DETAILED ACTION
This office action is a response to an application filed on 10/28/2024.
Claims 1-20 are pending for examination.
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application is being examined under the pre-AIA first to invent provisions.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) was filed. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Drawings
The Examiner contends that the drawings submitted on 10/28/2024 are acceptable for examination proceedings.
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 set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103(a) 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 non-obviousness.
Claims 1- 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ajami et al. (US 20240137980 A1), hereinafter “Ajami”; and in further view of Zhou et al. (US 20180263043 A1), hereinafter “Zhou”.
Regarding claim 1, Ajami teaches A first access point, comprising:
a processing system that includes processor circuitry and memory circuitry that stores code, the processing system configured to cause the first access point to [Ajami: Fig. 12; Abstract teaches methods and system for C-SR frame work according to APs]:
receive, from one or more first stations, channel parameters associated with at least a second access point, the first access point and the second access point having overlapping coverage areas [Ajami: Fig. 3, 10, 12; Par. 70- 83 teaches AP schedule overlapping; AP 102-a receives measurements from client devices, such as pathloss or RSSI from AP 102-b to the client devices]
transmit, to the second access point, first information associated with coordination of resources of a transmission opportunity, the first information associated with communications between the one or more first stations and the first access point during the transmission opportunity [Ajami: Figs. 2,3, 10-12; Par. 70- 83, Par. 113- 119 teaches AP 102-a transmits
TXOP sharing information to AP 102-b such that downlink SINR constraints between the AP 102-a and one or more client devices (such as the client device 205-a) are sustained]; and
transmit, to the one or more first stations during the transmission opportunity in accordance with the first information Ajami: Figs. 3, 10-12,
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However, Ajami does not teach one or more messages using a transmission mode from a set of transmission modes comprising a coordinated spatial reuse transmission mode and a coordinated beamforming transmission mode.
Nevertheless, Zhou, in the similar field of endeavor, teaches one or more messages using a transmission mode from a set of transmission modes comprising a coordinated spatial reuse transmission mode and a coordinated beamforming transmission mode [Zhou: Figs. 3, 6, 7; Par. 140-147 teaches AP may broadcast the offset between transmit power for the beacon and the DL COBF transmission].
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Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill at the time the invention was made to utilize the teachings of Zhou to use reuse transmission mode. One in the art would be motivated to utilize the teachings of Zhou in the Ajami system with a motivation to make this modification in order to improve gain in resource usage (Zhou: Par. 109).
Regarding claim 2, the combined Ajami in view of Zhou teaches all the limitations in the parent claim 1. Ajami in view of Zhou further teaches the first information comprises one or more first identifiers associated with communications between the one or more first stations and the first access point during the transmission opportunity, and one or more second identifiers are different than one or more first identifiers, the one or more second identifiers associated with communications between one or more second stations and the second access point during the transmission opportunity [Zhou: Par. 7 comprise identifiers for the plurality of identified nodes, and
the processing system is further configured to cause the first access point to receive, from the second access point, second information associated with the coordination of the resources that indicates whether the second access point can communicate with the one or more second stations during the transmission opportunity in accordance with the first information [Zhou: fig. 23; Par. 247 teaches obtaining a transmission opportunity (TXOP), a scheduler (AP1 in the example of FIG. 23) sends an inquiry frame 2302 to solicit candidate STA information from a set of APs. The inquiry frame also indicates the resources per AP response, e.g., different sub-bands, spatial streams, time slots, etc.].
Regarding claim 3, the combined Ajami in view of Zhou teaches all the limitations in the parent claim 1. Ajami in view of Zhou further teaches wherein the channel parameters comprise one or more channel condition reports that include a cross-BSS channel measurement based on a bandwidth resolution associated with transmissions of the second access point received from the one or more first stations [See Ajami: Par. 52, 83; Zhou: Par. 144, 154].
Regarding claim 4, the combined Ajami in view of Zhou teaches all the limitations in the parent claim 1. Ajami in view of Zhou further teaches transmit a first message of a coordinated sounding procedure;
receive sounding feedback for a cross-BSS channel link from the second access point to one or more first stations responsive to the first message [Ajami: Par. 32 teaches selecting one of many BSSs including multiple connected BSSs]; and
select, in accordance with the sounding feedback, a multi-access point coordination scheme for use by the first access point and the second access point during the transmission opportunity, the multi-access point coordination scheme selected from a coordinated beamforming (COBF) scheme, a coordinated spatial reuse (C-SR) scheme, or a joint transmission (JT) scheme [Zhou: Figs. 3, 6, 7; Par. 140-147 teaches AP may broadcast the offset between transmit power for the beacon and the DL COBF transmission].
