DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application is being examined under the pre-AIA first to invent provisions.
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in parent Application No. JP2023 217086, filed on 12/22/2023.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: "therefor" in Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Objections
Claim 6 objected to because of the following informalities: “a usage of the wireless the communication apparatus” appears to miss some term/limitation. Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claim(s) 1,2,3,6,7,8,9,10, and 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ho (US 20210100051 A1) in view of Kishida (US 20230269804 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Ho teaches a communication apparatus performing wireless communication with a wireless communication apparatus compliant with a standard of IEEE802.11 series supporting Multi-Link communication, the communication apparatus comprising ([0057] “Various implementations of this disclosure relate generally to multi-link operation. A first WLAN device (such as an AP) may establish one or more communication links with a second WLAN device, including at least a first communication link”); [0053] “The described implementations can be implemented in any device, system or network that is capable of transmitting and receiving radio frequency (RF) signals according to one or more of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards, the IEEE 802.15 standards, the Bluetooth® standards as defined by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG), or the Long Term Evolution (LTE), 3G, 4G or 5G (New Radio (NR)) standards promulgated by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), among others”);
at least a memory having instructions stored thereon, and at least one processor that executes the stored instructions, which cause the at least one processor to ([0007] “Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosure may be implemented a first WLAN device. The first WLAN device may include at least one modem. The first WLAN device may include at least one processor communicatively coupled with the at least one modern”);
receive a signal including information necessary for communication connection for performing the wireless communication from the wireless communication apparatus (([0066] “For example, a STA 104 that is moving relative to its associated AP 102 may perform a “roaming” scan to find another AP 102 having more desirable network characteristics such as a greater received signal strength indicator (RSSI) or a reduced traffic load”; [0106] “FIG. 9A shows a block diagram of an example AP 902. For example, the AP 902 can be an example implementation of the AP 102 described with reference to FIG. 1. The AP 902 includes a wireless communication device (WCD) 910. For example, the wireless communication device 910 may be an example implementation of the wireless communication device 800 described with reference to FIG. 8”; [0095] …. The first WLAN device may transmit the first frame 710 as an initial transmission on a first communication link 108a); and
establish a link with the wireless communication apparatus based on the signal ([0109] “Various implementations of this disclosure relate generally to multi-link operation. A first WLAN device (such as an AP) may establish one or more communication links with a second WLAN device, including at least a first communication link”).
However, Ho does not explicitly disclose a predetermined condition. Kishida discloses further wherein at least one link is established with at least one communication unit whose security strength satisfies a predetermined condition among a plurality of communication units belonging to the wireless communication apparatus and operating via different frequency channels ([0068] "The wireless signal processing units 150 and 250 can be wirelessly connected using the 6 GHz band. In the present specification, each wireless signal processing unit may be referred to as a “STA function”. That is, the wireless system 1 according to the embodiment includes a plurality of STA functions", examiner interprets two communication units, STA 1 and STA2 are determined to exceed the predetermined unit or the “buffer amount” disclosed in reference paragraph [0131]; [0121] “First, an example of the condition for executing the link enable process will be described. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing an example of execution conditions of the link enable process in the wireless system 1 according to the embodiment. The link management units 120 and 220 execute a series of processes shown in FIG. 13 when only the primary link is in the active mode during the multi-link. Specifically, first, each of the link management units 120 and 220 monitors the data buffer amount of which the transmission is allocated to the TID, and checks whether the data buffer amount exceeds a predetermined threshold value (step S40)” ).
in a case where the signal includes predetermined information indicating that the wireless communication apparatus supports the Multi-Link communication ([0091] In this example, “STAT” corresponds to the STA function using the 6 GHz frequency band, that is, the wireless signal processing unit 150 or 250. “STA2” corresponds to the STA function using the 5 GHz frequency band, that is, the wireless signal processing unit 140 or 240. “STA3” corresponds to the STA function that uses the 2.4 GHz frequency band, that is, corresponds to the wireless signal processing unit 130 or 230); [0092] “In this example, a multi-link using STA1 and STA2 has been established. When the multi-link is established, each of the link management units 120 and 220 transmits the data input from the upper layer using the link of at least one STA function associated with the multi-link. Further, STA1 is set as the primary link and STA2 is set as the secondary link”).
