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 .
The response filed on 12/15/2025 has been entered and made of record.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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 1-2, 4-14 and 16-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over EP 3364554 A1 (Choi et al., hereinafter Choi) in view of US 20250192830 A1 (Frenger et al., hereinafter).
Regrading claim 1, Choi discloses a device (Fig. 6, “wireless communications device 200”), comprising:
an antenna arrangement (Fig. 6, showing MIMO antenna configuration/arrangement); and
a processor circuit (Figs 3 and 6, “controller 240”), wherein the processor circuit is arranged to control an antenna radiation pattern of the antenna arrangement (Fig. 3, “radio signal processing unit (RU)”, “digital signal processing unit (DU) 230”, and “controller 240” coordinate to steer the antenna radiation pattern of the antenna),
wherein the antenna radiation pattern comprises a main lobe (Fig. 6, please see the protruding longer, main lobe in “Beam #1”, “Beam #3” and “Beam #7”), at least one side lobe (Fig. 6, please see the smaller side lobes of “beams #1”, “Beam #3” and “Beam #7”) and a null between the main lobe and the at least one side lobe (Fig. 6, please see the space between the main and side lobes of “Beam #1”, “Beam #3” and “Beam #7”),
where the processor circuit is arranged to control the antenna radiation pattern to direct the main lobe along a path to a communication partner (Figs. 4 and 6; par. [0046]-[0047], “the RF signal processor 210…adjusts the shape and direction of the beam using the differences of the amplitude and phase of a carrier signal in the RF band…”; thus, the processors in “wireless communication device 200” stir/direct/control the main lobe of Beam #1 along a path towards terminal 100-1, since the power is concentrated in the main lobe towards the direction of terminal 100-1. Please see also pars. [0045]-[0047] and [0069]) in a wireless communication network (par. [0003], “5th generation (5G) mobile networks”),
wherein the processor circuit is arranged to control a sidelobe [polarization] of the at least one side lobe, and/or to control a main lobe [polarization] of the main lobe so as to address interference from and/or to a second device (Fig. 6, “device 100-2” corresponds to “second device”; Figs. 4 and par. [0046]-[0047], “the RF signal processor 210…adjusts the shape and direction of the beam using the differences of the amplitude and phase of a carrier signal in the RF band…” when the direction of the main lobe is adjusted/changed, the direction/angle of the side lobes as well as the nulls is changed. par. [0070], “…there may be some degree of interference between the terminals 100. … an operation of measuring the channel state information (CSI) is continued in order to suppress the interference caused by the sidelobes between the beaming signals allocated with the same frequency-time resource (S410).” And par. [0077], “After calculating the beamforming signal causing the radio interference based on the channel state information and the angle-of-arrivals, the analog beamforming control module 241 in the wireless communications device 200 may null the beamforming signal having caused the radio interference to suppress the interference (S418). The first removal (i.e., nulling) of the beamforming signal may be accomplished by removing sidelobes having caused the radio interference. Where the mobile device 100-1 while moving, measures interference, sends feedback to the device (BS) 200, which in turn, uses the feedback information to suppress interference by removing sidelobes, which eventually remove nulls.
This removal process, changes the direction of the side lobes, as well as the nulls).
Choi discloses control of sidelobe and main lobe direction. It is noted that lobe direction and polarization can be used interchangeably: however, given arguendo and for the sake of completeness, the examiner is introducing a new reference that explicitly discloses controlling the polarization of the side lobe and/or main lobe.
In related art, concerning arrangement and method for handling communications, Frenger discloses controlling the polarization of the side lobe and/or main lobe (par. [0037], “… antenna elements configured to transmit and/or receive different beams with different main-lobe directions and/or polarizations. The beamforming unit of each group of antenna elements may comprise a butler matrix …”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to use Frenger’s teachings about controlling the polarization of the side lobe and/or main lobe with the wireless communication method and device using hybrid beamforming disclosed by Choi because one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that by adjusting the polarizations of the sidelobes and/or main lobe, interference to adjacent antenna elements is reduced.
