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`
`UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
`United States Patent and TrademarkOffice
`Address: COMMISSIONER FOR PATENTS
`P.O. Box 1450
`Alexandria, Virginia 22313-1450
`
`17/294,330
`
`05/14/2021
`
`Rojan CHITRAKAR
`
`733456.641USPC
`
`5779
`
`Seed IP Law Group LLP/Panasonic (PIPCA)
`701 5th Avenue, Suite 5400
`Seattle, WA 98104
`
`VAN,JENKEY
`
`PAPER NUMBER
`
`ART UNIT
`
`2477
`
`NOTIFICATION DATE
`
`DELIVERY MODE
`
`10/23/2023
`
`ELECTRONIC
`
`Please find below and/or attached an Office communication concerning this application or proceeding.
`
`Thetime period for reply, if any, is set in the attached communication.
`
`Notice of the Office communication was sent electronically on above-indicated "Notification Date" to the
`following e-mail address(es):
`USPTOeAction @ SeedIP.com
`
`pairlinkdktg @seedip.com
`
`PTOL-90A (Rev. 04/07)
`
`

`

`
`
`Disposition of Claims*
`20-33 is/are pending in the application.
`)
`Claim(s)
`5a) Of the above claim(s) ___ is/are withdrawn from consideration.
`Cj} Claim(s)
`is/are allowed.
`Claim(s) 20-33 is/are rejected.
`S)
`) © Claim(s)___is/are objected to.
`Cj) Claim(s
`are subjectto restriction and/or election requirement
`)
`S)
`* If any claims have been determined allowable, you maybeeligible to benefit from the Patent Prosecution Highway program at a
`participating intellectual property office for the corresponding application. For more information, please see
`http://Awww.uspto.gov/patents/init_events/pph/index.jsp or send an inquiry to PPHfeedback@uspto.gov.
`
`) )
`
`Application Papers
`10)( The specification is objected to by the Examiner.
`11) The drawing(s) filed on 05/14/2021 is/are: a)[¥) accepted or b)( 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:
`_—_c)L) None ofthe:
`b)L) Some**
`a)¥) All
`1.4) Certified copies of the priority documents have been received.
`2.2 Certified copies of the priority documents have been received in Application No.
`3.4.) Copies of the certified copies of the priority documents have been receivedin this National Stage
`application from the International Bureau (PCT Rule 17.2(a)).
`* See the attached detailed Office action for a list of the certified copies not received.
`
`Attachment(s)
`
`1)
`
`Notice of References Cited (PTO-892)
`
`Information Disclosure Statement(s) (PTO/SB/08a and/or PTO/SB/08b)
`2)
`Paper No(s)/Mail Date
`U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
`
`3)
`
`(LJ Interview Summary (PTO-413)
`Paper No(s)/Mail Date
`4) (J Other:
`
`PTOL-326 (Rev. 11-13)
`
`Office Action Summary
`
`Part of Paper No./Mail Date 20231017
`
`Application No.
`Applicant(s)
`47/294,330
`CHITRAKAR etal.
`
`Office Action Summary Art Unit|AIA (FITF) StatusExaminer
`JENKEY VAN
`2477
`Yes
`
`
`
`-- The MAILING DATEof this communication appears on the cover sheet with the correspondence address --
`Period for Reply
`
`A SHORTENED STATUTORY PERIOD FOR REPLYIS SET TO EXPIRE 3 MONTHS FROM THE MAILING
`DATE OF THIS COMMUNICATION.
`Extensions of time may be available underthe provisions of 37 CFR 1.136(a). In no event, however, may a reply betimely filed after SIX (6) MONTHSfrom the mailing
`date of this communication.
`If NO period for reply is specified above, the maximum statutory period will apply and will expire SIX (6) MONTHSfrom 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, evenif timely filed, may reduce any earned patent term
`adjustment. See 37 CFR 1.704(b).
`
`Status
`
`1) Responsive to communication(s)filed on 05/14/2021 and preliminary amendmentfiled on 04/03/2023.
`C) A declaration(s)/affidavit(s) under 37 CFR 1.130(b) was/werefiled on
`
`2a)() This action is FINAL. 2b)¥)This action is non-final.
`3)02 An election was madeby the applicant in responseto a restriction requirement set forth during the interview
`on
`; the restriction requirement and election have been incorporated into this action.
`4)\0) 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 Exparte Quayle, 1935 C.D. 11, 453 O.G. 213.
`
`