Ho in view of Kishida are analogous in multi-link communication devices. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective
filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Ho to incorporate the teachings of
Kishida to implement a predetermined threshold regarding a communication unit. Doing so would maintain communication quality (Kishida [0042] “The server 30 can hold various types of information, and for example, holds data of content for the terminal apparatus 20. The server 30 is connected to, for example, the network NW by wire, and is configured to be able to communicate with the base station 10 via the network NW”).
Regarding claim 2, Ho discloses the communication apparatus according to claim 1, receives the signal from each of the plurality of communication units ([0066] “As such, a STA 104 can be covered by more than one AP 102 and can associate with different APs 102 at different times for different transmissions. Additionally, after association with an AP 102, a STA 104 also may be configured to periodically scan its surroundings to find a more suitable AP 102 with which to associate. For example, a STA 104 that is moving relative to its associated AP 102 may perform a “roaming” scan to find another AP 102 having more desirable network characteristics such as a greater received signal strength indicator (RSSI) or a reduced traffic load).
However, Ho does not explicitly disclose the limitations listed below. Kishida further discloses the at least one processor further determines whether a security strength of the at least one communication unit of the wireless communication apparatus exceeds a threshold (“[0121] First, an example of the condition for executing the link enable process will be described. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing an example of execution conditions of the link enable process in the wireless system 1 according to the embodiment. The link management units 120 and 220 execute a series of processes shown in FIG. 13 when only the primary link is in the active mode during the multi-link. Specifically, first, each of the link management units 120 and 220 monitors the data buffer amount of which the transmission is allocated to the TID, and checks whether the data buffer amount exceeds a predetermined threshold value (step S40)”),
determines whether a security strength of the at least one communication unit of the wireless communication apparatus exceeds a threshold ([0131] “As shown in FIG. 15, when STA1 and STA2 are in the Awake state and the Doze state, respectively, data can be transmitted and received using STA1. After that, when the link management unit 120 of the base station 10 detects that “(buffer amount)>(predetermined threshold value)” is satisfied, the terminal apparatus 20 is notified of the fact that “(buffer amount)>(predetermined threshold value)” is satisfied using a beacon signal (not shown)”).
Ho in view of Kishida are analogous in multi-link communication devices. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective
filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Ho to incorporate the teachings of
Kishida to implement a predetermined threshold regarding a communication unit. Doing so would maintain communication quality (Kishida [0042] “The server 30 can hold various types of information, and for example, holds data of content for the terminal apparatus 20. The server 30 is connected to, for example, the network NW by wire, and is configured to be able to communicate with the base station 10 via the network NW”).
Regarding claim 3, Ho in view of Kishida discloses all features of claim 2 as listed above. Kishida further discloses the communication apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the at least one processor determines whether the security strength of the communication unit exceeds the threshold based on information included in the signal ([0121] “First, an example of the condition for executing the link enable process will be described. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing an example of execution conditions of the link enable process in the wireless system 1 according to the embodiment. The link management units 120 and 220 execute a series of processes shown in FIG. 13 when only the primary link is in the active mode during the multi-link. Specifically, first, each of the link management units 120 and 220 monitors the data buffer amount of which the transmission is allocated to the TID, and checks whether the data buffer amount exceeds a predetermined threshold value (step S40)”; [0095] …. The first WLAN device may transmit the first frame 710 as an initial transmission on a first communication link 108a);
a security standard of the communication unit that has transmitted the signal ([0091] “In this example, “STAT” corresponds to the STA function using the 6 GHz frequency band, that is, the wireless signal processing unit 150 or 250. “STA2” corresponds to the STA function using the 5 GHz frequency band, that is, the wireless signal processing unit 140 or 240. “STA3” corresponds to the STA function that uses the 2.4 GHz frequency band, that is, corresponds to the wireless signal processing unit 130 or 230”), examiner interprets it the security standard of the STA function as 6 GHz frequency band similar to the applicant’s disclosure in paragraph [0077]. The rational for combining is the same as claim 1 above.
