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 .
Claim Objections
Claim 18 is objected to because of the following informalities:
In Claim 18, which depends on claim 10, the term “The STA of claim 10” should be “The first AP of claim 10” to avoid lack of antecedent basis.
Appropriate correction is required.
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 1-3, 7-12, 16-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over HONG et al. (US 20260239458, hereinafter, “HONG”) in view of Chu et al. (US 20250254509, hereinafter, “Chu”).
Claim 1. HONG teaches: A station (STA) in a wireless network, comprising: - See Fig. 1, ¶ [0078], (“a STA in a non-AP MLD is referred to as a non-AP STA”)
a memory; - See Fig. 28, ¶ [0549], (“memory 703”) and a processor coupled to the memory, the processor configured to: - See Fig. 28, ¶ [0548], (“processor 701”)
transmit, to a first access point (AP) via a first link, a first frame that requests a switch from the first AP to a second AP, - See Fig. 16, ¶ [0327], (“Step S1340: The STA MLD…sends a BTM roaming request frame to the original AP MLD (that is, AP MLD1) associated with the target link…The BTM roaming request frame is configured to request switching from the original link (for example, AP MLD1 Link0) to the target link (for example, AP MLD2 Link0).”)
wherein the first AP and the second AP form a seamless roaming domain and the first link is established between the STA and the first AP; - in ¶ [0312], (“an association between Link0 of non-AP STA MLD (referred to as STA MLD below) and Link0 of EHT AP MLD1 (referred to as AP MLD1 below), and an association between Link1 of STA MLD and Link1 of EHT AP MLD1.”)
receive, from the first AP via the first link or the second AP via a second link, a second frame in response to the first frame – See Fig. 16, ¶ [0331], (“2. When the UHR UMAC approves the above roaming request, the original AP MLD sends a BTM roaming reconfigure frame to the STA MLD through the corresponding receiving link”) that includes information for communicating with the second AP – in ¶ [0119], (“When the BTM roaming frame is a BTM roaming reconfigure frame…¶ [0121], (the common information field of the BTM roaming frame may include…an MLD AP identifier (MLD AP ID) field…¶ [0123] The MLD AP ID field indicates an identifier of a requested AP MLD, that is, an identifier of an MLD AP to which switching is requested.”) wherein the second link is established between the STA and the second AP; - in ¶ [0332], (“switching the association between STA MLD Link0 and AP MLD1 Link0 to the association between STA MLD Link0 and AP MLD2 Link0);”) and
switch to the second AP using the information for communicating with the second AP. – in ¶ [0332], (“When receiving the BTM roaming reconfigure frame, the STA MLD triggers link reconfiguration of the corresponding link (Link0) of the STA MLD (that is, link switching on the non-AP side, for example, switching the association between STA MLD Link0 and AP MLD1 Link0 to the association between STA MLD Link0 and AP MLD2 Link0)”)
HONG does not explicitly teach:
wherein the first AP and the second AP form a seamless roaming domain and the first link is established between the STA and the first AP;
However, Chu teaches:
wherein the first AP and the second AP form a seamless roaming domain and the first link is established between the STA and the first AP; - See Fig. 1, ¶ [0063], (“receiving from an access point multi-link device (AP MLD) in the wireless network information…the information including a seamless roaming domain (SMD) element that identifies a respective seamless roaming domain of the one or more candidate target AP MLDs”)
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified HONG with Chu to specify the first AP and the second AP form a seamless roaming domain, as taught by Chu. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification improve seamless roaming, as suggested by Chu, A seamless mobile domain (SMD) with access point multi-link devices (AP MLDs) positioned at different locations in a wireless network allows for a non-AP MLD to smoothly roam within an area covered by the AP MLDs. - ¶ [0003]
Claim 2. Combination of HONG and Chu teaches The STA of claim 1, - refer to the indicated claim for reference(s).
HONG teaches:
wherein the second frame includes at least one of identifier information for the second AP – in ¶ [0119], (“When the BTM roaming frame is a BTM roaming reconfigure frame…¶ [0121], (the common information field of the BTM roaming frame may include…an MLD AP identifier (MLD AP ID) field…¶ [0123] The MLD AP ID field indicates an identifier of a requested AP MLD, that is, an identifier of an MLD AP to which switching is requested.”) or timing information that indicates a time during which the switch to the second AP is to occur. – in ¶ [0131], (“The link deletion count field may indicate the number of specified time units (Time Unit, TU) to wait after reception of the corresponding frame prior to disconnection (or deletion or switching) of the requested link.”)
Claim 3. Combination of HONG and Chu teaches The STA of claim 1, - refer to the indicated claim for reference(s).
