UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
`
`
`
`UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
`United States Patent and Trademark Office
`Address: COMMISSIONER FOR PATENTS
`PO. Box 1450
`Alexandria, Virginia 2231371450
`www.uspto.gov
`
`15/063,447
`
`03/07/2016
`
`NAGANORI SHIRAKATA
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`731156527
`
`9098
`
`Seed IP Law Group LLP/Panason1e
`701 Fifth Avenue, Suite 5400
`Seattle, WA 98104
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`ROSE” DERRICK V
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`PAPER NUMBER
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`ART UNIT
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`2462
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`NOTIFICATION DATE
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`DELIVERY MODE
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`12/26/2018
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`ELECTRONIC
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`Please find below and/or attached an Office communication concerning this application or proceeding.
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`The time period for reply, if any, is set in the attached communication.
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`Notice of the Office communication was sent electronically on above—indicated "Notification Date" to the
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`following e—mail address(es):
`US PTOeACtion @ SeedIP .Com
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`pairlinkdktg @ seedip .eom
`
`PTOL-90A (Rev. 04/07)
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`

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`Off/09 A0170” Summary
`
`Application No.
`15/063,447
`Examiner
`DERRICK V ROSE
`
`Applicant(s)
`SHIRAKATA et al.
`Art Unit
`AIA Status
`2462
`Yes
`
`- The MAILING DA TE of this communication appears on the cover sheet wit/7 the correspondence address -
`Period for Reply
`
`A SHORTENED STATUTORY PERIOD FOR REPLY IS SET TO EXPIRE g MONTHS FROM THE MAILING
`DATE OF THIS COMMUNICATION.
`Extensions of time may be available under the provisions of 37 CFR 1.136(a). In no event, however, may a reply be timely filed after SIX (6) MONTHS from the mailing
`date of this communication.
`|f NO period for reply is specified above, the maximum statutory period will apply and will expire SIX (6) MONTHS from the mailing date of this communication.
`-
`- Failure to reply within the set or extended period for reply will, by statute, cause the application to become ABANDONED (35 U.S.C. § 133).
`Any reply received by the Office later than three months after the mailing date of this communication, even if timely filed, may reduce any earned patent term
`adjustment. See 37 CFR 1.704(b).
`
`Status
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`1). Responsive to communication(s) filed on 11—15—2018.
`[:1 A declaration(s)/affidavit(s) under 37 CFR 1.130(b) was/were filed on
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`2a)D This action is FINAL.
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`2b)
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`This action is non-final.
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`3)[:] An election was made by the applicant in response to a restriction requirement set forth during the interview on
`; the restriction requirement and election have been incorporated into this action.
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`4)[:] Since this application is in condition for allowance except for formal matters, prosecution as to the merits is
`closed in accordance with the practice under Expat/7e Quay/e, 1935 CD. 11, 453 O.G. 213.
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`Disposition of Claims*
`5)
`Claim(s)
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`1—11 is/are pending in the application.
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`5a) Of the above claim(s)
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`is/are withdrawn from consideration.
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`E] Claim(s)
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`is/are allowed.
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`Claim(s) fl is/are rejected.
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`[:1 Claim(s) _ is/are objected to.
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`) ) ) )
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`6 7
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`8
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`
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`are subject to restriction and/or election requirement
`[j Claim(s)
`9
`* If any claims have been determined aflowabte. you may be eligible to benefit from the Patent Prosecution Highway program at a
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`participating intellectual property office for the corresponding application. For more information, please see
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`http://www.uspto.gov/patents/init events/pph/index.jsp or send an inquiry to PPeredback@uspto.gov.
`
`Application Papers
`10)[:] The specification is objected to by the Examiner.
`
`11)[:] The drawing(s) filed on
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`is/are: a)D accepted or b)l:] objected to by the Examiner.
`
`Applicant may not request that any objection to the drawing(s) be held in abeyance. See 37 CFR 1.85(a).
`Replacement drawing sheet(s) including the correction is required if the drawing(s) is objected to. See 37 CFR 1.121 (d).
`
`Priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119
`12):] Acknowledgment is made of a claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(a)-(d) or (f).
`Certified copies:
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`a)D All
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`b)I:I Some”
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`c)C] None of the:
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`1.[:] Certified copies of the priority documents have been received.
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`2.[:] Certified copies of the priority documents have been received in Application No.
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`3.[:] Copies of the certified copies of the priority documents have been received in this National Stage
`application from the International Bureau (PCT Rule 17.2(a)).
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`** See the attached detailed Office action for a list of the certified copies not received.
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`Attachment(s)
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`1)
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`Notice of References Cited (PTO-892)
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`2) E] Information Disclosure Statement(s) (PTO/SB/08a and/or PTO/SB/08b)
`Paper No(s)/Mail Date_
`U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
`
`3) C] Interview Summary (PTO-413)
`Paper No(s)/Mail Date
`4) CI Other-
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`PTOL-326 (Rev. 11-13)
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`Office Action Summary
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`Part of Paper No./Mai| Date 20181124
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`