Ho in view of Kishida are analogous in multi-link communication devices. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective
filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Ho to incorporate the teachings of
Kishida to implement a predetermined threshold regarding a communication unit. Doing so would maintain communication quality (Kishida [0042] “The server 30 can hold various types of information, and for example, holds data of content for the terminal apparatus 20. The server 30 is connected to, for example, the network NW by wire, and is configured to be able to communicate with the base station 10 via the network NW”).
Regarding claim 6, Ho in view of Kishida discloses all features of claim 2 as listed above. Kishida further discloses the communication apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the at least one processor determines whether the security strength of the communication unit that has transmitted the signal exceeds the threshold based on information about a predetermined mode indicating a usage of the wireless the communication apparatus and included in the signal. ([0112] “When the terminal apparatus 20 receives the affirmative response in step S31, the link management unit 220 of the terminal apparatus 20 changes the STA2 set as the secondary link to the operation pause mode (Doze state) (step S32). As a result, STA1 and STA2 of the terminal apparatus 20 are put into the Awake state and the Doze state, respectively. At this time, the multi-link is in a state where only the data of TID #2 can be transmitted and received”; [0162] In the link enable process and the link disable process described above, the predetermined threshold value used in the link enable process is set to be equal to or higher than the predetermined threshold value used in the link disable process. As described above, the predetermined threshold value used in the link enable process and the predetermined threshold value used in the link disable process may be the same or different. By providing a margin to these threshold values, the wireless system 1 can suppress the frequent occurrence of the link enable process and the link disable process when the traffic amount is near each threshold value”).
Ho in view of Kishida are analogous in multi-link communication devices. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective
filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Ho to incorporate the teachings of
Kishida to implement a predetermined threshold regarding a communication unit. Doing so would maintain communication quality (Kishida [0042] “The server 30 can hold various types of information, and for example, holds data of content for the terminal apparatus 20. The server 30 is connected to, for example, the network NW by wire, and is configured to be able to communicate with the base station 10 via the network NW”).
Regarding claim 7, Ho in view of Kishida discloses all features of claim 2 as listed above. Kishida further discloses, the communication apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the at least one processor determines whether the security strength of the communication unit exceeds the threshold based on information included in the signal and indicating a frequency band in which the communication unit that has transmitted the signal operates ([0187] “In the embodiment, in the multi-link processing, the case where the terminal apparatus 20 requests the base station to establish the multi-link has been illustrated, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the base station 10 may request the terminal apparatus 20 to establish a multi-link based on the fact that a plurality of links have been established between the base station 10 and the terminal apparatus 20. In the embodiment and each modified example, the “predetermined threshold value” used in the link enable process and the “predetermined threshold value” used in the link disable process may be the same or different”; [0182] “As shown in FIG. 27, the link management information 121 in the fifth modified example of the embodiment has a configuration in which information related to the channel ID for each frequency band is added to the link management information 121 in the embodiment. Also, in this example, the same multi-link as in the embodiment is established using the channel CH2 of “STAT” corresponding to the 6 GHz frequency band and the channel CH3 of “STA2” corresponding to the 6 GHz frequency band”).
Ho in view of Kishida are analogous in multi-link communication devices. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective
filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Ho to incorporate the teachings of
Kishida to implement a predetermined threshold regarding a communication unit. Doing so would maintain communication quality (Kishida [0042] “The server 30 can hold various types of information, and for example, holds data of content for the terminal apparatus 20. The server 30 is connected to, for example, the network NW by wire, and is configured to be able to communicate with the base station 10 via the network NW”).
