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 .
This action is in response to the application filed on January 20, 2025
Claims 1, 23 and 44-64 are under examination.
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 01/20/2026 has been entered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 1, 23 and 44-64 are rejected under 35 USC 103 as being unpatentable over Gao et al (US 2014/0092861 A1) in view of Rubin et al (US Pub. No. 2013/0336176 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Gao discloses “transmitting a first transport block over a wireless link (See Gao fig. 7 and ¶ 0059; transmitting, by a macro base station, a first synchronization signal, PSS); “using a first transmission time interval” (see Gao ¶ 0066; the first synchronization signal, PSS, is transmitted using a transmission resources, e.g. time slot 0/10 REs). Also, Gao teaches the claimed feature of “transmitting a second transport block, over a wirless LTE link ( See Gao fig. 7 and ¶ 0060; transmitting, by a macro base station, a second synchronization signal, SSS; and ¶ 0029 discloses that SSS can transmitted using LTE links); “using a second transmission time interval” (see Gao ¶ 0036; PSS/SSS 201, 202 are located at time slot 0 and slot 10 respectively); “the first transmission time interval corresponding to a slot duration”(see Gao ¶ 0044; RE represents a subcarrier of the OFDM signal and a duration of time or a time slot; ¶ 0066 discloses the first synchronization signal may be, e.g., PSS and the first set of transmission resources may be, e.g., slot 0/10 Res and discloses a second synchronization signal (e.g., SSS) is transmitted using a second set of transmission resource (e.g., previously discussed slot 0/10 REs for SSS); “wherein one transport block is transmitted per stream per transmission time interval for the first and second transmission time intervals” (see Gao ¶ 0044; RE represents a subcarrier of the OFDM signal and a duration of time or a time slot; ¶ 0066 discloses the first synchronization signal may be, e.g., PSS and the first set of transmission resources may be, e.g., slot 0/10 Res and discloses a second synchronization signal (e.g., SSS) is transmitted using a second set of transmission resource (e.g., previously discussed slot 0/10 REs for SSS).
Gao does not appear to explicitly disclose the first transport block is transmitted specifically over a wireless backhaul link, the second transmission time interval corresponding to 1 millisecond (ms) and wherein one transport block is transmitted per stream per transmission time interval for the first and second transmission time intervals. However, Rubin discloses the first transport block is transmitted specifically over a wireless backhaul link (See Rubin Figs 1, 2, 9 and ¶ 0111, ¶ 0210); “second transmission time interval corresponding to 1 millisecond (ms)” (See Rubin ¶ 0011, ¶ 0410) and “wherein one transport block is transmitted per stream per transmission time interval for the first and second transmission time intervals” (See Rubin ¶ 0011, ¶ 0016). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, having the teachings of Gao and Rubin before him or her, to modify the invention of Gao to use backhaul link. The suggestion for doing so would have been because backhaul link is a radio link, by operating the radio backhaul link and the access link using a time division system, it is possible to avoid radio signals of these links from interfering with each other.
2-12. (canceled)
Claim 23 is the device claim corresponding to the method claim 1 that has been rejected above. Applicant attention is directed to the rejection of claim 1. Claim 23 is rejected under the same rational as claim 1.
24-43. (canceled)
Regarding claim 44, Gao – Rubin discloses the method of claim 1, wherein a duration of the second transmission time interval is an integral multiple of a duration of the first transmission time interval (Paragraph 0063, 0066 a first synchronization signal using a first set of transmission resources and transmitting, from the first node, a second synchronization signal using a second set of transmission resource, such that a phase difference between the first synchronization signal and the second synchronization signal is indicative of a third set of transmission resources for use by a second node for transmitting a geometry indicator signal).
Regarding claim 45, Gao – Rubin discloses the method of claim 1, wherein transmitting the first transport block includes transmitting the first transport block using a first data frame, transmitting the second transport block includes transmitting the second transport block using a second data frame, and a duration of the second frame is an integral multiple of a duration of the first data frame (Paragraph 0045 Each RE represents a subcarrier of the OFDM signal and a duration of time or a time slot that the signal is transmitted in.).