Regarding claim 5, the combined Ajami in view of Zhou teaches all the limitations in the parent claim 4. Ajami in view of Zhou further teaches wherein the processing system is further configured to cause the first access point to transmit one or more subsequent messages for one or more subsequent coordinated sounding procedures that provide updated cross-BSS channel link feedback associated with the second access point [Zhou: Fig. 25; Par. 253 teaches AP1 sends the candidate STA information of BSS1 2502, AP2 sends the candidate STA information of BSS2 2504, AP3 sends the candidate STA information of BSS3 2506, and AP4 sends the candidate STA information of BSS4 2508 during a first time period].
Regarding claim 6, Ajami teaches A first access point, comprising:
a processing system that includes processor circuitry and memory circuitry that stores code, the processing system configured to cause the first access point to [Ajami: Fig. 12; Abstract teaches methods and system for C-SR frame work according to APs]:
the first information comprising one or more of a channel quality threshold for communications with the one or more first stations during the transmission opportunity, an absolute transmit power of the second access point [Ajami: Par. 109 teaches AP 102-b may identify or determine whether an SINR is sufficient (such as great enough, or greater than a threshold value) to decode control frames reliably. In some implementations, to increase the likelihood that SINR is sufficient, the AP 102-a or the AP 102-b, or both, may select or otherwise use a reuse factor that is greater than a threshold value] or both an absolute transmit power of the first access point and an absolute transmit power of the second access point normalized to a unit of bandwidth associated with the transmission opportunity, a relative transmit power normalized to a unit of bandwidth of the second access point relative to a reference frame transmitted by the second access point or both (optional feature) a relative transmit power of normalized to a unit of bandwidth the first access point and a relative transmit power normalized to a unit of bandwidth of the second access point relative to a reference frame transmitted by a corresponding access point, or an identifier of the reference frame [Ajami: Par. 83 teaches The AP 102-a leverage channel reciprocity to estimate downlink SINR at the client devices of the AP 102-a and may transmit TXOP sharing information 430 (which may be illustrated as a TXS' message in the example of FIG. 4 ) to inform the AP 102-b of an upper limit tolerable transmit power that the AP 102-b may use such that downlink SINR constraints between the AP 102-a and one or more client devices]; and
communicate with one or more first stations during the transmission opportunity in accordance with the first information [Ajami: Par. 83].
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However, Ajami does not teach transmit, to a second access point, first information associated with coordinated spatial reuse of resources of a transmission opportunity that provides for communications between the first access point and one or more first stations during the transmission opportunity and communications between the second access point and one or more second stations during the transmission opportunity.
Nevertheless, Zhou, in the similar field of endeavor, teaches transmit, to a second access point, first information associated with coordinated spatial reuse of resources of a transmission opportunity that provides for communications between the first access point and one or more first stations during the transmission opportunity and communications between the second access point and one or more second stations during the transmission opportunity [Zhou: Figs. 3, 6, 7; Par. 140-147 teaches AP may broadcast the offset between transmit power for the beacon and the DL COBF transmission].
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Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill at the time the invention was made to utilize the teachings of Zhou to use reuse transmission mode. One in the art would be motivated to utilize the teachings of Zhou in the Ajami system with a motivation to make this modification in order to improve gain in resource usage (Zhou: Par. 109).
Regarding claim 7, the combined Ajami in view of Zhou teaches all the limitations in the parent claim 6. Ajami in view of Zhou further teaches wherein the channel quality threshold comprises one or more of a modulation and coding scheme (MCS), an error vector magnitude (EVM), or an interference threshold for communications with the one or more first stations during the transmission opportunity [Ajami: Par. 89- 90].
Regarding claim 8, the combined Ajami in view of Zhou teaches all the limitations in the parent claim 6. Ajami in view of Zhou further teaches wherein the absolute transmit power is a quantity associated with a bandwidth that is a portion of a total bandwidth associated with the transmission opportunity [Ajami: Par. 52 teaches use the same or different bandwidths and may use the same or different primary channels, or both].
Regarding claim 9, the combined Ajami in view of Zhou teaches all the limitations in the parent claim 6. Ajami in view of Zhou further teaches wherein the relative transmit power indicates a power backoff from a power spectral density level at which a prior packet or physical layer protocol data unit is transmitted by the first access point [Ajami: Par. 66 teaches negotiate power backoff and allow some additional transmit power flexibility].
Regarding claim 10, the combined Ajami in view of Zhou teaches all the limitations in the parent claim 6. Ajami in view of Zhou further teaches herein the identifier of the reference frame is a token or an identification value associated with the reference frame [Zhou: Fig. 10; Par. 166].
Regarding claim 11, the combined Ajami in view of Zhou teaches all the limitations in the parent claim 6. Ajami in view of Zhou further teaches wherein the first information indicates that the reference frame is associated with a previous ready-to-send (RTS) and clear-to-send (CTS) exchange between the first access point and the one or more first stations [Zhou: Par. 160].
Regarding claim 12, the combined Ajami in view of Zhou teaches all the limitations in the parent claim 6. Ajami in view of Zhou further teaches wherein the first information includes an indication of a first quantity associated with an interference level at the first access point [Ajami: Par. 129 teaches of transmit indication of interference level].
