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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they include the following reference character(s) not mentioned in the description: reference numeral 440 (Fig. 4A).
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d), or amendment to the specification to add the reference character(s) in the description in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(b) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 11 recites the limitation “the activity data” in line 1. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. For examination purposes, it is assumed that that claim 11 depends on claim 10 in order to provide sufficient antecedent basis.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Lee et al. US20240080074.
Regarding independent claim 12, Lee discloses, Figure 8B,
A method (Lee; Fig. 8B), comprising: obtaining, by a system (Lee; Fig. 8B) comprising a computing device (Lee; Fig. 3A; processor 332), a three-dimensional model of an environment (Lee; [0097] “sensor(s) 344… to provide the ability to compute positions in two-dimensional (2D) and/or three-dimensional (3D) coordinate systems”); analyzing, by the system, the three-dimensional model; and based on a result of the analyzing of the three-dimensional model, redirecting, by the system, an electromagnetic wave (Lee; beam 812) received from a source (Lee; Fig. 8B; base station gNB 600) at a reconfigurable intelligent surface (Lee; Fig. 8B; RIS that comprises first panel 602A and second panel 602B), the redirecting comprising reconfiguring the reconfigurable intelligent surface to redirect the electromagnetic wave into a redirected electromagnetic wave to a target (Lee; target 814), wherein the target is blocked (Lee; obstacle 606) from receiving the electromagnetic wave directly from the source.
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.
Claim(s) 1-3, 5-6, 9-11, and 13-16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al. US20240080074 in view of Dutta US20230144085.
Regarding independent claim 1, Lee discloses, Figure 8B,
A system (Lee; Fig. 8B), comprising: a computing device (Lee; Fig. 3A; processor 332) that stores and executes instructions that facilitate performance of operations, the operations comprising: collecting, via a sensor (Lee; sensor 344) coupled to (Lee; sensor 344 is operatively coupled to RIS 602A/602B) a reconfigurable intelligent surface (Lee; Fig. 8B; RIS that comprises first panel 602A and second panel 602B), first three-dimensional (Lee; [0097] “sensor(s) 344… to provide the ability to compute positions in two-dimensional (2D) and/or three-dimensional (3D) coordinate systems”) data representative of a first state of an environment (Lee; sensor 344); controlling, based on the first state of the environment, a first unit cell group comprising one or more first unit cells of the reconfigurable intelligent surface (Lee; first panel 602A), the controlling comprising redirecting a first electromagnetic wave (Lee; beam 812) impinging on the first unit cell group towards a target location (Lee; target 814); collecting second three-dimensional data representative of a second state of the environment (Lee; sensor 344), wherein the second state is different from, and collected after, the collecting of the first three-dimensional data (Lee; [0097] sensors 344 “provide means for sensing or detecting movement and/or orientation information”); and controlling, based on the second state of the environment, a second unit cell group comprising one or more second unit cells of the reconfigurable intelligent surface (Lee; second panel 602B).
Lee does not disclose the controlling comprising redirecting a second electromagnetic wave impinging on the second unit cell group towards the target location.
Dutta teaches the controlling comprising redirecting a second electromagnetic wave impinging on the second unit cell group towards the target location (Dutta; [0067] “constructive interference”; “receiving device applying amplitude offsets, phase offsets, or both to signals”; [0083] assisting device 215 comprises a reflective intelligent surface (RIS) and a corresponding AN/controller 210 to provide constructive interference or destructive interference that can control individual sets of reflective elements; constructive interference by amplification may be provided in response to diminished/weak signal response/reception).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill at the effective filing date of the invention to modify the system and second RIS panel as taught by Lee so that it redirects a second electromagnetic wave impinging on the second unit cell group towards the target location with constructive interference as taught by Dutta for the purpose of improving/amplifying the signal to compensate for a diminished/weak impinged signal.
Regarding claim 2, Modified Lee teaches the invention substantially the same as described above, and The system of claim 1, wherein the first electromagnetic wave is a same frequency as the second electromagnetic wave (Lee; [0044] “operating via the same or a different carrier frequency”).
Regarding claim 3, Modified Lee teaches the invention substantially the same as described above, and The system of claim 1, wherein the first unit cell group (Lee; first panel 602A) is different from the second unit cell group (Lee; second panel 602B).