Gao does not appear to explicitly disclose the first transport block is transmitted specifically over a wireless backhaul link, the second transmission time interval corresponding to 1 millisecond (ms) and wherein one transport block is transmitted per stream per transmission time interval for the first and second transmission time intervals. However, Rubin discloses the first transport block is transmitted specifically over a wireless backhaul link (See Rubin Figs 1, 2, 9 and ¶ 0111, ¶ 0210); “second transmission time interval corresponding to 1 millisecond (ms)” (See Rubin ¶ 0011, ¶ 0410) and “wherein one transport block is transmitted per stream per transmission time interval for the first and second transmission time intervals” (See Rubin ¶ 0011, ¶ 0016). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, having the teachings of Gao and Rubin before him or her, to modify the invention of Gao to use backhaul link. The suggestion for doing so would have been because backhaul link is a radio link, by operating the radio backhaul link and the access link using a time division system, it is possible to avoid radio signals of these links from interfering with each other.
Regarding claim 46, Gao – Rubin discloses the method of claim 1, wherein transmitting the first transport block includes transmitting the first transport block using a first data frame, and transmitting the second transport block includes transmitting the second transport block using a second data frame, and wherein the first data frame comprises a plurality of slots, each slot having the first transmission time interval, and wherein a first symbol in time of each slot of the plurality of slots comprises a pilot signal (Paragraph 0029, 0036 For example, in LTE networks, PSS/SSS 201, 202 are located at time slot 0 and slot 10 respectively in one radio frame. secondary synchronization signal (SSS), is transmitted by the network to the UE 106 to allow the UE 106 to extract additional information such as identification of the cell, structure of transmission frame and whether time domain multiplexing (TDM) or frequency domain multiplexing (FDM) is used in the cell.).
Gao does not appear to explicitly disclose the first transport block is transmitted specifically over a wireless backhaul link, the second transmission time interval corresponding to 1 millisecond (ms) and wherein one transport block is transmitted per stream per transmission time interval for the first and second transmission time intervals. However, Rubin discloses the first transport block is transmitted specifically over a wireless backhaul link (See Rubin Figs 1, 2, 9 and ¶ 0111, ¶ 0210); “second transmission time interval corresponding to 1 millisecond (ms)” (See Rubin ¶ 0011, ¶ 0410) and “wherein one transport block is transmitted per stream per transmission time interval for the first and second transmission time intervals” (See Rubin ¶ 0011, ¶ 0016). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, having the teachings of Gao and Rubin before him or her, to modify the invention of Gao to use backhaul link. The suggestion for doing so would have been because backhaul link is a radio link, by operating the radio backhaul link and the access link using a time division system, it is possible to avoid radio signals of these links from interfering with each other.
Regarding claim 47, Gao – Rubin discloses the method of claim 1, wherein transmitting the first transport block includes transmitting the first transport block using a first data frame, and transmitting the second transport block includes transmitting the second transport block using a second data frame, wherein the first data frame comprises a plurality of slots, each slot having the first transmission time interval and having a respective plurality of symbols, and wherein a transport block having data for a single user is mapped into consecutive symbols of a slot of the plurality of slots (Paragraph 0029, 0037 The low power nodes are not used to transmit SSS signals. The SSS transmitted by the macro base station is located at slot 0 and slot 10, respectively, in one radio frame. Furthermore, a phase difference, as further described below, between SSS and PSS is applied on SSS. For example, in LTE networks, PSS/SSS 201, 202 are located at time slot 0 and slot 10 respectively in one radio frame. A UE can receive the PSS and extract information such as slot timing properties and identity the physical layer. Often, a second synchronization signal, called secondary synchronization signal (SSS), is transmitted by the network to the UE 106 to allow the UE 106 to extract additional information such as identification of the cell, structure of transmission frame and whether time domain multiplexing (TDM) or frequency domain multiplexing (FDM) is used in the cell. ).
Gao does not appear to explicitly disclose the first transport block is transmitted specifically over a wireless backhaul link, the second transmission time interval corresponding to 1 millisecond (ms) and wherein one transport block is transmitted per stream per transmission time interval for the first and second transmission time intervals. However, Rubin discloses the first transport block is transmitted specifically over a wireless backhaul link (See Rubin Figs 1, 2, 9 and ¶ 0111, ¶ 0210); “second transmission time interval corresponding to 1 millisecond (ms)” (See Rubin ¶ 0011, ¶ 0410) and “wherein one transport block is transmitted per stream per transmission time interval for the first and second transmission time intervals” (See Rubin ¶ 0011, ¶ 0016). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, having the teachings of Gao and Rubin before him or her, to modify the invention of Gao to use backhaul link. The suggestion for doing so would have been because backhaul link is a radio link, by operating the radio backhaul link and the access link using a time division system, it is possible to avoid radio signals of these links from interfering with each other.