Regarding claim 13, Ajami teaches A first access point, comprising:
a processing system that includes processor circuitry and memory circuitry that stores code, the processing system configured to cause the first access point to [Ajami: Fig. 12; Abstract teaches methods and system for C-SR frame work according to APs]:
transmit, to a second access point, first information associated with coordination of resources of a transmission opportunity, and the first access point and the second access point having overlapping coverage areas [Ajami: Fig. 3, 10, 12; Par. 70- 83 teaches AP schedule overlapping; AP 102-a receives measurements from client devices, such as pathloss or RSSI from AP 102-b to the client devices]
communicate with one or more first stations during the transmission opportunity in accordance with the first information [Ajami: Par. 83].
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However, Ajami does not teach the first information comprising one or more alignment parameters for concurrent transmissions of at least a first physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) from the first access point and a second PPDU from the second access point during the transmission opportunity.
Nevertheless, Zhou, in the similar field of endeavor, teaches the first information comprising one or more alignment parameters for concurrent transmissions of at least a first physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) from the first access point and a second PPDU from the second access point during the transmission opportunity [Zhou: Figs. 3, 6, 7; Par. 414-390 teaches Each PPDU may include a preamble and a payload. The preamble may include training fields and a SIG field. The payload may include a Media Access Control (MAC) header or data for other layers, and/or user data, for example. The payload may be transmitted using one or more data symbols].
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Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill at the time the invention was made to utilize the teachings of Zhou to use PPDU transmission. One in the art would be motivated to utilize the teachings of Zhou in the Ajami system with a motivation to make this modification in order to improve gain in resource usage (Zhou: Par. 109).
Regarding claim 14, the combined Ajami in view of Zhou teaches all the limitations in the parent claim 13. Ajami in view of Zhou further teaches wherein the first information is transmitted in a transmission opportunity duration announcement associated with a coordinated spatial reuse (C-SR) invite frame or a C-SR trigger frame [Ajami: Abstract].
Regarding claim 15, the combined Ajami in view of Zhou teaches all the limitations in the parent claim 13. Ajami in view of Zhou further teaches wherein the processing system is further configured to cause the first access point to receive, from the second access point, second information that indicates one or more parameters for the concurrent transmissions of PPDUs, and wherein communications with the one or more stations are in accordance with the first information and the second information [Ajami: Par. 49, 99 teaches of using PPDU packet and sending PPDU by the client devices to receive power level of uplink PPDUs].
Regarding claim 16, the combined Ajami in view of Zhou teaches all the limitations in the parent claim 13 Ajami in view of Zhou further teaches wherein the first PPDU and the second PPDU each share a common preamble up to one or more of a legacy signal (L-SIG) field, an ultra-high reliability signal (UHR-SIG) field, or an ultra-high reliability long training field (UHR-LTF), the common preamble transmitted from each of the first access point and the second access point during the transmission opportunity, and wherein the first information further indicates a value of a LENGTH subfield of the L-SIG field [Ajami: Par. 61- 62].
Regarding claim 17, the combined Ajami in view of Zhou teaches all the limitations in the parent claim 14. Ajami in view of Zhou further teaches wherein the first PPDU and the second PPDU each indicate a same basic service set (BSS) color in a universal signal (U-SIG) field [Ajami: Par. 39].
Regarding claim 18, the combined Ajami in view of Zhou teaches all the limitations in the parent claim 17. Ajami in view of Zhou further teaches herein the universal signal (U-SIG) field of the first PPDU and the second PPDU includes one or more of an indication that the first PPDU and the second PPDU are transmitted in accordance with coordinated spatial reuse (C-SR) procedures, and an indication of a basic service set (BSS) color of one or more of the first access point, the second access point, or a group BSS color associated with the first access point and the second access point [Ajami: Par. 39 disclosed indicated in the U-SIG field of a PPDU].
Regarding claim 19, the combined Ajami in view of Zhou teaches all the limitations in the parent claim 13. Ajami in view of Zhou further teaches wherein the first access point and the second access point use a same compression mode for communications during the transmission opportunity [Ajami: Par. 53 teaches of using TXOP sharing mode].
Regarding claim 20, the combined Ajami in view of Zhou teaches all the limitations in the parent claim 13. Ajami in view of Zhou further teaches the first information comprises an indication that the concurrent transmissions of the first PPDU and the second PPDU are in accordance with a coordinated spatial reuse procedure or a coordinated beamforming procedure, and wherein the indication is jointly provided by two or more subfields in the first information [Ajami: Par. 49, 99 teaches of using PPDU packet and sending PPDU by the client devices to receive power level of uplink PPDUs].
Conclusion
The prior art made of record (see attached PTO-892) and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
A shortened statutory period for reply to this action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of the action. An extension of time may be obtained under 37 CFR 1.136(a). However, in no event, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KYAW Z SOE whose telephone number is (571)270-0304. The examiner can normally be reached on 9am-5pm.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Charles C Jiang can be reached on 5712707191. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/KYAW Z SOE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2412
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