DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
This action is in response to application 18923546 filed 10/22/24.
Claim(s) 1-20 is/are presented for examination.
Claim Objections
Claim(s) 8 is/are objected to because of the following informalities: and/or. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim(s) 1, 10 & 19 is/are unclear to the examiner; what does it mean by stating “receiving a relay initiation frame from the source node on the first link, which indicates that a relay operation period is to be started”? the claim languages are not very clear of why does the system has to started the relay operation period? For what? To do what? What is the relay triggering frame? To start the link between the source, relay and destination node? Please clarify
Claim(s) 1, 10 & 19 is/are unclear to the examiner; what does it mean by stating “during the relay operation period, relaying a data frame transmitted by the source node on the first link to the destination node on the second link using an AF relay mechanism”? the claim limitation is not very clear of what exactly the Applicant trying to accomplished? What is the claimed invention? What is the AF relay mechanism impact the relay operation period? How does it affect the first link, destination node, source node? Please clarify
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102 of this title, 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.
Claim(s) 1-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kwon, U.S. Patent/Pub. No. US 2013/0039201 A1 in view of Kim, U.S. Patent/Pub. No. US 2024/0244599 A1.
As to claim 10, Kwon teaches a method performed by a relay node to relay data transmitted by a source node to a destination node using a multi-link device (MLD) amplify-and-forward (AF) relay mechanism, the method comprising:
receiving a first relay frame from the source node on a first link between the source node and the relay node (Kwon, page 2, paragraph 19 & 23; i.e., [0019] a source device, a destination device, and a relay device include any communication module which has a directional antenna and is capable of operating as a source, a destination, and a relay in a communication network, and any device which is capable of performing similar operations. The source device, the destination device, and the relay device; [0023] relaying and transmitting data in a relay mode of a relay device when the switched link is via the relay device);
responsive to receiving the first relay frame on the first link, transmitting a second relay frame to the destination node on a second link between the relay node and the destination node (Kwon, page 2, paragraph 19 & 23; i.e., [0019] a source device, a destination device, and a relay device include any communication module which has a directional antenna and is capable of operating as a source, a destination, and a relay in a communication network, and any device which is capable of performing similar operations. The source device, the destination device, and the relay device; [0023] relaying and transmitting data in a relay mode of a relay device when the switched link is via the relay device);
receiving a first relay response frame from the destination node on the second link (Kwon, page 2, paragraph 19 & 23; i.e., [0019] a source device, a destination device, and a relay device include any communication module which has a directional antenna and is capable of operating as a source, a destination, and a relay in a communication network, and any device which is capable of performing similar operations. The source device, the destination device, and the relay device; [0023] relaying and transmitting data in a relay mode of a relay device when the switched link is via the relay device);
responsive to receiving the first relay response frame on the second link, transmitting a second relay response frame to the source node on the first link to confirm to the source node that the relay node can act as a relay between the source node and the destination node (Kwon, page 2, paragraph 19 & 23; i.e., [0019] a source device, a destination device, and a relay device include any communication module which has a directional antenna and is capable of operating as a source, a destination, and a relay in a communication network, and any device which is capable of performing similar operations. The source device, the destination device, and the relay device; [0023] relaying and transmitting data in a relay mode of a relay device when the switched link is via the relay device);
receiving a relay initiation frame from the source node on the first link, which indicates that a relay operation period is to be started (Kwon, page 7, paragraph 155; i.e., [0155] when the relay link is used, the source device operates in the first period and the second period. When the source device switches a link from the direct link to the relay link, that is, when a link change interval starts, the first period starts.); and
during the relay operation period, relaying a data frame transmitted by the source node on the first link to the destination node on the second link using an AF relay mechanism (Kwon, page 2, paragraph 26-28; i.e., [0026] a second field represents an amplify-and-forward ( AF) relay device; [0028] In the normal mode, the source device and the destination device exchange frames using the same one link among a direct link or a relay link as long as the link).
But Kwon failed to teach the claim limitation wherein relay trigger frame.