Regarding claim 48, Gao – Rubin discloses the method of claim 47, wherein the consecutive symbols comprise different respective allocation sizes (Paragraph 0044, 0050 The geometry factor carries L bits LPN ID. The L-bit LPN ID is at first encoded into M bits, then M bits are modulated into Q symbols, and the Q symbols are finally mapped to Q physical REs whose relative positions to PSS/SSS are fixed and known by UEs. And if those REs are not located in the same OFDM symbols in the time domain as PSS or SSS, then P extra reference symbols are defined and allocated in these Q physical REs to facilitate the UE's demodulation. In LTE, in one radio frame (10 ms), there are 20 Resource Elements (REs) unused at the same orthogonal frequency domain multiplexing (OFDM) symbols as PSS and SSS 202 located. Therefore 16 REs of them is used for the geometry indicator 204. ).
Regarding claim 49, Gao – Rubin discloses the method of claim 1, wherein transmitting the first transport block includes transmitting the first transport block using a first data frame, and transmitting the second transport block includes transmitting the second transport block using a second data frame, wherein the first data frame comprises a plurality of slots, each slot having the first transmission time interval and having a respective plurality of symbols, and wherein a first part of each symbol is a semi-persistent allocation and a second part of each symbol is a dynamic allocation (Paragraph 0030, 0036 For example, in LTE networks, PSS/SSS 201, 202 are located at time slot 0 and slot 10 respectively in one radio frame. time-frequency resources in orthogonal frequency domain multiplexing (OFDM) whose transmissions use time slots. In the examples provided below, the special physical signal can be a "geometry indicator" as further described below and is only transmitted to a UE 106 by the low power node but not by the macro base station. ).
Gao does not appear to explicitly disclose the first transport block is transmitted specifically over a wireless backhaul link, the second transmission time interval corresponding to 1 millisecond (ms) and wherein one transport block is transmitted per stream per transmission time interval for the first and second transmission time intervals. However, Rubin discloses the first transport block is transmitted specifically over a wireless backhaul link (See Rubin Figs 1, 2, 9 and ¶ 0111, ¶ 0210); “second transmission time interval corresponding to 1 millisecond (ms)” (See Rubin ¶ 0011, ¶ 0410) and “wherein one transport block is transmitted per stream per transmission time interval for the first and second transmission time intervals” (See Rubin ¶ 0011, ¶ 0016). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, having the teachings of Gao and Rubin before him or her, to modify the invention of Gao to use backhaul link. The suggestion for doing so would have been because backhaul link is a radio link, by operating the radio backhaul link and the access link using a time division system, it is possible to avoid radio signals of these links from interfering with each other.
Regarding claim 50, Gao – Rubin discloses the method of claim 49 wherein the semi-persistent allocation is communicated through a dedicated message in a physical data shared channel (PDSCH) (Paragraph 0028, 0072 control messages from the macro base station. One reason being that low power nodes generally do not transmit synchronization signals that a new UE 106 typically searches for to detect a wireless network. ).
Gao does not appear to explicitly disclose the first transport block is transmitted specifically over a wireless backhaul link, the second transmission time interval corresponding to 1 millisecond (ms) and wherein one transport block is transmitted per stream per transmission time interval for the first and second transmission time intervals. However, Rubin discloses the first transport block is transmitted specifically over a wireless backhaul link (See Rubin Figs 1, 2, 9 and ¶ 0111, 0151, ¶ 0210); “second transmission time interval corresponding to 1 millisecond (ms)” (See Rubin ¶ 0011, ¶ 0410) and “wherein one transport block is transmitted per stream per transmission time interval for the first and second transmission time intervals” (See Rubin ¶ 0011, ¶ 0016). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, having the teachings of Gao and Rubin before him or her, to modify the invention of Gao to use backhaul link. The suggestion for doing so would have been because backhaul link is a radio link, by operating the radio backhaul link and the access link using a time division system, it is possible to avoid radio signals of these links from interfering with each other.
