DETAILED ACTION
Claims status
In response to the amended application filed on 02/12/2026, claims 1-20, and 28-37 are currently pending for the examination. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
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 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.
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.
The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1-5, 7-10, 12-13, 28-34, and 36 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CHRISTOFFERSSON et al. (US 2019/0208539 A1) in view of BAGHEL et al. (US 2020/0029202 A1) and further in view of LI et al. (US 2024/0259989 A1).
Regarding claim 1; Christoffersson teaches a device for wireless communication at a device (See Fig. 9: Group Coordinator for a device. ¶ [0084]), comprising: a processor; memory coupled with the processor; and instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the device to:
receive, from a network entity via an access link, a sidelink grant for forwarding a combined uplink grant to a plurality of user equipments (UEs) (See Fig. 5B and 6: At step 310, the coordinator UE 10 receives the Group UL Grant (i.e., grant to multiple UEs) from the Network Node or base station 20 to forward to the UEs group. ¶ [0075]);
transmit, to the plurality of UEs, an indication that meta-surface enabled multiple access for the UEs has been granted (See Fig. 9: At event 710 the Network Node or base station sends the Group UL Grant (i.e., indicating the UEs for enabling UL transmission). This is sent via the coordinator UE's PDCCH and also the PDCCH associated with the group ID. ¶ [0084]));
transmit, based on the combined uplink grant, individual uplink grants to the plurality of UEs in accordance with the grant (See Fig. 9: in response to the Group UL grant request to relay the grant, the Group Coordinator to transmit/inform the UL grants to the group devices of the group 1 on request. ¶ [0084]); and
configure, via a control signal, a meta-surface (See Figs. 2 and 3: See wireless communication interfaces and antenna (i.e., meta-surface). ¶ [0058]) to redirect (See Fig. 5b and 6: If, as determine at step 320, relayed grant mode is selected in step 300, the method moves to step 330 and the coordinator UE relays or redirects the received UL grant to each device of the group…Finally, at step 340 the coordinating UE 10 transmits data as part of a group transmission. ¶ [0075]) one or more uplink transmissions from the plurality of UEs to the network entity in accordance with the individual uplink grants (See Fig. 8: At step 620 the Network Node or base station is configured to receive the data transmission from the group 1 (i.e., the individual UEs group). At event 740 each member of the group 1 transmits the data for the group transmission after the specified additional delay d.. ¶ [0077]) and in accordance with the indication (See Fig. 9: Based on the indication of the group UL Grant. ¶ [0084]).
Even though, Christoffersson teaches receiving the Group UL grant from the Network node and transmitting the UL grant to the group of UEs, Christoffersson doesn’t explicitly describe using the sidelink grant and indicating enabled multiple access.
However, BAGHEL from the same or similar fields of endeavor further discloses a method wherein using the sidelink grant (BAGHEL: a time delta indication specifying a time delta from a first sidelink grant, corresponding to one of the two different RAT sidelinks, for a second sidelink grant, corresponding to another one of the two different RAT sidelinks. ¶ [0008]) and indicating enabled multiple access for the plurality of UEs (Baghel: the indication can be an indication that the UE 104 can or cannot simultaneously transmit (e.g., to one or more other UEs) using the two (or more) different RAT sidelinks (i.e., multi access for UEs). For example, capability indicating component 142 can transmit the indication per band or combination of bands. For example, the indication can include one or more sets of band combinations in the multiple RATs over which the UE 104 can support. ¶ [0059]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to provide the method wherein using the sidelink grant and indicating enabled multiple access as taught by BAGHEL to have incorporated in the system of Christoffersson, so that it would provide to determine that a time at which the sidelink grant is effective by applying the time delta to a current time during which the sidelink grant is received, and can transmit, to one or more UEs and based at least in part on determining occurrence of the time at which the sidelink grant is effective, data over the first resources or the second resources as indicated by the sidelink grant. BAGHEL: ¶ [0069].
