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 .
Status of Claims
Claims 1-20 are presented for examination.
Abstract
The abstract of the disclosure is acceptable for examination purposes.
Drawings
The drawings received on 03/10/2025 are acceptable for examination purposes.
Information Disclosure Statement
The reference(s) listed in the disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 05/12/2025 and 09/26/2025 have been considered. The submission complies with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97.
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 1, 5-7 and 15-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang et al (US 20240178931 A1), hereinafter referred as Zhang in view of Kim (US 20060203785 A1).
As per claim 1, Zhang teaches an access point (AP), comprising:
a processing device operable to wireless local area network (WLAN) 100 in which a transmitter access point (AP) station (STA)…includes a host processor 12 coupled to a network interface; Zhang p. 0038):
determine, at the AP, one or more unequal modulation settings (the transmitter can choose unequal transmission based on per stream SNR feedback in a beamforming feedback report if the receiver supports unequal modulation reception, even if the receiver does not request unequal modulation transmission or feedback its preference between equal or unequal modulation; Zhang p. 0088);
identify, at the AP, a forward error correction (FEC) code rate for a plurality of spatial streams based on the one or more unequal modulation settings (for a given number of transmitted spatial stream Nss, 4 bits MCS field (0-15) will be mapped to a unique modulation combination and code rate; Zhang p. 0099; FIG. 14-16);
and compute, at the AP, one or more constellation sizes for the plurality of spatial streams for transmission to a station (STA) based on the one or more unequal modulation settings (mapped to a unique modulation combination and code rate (equates to constellation assignments/sizes)…64-QAM, 256-QAM, 1024-QAM, 4096-QAM (for different spatial streams); Zhang p. 0099; FIG. 14-16);
and a transceiver operable to transmit a transmission using the FEC code rate and the one or more constellation sizes to the STA (In order to notify a receiver station (STA) which type of modulation encoding (e.g., equal or unequal) would be used for different streams so that the receiver STA correctly processes the data field…transmit beamforming modulation encoding schemes used for multiple spatial streams or any new rate; Zhang p. 0004) (includes a plurality of transceivers; Zhang p. 0039).
Zhang teaches the concept of FEC for a plurality of spatial streams but does not state that code rate is determined based on the unequal modulation settings.
However, Kim in an analogous art teaches identify, at the AP, a forward error correction (FEC) code rate for a plurality of spatial streams based on the one or more unequal modulation settings (Modulation types and coding rates may be chosen adaptively per-stream based on ranges in the values of SNRs. The transmitter may choose modulation types and coding rates based on channel feedback information ("modulation settings"); Kim p. 0020) (The modulation and/or coding rate may be chosen per stream efficiently, with either or both capable of being modified, based on channel information; Kim p. 0022) (the coding block 102 may transform received binary input data blocks by applying a forward error correction (FEC) technique; Kim p. 0027).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to modify the system of Zhang with the teachings of Kim by configuring the identification of a forward error correction (FEC) code to be based on the one or more unequal modulation settings.
This modification would have been obvious because one of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to employ the FEC to be based on unequal modulation settings in the system of Zhang because Kim teaches adaptive modulations for a multiple input multiple output (MIMO) WLAN system to maximize the aggregate information transfer rate while minimizing packet error rates (PER) for information transmitted simultaneously via a plurality of RF channels (Kim p. 0023).
As per claim 5, Zhang in view of Kim teaches the AP of claim 1,
wherein the FEC code rate is 2/3 and the one or more constellation sizes are one or more of 1 bit, 2 bits, 4 bits, 8 bits, 10 bits, or 12 bits (MC indices 0, 2 and 4. index 2 uses 64-QAM/16-QAM, where 16-QAM corresponds to a 4 -bit constellation size. MCS index 4 uses 256-QAM/16-QAM, corresponds to 8-bit and 4 bit constellation size…2/3 code rate; Zhang FIG 14).