However, Kim teaches the limitation wherein relay trigger frame (Kim, page 1, paragraph 9 & 14; i.e., [0009] transmitting a first trigger frame on a first link; transmitting a second trigger frame on a second link; receiving a first data frame triggered by the first trigger frame on the first link; receiving a second data frame triggered by the second trigger frame on the second link; [0014] reception response frame indicated by the first data frame; identifying a second length of the second reception response frame indicated by the second data frame; first reception response frame and the second reception response frame; and generating the first reception response frame and the second reception response frame).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective date of the claimed invention to modify Kwon to substitute SRS from Kim for transmitting scheduling information from Kwon to reducing a transmission latency (Kim, page 1, paragraph 5).
As to claim 11, Kwon-Kim teaches the method as recited in claim 10, wherein the first relay trigger frame includes information regarding the source node, the relay node, and the destination node (Kwon, page 2, paragraph 19 & 23; i.e., [0019] a source device, a destination device, and a relay device include any communication module which has a directional antenna and is capable of operating as a source, a destination, and a relay in a communication network, and any device which is capable of performing similar operations. The source device, the destination device, and the relay device; [0023] relaying and transmitting data in a relay mode of a relay device when the switched link is via the relay device).
As to claim 12, Kwon-Kim teaches the method as recited in claim 10. But Kwon failed to teach the claim limitation wherein the relay initiation frame includes information regarding a time duration of the relay operation period.
However, Kim teaches the limitation wherein the relay initiation frame includes information regarding a time duration of the relay operation period (Kim, page 6, paragraph 79-80; i.e., [0079] The reception response frame may be an acknowledgment (ACK) frame or a block ACK (BA) frame; [0080] In this case, if start times and end times of the trigger frames of the AP match on the multi-link, the STAs may normally transmit the data frames to the AP. a start time may mean a transmission start time or a reception start time and/or durations of the reception response frames for the data frames).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective date of the claimed invention to modify Kwon to substitute SRS from Kim for transmitting scheduling information from Kwon to reducing a transmission latency (Kim, page 1, paragraph 5).
As to claim 13, Kwon-Kim teaches the method as recited in claim 12, wherein the information regarding the time duration of the relay operation period is expressed in terms of a number of slots (Kwon, page 6, paragraph 145; i.e., [0145] a number of slots are used as compared with in direct transmission).
As to claim 14, Kwon-Kim teaches the method as recited in claim 12, where the relay initiation frame further includes information regarding a number of frames that are to be relayed during the relay operation period (Kwon, page 6, paragraph 145; i.e., [0145] a number of slots are used as compared with in direct transmission) and information regarding transmission directions of the frames that are to be relayed during the relay operation period, wherein the relay node relays frames during the relay operation period based on the information regarding the number of frames that are to be relayed during the relay operation period (Kwon, page 6, paragraph 145; i.e., [0145] a number of slots are used as compared with in direct transmission) and the information regarding transmission directions of the frames that are to be relayed during the relay operation period (Kwon, page 6, paragraph 145; i.e., [0145] a number of slots are used as compared with in direct transmission).
As to claim 15, Kwon-Kim teaches the method as recited in claim 14. But Kwon failed to teach the claim limitation wherein the relay initiation frame includes a plurality of transmission direction bits, wherein each of the plurality of transmission direction bits indicates a transmission direction for a different one of the frames that are to be relayed during the relay operation period.
However, Kim teaches the limitation wherein the relay initiation frame includes a plurality of transmission direction bits, wherein each of the plurality of transmission direction bits indicates a transmission direction for a different one of the frames that are to be relayed during the relay operation period (Kim, figure 4).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective date of the claimed invention to modify Kwon to substitute SRS from Kim for transmitting scheduling information from Kwon to reducing a transmission latency (Kim, page 1, paragraph 5).
As to claim 16, Kwon-Kim teaches the method as recited in claim 10, wherein the first relay response frame includes information regarding a channel quality of the second link as estimated by the destination node (Kwon, page 2, paragraph 40; i.e., [0040] a beam forming result obtained before data is transmitted to the destination device and link quality information obtained while data is transmitted through the link. [0041] The first period for the relay link between the source device and the relay device may start when the source device switches the first link to the second link).
As to claim 17, Kwon-Kim teaches the method as recited in claim 16, wherein estimating a channel quality of the first link based on the first relay trigger frame, wherein information regarding the channel quality of the first link and the information regarding the channel quality of the second link are included in the second relay response frame (Kwon, page 2, paragraph 19 & 23; i.e., [0019] a source device, a destination device, and a relay device include any communication module which has a directional antenna and is capable of operating as a source, a destination, and a relay in a communication network, and any device which is capable of performing similar operations. The source device, the destination device, and the relay device; [0023] relaying and transmitting data in a relay mode of a relay device when the switched link is via the relay device).