Neither Christoffersson nor BAGHEL discloses using the meta-surface via reflection or refraction. However, LI teaches the method wherein using the meta-surface via reflection or refraction (LI: The surface of the RSU is provided with a reflecting material, or the surface of each of the RSUs is a meta-surface or a smart meta-surface. ¶ [0212]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to provide the method wherein using the meta-surface via reflection or refraction as taught by LI to have incorporated in the system of Christoffersson, so that it would provide that the meta-surface or the smart meta-surface can improve reflection power by not changing a reflection angle of a light wave, a laser radar reflection wave/frequency modulation continuous wave, or a millimeter-wave radar reflection wave/frequency modulation continuous wave. LI: ¶ [0225].
[Office’s Note: Because of the alternative claim language such as “at least one of…” and “one or more of…”, only one of the alternative limitations has been analyzed by the examiner].
Regarding claim 2; Christoffersson teaches the apparatus wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to:
transmit, to the network entity via the access link, an indication of the plurality of UEs associated with the meta-surface (See Figs. 6-8: the group coordinator UE may also notify the Network Node or base station 20 of the delay D that is to be used so that the Network Node or base station can expect the delayed transmission. ¶ [0078]); and
receive, from the network entity via the access link, a combined uplink grant for the plurality of UEs. (See Figs. 6-8: The link quality indicates the likelihood of the respective UE successfully receiving the Group UL Grant directly from the Network Node or base station 20 and also the chances of a successful uplink data transmission. ¶ [0080]).
Regarding claim 3; Christoffersson teaches the apparatus of claim 1, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to:
transmit, to the network entity via the access link, a request to enable (Christoffersson: the devices might communicate using the LTE Device-to-Device (D2D) communication service that enables communication between user equipment devices when these are in proximity to one another. ¶ [0064]) a multiple access communication scheme for the plurality of UEs via the meta-surface (See Fig. 5b: transmit a grant for the group transmission, and receive the data transmission in response to the grant. ¶ [0049]); and
receive, based at least in part on the request, a response message indicating that the multiple access communication scheme is enabled for the plurality of UEs, wherein the individual uplink grants are transmitted based at least in part on receiving the response message (See Fig. 6: transmit a grant for the group transmission, and receive the data transmission in response to the grant. ¶ [0049]).
Regarding claim 4; Christoffersson teaches the apparatus of claim 3, wherein the request further comprises an identifier associated with the device, an identifier associated with the plurality of UEs, one or more identifiers for individual UEs of the plurality of UEs, or any combination thereof (Christoffersson: All the UE devices operating in the group use the same user identification or group identifier. The network, and specifically Network Node or base station 20 thus views the group as a single UE device. ¶ [0062]).
Regarding claim 5; Christoffersson teaches the apparatus wherein the request further comprises one or more channel measurement reports for one or more channels between the meta- surface and one or more UEs of the plurality of UEs (Christoffersson: the at least one condition to be determined includes: the quality of the uplink and/or downlink between the group of devices and the network node relative to a threshold; the size of the group of devices relative to a threshold; the type of traffic to be transmitted as part of a group transmission, the rate of uplink retransmission relative to a threshold, receipt of a notification from one of the other devices of said group of devices, and receipt of a notification from said network node indicating the use of a direct grant mode or relayed grant mode. ¶ [0012-0013]).
Regarding claim 7.; Christoffersson teaches the apparatus wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: transmit an indication of a multiple access scheme associated with the plurality of UEs (Christoffersson: responding to said grant by transmitting data to the network node as part of a group transmission. ¶ [0048]).
Regarding claim 8; Christoffersson in view of BAGHEL teaches the apparatus wherein the combined uplink grant comprises an indication of a bandwidth part associated with the combined uplink grant, an indication of a common resource allocation (BAGHEL: An SR is transmitted by the UE on a specific physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) resource allocated by the eNB to the UE. If the UE has an existing uplink resource grant, the UE may include the BSR along with information or data in a transmission(s) in the existing uplink resource grant. If the UE does not have either a PUCCH resource allocated for SR nor an existing uplink resource grant, ¶ [0027]), an identifier associated with the plurality of UEs, a list of UEs of the plurality of UEs that are scheduled by the combined uplink grant (Christoffersson: the grant is received by one UE only, namely a coordinator UE, the coordinator of the group, and relayed by that UE to the other members of the group. This second approach is hereinafter referred to as a relayed grant mode. In an example applied to 3GPP LTE, this means that the coordinator UE receives a Group UL Grant either via the PDCCH associated with its own C-RNTI or via the PDCCH associated with the group C-RNTI and forwards this grant to the UEs in the group using D2D/sidelink transmission. ¶ [0045]).