Regarding claim 8, Ho in view of Kishida discloses all features of claim 2 as listed above. Kishida further discloses the communication apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the at least one processor establishes links with two or more communication units in a case where the determination unit determines that the security strengths of the two or more communication units exceed the threshold (0131] As shown in FIG. 15, when STA1 and STA2 are in the Awake state and the Doze state, respectively, data can be transmitted and received using STA1. After that, when the link management unit 120 of the base station 10 detects that “(buffer amount)>(predetermined threshold value)” is satisfied, the terminal apparatus 20 is notified of the fact that “(buffer amount)”>(predetermined threshold value)” is satisfied using a beacon signal (not shown)”), examiner interprets two communication units, STA 1 and STA2 are determined to exceed the predetermined unit or the “buffer amount” disclosed in reference paragraph [0131.
Ho in view of Kishida are analogous in multi-link communication devices. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Ho to incorporate the teachings of Kishida to implement a predetermined threshold regarding a communication unit. Doing so would maintain communication quality (Kishida [0042] “The server 30 can hold various types of information, and for example, holds data of content for the terminal apparatus 20. The server 30 is connected to, for example, the network NW by wire, and is configured to be able to communicate with the base station 10 via the network NW”).
Regarding claim 9, Ho in view of Kishida discloses all features of claim 2 as listed above. Kishida further discloses the communication apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the at least one processor establishes a link with one communication unit in a case where the determination unit determines that the security strength of the one communication unit exceeds the threshold ([0121] “First, an example of the condition for executing the link enable process will be described. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing an example of execution conditions of the link enable process in the wireless system 1 according to the embodiment. The link management units 120 and 220 execute a series of processes shown in FIG. 13 when only the primary link is in the active mode during the multi-link. Specifically, first, each of the link management units 120 and 220 monitors the data buffer amount of which the transmission is allocated to the TID, and checks whether the data buffer amount exceeds a predetermined threshold value (step S40)” [0160] “The “predetermined threshold value” used in this modified example is set for each traffic type, for example. In this case, each of the processes of steps S70 and S71 described above is executed for each traffic type. For example, each of the link management units 120 and 220 executes the link enable process when “YES” is obtained in the determination of step S70 corresponding to at least one of the plurality of traffic types. Similarly, each of the link management units 120 and 220 executes the link disable process when “YES” is obtained in the determination of step S71 corresponding to at least one of the plurality of traffic types. Other configurations and operations of the wireless system 1 according to the second modified example of the embodiment are the same as those of the embodiment”).
Ho in view of Kishida are analogous in multi-link communication devices. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Ho to incorporate the teachings of Kishida to implement a predetermined threshold regarding a communication unit. Doing so would maintain communication quality (Kishida [0042] “The server 30 can hold various types of information, and for example, holds data of content for the terminal apparatus 20. The server 30 is connected to, for example, the network NW by wire, and is configured to be able to communicate with the base station 10 via the network NW”).
