DETAILED ACTION
This communication is responsive to Application No. 18/931,087 filed on October 30th, 2024. Claims 1-18 are subject to examination.
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 3 recites the limitation "wherein the step of" in The communication device of claim 1, wherein the step of the processing circuit performing the CRC according to the comparison result and the check code in the data unit comprises: performing the CRC for the check code, when the comparison result indicates that the target STAID and the STAID in the data unit are the same. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 5 recites the limitation "wherein the step of" in The communication device of claim 1, wherein the step of the processing circuit determining the frequency resource according to the check result and the EHT-SIG field in the data unit comprises: analyzing the EHT-SIG field to determine the frequency resource, when the check result is successful. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 12 recites the limitation "wherein the step of" in The communication method of claim 10, wherein the step of performing the CRC according to the comparison result and the check code in the data unit comprises: performing the CRC for the check code, when the comparison result indicates that the target STAID and the STAID in the data unit are the same. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 14 recites the limitation "wherein the step of" in The communication method of claim 10, wherein the step of determining the frequency resource according to the check result and the EHT-SIG field in the data unit comprises: analyzing the EHT-SIG field to determine the frequency resource, when the check result is successful. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Seok (US 20160128057 A1) (Seok hereafter) in view of Minotani et al. (US 20250126607 A1) (Minotani hereafter).
Regarding claim 1, Seok teaches
A communication device, comprising:
a receiving circuit, for receiving a data unit from a transmitter; (Seok: [0051] The RF transceiver 20 includes an RF transmitter 21 and an RF receiver 22. [0066] An RF receiver 22 receives an RF signal via the antenna unit 30 and converts the RF signal into symbols.)
a comparing circuit, coupled to the receiving circuit, for comparing a target station identity (STAID) with a STAID in the data unit, to generate a comparison result; (Seok: [0049] The PHY processor 15 includes a transmitting (TX) signal processing unit 100 and a receiving (RX) signal processing unit 200. [0239] …an STA receiving the DL OFDMA PPDU may determine that it is a destination STA of the DL OFDMA PPDU based on the resource allocation information (e.g., STA identification information))
Seok fails to explicitly teach,
a processing circuit, coupled to the comparing circuit, for performing a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) according to the comparison result and a check code in the data unit, to generate a check result,
and for determining a frequency resource according to the check result and an extremely high throughput signal (EHT-SIG) field in the data unit;
and a transmitting circuit, coupled to the processing circuit, for transmitting the frequency resource to a demodulation circuit
However, Minotani teaches
a processing circuit, coupled to the comparing circuit, for performing a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) according to the comparison result and a check code in the data unit, to generate a check result, (Minotani: [0094] Preamble demodulator 12 performs a fast Fourier transform (FFT) on the preamble signal…to extract reception control information….The reception control information includes….an error correcting code [0097] …Data decoder 14 performs an error check on the decoded data signal using a method such as cyclic redundancy check (CRC).)
and for determining a frequency resource according to the check result and an extremely high throughput signal (EHT-SIG) field in the data unit; (Minotani: [0102] …For example… transmission scheduler 16 determines…resource information regarding resources available to each user (e.g., frequency resources and spatial stream resources). [0123] AP 1 and AP 2 negotiate information regarding spatial streams and determine an orthogonal matrix to be added to reference signals such as EHT-LTFs.)
and a transmitting circuit, coupled to the processing circuit, for transmitting the frequency resource to a demodulation circuit (Minotani: [0110] …Radio transmitter 21 performs a radio transmission process including digital-to-analog (D/A) conversion on the radio frame….and transmits the signal…to a DL radio transmission apparatus or a DL radio reception apparatus through an antenna) [Examiner’s note: Since the radio transmitter 21 transmits the data to another wireless reception device, it is transmitting it to another device’s demodulation circuit and reads on the claim limitation]
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the invention, to modify the teachings of Seok to include the above cited limitations as taught by Minotani in order to improve system throughput (Minotani: [0055]).