[Office’s Note: Because of the alternative claim language such as “or”, only one of the alternative limitations has been analyzed by the examiner].
Regarding claim 9; Christoffersson teaches the apparatus wherein the individual uplink grants indicate a bandwidth part for the one or more uplink transmissions (Christoffersson: One of the conditions that may be determined by the coordinating UE 10 and/or the Network Node or base station 20 is the link quality (uplink and/or downlink) between each group member and the Network Node or base station 20. This information can be signaled to the coordinating UE or Network Node or base station 20 either on request or spontaneously. ¶ [0080]).
Regarding claim 10; Christoffersson teaches the apparatus wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: receive one or more measurement reports for one or more channels associated with the plurality of UEs and the meta-surface; and transmit, to the network entity via the access link, an indication of the plurality of UEs associated with the meta-surface, wherein the indication of the plurality of UEs comprises an indication of a multiple access group that includes the plurality of UEs based at least in part on the one or more measurement reports (Christoffersson: One of the conditions that may be determined by the coordinating UE 10 and/or the Network Node or base station 20 is the link quality (uplink and/or downlink) between each group member and the Network Node or base station 20. This information can be signaled to the coordinating UE or Network Node or base station 20 either on request or spontaneously. The link quality indicates the likelihood of the respective UE successfully receiving the Group UL Grant directly from the Network Node or base station 20 and also the chances of a successful uplink data transmission. ¶ [0080]).
Regarding claim 12; Christoffersson teaches the apparatus wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: receive, from the plurality of UEs, one or more meta-surface configurations for individual UEs of the plurality of UEs; wherein the control signal indicates to redirect the one or more uplink transmissions based at least in part on the one or more meta-surface configurations (Christoffersson: In FIG. 1a , downlink control data is received by the coordinator UE 10 as illustrated by the single-line arrow. The coordinator then forwards this data to the other UEs of the group, 12, 14, as shown by the single line arrows between UE 10 and UEs 12, 14. ¶ [0004]).
Regarding claim 13; Christoffersson teaches the apparatus wherein the device is a meta-surface controller (See Figs. 2-3: Among these components are one or more antennas, 100-1, via which the UE device 10 may transmit signals towards the Network Node or base station 20 or other UE devices 12, 14 and receive signals therefrom. In 5G communications, the antennas are built on meta-surfaces for transmitting and receiving signals. ¶ [0058]).
Regarding claim 28; Christoffersson teaches a method for a wireless communication at a device, comprising:
receiving, from a network entity via an access link, a sidelink grant for forwarding a combined uplink grant to a plurality of user equipments (UEs) (See Fig. 5B and 6: At step 310, the coordinator UE 10 receives the Group UL Grant (i.e., grant to multiple UEs) from the Network Node or base station 20 to forward to the UEs group. ¶ [0075]);
transmitting, based at least in part on the combined uplink grant, individual uplink grants to the plurality of UEs in accordance with the sidelink grant (See Fig. 5B and 6: If, as determine at step 320, relayed grant mode is selected in step 300, the method moves to step 330 and the coordinator UE relays the received UL grant to each device of the group (i.e., transmitting to individual UL grants to UEs). ¶ [0075]);
transmitting, based on the combined uplink grant, individual uplink grants to the plurality of UEs in accordance with the grant (See Fig. 9: in response to the Group UL grant request to relay the grant, the Group Coordinator to transmit/inform the UL grants to the group devices of the group 1 on request. ¶ [0084]); and
configuring, via a control signal, a meta-surface (See Figs. 2 and 3: for wireless communication interfaces and antenna (i.e., meta-surface). ¶ [0058]) to redirect (See Fig. 5b and 6: If, as determine at step 320, relayed grant mode is selected in step 300, the method moves to step 330 and the coordinator UE relays or redirects the received UL grant to each device of the group…Finally, at step 340 the coordinating UE 10 transmits data as part of a group transmission. ¶ [0075]) one or more uplink transmissions from the plurality of UEs to the network entity in accordance with the individual uplink grants (See Fig. 8: At step 620 the Network Node or base station receives the data transmission from the group 1 (i.e., the individual UEs group). ¶ [0077]).