Regarding claim 51, Gao – Rubin discloses the method of claim 1, further comprising: communicating over the wireless backhaul link from a macro cell site by a first data frame with the first wireless transceiver at a first time; and communicating, in synchronism with the first data frame over a wireless LTE link from a macro cell site, with the second wireless transceiver at the first time by a third data frame having the second transmission time interval (Paragraph 0007, 0021, 0029 Long Term Evolution (LTE) and WiMAX, synchronization signals are transmitted by the network, e.g., by macro cell base station, for the benefit of user equipment or UE. a first synchronization signal using a first set of transmission resources and transmitting, from the first node, a second synchronization signal using a second set of transmission resource, such that a phase difference between the first synchronization signal and the second synchronization signal is indicative of a third set of transmission resources for use by a second node for transmitting a geometry indicator signal).
Regarding claim 52, Gao – Rubin discloses the method of claim 51, wherein communicating by the first data frame is one of an uplink and downlink, and wherein communicating, in synchronism with the first data frame, with the second wireless transceiver is said one of an uplink and downlink (Paragraph 0021, a macrocell base station can be used to transmit two different types of synchronization signals, e.g., primary synchronization signal (PSS) and secondary synchronization signal (SSS), for UEs to identify the presence of a wireless cell and identify basic operational details of the cell, respectively. These synchronization signals may use pre-defined signal structure and time-frequency resources to allow a UE to quickly locate the synchronization signals without any user intervention. The disclosed techniques can be implemented to encode information in such synchronization signals to enable UEs to locate, in the time-frequency plane of transmission resources, time slots and subcarriers on which the geometry signals are transmitted from among various possibilities.. ).
Regarding claim 53, Gao – Rubin discloses the method of claim 51, wherein the first and third data frame use a same frequency resource (Paragraph 0023, 0027 Consequently, both downlink and uplink interference generated by this UE 106 to other UEs 106 in the network, which use the same frequency resources at the same time, can be reduced and this reduction improves the overall system performance. These synchronization signals may use pre-defined signal structure and time-frequency resources to allow a UE to quickly locate the synchronization signals without any user intervention. The disclosed techniques can be implemented to encode information in such synchronization signals to enable UEs to locate, in the time-frequency plane of transmission resources, time slots and subcarriers on which the geometry signals are transmitted from among various possibilities).
Regarding claim 54, Gao – Rubin discloses the device of claim 23, wherein a duration of the second transmission time interval is an integral multiple of a duration of the first transmission time interval (Paragraph 0045 Each RE represents a subcarrier of the OFDM signal and a duration of time or a time slot that the signal is transmitted in).
Gao does not appear to explicitly disclose the first transport block is transmitted specifically over a wireless backhaul link, the second transmission time interval corresponding to 1 millisecond (ms) and wherein one transport block is transmitted per stream per transmission time interval for the first and second transmission time intervals. However, Rubin discloses the first transport block is transmitted specifically over a wireless backhaul link (See Rubin Figs 1, 2, 9 and ¶ 0111, 0151, ¶ 0210); “second transmission time interval corresponding to 1 millisecond (ms)” (See Rubin ¶ 0011, ¶ 0410) and “wherein one transport block is transmitted per stream per transmission time interval for the first and second transmission time intervals” (See Rubin ¶ 0011, ¶ 0016). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, having the teachings of Gao and Rubin before him or her, to modify the invention of Gao to use backhaul link. The suggestion for doing so would have been because backhaul link is a radio link, by operating the radio backhaul link and the access link using a time division system, it is possible to avoid radio signals of these links from interfering with each other.
Regarding claim 55, Gao – Rubin discloses the device of claim 23, wherein the transmitter is further configured to communicate over the backhaul link using a first data frame, and to communicate over the LTE link using a second data frame, and wherein a duration of the second frame is an integral multiple of a duration of the first data frame (Paragraph 0023, 0027, 0029, 0036 various wireless networks, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) and WiMAX, synchronization signals are transmitted by the network, e.g., by macro cell base station, for the benefit of user equipment or UE.Consequently, both downlink and uplink interference generated by this UE 106 to other UEs 106 in the network, which use the same frequency resources at the same time, can be reduced and this reduction improves the overall system performance. These synchronization signals may use pre-defined signal structure and time-frequency resources to allow a UE to quickly locate the synchronization signals without any user intervention. The disclosed techniques can be implemented to encode information in such synchronization signals to enable UEs to locate, in the time-frequency plane of transmission resources, time slots and subcarriers on which the geometry signals are transmitted from among various possibilities. ).
