QUALCOMM Incorporated

Patent Trials and Appeals Board

Sep 29, 2020

14994242 - (D) (P.T.A.B. Sep. 29, 2020)

UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
United States Patent and Trademark Office
Address: COMMISSIONER FOR PATENTS
P.O. Box 1450
Alexandria, Virginia 22313-1450
www.uspto.gov
APPLICATION NO. FILING DATE FIRST NAMED INVENTOR ATTORNEY DOCKET NO. CONFIRMATION NO.
14/994,242 01/13/2016 Lalan Jee Mishra 157061/1173-340 2401
115309 7590 09/29/2020
W&T/Qualcomm
106 Pinedale Springs Way
Cary, NC 27511
EXAMINER
PARK, ILWOO
ART UNIT PAPER NUMBER
2184
NOTIFICATION DATE DELIVERY MODE
09/29/2020 ELECTRONIC
Please find below and/or attached an Office communication concerning this application or proceeding.
The time 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):
ocpat_uspto@qualcomm.com
patents@wt-ip.com
us-docketing@qualcomm.com
PTOL-90A (Rev. 04/07)
UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
Ex parte LALAN JEE MISHRA and RICHARD DOMINIC WIETFELDT
Appeal 2019-003387
Application 14/994,242
Technology Center 2100
BEFORE ERIC B. CHEN, MICHAEL J. STRAUSS, and
GREGG I. ANDERSON, Administrative Patent Judges.
ANDERSON, Administrative Patent Judge.
DECISION ON APPEAL
Pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 134(a), Appellant1 appeals from the
Examiner’s decision to reject claims 1–19. We have jurisdiction under
35 U.S.C. § 6(b).
We affirm-in-part.

1 We use the word Appellant to refer to “applicant” as defined in 37 C.F.R.
§ 1.42(a). Appellant identifies the real party in interest as QUALCOMM
Incorporated. Appeal Br. 2.
Appeal 2019-003387
Application 14/994,242
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CLAIMED SUBJECT MATTER
The claims are directed to Signaling Protocols for Radio Frequency
Front-End Control Interface (RFFE) Buses. Spec.,2 Title. The “RFFE
protocol is modified to provide addresses that are shorter than the normal
four bits allocated by the RFFE protocol.” Id. ¶ 18. This modification
results in improved bus turnaround time, which reduces overall latency. Id.
A “bus management portion may be sent using a single data rate (SDR), and
a payload portion may be sent using a double data rate (DDR),” again
reducing bus turnaround time and latency. Id.
Independent claims 1 and 11, reproduced below, are illustrative of the
claimed subject matter:
1. A method of constructing an address field for a frame on a
radio frequency front-end control interface (RFFE) bus, the
method comprising:

ascertaining a total number of addresses for devices associated
with an RFFE bus;

calculating a number of bits required to provide the total number
of addresses; and

setting a bit-field address-field length for a frame at a minimum
number of bits based on the calculating.
11.A method of transmitting a frame on a radio frequency front-
end control interface (RFFE) bus, the method comprising:

2 We use “Spec.” to refer to the Specification filed January 13, 2016, “Final
Act.” to refer to the Final Action mailed April 23, 2018, “Appeal Br.” to
refer to the Appeal Brief filed September 26, 2018, “Ans.” to refer to the
Examiner’s Answer filed February 8, 2019, and “Reply Br.” to refer to the
Reply Brief filed March 28, 2019.

Appeal 2019-003387
Application 14/994,242
3
transmitting a first portion of a frame over an RFFE bus using a
single data rate (SDR) technique; and