`

`Application/Control Number: 17/294,330
`Art Unit: 2477
`
`Page 2
`
`DETAILED ACTION
`
`Notice of Pre-AlA 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.
`
`1.
`
`2.
`
`Preliminary amendmentfiled on 04/03/2023 has been considered and entered.
`
`Claims 20-33 have been examined and are pending.
`
`Information Disclosure Statement
`
`Aninitialed and dated copy of Applicant’s IDS form 1449 submitted on
`
`05/14/2021 and 12/10/2021 is attached to the instant office action. The submission is in
`
`compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure
`
`statement is being considered by the examiner.
`
`Double Patenting
`
`The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created
`
`doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the
`
`unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent
`
`and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double
`
`patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at
`
`least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference
`
`claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have
`
`been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g.,
`
`In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46
`
`

`

`Application/Control Number: 17/294,330
`Art Unit: 2477
`
`Page 3
`
`USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed.
`
`Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985);
`
`In re Van Ornum,
`
`686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619
`
`(CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
`
`A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d)
`
`may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory
`
`double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be
`
`commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a
`
`result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See
`
`MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file
`
`provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq.for
`
`applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the
`
`AlA. A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321 (b).
`
`The filing of a terminal disclaimer byitself is not a complete reply toa
`
`nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the
`
`terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior
`
`Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete.
`
`See MPEP § 804,subsection |.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR
`
`1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for
`
`reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) maybefiled after final for
`
`consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
`
`The USPTOInternet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be
`
`used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actualfiling date of the
`
`

`

`Application/Control Number: 17/294,330
`Art Unit: 2477
`
`Page 4
`
`application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25,
`
`PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA/25, or PTO/AIA/26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal
`
`Disclaimer may befilled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal
`
`Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately
`
`upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to
`
`www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer.
`
`Claims 20, 21, 27, 28 are provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory
`
`double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 15, 16, 22, 23 of copending
`
`Application No. 17/782142 (reference application). Although the claims at issue are not
`
`identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because
`
`Regarding Claim 20, Application 17/782,142 teaches A multi-band transmitter
`
`device comprising: (Claim 15 line 1)
`
`a transmitter which, in operation, transmits to a multi-band recipient device
`
`a plurality of MAC layer Protocol Data Units (MPDUs)over a plurality of frequency
`
`bandsto which a Traffic Identifier (TID) is mapped; and (Claim 15 lines 4-6)
`
`a receiver which, in operation, receives onafirst frequency band a multi-
`
`band block ack frame indicating reception statuses of the plurality of MPDUs.
`
`(Claim 15 lines 7-9)
`
`

`

`Application/Control Number: 17/294,330
`Art Unit: 2477
`
`Page 5
`
`Regarding Claim 21, Application 17/782,142 teaches The multi-band
`
`transmitter device of Claim 20, wherein a single multi- band block ack agreement
`
`is established for the TID by exchanging an Add Block Ack (ADDBA) Request
`
`frame and an Add Block Ack (ADDBA) Response frame on an enabled frequency
`
`band. (Claim 16)
`
`Regarding Claim 27, Application 17/782,142 teaches A communication method
`
`for a multi-band transmitter device, the communication method comprising:
`
`(Claim 22 lines 1-2)
`
`transmitting to a multi-band recipient device a plurality of MAC layer
`
`Protocol Data Units (MPDUs)overa plurality of frequency bands to which a
`
`Traffic Identifier (TID) is mapped; and (Claim 22 lines 5-7)
`
`receiving onafirst frequency band a multi-band block ack frame indicating
`
`reception statuses of the plurality of MPDUs.(Claim 22 lines 8-10)
`
`Regarding Claim 28, Application 17/782,142 teaches The communication
`
`method of Claim 27, wherein a single multi-band block ack agreementis
`
`established for the TID by exchanging an Add Block Ack (ADDBA) Request frame
`
`and an Add Block Ack (ADDBA) Response frame on an enabled frequency band.
`
`(Claim 23)
`
`This is a provisional nonstatutory double patenting rejection because the
`
`patentably indistinct claims have not in fact been patented.
`
`

