DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Response to Amendment
The following is a final office action in response to applicant’s amendment filed on 03/18/2026 for response of the office action mailed on 12/18/2025. Claims 1, 14, 20 and 26 have been amended. Claims 7, 11, 17, 23 and 29 have been cancelled. Claim 35 is newly added. Claims 1-6, 8-10, 12-16, 18-22, 24-35 are pending in this application.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to Claim(s) 1-6, 8-10, 12-16, 18-22, 24-35 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Main argument(s):
Applicant respectfully submits that HAIJA, IWABUCHI, and CAIRE do not disclose each and every feature recited in amended claim 1. For example, HAIJA, IWABUCHI, and CAIRE do not disclose "the at least one multiplexed non-data signal including at least one multiplexed power-bearing signal providing power to energy harvesting devices," as recited in amended claim 1.
Response:
In response to the following argument(s), Examiner respectfully disagrees with the Applicant.
Due to the amended features in Claims 1, 14, 20 and 26, the Office no longer relies on Haija and Caire and instead introduces Zhao to cover or disclose the features of amended independent Claims 1, 14, 20 and 26. Examiner would like to direct Applicant’s attention to Zhao’s Abstract, where it discloses a novel IRS-aided SWIPT system where a multi-carrier multi-antenna Access Point (AP) transmits information and power simultaneously, with the assist of an IRS, to a single-antenna User Equipment (UE) employing practical receiving schemes. Zhao explicitly teaches simultaneous wireless information and power transfer and includes references to linear/nonlinear energy harvesting. This response applies to all independent claims and all dependent claims which depend upon the independent claims.
Second argument(s):
The cited reference teaches various properties related to an echo signal (SNR, SINR, RSRP, RSRQ). See DING, 214. However, as agreed upon during the interview, these signal quality and power properties are not related to a "power-bearing signal providing power to energy harvesting devices." Additionally, DING is silent as to the echo signal being a multiplexed signal.
Response:
In response to the following argument(s), Examiner respectfully disagrees with the Applicant.
Due to the amended features in Claims 1, 14, 20 and 26, the Office no longer relies on Ding and instead introduces Zhao to cover or disclose the features of amended independent Claims 1, 14, 20 and 26. Examiner would like to direct Applicant’s attention to Zhao’s Abstract, where it discloses a novel IRS-aided SWIPT system where a multi-carrier multi-antenna Access Point (AP) transmits information and power simultaneously, with the assist of an IRS, to a single-antenna User Equipment (UE) employing practical receiving schemes. On Page 3, Zhao discusses a multi-carrier modulated information-bearing waveform superposed to a multi-carrier unmodulated power-dedicated deterministic multisine to boost the spectrum and energy efficiency. In other words, the multi-carrier modulated information-bearing waveform, or signal designed for carrying data, is added with an unmodulated power-dedicated deterministic multisine, which does not carry data and is used specifically for energy harvesting, and results in a multiplexed signal that carries data on some frequencies and power on others. This response applies to all independent claims and all dependent claims which depend upon the independent claims.
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.
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 factual inquiries 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 non-obviousness.
Claims 1-2, 14-15, 20-21 and 26-27 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhao et al. (Zhao, Y., Clerckx, B., & Feng, Z. (2021, December 3). IRS-aided SWIPT: Joint waveform, active and passive beamforming design under Nonlinear Harvester Model. arXiv.org. https://arxiv.org/abs/2012.05646), and further in view of Iwabuchi et al. (US 20240373249), Iwabuchi hereinafter.
