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 .
Priority
Applicant’s claim for domestic priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(e), 120, 121, 365(c), or 386(c) or indicate National Stage entry from a PCT application is acknowledged.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements submitted on 12/09/2024, 12/09/2024, 12/08/2025 and 06/04/2026 have been considered by the Examiner and made of record in the application file.
Specification
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless – (a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 9, 11-14, 16 and 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by SUN, US 20220022042 A1 (hereinafter Sun) .
Regarding claim 1, Sun discloses a wireless communication method, comprising (FIG. 4A and 4B):
receiving, by a station (STA), a first frame (FIG. 4A and 4B, par. 0062, “At 410, after receiving the ANQP query response frame, the AP 170 reframes the ANQP response frame (including the privacy disclaimer and settings IE) into a GAS response frame. The AP 170 transmits the GAS response frame back to the ED 110 to provide information about the privacy disclaimer and settings (and possibly information about other network services)”),
wherein the first frame comprises a first element, and the first element is used to indicate capability information related to privacy enhancement features of an access point (AP) (FIG. 6 for privacy disclaimer 606 and/or privacy setting 608, included in the ANQP query response frame, par. 0082, “At 702, the AP 170 transmits to the ED 110 an indication that the AP 170 has privacy settings capability (i.e., that the AP 170 supports a procedure for communication of privacy settings and disclaimer)” and see also par. 0058-0059).
Regarding claim 2, as applied to claim 1 above, Sun discloses wherein the first element comprises at least one of: a client privacy enhancement features supported field, a basic service set privacy enhancement features supported field, a partial basic service set privacy enhancement features supported field, a reduced scanning field, a protected association frame field, a random numbers field, a medium access control (MAC) header protection field, a random service set identifier (SSID) field, an AP identity privacy enhancement field, a unicast management frame encryption field, a randomized beacon frame transmission time field, a groupcast frame privacy enhancement field, or a service specific MAC address field (FIG. 6, par. 0079, for privacy disclaimer 606 and/or privacy setting 608 (read on claimed a client privacy enhancement features supported field, a basic service set privacy enhancement features supported field, a partial basic service set privacy enhancement features supported field; and element ID field 602 (reads on claimed an AP identity privacy enhancement field) , “In the example shown in FIG. 6, the privacy disclaimer and settings IE 600 includes an element identifier (ID) field 602 that is two octet long, a length field 604 that is two octet long, a privacy disclaimer field 606 that has variable length, and a privacy settings field 608 that has variable length. The element ID field 602 identifies the IE as a privacy disclaimer and settings IE 600 (e.g., contains the ID number defined in the standard) and the length field 604 indicates the overall length of the privacy disclaimer and settings IE 600. The privacy disclaimer field 606 contains the information, such as textual information in the form of text strings, for the privacy disclaimer. The privacy disclaimer field 606 may be as long as needed to hold the privacy disclaimer information. The privacy settings field 608 contains information indicating the privacy settings, which may be in a format defined according to a standard. For example, the privacy settings field 608 may contain textual information in the form of strings that describes the privacy settings (e.g., how data collection, storing and sharing is performed) in text that may be displayed to a user via the ED 110. In another example, the privacy settings field 608 may contain one or more index values that may be used by the ED 110 to identify the privacy settings at the AP 170 by looking up a reference table (which may be preconfigured at the ED 110) containing possible different privacy settings. The privacy settings field 608 may be as long as needed to hold the privacy settings information. The privacy settings field 608 may be optional. For example, the privacy settings information may be included as textual information as part of the privacy disclaimer. In such cases, the privacy settings field 608 may be set to “NULL” or may be omitted from the privacy disclaimer and settings IE 600.”).
Regarding claim 4, as applied to claim 1 above, Sun discloses wherein the first element is an extended capabilities element, or the first element is a robust security network element, or the first element is a robust security network extension element, or the first element is a newly defined enhanced privacy capabilities element (par. 0059, “the beacon frame (or probe response frame) may contain a privacy settings information element (IE) in the frame body. The privacy settings IE may have a bit value that is set to indicate whether or not the AP 170 has a privacy settings capability.” Note: the limitation(s) is/are a non-functional descriptive material and does/do not distinguish the claimed invention from the prior art, see MPEP 2111.05, “USPTO personnel need not give patentable weight to printed matter absent a new and unobvious functional relationship between the printed matter and the substrate. See In re Lowry, 32 F.3d 1579, 1583-84, 32 USPQ2d 1031, 1035 (Fed. Cir. 1994); In re Ngai, 367 F.3d 1336, 70 USPQ2d 1862 (Fed. Cir. 2004)… To be given patentable weight, the printed matter and associated product must be in a functional relationship. A functional relationship can be found where the printed matter performs some function with respect to the product to which it is associated. See Lowry, 32 F.3d at 1584 (citing Gulack, 703 F.2d at 1386)… A functional relationship can also be found where the product performs some function with respect to the printed matter to which it is associated… See Gulack, 703 F.2d at 1386-87.”).