`

`Application/Control Number: 17/294,330
`Art Unit: 2477
`
`Page 6
`
`Claims 22-25 and 29-32 are provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory
`
`double patenting as being unpatentable over claims of copending Application No.
`
`17/782,.142 view of US 2018/0184233 A‘ to Alpert etal. (hereinafter “Alpert’)
`
`Regarding Claim 22, Application No 17/782,142 teaches The multi-band
`
`transmitter device of Claim 20, wherein
`
`Application No 17/782,142 does not explicitly teach the receiver, in operation,
`
`receives a per-band Block Ack frame that indicates a reception status of a subset
`
`of the plurality of MPDUs received onadifferent frequency band.
`
`However, in a similar field of endeavor, Alpert in [0044], discloses The AID 464
`
`can be the ID associated with the STA that sends and/or receives the BA or other
`
`communications between the STAs 104a, 102a. Thetraffic identifier (TID) 468 may
`
`identify the communication to which the packet belongs. Thus, a set of packets sent toa
`
`STA 102a, 104a may have a particular TID 468 compared to another set of packets.
`
`The TID 468 for signal 304 may be different than signal 308. However,in other
`
`configurations the TID 468 for signal 304 may be the same asthe signal 308 to allow
`
`the receiving STA 102a to aggregate or combine the received data from the different
`
`bands and understand a BA should be used for the combined data. The TID value 472
`
`may have a similar function to the TID 468 to identify a packet in a stream of packets.
`
`These values can be returned for each data packetin a BA signal 316 to acknowledge
`
`receipt of a data packet in a multi-band transmission.
`
`Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill
`
`in the art before the
`
`effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Application No
`
`

`

`Application/Control Number: 17/294,330
`Art Unit: 2477
`
`Page 7
`
`17/782,142 to include the above limitations as suggested by Alpert, to reduce chance
`
`for collision, better decoding, and reducing delays as indicated in [0023] of Alpert.
`
`Regarding Claim 23, Application No 17/782,142 teaches The multi-band
`
`transmitter device of Claim 20, wherein Application No 17/782,142 does not explicitly
`
`teach the plurality of MPDUs are transmitted on any of the plurality of frequency
`
`bandsto which the TID is mapped.
`
`However, in a similar field of endeavor, Alpert in [0044], discloses The traffic
`
`identifier (TID) 468 may identify the communication to which the packet belongs. Thus,
`
`a set of packets sent toa STA 102a, 104a may have a particular TID 468 compared to
`
`another set of packets. The TID 468 for signal 304 may be different than signal 308.
`
`However, in other configurations the TID 468 for signal 304 may be the same as the
`
`signal 308 to allow the receiving STA 102a to aggregate or combine the received data
`
`from the different bands and understand a BA should be used for the combined data.
`
`The TID value 472 may have a similar function to the TID 468 to identify a packet in a
`
`stream of packets. These values can be returned for each data packet in a BAsignal
`
`316 to acknowledge receipt of a data packetin a multi-band transmission.
`
`Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the
`
`effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Application No
`
`17/782,142 to include the above limitations as suggested by Alpert, to reduce chance
`
`for collision, better decoding, and reducing delays as indicated in [0023] of Alpert.
`
`

`

`Application/Control Number: 17/294,330
`Art Unit: 2477
`
`Page 8
`
`Regarding Claim 24, Application No 17/782,142 teaches he multi-band
`
`transmitter device of Claim 20, wherein, Application No 17/782,142 does not
`
`explicitly teach in responseto receiving the multi-band block ack frame that
`
`indicates failure of reception of a first MPDU transmitted on thefirst frequency
`
`band, the transmitter retransmits the first MPDU on a second frequency band
`
`different from thefirst frequency band.
`
`However, in a similar field of endeavor, Alpert in [0039], discloses then, in a
`
`fourth stage, the acknowledgement manager 228 of the receiving STA 102aidentifier
`
`the successfully received packets 312 and generates a common multi-band
`
`acknowledgment 316, which is sent as signal 220 to the sending STA 104ain the
`
`preferred operating band of the receiving STA 102a or of the sending STA 104a. Ina
`
`fifth and final stage, the sending STA 104a retransmits packets that were not received
`
`at the receiving STA 102a, based on the multi-band acknowledgment 220. The
`
`retransmitted data 320 and/or 324 can be sent in either bands or in the band that was
`
`originally used to attempt the transmission. These retransmitted packets are the acked
`
`an signal 328)
`
`Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the
`
`effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Application No
`
`17/782,142 to include the above limitations as suggested by Alpert, to reduce chance
`
`for collision, better decoding, and reducing delays as indicated in [0023] of Alpert.
`
`

