DETAILED ACTION
Claims 1-20 are pending.
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim 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.
Claim(s) 1, 2, 5,7, 10, 11, 14, 15, 18 and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ouzieli et al. (US 2019/0200278 A1) in view of Liu (US 2014/0003315 A1).
With respect to claim 1, Ouzieli discloses: a method performed by an access point (AP) (i.e., an AP-side protected-beacon method computes MIC-protected beacon management information, generates the beacon frame body, and sends the beacon in Ouzieli, ¶0025); and
sending the Beacon frame to one or more stations (STAs). (i.e., the AP generates the protected beacon frame body and sends the beacon frame to receiving STAs in Ouzieli, ¶0025).
Ouzieli discloses protected beacon MIC structure (¶0027, ¶0066). Ouzieli do(es) not explicitly disclose the following. Liu, in order to save power by verifying fields and skip later beacon portions (¶0056), discloses: the method comprising:
generating a Beacon frame comprising an early termination management message integrity check (MIC) element (ET MME) and a standard MME, (i.e., an early integrity field protects an initial beacon portion and a later FEC/protection field remains for later content in Liu, ¶0059; ¶0061)
wherein the ET MME provides integrity protection for one or more initial elements in the Beacon frame (i.e., the early CRC verifies integrity of fields to its left in Liu, ¶0059)
, and the ET MME is positioned before the standard MME (i.e., the early integrity field precedes later Beacon fields/FEC in Liu, ¶0059; ¶0061).
Based on Ouzieli in view of Liu, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the teachings of Liu to improve upon those of Ouzieli in order to save power by verifying fields and skip later beacon portions.
With respect to claim 2, Ouzieli discloses protected beacon MIC structure (¶0027, ¶0066). Ouzieli do(es) not explicitly disclose the following. Liu, in order to save power by verifying fields and skip later beacon portions (¶0056), discloses: the method of claim 1, wherein the ET MME is positioned after a Traffic Indication Map element (i.e., the TIM field is followed by an integrity field generated using the TIM, so the early integrity point is positioned after TIM in Liu, ¶0060), and
Beacon early termination is performed after the ET MME (i.e., after verifying the early TIM/integrity field, the STA may stop processing the remainder of the Beacon in Liu, ¶0060).
Based on Ouzieli in view of Liu, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the teachings of Liu to improve upon those of Ouzieli in order to save power by verifying fields and skip later beacon portions.
With respect to claim 5, Ouzieli discloses protected beacon MIC structure (¶0027, ¶0066). Ouzieli do(es) not explicitly disclose the following. Liu, in order to save power by verifying fields and skip later beacon portions (¶0056), discloses: the method of claim 1, wherein the integrity protection of the ET MME includes Media Access Control (MAC) header protection (i.e., the early CRC is calculated over MAC fields before the CRC in Liu, ¶0063).
Based on Ouzieli in view of Liu, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the teachings of Liu to improve upon those of Ouzieli in order to save power by verifying fields and skip later beacon portions.
With respect to claim 7, Ouzieli discloses: the method of claim 1, wherein the integrity protection of the ET MME includes a timestamp of the Beacon frame (i.e., the Beacon timestamp in the MIC calculation by masking low-order timestamp bits in Ouzieli, ¶0032; ¶0061).
With respect to claim 10, Ouzieli discloses: the method of claim 7, further comprising masking out one or more least significant bits of the timestamp from the ET MME (i.e., low-order timestamp bits are set to zero/masked so a partial timestamp can be included in the Beacon MIC calculation in Ouzieli, ¶0032; ¶0061).
With respect to claim 11, Ouzieli discloses protected beacon MIC structure (¶0027, ¶0066). Ouzieli do(es) not explicitly disclose the following. Liu, in order to save power by verifying fields and skip later beacon portions (¶0056), discloses: the method of claim 1, further comprising generating and sending an associated Beacon (i.e., generates/transmits short beacons intended to provide network information to already-associated STAs in Liu, ¶0043)
that includes dynamic information for associated STAs. (i.e., the associated/short beacon carries dynamic timing and change-sequence information plus next-beacon/IE information for associated STAs in Liu, ¶0046; ¶0047).
