Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Priority
2. Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in parent Application No. PCT /EP2022/050661, filed on January 13, 2022, that claims foreign priority to 2150027-7, filed on January 15, 2021, and to 2150046-7, filed on January 18, 2021.
Information Disclosure Statement
3. The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on June 30, 2023, was filed before the mailing of a first Office action on the merits. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
4. Claims 2, 5, 9, 12-13, 16, and 20 are objected to because of the following informalities:
“The data message" in claim 2 (lines 4 and 8-9) should be replaced with - - the first data message - - to be consistent with the first citation of “a first data message” in claim 1 (line 7).
Claim 5 (line 3) and claim 9 (line 9) recite “the first reference signal” and it should be - - a first reference signal - -, as “the first reference signal” lacks antecedent basis.
Claim 12 (line 3) recites “the resource elements carrying the third instance of the reference signal” and it should be - - resource elements carrying a third instance of the reference signal - -, as “the resource elements carrying the third instance of the reference signal” lacks antecedent basis.
Claim 12 (line 5) and claim 13 (line 2) recite “the resource elements carrying the second data message” and it should be - - resource elements carrying a second data message - -, as “the resource elements carrying the second data message” lacks antecedent basis.
“A second CN" in claim 16 (line 3) and claim 20 (line 3) should be replaced with - - the second CN - - to be consistent with the first citation of “a second CN” in claim 1 (line 8).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
5. 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.
6. Claims 1-3, 8, and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tsai ‘887 (US 2025/0039887, “Tsai ‘887”), in view of Murray ‘617 (US 2020/0404617, “Murray ‘617”).
Regarding claim 1, Tsai ‘887 discloses a method of operating a first communication node (CN) (FIG. 66, para 313; base station that communicates with a user equipment (UE); base station reads on a first CN, and a UE reads on a second CN), the method comprising:
- transmitting, on a radio channel by the first CN, a first signal in a first time resource block of a first group of one or more time resource blocks, the first time resource block comprising a first number of resource elements, wherein the first number of resource elements comprises resource elements carrying a first instance of a reference signal for a second CN (FIG. 53, para 2-4, 89-92, 165-169, and 285-286; a beam sweeping RS (BRS) is transmitted on the radio downlink, in time domain, and on multiple beams that point in different transmission directions; the BRS is detected by the UE; the detected RS is used to decode a PDCCH, where the UE determines resource element positions for the RS in a resource block; thus, multiple instances of RS are transmitted, each on a different beam; therefore, the base station transmits instances of a reference signal on beams, and in resource elements in a time resource block, where the resource block is of a group of one resource block; examiner notes the use of alternative language; for rejection purposes, only one of the alternative limitations must be disclosed by prior art);
- transmitting, on the radio channel by the first CN, a second signal in a second time resource block of the first group of one or more time resource blocks, the second time resource block comprising the first number of resource elements, wherein the resource elements of the second time resource block comprise resource elements carrying a second instance of the reference signal for the second CN (FIG. 53, para 2-4, 89-92, 165-169, and 285-286; a beam sweeping RS (BRS) is transmitted on the radio downlink, in time domain, and on multiple beams that point in different transmission directions; the BRS is detected by the UE; the detected RS is used to decode a PDCCH, where the UE determines resource element positions for the RS in a resource block; thus, multiple instances of RS are transmitted, each on a different beam; therefore, the base station transmits instances of a reference signal on beams, and in resource elements in a resource block, and in resource elements in a time resource block, where the resource block is of a group of one resource block; examiner notes the use of alternative language; for rejection purposes, only one of the alternative limitations must be disclosed by prior art),
wherein the first time resource block is associated with a first transmission direction and the second time resource block is associated with a second transmission direction (FIG. 53, para 2-4, 89-92, 165-169, and 285-286; a beam sweeping RS (BRS) is transmitted on the radio downlink, in time domain, and on multiple beams that point in different transmission directions; the BRS is detected by the UE; the detected RS is used to decode a PDCCH, where the UE determines resource element positions for the RS in a resource block; thus, multiple instances of RS are transmitted, each on a different beam, where each beam points in a different transmission direction).