transmitting a second portion of the frame over the RFFE bus
using a double data rate (DDR) technique.
REFERENCES
The prior art relied upon by the Examiner is:
Name Reference Date
Onufryk US 2006/0282603 A1 Dec. 14, 2006
Fan US 2010/0124176 A1 May 20, 2010
Kessler US 2016/0041941 A1 Feb. 11, 2016
REJECTIONS
Claims 11, 12, 14, 15, and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 102(a)(2)
as being anticipated by Kessler. Final Act. 6–11.
Claims 1–8, 13, and 16–18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as
being obvious over Onufryk and Kessler. Id. at 11–31.
Claims 9 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being obvious
over Onufryk, Kessler, and Fan. Id. at 31–33.
OPINION
Issue 1: As recited in claim 11, are “single data rate (SDR) technique”
and “double data rate (DDR) technique” disclosed in Kessler?
The Examiner’s anticipation rejection of claim 11 relies on Kessler to
disclose Issue 1. Final Act. 6–8 (citing Kessler ¶¶ 42, 138). According to
the Examiner, the claimed single data rate (SDR) is disclosed in paragraph
42, which explains how “the master node 102 may transmit a
synchronization control frame every 1024 bits (representing a superframe) at
a frequency of 48 kHz.” Id. at 7 (citing Kessler ¶ 42). The Examiner cites
Kessler’s paragraph 138 for the double data rate (DDR), citing Kessler’s
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Application 14/994,242
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disclosure that “[i]nstead of using a single data slot per single superframe
(which is 48 kHz data rate) for the slave node 104, the data rate on the bus
for transmitting to the slave 104 is doubled by having two data slots per
superframe.” Id. at 7–8 (citing Kessler ¶ 138 (“two data slots to double the
superframe rate”)).
Appellant argues “single data rate technique” and “double data rate
technique” are “terms of art in the industry and accordingly have meanings
to someone of ordinary skill in the art which constrains the interpretation
afforded these terms.” Appeal Br. 7–8 (citing Gelman3 (US 2013/0082738
Al, Apr. 4, 2013); Spec. ¶ 34). Paragraph 34 of the Specification explains
the following:
Specifically, in an exemplary aspect, the bus management
portion 120 of the frame is sent using an SDR as is set forth in
the RFFE protocol. However, the payload portion of the frame
is sent using a DDR. By sending data on both the rising and
falling edge of the data, the speed of delivery of the payload
portion is effectively doubled.

Id. (quoting Spec. ¶ 34).
Appellant contends that Kessler does not disclose “SDR” nor “DDR”
but “merely a frequency.” Appeal Br. 8–9. Thus, Appellant contends that
when the proper definition of these terms is used, “it is clear that Kessler
does not teach either SDR or DDR techniques.” Id. at 7. As such, “Kessler

3 Gelman is first cited in the Appeal Brief and is not of record. See 37
C.F.R. § 41.33(d)(1) (“. . . Evidence filed after the date of filing an appeal
pursuant to §41.31(a)(1) through (a)(3) and prior to the date of filing a brief
. . . may be admitted if the examiner determines that the affidavit or other
Evidence overcomes all rejections under appeal and that a showing of good
and sufficient reasons why the affidavit or other Evidence is necessary and
was not earlier presented has been made.”) (emphasis added).
Appeal 2019-003387
Application 14/994,242
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cannot anticipate claim 11.” Id.
In the Answer, the Examiner contends “[a]lthough the claims are
interpreted in light of the specification, limitations from the specification are
not read into the claims.” Ans. 29–30 (citing In re Van Geuns, 988 F.2d
1181 (Fed. Cir. 1993)).4 The Examiner again cites paragraph 138 of Kessler
for the recited “double data rate.” Id. at 30.
We are not persuaded that SDR and DDR are terms of art. Appellant
asserts paragraph 34 of the Specification supports its argument to the
contrary. Appeal Br. 7–8 (citing Spec. ¶ 34). There is insufficient evidence
of record that SDR and DDR are actually a part of the RFFE protocol, as
paragraph 34 asserts,5 neither is there any definition of the terms or other
description that distinguishes the argued terms over the teachings of Kessler.
Absent a specific meaning to a person of ordinary skill in the art, the
broadest reasonable interpretation of SDR is a single data rate and of DDR is
a double data rate.
We agree with the Examiner that Kessler discloses a single data rate at
a frequency of 48 kHz. Final Act. 7 (citing Kessler ¶ 42); Ans. 4. The
Examiner cites Kessler’s paragraph 138 for the double data rate, “[i]nstead
of using a single data slot per single superframe (which is 48 kHz data rate)
for the slave node 104, the data rate on the bus for transmitting to the slave

4 For the first time, the Examiner cites “UART (universal asynchronous
receiver transmitter) has a single data rate and a double data rate . . . .” Id. at
30; see also Reply Br. 2 (UART is “new” and another disclosure of
frequency).
5 We have reviewed MIPI Alliance, Inc. MIPI Alliance Specification for RF
Front-End Control Interface, Version 1.10 (July 2011). Although not of
record, the terms “SDR” and “DDR” do not appear in the document. See
also fn. 3 (Gelman is also not of record).
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104 is doubled by having two data slots per superframe.” Id. at 7–8 (citing
Kessler ¶ 138 (“two data slots to double the superframe rate”)); Ans. 4–5.
Because the argued limitations are disclosed in Kessler, the rejection is
sustained.
Appellant does not separately argue dependent claims 12, 14, and 15.
See generally Appeal Br. 7–9. Accordingly, we sustain the rejection to these
claims. Independent claim 19 is found unpatentable by the Examiner based
on the all but the same disclosures of Kessler cited in connection with claim
11. See Final Act 9–11 (citing Kessler ¶¶ 42, 138). Appellant relies on its
arguments for claim 11. Appeal Br. 9. For the same reasons discussed
above in connection with claim 11, we sustain the rejection of claim 19.
Issue 2: As recited in claim 1, does Onufryk teach “setting [the] bit-field
address-field length for a frame . . . based on the calculating?”