Based on Ouzieli in view of Liu, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the teachings of Liu to improve upon those of Ouzieli in order to save power by verifying fields and skip later beacon portions.
With respect to claim 14, Ouzieli discloses: a method performed by a station (STA), the method comprising: (i.e., STA-side protected-beacon processing determines an expected MIC for a received beacon and validates or discards the beacon in Ouzieli, ¶0026)
receiving a Beacon frame from an access point (AP) (i.e., one or more STAs receive the beacon frame and use it to determine whether the beacon was sent by the real AP in Ouzieli, ¶0026)
authenticating the initial elements in the Beacon frame using the ET MME (i.e., the STA calculates an expected MIC from beacon management information and validates the beacon when it matches the received MIC in Ouzieli, ¶0026);
determining if there are parameter changes in remaining elements of the Beacon frame based on the initial elements (i.e., the STA analyzes the protected content-change IE/counter to decide whether later beacon content has changed in Ouzieli, ¶0058)
processing the remaining elements if there are parameter changes (i.e., if the content-change counter increases and the MIC is valid, the STA processes remaining Beacon fields in Ouzieli, ¶0058).
Ouzieli discloses protected beacon MIC structure (¶0027, ¶0066). Ouzieli do(es) not explicitly disclose the following. Liu, in order to save power by verifying fields and skip later beacon portions (¶0056), discloses:
wherein the Beacon frame comprises an early termination management message integrity check (MIC) element (ET MME) and a standard MME (i.e., an early integrity field protects an initial beacon portion and a later FEC/protection field remains for later content in Liu, ¶0059; ¶0061),
wherein the ET MME provides integrity protection for one or more initial elements in the Beacon frame (i.e., the early CRC verifies integrity of fields to its left in Liu, ¶0059), and
the ET MME is positioned before the standard MME (i.e., the early integrity field precedes later Beacon fields/FEC in Liu, ¶0059; ¶0061);
processing the Beacon frame up to the ET MME; (i.e., the receiver processes the Beacon through the early integrity field and uses that field before deciding whether to process later portions in Liu, ¶0059);
performing Beacon early termination after the ET MME if there are no parameter changes; and (i.e., if no BSS update is indicated, the STA may stop Beacon processing and sleep after the early integrity point in Liu, ¶0062).
Based on Ouzieli in view of Liu, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the teachings of Liu to improve upon those of Ouzieli in order to save power by verifying fields and skip later beacon portions .
With respect to claim 15, the limitation(s) of claim 15 are similar to those of claim(s) 2. Therefore, claim 15 is rejected with the same reasoning as claim(s) 2.
With respect to claim 18, the limitation(s) of claim 18 are similar to those of claim(s) 5. Therefore, claim 18 is rejected with the same reasoning as claim(s) 5.
With respect to claim 20, the limitation(s) of claim 20 are similar to those of claim(s) 7. Therefore, claim 20 is rejected with the same reasoning as claim(s) 7.
Claim(s) 3, 8, 9, 12, 13 and 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ouzieli et al. (US 2019/0200278 A1) in view of Liu (US 2014/0003315 A1), and further in view of Wentink (US 2008/0225768 A1).
With respect to claim 3, Ouzieli discloses protected beacon MIC structure (¶0027, ¶0066). Ouzieli and Liu do(es) not explicitly disclose the following. Wentink, in order to reduce awake time and conserve power by receiving only needed beacon portion (¶0092), discloses: the method of claim 1, wherein the initial elements include a Beacon interval element (i.e., the Beacon interval element as Beacon content in the early/standard Beacon field set to be covered by early integrity protection in Wentink, ¶0056),
a capability information element (i.e., the capability information element as Beacon content in the early/standard Beacon field set to be covered by early integrity protection in Wentink, ¶0056),
a Service Set Identifier element (i.e., the SSID element as Beacon content in the early/standard Beacon field set to be covered by early integrity protection. in Wentink, ¶0057), and
a Traffic Indication Map element. (i.e., the TIM element as Beacon content in the early/standard Beacon field set to be covered by early integrity protection in Wentink, ¶0058).