However, Tsai ‘887 does not specifically disclose resource elements carrying a first instance of a first data message for a second CN; resource elements carrying a second instance of the first data message for the second CN.
Murray ‘617 teaches resource elements carrying a first instance of a first data message for a second CN; resource elements carrying a second instance of the first data message for the second CN (para 3, 224, and 375; paging messages are transmitted by the network to a UE, using resource elements; the same message is transmitted in multiple beams; thus, resource elements carry instances of a message that are transmitted in different beams).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Tsai ‘887’s method of operating a communication node, to include Murray ‘617’s message that is transmitted in multiple beams. The motivation for doing so would have been to reduce the extent of paging sweeps and control/message overhead (Murray ‘617, para 2).
Regarding claim 2, Tsai ‘887 in combination with Murray ‘617 discloses all the limitations with respect to claim 1, as outlined above.
Further, Tsai ‘887 teaches wherein the resource elements of the first time resource block carrying the first instance of the reference signal form a first subset (FIG. 53, para 2-4, 89-92, 165-169, and 285-286; a beam sweeping RS (BRS) is transmitted on the radio downlink, in time domain, and on multiple beams that point in different transmission directions; the BRS is detected by the UE; the detected RS is used to decode a PDCCH, where the UE determines resource element positions for the RS in a resource block; thus, multiple instances of RS are transmitted, each on a different beam; therefore, the base station transmits instances of a reference signal on beams, and in resource elements in a resource block; therefore, resource elements carrying the instance of the reference signal transmitted over a first beam are a set of resource elements transmitted over the first beam), and
wherein the resource elements of the second time resource block carrying the second instance of the reference signal belong to the first subset (FIG. 53, para 2-4, 89-92, 165-169, and 285-286; a beam sweeping RS (BRS) is transmitted on the radio downlink, in time domain, and on multiple beams that point in different transmission directions; the BRS is detected by the UE; the detected RS is used to decode a PDCCH, where the UE determines resource element positions for the RS in a resource block; thus, multiple instances of RS are transmitted, each on a different beam; therefore, the base station transmits instances of a reference signal on beams, and in resource elements in a resource block; therefore, resource elements carrying the instance of the reference signal transmitted over a second beam are the set of resource elements transmitted over the second beam).
Furthermore, Murray ‘617 teaches the resource elements of the first time resource block carrying the first instance of the data message form a second subset (para 3, 224, and 375; paging messages are transmitted by the network to a UE, using resource elements; the same message is transmitted in multiple beams; thus, resource elements carry instances of a message that are transmitted in different beams; therefore, resource elements carrying the instance of the message transmitted over a beam are a set of resource elements transmitted over the beam), and
the resource elements of the second time resource block carrying the second instance of the data message form a third subset (para 3, 224, and 375; paging messages are transmitted by the network to a UE, using resource elements; the same message is transmitted in multiple beams; thus, resource elements carry instances of a message that are transmitted in different beams; therefore, resource elements carrying the instance of the message transmitted over another beam are another set of resource elements transmitted over the another beam).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add features to the combined method of Tsai ‘887 and Murray ‘617, to further include Murray ‘617’s message that is transmitted in multiple beams. The motivation for doing so would have been to reduce the extent of paging sweeps and control/message overhead (Murray ‘617, para 2).
Regarding claim 3, Tsai ‘887 in combination with Murray ‘617 discloses all the limitations with respect to claim 1, as outlined above.