Regarding claim 5, as applied to claim 1 above, Sun discloses wherein the first frame is at least one of: a beacon frame, a probe response frame, an association response frame, or a reassociation response frame (par. 0058-0059, “The beacon frame (or probe response frame) includes an indication to the ED 110 that the AP 170 has a privacy settings capability”).
Regarding claim 8, Sun discloses a wireless communication method, comprising:
receiving, by an access point (AP), a second frame (FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B, par. 0060, “At 404, the ED 110 transmits a GAS request frame to the AP 170, to request information about the privacy settings (and possibly other network information, such as accessible network services) at the AP 170.”),
wherein the second frame comprises a second element, and the second element is used to indicate capability information related to privacy enhancement features of a station (STA) (FIG. 5, par. 0059-0060, 0075-0076 “the privacy settings IE 500 includes an element identifier (ID) field 502 that is one octet long, a length field 504 that is one octet long, and a privacy settings field 506 that is one octet long. The element ID field 502 identifies the IE as a privacy settings IE 500 (e.g., contains the order number defined in the standard), the length field 504 indicates the overall length of the privacy settings IE 500, and the privacy settings field 506 includes a most significant bit (MSB) 508 that is set to a value P (other bits in the privacy settings field 506 may be reserved).”).
Regarding claim 9, as applied to claim 8 above, Sun discloses wherein the second element comprises at least one of: a client privacy enhancement features supported field, a basic service set privacy enhancement features supported field, a partial basic service set privacy enhancement features supported field, a reduced scanning field, a protected association frame field, a random numbers field, a medium access control (MAC) header protection field, a random service set identifier (SSID) field, an AP identity privacy enhancement field, a unicast management frame encryption field, a randomized beacon frame transmission time field, a groupcast frame privacy enhancement field, or a service specific MAC address field (par. 0076 for “the privacy settings IE 500 includes an element identifier (ID) field 502 that is one octet long, a length field 504 that is one octet long, and a privacy settings field 506 that is one octet long”).
Regarding claim 11, as applied to claim 8 above, Sun discloses wherein the second element is an extended capabilities element, or the second element is a robust security network element, or the second element is a robust security network extension element, or the second element is a newly defined enhanced privacy capabilities element (par. 0060, “The GAS request frame and the ANQP query request frame may be in accordance with the frame formats defined by the IEEE 802.11u standard.” Note: the limitation(s) is/are a non-functional descriptive material and does/do not distinguish the claimed invention from the prior art, see MPEP 2111.05, “USPTO personnel need not give patentable weight to printed matter absent a new and unobvious functional relationship between the printed matter and the substrate. See In re Lowry, 32 F.3d 1579, 1583-84, 32 USPQ2d 1031, 1035 (Fed. Cir. 1994); In re Ngai, 367 F.3d 1336, 70 USPQ2d 1862 (Fed. Cir. 2004)… To be given patentable weight, the printed matter and associated product must be in a functional relationship. A functional relationship can be found where the printed matter performs some function with respect to the product to which it is associated. See Lowry, 32 F.3d at 1584 (citing Gulack, 703 F.2d at 1386)… A functional relationship can also be found where the product performs some function with respect to the printed matter to which it is associated… See Gulack, 703 F.2d at 1386-87.”).
Regarding claim 12, as applied to claim 8 above, Sun discloses wherein the second frame is at least one of: a probe request frame, an association request frame, or a reassociation request frame (par. 0058, for probe request frame; par. 0091, “the ED 110 may transmit a probe request frame (e.g., over a broadcast channel) to request information from the AP 170.”).
