DETAILED ACTION
This Office action is in response to the application filed on 07 November 2024.
Claims 1-17 are cancelled.
Claims 18-32 are new and presented for examination.
Specification
The specification is objected to as failing to provide proper antecedent basis for the claimed subject matter. See 37 CFR 1.75(d)(1) and MPEP § 608.01(o). Correction of the following is required:
The bold underlined claimed elements of “facilitate communication, in a 6 gigahertz (GHz) band, with the indoor AP, wherein communications with the indoor AP have a first transmit power that is at or under 22 decibel-milliwatts (dBm)” and of “encode a second message for transmission (advertise), in the 6 GHz band, to the Wi-Fi device, wherein the communications with the Wi-Fi device have a second transmit power that is at or under 22 dBm“ in instant independent claims 18, 25, 32 in which there are no paragraphs in instant specification described properly said bold underlined claimed elements.
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.
Claims 18-32 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Qi et al. US 2021/0058856 A1 and in view of Sayenko et al.US 2022/0361115 A1.
As to claim 18, Qi discloses substantially the invention as claimed, including one or more non-transitory computer-readable media (NTCRM) ([82]) comprising instructions that, upon execution of the instructions by one or more processors of an electronic device (Figure 1A, 5-6, user devices 120/500/600 or NAN device 120), are to cause the electronic device to:
identify that the electronic device is part of a network (Figure 1A, 7, a WLAN network 100) with a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) device (Figures 1, and associated paragraphs, a NAN referred to a WiFi device identified as a part of the WLAN 100, [3], [18]-[20]);
identify that the electronic device is configured to operate as a client under control of an indoor Access Point (AP) (Figure 1, and associated paragraphs, “[30] In one or more embodiments, when a NAN device is in the service area of a 6 GHz indoor low-power AP (e.g., by receiving the AP's enabling signal, such as with a beacon, probe response, etc.), the NAN device may be allowed to initiate a transmission to a peer NAN device. In this transmission, the NAN device may advertise/communicate the 6 GHz AP's MAC address and 6 GHz transmit power (or operating mode) information by including the 6 GHz WLAN infrastructure attribute (e.g., as defined by the IEEE 802.11 standards) in the NAN Service Discovery frames or NAN operation setup frames transmitted in 2.4 GHz/5 GHz bands”; “[52], any of the user devices 120 may be connected, wirelessly or wired, to the AP 102, which may send frames 144 (e.g., enabling signals such as beacons, probes, etc.) to the user devices 120, which may be used by the user devices 120 to indicate whether any of the user devices 120 are indoor devices. Once two of the user devices 120 determine, based on the NAN frames 142, that 6 GHz requirements are satisfied by the two devices, the two devices may establish a NAN connection for NAN operations”);
facilitate communication, in a 6 gigahertz (GHz) band, with the indoor AP (Figure 1C, the AP 178 operating on 6 GHz) ([24], in one or more embodiments, a NAN device's transmission power and whether the NAN device is an indoor or outdoor device may determine whether the NAN device may conduct NAN operations in the 6 GHz frequency band. There are multiple transmit power operating modes in the 6 GHz frequency band. In particular, devices in the 6 GHz frequency band may be qualified as VLP indoor/outdoor devices when having a transmission power from 4 dBm-14 dBm. Devices in the 6 GHz frequency band may be qualified as standard power (SP) AFC indoor/outdoor devices when having a transmission power from 30 dBm (17 dBm/MHz) - 36 dBm (23 dBm/MHz). Devices in the 6 GHz frequency band may be qualified as low-power indoor (LPI) devices when having a transmission power from 24 dBm (−1 dBm/MHz) - 30 dBm (5 dBm/MHz). For LPI devices, no AFC capability may be required for NAN devices to conduct NAN conduct NAN operations with one another. For SP devices, at least one NAN device must have AFC capabilities for NAN devices to conduct NAN operations with one another. VLP NAN devices do not need AFC. Therefore, based on the transmission powers of two NAN devices attempting to access the 6 GHz band to conduct NAN operations with each other, the NAN devices may determine device criteria (e.g., operation parameters) that need to be satisfied before establishing NAN operations in the frequency band; [25] In one or more embodiments, NAN devices may advertise and communicate their 6 GHz and AFC capabilities, NAN Availability associated with each transmit power operating mode, whether a device's power supply is from a wired connection or not (e.g. indicative of an indoor device), the presence of a 6 GHz WLAN Infrastructure if any (e.g., indicative of an indoor device when multiple devices are connected to a same AP), and may use this information to establish NAN operations in 6 GHz bands; [30], when NAN device is in the service area of a 6 GHz indoor low-power AP (e.g., by receiving the AP’s enabling signal 144, such as a beacon, probe response, etc.) the NAN device may be allowed to initiate a transmission to a peer NAN device),
