DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1, 12 and 21-38 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Gong et al. (US Publication 2024/0080127 A1).
In regards to claims 1 and 12, Prior art Gong et al. (US Publication 2024/0080127 A1) teaches, A wireless communication method, comprising: sending, by a first device, a first frame to a second device (see figure 9, sending the PPDU at step 902 from the first communication apparatus to a second communication apparatus); wherein the first frame comprises a first extremely high throughput link adaptation control field (ELA control field) (see paragraph 79-80 for EHT control); wherein the first ELA control field comprises an unsolicited MFB field (see table 2 on page 16) and a modulation and coding scheme (MSC) request (MRQ)/uplink extremely high throughput trigger-based physical layer protocol data unit modulation and coding scheme feedback (UL ERT TB PPDU MFB) field (see paragraph 251; the first indication information may also be described as an MRQ/UL EHT TB PPDU MFB subfield); wherein the unsolicited MFB field is set to a first value to indicate an unsolicited MFB, and set to a second value to indicate a solicited MFB (see paragraph 253; when the value of the unsolicited MFB subfield is 1, an UL EHT TB PPDU may indicate whether information provided in the first field is used for an UL TB PPDU, and the MRQ is a reserved bit. When the value of the unsolicited MFB subfield is 0, the MRQ may indicate whether a solicited feedback is used, and an UL EHT TB PPDU is a reserved bit); with the unsolicited MFB field set to the second value, the MRQ/UL EHT TB PPDU MFB field is set to a third value to indicate an ELA feedback request, and set to a fourth value to indicate an ELA feedback response (see paragraph 254; For example, a specific procedure of the solicited feedback may be as follows: The first communication apparatus (which may also be described as an MFB requester) may send an MFB request by using a PPDU. In the MFB request, an unsolicited MFB subfield is set to 0. First indication information indicates an MRQ, and the first indication information is set to 1. After receiving the MFB request sent by the MFB requester, a second communication apparatus (which may also be described as an MFB responder) may measure a related MFB parameter based on the PPDU that carries the MFB request, and send an MFB response to the MFB requester. In this MFB response, the unsolicited MFB subfield is set to 0 and the MRQ subfield is set to 0); and with the unsolicited MFB field set to the first value, the MRQ/UL EHT TB PPDU MFB field is set to the third value to indicate that MFB information indicated in the first ELA control field is recommended MFB information for physical layer protocol data unit (PPDUs) that will be sent from the first device, and set to the fourth value to indicate that MFB information indicated in the first ELA control field is recommended MFB information for PPDUs that will be sent to the first device (see paragraph 287; when the unsolicited MFB subfield is set to 1 and the UL EHT TB PPDU MFB subfield is set to 0, the RU allocation subfield may indicate an RU for which the recommended EHT MCS applies to the PPDU sent to the station; When the unsolicited MFB subfield is set to 1 and the UL EHT TB PPDU MFB subfield is set to 1, the RU allocation subfield may indicate a resource unit for which the recommended EHT-MCS applies to the EHT TB PPDU sent from the station. It should be noted that actual allocation of the RU can be ignored by a recipient. In other cases, the RU allocation subfield is reserved).
In regards to claims 21, and 30, Gong teaches, wherein the first ELAcontrol field further comprises a number of spatial streams (NSS) field (see page 17; table 2; the NSS subfield indicates the recommended number of spatial streams); when the unsolicited MFB subfield has the first value and the MRQ/UL EHT TB PPDU MFB field has the fourth value or when the unsolicited MFB subfield has the second value and the MRQ/UL EHT TB PPDU MFB field has the fourth value, the NSS field indicates recommended number of spatial streams for the PPDUs that will be sent to the first device (see pages 17-18, table 2; Set the unsolicited MFB subfield to 1 to indicate that the MRQ subfield is reserved. NSS Indicates a If the unsolicited MFB subfield is set to 1 and (3 bits) recommended number of the UL HE TB PPDU MFB subfield is set to spatial streams 0, or if the unsolicited MFB subfield is set to 0 and the MRQ subfield is set to 0, the NSS subfield indicates the recommended number of spatial streams to a PPDU sent to a station (that is, a station that sends the feedback)); when the unsolicited MFB subfield has the first value and the MRQ/ULEHT TB PPDU MFB field has the third value, the NSS field indicates recommended number of spatial streams for the PPDUs that will be sent from the first device (see pages 17-18 table 2; If the unsolicited MFB subfield is set to 1 and the UL HE TB PPDU MFB subfield is set to 1, the NSS subfield indicates the recommended number of spatial streams to an HE TB PPDU sent from the station); or when the unsolicited MFB subfield has the second value and the MRQ/UL EHT TB PPDU MFB field has the third value, the NSS field is reserved (see paragraph 266; When the unsolicited MCS feedback is set to 1 and the UL EHT TB PPDU MFB subfield is set to 1, the NSS subfield may indicate a recommended number of spatial streams to an EHT TB PPDU sent from the station. In other cases, the NSS subfield is reserved).