HONG teaches:
wherein the processor is further configured to: receive, from the first AP, a frame that includes – in ¶ [0119], (“When the BTM roaming frame is a BTM roaming reconfigure frame, the common information field may further include a STA control field...”) at least one of i) a recommendation that the STA switch to a different AP from one or more candidate APs that includes the second AP, - in ¶ [0366], (“AP MLD1 notifies the non-AP STA MLD of the target link set and the priorities of links in the target link set through a BTM request frame”) ii) a reason for the recommendation, - in ¶ [0367], (“The BTM request frame, together with downlink quality, may trigger the roaming process of the non-AP STA MLD.”) or iii) timing information that indicates a time during which the switch to the different AP is to occur. – in ¶ [0119], (“When the BTM roaming frame is a BTM roaming reconfigure frame, the common information field may further include a STA control field…¶ [0131], (the STA control field may further include a link deletion count (Link Del Count) field…The link deletion count field may indicate the number of specified time units (Time Unit, TU) to wait after reception of the corresponding frame prior to disconnection (or deletion or switching) of the requested link.”, Examiner’s note: only one option needs to be satisfied)
Claim 7. Combination of HONG and Chu teaches The STA of claim 1, - refer to the indicated claim for reference(s).
HONG teaches:
wherein the processor is further configured to: delete the first link between the STA and the first AP in response to receiving the second frame. – in ¶ [0119], (“When the BTM roaming frame is a BTM roaming reconfigure frame…the common information field may further include a STA control field…¶ [0131], (the STA control field may further include a link deletion count (Link Del Count) field…may indicate the number of specified time units (Time Unit, TU) to wait after reception of the corresponding frame prior to disconnection (or deletion or switching) of the requested link.”)
Claim 8. Combination of HONG and Chu teaches The STA of claim 1, - refer to the indicated claim for reference(s).
HONG teaches:
wherein the processor is further configured to: maintain the first link between the STA and the first AP in response to receiving the second frame. – in ¶ [0359], (“Step S1650: AP MLD1 sends a BTM Roaming ReConfigure frame to the STA…During this process, Link2 of the STA always maintains connection and communication with Link2 of AP MLD1”)
Claim 9. Combination of HONG and Chu teaches The STA of claim 1, - refer to the indicated claim for reference(s).
Chu further teaches:
wherein the first AP and the second AP are connected such that the first AP and the second AP coordinate with each other to allow roaming without association or reassociation with the STA. – in ¶ [0003], (“The non-AP MLD roams from a serving AP MLD to another AP MLD referred to as a target AP MLD without disassociation and reassociation with the seamless mobile domain”)
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified HONG with Chu to include the first AP and the second AP form a seamless roaming domain, as taught by Chu. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification improve seamless roaming, as suggested by Chu, A seamless mobile domain (SMD) with access point multi-link devices (AP MLDs) positioned at different locations in a wireless network allows for a non-AP MLD to smoothly roam within an area covered by the AP MLDs. - ¶ [0003]
Claim 10. HONG teaches: A first access point (AP) in a wireless network, comprising: - See Fig. 27, ¶ [0537], (“access point multi-link device”)
a memory; - See Fig. 27, ¶ [0538], (“memory 603”) and a processor coupled to the memory, the processor configured to: - See Fig. 27, ¶ [0537], (“processor 601”)
receive, from a station (STA) via a first link, a first frame that requests a switch from the first AP to a second AP, - See Fig. 16, ¶ [0327], (“Step S1340: The STA MLD…sends a BTM roaming request frame to the original AP MLD (that is, AP MLD1) associated with the target link…The BTM roaming request frame is configured to request switching from the original link (for example, AP MLD1 Link0) to the target link (for example, AP MLD2 Link0).”)
wherein the first AP and the second AP form a seamless roaming domain and the first link is established between the STA and the first AP; - in ¶ [0312], (“an association between Link0 of non-AP STA MLD (referred to as STA MLD below) and Link0 of EHT AP MLD1 (referred to as AP MLD1 below), and an association between Link1 of STA MLD and Link1 of EHT AP MLD1.”) and
transmit, to the STA via the first link, a second frame in response to the first frame – See Fig. 16, ¶ [0331], (“2. When the UHR UMAC approves the above roaming request, the original AP MLD sends a BTM roaming reconfigure frame to the STA MLD through the corresponding receiving link”) that includes information for communicating with the second AP, – in ¶ [0119], (“When the BTM roaming frame is a BTM roaming reconfigure frame…¶ [0121], (the common information field of the BTM roaming frame may include…an MLD AP identifier (MLD AP ID) field…¶ [0123] The MLD AP ID field indicates an identifier of a requested AP MLD, that is, an identifier of an MLD AP to which switching is requested.”) wherein the second link is established between the STA and the second AP. – in ¶ [0332], (“When receiving the BTM roaming reconfigure frame, the STA MLD triggers link reconfiguration of the corresponding link (Link0) of the STA MLD (that is, link switching on the non-AP side, for example, switching the association between STA MLD Link0 and AP MLD1 Link0 to the association between STA MLD Link0 and AP MLD2 Link0)”)
HONG does not explicitly teach:
wherein the first AP and the second AP form a seamless roaming domain and the first link is established between the STA and the first AP;
However, Chu teaches:
wherein the first AP and the second AP form a seamless roaming domain and the first link is established between the STA and the first AP; - in ¶ [0063], (“receiving from an access point multi-link device (AP MLD) in the wireless network information of one or more candidate target AP MLDs to seamlessly roam to, the information including a seamless roaming domain (SMD) element that identifies a respective seamless roaming domain of the one or more candidate target AP MLDs”)
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified HONG with Chu to specify the first AP and the second AP form a seamless roaming domain, as taught by Chu. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification improve seamless roaming, as suggested by Chu, A seamless mobile domain (SMD) with access point multi-link devices (AP MLDs) positioned at different locations in a wireless network allows for a non-AP MLD to smoothly roam within an area covered by the AP MLDs. - ¶ [0003]
Claims 11-12 are rejected under the same rationale as Claims 2-3 since they recite nearly identical limitations.