Regarding claim 10, Ho discloses a control method for a communication apparatus performing wireless communication with a wireless communication apparatus compliant with a standard of IEEE802.11 series supporting Multi-Link communication ([0006] “The method may include encrypting a first media access control (MAC) protocol data unit (MPDU) based on the temporal key and a second MPDU based on the temporal key. The method may include preparing for transmission a first frame including the encrypted first MPDU and a second frame including the encrypted second MPDU”; examiner interprets MAC as a control method or an access control method that allows a common transmission medium, [0062] “FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of an example wireless communication network 100. According to some aspects, the wireless communication network 100 can be an example of a wireless local area network (WLAN) such as a Wi-Fi network (and will hereinafter be referred to as WLAN 100). For example, the WLAN 100 can be a network implementing at least one of the IEEE 802.11 family of wireless communication protocol standards (such as that defined by the IEEE 802.11-2016 specification or amendments thereof including, but not limited to, 802.11ah, 802.11ad, 802.11ay, 802.11ax, 802.11az, 802.11ba and 802.11be). The WLAN 100 may include numerous wireless communication devices such as an access point (AP) 102 and multiple stations (STAs) 104. While only one AP 102 is shown, the WLAN network 100 also can include multiple APs 102)”):
receiving a signal including information necessary for communication connection for performing the wireless communication from the wireless communication apparatus ([0066] “For example, a STA 104 that is moving relative to its associated AP 102 may perform a “roaming” scan to find another AP 102 having more desirable network characteristics such as a greater received signal strength indicator (RSSI) or a reduced traffic load” [0095] …. The first WLAN device may transmit the first frame 710 as an initial transmission on a first communication link 108a); and
establishing a link with the wireless communication apparatus based on the signal ([0109] “Various implementations of this disclosure relate generally to multi-link operation. A first WLAN device (such as an AP) may establish one or more communication links with a second WLAN device, including at least a first communication link”),
However, Ho does not explicitly disclose the limitation listed below. Kishida discloses wherein at least one link with at least one communication unit whose security strength satisfies a predetermined condition among a plurality of communication units belonging to the wireless communication apparatus and operating via different frequency channels is established ([0068] "The wireless signal processing units 150 and 250 can be wirelessly connected using the 6 GHz band. In the present specification, each wireless signal processing unit may be referred to as a “STA function”. That is, the wireless system 1 according to the embodiment includes a plurality of STA functions", examiner interprets two communication units, STA 1 and STA2 are determined to exceed the predetermined unit or the “buffer amount” disclosed in reference paragraph [0131]; [0121] “First, an example of the condition for executing the link enable process will be described. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing an example of execution conditions of the link enable process in the wireless system 1 according to the embodiment. The link management units 120 and 220 execute a series of processes shown in FIG. 13 when only the primary link is in the active mode during the multi-link. Specifically, first, each of the link management units 120 and 220 monitors the data buffer amount of which the transmission is allocated to the TID, and checks whether the data buffer amount exceeds a predetermined threshold value (step S40)” ),
in a case where the signal includes predetermined information indicating that the wireless communication apparatus supports the Multi-Link communication ([0091] In this example, “STAT” corresponds to the STA function using the 6 GHz frequency band, that is, the wireless signal processing unit 150 or 250. “STA2” corresponds to the STA function using the 5 GHz frequency band, that is, the wireless signal processing unit 140 or 240. “STA3” corresponds to the STA function that uses the 2.4 GHz frequency band, that is, corresponds to the wireless signal processing unit 130 or 230); [0092] “In this example, a multi-link using STA1 and STA2 has been established. When the multi-link is established, each of the link management units 120 and 220 transmits the data input from the upper layer using the link of at least one STA function associated with the multi-link. Further, STA1 is set as the primary link and STA2 is set as the secondary link”).
Ho in view of Kishida are analogous in multi-link communication devices. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Ho to incorporate the teachings of Kishida to implement a threshold regarding a communication unit. Doing so would maintain communication quality (Kishida [0042] “The server 30 can hold various types of information, and for example, holds data of content for the terminal apparatus 20. The server 30 is connected to, for example, the network NW by wire, and is configured to be able to communicate with the base station 10 via the network NW”).