encode a second message for transmission (advertise), in the 6 GHz band, to the Wi-Fi device (Figures 1 and associated paragraphs, “[23] In one or more embodiments,…... A NAN device that supports 6 GHz bands may indicate an ability to access 6 GHz bands, and at which times, in a Device Capability Attribute (e.g., defined by the WFA Wi-Fi Aware Technical Specification, such as the Device Capability Attribute defined for NAN management frames). For example, the NAN device may send NAN frames in other frequency bands, such as the 2.4 GHz and/or 5 GHz bands, and may use the NAN frames to indicate capabilities of using other frequency bands (e.g., the 6 GHz frequency band or other bands). A NAN device that supports 6 GHz operation and that has “valid” 6 GHz frequency/channel availability information may advertise the 6 GHz capability in a Device Capability Attribute. If two NAN devices are to establish a NAN Data Path between them, at least one of the devices must have “valid” 6 GHz frequency/channel availability information. Where and when to operate NAN operations may be negotiated/communicated by including 6 GHz available frequencies and/or channels information in the NAN Availability attribute. When advertising its NAN availability in 6 GHz, a NAN device may indicate the maximum transmit power or usage for the corresponding NAN availability. For example, indicate whether the NAN Availability is used for very low power (VLP), low power indoor (LPI), or Standard Power AFC controlled. 6 GHz frequency/channel availability information can be shared via NAN Availability or any other formats after the NAN Data Path setup between two NAN devices. Shared 6 GHz frequency/channel availability information may be used for the NAN schedule negotiation or NAN schedule update of the NAN Data Path between these two NAN devices. To use VLP and LPI transmit power operating modes in the 6 GHz frequency band, both NAN devices may need to be VLP or LPI, so when both NAN devices advertise that they may use VLP and LPI transmit power operating modes, the NAN devices may determine that no AFC capability is required”; “[24], in one or more embodiments, a NAN device's transmission power and whether the NAN device is an indoor or outdoor device may determine whether the NAN device may conduct NAN operations in the 6 GHz frequency band. There are multiple transmit power operating modes in the 6 GHz frequency band. In particular, devices in the 6 GHz frequency band may be qualified as VLP indoor/outdoor devices when having a transmission power from 4 dBm-14 dBm. Devices in the 6 GHz frequency band may be qualified as standard power (SP) AFC indoor/ outdoor devices when having a transmission power from 30 dBm (17 dBm/MHz) - 36 dBm (23 dBm/MHz). Devices in the 6 GHz frequency band may be qualified as low-power indoor (LPI) devices when having a transmission power from 24 dBm (−1 dBm/MHz) - 30 dBm (5 dBm/MHz). For LPI devices, no AFC capability may be required for NAN devices to conduct NAN operations with one another. For SP devices, at least one NAN device must have AFC capabilities for NAN devices to conduct NAN operations with one another. VLP NAN devices do not need AFC. Therefore, based on the transmission powers of two NAN devices attempting to access the 6 GHz band to conduct NAN operations with each other, the NAN devices may determine device criteria (e.g., operation parameters) that need to be satisfied before establishing NAN operations in the frequency band; [25] In one or more embodiments, NAN devices may advertise and communicate their 6 GHz and AFC capabilities, NAN Availability associated with each transmit power operating mode, whether a device's power supply is from a wired connection or not (e.g. indicative of an indoor device), the presence of a 6 GHz WLAN Infrastructure if any (e.g., indicative of an indoor device when multiple devices are connected to a same AP), and may use this information to establish NAN operations in 6 GHz bands; ([30], [34]-[39], when NAN device is in the service area of a 6 GHz indoor low-power AP (e.g., by receiving the AP’s enabling signal 144, such as a beacon, probe response, etc.) the NAN device may be allowed to initiate a transmission to a peer NAN device. In this transmission, the NAN device may advertise/ communicate the 6GHz AP’s MAC address and 6 GHz transmission power (or operation mode) information by including the 6 GHz WLAN infrastructure attribute (e.g., as defined by the IEEE 802.11 standards) in the NAN Service Discovery frames or NAN operation setup frames transmitted in the 2.4 GHz/5 GHz band); [52], any of the user devices 120 may be connected, wirelessly or wired, to the AP 102, which may send frames 144 (e.g., enabling signals such as beacons, probes, etc.) to the user devices 120, which may be used by the user devices 120 to indicate whether any of the user devices 120 are indoor devices. Once two of the user devices 120 determine, based on the NAN frames 142, that 6 GHz requirements are satisfied by the two devices, the two devices may establish a NAN connection for NAN operations),
However, Qi does not explicitly disclose the claimed bold underlined elements of “wherein communications with the indoor AP have a first transmit power that is <= 22 decibel-milliwatts (dBm)” and “wherein the communications with the Wi-Fi device have a second transmit power that is<= 22 dBm”.