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`Application/ Control Number: 15/063,447
`Art Unit: 2462
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`Page 2
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`Notice ofPre-AIA or AIA Status
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`The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first
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`inventor to file provisions of the AIA.
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`Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
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`A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37
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`CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for
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`continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely
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`paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.
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`Applicant's submission filed on 11—15—2018 has been entered.
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`Response to Arguments
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`Applicant’s arguments, see Remarks, filed 11—15—2018, with respect to the rejection(s) of
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`claim(s) 1—11 under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nabar in view of Rensburg have
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`been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However,
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`upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Stager et al US
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`20110019759.
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`Claim Rejections - 35 USC§ 103
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`In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and
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`103 (or as subject to pre—AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory
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`basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon,
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`and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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`

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`Application/ Control Number: 15/063,447
`Art Unit: 2462
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`Page 3
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`The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections
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`set forth in this Office action:
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`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.
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`Claim 1 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nabar et al (US
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`20080266176) in view of Rensburg et al (US 20100127931) and further in view of Stager et al (US
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`20110019759)/
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`As to claims 1 and 11 Nabar discloses a radio communication device and a communication control
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`method thereof comprising (Nabar, 29 of Fig.1, 112 of Fif.2): first to Nth directional
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`communicating circuitry which, in operation connect to first to Mth radio terminals through
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`beam forming and perform radio communication, N being an integer of two or more, M being
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`an integer of N or more (Nabar, Fig. 1-3, 70018- 1St 2“d and 3” sentences; 70034- 1St and 2“d
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`sentence) : and space time coordinating circuitry (Nabar 70034- 3” sentence— mare-[mefllz‘mfig or
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`mapping) which, in operation, performs controlling of the beam forming of each of the first to Nth
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`directional communicating circuitry (Nabar 70018- 3” sentence) in accordance with (i) connection
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`information on first beam patterns used by the first radio terminal connected to the first directional
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`communicating circuitry and second beam patterns used by the second radio terminal connected to
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`the second directional communicating circuitry (Nabar, 0042- 3” and 4th sentences; 70043-1St and
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`2“d sentence- dwelopmem‘ oft/ye beampm‘z‘em).
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`Nabar however is silent with regard to controlling (ii) interference information on interference
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`among the first beam patterns and the second beam patterns. However in an analogous art
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`Rensburg remedies this deficiency (Rensburg 70043- 4th sentence— NB pmwfl’zflgpredz'a‘alale [7mm and
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`z'm‘eyfereme [0 temz'mly; 70077- 6th sentence): Therefore it would have been obvious to one of
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`

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`Application/ Control Number: 15 / 063,447
`Art Unit: 2462
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`Page 4
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`ordinary skills in the art at the time the invention was filed to combine the teachings of Nabar with
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`that of Rensburg for the purpose of beam adjustments when subjected to interference as desired
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`which is known in the art (Rensburg fij0013- 1St sentence).
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`Neither Nabar or Rensburg explicitly recite a plurality of direction communication circuitries
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`including a first directional communication circuitry to an Nth, which in operations connects to one
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`or more of a plurality of radio terminal
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`to an Mth terminal; space time coordinating circuitry which
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`in operation performs controlling of the beamforming to the firs radio terminal connected to the
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`first directional communicating circuitry and the second radio terminal connected to the second
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`directional communicating circuitry by using one of space division multiplexing or time division
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`multiplexing. However in an analogous art Stager remedies this deficiency: (Stager Fig.2, fij0022-0024
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`mrz'om l‘mmmz'lz‘m and 765620673" mm‘mlled [7} a beamforming rom‘mller (pare 4992370wa romertz'fig to multiple
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`UB3"; fij00025— rom‘mllerfi’O z'mo/éz'fig t/ye beamfimifigproreys)
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`Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skills in the art at the time the invention
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`was filed to combine the teachings of Stager with the already combined teachings of Nabar and
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`Rensburg for the purpose of generating downlink beamforming weights as desired which is known
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`in the art (Stager fij0025- 8th sentence).
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`Claim 2—10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nabar in view of Rensburg
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`in view of Stager and further in view of Lim et al (US 20050195822).
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`As to claim 2 the combined teachings of Nabar, Rensburg and Stager disclose the radio
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`communication device according to claim 1 however silent wherein in accordance with the
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`connection information, the space time coordinating circuitry further causes data transfer between
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`each of another communication layer to which the radio communication device is connected and the
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`