The Examiner’s obviousness rejection of claim 1 relies on Onufryk to
teach Issue 2. Final Act. 15–17 (citing Onufryk ¶¶ 13, 47). The stated
limitation of allowed bits on a virtual bus is 24, resulting in no more than 16
devices to reside on each special bus. Id. at 15 (citing Onufryk ¶ 13). Each
ID Tag or address can include an 8-bit “Bus” for a maximum of maximum
of 32 devices. Id. at 16 (citing Onufryk ¶ 10). Stated another way, the bits
of each bus are associated with a maximum number of addressed devices.
Appellant explains that in Onufryk, if the
“[a]t least one of the plural virtual buses is . . . limited to having
no more than 16 devices” but only four devices are coupled to
the “virtual bus,” there is no teaching or suggestion that the
“number of bits . . . in the ‘Device’ identifying field” is actually
set to two (i.e., the minimum number of bits based on the
calculating).
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Application 14/994,242
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Appeal Br. 10. Appellant argues “[t]he claim calculates ‘based on how
many devices are actually on the bus.’” Id. at 11. Furthermore, Appellant
contends the setting of bits in Onufryk is not “‘based on the calculating,’ and
thus, Onufryk does not teach or suggest the claim element.” Id.
In the Answer, the Examiner all but repeats the prior findings based
on paragraphs 10 and 47 of Onufryk. Ans. 12–13 (citing Onufryk ¶¶ 13,
47). In addition, the Examiner argues Appellant does not “specifically
point[] out how the language of the claims patentably distinguishes them
from the references.” Id. at 30–33. The Examiner argues “based on the
calculation” is taught through Onufryk’s teaching that “no more than 16
devices to reside on each special bus reduces the number of bits needed
in the ‘Device’ identifying field of a corresponding ID Tag to 4 or less,”
setting a number of bits required. Id. at 31–32.
Appellant argues in its Reply,
as recited in claim 1, there is a step of “ascertaining a total
number of addresses” (e.g., 4) and from this “calculating a
number of bits required to provide the total number of addresses”
(e.g., 2). The “total number of bits” cannot be calculated unless
there is an ascertainment of the “total number of addresses.” In
contrast, . . . Onufryk sets the “3-bit wide data field” first and
then notes that it supports “up to eight domestic devices,”
regardless of how many devices are actually present.
Reply Br. 2.
We agree with Appellant that the claim limitation recites a calculation
“based on how many devices are actually on the bus.” See Appeal Br. 9–11.
We are persuaded that Onufryk does not teach “setting [the] bit-field
address-field length for a frame . . . based on the calculating.” Rather, the
bit-field is set by the size of the virtual bus. Onufryk ¶ 13 (“At least one of
the plural virtual buses is designated by the switch’s software or by other
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Application 14/994,242
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means as a special bus that is limited to having no more than 16 devices (=24
devices) on it.”). Thus the bit-field size is set and not calculated. Because
the limitation are not taught by Onufryk, the rejection is not sustained.
Because claim 1 has not been shown to be unpatentable, dependent
claims 2–8, 13, and 16–17 have not been shown to be unpatentable and we
do not sustain the rejection to those claims. Independent claim 18 includes
similar limitations (i.e., “set a bit-field address-field length for a frame at a
minimum number of bits based on the calculating”) to those argued in
connection with independent claim 1 (i.e., “setting a bit-field address-field
length for a frame at a minimum number of bits based on the calculating”).
Claim 18 is found unpatentable by the Examiner based on the all but the
same disclosures of Kessler cited in connection with claim 11. See Final Act
28–30 (citing Onufryk ¶¶ 13, 47). For the same reasons discussed above in
connection with claim 1, we do not sustain the rejection of claim 18.

DECISION SUMMARY
In summary:
Claims
Rejected
35 U.S.C.
§
Reference(s)/Basis Affirmed Reversed
11, 12, 14,
15, 19
102(a)(2) Kessler 11, 12, 14,
15, 19

1–8, 13,
16–18
103 Onufryk, Kessler 1–8, 13,
16–18
9, 10 103 Onufryk, Kessler,
Fan
9,10
Overall
Outcome
11, 12, 14,
15, 19
1–19

AFFIRMED-IN-PART