`

`Application/Control Number: 17/294,330
`Art Unit: 2477
`
`Page 9
`
`Regarding Claim 25, Application No 17/782,142 teaches The multi-band
`
`transmitter device of Claim 20, wherein Application No 17/782,142 does not explicitly
`
`teach the transmitter, in operation, transmits a multi-band block ack request
`
`frame that includes one or more per-band information fields, each of the one or
`
`more per-band information fields comprising a TID field for indicating the TID for
`
`which the multi-band block ack response is requested.
`
`However, in a similar field of endeavor, Alpert in [0040]-[0041], discloses An
`
`embodiment of data structures 400 that can be used to report the acknowledgment
`
`status per TID for multi-band BA are shown in FIGS. 4A through 4E. Data structure 400
`
`can reuse or change the current IEEE 802.11ax multi-STA BlockAcksettings. First,
`
`information that is commontoall bands can be provided in the BA control field 404, then
`
`the actual acknowledgmentstatus per TID is indicated in the BA information field 408.
`
`The current 11ax multi-STA BlockAck settings can be modified to enable provision of
`
`per band information, for example, the BA Control 404 field can be modified by adding
`
`Multi-band Common Information 428 field and the Per-TID Information 448 can be
`
`modified to support multi band by adding the Band Identifier (ID) 460, the AID 464, and
`
`TID information 468, 472, to provide the information to the receiver to which band the
`
`BA information relates.
`
`Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the
`
`effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Application No
`
`17/782,142 to include the above limitations as suggested by Alpert, to reduce chance
`
`for collision, better decoding, and reducing delays as indicated in [0023] of Alpert.
`
`

`

`Application/Control Number: 17/294,330
`Art Unit: 2477
`
`Page 10
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`Claims 29-32 are rejected for having the same limitations as claims 22-25,
`
`respectively, except the claims are in method format.
`
`This is a provisional nonstatutory double patenting rejection.
`
`Claims 26 and 33 are provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double
`
`patenting as being unpatentable over claims of copending Application No. 17/782,142
`
`and Alpert and further in view of US 2007/0002810_A1 to Trainin et al. (hereinafter
`
`“Trainin’)
`
`Regarding Claim 26, Application No 17/782,142 and Alpert teaches The multi-
`
`band transmitter device of Claim 20, wherein Application No 17/782,142 and Alpert
`
`does not explicitly teach a single reordering buffer is maintained for each set of a
`
`MAC addressof the multi-band recipient device and the TID.
`
`However, in a similar field of endeavor, Trainin discloses in [0041],
`
`In next
`
`transmit opportunity 504, originator 510 starts to send data frames 530, 532 and 534 to
`
`RA1 and TID 2. Recipient 550 receives only frame 534, as shown, frames 530 and 532
`
`are not received. At this point, recipient 550 recognizes that the TID (TID2) differs from
`
`the former (TID1) and therefore resets the memory allocated for bitmap 552 andstarts
`
`the new bitmap 552 related to new TID2 in the same location. The BAR-BA exchange
`
`behavior of originator 510 and recipient 550 may be the same as described for TID1. In
`
`one embodiment, originator 510 has separate resources for bitmap 514, as well as for
`
`actual data frames per RA/TID; recipient 550 has separate reordering buffers 556 for
`
`data frames per TA/TID, but may include only single shared resource for bitmap 552.
`
`

`

`Application/Control Number: 17/294,330
`Art Unit: 2477
`
`Page 11
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`Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill
`
`in the art before the
`
`effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Application No
`
`17/782,142 and Alpert to include the above limitations as suggested by Trainin, thus
`
`enabling releasing of frames to upper layers and freeing related buffers, to reduce
`
`storage requirements of a recipient station as indicated in [0017] and [0044] of Trainin.
`
`Claim 33 is rejected for having the same limitations as claim 26, except the
`
`claim is in method format.
`
`This is a provisional nonstatutory double patenting rejection.
`
`