As to claim 18, Kwon-Kim teaches the method as recited in claim 10, wherein
sensing the first link to detect frames received on the first link (Kwon, page 2, paragraph 35; i.e., [0035] the selected link may be any one of a first link directly connected from the source device to the destination device and a second link connected from the source device to the destination device via the relay device);
responsive to detecting a first frame that is received on the first link, relaying the first frame on the second link using the AF relay mechanism(Kwon, page 2, paragraph 26-28; i.e., [0026] a second field represents an amplify-and-forward ( AF) relay device; [0028] In the normal mode, the source device and the destination device exchange frames using the same one link among a direct link or a relay link as long as the link);
sensing the second link to detect frames received on the second link (Kwon, page 2, paragraph 35; i.e., [0035] the selected link may be any one of a first link directly connected from the source device to the destination device and a second link connected from the source device to the destination device via the relay device); and
responsive to detecting a second frame that is received on the second link, relaying the second frame on the first link using the AF relay mechanism (Kwon, page 2, paragraph 26-28; i.e., [0026] a second field represents an amplify-and-forward ( AF) relay device; [0028] In the normal mode, the source device and the destination device exchange frames using the same one link among a direct link or a relay link as long as the link).
As to claim 8, Kwon-Kim teaches the method as recited in claim 7. But Kwon failed to teach the claim limitation wherein determining a modulation coding scheme (MCS) to use for transmitting the data frame based on the information regarding the channel quality of the first link and/or the information regarding the channel quality of the second link.
However, Kim teaches the limitation wherein determining a modulation coding scheme (MCS) to use for transmitting the data frame based on the information regarding the channel quality of the first link and/or the information regarding the channel quality of the second link (Kim, page 6, paragraph 85; i.e., [0085] MCS).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective date of the claimed invention to modify Kwon to substitute SRS from Kim for transmitting scheduling information from Kwon to reducing a transmission latency (Kim, page 1, paragraph 5).
As to claim 9, Kwon-Kim teaches the method as recited in claim 1. But Kwon failed to teach the claim limitation wherein during the relay operation period, transmitting a trigger frame on the first link that is to be relayed by the relay node to the destination node on the second link to cause the destination node to transmit a frame to the source node.
However, Kim teaches the limitation wherein during the relay operation period, transmitting a trigger frame on the first link that is to be relayed by the relay node to the destination node on the second link to cause the destination node to transmit a frame to the source node (Kim, page 1, paragraph 9 & 14; i.e., [0009] transmitting a first trigger frame on a first link; transmitting a second trigger frame on a second link; receiving a first data frame triggered by the first trigger frame on the first link; receiving a second data frame triggered by the second trigger frame on the second link; [0014] reception response frame indicated by the first data frame; identifying a second length of the second reception response frame indicated by the second data frame; first reception response frame and the second reception response frame; and generating the first reception response frame and the second reception response frame).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective date of the claimed invention to modify Kwon to substitute SRS from Kim for transmitting scheduling information from Kwon to reducing a transmission latency (Kim, page 1, paragraph 5).
Claim(s) 1-7 is/are directed to a method claims and they do not teach or further define over the limitations recited in claim(s) 10-16. Therefore, claim(s) 1-7 is/are also rejected for similar reasons set forth in claim(s) 10-16.
Claim(s) 19 & 20 is/are directed to a device claims and they do not teach or further define over the limitations recited in claim(s) 1 & 14. Therefore, claim(s) 19 & 20 is/are also rejected for similar reasons set forth in claim(s) 1 & 14.
Listing of Relevant Arts
Liu, U.S. Patent/Pub. No. US 20230353305 A1 discloses relay node and AF relay.
Lee, U.S. Patent/Pub. No. US 20220272716 A1 discloses transmit first trigger frame and second trigger frame.
Contact Information
The present application is being examined under the pre-AIA first to invent provisions.
THUONG NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)272-3864. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday 9:00-6:00.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Noel Beharry can be reached on 571-270-5630. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/THUONG NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2416
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