Regarding claim 5, Modified Lee teaches the invention substantially the same as described above, and The system of claim 1, wherein the first unit cell group comprises at least two unit cells (Lee; first panel 602A), and wherein the controlling of the first unit cell group comprises actuating individual components of the one or more first unit cells of the first unit cell group to create constructive interference in the redirecting of the first electromagnetic wave towards the target location (Dutta; [0067] “constructive interference”; “receiving device applying amplitude offsets, phase offsets, or both to signals”; [0083] assisting device 215 comprises a reflective intelligent surface (RIS) and a corresponding AN/controller 210 to provide constructive interference or destructive interference that can control individual sets of reflective elements; constructive interference by amplification may be provided in response to diminished/weak signal response/reception).
Regarding claim 6, Modified Lee teaches the invention substantially the same as described above, and The system of claim 5, wherein the actuating of the individual components of the one or more first unit cells of the first unit cell group (Lee; first panel 602A) comprises outputting a coding sequence from a controller (Lee; Fig. 3A; processor 332; [0095] processor 332 comprises FPGA controller).
Regarding claim 9, Modified Lee teaches the invention substantially the same as described above, and The system of claim 1, wherein the reconfigurable intelligent surface (Lee; Fig. 8B; RIS that comprises first panel 602A and second panel 602B) is a first reconfigurable intelligent surface (Lee; first panel 602A), wherein the second three-dimensional data indicates an obstacle (Lee; obstacle 606) between the first reconfigurable intelligent surface and the target location (Lee; target 814), and wherein the redirecting of the second electromagnetic wave towards the target location comprises redirecting the second electromagnetic towards a second reconfigurable intelligent surface (Lee; second panel 602B) for further redirection towards the target location (Dutta; [0067] “constructive interference”; “receiving device applying amplitude offsets, phase offsets, or both to signals”; [0083] assisting device 215 comprises a reflective intelligent surface (RIS) and a corresponding AN/controller 210 to provide constructive interference or destructive interference that can control individual sets of reflective elements; constructive interference by amplification may be provided in response to diminished/weak signal response/reception).
Regarding claim 10, Modified Lee teaches the invention substantially the same as described above, and The system of claim 1, wherein a time duration (Lee; [0086] “logical function that enables non-real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources”) between the collecting of the first three-dimensional data and the collecting of the second three-dimensional data after the collecting of the first three-dimensional data is determined based on activity data (Lee; [0097] sensors 344 “provide means for sensing or detecting movement and/or orientation information”) received via the sensor (Lee; sensor 344).
Regarding claim 11, Modified Lee teaches the invention substantially the same as described above, and The system of claim 1, wherein the activity data (Lee; [0097] sensors 344 “provide means for sensing or detecting movement and/or orientation information”) comprises at least one of measured data measured via the sensor (Lee; sensor 344), historical data representative of previous activity data obtained from storage, statistical data applicable to sensor data acquired via the sensor, movement data determined via the sensor (Lee; [0097] sensors 344 “provide means for sensing or detecting movement and/or orientation information”), or variable target locations.
Regarding claim 13, Lee teaches the invention substantially the same as described above, and The method of claim 12, wherein the three-dimensional model of the environment is a first three-dimensional model (Lee; [0097] “sensor(s) 344… to provide the ability to compute positions in two-dimensional (2D) and/or three-dimensional (3D) coordinate systems”), wherein the redirected electromagnetic wave is a first redirected electromagnetic wave (Lee; beam 812), wherein the result is a first result (Lee; Fig. 8B), and further comprising: obtaining, by the system, a second three-dimensional model of the environment that is obtained after the obtaining of the first three-dimensional model (Lee; [0097] sensors 344 “provide means for sensing or detecting movement and/or orientation information”); analyzing, by the system, the second three-dimensional model; based on a second result of the analyzing of the second three-dimensional model, determining, by the system, that an obstacle is diminishing the first redirected electromagnetic wave with respect to being received at the target; and in response to the determining that the obstacle (Lee; obstacle 606).
Lee does not teach determining, by the system, that an obstacle is diminishing the first redirected electromagnetic wave with respect to being received at the target; and in response to the determining that the obstacle is diminishing the first redirecting, reconfiguring, by the system, the reconfigurable intelligent surface to redirect the electromagnetic wave into a second redirected electromagnetic wave to the target.