Further, Tsai ‘887 teaches wherein the first signal is transmitted, by the first CN, in the first transmission direction, wherein the second signal is transmitted, by the first CN, in the second transmission direction (FIG. 53, para 2-4, 89-92, 165-169, and 285-286; a beam sweeping RS (BRS) is transmitted on the radio downlink, in time domain, and on multiple beams that point in different transmission directions; the BRS is detected by the UE; the detected RS is used to decode a PDCCH, where the UE determines resource element positions for the RS in a resource block; thus, multiple instances of RS are transmitted, each on a different beam, where each beam points in a different transmission direction).
Regarding claim 8, Tsai ‘887 in combination with Murray ‘617 discloses all the limitations with respect to claim 1, as outlined above.
Further, Tsai ‘887 teaches wherein the first and second time resource blocks each comprise OFDM symbols (para 13; resource blocks include multiple OFDM symbols).
Regarding claim 12, Tsai ‘887 in combination with Murray ‘617 discloses all the limitations with respect to claim 2, as outlined above.
Further, Tsai ‘887 teaches wherein the resource elements carrying the third instance of the reference signal belong to the first subset (FIG. 53, para 2-4, 89-92, 165-169, and 285-286; a beam sweeping RS (BRS) is transmitted on the radio downlink, in time domain, and on multiple beams that point in different transmission directions; the BRS is detected by the UE; the detected RS is used to decode a PDCCH, where the UE determines resource element positions for the RS in a resource block; thus, multiple instances of RS are transmitted, each on a different beam; therefore, the base station transmits instances of a reference signal on beams, and in resource elements in a resource block; therefore, resource elements carrying an instance of the reference signal transmitted over a beam are a set of resource elements transmitted over the beam).
Furthermore, Murray ‘617 teaches wherein the resource elements carrying the second data message form a sixth subset (para 3, 224, and 375; paging messages are transmitted by the network to a UE, using resource elements; the same message is transmitted in multiple beams; thus, resource elements carry instances of a message that are transmitted in different beams; therefore, resource elements carrying the instance of the message transmitted over a beam are a set of resource elements transmitted over the beam).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add features to the combined method of Tsai ‘887 and Murray ‘617, to further include Murray ‘617’s message that is transmitted in multiple beams. The motivation for doing so would have been to reduce the extent of paging sweeps and control/message overhead (Murray ‘617, para 2).
7. Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tsai ‘887, in view of Murray ‘617, and further in view of Ly ‘847 (US 2023/0362847, “Ly ‘847”).
Regarding claim 4, Tsai ‘887 in combination with Murray ‘617 discloses all the limitations with respect to claim 1, as outlined above.
However, Tsai ‘887 in combination with Murray ‘617 does not specifically disclose wherein the first CN is configured for communicating via a re-configurable relaying device (RRD), the RRD being re-configurable to provide spatial filtering, the spatial filtering being associated with an input spatial direction from which incident signals on the radio channel are accepted and with a respective output spatial direction into which the incident signals are emitted by the RRD, wherein the first signal is transmitted, by the first CN, to an RRD, at a first point in time, the first point in time being associated with a first spatial filtering of the RRD; wherein the second signal is transmitted, by the CN, to the RRD, at a second point in time, the second point in time being associated with a second spatial filtering of the RRD, wherein the first spatial filtering is different from the second spatial filtering.