Regarding claim 2, Seok-Minotani teaches
The communication device of claim 1, further comprising:
the demodulation circuit, coupled to the transmitting circuit, for demodulating data in the data unit according to the frequency resource. (Minotani: [0094] Preamble demodulator 12 performs a fast Fourier transform (FFT) on the preamble signal…to extract reception control information to be used to demodulate and decode the data signal…control information includes... frequency bandwidth)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the invention, to modify the teachings of Seok to include the above cited limitations as taught by Minotani in order to reduce interference of the reference signal (Minotani: [0069]).
Regarding claim 3, Seok-Minotani teaches
The communication device of claim 1, wherein the step of the processing circuit performing the CRC according to the comparison result and the check code in the data unit comprises:
When the comparison result indicates that the target STAID and the STAID in the data unit are the same. (Seok: [0250] If the type of the PPDU is the second type, particularly the OFDMA PPDU type, the STA may determine whether it is a destination STA of the PPDU in step S 1860.)
Performing the CRC for the check code (Minotani: [0097] …Data decoder 14 performs an error check on the decoded data signal using a method such as cyclic redundancy check (CRC))
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the invention, to modify the teachings of Seok to include the above cited limitations as taught by Minotani in order to improve system throughput (Minotani: [0055]).
Regarding claim 4, Seok-Minotani teaches
The communication device of claim 1, wherein the processing circuit drops the data unit, when the comparison result indicates that the target STAID and the STAID in the data unit are different. (Seok: [0251] If the STA determines that it is not a destination STA of the HE PPDU in step S1860, the STA may not process a data unit (e.g., a PSDU) following the PHY header in step S 1865.)
Regarding claim 5, Seok-Minotani teaches
The communication device of claim 1, wherein the step of the processing circuit determining the frequency resource according to the check result and the EHT-SIG field in the data unit comprises: analyzing the EHT-SIG field to determine the frequency resource, when the check result is successful. (Minotani: [0132] …a Number of HE/EHT-LTF symbols subfield included in the common information may be replaced by a Number of Total HE/EHT-LTF symbols for notifying of the total number of HE/EHT-LTFs (the total number of reference signals) in coordinated transmission.) [Examiner’s note: Minotani performs error detection via CRC. While Minotani may not explicitly state that this as a factor to determine a frequency resource, it is an implicit step performed prior to determining a frequency resource]
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the invention, to modify the teachings of Seok to include the above cited limitations as taught by Minotani in order to improve system throughput (Minotani: [0055]).
Regarding claim 10, Seok teaches
A communication method, comprising:
receiving a data unit from a transmitter; (Seok: [0066] An RF receiver 22 receives an RF signal via the antenna unit 30 and converts the RF signal into symbols.)
comparing a target station identity (STAID) with a STAID in the data unit, to generate a comparison result; (Seok: [0239] …an STA receiving the DL OFDMA PPDU may determine that it is a destination STA of the DL OFDMA PPDU based on the resource allocation information (e.g., STA identification information))
Seok fails to explicitly teach,
performing a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) according to the comparison result and a check code in the data unit, to generate a check result,
determining a frequency resource according to the check result and an extremely high throughput signal (EHT-SIG) field in the data unit; and
transmitting the frequency resource to a demodulation circuit
However, Minotani teaches
performing a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) according to the comparison result and a check code in the data unit, to generate a check result, (Minotani: [0094] Preamble demodulator 12 performs a fast Fourier transform (FFT) on the preamble signal…to extract reception control information….The reception control information includes….an error correcting code [0097] …Data decoder 14 performs an error check on the decoded data signal using a method such as cyclic redundancy check (CRC).)
determining a frequency resource according to the check result and an extremely high throughput signal (EHT-SIG) field in the data unit; (Minotani: [0102] …For example… transmission scheduler 16 determines…resource information regarding resources available to each user (e.g., frequency resources and spatial stream resources). [0123] AP 1 and AP 2 negotiate information regarding spatial streams and determine an orthogonal matrix to be added to reference signals such as EHT-LTFs.)