`

`Application/Control Number: 17/294,330
`Art Unit: 2477
`
`Page 12
`
`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 patentissued under section 151, orinan
`application for patent published or deemed published undersection 122(b), in which the
`patentor application, as the case may be, names another inventor and waseffectively filed
`beforethe effectivefiling date of the claimed invention.
`
`Claim(s) 20-25 and 27-32 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being
`
`anticipated by US 2018/0184233 Ai‘to Alpert et al. (hereinafter “Alpert”)
`
`Regarding Claim 20, Alpert teaches A multi-band transmitter device
`
`comprising: (Figure 2 and [0036]-[0037], discloses sending STA 104A)
`
`a transmitter which, in operation, transmits to a multi-band recipient device
`
`a plurality of MAC layer Protocol Data Units (MPDUs)over a plurality of frequency
`
`bandsto whicha Traffic Identifier (TID) is mapped; (Figure 2 and [0036]-[0038],
`
`discloses the sending STA 104a can receive incoming data and buffer the data in
`
`buffer(s) 204a, 204b. A traffic manager 208 may buffer the data or buffering may be
`
`coordinated with another component. Using wireless radio hardware/software 212a
`
`(e.g., transmitter 864, MAC module 860, and/or PHY module 856,etc.), first buffered
`
`data 204 can be sent as signal 216a to the receiving STA 102a. Similarly, wireless radio
`
`212b (e.g., transmitter 864, MAC module 860, and/or PHY module 856, etc.) can send
`
`second buffered data 204b over a second band transmission 216b to the receiving STA
`
`102a. The receiving STA 102a can receive the data 216a overthe first band at a first
`
`receiving wireless radio 224a (e.g., transmitter 864, MAC module 860, and/or PHY
`
`

`

`Application/Control Number: 17/294,330
`Art Unit: 2477
`
`Page 13
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`module 856, etc.) and second data 216b at a second receiving wireless radio 224b
`
`(e.g., transmitter 864, MAC module 860, and/or PHY module 856, etc.). [0021]-[0022],
`
`discloses block acknowledgements aggregation for multi-band transmissions. The
`
`acknowledgements can be coupled (aggregated) fortwo or more flows across multiple
`
`bands by using an acknowledge aggregation methodology. The common
`
`acknowledgment aggregation element is added to the control information that can
`
`acknowledge multiple flows (for example traffic identifier (TID)) received from multiple
`
`bands when the system implements MAClevel multi-band link acknowledgment
`
`aggregation) and
`
`a receiver which, in operation, receives on a first frequency band a multi-
`
`band block ack frame indicating reception statuses of the plurality of MPDUs.
`
`([0038], discloses The receiving STA 102a can receive the data 216a overthefirst band
`
`at a first receiving wireless radio 224a (e.g., transmitter 864, MAC module 860, and/or
`
`PHY module 856, etc.) and second data 216b at a second receiving wireless radio 224b
`
`(e.g., transmitter 864, MAC module 860, and/or PHY module 856, etc.). Since the data
`
`needs to be release within the arrival order, the acknowledgement manager 228
`
`(executed in a controller 820) can aggregate the data 232 and form a block
`
`acknowledgement (BA)for all received data packets (multi-band block ack frame). The
`
`BA can be sent by one of the wireless radios 224 and over one of the bands (e.g. band
`
`A 216a or band B 216b) to the sending STA 104a, as signal 220. [0059], discloses The
`
`receiver hardware 212a (receiver 868, MAC module 860, and/or PHY module 856) can
`
`receive the BA 400, as signal 316, over the first band 216a or the second band 216b
`
`