Dutta teaches determining, by the system, that an obstacle is diminishing the first redirected electromagnetic wave with respect to being received at the target; and in response to the determining that the obstacle is diminishing the first redirecting, reconfiguring, by the system, the reconfigurable intelligent surface to redirect the electromagnetic wave into a second redirected electromagnetic wave to the target (Dutta; [0067] “constructive interference”; “receiving device applying amplitude offsets, phase offsets, or both to signals”; [0083] assisting device 215 comprises a reflective intelligent surface (RIS) and a corresponding AN/controller 210 to provide constructive interference or destructive interference that can control individual sets of reflective elements; constructive interference by amplification may be provided in response to diminished/weak signal response/reception).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill at the effective filing date of the invention to modify the system and second RIS panel as taught by Lee so that it redirects a second electromagnetic wave impinging on the second unit cell group towards the target location with constructive interference as taught by Dutta for the purpose of improving/amplifying the signal to compensate for a diminished/weak impinged signal.
Regarding claim 14, Modified Lee teaches the invention substantially the same as described above, and The method of claim 13, wherein the reconfigurable intelligent surface (Lee; Fig. 8B; RIS that comprises first panel 602A and second panel 602B) is a first reconfigurable intelligent surface (Lee; first panel 602A), and wherein the reconfiguring of the reconfigurable intelligent surface to redirect the electromagnetic wave into the second redirected electromagnetic wave to the target comprises redirecting the second redirected electromagnetic wave to a second reconfigurable intelligent surface (Lee; second panel 602B).
Regarding claim 15, Modified Lee teaches the invention substantially the same as described above, and The method of claim 13, wherein the determining that the obstacle (Lee; obstacle 606) is between the source (Lee; Fig. 8B; base station gNB 600) of the electromagnetic wave and the target is based on the target (Lee; target 814) having been determined to have moved from a first location represented in the first three-dimensional model to a second location represented in the second three-dimensional model (Lee; [0097] “sensor(s) 344… to provide the ability to compute positions in two-dimensional (2D) and/or three-dimensional (3D) coordinate systems”) (Lee; [0097] sensors 344 “provide means for sensing or detecting movement and/or orientation information”).
Regarding claim 16, Modified Lee teaches the invention substantially the same as described above, and The method of claim 13, wherein the determining that the obstacle (Lee; obstacle 606) is between the source of the electromagnetic wave and the target (Lee; target 814) is based on the obstacle (Lee; obstacle 606) having been determined to have moved from a first location represented in the first three-dimensional model to a second location represented in the second three-dimensional model (Lee; [0097] “sensor(s) 344… to provide the ability to compute positions in two-dimensional (2D) and/or three-dimensional (3D) coordinate systems”) (Lee; [0097] sensors 344 “provide means for sensing or detecting movement and/or orientation information”).
Claim(s) 4 and 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al. US20240080074 in view of Dutta US20230144085 as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Hwang et al. US20240063986.
Claim(s) 17 and 19-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al. US20240080074 in view of Dutta US20230144085 and Hwang et al. US20240063986.
Regarding claim 4, Modified Lee teaches the invention substantially the same as described above, and The system of claim 1, wherein the sensor (Lee; sensor 344).
Modified Lee does not teach wherein the sensor comprises a detector of a light detection and ranging (LiDAR) device that outputs signal data for reflection back to the detector.
Hwang teaches wherein the sensor comprises a detector of a light detection and ranging (LiDAR) device that outputs signal data for reflection back to the detector (Hwang; [0120] LiDAR for ultra-high resolution 3D mapping in 6G communications).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill at the effective filing date of the invention to modify the sensor as taught by Modified Lee to comprise LiDAR as taught by Hwang for the purpose of providing ultra-high resolution 3D mapping in a communication setting.
Regarding claim 7, Modified Lee teaches the invention substantially the same as described above, and The system of claim 1, wherein the redirecting of the first electromagnetic wave comprises changing of at least one first unit cell of the first unit cell group (Lee; first panel 602A).
Modified Lee does not teach wherein the redirecting of the first electromagnetic wave comprises changing at least one phase shift of at least one first unit cell of the first unit cell group.
Hwang teaches wherein the redirecting of the first electromagnetic wave comprises changing at least one phase shift of at least one first unit cell of the first unit cell group (Hwang; [0144] “adjust the phase shift of the incident signal” “which can be advantageous for wireless communication channels. By properly adjusting the phase shift through the RIS controller, the reflected signal can be gathered at the target receiver to boost the received signal power.”).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill at the effective filing date of the invention to modify the redirection as taught by Modified Lee to comprise changing at least one phase shift as taught by Hwang for the purpose boosting the received signal power (Hwang; [0144] “which can be advantageous for wireless communication channels. By properly adjusting the phase shift through the RIS controller, the reflected signal can be gathered at the target receiver to boost the received signal power.”).