and transmitting the frequency resource to a demodulation circuit (Minotani: [0110] …Radio transmitter 21 performs a radio transmission process including digital-to-analog (D/A) conversion on the radio frame….and transmits the signal…to a DL radio transmission apparatus or a DL radio reception apparatus through an antenna) [Examiner’s note: Since the radio transmitter 21 transmits the data to another wireless reception device, it is transmitting it to another device’s demodulation circuit and reads on the claim limitation]
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the invention, to modify the teachings of Seok to include the above cited limitations as taught by Minotani in order to improve system throughput (Minotani: [0055]).
Regarding claim 11, Seok-Minotani teaches
The communication method of claim 10, further comprising:
demodulating data in the data unit according to the frequency resource. (Minotani: [0094] Preamble demodulator 12 performs a fast Fourier transform (FFT) on the preamble signal…to extract reception control information to be used to demodulate and decode the data signal…control information includes... frequency bandwidth)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the invention, to modify the teachings of Seok to include the above cited limitations as taught by Minotani in order to reduce interference of the reference signal (Minotani: [0069]).
Regarding claim 12, Seok-Minotani teaches
The communication method of claim 10, wherein the step of performing the CRC according to the comparison result and the check code in the data unit comprises:
When the comparison result indicates that the target STAID and the STAID in the data unit are the same. (Seok: [0250] If the type of the PPDU is the second type, particularly the OFDMA PPDU type, the STA may determine whether it is a destination STA of the PPDU in step S 1860.)
Performing the CRC for the check code (Minotani: [0097] …Data decoder 14 performs an error check on the decoded data signal using a method such as cyclic redundancy check (CRC))
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the invention, to modify the teachings of Seok to include the above cited limitations as taught by Minotani in order to improve system throughput (Minotani: [0055]).
Regarding claim 13, Seok-Minotani teaches
The communication method of claim 10, further comprising:
dropping the data unit, when the comparison result indicates that the target STAID and the STAID in the data unit are different. (Seok: [0251] If the STA determines that it is not a destination STA of the HE PPDU in step S1860, the STA may not process a data unit (e.g., a PSDU) following the PHY header in step S 1865.)
Regarding claim 14, Seok-Minotani teaches
The communication method of claim 10, wherein the step of determining the frequency resource according to the check result and the EHT-SIG field in the data unit comprises: analyzing the EHT-SIG field to determine the frequency resource, when the check result is successful. (Minotani: [0132] …a Number of HE/EHT-LTF symbols subfield included in the common information may be replaced by a Number of Total HE/EHT-LTF symbols for notifying of the total number of HE/EHT-LTFs (the total number of reference signals) in coordinated transmission.) [Examiner’s note: Minotani performs error detection via CRC. While Minotani may not explicitly state that this as a factor to determine a frequency resource, it is an implicit step performed prior to determining a frequency resource]
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the invention, to modify the teachings of Seok to include the above cited limitations as taught by Minotani in order to improve system throughput (Minotani: [0055]).
Claims 6 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Seok-Minotani in view of Ma Et al. (WO 2023288333 A2) (Ma hereafter).
Regarding claim 6, Seok-Minotani teaches
The communication device of claim 1, but fails to explicitly teach wherein the processing circuit drops the data unit, when the check result fails.
However, Ma teaches
Wherein the processing circuit drops the data unit, when the check result fails (Ma: [0102] In some aspects, the network node 505 may determine that a transport block of the voice packet includes an inconsistent CRC corresponding to one or more bits of a specified class and may drop the transport block based at least in part on that determination.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the invention, to modify the teachings of Seok-Minotani to include the above cited limitations as taught by Ma in order to facilitate error mitigation (Ma: [0012]).