Ly ‘847 teaches wherein the first CN is configured for communicating via a re-configurable relaying device (RRD) (FIG. 4, para 29 and 66-69; a base station communicates with a UE; when there is blockage of the direct path, the base station avoids the blockage by creating a propagation path using a reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS); the base station dynamically controls characteristics of the RIS – scattering, reflection, and refraction - to manipulate the incident signal that is input into the RIS, so that the RIS outputs the signal in a direction towards the UE; the base station reads on the first CN; the RIS reads on a RRD),
the RRD being re-configurable to provide spatial filtering, the spatial filtering being associated with an input spatial direction from which incident signals on the radio channel are accepted and with a respective output spatial direction into which the incident signals are emitted by the RRD (FIG. 4, para 29 and 66-69; a base station communicates with a UE; when there is blockage of the direct path, the base station avoids the blockage by creating a propagation path using a reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS); the base station dynamically controls characteristics of the RIS – scattering, reflection, and refraction - to manipulate the incident signal that is input into the RIS, so that the RIS outputs the signal in a direction towards the UE; thus, the RIS performs spatial filtering that is associated with direction of the input signal manipulated by the RIS and the direction of the output signal emitted by the RIS; further, the characteristics of the RIS are characteristics of the spatial filtering),
wherein the first signal is transmitted, by the first CN, to an RRD, at a first point in time, the first point in time being associated with a first spatial filtering of the RRD; wherein the second signal is transmitted, by the CN, to the RRD, at a second point in time, the second point in time being associated with a second spatial filtering of the RRD, wherein the first spatial filtering is different from the second spatial filtering (FIG. 7, para 79-82; the base station periodically transmits four type-1 synchronization signal block (SSB) signals in the direction of the RIS, and the RIS reflects the four signals in respective and different four directions, to provide coverage to portions of the coverage area of the base station; thus, the base station transmits two signals at points in time, where the two signals are reflected by the RIS in two respective and different directions, using different spatial filtering).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add features to the combined method of Tsai ‘887 and Murray ‘617, to include Ly ‘847’s reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS). The motivation for doing so would have been to provide improvements in 5G NR technology, including transmission and propagation of signals using RIS (Ly ‘847, para 3).
8. Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tsai ‘887, in view of Murray ‘617, and further in view of Han ‘992 (US 2015/0350992, “Han ‘992”).
Regarding claim 5, Tsai ‘887 in combination with Murray ‘617 discloses all the limitations with respect to claim 1, as outlined above.
However, Tsai ‘887 in combination with Murray ‘617 does not specifically disclose wherein a same resource element of the first time resource block and the second time resource block carry a same part of the first reference signal.
Han ‘992 teaches wherein a same resource element of the first time resource block and the second time resource block carry a same part of the first reference signal (para 99, 107, and 109; the same resource elements of respective resource blocks carry the same signal; a signal is a reference signal).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add features to the combined method of Tsai ‘887 and Murray ‘617, to include Han ‘992’s same resource elements of respective resource blocks that carry the same signal. The motivation for doing so would have been to address beam forming technical challenges, including delay spread and angular spread (Han ‘992, para 5).
9. Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tsai ‘887, in view of Murray ‘617, and further in view of Lei ‘628 (US 2020/0028628, “Lei ‘628”).
Regarding claim 6, Tsai ‘887 in combination with Murray ‘617 discloses all the limitations with respect to claim 1, as outlined above.
However, Tsai ‘887 in combination with Murray ‘617 does not specifically disclose wherein a same resource element of the first time resource block and the second time resource block carry a same part of the first data message.
Lei ‘628 teaches wherein a same resource element of the first time resource block and the second time resource block carry a same part of the first data message (FIGS. 5A-5B, para 61-62; the same resource element in respective resource blocks is used for initial transmission of data and retransmission of the same data).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add features to the combined method of Tsai ‘887 and Murray ‘617, to include Lei ‘628’s same resource element in respective resource blocks that is used for initial transmission of data and retransmission of the same data. The motivation for doing so would have been to address a problem of simplified eNB implementation sacrificing potential performance gain due to link adaptation and flexibility (Lei ‘628, para 6).
10. Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tsai ‘887, in view of Murray ‘617, and further in view of Kaminski ‘332 (US 2008/0232332, “Kaminski ‘332”).
Regarding claim 7, Tsai ‘887 in combination with Murray ‘617 discloses all the limitations with respect to claim 1, as outlined above.
However, Tsai ‘887 in combination with Murray ‘617 does not specifically disclose wherein a same resource element of the first time resource block and the second time resource block carry a different part of the first data message.