Regarding claim 11, Ho discloses a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that stores one or more programs including instructions, which when executed by one or more processors of a communication apparatus performing wireless communication with a wireless communication apparatus compliant with a standard of 10 IEEE802.11 series supporting Multi-Link communication, cause the communication apparatus to perform a control method, the control method comprising ([0006] “The method may include encrypting a first media access control (MAC) protocol data unit (MPDU) based on the temporal key and a second MPDU based on the temporal key. The method may include preparing for transmission a first frame including the encrypted first MPDU and a second frame including the encrypted second MPDU”; examiner interprets MAC as a control method or an access control method that allows a common transmission medium; [0062] “FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of an example wireless communication network 100. According to some aspects, the wireless communication network 100 can be an example of a wireless local area network (WLAN) such as a Wi-Fi network (and will hereinafter be referred to as WLAN 100). For example, the WLAN 100 can be a network implementing at least one of the IEEE 802.11 family of wireless communication protocol standards (such as that defined by the IEEE 802.11-2016 specification or amendments thereof including, but not limited to, 802.11ah, 802.11ad, 802.11ay, 802.11ax, 802.11az, 802.11ba and 802.11be). The WLAN 100 may include numerous wireless communication devices such as an access point (AP) 102 and multiple stations (STAs) 104. While only one AP 102 is shown, the WLAN network 100 also can include multiple APs 102)”; ):
receiving a signal including information necessary for communication connection for performing the wireless communication from the wireless communication apparatus ([0066] “For example, a STA 104 that is moving relative to its associated AP 102 may perform a “roaming” scan to find another AP 102 having more desirable network characteristics such as a greater received signal strength indicator (RSSI) or a reduced traffic load” [0095] …. The first WLAN device may transmit the first frame 710 as an initial transmission on a first communication link 108a); and
establishing a link with the wireless communication apparatus based on the signal ([0109] “Various implementations of this disclosure relate generally to multi-link operation. A first WLAN device (such as an AP) may establish one or more communication links with a second WLAN device, including at least a first communication link”),
However, Ho does not explicitly disclose the limitation listed below. Kishida discloses wherein at least one link with at least one communication unit whose security strength satisfies a predetermined condition among a plurality of communication units belonging to the wireless communication apparatus and operating via different frequency channels is established ([0068] "The wireless signal processing units 150 and 250 can be wirelessly connected using the 6 GHz band. In the present specification, each wireless signal processing unit may be referred to as a “STA function”. That is, the wireless system 1 according to the embodiment includes a plurality of STA functions", examiner interprets two communication units, STA 1 and STA2 are determined to exceed the predetermined unit or the “buffer amount” disclosed in reference paragraph [0131]; [0121] “First, an example of the condition for executing the link enable process will be described. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing an example of execution conditions of the link enable process in the wireless system 1 according to the embodiment. The link management units 120 and 220 execute a series of processes shown in FIG. 13 when only the primary link is in the active mode during the multi-link. Specifically, first, each of the link management units 120 and 220 monitors the data buffer amount of which the transmission is allocated to the TID, and checks whether the data buffer amount exceeds a predetermined threshold value (step S40)” );
in a case where the signal includes predetermined information indicating that the wireless communication apparatus supports the Multi-Link communication ([0091] In this example, “STAT” corresponds to the STA function using the 6 GHz frequency band, that is, the wireless signal processing unit 150 or 250. “STA2” corresponds to the STA function using the 5 GHz frequency band, that is, the wireless signal processing unit 140 or 240. “STA3” corresponds to the STA function that uses the 2.4 GHz frequency band, that is, corresponds to the wireless signal processing unit 130 or 230); [0092] “In this example, a multi-link using STA1 and STA2 has been established. When the multi-link is established, each of the link management units 120 and 220 transmits the data input from the upper layer using the link of at least one STA function associated with the multi-link. Further, STA1 is set as the primary link and STA2 is set as the secondary link”).
Ho in view of Kishida are analogous in multi-link communication devices. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Ho to incorporate the teachings of Kishida to implement a threshold regarding a communication unit. Doing so would maintain communication quality (Kishida [0042] “The server 30 can hold various types of information, and for example, holds data of content for the terminal apparatus 20. The server 30 is connected to, for example, the network NW by wire, and is configured to be able to communicate with the base station 10 via the network NW”).
Claim(s) 4 and 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ho (US 20210100051 A1) in view of Kishida (US 20230269804 A1) and in further view of Schieman (US 20180115579 A1).