Regrading claim 19, Choi discloses a method for operating a device in a wireless communication network (Fig. 4 and par. [0074]), the method comprising: forming an antenna radiation pattern for communicating with a communication partner (Fig. 6, terminal 100-1), wherein the antenna radiation pattern comprises a main lobe (Fig. 6, “Beam #1”, please see the protruding longer, main lobe), and, at least one side lobe (Fig. 6, please see the smaller side lobes of beams #1), and a null between the main lobe and the side lobe (Fig. 6, please see the space between the main and side lobes of Beam #1);
directing the main lobe along a path to the communication partner (Figs. 4 and 6, Beam #1 is focused/directed towards terminal 100-1 and par. [0069] “In order to reduce such interferences, the wireless communications device 200 schedules the allocation of the beamforming signals in different directions for the plurality of terminals based on the SINR (S408). For this operation, the wireless communications device 200 allocates the same frequency-time resource, among the frequency-time resources prepared for the beam search, to terminals that bear the least interference while allocating different frequency-time resources to terminals suffering from severe interferences. For example, in FIG. 6, the signals that may be assigned with the same frequency-time resource may be the first beam (beam #1) and a seventh beam (beam #7) between which little interference is occurred.”)); and
controlling a sidelobe ]polarization] of the at least one side lobe, and/or controlling a main lobe [polarization] of the main lobe to address interference from and/or to a second device (Figs. 4 and 6 par. [0070], “…there may be some degree of interference between the terminals 100. … an operation of measuring the channel state information (CSI) is continued in order to suppress the interference caused by the sidelobes between the beaming signals allocated with the same frequency-time resource (S410).” And par. [0077], “After calculating the beamforming signal causing the radio interference based on the channel state information and the angle-of-arrivals, the analog beamforming control module 241 in the wireless communications device 200 may null the beamforming signal having caused the radio interference to suppress the interference (S418). The first removal (i.e., nulling) of the beamforming signal may be accomplished by removing sidelobes having caused the radio interference.)”.
Choi discloses control of sidelobe and main lobe direction. It is noted that lobe direction and polarization can be used interchangeably: however, given arguendo and for the sake of completeness, the examiner is introducing a new reference that explicitly discloses controlling the polarization of the side lobe and/or main lobe.
Frenger discloses controlling the polarization of the side lobe and/or main lobe (par. [0037], “… antenna elements configured to transmit and/or receive different beams with different main-lobe directions and/or polarizations. The beamforming unit of each group of antenna elements may comprise a butler matrix …”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to use Frenger’s teachings about controlling the polarization of the side lobe and/or main lobe with the wireless communication method and device using hybrid beamforming disclosed by Choi because one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that by adjusting the polarizations of the sidelobes and/or main lobe, interference to adjacent antenna elements is reduced.
Regrading claim 20, Choi and Frenger disclose discloses all the limitations of claim 1. Chois further discloses a non-transitory digital storage medium having a computer program stored thereon to perform the method of claim 19 when said computer program is run by a computer (par. [0082], where a processor, memory and software in conjunction can be consider a computer).
Regrading claim 2, Choi and Frenger disclose all the limitations of claim 1. Choi further discloses wherein the device is arranged to transmit a transmit signal with the antenna arrangement using the antenna radiation pattern and/or to receive a receive signal using the antenna radiation pattern (par. [0006], “The beamforming refers to… directional signal transmission or reception in such a way that the energy radiated from or received by an antenna is concentrated in a particular direction in space. …”).
Regrading claim 4, Choi and Frenger disclose all the limitations of claim 1. Choi further discloses wherein the processor circuit is arranged to control the at least one side lobe in view of a level of power transmission between the device and the second device along at least one path between the device and the second device in a radio propagation environment (par. [0056], “The analog beamforming control module 241 may control the RF signal processor 210 to remove sidelobes based on an angle-of-arrival (AoA) additionally”).
Regrading claim 5, Choi and Frenger disclose all the limitations of claim 4. Choi further discloses wherein the communication partner (Fig. 6, “terminal 102-1”) is located further from the device than the second device (Fig. 6, terminal 100-1), wherein the second device is located as a near device (Fig. 6, terminal 100-1 is located near terminal 100-2).
Regrading claim 6, Choi and Frenger disclose all the limitations of claim 1. Choi further discloses wherein the processor circuit is arranged to control the direction of the at least one side lobe to address interference from and/or to the second device (par. [0077], Where the mobile device 100-1 while moving, measures interference, sends feedback to the device (BS) 200, which in turn, uses the feedback information to suppress interference by removing sidelobes, which eventually remove nulls. This removal process, changes the direction of the side lobes, as well as the nulls; and par. [0059], “inter-user interference”).
Regrading claim 7, Choi and Frenger disclose all the limitations of claim 1. Choi further discloses wherein the processor circuit is arranged to:
select a selected antenna radiation pattern from a plurality of possible antenna radiation patterns, and adapt the selected antenna radiation pattern to produce an adapted radiation pattern, wherein the adapted radiation pattern reduces the interference between the device and the second device when compared to the selected antenna radiation pattern; or
select the selected antenna radiation pattern from the plurality of possible antenna radiation patterns:
such that the interference is below a predefined interference threshold between the device and the further device; or
to minimize the interference between the device and the second device whilst providing for an energy transmission above a predefined transmission threshold between the device and the communication partner, or
to maximize an energy transmission between the device and the communication partner (Fig. 2 and par. [0062], “wireless communications device 200 carries out the beam search to transmit the beamforming signal to a plurality of terminals 100 (S402). Accordingly, the plurality of terminals 100 measure the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) for a plurality of beams radiated in different directions from the wireless communications device 200 and generate information of the measured SINR (S404). The wireless communications device 200 receives, from the plurality of terminals 100, SINR measurement information measured for each of the plurality of beamforming signals (S406).” Please see also pars. [0045], “RF signal processor 210 is connected to a plurality of antennas and processes signals transmitted and received through the antennas. Here, the antennas may be implemented by a phased array antenna, an adaptive array antenna, or a digital beamforming (DBF) antenna”, where AAAs change radiation patterns dynamically according to the movement of the intended/target user and the movement of interference and signals are weighted and combined to increase the desired signal versus the interfering signals and [0070]. Only one of the selections provided is required).