Kaminski ‘332 teaches wherein a same resource element of the first time resource block and the second time resource block carry a different part of the first data message (FIG. 2, para 32-33; a data packet is initially transmitted and then retransmitted in every fifth transmission time interval, where a transmission time interval consists of two resource blocks; thus, a same part of the two resource blocks in a transmission time interval carries a different part of the data packet).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add features to the combined method of Tsai ‘887 and Murray ‘617, to include Kaminski ‘332’s data packet that is initially transmitted and then retransmitted. The motivation for doing so would have been to address a potential waste of radio resources (Kaminski ‘332, para 10).
11. Claims 9 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tsai ‘887, in view of Murray ‘617, and further in view of Urabayashi ‘010 (US 2015/0312010, “Urabayashi ‘010”).
Regarding claim 9, Tsai ‘887 in combination with Murray ‘617 discloses all the limitations with respect to claim 1, as outlined above.
Further, Tsai ‘887 teaches wherein the method comprises:
- transmitting, on the radio channel by the first CN, a third signal in a third time resource block, the third time resource block comprising the first number of resource elements, (FIG. 53, para 2-4, 89-92, 165-169, and 285-286; a beam sweeping RS (BRS) is transmitted on the radio downlink, in time domain, and on multiple beams that point in different transmission directions; the BRS is detected by the UE; the detected RS is used to decode a PDCCH, where the UE determines resource element positions for the RS in a resource block; thus, multiple instances of RS are transmitted, each on a different beam; therefore, the base station transmits instances of a reference signal on beams, and in resource elements in a time resource block).
Furthermore, Murray ‘617 teaches wherein the resource elements of the third time resource block comprise resource elements carrying a third instance of the first data message (para 3, 224, and 375; paging messages are transmitted by the network to a UE, using resource elements; the same message is transmitted in multiple beams; thus, resource elements carry instances of a message that are transmitted in different beams).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add features to the combined method of Tsai ‘887 and Murray ‘617, to further include Murray ‘617’s message that is transmitted in multiple beams. The motivation for doing so would have been to reduce the extent of paging sweeps and control/message overhead (Murray ‘617, para 2).
However, Tsai ‘887 in combination with Murray ‘617 does not specifically disclose wherein the third time resource block is free of resource elements carrying an instance of the first reference signal.
Urabayashi ‘010 teaches wherein the third time resource block is free of resource elements carrying an instance of the first reference signal (para 48 and 88; reference signals are only in some resource blocks; thus, other resource blocks and their resource elements do not carry a reference signal).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add features to the combined method of Tsai ‘887 and Murray ‘617, to include Urabayashi ‘010’s reference signals that are only in some resource blocks. The motivation for doing so would have been to improve throughput (Urabayashi ‘010, para 2-3).
Regarding claim 10, Tsai ‘887 in combination with Murray ‘617 and Urabayashi ‘010 discloses all the limitations with respect to claim 9, as outlined above.
Further, Murray ‘617 teaches wherein the resource elements carrying the third instance of the first data message form a fourth subset (para 3, 224, and 375; paging messages are transmitted by the network to a UE, using resource elements; the same message is transmitted in multiple beams; thus, resource elements carry instances of a message that are transmitted in different beams; therefore, resource elements carrying the instance of the message transmitted over another beam are another set of resource elements transmitted over the another beam).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add features to the combined method of Tsai ‘887, Murray ‘617, and Urabayashi ‘010, to further include Murray ‘617’s message that is transmitted in multiple beams. The motivation for doing so would have been to reduce the extent of paging sweeps and control/message overhead (Murray ‘617, para 2).
12. Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tsai ‘887, in view of Murray ‘617, and further in view of Zhou ‘601 (US 2020/0259601, “Zhou ‘601”).
Regarding claim 11, Tsai ‘887 in combination with Murray ‘617 discloses all the limitations with respect to claim 1, as outlined above.