Regarding claim 13, Sun discloses a station (STA), comprising:
a processor and a memory, wherein the memory is configured to store a computer program, and the processor is configured to call and run the computer program stored in the memory, causes the STA to perform (FIG. 2 and/or FIG. 3, par. 0047-0052):
receiving a first frame (FIG. 4A and 4B, par. 0062, “At 410, after receiving the ANQP query response frame, the AP 170 reframes the ANQP response frame (including the privacy disclaimer and settings IE) into a GAS response frame. The AP 170 transmits the GAS response frame back to the ED 110 to provide information about the privacy disclaimer and settings (and possibly information about other network services)”),
wherein the first frame comprises a first element, and the first element is used to indicate capability information related to privacy enhancement features of an access point (AP) (FIG. 6 for privacy disclaimer 606 and/or privacy setting 608, included in the ANQP query response frame, par. 0082, “At 702, the AP 170 transmits to the ED 110 an indication that the AP 170 has privacy settings capability (i.e., that the AP 170 supports a procedure for communication of privacy settings and disclaimer)” and see also par. 0058-0059).
Regarding claims 14, 16 and 17, as applied to claim 13 above, the claim is rejected for the same reason(s) as set forth claim 2, 4 and 5 above respectively.
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.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 6, 7, 18 and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sun, as applied to claim(s) 5 above, and further in view of YANG et al. US 20140337950 A1 (hereinafter Yang).
Regarding claim 6, as applied to claim 5 above, Sun discloses the claimed invention except wherein the beacon frame and the probe response frame comprises a random number field and/or a ciphertext field of an original SSID.
In the same field of endeavor, Yang discloses wherein the beacon frame and the probe response frame comprises a random number field and/or a ciphertext field of an original SSID (FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, par. 0032-0034, “The Hashed SSID IE includes an IE ID field 501 carrying a new IE identifier defined for Hashed SSID IE… A Nonce field 504 indicating a random number, which is generated and used for modifying the SSID by an AP or STA that transmits the Hashed SSID IE, may be optionally presented in the Hashed SSID IE”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate a Hashed SSID IE including a Nonce field in a beacon frame or a probe response frame as taught by Yang to the beacon frame or the probe response frame as disclosed by Sun for purpose of using the Hashed SSID IE including a Nonce field that indicates a random number that is generated and used for modifying the SSID by an AP or STA.
Regarding claim 7, as applied to claim 6 above, Sun discloses wherein the random number field and/or the ciphertext field of the original SSID are carried in an extended SSID element (FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, par. 0032-0034, “The Hashed SSID IE includes an IE ID field 501 carrying a new IE identifier defined for Hashed SSID IE… A Nonce field 504 indicating a random number, which is generated and used for modifying the SSID by an AP or STA that transmits the Hashed SSID IE, may be optionally presented in the Hashed SSID IE”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate a Hashed SSID IE including a Nonce field in a beacon frame or a probe response frame as taught by Yang to the beacon frame or the probe response frame as disclosed by Sun for purpose of using the Hashed SSID IE including a Nonce field that indicates a random number that is generated and used for modifying the SSID by an AP or STA.
Regarding claims 18 and 19, as applied to claim 13 above, the claim is rejected for the same reason(s) as set forth claims 6 and 7 above.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim(s) 3, 10 and 15 is/are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to Applicant’s disclosure.
LUO et al. -US 20250097695 A1- disclose WIRELESS COMMUNICATION METHOD AND WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS DEVICE.
LUMBATIS et al. -US 20220086635 A1- disclose PROTECTED PRE-ASSOCIATION STATION IDENTIFICATION.
ALDANA et al. -US 20170188191 A1- disclose BROADCAST TIME-OF-DEPARTURE (TOD) FRAME FORMAT.
Duo et al. -US 20150334598 A1- disclose CENTRALIZED WIRELESS LAN LOAD BALANCING.
Fontaine et al. -US 20120163349 A1- disclose TRANSMISSION METHOD IMPLEMENTED BY A NODE AND CORRESPONDING RECEPTION METHOD.
Thawani et al. -US 20060039305 A1- disclose Method And System For EAP Encapsulation Exchange For A Setup Configuration Protocol In A WLAN.
Rajadurai -US 20180046824 A1- disclose METHOD, UE AND NETWORK NODE FOR PROTECTING USER PRIVACY IN NETWORKS.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ALLAHYAR KASRAIA N whose telephone number is (571)270-1772. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 8:00 am - 5: 00 pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, RAFAEL PEREZ-GUTIERREZ can be reached at (571)272-7915. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ALLAHYAR KASRAIA N/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2642