As per claim 6, Zhang in view of Kim teaches the AP of claim 1,
wherein the processing device is further operable to identify, at the AP, the forward error correction (FEC) code rate (the coding block 102 may transform received binary input data blocks by applying a forward error correction (FEC) technique, for example, binary convolutional coding (BCC). The application of FEC techniques, also known as "channel coding", may improve the ability to successfully recover transmitted data at a receiver by appending redundant information to the input data prior to transmission via an RF channel. The ratio of the number of bits in the binary input data block to the number of bits in the transformed data block may be known as the "coding rate"; Kim p. 0027)(adapt the coding rate from 1/2 to 2/3; Kim p. 0028) (Modulation types and coding rates may be chosen adaptively per-stream based on ranges in the values of SNRs. The transmitter may choose modulation types and coding rates based on channel feedback information; Kim p. 0020) for a plurality of carriers based on the one or more unequal modulation settings (adapting the modulation and/or coding scheme for each RF channel based on SNR, and data rate maximization criteria; Kim p. 0023)
(Each IFFT block 110a . . . 110n may subdivide the bandwidth of the RF channel into a plurality of n sub-band frequencies to implement orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), buffering a plurality of received signals equal to the number of sub-bands. Each buffered signal may be modulated by a carrier signal whose frequency is based on that of one of the sub-bands; Kim p. 0032);
and compute, at the AP, the one or more constellation sizes for the plurality of carriers for transmission to a station (STA) based on the one or more unequal modulation settings (mapping those bits into a "symbol" by applying a modulation technique based on a "constellation" utilized to transform the plurality of bits into a signal level representing the symbol; Kim p. 0030)(the modulation type may represent a constellation indicating the number of binary bits that may be encoded in a symbol, for example, binary phase shift keying (BPSK), quaternary phase shift keying (QPSK), 16 level quadrature amplitude modulation (16 QAM), 64 level QAM (64 QAM), or 256 level QAM (256 QAM)… receiver may select a unique modulation type and/or coding rate for each of a plurality of spatial streams transmitted by an antenna; Kim p. 0081, 0083).
As per claim 7, Zhang in view of Kim teaches the AP of claim 1,
wherein the processing device is further operable to send, at the AP for transmission to the STA, a modulation order difference in a data packet preamble (FIGS. 9A-B illustrate fixed length user field formats for signaling 2-bit differential modulation order signal encoding values used to encode neighboring spatial streams for Non-TB transmission from an AP and STA; Zhang p. 0014)(signal differential modulation orders between spatial streams…Differential MCS subfield and bit locations for specifying differential MCS values being applied between spatial streams for Non-TB transmission; Zhang p. 0028).
As per claim 15, Zhang in view of Kim teaches a method comprising:
computing, at an access point (AP) (transmitter access point (AP) station (STA) 11 and one or more wireless devices 21, 31, 41-43 use MIMO transmit beamforming to transmit and receive data packets; Zhang p. 0038), a forward error correction (FEC) code rate (The application of FEC techniques, also known as "channel coding", may improve the ability to successfully recover transmitted data at a receiver… The ratio of the number of bits in the binary input data block to the number of bits in the transformed data block may be known as the "coding rate"; Kim p. 0027)
wherein the FEC code rate is 2/3 (2/3 code rate; Zhang FIG 14);
computing, at the AP, a constellation size wherein the constellation size is one or more of 1 bit, 2 bits, 4 bits, 8 bits, 10 bits, or 12 bits (MC indices 0, 2 and 4. index 2 uses 64-QAM/16-QAM, where 16-QAM corresponds to a 4 -bit constellation size. MCS index 4 uses 256-QAM/16-QAM, corresponds to 8-bit and 4 bit constellation size; Zhang FIG 14)
and transmitting, from the AP to a STA, a transmission using the FEC code rate and the constellation size (In order to notify a receiver station (STA) which type of modulation encoding (e.g., equal or unequal) would be used for different streams so that the receiver STA correctly processes the data field…transmit beamforming modulation encoding schemes used for multiple spatial streams or any new rate; Zhang p. 0004) (includes a plurality of transceivers; Zhang p. 0039).
As per claim 16, Zhang in view of Kim teaches the method of claim 15, further comprising:
sending, at the AP for transmission to the STA, a modulation order difference in a data packet preamble (FIGS. 9A-B illustrate fixed length user field formats for signaling 2-bit differential modulation order signal encoding values used to encode neighboring spatial streams for Non-TB transmission from an AP and STA; Zhang p. 0014)(signal differential modulation orders between spatial streams…Differential MCS subfield and bit locations for specifying differential MCS values being applied between spatial streams for Non-TB transmission; Zhang p. 0028).
Claims 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang in view of Kim in further view of SOHN et al (US 20140293916 A1), hereinafter referred as SOHN.
As per claim 2, Zhang in view of Kim, as combined above, teaches the AP of claim 1.
Zhang in view of Kim do not teach wherein the processing device is further operable to: determine, at the AP, the one or more unequal modulation settings using a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) measurement received from a sounding packet from the STA.