Regarding claim 4, Ho in view of Kishida discloses all features of claim 2 as listed above. Kishida further discloses the communication apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the at least one processor determines whether the security strength of the communication unit exceeds the threshold based on information included in the signal ([0121] “First, an example of the condition for executing the link enable process will be described. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing an example of execution conditions of the link enable process in the wireless system 1 according to the embodiment. The link management units 120 and 220 execute a series of processes shown in FIG. 13 when only the primary link is in the active mode during the multi-link. Specifically, first, each of the link management units 120 and 220 monitors the data buffer amount of which the transmission is allocated to the TID, and checks whether the data buffer amount exceeds a predetermined threshold value (step S40)”; [0095] …. The first WLAN device may transmit the first frame 710 as an initial transmission on a first communication link 108a).
Ho in view of Kishida are analogous in multi-link communication devices. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective
filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Ho to incorporate the teachings of
Kishida to implement a predetermined threshold regarding a communication unit. Doing so would maintain communication quality (Kishida [0042] “The server 30 can hold various types of information, and for example, holds data of content for the terminal apparatus 20. The server 30 is connected to, for example, the network NW by wire, and is configured to be able to communicate with the base station 10 via the network NW”).
However, the combination of Ho and Kishida does not explicitly teach the limitation listed below. Schieman discloses further indicating an encryption method used by the communication unit that has transmitted the signal ([0041] “In some cases, the security strength level of a connection can be determined based on a comparison of the current security strength level of the connection and a configured security strength level associated with the client application. In one example, a minimum level of security strength and a threshold level of security strength can be configured for the client application to communicate with the application server. The minimum level of security strength can include a DV certificate and a 128-bit encryption. The threshold level of security strength can include an EV certificate and a 256-bit encryption”).
Ho in view of Kishida and Schieman are analogous in communication devices. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective
filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Ho to incorporate the teachings of
Schieman to implement an encryption method used by the communication unit that has transmitted the signal. Doing so would maintain communication quality (Schieman [0034] “Various publications e.g., NIST SP 800-131A Revision 1 which can be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.6028/NIST.SP.800-131Ar1, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference, provide recommendations on the use of stronger cryptographic keys and more robust algorithms ).
Regarding claim 5, Ho in view of Kishida discloses all features of claim 2 as listed above. Kishida discloses further the communication apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the at least one processor determines whether the security strength of the communication unit exceeds the threshold based on information included in the signal ([0121] “First, an example of the condition for executing the link enable process will be described. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing an example of execution conditions of the link enable process in the wireless system 1 according to the embodiment. The link management units 120 and 220 execute a series of processes shown in FIG. 13 when only the primary link is in the active mode during the multi-link. Specifically, first, each of the link management units 120 and 220 monitors the data buffer amount of which the transmission is allocated to the TID, and checks whether the data buffer amount exceeds a predetermined threshold value (step S40)”; [0095] …. The first WLAN device may transmit the first frame 710 as an initial transmission on a first communication link 108a).
However, the combination of Ho and Kishida does not explicitly teach the limitation listed below. Schieman further discloses indicating an authentication scheme used by the communication unit that has transmitted the signal ([0037] “The security strength level of a connection can be determined based on the certificate offered by the application server during the authentication procedure”; [0040] In some cases, the security strength level can be determined based on an aggregated security score. The aggregated security score can be calculated based on one or more factors. The factors can include the type of certificate, the strength level of encryption, the type of security algorithms used in encryption or authentication process, or any other factors that are associated with the security strength of a connection. The aggregated security score can be calculated based on individual security score corresponding to each factor”).
Ho in view of Kishida and Schieman are analogous in communication devices. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective
filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Ho to incorporate the teachings of
Schieman to implement an authentication method used by the communication unit that has transmitted the signal. Doing so would maintain communication quality (Schieman [0036] “The security strength level can include the strength level for the authentication procedure of the connection, the strength level for the encryption techniques used for the connection, or any other strength level associated with a security characteristic of the connection”).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to the applicant’s
disclosure:
Inohiza (WO 2021256209 A1) discloses a communication apparatus capable of performing multilink communication conforming to the IEEE802.11 standard series includes a connection unit configured to establish a first link and a second link via a frequency channel.
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/VIVIAN D HO/Examiner, Art Unit 2497 /ELENI A SHIFERAW/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2497