Further, Tsai ‘887 teaches wherein the method comprises:
- transmitting, on the radio channel by the first CN, a fourth signal in a fourth time resource block of a second group of one or more time resource blocks, the fourth time resource block comprising the first number of resource elements, wherein the resource elements of the fourth time resource block comprise resource elements carrying a third instance of the reference signal (FIG. 53, para 2-4, 89-92, 165-169, and 285-286; a beam sweeping RS (BRS) is transmitted on the radio downlink, in time domain, and on multiple beams that point in different transmission directions; the BRS is detected by the UE; the detected RS is used to decode a PDCCH, where the UE determines resource element positions for the RS in a resource block; thus, multiple instances of RS are transmitted, each on a different beam; therefore, the base station transmits instances of a reference signal on beams, and in resource elements in a resource block, and in resource elements in a time resource block, where the resource block is of a group of one resource block; examiner notes the use of alternative language; for rejection purposes, only one of the alternative limitations must be disclosed by prior art).
However, Tsai ‘887 in combination with Murray ‘617 does not specifically disclose resource elements carrying a second data message, wherein the second data message is different from the first data message.
Zhou ‘601 teaches resource elements carrying a second data message, wherein the second data message is different from the first data message (FIG. 8, para 272-274 and 434; wireless devices transmit different data packets for different services, using resource blocks and resource elements).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add features to the combined method of Tsai ‘887 and Murray ‘617, to include Zhou ‘601’s wireless devices that transmit different data packets for different services. The motivation for doing so would have been to enable higher uplink throughput, higher energy efficiency, and reduced transmission latency (Zhou ‘601, para 4).
13. Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tsai ‘887, in view of Murray ‘617, and further in view of Cohen ‘104 (US 2007/0028104, “Cohen ‘104”).
Regarding claim 13, Tsai ‘887 in combination with Murray ‘617 discloses all the limitations with respect to claim 1, as outlined above.
However, Tsai ‘887 in combination with Murray ‘617 does not specifically disclose wherein an amount of data carried by the second data message is different from an amount of data carried by the first data message.
In a similar field of endeavor, Cohen ‘104 teaches wherein an amount of data carried by the second data message is different from an amount of data carried by the first data message (para 9; sent data messages have different lengths).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add features to the combined method of Tsai ‘887 and Murray ‘617, to include Cohen ‘104’s data messages that have different lengths. The motivation for doing so would have been to address a problem of information that is subject to external interference and low performance rendering systems useful for no more than simple sensors located close to the user of data or its proxy (Cohen ‘104, para 7).
14. Claim 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tsai ‘887, in view of Murray ‘617, further in view of Cohen ‘104, and further in view of Li ‘208 (US 2018/0077208, “Li ‘208”).
Regarding claim 14, Tsai ‘887 in combination with Murray ‘617 and Cohen ‘104 discloses all the limitations with respect to claim 13, as outlined above.
However, Tsai ‘887 in combination with Murray ‘617 and Cohen ‘104 does not specifically disclose wherein the amount of data carried by the second data message is zero.
Li ‘208 teaches wherein the amount of data carried by the second data message is zero (para 64 and 107; a wireless device (WD) sends an empty data message).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add features to the combined method of Tsai ‘887, Murray ‘617, and Cohen ‘104, to include Li ‘208’s empty data message. The motivation for doing so would have been to address a problem of the additional delay and resource consumption resulting from floor arbitrator (FA) reselection (Li ‘208, para 34-37).
15. Claims 15-16 and 18-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tsai ‘887, in view of Murray ‘617, further in view of Ly ‘847, and further in view of Sahraei ‘147 (US 2024/0007147, “Sahraei ‘147”).
Regarding claim 15, Tsai ‘887 in combination with Murray ‘617 and Ly ‘847 discloses all the limitations with respect to claim 4, as outlined above.
However, Tsai ‘887 in combination with Murray ‘617 and Ly ‘847 does not specifically disclose wherein the method further comprises: - obtaining a message indicative of a spatial filtering of the RRD at a certain point in time.