Even though, Christoffersson teaches receiving the Group UL grant from the Network node and transmitting the UL grant to the group of UEs, Christoffersson doesn’t explicitly describe using the sidelink grant and indicating enabled multiple access.
However, BAGHEL from the same or similar fields of endeavor further discloses a method wherein using the sidelink grant (BAGHEL: a time delta indication specifying a time delta from a first sidelink grant, corresponding to one of the two different RAT sidelinks, for a second sidelink grant, corresponding to another one of the two different RAT sidelinks. ¶ [0008]) and indicating enabled multiple access for the plurality of UEs (Baghel: the indication can be an indication that the UE 104 can or cannot simultaneously transmit (e.g., to one or more other UEs) using the two (or more) different RAT sidelinks (i.e., multi access for UEs). For example, capability indicating component 142 can transmit the indication per band or combination of bands. For example, the indication can include one or more sets of band combinations in the multiple RATs over which the UE 104 can support. ¶ [0059]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to provide the method wherein using the sidelink grant and indicating enabled multiple access as taught by BAGHEL to have incorporated in the system of Christoffersson, so that it would provide to determine that a time at which the sidelink grant is effective by applying the time delta to a current time during which the sidelink grant is received, and can transmit, to one or more UEs and based at least in part on determining occurrence of the time at which the sidelink grant is effective, data over the first resources or the second resources as indicated by the sidelink grant. BAGHEL: ¶ [0069].
Neither Christoffersson nor BAGHEL discloses using the meta-surface via reflection or refraction. However, LI teaches the method wherein using the meta-surface via reflection or refraction (LI: The surface of the RSU is provided with a reflecting material, or the surface of each of the RSUs is a meta-surface or a smart meta-surface. ¶ [0212]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to provide the method wherein using the meta-surface via reflection or refraction as taught by LI to have incorporated in the system of Christoffersson, so that it would provide that the meta-surface or the smart meta-surface can improve reflection power by not changing a reflection angle of a light wave, a laser radar reflection wave/frequency modulation continuous wave, or a millimeter-wave radar reflection wave/frequency modulation continuous wave. LI: ¶ [0225].
[Office’s Note: Because of the alternative claim language such as “at least one of…” and “one or more of…”, only one of the alternative limitations has been analyzed by the examiner].
Regarding claim 29; Christoffersson teaches the method comprising:
transmitting, to the network entity via the access link, an indication of the plurality of UEs associated with the meta-surface (See Figs. 6-8: the group coordinator UE may also notify the Network Node or base station 20 of the delay D that is to be used so that the Network Node or base station can expect the delayed transmission. ¶ [0078]); and
receiving, from the network entity via the access link, a combined uplink grant for the plurality of UEs. (See Figs. 6-8: The link quality indicates the likelihood of the respective UE successfully receiving the Group UL Grant directly from the Network Node or base station 20 and also the chances of a successful uplink data transmission. ¶ [0080]).
Regarding claim 30; Christoffersson teaches the method comprising:
transmitting, to the network entity via the access link, a request to enable (Christoffersson: the devices might communicate using the LTE Device-to-Device (D2D) communication service that enables communication between user equipment devices when these are in proximity to one another. ¶ [0064]) a multiple access communication scheme for the plurality of UEs via the meta-surface (See Fig. 5b: transmit a grant for the group transmission, and receive the data transmission in response to the grant. ¶ [0049]); and
receiving, based at least in part on the request, a response message indicating that the multiple access communication scheme is enabled for the plurality of UEs, wherein the individual uplink grants are transmitted based at least in part on receiving the response message (See Fig. 6: transmit a grant for the group transmission, and receive the data transmission in response to the grant. ¶ [0049]).