Gao does not appear to explicitly disclose the first transport block is transmitted specifically over a wireless backhaul link, the second transmission time interval corresponding to 1 millisecond (ms) and wherein one transport block is transmitted per stream per transmission time interval for the first and second transmission time intervals. However, Rubin discloses the first transport block is transmitted specifically over a wireless backhaul link (See Rubin Figs 1, 2, 9 and ¶ 0111, 0151, ¶ 0210); “second transmission time interval corresponding to 1 millisecond (ms)” (See Rubin ¶ 0011, ¶ 0410) and “wherein one transport block is transmitted per stream per transmission time interval for the first and second transmission time intervals” (See Rubin ¶ 0011, ¶ 0016). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, having the teachings of Gao and Rubin before him or her, to modify the invention of Gao to use backhaul link. The suggestion for doing so would have been because backhaul link is a radio link, by operating the radio backhaul link and the access link using a time division system, it is possible to avoid radio signals of these links from interfering with each other.
Regarding claim 56, Gao – Rubin discloses the device of claim 23, wherein the transmitter is further configured to communicate over the backhaul link using a first data frame, and to communicate over the LTE link using a second data frame, wherein the first data frame comprises a plurality of slots, each slot having the first transmission time interval, and wherein a first symbol in time of each slot of the plurality of slots comprises a pilot signal (Paragraph 0027, 0029, 0030 time-frequency resources in orthogonal frequency domain multiplexing (OFDM) whose transmissions use time slots. In the examples provided below, the special physical signal can be a "geometry indicator" as further described below and is only transmitted to a UE 106 by the low power node but not by the macro base station, as Long Term Evolution (LTE) and WiMAX, synchronization signals are transmitted by the network, e.g., by macro cell base station, for the benefit of user equipment or UE.).
Gao does not appear to explicitly disclose the first transport block is transmitted specifically over a wireless backhaul link, the second transmission time interval corresponding to 1 millisecond (ms) and wherein one transport block is transmitted per stream per transmission time interval for the first and second transmission time intervals. However, Rubin discloses the first transport block is transmitted specifically over a wireless backhaul link (See Rubin Figs 1, 2, 9 and ¶ 0111, ¶ 0210); “second transmission time interval corresponding to 1 millisecond (ms)” (See Rubin ¶ 0011, ¶ 0410) and “wherein one transport block is transmitted per stream per transmission time interval for the first and second transmission time intervals” (See Rubin ¶ 0011, ¶ 0016). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, having the teachings of Gao and Rubin before him or her, to modify the invention of Gao to use backhaul link. The suggestion for doing so would have been because backhaul link is a radio link, by operating the radio backhaul link and the access link using a time division system, it is possible to avoid radio signals of these links from interfering with each other.
Regarding claim 57, Gao – Rubin discloses the device of claim 23, wherein the transmitter is further configured to communicate over the backhaul link using a first data frame, and communicate over the LTE link using a second data frame, wherein the first data frame comprises a plurality of slots, each slot having the first transmission time interval and having a respective plurality of symbols, and wherein a transport block having data for a single user is mapped into consecutive symbols of a slot of the plurality of slots (Paragraph 0029, 0030, 0036 Long Term Evolution (LTE) and WiMAX, synchronization signals are transmitted by the network, e.g., by macro cell base station, for the benefit of user equipment or UE. time-frequency resources in orthogonal frequency domain multiplexing (OFDM) whose transmissions use time slots. In the examples provided below, the special physical signal can be a "geometry indicator" as further described below and is only transmitted to a UE 106 by the low power node but not by the macro base station. For example, in LTE networks, PSS/SSS 201, 202 are located at time slot 0 and slot 10 respectively in one radio frame. ).
Gao does not appear to explicitly disclose the first transport block is transmitted specifically over a wireless backhaul link, the second transmission time interval corresponding to 1 millisecond (ms) and wherein one transport block is transmitted per stream per transmission time interval for the first and second transmission time intervals. However, Rubin discloses the first transport block is transmitted specifically over a wireless backhaul link (See Rubin Figs 1, 2, 9 and ¶ 0111, ¶ 0210); “second transmission time interval corresponding to 1 millisecond (ms)” (See Rubin ¶ 0011, ¶ 0410) and “wherein one transport block is transmitted per stream per transmission time interval for the first and second transmission time intervals” (See Rubin ¶ 0011, ¶ 0016). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, having the teachings of Gao and Rubin before him or her, to modify the invention of Gao to use backhaul link. The suggestion for doing so would have been because backhaul link is a radio link, by operating the radio backhaul link and the access link using a time division system, it is possible to avoid radio signals of these links from interfering with each other.