Re. Claim 1, Zhao teaches a user equipment (UE) for wireless communication, comprising: one or more memories; and one or more processors, coupled to the one or more memories configured to: establish a connection with a network node; and receive, via a reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS), (Page 2, ¶2 - Inspired by the development of real-time reconfigurable metamaterials [19], the authors of [20] introduced a programmable metasurface that steers or polarizes the electromagnetic wave at a specific frequency to mitigate signal attenuation); at least one composite signal that includes at least one multiplexed non-data signal, the at least one multiplexed non-data signal including at least one multiplexed power-bearing signal providing power to energy harvesting devices, (Fig. 1-2, 5 & Abstract - This paper proposes a novel IRS-aided SWIPT system where a multi-carrier multi-antenna Access Point (AP) transmits information and power simultaneously, with the assist of an IRS, to a single-antenna User Equipment (UE) employing practical receiving schemes. Page 4, Section C. Received Signal - The received superposed signal at the single-antenna UE is y(t) = … Note that the modulated component can be used for energy harvesting if necessary … Page 3, Section A. Transmitted Signal - … we superpose a multi-carrier modulated information-bearing waveform to a multi-carrier unmodulated power-dedicated deterministic multisine to boost the spectrum and energy efficiency);
and wherein receiving the at least one composite signal is based at least in part on an aperture size of the RIS (Fig. 10(a), 11(a) & Page 2, Section B. Intelligent Reflecting Surface - In practice, an IRS consists of multiple individual sub-wavelength reflecting elements to adjust the amplitude and phase of the incoming signal (i.e., passive beamforming). Page 3, Section II. System Model - … where an M-antenna AP delivers information and power simultaneously, through an L-element IRS, to a single antenna UE … Page 3, Section B. Reflection Pattern and Composite Channel - … IRS element L ∈{1,...,L} varies its impedance Zl=Rl+jXl to reflect the incoming signal … Page 11, ¶2 - The impacts of the number of transmit antennas M and the IRS elements L on the R-E behavior are revealed in Figs. 10(a) and 11(a). First, it is observed that adding either active or passive elements can improve the equivalent SNR … Examiner interprets the aperture size of the RIS as the number of reflective elements (L-elements) it contains);
Yet, Zhao does not explicitly teach wherein a first beamwidth of the at least one composite signal at a first location is narrower than a second beamwidth of the at least one composite signal at a second location that is closer to the RIS than the first location,
However, in the analogous art, Iwabuchi explicitly teaches wherein a first beamwidth of the at least one composite signal at a first location is narrower than a second beamwidth of the at least one composite signal at a second location that is closer to the RIS than the first location, (Fig. 1-2 & ¶0049 - More specifically, it is determined whether a beam having a wide coverage is appropriate if the power reaching the reception point 20 is weak or whether a beam having a high power is appropriate if the beam width is narrow. Fig. 4 & ¶0057 - In the short-distance region indicated by reference numeral 44 in FIG. 4… it is desirable to secure a large beam width. ¶0059 - In addition, in the long-distance region 48 illustrated in FIG. 4… it is desirable to narrow the beam width to generate a beam having a high power. Examiner interprets that Fig. 4 includes a reception point 20 located in two locations (short-distance region 44 (second location) and long-distance region 48 (first location), the beam generated towards 44 has a larger beam width than the beam generated towards region 48 in which it is desired to be narrower).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add the teaching of Iwabuchi to the teaching of Zhao. The motivation would be because the invention tackles improving reception quality at a reception point while reducing an overhead required for beam search by appropriately controlling a beam width of a reflected wave toward the reception point (¶0011, Iwabuchi);
Re. Claims 2 and 21, Zhou and Iwabuchi teach Claims 1 and 20.
Yet, Zhou does not explicitly teach the RIS is configured to redirect the at least one composite signal based at least in part on a phase matrix.
However, in the analogous art, Iwabuchi explicitly teaches the RIS is configured to redirect the at least one composite signal based at least in part on a phase matrix (Fig. 3 & ¶0051 - More specifically, each of the reflection elements 42 can generate a reflected wave with a desired phase shift by adding a desired phase weight to an incoming wave. Please also see ¶0052).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add the teaching of Iwabuchi to the teaching of Zhao. The motivation would be because the invention describes a relay apparatus including a plurality of reflection elements capable of applying independent phase shifts to incoming waves from a transmission point (¶0019-¶0020, Iwabuchi).
Re. Claim 14, Zhou teaches a network node for wireless communication, comprising: one or more memories and one or more processors, coupled to the one or more memories, configured to: establish a connection with a user equipment (UE); and configure a reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) to produce a redirected signal that includes at least one composite signal that includes at least one multiplexed non-data signal, the at least one multiplexed non-data signal including at least one multiplexed power-bearing signal providing power to energy harvesting devices, (Fig. 1-2, 5 & Abstract - This paper proposes a novel IRS-aided SWIPT system where a multi-carrier multi-antenna Access Point (AP) transmits information and power simultaneously, with the assist of an IRS, to a single-antenna User Equipment (UE) employing practical receiving schemes. Page 4, Section C. Received Signal - The received superposed signal at the single-antenna UE is y(t) = … Note that the modulated component can be used for energy harvesting if necessary … Page 2, ¶2 - Inspired by the development of real-time reconfigurable metamaterials [19], the authors of [20] introduced a programmable metasurface that steers or polarizes the electromagnetic wave at a specific frequency to mitigate signal attenuation. Page 3, Section A. Transmitted Signal - … we superpose a multi-carrier modulated information-bearing waveform to a multi-carrier unmodulated power-dedicated deterministic multisine to boost the spectrum and energy efficiency);