Based on Ouzieli in view of Liu, and further in view of Wentink, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the teachings of Wentink to improve upon those of Ouzieli in order to reduce awake time and conserve power by receiving only needed beacon portion.
With respect to claim 8, Ouzieli discloses protected beacon MIC structure (¶0027, ¶0066). Ouzieli and Liu do(es) not explicitly disclose the following. Wentink, in order to reduce awake time and conserve power by receiving only needed beacon portion (¶0092), discloses: the method of claim 7, further comprising sending a frame with a known duration prior to the Beacon frame (i.e., transmits a TIM frame at a known scheduled time before the beacon/TBTT in Wentink, ¶0067; ¶0069),
followed with an inter-frame spacing and Beacon frame (i.e., a pre-beacon TIM frame followed by SIFS before the beacon timing point. in Wentink, ¶0067; ¶0068), and
determining the timestamp of the Beacon frame based on the frame. (i.e., announced pre-beacon timing supplies a timing basis from which beacon timing can be inferred in Wentink, ¶0067; ¶0069).
Based on Ouzieli in view of Liu, and further in view of Wentink, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the teachings of Wentink to improve upon those of Ouzieli in order to reduce awake time and conserve power by receiving only needed beacon portion.
With respect to claim 9, Ouzieli discloses protected beacon MIC structure (¶0027, ¶0066). Ouzieli and Liu do(es) not explicitly disclose the following. Wentink, in order to reduce awake time and conserve power by receiving only needed beacon portion (¶0092), discloses: the method of claim 7, further comprising sending a clear-to-send (CTS) frame prior to the Beacon frame (i.e., a frame before Beacon timing; the specific known-duration frame choice in Wentink, ¶0067; ¶0069),
followed with an inter-frame spacing and Beacon frame (i.e., the pre-beacon frame/SIFS/beacon timing relationship in Wentink, ¶0067; ¶0068), and
determining the timestamp of the Beacon frame based on the CTS frame (i.e., scheduled pre-beacon timing is used as the timing source in Wentink, ¶0067; ¶0069).
Based on Ouzieli in view of Liu, and further in view of Wentink, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the teachings of Wentink to improve upon those of Ouzieli in order to reduce awake time and conserve power by receiving only needed beacon portion.
With respect to claim 12, Ouzieli discloses protected beacon MIC structure (¶0027, ¶0066). Ouzieli and Liu do(es) not explicitly disclose the following. Wentink, in order to reduce awake time and conserve power by receiving only needed beacon portion (¶0092), discloses: the method of claim 1, wherein the ET MME is included in a Country information element (i.e., Country as a Beacon information element; Beacon IEs are identifiable/reorderable containers in Wentink, ¶0057; ¶0088).
Based on Ouzieli in view of Liu, and further in view of Wentink, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the teachings of Wentink to improve upon those of Ouzieli in order to reduce awake time and conserve power by receiving only needed beacon portion.
With respect to claim 13, Ouzieli discloses: the method of claim 1, wherein the ET MME is included in a new element (i.e., carries beacon MIC protection in a dedicated information element having an element-ID field in Ouzieli, ¶0030; ¶0047)
Ouzieli discloses protected beacon MIC structure (¶0027, ¶0066). Ouzieli and Liu do(es) not explicitly disclose the following. Wentink, in order to reduce awake time and conserve power by receiving only needed beacon portion (¶0092), discloses: with Element ID equal to 8 or 2 (i.e., new beacon information elements with element ID fields in Wentink, ¶0091; ¶0097).