Regarding claim 31; Christoffersson teaches the method comprising: transmitting an indication of a multiple access scheme associated with the plurality of UEs (Christoffersson: The uplink transmission of the same data jointly by several UE devices requires the joint scheduling of the multiple devices forming part of the group 1 (i.e., being indicated of multiple access). ¶ [0066]).
Regarding claim 32; Christoffersson in view of BAGHEL teaches the method wherein the combined uplink grant comprises an indication of a bandwidth part associated with the combined uplink grant, an indication of a common resource allocation (BAGHEL: An SR is transmitted by the UE on a specific physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) resource allocated by the eNB to the UE. If the UE has an existing uplink resource grant, the UE may include the BSR along with information or data in a transmission(s) in the existing uplink resource grant. If the UE does not have either a PUCCH resource allocated for SR nor an existing uplink resource grant, ¶ [0027]), an identifier associated with the plurality of UEs, a list of UEs of the plurality of UEs that are scheduled by the combined uplink grant (Christoffersson: the grant is received by one UE only, namely a coordinator UE, the coordinator of the group, and relayed by that UE to the other members of the group. This second approach is hereinafter referred to as a relayed grant mode. In an example applied to 3GPP LTE, this means that the coordinator UE receives a Group UL Grant either via the PDCCH associated with its own C-RNTI or via the PDCCH associated with the group C-RNTI and forwards this grant to the UEs in the group using D2D/sidelink transmission. ¶ [0045]).
[Office’s Note: Because of the alternative claim language such as “or”, only one of the alternative limitations has been analyzed by the examiner].
Regarding claim 33; Christoffersson teaches the method wherein the individual uplink grants indicate a bandwidth part for the one or more uplink transmissions (Christoffersson: One of the conditions that may be determined by the coordinating UE 10 and/or the Network Node or base station 20 is the link quality (uplink and/or downlink) between each group member and the Network Node or base station 20. This information can be signaled to the coordinating UE or Network Node or base station 20 either on request or spontaneously. ¶ [0080]).
Regarding claim 34; Christoffersson teaches the method wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: receive one or more measurement reports for one or more channels associated with the plurality of UEs and the meta-surface; and transmit, to the network entity via the access link, an indication of the plurality of UEs associated with the meta-surface, wherein the indication of the plurality of UEs comprises an indication of a multiple access group that includes the plurality of UEs based at least in part on the one or more measurement reports (Christoffersson: One of the conditions that may be determined by the coordinating UE 10 and/or the Network Node or base station 20 is the link quality (uplink and/or downlink) between each group member and the Network Node or base station 20. This information can be signaled to the coordinating UE or Network Node or base station 20 either on request or spontaneously. The link quality indicates the likelihood of the respective UE successfully receiving the Group UL Grant directly from the Network Node or base station 20 and also the chances of a successful uplink data transmission. ¶ [0080]).
Regarding claim 36; Christoffersson teaches the method wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: receive, from the plurality of UEs, one or more meta-surface configurations for individual UEs of the plurality of UEs; wherein the control signal indicates to redirect the one or more uplink transmissions based at least in part on the one or more meta-surface configurations (Christoffersson: In FIG. 1a , downlink control data is received by the coordinator UE 10 as illustrated by the single-line arrow. The coordinator then forwards this data to the other UEs of the group, 12, 14, as shown by the single line arrows between UE 10 and UEs 12, 14. ¶ [0004]).
Claims 14-20 and 37 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CAO et al. (US 2015/0326484 A1) in view of Christoffersson et al. (US 2019/0208539 A1) and BAGHEL et al. (US 2020/0029202 A1), and further in view of LI et al. (US 2024/0259989 A1).
