POSITA, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, designing a Wi-Fi 7 compliant device, armed with the operational framework of a Wi-Fi 6 device from Blanksby and the definitive list of new features from the Wi-Fi 7 Survey, would be motivated and find it obvious to extend the parameter sets of Blanksby for the following reasons:
To support new RU combinations by extending Blanksby’s pre/post-FEC parameter tables (e.g., his N_{SD_short} table in Fig. 6) to include the new combinations (e.g., 52+26, 3x996) explicitly listed in the Survey’s Table II;
To support 4096-QAM modulation by extending Blanksby’s PE parameter tables and constellation threshold fields (e.g., Fig. 8) beyond 1024-QAM to include 4096-QAM, a stated goal of the new standard;
To support more than 8 spatial streams extending the related parameter fields (e.g., a NSTS subfield) from accommodating 8 streams to accommodating 16 streams; and
To support larger RU allocation sizes by extending the RU allocation index field to include new indices for sizes like 3x996.
As per claim 16, the claimed features are rejected similarly to claim 1 above.
As per claims 2, 17: Blanksby and TGbe teach the communication device of claim 1, further comprising: a processor configured to determine where a post-padding begins in the data frame based on the set of pre- and post-FEC parameters, wherein the set of pre- and post-FEC parameters is based on: an integer number of data subcarriers for a last symbol of the data frame (NSD_Short) as defined by an extended NSD_Short table, wherein the extended NSD_Short table is an extension of a NSD_Short table defined by the second radio transmission technology with respect to additional values of NSD_Short defined by the first radio transmission technology, an integer number of coded bits per symbol for the last symbol of the data frame (NCBPS_Short), wherein NCBPS_Short depends on NSD_Short, and an integer number of data bits per symbol for the last symbol of the data frame (NDBPS_Short), wherein NDBPS_Short depends on NCBPS_Short. For instance, Blanksby, (in col. 7-9, Figs. 4, 6), teaches determining a segment boundary using a parameter that defines the number of data subcarriers in a short symbol, from which NCBPS_Short and NDBPS_Short type values are derived (col. 15, Eqs. 5,6).
As per claims 3, 18: Blanksby and TGbe teach the communication device of claim 2, but fail to teach that the set of pre- and post-FEC parameters is based on an extension of an NSD_Short table defined for the second radio transmission technology with respect to combinations of RU values supported by the first radio transmission technology; and wherein the NSD_Short table comprises predefined numbers of NSD_Short values. However, as established above, Blanksby teaches an NSD_Short table for single RUs. The Wi-Fi 7 Survey teaches that the new standard uses combinations of RUs. Therefore, it would be obvious to a POSITA, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to extend Blanksby’s table to include these well-known, non-contiguous combinations.
As per claims 4, 19: Blanksby and TGbe teach the communication device of claim 3, but fail to teach that the extended NSD Short table defines the numbers of NSD_Short values for a dual-carrier modulation (DCM) switched on and/or a DCM switched off. However, the Wi-Fi 7 Survey notes that DCM, known from 802.11ax, may be extended to higher-order modulations in EHT (Sec. II.D). Therefore, a POSITA would understand that if DCM is supported for new RU combinations, defining parameters for its two states is a necessary and routine implementation detail.