Regarding independent claim 17, Modified Lee teaches the invention substantially the same as described above in reference to independent claim 1 and dependent claims 7 and 9, and
A non-transitory machine-readable medium (Lee; [0035] “non-transitory computer-readable storage medium”), comprising executable instructions that, when executed by a computing device (Lee; Fig. 3A; processor 332), facilitate performance of operations, the operations comprising: analyzing, at a redirection location corresponding to a reconfigurable intelligent surface (Lee; Fig. 8B; RIS that comprises first panel 602A and second panel 602B), a three-dimensional model of an environment (Lee; [0097] “sensor(s) 344… to provide the ability to compute positions in two-dimensional (2D) and/or three-dimensional (3D) coordinate systems”) to determine a communication path (Lee; beam 812) from the redirection location to a target location (Lee; target 814) in the environment; and adjusting, based on the three-dimensional model, respective first phase shifts (Hwang; [0144] “adjust the phase shift of the incident signal” “which can be advantageous for wireless communication channels. By properly adjusting the phase shift through the RIS controller, the reflected signal can be gathered at the target receiver to boost the received signal power.”) of respective first unit cells of a group of unit cells of the reconfigurable intelligent surface to create constructive interference (Dutta; [0067] “constructive interference”; “receiving device applying amplitude offsets, phase offsets, or both to signals”; [0083] assisting device 215 comprises a reflective intelligent surface (RIS) and a corresponding AN/controller 210 to provide constructive interference or destructive interference that can control individual sets of reflective elements; constructive interference by amplification may be provided in response to diminished/weak signal response/reception) that increases an amplitude of an electromagnetic wave received at the reconfigurable intelligent surface for redirection to the target location via the communication path by the reconfigurable intelligent surface (Lee; Fig. 8B; RIS that comprises first panel 602A and second panel 602B).
Regarding claim 19, Modified Lee teaches the invention substantially the same as described above, and The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the three-dimensional model is a first three-dimensional model (Lee; [0097] “sensor(s) 344… to provide the ability to compute positions in two-dimensional (2D) and/or three-dimensional (3D) coordinate systems”), wherein the communication path is a first communication path (Lee; beam 812), and wherein the operations further comprise analyzing, at the redirection location, a second three-dimensional model of the environment (Lee; [0097] “sensor(s) 344… to provide the ability to compute positions in two-dimensional (2D) and/or three-dimensional (3D) coordinate systems”) (Lee; [0097] sensors 344 “provide means for sensing or detecting movement and/or orientation information”) to determine a second communication path (Lee; the second communication path can overlap with the travel path of beam 812 but have a different phase due to a phase shift) from the redirection location to the target location, and adjusting, based on the analyzing of the second three-dimensional model, the respective first phase shifts of the respective first unit cells of the group of unit cells of the reconfigurable intelligent surface to redirect the electromagnetic wave received at the reconfigurable intelligent surface to the target location via the second communication path (Dutta; [0067] “destructive interference”; “receiving device applying amplitude offsets, phase offsets, or both to signals”; [0083] assisting device 215 comprises a reflective intelligent surface (RIS) and a corresponding AN/controller 210 to provide constructive interference or destructive interference that can control individual sets of reflective elements; destructive interference by reducing amplification may be provided in response to stronger signal response/reception).
Regarding claim 20, Modified Lee teaches the invention substantially the same as described above, and The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the reconfigurable intelligent surface (Lee; Fig. 8B; RIS that comprises first panel 602A and second panel 602B) is a first reconfigurable intelligent surface (Lee; first panel 602A), and wherein the adjusting of the respective first phase shifts (Hwang; [0144] “adjust the phase shift of the incident signal” “which can be advantageous for wireless communication channels. By properly adjusting the phase shift through the RIS controller, the reflected signal can be gathered at the target receiver to boost the received signal power.”) of the respective first unit cells of the group of unit cells of the reconfigurable intelligent surface redirects the electromagnetic wave received at the first reconfigurable intelligent surface to the target location via a second reconfigurable intelligent surface in the second communication path (Lee; second panel 602B).
Claim(s) 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al. US20240080074 in view of Dutta US20230144085 as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Dai et al. US20220400462.