Regrading claim 8, Choi and Frenger disclose all the limitations of claim 1. Choi further discloses wherein the antenna radiation pattern comprises a plurality of side lobes, wherein the processor circuit is arranged to control the sidelobes and/or the antenna radiation pattern based on a codebook and/or based on an adaptive antenna array (Fig. 2 and pars. [0049]-[0050], [0062] and [0070], only one of the selections provided is required).
Regrading claim 9, Choi and Frenger disclose all the limitations of claim 1. Choi further discloses wherein the device is arranged to acquire information about a location of the second device and/or about at least one direction of a relevant multipath component between the device and the second device wherein the processor circuit is arranged to control the side lobe to reduce an amount of power transfer along the at least one direction so as to address the interference (pars. [0049]-[0050], [0056], [0058] “The analog beamforming control module 241 may control the RF signal processor 210 to remove sidelobes based on an angle-of-arrival (AoA) additionally” and par. [0059], “inter-user interference”).
Regrading claim 10, Choi and Frenger disclose all the limitations of claim 1. Choi further discloses wherein the device is arrange to acquire information about a request to reduce interference at a location of the second device wherein the information is based on a report of the second device or based on instructions received from the wireless communication network (par. [0062], “plurality of terminals 100 measure the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) for a plurality of beams radiated in different directions from the wireless communications device 200 and generate information of the measured SINR (S404).” Par. [0070], “an operation of measuring the channel state information (CSI) is continued in order to suppress the interference caused by the sidelobes between the beaming signals allocated with the same frequency-time resource (S410)”).
Regrading claim 11, Choi and Frenger disclose all the limitations of claim 1. Choi further discloses wherein the device is configured for receiving directly or indirectly a report about a measure of the interference (par. [0062], “plurality of terminals 100 measure the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) for a plurality of beams radiated in different directions from the wireless communications device 200 and generate information of the measured SINR (S404).” Par. [0070], “an operation of measuring the channel state information (CSI) is continued in order to suppress the interference caused by the sidelobes between the beaming signals allocated with the same frequency-time resource (S410)”).
Regrading claim 12, Choi and Frenger disclose all the limitations of claim 11. Choi further discloses wherein the report is based on a reception of wireless energy transmitted by the device; and/or comprises a prediction based on a location or movement of the device (par. [0062], “plurality of terminals 100 measure the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) for a plurality of beams radiated in different directions from the wireless communications device 200 and generate information of the measured SINR (S404).”).
Regrading claim 13, Choi and Frenger disclose all the limitations of claim 11. Choi further discloses wherein the device is arranged to receive the report from the second device (Fig. 4 and par. [0062], “plurality of terminals 100 measure the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) for a plurality of beams radiated in different directions from the wireless communications device 200 and generate information of the measured SINR (S404).”).
Regrading claim 14, Choi and Frenger disclose all the limitations of claim 1. Choi further discloses wherein the at least one side lobe comprises a plurality of side lobes, wherein the processor circuit is arranged to control the plurality of side lobes of the antenna radiation pattern so as to address interference from and/or to a plurality of locations (pars. [0055]-[0056], “analog beamforming control module 241 controls the RF signal processing unit 210 to remove sidelobes…”).
Regrading claim 16, Choi and Frenger disclose all the limitations of claim 1. Choi further discloses wherein the processor circuit is arranged to perform is configured for performing a beam sweeping procedure to address the interference in which the antenna radiation pattern is at least in parts moved in space (pars. [0048]-[0049], “The baseband signal processor 220 receives a baseband digital signal output by the RF signal processor 210 and performs spatial processing on the signal. …”).
Regrading claim 17, Choi and Frenger disclose all the limitations of claim 1. Choi further discloses wherein the processor circuit is arranged to perform, responsive to having acquired information about a request to reduce interference at a location of the second device at least one of:
a renegotiation between devices forming a link in which the device is one part of that link, where the link was previously formed via a negotiation (before a signal is transmitted, there is negotiation between the transmitting and receiving devices);
a pattern restriction of the antenna radiation pattern characteristic in at least one direction;
an action to achieve a specific goal or target (goals or targets can be removal of interference, achieving a certain power level, using a certain antenna/s, rotating a certain angle, among many other goals or targets);
an action in response to a specific command (actions follow after the processor receives commands. Note: the above limitations are too broad); and
an action using selective code book entries or beam indices (Fig. 2 and pars. [0062],[0070], where based a BS or gNB, based on CSI reports from at least a UE, selects a “best” codebook matrix that is a best fit for downlink transmission).