Regarding claim 58, Gao – Rubin discloses the device of claim 57, wherein the consecutive symbols comprise different respective allocation sizes (Paragraph 0044, 0050 The geometry factor carries L bits LPN ID. The L-bit LPN ID is at first encoded into M bits, then M bits are modulated into Q symbols, and the Q symbols are finally mapped to Q physical REs whose relative positions to PSS/SSS are fixed and known by UEs. And if those REs are not located in the same OFDM symbols in the time domain as PSS or SSS, then P extra reference symbols are defined and allocated in these Q physical REs to facilitate the UE's demodulation. In LTE, in one radio frame (10 ms), there are 20 Resource Elements (REs) unused at the same orthogonal frequency domain multiplexing (OFDM) symbols as PSS and SSS 202 located. Therefore 16 REs of them is used for the geometry indicator 204. ).
Regarding claim 59, Gao – Rubin discloses the device of claim 23, wherein the transmitter is further configured to communicate over the backhaul link using a first data frame, and communicate over the LTE link using a second data frame, wherein the first data frame comprises a plurality of slots, each slot having the first transmission time interval and having a respective plurality of symbols, and wherein a first part of each symbol is a semi-persistent allocation and a second part of each symbol is a dynamic allocation (Paragraph 0029, 0030, 0036 time-frequency resources in orthogonal frequency domain multiplexing (OFDM) whose transmissions use time slots. In the examples provided below, the special physical signal can be a "geometry indicator" as further described below and is only transmitted to a UE 106 by the low power node but not by the macro base station. Long Term Evolution (LTE) and WiMAX, synchronization signals are transmitted by the network, e.g., by macro cell base station, for the benefit of user equipment or UE. ).
Gao does not appear to explicitly disclose the first transport block is transmitted specifically over a wireless backhaul link, the second transmission time interval corresponding to 1 millisecond (ms) and wherein one transport block is transmitted per stream per transmission time interval for the first and second transmission time intervals. However, Rubin discloses the first transport block is transmitted specifically over a wireless backhaul link (See Rubin Figs 1, 2, 9 and ¶ 0111, ¶ 0210); “second transmission time interval corresponding to 1 millisecond (ms)” (See Rubin ¶ 0011, ¶ 0410) and “wherein one transport block is transmitted per stream per transmission time interval for the first and second transmission time intervals” (See Rubin ¶ 0011, ¶ 0016). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, having the teachings of Gao and Rubin before him or her, to modify the invention of Gao to use backhaul link. The suggestion for doing so would have been because backhaul link is a radio link, by operating the radio backhaul link and the access link using a time division system, it is possible to avoid radio signals of these links from interfering with each other.
Regarding claim 60, Gao – Rubin discloses the device of claim 59, wherein the semi-persistent allocation is communicated through a dedicated message in a physical data shared channel (PDSCH) (Paragraph 0028, 0072 control messages from the macro base station. One reason being that low power nodes generally do not transmit synchronization signals that a new UE 106 typically searches for to detect a wireless network. ).
Gao does not appear to explicitly disclose the first transport block is transmitted specifically over a wireless backhaul link, the second transmission time interval corresponding to 1 millisecond (ms) and wherein one transport block is transmitted per stream per transmission time interval for the first and second transmission time intervals. However, Rubin discloses the first transport block is transmitted specifically over a wireless backhaul link (See Rubin Figs 1, 2, 9 and ¶ 0111, 0151, ¶ 0210); “second transmission time interval corresponding to 1 millisecond (ms)” (See Rubin ¶ 0011, ¶ 0410) and “wherein one transport block is transmitted per stream per transmission time interval for the first and second transmission time intervals” (See Rubin ¶ 0011, ¶ 0016). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, having the teachings of Gao and Rubin before him or her, to modify the invention of Gao to use backhaul link. The suggestion for doing so would have been because backhaul link is a radio link, by operating the radio backhaul link and the access link using a time division system, it is possible to avoid radio signals of these links from interfering with each other.