`

`Application/Control Number: 17/294,330
`Art Unit: 2477
`
`Page 14
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`(shown in FIG. 2 as signal 220) from the receiving STA 102a,
`
`in step 724. The BA 400
`
`can then be sent to the traffic manager 208.)
`
`Regarding Claim 21, Alpert teaches The multi-band transmitter device of
`
`Claim 20, wherein a single multi- band block ack agreementis established for the
`
`TID by exchanging an Add Block Ack (ADDBA) Request frame and an Add Block
`
`Ack (ADDBA) Responseframe on an enabled frequency band. ([0045], discloses To
`
`advertise or indicate the ability to send multi-band BAs, the Add Block
`
`Acknowledgement (ADDBA)capabilities field 504, as shown in FIGS. 5A through 5C,
`
`can be changed to add or modify the BA scheme for multi-band transmissions.
`
`[0046],
`
`discloses The ADDBAcapabilities field 504, as shown in FIG. 5B, can include one or
`
`more of, but is not limited to, common band information 508, a band list 512, a BA
`
`method 516, BA characteristics 520, STA characteristics 524, priorities 528, and context
`
`switching information 532. The BA characteristics 520, as shown in FIG. 5C, may have
`
`new or modified fields to announce the changesin the BA procedure. Namely, the BA
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`characteristics 520 can include one or more of, but is not limited to: a BA format 536, a
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`multi-TID list 540, simultaneous bands information 544, aggregation limit 548, a delay
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`limit 552, and/or a BA policy 556. The BA format 536 can define what structure the BA
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`316 will take. Thus, the BA format provides how the BA for multi-band transmissions will
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`be presented in a single BA 316.
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`In other words, the BA format 536 describes how the
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`bands and the packets are acknowledged. [0049], discloses in optional step 608, the AP
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`102a (the receiving STA) canindicate that an aggregated BA is possible for multi-band
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`transmissions. The ADDBA request 500 can be sent from the receiving STA 102a to the
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`Application/Control Number: 17/294,330
`Art Unit: 2477
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`Page 15
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`sending STA 104a.
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`In another configuration, the sending STA 104a can send the
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`ADDBArequest 500.
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`In response, an ADDBA response 500 can be sent back to the
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`sending STA 104a from the receiving STA 102a. The ADDBArequest/response 500
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`can indicate to or request the STA 104a/102a that the STA 104a/102 desires or can
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`send a single BA for transmissions over multiple bands.)
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`Regarding Claim 22, Alpert teaches The multi-band transmitter device of
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`Claim 20, wherein the receiver, in operation, receives a per-band Block Ack frame
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`that indicates a reception status of a subset of the plurality of MPDUsreceived on
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`a different frequency band. ([0044], discloses The AID 464 can be the ID associated
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`with the STA that sends and/or receives the BA or other communications between the
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`STAs 104a, 102a. Thetraffic identifier (TID) 468 may identify the communication to
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`which the packet belongs. Thus, a set of packets sent to a STA 102a, 104a may have a
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`particular TID 468 compared to another set of packets. The TID 468 for signal 304 may
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`be different than signal 308. However, in other configurations the TID 468 for signal 304
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`may be the same asthe signal 308 to allow the receiving STA 102a to aggregate or
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`combine the received data from the different bands and understand a BA should be
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`used for the combined data. The TID value 472 may have a similar function to the TID
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`468 to identify a packet in a stream of packets. These values can be returned for each
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`data packet in a BA signal 316 to acknowledge receipt of a data packet in a multi-band
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`transmission)
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`Application/Control Number: 17/294,330
`Art Unit: 2477
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`Page 16
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`Regarding Claim 23, Alpert teaches The multi-band transmitter device of
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`Claim 20, wherein the plurality of MPDUsare transmitted on any of the plurality of
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`frequency bands to which the TIDis mapped. ([0044], discloses Thetraffic identifier
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`(TID) 468 mayidentify the communication to which the packet belongs. Thus, a set of
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`packets sent to a STA 102a, 104a may have a particular TID 468 compared to another
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`set of packets. The TID 468 for signal 304 maybe different than signal 308. However,in
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`other configurations the TID 468 for signal 304 may be the same asthe signal 308 to
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`allow the receiving STA 102a to aggregate or combinethe received data from the
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`different bands and understand a BA should be used for the combined data. The TID
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`value 472 may have a similar function to the TID 468 to identify a packet in a stream of
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`packets. These values can be returned for each data packet in a BA signal 316 to
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`acknowledge receipt of a data packetin a multi-band transmission)
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`Regarding Claim 24, Alpert teaches The multi-band transmitter device of
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`Claim 20, wherein, in response to receiving the multi-band block ack frame that