Sayenko discloses in Figures 1-9 and associated paragraphs that, “[56] As noted above, different geographic locations may have different regulations that include different maximum transmission power values. When performing process block 174, the maximum transmission power values that the user equipment 140 may be configured to use may include one or more of the values discussed above with respect to Table 1 (e.g., maximum EIRP, maximum EIRP density, or both), may correspond to a sub-band illustrated in FIG. 6, or both. For example, in a case in which the base station 142 is located within the United States that is performing process block 174, the instruction transmitted by the base station 142 may indicate one or more sub-bands of the frequency band 104 (e.g., one or more of U-NII-5, U-NII-6, U-NII-7, U-NII-8) the transmitter 52 of the user equipment 140 should use to transmit signals, as well as one or more maximum transmission power values (e.g., according to Table 1). The maximum transmission power values may include an EIRP value, such as 21 dBm, that may be achieved using automatic frequency control (AFC), which that may be lower than another EIRP value that may be used in other cases (e.g., when the user equipment 140 and base station 142 are both indoors, as discussed below). The maximum transmission power values may also include a maximum EIRP density value, which may be less than a different EIRP density value utilized when the user equipment 140 and base station 142 are both indoors”. It appears that Sayenko’s Figures 5-11 and table 1 describe that, “[39], when the Base Station 97 is deployed indoors and the User Equipment 96 is also located indoors, the BS 97 may enable the transmitter 52 of the UE 96 to be configured to utilize a relatively higher transmission power (e.g., suitable for indoor transmissions). As another example, as discussed below, the UE 96 may control the transmission power of the transmitter 52 of the UE 96. More specifically, when the UE 96 determines that the UE 96 or the BS 97 to which the UE 96 is communicatively coupled is deployed outdoors, a relatively lower transmission power may be utilized. However, when the UE 96 determines that the UE 96 and the BS 97 are both indoors, the transmitter 52 of the UE 96 may utilize a relatively higher transmission power”; and TABLE 1 provides information for power levels that are permitted within USA wherein the LPI describes the indoor Access Point (AP) having the ERIP limit of 30 dBm and the indoor client (CL) having the ERIP limit of 24 dBm.
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skills in the wireless communication art before the effective filing date of the claimed to have modified Sayenko’s teachings of the indoor UE 96/140 (e.g., client device) and indoor BS 97/142 communications with max transmission power of 21 dBm with the teachings of Qi’s, for the purpose of for controlling communications by the indoor BS or indoor AP and UEs complying with local rules and regulations. (Sayenko, [71]).
As to claim 19, Qi-Sayenko discloses, wherein the 6 GHz frequency band is between approximately 5.925 GHz and 7.125 GHz (Qi, Figure 2, [63]; Sayenko, Figure 5, 6, [40]).
As to claim 20, Qi-Sayenko discloses, wherein the first transmit power is at least 6 decibels (dB) below an equivalent isotropic radiated power (EIRP) limit associated with the indoor AP (Sayenko, Figure 5, 6, TABLE 1 for controlling communications by the indoor BS and UE complying with local rules and regulations).
As to claim 21, Qi-Sayenko discloses, wherein the first transmit power has a power spectral density (PSD) value that is at least 6 dB below a PSD limit (TABLE 1, see within US section, the indoor AP PSD limit (5 dBm/MHz) minus (-1 dBm/MHz) the indoor Client PSD limit = 6 dB below) with associated with the indoor AP (Sayenko, Figure 5, 6, TABLE 1 for controlling communications by the indoor BS and UE complying with local rules and regulations).
As to claim 22, Qi-Sayenko discloses, wherein the network is a wireless local area network (WLAN) (Qi, Figure 1, [30]).
As to claim 23, Qi-Sayenko discloses, wherein the indoor AP is supplied power from a wired connection, has an integrated antenna or multiple antennas or an antenna array, is not battery powered, and does not have a weatherized enclosure (Qi, Figure 1, [TABLE 3, [39]).
As to claim 24, Qi-Sayenko discloses, wherein the electronic device is supplied power from a wired connection, has an integrated antenna, is not battery powered, and does not have a weatherized enclosure (Qi, Figure 1, [TABLE 3, [39]; Sayenko, TABLE 1, within USA country and the LPI) .
Claims 25-31 correspond to the apparatus claims of NTCRM claims 18-24; therefore they are rejected under the same rationale in NTCRM claims 18-24 as shown above.
Claims 32-37 correspond to the electronic device claims of NTCRM claims 18,19,20,22,23,24; therefore they are rejected under the same rationale in NTCRM claims 18,19,20,22,23,24 as shown above.
The prior art cited in this Office action is: Qi et al. US 2021/0058856 A1; Sayenko et al.US 2022/0361115 A1.
Conclusion
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/HAI V NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2649
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