In regards to claims 22 and 31 Gong teaches, wherein the NSS field occupies 4 bits to support a maximum number of spatial streams of 16 (see paragraph 322; as shown in FIG. 29, compared with the 802.11ax standard, an MRQ and an UL EHT TB PPDU MFB may be compressed into 1 bit, the MSI/partial PPDU parameters subfield may be compressed into 2 bits, and a DCM subfield may be removed, so that the NSS subfield is extended to 4 bits).
In regards to claims 23 and 32, Gong teaches, wherein the first ELA control field further comprises an extremely high throughput-modulation and coding scheme (EHT-MCS) field; when the unsolicited MFB subfield has the first value and the MRQ/UL EHT TB PPDU MFB field has the fourth value or when the unsolicited MFB subfield has the second value and the MRQ/UL EHT TB PPDU MFB field has the fourth value, the EHT-MCS field indicates a recommended EHT-MCS for the PPDUs that will be sent to the first device; when the unsolicited MFB subfield has the first value and the MRQ/UL EHT TB PPDU MFB field has the third value, the EHT-MCS field indicates a recommended EHT-MCS forPPDUs that will be sent from the first device (see paragraph 294; when the unsolicited MFB subfield is set to 0 and the MRQ subfield is set to 1, the MSI/partial PPDU parameters subfield may contain a sequence number in a range 0 to 3 that identifies a specific EHT-MCS feedback request. When the unsolicited MFB subfield is set to 0 and the MRQ subfield is set to 0, the MSI/partial PPDU parameters subfield may contain a sequence number in the range 0 to 3 that responds to the specific EHT-MCS feedback. When the unsolicited MFB subfield is set to 1, the MSI/partial PPDU parameters subfield may include a 1-bit PPDU format subfield and a 1-bit coding type subfield. The PPDU format subfield may indicate a type of a PPDU used when parameter estimation is performed on the unsolicited MFB); or when the unsolicited MFB subfield has the second value and the MRQ/ULEHT TB PPDU MFB field has the third value, the EHT-MCS field is reserved (see paragraph 271; It should be noted that, in the first field, when the unsolicited MFB subfield is set to 1 and the UL EHT TB PPDU MFB subfield is set to 0, or when the unsolicited MFB subfield is set to 0 and the MRQ subfield is set to 0, the EHT-MCS subfield may indicate the recommended EHT MCS of the PPDU sent to the station. When the unsolicited MFB subfield is set to 1 and the UL EHT TB PPDU MFB subfield is set to 1, the EHT-MCS subfield may indicate the recommended EHT-MCS of the EHT TB PPDU sent from the station. In other cases, the EHT-MCS subfield is reserved).
In regards to claims 24 and 33, Gong teaches, wherein the first ELA control field further comprises a resource unit (RU) allocation field; when the unsolicited MFB subfield has the first value and the MRQ/UL EHT TB PPDUMFB field has the fourth value, the RU allocation field indicates an RU or multiple resources units (MRU) to which the recommend EHT-MCS for PPDUs that will be sent to the first device applies (see paragraph 287; when the unsolicited MFB subfield is set to 1 and the UL EHT TB PPDU MFB subfield is set to 0, the RU allocation subfield may indicate an RU for which the recommended EHT MCS applies to the PPDU sent to the station); when the unsolicited MFB subfield has the first value and the MRQ/UL EHT TB PPDU MFB field has the third value, the RU allocation field indicates an RU or MRU to which the recommend EHT-MCS for PPDUs that will be sent from the first device applies (see paragraph 287; When the unsolicited MFB subfield is set to 1 and the UL EHT TB PPDU MFB subfield is set to 1, the RU allocation subfield may indicate a resource unit for which the recommended EHT-MCS applies to the EHT TB PPDU sent from the station); when the unsolicited MFB subfield has the second value and the MRQ/UL EHT TB PPDU MFB field has the third value, the RU allocation field indicates a requested RU or MRU (see paragraph 287; When the unsolicited MFB subfield is set to 0 and the MRQ subfield is set to 1, the RU allocation subfield may indicate an RU specified by the MFB requester to get feedback. The RU allocation subfield and the BW subfield may jointly indicate a specific resource unit); or when the unsolicited MFB subfield has the second value and the MRQ/UL EHT TB PPDU MFB field has the fourth value, the RU allocation field is reserved (see paragraph 287; t should be noted that actual allocation of the RU can be ignored by a recipient. In other cases, the RU allocation subfield is reserved).
In regards to claims 25 and 34 Gong teaches, wherein the first ELA control field further comprises a bandwidth (BW) field, and the RU allocation field and the BW field jointly indicate an RU or MRU (see paragraph 287; The RU allocation subfield and the BW subfield may jointly indicate a specific resource unit).