Regarding claim 14; CAO teaches a device for wireless communications at a network entity (See Fig. 3: eNB 310. ¶ [0043]), comprising: a processor; memory coupled with the processor; and instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to:
receive, from a device via an access link, an indication of a plurality of user equipments (UEs) associated with a meta-surface controlled by the device (See Fig. 3: at step 315, the eNB to receive the random access procedure by selecting a preamble out of a plurality of preambles allocated for use in random access procedures and wherein the selected preamble identifying itself, such as UE identifying information, MAC identifying information along with the preamble. As shown in event 315 to receive the indication for UE 305 (i.e., the device via the access link) and UE 307 to obtain D2D resource grant for another UE 307. ¶ [0043]);
receive a sidelink grant for forwarding a combined uplink grant to a plurality of user equipments (UEs) (See Fig. 5B and 6: At step 310, the coordinator UE 10 receives the Group UL Grant (i.e., grant to multiple UEs) from the Network Node or base station 20 to forward to the UEs group. ¶ [0075]);
transmit, via the access link, an uplink grant for the plurality of UEs (See Fig. 3: at step 320, eNB 310 may, after receiving the preamble from UE 305, allocate one or more uplink resources for UE 305. eNB 310 may send/transit a message (MSG2) to UE 305, with the message including information about the uplink resource grant (i.e., an uplink grant) that eNB 310 has allocated in response to receiving the preamble (shown as event 320). The MSG2 may also include the preamble or an indicator of the preamble associated with the uplink resource grant specified in the message. ¶ [0044]);
transmit, to the device via the access link, a sidelink grant for relay by the device to the plurality of UEs (See Fig. 4: At block 435: the eNB to transmit Sidelink grant to UE 405 for relay to the UE 407.The sidelink grant both (i.e., the sidelink grant for UE 405 and UE 407) completes the contention resolution (block 435) and grants a sidelink resource to UE 405 to transmit the D2D data towards UE 407 (shown as event 440). ¶ [0054]).
Even though, Cao teaches the network entity to receive the indication of D2D resource grant for other UE 307 and transmitting the sidelink resource grants for both UE 405 and UE 407, BAGHEL doesn’t explicitly describe the grant for the plurality UEs and monitoring UL transmission from the plurality of UEs in accordance with the combined UL grant.
However, Christoffersson from the same or similar fields of endeavor further discloses the method wherein the grant for the plurality UEs (Christoffersson: See Fig. 8, At step 610, the Network Node or base station 20 transmits a Group UL Grant (i.e., combined UL grant) to the UE. Although not illustrated, it will be understood that this Group UL Grant will be transmitted in response to a scheduling request for uplink resources, or SR, from the UE. At step 620 the Network Node or base station receives the data transmission from the group 1. ¶ [0077]); and monitoring for a uplink (UL) transmission from the plurality of UEs in accordance with the combined UL grant (See Figs. 6-8: In some cases, both the group coordinator UE 10 and the Network Node or base station 20 may assess to monitor one or more conditions relating to the group or the traffic for group transmission. The selection by one or other of the elements can then depend on the specific conditions assessed. In some circumstances, it may be appropriate to use the direct grant mode by default and switch to the relayed grant mode only when the conditions render this favorable. ¶ [0078]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to provide the method wherein receiving the sidelink grant as taught by Christoffersson to have incorporated in the system of Cao, so that it would provide significant improvements in uplink coverage and user bit rate in Group Transmission of data in cellular communication system where communication between devices is affected by device-to-device technology. Christoffersson: See Abstract.
Neither Cao nor Christoffersson explicitly describes indicating enabled multiple access.
However, BAGHEL from the same or similar fields of endeavor further discloses a method wherein indicating enabled multiple access for the plurality of UEs (Baghel: the indication can be an indication that the UE 104 can or cannot simultaneously transmit (e.g., to one or more other UEs) using the two (or more) different RAT sidelinks (i.e., multi access for UEs). For example, capability indicating component 142 can transmit the indication per band or combination of bands. For example, the indication can include one or more sets of band combinations in the multiple RATs over which the UE 104 can support. ¶ [0059]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to provide the method wherein using the sidelink grant and indicating enabled multiple access as taught by BAGHEL to have incorporated in the system of Christoffersson, so that it would provide to determine that a time at which the sidelink grant is effective by applying the time delta to a current time during which the sidelink grant is received, and can transmit, to one or more UEs and based at least in part on determining occurrence of the time at which the sidelink grant is effective, data over the first resources or the second resources as indicated by the sidelink grant. BAGHEL: ¶ [0069].