Based on Ouzieli in view of Liu, and further in view of Wentink, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the teachings of Wentink to improve upon those of Ouzieli in order to reduce awake time and conserve power by receiving only needed beacon portion.
With respect to claim 16, the limitation(s) of claim 16 are similar to those of claim(s) 3. Therefore, claim 16 is rejected with the same reasoning as claim(s) 3.
Claim(s) 4, 6, 17 and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ouzieli et al. (US 2019/0200278 A1) in view of Liu (US 2014/0003315 A1), and further in view of Huang et al. (US 2021/0050999 A1).
With respect to claim 4, Ouzieli discloses protected beacon MIC structure (¶0027, ¶0066). Ouzieli and Liu do(es) not explicitly disclose the following. Huang, in order to improve security by utilizing none differentiation for same key use across links (¶0033, ¶0035), discloses: the method of claim 1, wherein the MIC is calculated based on a same key as the standard MME (i.e., IGTK/BIGTK use for group-addressed/beacon integrity and same-key MIC conditions in Huang, ¶0033; ¶0035), and
a nonce that is altered from original nonce of the standard MME (i.e., changing nonce-relevant transmitter-address material to avoid same nonce values across transmissions/links in Huang, ¶0032; ¶0045),
wherein the nonce includes a transmitter address that is increased relative to what is used by the standard MME (i.e., nonce is generated from the transmitter address, and different transmitter MAC addresses produce different nonce values in Huang, ¶0032; ¶0045), or
a packet number that is incremented relative to what is used by the standard MME. (i.e., per-link BIPN/IPN material in the BIGTK KDE, supporting packet-number differentiation for beacon integrity processing in Huang, ¶0050; ¶0094; ¶0121).
Based on Ouzieli in view of Liu, and further in view of Huang, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the teachings of Huang to improve upon those of Ouzieli in order to improve security by utilizing none differentiation for same key use across links.
With respect to claim 6, Ouzieli discloses: the method of claim 1 that indicates a change in BSS parameters by incrementing a value of the BPC element (i.e., the beacon content change counter increases when beacon content changes in Ouzieli, ¶0055; ¶0056),
wherein the BPC element is included with the ET MME (i.e., beacon body carries both a BME/MIC and a content-change IE in Ouzieli, ¶0055; ¶0056)
or is positioned prior to the ET MME (i.e., the beacon content change IE may precede the BME in Ouzieli, ¶0055; ¶0056).
Ouzieli discloses protected beacon MIC structure (¶0027, ¶0066). Ouzieli and Liu do(es) not explicitly disclose the following. Huang, in order to improve security by utilizing none differentiation for same key use across links (¶0033, ¶0035), discloses: further comprising generating a basic service set (BSS) parameter change (BPC) element for one or more links (i.e., multi-link/link-identifier context for extending a protected beacon change element to one or more links in Huang, ¶0050; ¶0121),
wherein the BPC element is a function of a BSS Parameter Change Count (BPCC) of each link of each Basic Service Set Identifier (BSSID) (i.e., link identifiers and BIPN/BIGTK material per link supporting per-link inputs for a derived BPC when combined with change counters. in Huang, ¶0050; 0121).
Based on Ouzieli in view of Liu, and further in view of Huang, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the teachings of Huang to improve upon those of Ouzieli in order to improve security by utilizing none differentiation for same key use across links.
With respect to claim 17, the limitation(s) of claim 17 are similar to those of claim(s) 4. Therefore, claim 17 is rejected with the same reasoning as claim(s) 4.
With respect to claim 19, the limitation(s) of claim 19 are similar to those of claim(s) 6. Therefore, claim 19 is rejected with the same reasoning as claim(s) 6.
Conclusion
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Sherman Lin
6/27/2026
/S. L./Examiner, Art Unit 2447
/JOON H HWANG/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2447
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