In regards to claims 26 and 35 Gong teaches, wherein when the unsolicited MFB subfield has the first value and the MRQ/UL EHT TB PPDU MFB field has the fourth value, the BW field indicates a BW to which the recommend EHT- MCS for PPDUs that will be sent to the first device applies; or when the unsolicited MFB subfield has the first value and the MRQ/UJL ElIT TB PPDU MFB field has the third value, the BW field indicates a BW to which the recommend EHT-MCS for PPDUs that will be sent from the first device applies (see paragraph 287; when the unsolicited MFB subfield is set to 1 and the UL EHT TB PPDU MFB subfield is set to 0, the RU allocation subfield may indicate an RU for which the recommended EHT MCS applies to the PPDU sent to the station. When the unsolicited MFB subfield is set to 0 and the MRQ subfield is set to 1, the RU allocation subfield may indicate an RU specified by the MFB requester to get feedback. The RU allocation subfield and the BW subfield may jointly indicate a specific resource unit); or when the unsolicited MFB subfield has the second value and the MRQ/UL EHT TB PPDU MFB field has the third value, the BW field indicates a requested BW.
In regards to claims 27 and 36, Gong teaches, wherein the first ELA control field further comprises an MCS request sequence identifier (MSI)/partial physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) parameters field (see table 2 on pages 17-18); when the unsolicited MFB subfield has the second value and the MRQ/UL EHT TBPPDU MFB field has the third value, the MSI/partial PPDU parameters field indicates a sequence number identifying a specific ELA feedback request (see table 2, pages 17-18; If the unsolicited MFB subfield is set to 0 and the MRQ subfield is set to 0, the MSI/partial PPDU parameters subfield contains a sequence number in a range 0 to 6 that responds to the specific HE-MCS feedback); when the unsolicited MFB subfield has the second value and the MRQ/UL EHT TB PPDU MFB field has the fourth value, the MSI/partial PPDU parameters field indicates a sequence number identifying a specific ELA feedback response (see pages 17-18 table 2; MSI/Partial Indicates an MCS If the unsolicited MFB subfield is set to 0 and PPDU request sequence the MRQ subfield is set to 1, the MSI/partial parameters identifier or partial PPDU parameters subfield contains a (3 bits) parameters of a sequence number in a range 0 to 6 that measured PPDU identifies a specific HE-MCS feedback request); or when the unsolicited MFB subfield has the first value, the MSI/partial PPDU parameters field indicates PPDU parameters including a format and a coding type of a PPDU upon which the unsolicited MFB is measured (see paragraph 294; When the unsolicited MFB subfield is set to 1, the MSI/partial PPDU parameters subfield may include a 1-bit PPDU format subfield and a 1-bit coding type subfield).
In regards to claims 28 and 37, Gong teaches, wherein the first ELA control field further comprises a transmission (Tx) beamforming field; when the unsolicited MFB subfield has the first value and the MRQ/UL EHT TB PPDU MFB field has the fourth value, the Tx beamforming field indicates whether a PPDU upon which the unsolicited MIFB is measured is beamformed (see table 2 on pages 17-18; If the unsolicited MFB subfield is set to 1 and beamforming type of the measured the UL HE TB PPDU MFB subfield is set to (1 bit) PPDU 0, the Tx beamforming subfield indicates whether a PPDU from which the unsolicited MFB was estimated is beamformed).
In regards to claim 29 and 38, Gong teaches, wherein the first value is equal to 1, the second value is equal to 0, the third value is equal to 1, and the fourth value is equal to 0 (see paragraphs 251, 253, 254 and 287).
Relevant Prior Art
Prior art Chun et al. (US Publication 2023/0388055 A1) teaches, The position of the extended NSS subfield and the position of the extended bandwidth subfield may be interchangeable. Since the uplink EHT TB PPDU MFB subfield may only be used when the unsolicited MFB subfield indicates 1, the partial PPDU parameter subfield may be modified. For example, the partial PPDU parameter subfield may consist of a PPDU format subfield (1 bit), a coding type subfield (1 bit), and an uplink EHT TB PPDU MFB subfield (1 bit) to estimate the PPDU format. Here, the PPDU format subfield may indicate one of EHT MU PPDU and EHT TB PPDU. Alternatively, the coding type may be set to default and the uplink EHT TB PPDU MFB subfield may be set to 1 bit (see paragraph 214). However, Chun fails to teach setting the field to third and fourth values as claimed according to the conditions.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the amended claims filed on 8/4/2026 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
In view of the amendment filed on 8/4/2026 in the present application and no amendment to claims filed in the co-pending application 18591768, the double patenting rejection has been withdrawn.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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/JAY P PATEL/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2466
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