Sahraei ‘147 teaches wherein the method further comprises: - obtaining a message indicative of a spatial filtering of the RRD at a certain point in time (FIGS. 2 and 6, para 5-6 and 92-94; UE receives a RIS configuration message from a base station, where the RIS configuration message includes reflection angles of the RIS; thus, UE obtains a message that is indicative of spatial filtering of the RIS).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add features to the combined method of Tsai ‘887, Murray ‘617, and Ly ‘847, to include Sahraei ‘147’s RIS configuration message that includes reflection angles of the RIS. The motivation for doing so would have been to address a problem of power consumption and resource overhead for retransmission by an active antenna unit (AAU) (Sahraei ‘147, para 4).
Regarding claim 16, Tsai ‘887 in combination with Murray ‘617, Ly ‘847, and Sahraei ‘147 discloses all the limitations with respect to claim 15, as outlined above.
Further, Ly ‘847 teaches wherein the method further comprises: - communicating, on the radio channel via the RRD, with a second CN (FIG. 4, para 29 and 66-69; a base station communicates with a UE; when there is blockage of the direct channel path, the base station avoids the blockage by creating another channel path using a RIS; thus, the base station and the UE communicate on a channel via the RIS).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add features to the combined method of Tsai ‘887, Murray ‘617, Ly ‘847, and Sahraei ‘147’s, to further include Ly ‘847’s reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS). The motivation for doing so would have been to provide improvements in 5G NR technology, including transmission and propagation of signals using RIS (Ly ‘847, para 3).
Furthermore, Sahraei ‘147 teaches - obtaining the message indicative of the spatial filtering of the RRD at a certain point in time from the second CN (FIGS. 2 and 6, para 5-6 and 92-94; UE receives a RIS configuration message from the base station, where the RIS configuration message includes reflection angles of the RIS; thus, UE obtains a message that is indicative of spatial filtering of the RIS).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add features to the combined method of Tsai ‘887, Murray ‘617, Ly ‘847, and Sahraei ‘147’s, to further include Sahraei ‘147’s RIS configuration message that includes reflection angles of the RIS. The motivation for doing so would have been to address a problem of power consumption and resource overhead for retransmission by an active antenna unit (AAU) (Sahraei ‘147, para 4).
Regarding claim 18, Tsai ‘887 in combination with Murray ‘617 and Ly ‘847 discloses all the limitations with respect to claim 4, as outlined above.
However, Tsai ‘887 in combination with Murray ‘617 and Ly ‘847 does not specifically disclose wherein the method further comprises: - providing a message for controlling the RRD to have a certain spatial filtering at a certain point in time.
Sahraei ‘147 teaches wherein the method further comprises: - providing a message for controlling the RRD to have a certain spatial filtering at a certain point in time (FIGS. 2 and 6, para 5-6 and 92-94; the base station transmits a message to the RIS, to configure the RIS).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add features to the combined method of Tsai ‘887, Murray ‘617, and Ly ‘847, to include Sahraei ‘147’s base station that transmits a message to the RIS, to configure the RIS. The motivation for doing so would have been to address a problem of power consumption and resource overhead for retransmission by an active antenna unit (AAU) (Sahraei ‘147, para 4).
Regarding claim 19, Tsai ‘887 in combination with Murray ‘617, Ly ‘847, and Sahraei ‘147 discloses all the limitations with respect to claim 18, as outlined above.
Further, Sahraei ‘147 teaches wherein the method further comprises: - providing the message for controlling the RRD to have a certain spatial filtering at a certain point in time directly to the RRD (FIGS. 2 and 6, para 5-6 and 92-94; the base station transmits a message to the RIS, to configure the RIS).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add features to the combined method of Tsai ‘887, Murray ‘617, Ly ‘847, and Sahraei ‘147’s, to further include Sahraei ‘147’s base station that transmits a message to the RIS, to configure the RIS. The motivation for doing so would have been to address a problem of power consumption and resource overhead for retransmission by an active antenna unit (AAU) (Sahraei ‘147, para 4).