Neither Christoffersson nor BAGHEL discloses using the meta-surface via reflection or refraction. However, LI teaches the method wherein using the meta-surface via reflection or refraction (LI: The surface of the RSU is provided with a reflecting material, or the surface of each of the RSUs is a meta-surface or a smart meta-surface. ¶ [0212]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to provide the method wherein using the meta-surface via reflection or refraction as taught by LI to have incorporated in the system of BAGHEL, so that it would provide that the meta-surface or the smart meta-surface can improve reflection power by not changing a reflection angle of a light wave, a laser radar reflection wave/frequency modulation continuous wave, or a millimeter-wave radar reflection wave/frequency modulation continuous wave. LI: ¶ [0225].
[Office’s Note: Because of the alternative claim language such as “at least one of” and “one or more of”, only one of the alternative limitations has been analyzed by the examiner].
Regarding claim 15; CAO teaches the apparatus wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to:
receive a request to enable meta-surface enabled multiple access for the plurality of UEs, the request comprising the indication of the plurality of UEs (See Fig. 7: The eNB may receive a message (MSG3) including a ProSe BSR, among other BSRs (block 715). ¶ [0063]); and
transmit, based at least in part on the indication of the plurality of UEs, a response message enabling the meta-surface enabled multiple access for the plurality of UEs (See Fig. 7: The eNB may grant a D2D resource in accordance with the ProSe BSR (block 720). If the MSG3 included other BSRs, the eNB may grant other resources in accordance with the other BSRs. The eNB may send a resource grant including the D2D resource to the UE (block 725). ¶ [0063]).
Regarding claim 16; CAO teaches the apparatus wherein the request further comprises an identifier associated with the device (See Fig. 2: UE 205 may also include information identifying itself, such as UE identifying information, media access control (MAC) identifying information, and the like, along with the preamble. ¶ [0028]).
Regarding claim 17; CAO in view of Christoffersson teaches the apparatus of claim 15, wherein the request further comprises one or more channel measurement reports for one or more channels between the meta- surface and the plurality of UEs (Christoffersson: (Christoffersson: One of the conditions that may be determined by the coordinating UE 10 and/or the Network Node or base station 20 is the link quality (uplink and/or downlink) between each group member and the Network Node or base station 20. This information can be signaled to the coordinating UE or Network Node or base station 20 either on request or spontaneously. The link quality indicates the likelihood of the respective UE successfully receiving the Group UL Grant directly from the Network Node or base station 20 and also the chances of a successful uplink data transmission. ¶ [0080]).
Regarding claim 18; CAO discloses the apparatus of claim 14, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: receive an indication of a multiple access scheme associated with the plurality of UEs (CAO: Specific devices may utilize all of the components shown, or only a subset of the components, and levels of integration may vary from device to device. Furthermore, a device may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processing units. ¶ [0064]).
Regarding claim 19; CAO discloses the apparatus of claim 14, wherein the combined uplink grant comprises an indication of a bandwidth part associated with the combined uplink grant (CAO: See Fig. 3, the eNB 310 may provide an additional sidelink resource grant to UE 305 (shown as event 345). The sidelink resource grant may be distinguished by a previously allocated SL-RNTI 4. Finally, UE 305 may use the sidelink resource provided by eNB 310 to transmit D2D data to UE 307 (shown as event 350). ¶ [0048]).
Regarding claim 20; CAO in view of Christoffersson teaches the apparatus of claim 14, wherein the one or more uplink transmissions comprise multiple uplink transmissions, and the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: perform a successive interference cancelation process on the multiple uplink transmissions to decode one or more of the multiple uplink transmissions (Christoffersson: If the checksum received from a specific group member does not match the checksum calculated by the coordinator UE, the coordinator UE will select relayed grant mode, but then exclude the specific group member when relaying the grant to prevent interference. ¶ [0082]).