However, SOHN in an analogous art teaches wherein the processing device is further operable to:
determine, at the AP, the one or more unequal modulation settings using a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) measurement received from a sounding packet from the STA (The STA information field 760 includes information to identify a target channel sounding STA and information about feedback information according to channel sounding; SOHN p. 0098)(the STA 1, the STA 2, and the STA 3 feed respective pieces of MFB information back to the AP…The feedback frame may be a VHT compressed beamforming frame transmitted when a channel sounding response is made (this is a feedback frame to the AP as part of the channel response; SOHN p. 0150)(Each of the STAs may first use a spatial stream having a high Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) or SINR value by using SNR or SINR information ("SNR measurement") about each spatial stream; SOHN p. 0134).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to modify the system of Zhang in view of Kim with the teachings of SOHN by configuring the processing device to determine the unequal modulation settings using a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) measurement from a sounding packet received from the STA.
This modification would have been obvious because one of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to employ determining unequal modulation using SNR measurements in the system of Zhang in view of Kim because SOHN teaches channel information reporting method based on a link adaptation method performed between stations (STAs) in a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) system to improve the throughput of a WLAN system by supplementing the disadvantage (SOHN p. 0082)
Claims 3, 8, 9, and 12-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang in view of Kim in further view of Wentink (US 20050030976 A1).
As per claim 3, Zhang in view of Kim teaches the AP of claim 1.
The combination does not teach wherein the processing device is further operable to determine, at the AP, the one or more unequal modulation settings using a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) margin feedback from a data packet received from the STA.
However, Wentink in an analogous art teaches wherein the processing device is further operable to determine, at the AP, the one or more unequal modulation settings using a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) margin feedback from a data packet received from the STA (the link margin of the receiving wireless device without violating the minimum received signal power requirement of the receiving wireless device. To illustrate, assuming that a receiving wireless station receives a frame at a particular transmission rate with a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 25 decibels (dB) and further assuming that the receiving wireless station is formatted to require a minimum SNR of 12 dB for the particular transmission rate. From these values, the link margin for the receiving wireless station may be calculated as 13 dB (25 dB-12 dB); Wentink p. 0007)(the wireless device 204 may be adapted to periodically transmit an indication of its link margin to the wireless device 202 as, a data frame or to transmit an indication of its link margin when its link margin changes…the link margin information may be provided to the processor 206A and protocol stack 208B and be included as part of a data frame for transmission via the transceiver 204B; Wentink p. 0034).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to modify the system of Zhang in view of Kim with the teachings of Wentink by configuring the processing device to determine the unequal modulation settings using a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) margin feedback from a data packet received from the STA.
This modification would have been obvious because one of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to employ determining unequal modulation using SNR margin feedback in the system of Zhang in view of Kim because Wentink teaches link margin used as an indicator for establishing an appropriate transmit rate in addition to its use in adjusting the transmit power (Wentink p. 0052).
As per claim 8, Zhang in view of Kim teaches a station (STA) comprising:
a processing device operable to (the transmitter STA 11 includes a host processor; Zhang p. 0038) (a transmitting station may utilize feedback information from a receiving station to transmit subsequent signals; Kim p. 0006)( processor 140, a baseband processor 142, a plurality of transmitter antennas; Kim p. 0024):
compute, at the STA, one or more SNR margins for one or more spatial streams (In step 704 a receiver may compute geometric mean SNRs for each spatial stream; Kim p. 0105);
and send, from the STA to an access point (AP), the SNR margins for the one or more spatial streams (wireless local area network (WLAN) 100 in which a transmitter access point (AP) station (STA)…includes a host processor 12 coupled to a network interface; Zhang p. 0038) (receiver 201, may generate channel feedback information based on at least one SNR for a plurality of spatial streams. The generated channel feedback information may be communicated via an uplink channel; Kim p. 0085)(the receiver may communicate SNR information to the transmitter. The transmitter may utilize the SNR information from the receiver to select a plurality of modulation types for a corresponding plurality of spatial streams; Kim p. 0108) (the link margin of the receiving wireless device without violating the minimum received signal power requirement of the receiving wireless device. To illustrate, assuming that a receiving wireless station receives a frame at a particular transmission rate with a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 25 decibels (dB) and further assuming that the receiving wireless station is formatted to require a minimum SNR of 12 dB for the particular transmission rate. From these values, the link margin for the receiving wireless station may be calculated as 13 dB (25 dB-12 dB); Wentink p. 0007)(the wireless device 204 may be adapted to periodically transmit an indication of its link margin to the wireless device 202 as, a data frame or to transmit an indication of its link margin when its link margin changes…the link margin information may be provided to the processor 206A and protocol stack 208B and be included as part of a data frame for transmission via the transceiver 204B; Wentink p. 0034)
As per claim 9, Zhang in view of Kim teaches the STA of claim 8,
wherein the processing device is further operable to compute the one or more SNR margins using receiver error (modulation and/or coding schemes may be selected on a per-stream basis to maximize the aggregate information transfer rate while minimizing packet error rates (PER) for information transmitted simultaneously via a plurality of RF channels; Kim p. 0023) ( receiver may select a modulation type for the i.sup.th spatial stream based on observed SNR and packet error rate (PER) objectives; Kim p. 0105).