Regarding claim 61, Gao – Rubin discloses the device of claim 23, wherein the transmitter is further configured to: communicate over the wireless backhaul link from a macro cell site by a first data frame with the first wireless transceiver at a first time; and communicate, in synchronism with the first data frame over a wireless LTE link from a macro cell site, with the second wireless transceiver at the first time by a third data frame having the second transmission time interval (Paragraph 0007, 0021, 0029, 0036 For example, in LTE networks, PSS/SSS 201, 202 are located at time slot 0 and slot 10 respectively in one radio frame. Long Term Evolution (LTE) and WiMAX, synchronization signals are transmitted by the network, e.g., by macro cell base station, for the benefit of user equipment or UE. a first synchronization signal using a first set of transmission resources and transmitting, from the first node, a second synchronization signal using a second set of transmission resource, such that a phase difference between the first synchronization signal and the second synchronization signal is indicative of a third set of transmission resources for use by a second node for transmitting a geometry indicator signal).
Regarding claim 62, Gao – Rubin discloses the device of claim 61, wherein the first data frame is one of an uplink and downlink data frame, and wherein the third data frame is said one of an uplink and downlink data frame (Paragraph 0045 Each RE represents a subcarrier of the OFDM signal and a duration of time or a time slot that the signal is transmitted in.).
Gao does not appear to explicitly disclose the first transport block is transmitted specifically over a wireless backhaul link, the second transmission time interval corresponding to 1 millisecond (ms) and wherein one transport block is transmitted per stream per transmission time interval for the first and second transmission time intervals. However, Rubin discloses the first transport block is transmitted specifically over a wireless backhaul link (See Rubin Figs 1, 2, 9 and ¶ 0111, ¶ 0210); “second transmission time interval corresponding to 1 millisecond (ms)” (See Rubin ¶ 0011, ¶ 0410) and “wherein one transport block is transmitted per stream per transmission time interval for the first and second transmission time intervals” (See Rubin ¶ 0011, ¶ 0016). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, having the teachings of Gao and Rubin before him or her, to modify the invention of Gao to use backhaul link. The suggestion for doing so would have been because backhaul link is a radio link, by operating the radio backhaul link and the access link using a time division system, it is possible to avoid radio signals of these links from interfering with each other.
Regarding claim 63, Gao – Rubin discloses the device of claim 61, wherein the first and third data frame use a same frequency resource (Paragraph 0023, 0027 Consequently, both downlink and uplink interference generated by this UE 106 to other UEs 106 in the network, which use the same frequency resources at the same time, can be reduced and this reduction improves the overall system performance. These synchronization signals may use pre-defined signal structure and time-frequency resources to allow a UE to quickly locate the synchronization signals without any user intervention. The disclosed techniques can be implemented to encode information in such synchronization signals to enable UEs to locate, in the time-frequency plane of transmission resources, time slots and subcarriers on which the geometry signals are transmitted from among various possibilities).
Claim 64 is a method claim corresponding to the method claim 1 that has been rejected above. Applicant attention is directed to the rejection of claim 1. Claim 64 is rejected under the same rational as claim 1.
Response to Argument(s)
Applicant's argument(s) filed on January 20, 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Therefore, rejection is maintained.
In the remarks, the Applicant argues in substance that:
Gao describes "a wireless HetNet deployment scenario," but makes no mention of "a wireless backhaul link," as positively recited in claim 1. Also, Rubin mentions a "a wireless back haul," but does not describe a "transmission time interval" associated with the wireless back haul, much less any relation between such a transmission time interval and a slot duration. Therefore, Gao and Rubin fails to disclose "transmitting a first transport block over a wireless backhaul link using a first transmission time interval . . . the first transmission time interval corresponding to a slot duration ... wherein one transport block is transmitted per stream per transmission time interval for the first and second transmission time intervals," as recited in claim 1.
In support of the rejection, the Examiner acknowledged that the PSS and SSS in Gao correspond to the first and second transport blocks of claim 1. The Examiner acknowledged that Gao et al. fails to disclose "the first transport block is transmitted specifically over a wireless backhaul link," turned to Rubin et al., and alleged that it would have been obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify Gao et al. to use the backhaul link in Rubin et al. Applicant respectfully disagrees. The PSS and SSS in Gao et al. are not transport blocks. Instead, they are synchronization signals. As such, modifying the PSS and SSS in Gao et al. to be transmitted over a backhaul link would still fail to disclose or suggest transmitting a transport block over a backhaul link, specifically, "transmitting a first transport block over a wireless backhaul link using a first transmission time interval . ..