Claim(s) 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al. US20240080074 in view of Dutta US20230144085 and Hwang et al. US20240063986 as applied to claim 17 above, and further in view of Dai et al. US20220400462.
Regarding claim 8, Modified Lee teaches the invention substantially the same as described above, and The system of claim 1, wherein the target location is a first target location (Lee; target 814), the redirecting of the first electromagnetic wave.
Modified Lee does not teach a third unit cell group of at least two unit cells, and wherein the operations further comprise controlling the third unit cell group to create destructive interference in the redirecting of the first electromagnetic wave towards a second target location.
Dai teaches a third unit cell group of at least two unit cells, and wherein the operations further comprise controlling the third unit cell group to create in the redirecting of the first electromagnetic wave towards a second target location (Dai; Fig. 7A-7B; RIS 710 sends redirected signal 722 to a second target/node 706 in comparison to signal 718 that is directed to a first target 730; [0119]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill at the effective filing date of the invention to modify the system as taught by Modified Lee to include a third unit cell group that redirects the first electromagnetic wave towards a second target location as taught by Dai for the purpose of providing the additional functionality of redirecting waves towards different targets such as another node in order to provide additional signal processing.
Modified Lee does not teach controlling the third unit cell group to create destructive interference in the redirecting of the first electromagnetic wave.
Dutta teaches controlling the third unit cell group to create destructive interference (Dutta; [0067] “destructive interference”; “receiving device applying amplitude offsets, phase offsets, or both to signals”; [0083] assisting device 215 comprises a reflective intelligent surface (RIS) and a corresponding AN/controller 210 to provide constructive interference or destructive interference that can control individual sets of reflective elements; destructive interference by reducing amplification may be provided in response to stronger signal response/reception).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill at the effective filing date of the invention to modify the redirection control as taught by Modified Lee to create destructive interference as taught by Dutta for the purpose of providing reduced amplification in response to stronger signal response/reception.
Regarding claim 18, Modified Lee teaches the invention substantially the same as described above in reference to claim 8, and
The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the target location is a first target location (Lee; target 814), wherein the communication path is a first communication path (Lee; beam 812), wherein the group of unit cells is a first group of unit cells (Lee; first panel 602A), and wherein the analyzing of the three-dimensional model of the environment determines a second communication path from the redirection location to a second target location in the environment (Dai; Fig. 7A-7B; RIS 710 sends redirected signal 722 to a second target/node 706 in comparison to signal 718 that is directed to a first target 730; [0119]), and wherein the operations further comprise adjusting respective second phase shifts (Hwang; [0144] “adjust the phase shift of the incident signal” “which can be advantageous for wireless communication channels. By properly adjusting the phase shift through the RIS controller, the reflected signal can be gathered at the target receiver to boost the received signal power.”) of respective second unit cells of a second group of unit cells (Lee; second panel 602B) of the reconfigurable intelligent surface to create destructive interference that cancels receiving of the electromagnetic wave at the second target location (Dutta; [0067] “destructive interference”; “receiving device applying amplitude offsets, phase offsets, or both to signals”; [0083] assisting device 215 comprises a reflective intelligent surface (RIS) and a corresponding AN/controller 210 to provide constructive interference or destructive interference that can control individual sets of reflective elements; destructive interference by reducing amplification may be provided in response to stronger signal response/reception).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Echigo et al. US20250048126 teaches, in Figure 9, a beam station 10 that emits beam1 and/or beam2 depending on the presence of a vehicle obstruction.
Talukdar et al. US20160345209 teaches line-of-sight (LOS) being blocked by obstacles such as a truck 20.
Shimizu et al. US20200068044 teaches “performing beam alignment for non-line of sight (NLOS) scenarios” and a reflector 520 and “FIG. 5, a block diagram 500 illustrates how wireless messages 505 are used to identify a blocker 510 and avoid the blocker 510 by using a reflector 520 as part of a non-line of sight (NLOS) path.”.
Kumari et al. US20230093364 teaches RIS 305 and “a reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) capable of reflecting a received signal) for non-LOS (NLOS) target detection.”.
McMenamy et al. US20240413858 teaches a “wireless communications is adapted to include a reconfigurable intelligent surface, RIS” and a “tunable reflecting element 80”.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JONATHAN MALIKASIM whose telephone number is (313)446-6597. The examiner can normally be reached M-F; 8 am - 5 pm (CST).
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Yuqing Xiao can be reached at 571-270-3603. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JONATHAN MALIKASIM/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3645 2/5/26