As per claim 12, Zhang in view of Kim teaches the STA of claim 8,
wherein the processing device is further operable to:
compute, at the STA, the one or more SNR margins for one or more carriers (adapting the modulation and/or coding scheme for each RF channel based on SNR, and data rate maximization criteria; Kim p. 0023)
(Each IFFT block 110a . . . 110n may subdivide the bandwidth of the RF channel into a plurality of n sub-band frequencies to implement orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), buffering a plurality of received signals equal to the number of sub-bands. Each buffered signal may be modulated by a carrier signal whose frequency is based on that of one of the sub-bands; Kim p. 0032).
As per claim 13, Zhang in view of Kim teaches the STA of claim 8,
wherein the processing device is further operable to:
receive, at the STA from the AP, a data packet preamble comprising a modulation difference per spatial stream (FIGS. 9A-B illustrate fixed length user field formats for signaling 2-bit differential modulation order signal encoding values used to encode neighboring spatial streams for Non-TB transmission from an AP and STA; Zhang p. 0014)(signal differential modulation orders between spatial streams…Differential MCS subfield and bit locations for specifying differential MCS values being applied between spatial streams for Non-TB transmission; Zhang p. 0028).
As per claim 14, Zhang in view of Kim teaches the STA of claim 8,
wherein the processing device is further operable to:
demodulate, at the STA, the one or more spatial streams comprising a plurality of constellation sizes (The receive demodulation control block 234 may enable control of demodulation techniques applied by each of the plurality of demapper blocks 126a . . . 126n individually, on a per-stream basis; Kim p. 0046) (MC indices 0, 2 and 4. index 2 uses 64-QAM/16-QAM, where 16-QAM corresponds to a 4 -bit constellation size. MCS index 4 uses 256-QAM/16-QAM, corresponds to 8-bit and 4 bit constellation size…2/3 code rate; Zhang FIG 14).
Claims 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang in view of Kim in further view of Quigley et al (US 20060088056 A1), hereinafter referred as Quigley.
As per claim 4, Zhang in view of Kim teaches the AP of claim 1.
The combination does not teach wherein the processing device is further operable to:
determine, at the AP, the one or more unequal modulation settings using signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) margin feedback and packet error statistics.
However, Quigley in an analogous art teaches wherein the processing device is further operable to:
determine, at the AP, the one or more unequal modulation settings using signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) margin feedback and packet error statistics (A management information base (MIB) 432 stores statistical errors produced by the stage relating to undetected data packets, uncorrectable data packets and signal-to-noise ratios in data packets, for use in connection with FIGS. 32 and 33; Quigley p. 0241) (programmable constellations (e.g., QPSK, 16-QAM) in accordance with the signal-to-noise ratio in the line between the subscriber modem 12 and the headend; Quigley p. 0267).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to modify the system of Zhang in view of Kim with the teachings of Quigley by configuring the processing device to determine the unequal modulation settings using a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) margin feedback and packet error statistics.
This modification would have been obvious because one of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to employ determining unequal modulation using SNR margin feedback a nd packet error statistics in the system of Zhang in view of Kim because Quigley teaches storing statistical errors produced by the stage relating to undetected data packet to facilitate spectrum management which enhances the data rate and/or reliability of upstream communications (Quigley p. 0018).
Claims 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang in view of Kim further view of Wentink in further view of Wang et al (US 20110280296 A1), hereinafter referred as Wang.
As per claim 10, Zhang in view of Kim teaches the STA of claim 8.