• In response to argument(s):
Examiner respectively disagrees. Applicant is reminded that claims must be given their broadest reasonable interpretation. One cannot show nonobviousness by attacking references individually where the rejections are based on combinations of references. In reKeller, 642 F.2d 413, 208 USPQ 871 (CCPA 1981); In reMerck & Co., Inc., 800 F.2d 1091, 231 USPQ 375 (Fed. Cir. 1986). With that being said, Gao (fig. 7 and ¶ 0059) discloses transmitting, by a macro base station, a first synchronization signal, PSS; and also, Gao discloses that the first synchronization signal, PSS, is transmitted using a transmission resource, e.g. time slot 0/10 REs (see Gao ¶ 0066;). Moreover, Gao (¶ 0044) discloses RE represents a subcarrier of the OFDM signal and a duration of time or a time slot; ¶ 0066 discloses the first synchronization signal may be, e.g., PSS and the first set of transmission resources may be, e.g., slot 0/10 Res and discloses a second synchronization signal (e.g., SSS) is transmitted using a second set of transmission resource (e.g., previously discussed slot 0/10 REs for SSS). The examiner agrees that Gao does not appear to explicitly disclose the first transport block is transmitted specifically over a wireless backhaul link.., and wherein one transport block is transmitted per stream per transmission time interval for the first and second transmission time intervals. To support the shortcomings of Gao, Rubin was introduced. Rubin (Figs 1, 2, 9 and ¶ 0111) discloses communication over a wireless back haul interface and discloses that all LTE network elements may communicate with the Element Management System (EMS) using the Long Haul Network. Also, Rubin discloses Video streaming may consume not only a large over-the-air bandwidth, but generally may consume a large amount of bandwidth on the back haul connection 112 between the eNB and the SGW (See ¶ 0210). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, having the teachings of Gao and Rubin before him or her, to modify the invention of Gao to use backhaul link. The suggestion for doing so would have been because backhaul link is a radio link, by operating the radio backhaul link and the access link using a time division system, it is possible to avoid radio signals of these links from interfering with each other. Thus, the combination of Gao and Rubin meets the scope of the claimed limitation as currently presented.
Examiner respectively disagrees. As mentioned above, Gao (fig. 7 and ¶ 0059) discloses transmitting, by a macro base station, a first synchronization signal, PSS; and also, Gao discloses that the first synchronization signal, PSS, is transmitted using a transmission resource, e.g. time slot 0/10 REs (see Gao ¶ 0066;). Moreover, Gao (¶ 0044) discloses RE represents a subcarrier of the OFDM signal and a duration of time or a time slot; ¶ 0066 discloses the first synchronization signal may be, e.g., PSS and the first set of transmission resources may be, e.g., slot 0/10 Res and discloses a second synchronization signal (e.g., SSS) is transmitted using a second set of transmission resource (e.g., previously discussed slot 0/10 REs for SSS). The examiner agrees that Gao does not appear to explicitly disclose the first transport block is transmitted specifically over a wireless backhaul link.., and wherein one transport block is transmitted per stream per transmission time interval for the first and second transmission time intervals. To support the shortcomings of Gao, Rubin was introduced. Rubin (Figs 1, 2, 9 and ¶ 0111) discloses communication over a wireless back haul interface and discloses that all LTE network elements may communicate with the Element Management System (EMS) using the Long Haul Network. Also, Rubin discloses Video streaming may consume not only a large over-the-air bandwidth, but generally may consume a large amount of bandwidth on the back haul connection 112 between the eNB and the SGW (See ¶ 0210). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, having the teachings of Gao and Rubin before him or her, to modify the invention of Gao to use backhaul link. The suggestion for doing so would have been because backhaul link is a radio link, by operating the radio backhaul link and the access link using a time division system, it is possible to avoid radio signals of these links from interfering with each other. Thus, the combination of Gao and Rubin meets the scope of the claimed limitation as currently presented.
Examiner’s Note
Examiner is open for discussion if the applicant’s representative need further clarifications.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. (See form 892).
Conclusion
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/SYED ALI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2463
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