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`indicates failure of reception of a first MPDU transmitted on thefirst frequency
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`band, the transmitter retransmits the first MPDU on a second frequency band
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`different from thefirst frequency band. ([0039], discloses Then, in a fourth stage, the
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`acknowledgement manager 228 of the receiving STA 102a identifier the successfully
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`received packets 312 and generates a common multi-band acknowledgment 316, which
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`is sent as signal 220 to the sending STA 104ain the preferred operating band of the
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`receiving STA 102a or of the sending STA 104a.
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`In a fifth and final stage, the sending
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`STA 104a retransmits packets that were not received at the receiving STA 102a, based
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`Application/Control Number: 17/294,330
`Art Unit: 2477
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`Page 17
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`on the multi-band acknowledgment 220. The retransmitted data 320 and/or 324 can be
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`sent in either bands or in the band that wasoriginally used to attempt the transmission.
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`These retransmitted packets are the acked an signal 328)
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`Regarding Claim 25, Alpert teaches The multi-band transmitter device of
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`Claim 20, wherein the transmitter, in operation, transmits a multi-band block ack
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`request frame that includes one or more per-band information fields, each of the
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`one or more per-band information fields comprising a TID field for indicating the
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`TID for which the multi-band block ack response is requested. ([0040]-[0041],
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`discloses An embodiment of data structures 400 that can be used to report the
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`acknowledgment status per TID for multi-band BA are shown in FIGS. 4A through 4E.
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`Data structure 400 can reuse or change the current IEEE 802.11ax multi-STA BlockAck
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`settings. First, information that is common to all bands can be provided in the BA control
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`field 404, then the actual acknowledgmentstatus per TID is indicated in the BA
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`information field 408. The current 11ax multi-STA BlockAck settings can be modified to
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`enable provision of per band information, for example, the BA Control 404 field can be
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`modified by adding Multi-band CommonInformation 428 field and the Per-TID
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`Information 448 can be modified to support multi band by adding the BandIdentifier (ID)
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`460, the AID 464, and TID information 468, 472, to provide the information to the
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`receiver to which band the BA information relates)
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`Application/Control Number: 17/294,330
`Art Unit: 2477
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`Page 18
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`Regarding Claim 27, Alpert teaches A communication method for a multi-
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`band transmitter device, the communication method comprising: transmitting to
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`a multi-band recipient device a plurality of MAC layer Protocol Data Units
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`(MPDUs)over a plurality of frequency bandsto which a Traffic Identifier (TID) is
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`mapped; (Figure 2 and [0036]-[0038], discloses the sending STA 104a can receive
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`incoming data and buffer the data in buffer(s) 204a, 204b. A traffic manager 208 may
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`buffer the data or buffering may be coordinated with another component. Using wireless
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`radio hardware/software 212a (e.g., transmitter 864, MAC module 860, and/or PHY
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`module 856, etc.), first buffered data 204 can be sent as signal 216a to the receiving
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`STA 102a. Similarly, wireless radio 212b (e.g., transmitter 864, MAC module 860,
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`and/or PHY module 856, etc.) can send second buffered data 204b over a second band
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`transmission 216b to the receiving STA 102a. The receiving STA 102a can receive the
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`data 216a over the first band at a first receiving wireless radio 224a (e.g., transmitter
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`864, MAC module 860, and/or PHY module 856, etc.) and second data 216b ata
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`second receiving wireless radio 224b (e.g., transmitter 864, MAC module 860, and/or
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`PHY module 856, etc.). [0021]-[0022], discloses block acknowledgements aggregation
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`for multi-band transmissions. The acknowledgements can be coupled (aggregated) for
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`two or more flows across multiple bands by using an acknowledge aggregation
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`methodology. The common acknowledgment aggregation element is added to the
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`control information that can acknowledge multiple flows (for example traffic identifier
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`(TID)) received from multiple bands when the system implements MAClevel multi-band
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`link acknowledgment aggregation) and
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`Application/Control Number: 17/294,330
`Art Unit: 2477
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`Page 19
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`receiving onafirst frequency band a multi-band block ack frame indicating
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`reception statuses of the plurality of MPDUs.((0038], discloses The receiving STA
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`102a can receive the data 216a over the firs