As per claims 5, 20: Blanksby and TGbe teach the communication device of claim 4, but fail to teach wherein: for an RU size of 52+26 a value of NSD_Short is 18 for DCM=0, and is 8 for DCM=1, for an RU size of 106+26 a value of NSD_Short is 30 for DCM=0, and is 14 for DCM=1, for an RU size of 484+242 a value of NSD_Short is 180 or 174 for DCM=0, and is 90 for DCM=1, for an RU size of 996+484 a value of NSD_Short is 360 for DCM=0, and is 180 for DCM=1, for an RU size of 242+484+996 a value of NSD_Short is 420 for DCM=0, and is 210 for DCM=1, for an RU size of 484+2x996 a value of NSD_Short is 600 or 606 or 612 for DCM=0, and is 300 or 306 for DCM=1, for an RU size of 3x996 a value of NSD_Short is 720 or 726 or 738 for DCM=0, and is 360 or 366 for DCM=1, for an RU size of 484+3x996 a value of NSD_Short is 840 or 846 or 852 for DCM=0, and is 420 or 426 for DCM=1, for an RU size of 4x996 a value of NSD_Short is 978 or 984 or 990 for DCM=0, and is 486 or 492 for DCM=1. However, these values are the product of straightforward mathematical calculation based on the tone plans and RU sizes defined in the Wi-Fi 7 standard (Sec. II.A, II.B). Calculating the number of data subcarriers for a given RU size and DCM mode is a conventional and obvious process for a POSITA implementing the standard.
As claims 6: Blanksby and TGbe teach the communication device of claim 5, but fail to teach that the processor is further configured to: add a single padding bit after every 2XNDBPS for the combination of RU values equal to 106 + 26, DCM switched-on, single stream and binary phase shift keying modulation with code-rate ½. However, the specific padding rule is a routine implementation detail for handling a specific (RU=106+26, DCM on, single stream, BPSK) edge case. Determining the necessary padding to align data structures is a fundamental, well-known aspect of digital communication system design and would have been within the general knowledge of an artisan in the art.
As per claim 7: Blanksby and TGbe teach the communication device of claim 1, but fail to teach that the extension of the set of PE parameters is defined for at least one of an extended modulation scheme of 4K-QAM or higher, an extended number of spatial streams greater than 8, or an extended bandwidth of 240 MHz or higher. However, the Survey explicitly identifies the very features listed: 4K-QAM (4096-QAM), greater than 8 spatial streams (16 streams), and bandwidth greater than or equal to 240 MHz as key components of Wi-Fi 7 (Sec. I, II.A, II.D, IV). Therefore, it would be obvious to a POSITA to extend PE parameters for these explicitly stated capabilities.
As per claims 8, 13, 14, 15: Extending a subfield size (e.g., NSTS from 3 bits to 4 bits to count to 16, or a RU bitmask) is the minimal, predictable, and routine design choice to accommodate the increased numerical ranges mandated by the new standard. Therefore, such a modification would have been within the general knowledge of an artisan in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, since there is no inventive step in increasing a bit width to represent a larger number.
Claim 9: Blanksby and TGbe teach the communication device of claim 1, but fail to teach that the extension of the set of PE parameters is based on an extension of a resource unit allocation index field defined for the second radio transmission technology; and wherein the extension of the resource unit allocation index field comprises extended resource unit allocation sizes of 3x996 and/or 4x996 or higher. However, the Wi-Fi 7 Survey explicitly discusses new, larger RU sizes like 3x996 (Sec. II.B, Table II). Therefore, it would be obvious to a POSITA to extend the allocation index field to include these new, specified sizes.
Claim 10: Blanksby and TGbe teach the communication device of claim 1, but fail to teach that the extension of the set of PE parameters is based on an extension of a constellation index field defined for the second radio transmission technology; and wherein the extension of the constellation index field comprises one or more extended constellations of 4096-QAM or higher. However, the Survey explicitly identifies 4096-QAM as a new modulation scheme for Wi-Fi 7 (Sec. II.D). Therefore, it would be obvious to a POSITA to extend the constellation index field to include it.
As per claims 11-12: The claims present alternative implementations: either reusing old fields with new interpretations or adding new bits. Choosing between backward-compatible signaling (reuse) and explicit signaling (new bit) is a common, routine trade-off in wireless protocol design, guided by implementation complexity and overhead considerations. And the Wi-Fi 7 Survey discusses preamble design and signaling for new features (Sec. II.C), providing motivation for such design choices to a POSITA.
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/GUERRIER MERANT/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2111 2/3/2026