Regarding claim 15, Seok-Minotani teaches
The communication method of claim 10, but fails to explicitly teach
further comprising: dropping the data unit, when the check result fails.
However, Ma teaches
further comprising: dropping the data unit, when the check result fails. (Ma: [0102] In some aspects, the network node 505 may determine that a transport block of the voice packet includes an inconsistent CRC corresponding to one or more bits of a specified class and may drop the transport block based at least in part on that determination.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the invention, to modify the teachings of Seok-Minotani to include the above cited limitations as taught by Ma in order to facilitate error mitigation (Ma: [0012]).
Claims 7 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Seok-Minotani in view of Shen et al. (EP 4231557 A1) (Shen hereafter).
Regarding claim 7, Seok-Minotani teaches the communication device of claim 1, but fails to explicitly teach
wherein the data unit comprises a preamble, data and a Packet Extension (PE) field, and the preamble comprises the EHT-SIG field.
However, Shen teaches wherein the data unit comprises a preamble, data and a Packet Extension (PE) field, and the preamble comprises the EHT-SIG field. (Shen: [0067] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a frame structure of an EHT PPDU according to an embodiment of this application.) [Examiner’s note: In FIG. 6, Shen outlines an EHT PPDU with a preamble, data and a Packet Extension (PE) field and the preamble contains an EHT-SIG field]
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the invention, to take the teachings of Seok-Minotani to include the above cited limitations as taught by Shen in order to reduce interference and improve decoding performance of a receive end (Shen: [0006]).
Regarding claim 16, Seok-Minotani teaches the communication method of claim 10, but fails to explicitly teach
wherein the data unit comprises a preamble, data and a Packet Extension (PE) field, and the preamble comprises the EHT-SIG field.
However, Shen teaches wherein the data unit comprises a preamble, data and a Packet Extension (PE) field, and the preamble comprises the EHT-SIG field. (Shen: [0067] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a frame structure of an EHT PPDU according to an embodiment of this application.) [Examiner’s note: In FIG. 6, Shen outlines an EHT PPDU with a preamble, data and a Packet Extension (PE) field and the preamble contains an EHT-SIG field]
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the invention, to take the teachings of Seok-Minotani to include the above cited limitations as taught by Shen in order to reduce interference and improve decoding performance of a receive end (Shen: [0006]).
Claims 8 and 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Seok-Minotani-Shen in view of Sun et al. (US 2022053379 A1) (Sun hereafter).
Regarding claim 8, Seok-Minotani-Shen teach
The communication device of claim 7, but fails to explicitly teach wherein the EHT-SIG field comprises a common field and a user specific field, (Minotani: [0094] AP1 and AP2 negotiate information about the spatial stream and determine an orthogonal matrix to be added to a reference signal such as EHT-LTF in each of them. [0100] TF includes Common Info and User Info. AP may use the TF’s common information to notify the TF whether or not control information regarding Spatial Division C-SR is included.)
and the user specific field comprises a plurality of user field blocks (Minotani: [0109] Figure 12 shows an example of TF user information, see Figure 12) [Giving this claim BRI, Figure 12 reads on the claim limitations because you have a user specific field that comprises a plurality of blocks that are related to the user field]
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the invention, to modify the teachings of Seok to include the above cited limitations as taught by Minotani in order to improve system throughput (Minotani: [0055]).
Seok-Minotani-Shen fails to explicitly teach
and a padding value
However, Sun teaches and a padding value (Sun: [0051] FIG. 3 shows an example PPDU 300 usable for communication between an AP 102 and one or more STAs…Each MPDU frame 310 may also include…padding bits 320)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the invention, to modify the teachings of Seok-Minotani-Shen to include the above cited limitation as taught by Sun in order to ensure STAs are explicit with their behavior and are granted resources while avoiding collisions. (Sun: [0004 and 0005])
Regarding claim 17, Seok-Minotani-Shen teach
The communication method of claim 16, but fails to explicitly teach wherein the EHT-SIG field comprises a common field and a user specific field, (Minotani: [0094] AP1 and AP2 negotiate information about the spatial stream and determine an orthogonal matrix to be added to a reference signal such as EHT-LTF in each of them. [0100] TF includes Common Info and User Info. AP may use the TF’s common information to notify the TF whether or not control information regarding Spatial Division C-SR is included.)