Claims 16-18 are rejected under the same rationale as Claims 7-9 since they recite nearly identical limitations.
Claims 19-20 are rejected under the same rationale as Claims 1-2 since they recite nearly identical limitations.
Claims 4, 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over HONG et al. (US 20260239458, hereinafter, “HONG”) in view of Chu et al. (US 20250254509, hereinafter, “Chu”), and further in view of Calcev et al. (US 20160073316, hereinafter, “Calcev”).
Claim 4. Combination of HONG and Chu teaches The STA of claim 3, - refer to the indicated claim for reference(s).
Combination of HONG and Chu does not explicitly teach:
wherein the reason for the recommendation is a low quality link due to at least one of a low received signal strength indicator (RSSI) or a high packet loss rate of the STA.
However, Calcev teaches:
wherein the reason for the recommendation is a low quality link due to at least one of a low received signal strength indicator (RSSI) or a high packet loss rate of the STA. – in ¶ [0039], (“The AP may request that a STA transition…via the BSS transition request frame. The BSS transition management request frame includes…MBO reason codes…Table 1 illustrates the MBO reason codes. TABLE 1 5 Low RSSI…”)
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified HONG and Chu with Calcev to include the reason for the recommendation is a low RSSI, as taught by Calcev. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification improve link switching, as suggested by Calcev, The STA then compares the metrics and selects the best RAT based on the metrics and/or other local measurements, such as received RSSI. - ¶ [0033]
Claim 13 is rejected under the same rationale as Claim 4 since they recite nearly identical limitations.
Claims 5-6, 14-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over HONG et al. (US 20260239458, hereinafter, “HONG”) in view of Chu et al. (US 20250254509, hereinafter, “Chu”), and further in view of BEG et al. (US 20250176019, hereinafter, “BEG”).
Claim 5. Combination of HONG and Chu teaches The STA of claim 1, - refer to the indicated claim for reference(s).
Combination of HONG and Chu does not explicitly teach:
wherein the processor is further configured to transmit, to the first AP, a request frame that includes a first set of APs, including the second AP, that the STA prefers to switch to.
However, BEG teaches:
wherein the processor is further configured to transmit, to the first AP, a request frame that includes a first set of APs, including the second AP, that the STA prefers to switch to. – in ¶ [0170], (“a STA may send a BSS transition management query frame to its associated AP. The STA may optionally include a BSS transition candidate list entries field in the BSS transition management query frame if the STA needs to provide transition preferences to the AP…each of which may have a preference field value that may be set by the STA to a value between 1 and 255, where 255 indicates the most preferred BSS.”)
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified HONG and Chu with BEG to include transmit a request frame that includes a first set of APs, including the second AP, that the STA prefers to switch to, as taught by BEG. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification improve link switching, as suggested by BEG, In certain situations, it may be preferable to change a communication link that data traffic is sent on. - ¶ [0004]
Claim 6. Combination of HONG, Chu, and BEG teaches The STA of claim 5, - refer to the indicated claim for reference(s).
BEG further teaches:
wherein the processor is further configured to receive, from the first AP in response to the request frame, a response frame that includes a second set of APs, including the second AP, that are prepared for the STA to switch to. – in ¶ [0171], (“an AP may respond to a BSS transition management query frame with a BSS transition management request frame…the AP may include the BSS transition candidate list entries field in the BSS transition management request frame…the BSS transition candidate list entries field may include 0 (zero) or more neighbor report elements for BSS, each of which may have a preference field value that describes the preference of the AP for target BSS candidates for the STA”)
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified HONG and Chu with BEG to include receive, from the first AP in response to the request frame, a response frame that includes a second set of APs, including the second AP, that are prepared for the STA to switch to, as taught by BEG. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification improve link switching, as suggested by BEG, In certain situations, it may be preferable to change a communication link that data traffic is sent on. - ¶ [0004]
Claims 14-15 are rejected under the same rationale as Claims 5-6 since they recite nearly identical limitations.
Conclusion
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/SHIMA WASEL/Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2475
/KHALED M KASSIM/supervisory patent examiner, Art Unit 2475
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