Regarding claim 37; CAO teaches a method for wireless communications at a network entity, comprising:
receiving, from a device via an access link, an indication of a plurality of user equipments (UEs) associated with a meta-surface controlled by the device (See Fig. 3: at step 315, the eNB to receive the random access procedure by selecting a preamble out of a plurality of preambles allocated for use in random access procedures, the selected preamble identifying itself, i.e., the device UE via the access link, such as UE identifying information, MAC identifying information along with the preamble. As shown in event 315 to receive the indication for UE 305 and UE 307 to obtain D2D resource grant for another UE 307. ¶ [0043]);
receiving a sidelink grant for forwarding a combined uplink grant to a plurality of user equipments (UEs) (See Fig. 5B and 6: At step 310, the coordinator UE 10 receives the Group UL Grant (i.e., grant to multiple UEs) from the Network Node or base station 20 to forward to the UEs group. ¶ [0075]);
transmitting, via the access link, an uplink grant for the plurality of UEs (See Fig. 3: at step 320, eNB 310 may, after receiving the preamble from UE 305, allocate one or more uplink resources for UE 305. eNB 310 may send/transit a message (MSG2) to UE 305, with the message including information about the uplink resource grant (i.e., a uplink grant) that eNB 310 has allocated in response to receiving the preamble (shown as event 320). The MSG2 may also include the preamble or an indicator of the preamble associated with the uplink resource grant specified in the message. ¶ [0044]);
transmitting, to the device via the access link, a sidelink grant for relay by the device to the plurality of UEs (See Fig. 4: At block 435: the eNB to transmit Sidelink grant to UE 405 for relay to the UE 407.The sidelink grant both (i.e., the sidelink grant for UE 405 and UE 407) completes the contention resolution (block 435) and grants a sidelink resource to UE 405 to transmit the D2D data towards UE 407 (shown as event 440). ¶ [0054]).
Even though, CAO teaches the network entity to receive the indication of D2D resource grant for other UE 307 and transmitting the sidelink resource grants for both UE 405 and UE 407, CAO doesn’t explicitly describe the grant for the plurality UEs and monitoring UL transmission from the plurality of UEs in accordance with the combined UL grant.
However, Christoffersson from the same or similar fields of endeavor further discloses the method wherein the grant for the plurality UEs (Christoffersson: See Fig. 8, At step 610, the Network Node or base station 20 transmits a Group UL Grant to the UE. Although not illustrated, it will be understood that this Group UL Grant will be transmitted in response to a scheduling request for uplink resources, or SR, from the UE. At step 620 the Network Node or base station receives the data transmission from the group 1. ¶ [0077]); and monitoring for a uplink (UL) transmission from the plurality of UEs in accordance with the combined UL grant (See Figs. 6-8: In some cases, both the group coordinator UE 10 and the Network Node or base station 20 may assess to monitor one or more conditions relating to the group or the traffic for group transmission. The selection by one or other of the elements can then depend on the specific conditions assessed. In some circumstances, it may be appropriate to use the direct grant mode by default and switch to the relayed grant mode only when the conditions render this favorable. ¶ [0078]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to provide the method wherein receiving the sidelink grant as taught by Christoffersson to have incorporated in the system of CAO, so that it would provide significant improvements in uplink coverage and user bit rate in Group Transmission of data in cellular communication system where communication between devices is affected by device-to-device technology. Christoffersson: See Abstract.
Neither Christoffersson nor CAO discloses using the meta-surface via reflection or refraction. However, LI teaches the method wherein using the meta-surface via reflection or refraction (LI: The surface of the RSU is provided with a reflecting material, or the surface of each of the RSUs is a meta-surface or a smart meta-surface. ¶ [0212]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to provide the method wherein using the meta-surface via reflection or refraction as taught by LI to have incorporated in the system of CAO, so that it would provide that the meta-surface or the smart meta-surface can improve reflection power by not changing a reflection angle of a light wave, a laser radar reflection wave/frequency modulation continuous wave, or a millimeter-wave radar reflection wave/frequency modulation continuous wave. LI: ¶ [0225].
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6, 11, and 35 are objected to as being dependent upon the rejected base claims but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Response to Arguments
In response to the amendment as filed on 10/13/2025, Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-20 and 28-37 have been considered but are moot because the arguments do not apply to any of the references being used in the current rejection. Note: On 02/24/2026, Examiner attempted to contact Applicant’s representative to set up a telephone interview for the current RCE application. However, no response has been received. Accordingly, the Examiner is proceeding with the office action based on the newly submitted claims.
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/SAI AUNG/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2416