Regarding claim 20, Tsai ‘887 in combination with Murray ‘617, Ly ‘847, and Sahraei ‘147 discloses all the limitations with respect to claim 18, as outlined above.
Further, Ly ‘847 teaches wherein the method further comprises: - communicating, on the radio channel via the RRD, with a second CN (FIG. 4, para 29 and 66-69; a base station communicates with a UE; when there is blockage of the direct channel path, the base station avoids the blockage by creating another channel path using a RIS; thus, the base station and the UE communicate on a channel via the RIS).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add features to the combined method of Tsai ‘887, Murray ‘617, Ly ‘847, and Sahraei ‘147’s, to further include Ly ‘847’s reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS). The motivation for doing so would have been to provide improvements in 5G NR technology, including transmission and propagation of signals using RIS (Ly ‘847, para 3).
Furthermore, Sahraei ‘147 teaches - providing to the message for controlling the RRD to have a certain spatial filtering at a certain point in time to the second CN (FIGS. 2 and 6, para 5-6 and 92-94; the base station sends to the UE a RIS configuration message, indicating the configuration of the RIS; the base station controls and configures the RIS according to this configuration).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add features to the combined method of Tsai ‘887, Murray ‘617, Ly ‘847, and Sahraei ‘147’s, to further include Sahraei ‘147’s base station that sends to the UE a RIS configuration message. The motivation for doing so would have been to address a problem of power consumption and resource overhead for retransmission by an active antenna unit (AAU) (Sahraei ‘147, para 4).
16. Claim 17 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tsai ‘887, in view of Murray ‘617, further in view of Ly ‘847, further in view of Sahraei ‘147, and further in view of Liu ‘572 (US 2023/0247572, “Liu ‘572”).
Regarding claim 17, Tsai ‘887 in combination with Murray ‘617, Ly ‘847, and Sahraei ‘147 discloses all the limitations with respect to claim 16, as outlined above.
However, Tsai ‘887 in combination with Murray ‘617, Ly ‘847, and Sahraei ‘147 does not specifically disclose wherein the method further comprises: - obtaining the message indicative of the spatial filtering of the RRD at a certain point in time directly from the RRD.
Liu ‘572 teaches wherein the method further comprises: - obtaining the message indicative of the spatial filtering of the RRD at a certain point in time directly from the RRD (para 20; a receiving module receives a message from a relay device).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add features to the combined method of Tsai ‘887, Murray ‘617, Ly ‘847, and Sahraei ‘147’s, to include Liu ‘572’s message received from a relay device. The motivation for doing so would have been to address a problem of a remote device being blind to a wireless cell, leading to a large delay and high power consumption (Liu ‘572, para 4).
Conclusion
Internet Communication
Applicant is encouraged to submit a written authorization for Internet communications (PTO/SB/439, https://www.uspto.gov/sites/default/files/documents/sb0439.pdf) in the instant patent application to authorize the examiner to communicate with the applicant via email. The authorization will allow the examiner to better practice compact prosecution. The written authorization can be submitted via one of the following methods only. (1) Central Fax which can be found in the Conclusion section of this Office action; (2) regular postal mail; (3) EFS WEB; or (4) the service window on the Alexandria campus. EFS web is the recommended way to submit the form since this allows the form to be entered into the file wrapper within the same day (system dependent). Written authorization submitted via other methods, such as direct fax to the examiner or email, will not be accepted. See MPEP § 502.03.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NEVENA SANDHU whose telephone number is (571) 272-0679. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Thursday 9AM-5PM EST, Friday variable.
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, Michael Thier can be reached on (571) 272-2832. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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 Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through 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). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/NEVENA ZECEVIC SANDHU/Examiner, Art Unit 2474
/Michael Thier/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2474
Prosecution Insights