The combination teaches decoding bits (may receive a plurality of bits from each of the demapper blocks 126a . . . 126n, rearranging the order of bits among the received plurality of bits…. The Viterbi decoder block 132 may decode a depunctured output data block, applying a decoding technique that may recover the binary data blocks that were input to the coding block 102; Kim p. 0039) but does not teach using raw bit errors.
However, Wang in an analogous art teaches wherein the processing device is further operable to:
compute the one or more SNR margins using raw bits errors prior to forward error correction (FEC) decoding (channel quality metrics (such as SINR, BLER, and the like) are derived from a raw bit error rate (RBER), defined as the error rate of raw bits output by a demodulator. These initial raw bits are decoded and error-checked (or error-corrected). The error-free decoded bits are re-encoded, and the regenerated raw bits are compared to the initial raw bits to determine the RBER; Wang p. 0005) (The front end processed signal is demodulated by a demodulator 206, generating initial raw bits (block 104). The initial raw bits are decoded by a decoder 208, generating decoded bits (block 106); Wang p. 0017).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to modify the system of Zhang in view of Kim in further view of Wentink with the teachings of Wang by configuring the processing device to compute the one or more SNR margins using raw bits errors prior to forward error correction (FEC) decoding.
This modification would have been obvious because one of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to employ using raw bit errors in the system of Zhang in view of Kim in further view of Wentink because Wang teaches channel quality metrics (such as SINR, BLER, and the like) are derived from a raw bit error rate maximize spectral efficiency for a given channel quality (Wang p. 0028).
Claims 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang in view of Kim further view of Wentink in further view of Bachl et al (US 20110261868 A1), hereinafter referred as Bachl.
As per claim 11, Zhang in view of Kim teaches the STA of claim 8.
The combination does not teach wherein the processing device is further operable to:
compute the one or more SNR margins using log likelihood ratio (LLR) statistics.
However, Bachl in an analogous art teaches wherein the processing device is further operable to:
compute the one or more SNR margins using log likelihood ratio (LLR) statistics (The MI determination circuit 32a determines an overall statistical information or overall mutual information MI from a set of k=N specific mutual information values MI(1), . . . , MI(n) being derived from the corresponding log-likelihood ratios…n order to derive the overall measure statistical information, the overall MI value is obtained from the MI(k) e.g. by averaging the MI(k)'s over the so-called CQI reference resource, which is the resource in time and frequency where CQI is to be estimated; Bachl p. 0037-0040).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to modify the system of Zhang in view of Kim in further view of Wentink with the teachings of Bachl by configuring the processing device to compute the one or more SNR margins using log likelihood ratio (LLR) statistics.
This modification would have been obvious because one of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to employ log likelihood ratio (LLR) statistics in the system of Zhang in view of Kim in further view of Wentink because Bachl teaches determining a channel quality of a communication channel between a wireless transmitter and a wireless receiver with LLR statistics as it is applicable continuously and thus might yield to more accurate results (Bachl p. 0012).
Claims 17-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang in view of Kim further view of SOHN, Wentink, and Quigley.
As per claim 17, Zhang in view of Kim in further view SOHN, Wentink, and Quigley teaches the method of claim 15, further comprising:
determining, at the AP, one or more unequal modulation settings (The STA information field 760 includes information to identify a target channel sounding STA and information about feedback information according to channel sounding; SOHN p. 0098)(the STA 1, the STA 2, and the STA 3 feed respective pieces of MFB information back to the AP…The feedback frame may be a VHT compressed beamforming frame transmitted when a channel sounding response is made (this is a feedback frame to the AP as part of the channel response; SOHN p. 0150)(Each of the STAs may first use a spatial stream having a high Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) or SINR value by using SNR or SINR information ("SNR measurement") about each spatial stream; SOHN p. 0134) (the link margin of the receiving wireless device without violating the minimum received signal power requirement of the receiving wireless device. To illustrate, assuming that a receiving wireless station receives a frame at a particular transmission rate with a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 25 decibels (dB) and further assuming that the receiving wireless station is formatted to require a minimum SNR of 12 dB for the particular transmission rate. From these values, the link margin for the receiving wireless station may be calculated as 13 dB (25 dB-12 dB); Wentink p. 0007)(the wireless device 204 may be adapted to periodically transmit an indication of its link margin to the wireless device 202 as, a data frame or to transmit an indication of its link margin when its link margin changes…the link margin information may be provided to the processor 206A and protocol stack 208B and be included as part of a data frame for transmission via the transceiver 204B; Wentink p. 0034) (A management information base (MIB) 432 stores statistical errors produced by the stage relating to undetected data packets, uncorrectable data packets and signal-to-noise ratios in data packets, for use in connection with FIGS. 32 and 33; Quigley p. 0241) (programmable constellations (e.g., QPSK, 16-QAM) in accordance with the signal-to-noise ratio in the line between the subscriber modem 12 and the headend; Quigley p. 0267)
As per claim 18, Zhang in view of Kim in further view SOHN, Wentink, and Quigley teaches the method of claim 17, further comprising:
determining, at the AP, the one or more unequal modulation settings using a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) measurement received from a sounding packet from the STA (The STA information field 760 includes information to identify a target channel sounding STA and information about feedback information according to channel sounding; SOHN p. 0098)(the STA 1, the STA 2, and the STA 3 feed respective pieces of MFB information back to the AP…The feedback frame may be a VHT compressed beamforming frame transmitted when a channel sounding response is made (this is a feedback frame to the AP as part of the channel response; SOHN p. 0150)(Each of the STAs may first use a spatial stream having a high Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) or SINR value by using SNR or SINR information ("SNR measurement") about each spatial stream; SOHN p. 0134).