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`Application/ Control Number: 15/063,447
`Art Unit: 2462
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`Page 5
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`first to the Nth directional communicating circuitry. However in an analogues art Lime remedies this
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`deficiency: (Lim $10016, fl0017- last sentences— dam tram/722mm between [VIAC- bzg/a and [022/ [@Jem).
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`Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skills in the art at the time the invention
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`was filed to combine the teachings of Lim with the already combined teachings of Nabar and
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`Rensburg for the purpose of providing a MAC protocol structure for packet communication in a
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`wireless communication system as desired which is known in the art (Lim fl0017- 1St sentence).
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`As to claim 3 the combined teachings of Nabar Rensburg, Stager and Lim disclose the radio
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`communication device according to claim 2, wherein the first and second beam patterns include
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`beam patterns different in beam direction (Nabar 119b, c, d of Fig.2).
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`As to claim 4 the combined teachings of Nabar Rensburg, Stager and Lim disclose the radio
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`communication device according to claim 3, wherein in a case that a combination of desired beam
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`patterns that causes no communication interference is present among combinations of the first and
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`second beam patterns, the first and second space time coordinating circuitry select the combination
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`of the desired beam patterns, and in a case that a combination of undesired beam patterns that
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`causes communication interference is present among the combinations of the first and second beam
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`patterns, the first and second space time coordinating circuitry select a combination of beam
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`patterns other than the combination of the undesired beam patterns (Rensburg $10013).
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`As to claims 5 the combined teachings of Nabar Rensburg, Stager and Lim disclose the radio
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`communication device according to claim 3, wherein adjacent communication areas of the first and
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`second directional communicating circuitry overlap each other at least partially (Rensburg Fig.1)
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`

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`Application/ Control Number: 15 / 063,447
`Art Unit: 2462
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`Page 6
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`As to claim 6 the combined teachings of Nabar Rensburg, Stager and Lim disclose the radio
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`communication device according to claim 3, wherein the space time coordinating circuitry further
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`acquires quality information that indicates one or more of reception quality of a radio signal
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`transmitted from each of the first and second directional communicating circuitry at each of the first
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`and second radio terminals in each of the first and second beam patterns (Rensburg Fig.3, $10058—
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`2nd and 3rd sentences— CQ1), and reception quality of a radio signal transmitted from each of the first
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`and second radio terminals at each of the first and second directional communicating circuitry in
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`each of the first and second beam patterns, and the space time coordinating circuitry detects the
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`interference information from the acquired quality information (Rensburg fl0009- last sentence).
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`As to claim 7 the combined teachings of Nabar Rensburg, Stager and Lim disclose the radio
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`communication device according to claim 6, wherein each of the first and second directional
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`communicating circuitry acquires the quality information in beam forming training for the first and
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`second radio terminals (Rensburg Fig.3, fl0058— 2nd and 3rd sentences— CQ1) , and
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`the space time coordinating circuitry performs the scheduling of the beam forming or the data
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`transfer using the information on each of the first and second directional communicating circuitry,
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`the information on the beam pattern used for communication with the first and second radio
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`terminals, identification information on each of the one or more radio terminals, and information on
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`the reception quality regarding the beam pattern not used for communication with the first and
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`second radio terminals (Rensburg fl0083- 1St and 2“d sentence).
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`As to claim 8 the combined teachings of Nabar Rensburg, Stager and Lim disclose the radio
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`communication device according to claim 6, wherein the space time coordinating circuitry switches
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`the beam pattern of each of the first and second directional communicating circuitry in accordance
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`

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`Application/ Control Number: 15 / 063,447
`Art Unit: 2462
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`Page 7
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`with the quality information and changes a connection destination of the first radio terminal
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`connected to first directional communicating circuitry to a third directional communicating circuitry
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`(Nabar, Fig. 1-2, Rensburg $10091, $10097).
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`As to claim 9 the combined teachings of Nabar Rensburg, Stager and Lim disclose the radio
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`communication device according to claim 6, wherein the space time coordinating circuitry switches
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`the beam pattern of each of the first and second directional communicating circuitry in accordance
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`with the interference information and changes a connection destination of the first radio terminals
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`connected to the first directional communicating circuitry to s third directional communicating
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`circuitry (Nabar, Fig. 1-2, Rensburg $10101, $10107).
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`As to claim 10 the combined teachings of Nabar Rensburg, Stager and Lim disclose the radio
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`communication device according to claim 2, wherein each of the first to Nth directional
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`communicating circuitry includes: physical layer processing circuitry which, in operation, performs
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`the beam forming (Lim $10068- addinga MAC headed; and low—level medium access control
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`(MAC) layer processing circuitry which, in operation, performs transmission and reception of data
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`with the first to the Mth radio terminals using the physical layer processing circuitry, the other
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`communication layer includes controlling circuitry which, in operation, performs a process of a
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`high—level MAC layer, and the space time coordinating circuitry performs transfer of data between
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`the controlling circuitry and the low—level MAC layer processing circuitry, the transferred data being
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`transmitted to or from the one or more radio terminals (Lim $10070- 1St sentence).
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`C011 clusion
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`

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`Application/ Control Number: 15 / 063,447
`Art Unit: 2462
`
`Page 8
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`The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's
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`disclosure.
`
`0
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`Suh et al— Systems and Methods for Interference Alignments in Wi—Fi— US
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`20140056204— Fig.2; 110033.
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`Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner
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`should be directed to DERRICK V ROSE whose telephone number is (571)270—7460. The
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`If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor,
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`YEMANE MESFIN can be reached on 571—272—3927. The fax phone number for the organization
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`where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571—273—8300.
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