and the user specific field comprises a plurality of user field blocks (Minotani: [0109] Figure 12 shows an example of TF user information, see Figure 12) [Giving this claim BRI, Figure 12 reads on the claim limitations because you have a user specific field that comprises a plurality of blocks that are related to the user field]
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the invention, to modify the teachings of Seok to include the above cited limitations as taught by Minotani in order to improve system throughput (Minotani: [0055]).
Seok-Minotani-Shen fails to explicitly teach
and a padding value
However, Sun teaches and a padding value (Sun: [0034] FIG. 3 shows an exemplary PPDU 300 usable for communication between an AP 102 and one or more STAs…Each MPDU frame 310 also includes…padding bits 320)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the invention, to modify the teachings of Seok-Minotani-Shen to include the above cited limitation as taught by Sun in order to ensure STAs are explicit with their behavior and are granted resources while avoiding collisions. (Sun: [0004 and 0005])
Claims 9 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Seok-Minotani-Shen-Sun in view of Huang et al. (US 20220295468 A1) (Huang hereafter)
Regarding claim 9, Seok-Minotani-Shen-Sun teach
The communication device of claim 8, wherein a user field block among the plurality of user field blocks comprise at least one user field (Minotani: [0110] The AID12 subfield in the user information contains information indicating the destination (destination device))
and a user field among the at least one user field comprises the STAID. (Minotani: [0110] The AID12 subfield in the user information contains information indicating the destination (destination device))
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the invention, to modify the teachings of Seok to include the above cited limitations as taught by Minotani in order to improve system throughput (Minotani: [0055]).
Seok-Minotani-Shen-Sun fail to explicitly teach
and the check code,
However, Huang teaches
and the check code, (Huang: [0075] FIG. 4B depicts the EHT-SIG-B field 206 of the EHT MU PPDU 200 in more detail…the User specific field 422 consists of one or more user block field(s)… User Block fields 1 to 3 is appended with cyclic redundancy check (CRC) for detecting error)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the invention, to modify the teachings of Seok-Minotani-Shen-Sun to include the above cited limitations as taught by Huang in order to reduce signaling overhead (Huang: [0063]).
Regarding claim 18, Seok-Minotani-Shen-Sun teach
The communication method of claim 17, wherein a user field block among the plurality of user field blocks comprise at least one user field (Minotani: [0110] The AID12 subfield in the user information contains information indicating the destination (destination device))
and a user field among the at least one user field comprises the STAID. (Minotani: [0110] The AID12 subfield in the user information contains information indicating the destination (destination device))
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the invention, to modify the teachings of Seok to include the above cited limitations as taught by Minotani in order to improve system throughput (Minotani: [0055]).
Seok-Minotani-Shen-Sun fail to explicitly teach
and the check code,
However, Huang teaches
and the check code, (Huang: [0075] FIG. 4B depicts the EHT-SIG-B field 206 of the EHT MU PPDU 200 in more detail…the User specific field 422 consists of one or more user block field(s)… User Block fields 1 to 3 is appended with cyclic redundancy check (CRC) for detecting error)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the invention, to modify the teachings of Seok-Minotani-Shen-Sun to include the above cited limitations as taught by Huang in order to reduce signaling overhead (Huang: [0063]).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RUDY C FUENTES whose telephone number is (571)270-0912. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri, 8:00am - 5pm.
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, Noel Beharry can be reached at (571) 270-5630. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/R.C.F./Examiner, Art Unit 2416
/NOEL R BEHARRY/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2416
Prosecution Insights