As per claim 19, Zhang in view of Kim in further view SOHN, Wentink, and Quigley teaches the method of claim 17, further comprising:
determining, at the AP, the one or more unequal modulation settings using a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) margin feedback from a data packet received from the STA (the link margin of the receiving wireless device without violating the minimum received signal power requirement of the receiving wireless device. To illustrate, assuming that a receiving wireless station receives a frame at a particular transmission rate with a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 25 decibels (dB) and further assuming that the receiving wireless station is formatted to require a minimum SNR of 12 dB for the particular transmission rate. From these values, the link margin for the receiving wireless station may be calculated as 13 dB (25 dB-12 dB); Wentink p. 0007)(the wireless device 204 may be adapted to periodically transmit an indication of its link margin to the wireless device 202 as, a data frame or to transmit an indication of its link margin when its link margin changes…the link margin information may be provided to the processor 206A and protocol stack 208B and be included as part of a data frame for transmission via the transceiver 204B; Wentink p. 0034).
As per claim 20, Zhang in view of Kim in further view SOHN, Wentink, and Quigley teaches the method of claim 17, further comprising:
determining, at the AP, the one or more unequal modulation settings using signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) margin feedback and packet error statistics (A management information base (MIB) 432 stores statistical errors produced by the stage relating to undetected data packets, uncorrectable data packets and signal-to-noise ratios in data packets, for use in connection with FIGS. 32 and 33; Quigley p. 0241) (programmable constellations (e.g., QPSK, 16-QAM) in accordance with the signal-to-noise ratio in the line between the subscriber modem 12 and the headend; Quigley p. 0267).
Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. This information has been detailed in the PTO 892 attached (Notice of References Cited).
The prior arts of record teach:
SONG et al (US 20230291501 A1) teaches systems, methods, and devices related to unequal modulation and coding scheme (unequal MCS). A device may decode user fields or first portions of unequal modulation and coding scheme (UEM) user fields from a first user specific field. The device may determine resource allocations, resource unit (RU) and multiple resource unit (MRU) allocations, based on the order of decoded user fields or the first portions of UEM user fields. The device may identify whether a user is a UEM user based on an indication in a first portion of a UEM user field or a new designed subfield, MCS type subfield, in a first user specific field. The device may decode a second user specific field to retrieve remaining portions of UEM user fields for UEM users to obtain the full set of MCSs.
Wang et al (US 20080247470 A1) quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) modulator with a convolutional encoder that combine to effectively provide unequal protection to two different segments of streaming input data, with improved power efficiency with the same bandwidth efficiency, by encoding the first segment as coded data as LSBs as the second segment remains uncoded as uncoded MSBs, with the MSBs used for QAM constellation modest reliability interquadrant demodulation and detection, and with the LSBs used for low reliability intraquadrant detection, but with the LSBs subject to convolutional encoding and decoding rendering the LSBs with high reliability detection, such that, the two segments have unequal coding and modulation for providing unequal levels of reliability detection.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JAYLUN ARMAN JACKSON whose telephone number is (571)270-0985. The examiner can normally be reached 7:30am - 5:00pm Monday through Friday.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Albert Decady, can be reached at 571-272-3819. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/JAYLUN A JACKSON/Examiner, Art Unit 2112
/ALBERT DECADY/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2112
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