Regrading claim 18, Choi and Frenger disclose all the limitations of claim 1. Choi further discloses wherein the device comprises one of: a base station configured for operating a cell of the wireless communication network, or a user equipment operating in the cell (par. [0089], where BSs operate cells).
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Choi in view of Frenger, and further in view of US 2015/0080039 A1 (Ling et al., hereinafter Ling).
Regrading claim 3, Choi and Frenger disclose all the limitations of claim 1. Choi further discloses wherein the processor circuit is arranged to control a direction of the at least one side lobe, and/or to control a direction of the null, so as to address the interference from and/or to the second device, without removing the at least one side lobe.
Choi discloses beam suppression which can include both beam reduction or
beam removal. However, given arguendo and for the sake of completeness, the
examiner is introducing a new reference that explicitly discloses controlling the
direction of the side lobe without removing the at least one side lobe.
In related art, concerning systems and methods for millimeter-wave-connected
data center, Ling explicitly discloses controlling the direction of the side lobe without
removing the at least one side lobe (Figs 8-10 and pars. [0070]-[0078], please see
change in a direction of sidebeam 902(2) from T1 to T2 without being removed).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the
effective filing date of the invention to use Ling's explicit teachings about controlling
the direction of the side lobe without removing the at least one side lobe with the
wireless communication method and device using hybrid beamforming disclosed by
Choi and Frenger because one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that by adjusting the direction of the sidelobe that are causing interference ("problematic"), the quality of the transmit signal is improved by removing the interference caused by the sidelobes at the receiving end of the counterpart devices.
Claim 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Choi in view of Frenger, and further in view of US 2009/0243931 A1 (Weckerle et al., hereinafter Weckerle).
Regrading claim 15, Choi and Frenger disclose all the limitations of claim 1.
Although implied, due to the direction of tilting of the main lobe, Choi does not specifically disclose wherein the at least one side lobe comprises at least a first side lobe and a second side lobe, wherein the processor circuit is arranged to control the, first side lobe and the second side lobe based on a sidelobe-by-sidelobe assessment, to address the interference and additional interference to an additional device (pars. [0005]-[0010]. Please see also par. [0049], “a configuration suitable for calculating each weight vector in such a manner that the shape of a transmitted or received beam converges to a desired beam pattern through a closed loop circuit”, suggesting a weighted consideration of each antenna beam pattern; thus, each lobe of the beam pattern would be steered in the direction away from the interference of devices located on the left or right of the interfered device).
In related art concerning an apparatus for power loss compensation and suppression of sidelobes in antenna arrays, Weckerle more explicitly disclose wherein the at least one side lobe comprises at least a first side lobe and a second side lobe, wherein the processor circuit is arranged to control the, first side lobe and the second side lobe based on a sidelobe-by-sidelobe assessment, to address the interference and additional interference to an additional device (Figs 3 and 4 and pars [0035]-[0036], where the sidelobe angle and signal strength of each side lobe is modified independently based on sidelobe-by-sidelobe).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to use Weckerle’s teachings wherein the at least one side lobe comprises at least a first side lobe and a second side lobe, wherein the processor circuit is arranged to control the, first side lobe and the second side lobe based on a sidelobe-by-sidelobe assessment, to address the interference and additional interference to an additional device with the wireless communication method and device using hybrid beamforming disclosed by Choi and Frenger because one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that “This is advantageous as the lower sidelobes 220L and 230L tilting downwards point within the cell and cannot interfere with the transmitters in other cells. The upper sidelobes 220u and 230u tilted upwards risk interference with adjacent cells and therefore it is advantageous to reduce the size of the upper sidelobes 220u and 230u substantially (Weckerle, par. [0034]).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-20 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US 20160380355 A1 Relates to configurable antenna and method of operating such a configurable antenna.
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Angelica Perez whose telephone number is 571-272-7885. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, Applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's supervisor, Yuwen (Kevin) Pan can be reached at (571) 272-7855. The fax phone numbers for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned are 571-273-8300 for regular communications and for After Final communications.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either the PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through the Private PAIR only. For more information about the pair system, see http://pair- direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll- free). Information regarding Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system can be found at 866-217-9197 (toll-free).
Any inquiry of a general nature or relating to the status of this application or proceeding should be directed to the TC 2600's customer service number is 703-306-0377.
/Angelica M. Perez/
Primary Examiner AU 2649