and wherein producing the redirected signal that includes the at least one composite signal is based at least in part on an aperture size of the RIS (Fig. 10(a), 11(a) & Page 2, Section B. Intelligent Reflecting Surface - In practice, an IRS consists of multiple individual sub-wavelength reflecting elements to adjust the amplitude and phase of the incoming signal (i.e., passive beamforming). Page 3, Section II. System Model - … where an M-antenna AP delivers information and power simultaneously, through an L-element IRS, to a single antenna UE … Page 3, Section B. Reflection Pattern and Composite Channel - … IRS element L ∈{1,...,L} varies its impedance Zl=Rl+jXl to reflect the incoming signal … Page 11, ¶2 - The impacts of the number of transmit antennas M and the IRS elements L on the R-E behavior are revealed in Figs. 10(a) and 11(a). First, it is observed that adding either active or passive elements can improve the equivalent SNR … Examiner interprets the aperture size of the RIS as the number of reflective elements (L-elements) it contains);
Yet, Zhao does not explicitly teach wherein a first beamwidth of the redirected signal at a first location is narrower than a second beamwidth of the redirected signal at a second location that is closer to the RIS than the first location,
However, in the analogous art, Iwabuchi explicitly teaches wherein a first beamwidth of the redirected signal at a first location is narrower than a second beamwidth of the redirected signal at a second location that is closer to the RIS than the first location, (Fig. 1-2 & ¶0049 - More specifically, it is determined whether a beam having a wide coverage is appropriate if the power reaching the reception point 20 is weak or whether a beam having a high power is appropriate if the beam width is narrow. Fig. 4 & ¶0057 - In the short-distance region indicated by reference numeral 44 in FIG. 4… it is desirable to secure a large beam width. ¶0059 - In addition, in the long-distance region 48 illustrated in FIG. 4… it is desirable to narrow the beam width to generate a beam having a high power. Examiner interprets that Fig. 4 includes a reception point 20 located in two locations (short-distance region 44 (second location) and long-distance region 48 (first location), the beam generated towards 44 has a larger beam width than the beam generated towards region 48 in which it is desired to be narrower).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add the teaching of Iwabuchi to the teaching of Zhao. The motivation would be because the invention tackles improving reception quality at a reception point while reducing an overhead required for beam search by appropriately controlling a beam width of a reflected wave toward the reception point (¶0011, Iwabuchi);
Re. Claims 15 and 27, Zhao and Iwabuchi teach Claims 14 and 26.
Yet, Zhao does not explicitly teach the one or more processors, to configure the RIS, are configured to: configure the RIS to produce the redirected signal based at least in part on a phase matrix.
However, in the analogous art, Iwabuchi explicitly teaches the one or more processors, to configure the RIS, are configured to: configure the RIS to produce the redirected signal based at least in part on a phase matrix (Fig. 3 & ¶0051 - More specifically, each of the reflection elements 42 can generate a reflected wave with a desired phase shift by adding a desired phase weight to an incoming wave. Please also see ¶0052).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add the teaching of Iwabuchi to the teachings of Zhao. The motivation would be because the invention describes a relay apparatus including a plurality of reflection elements capable of applying independent phase shifts to incoming waves from a transmission point (¶0019-¶0020, Iwabuchi).
Re. Claim 20, Zhou teaches a method of wireless communication performed by a user equipment (UE), comprising: establishing a connection with a network node; and receiving, via a reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS), (Page 2, ¶2 - Inspired by the development of real-time reconfigurable metamaterials [19], the authors of [20] introduced a programmable metasurface that steers or polarizes the electromagnetic wave at a specific frequency to mitigate signal attenuation); at least one composite signal that includes at least one multiplexed non-data signal, the at least one multiplexed non-data signal including at least one multiplexed power-bearing signal providing power to energy harvesting devices, (Fig. 1-2, 5 & Abstract - This paper proposes a novel IRS-aided SWIPT system where a multi-carrier multi-antenna Access Point (AP) transmits information and power simultaneously, with the assist of an IRS, to a single-antenna User Equipment (UE) employing practical receiving schemes. Page 4, Section C. Received Signal - The received superposed signal at the single-antenna UE is y(t) = … Note that the modulated component can be used for energy harvesting if necessary … Page 3, Section A. Transmitted Signal - … we superpose a multi-carrier modulated information-bearing waveform to a multi-carrier unmodulated power-dedicated deterministic multisine to boost the spectrum and energy efficiency);
and wherein receiving the at least one composite signal is based at least in part on an aperture size of the RIS (Fig. 10(a), 11(a) & Page 2, Section B. Intelligent Reflecting Surface - In practice, an IRS consists of multiple individual sub-wavelength reflecting elements to adjust the amplitude and phase of the incoming signal (i.e., passive beamforming). Page 3, Section II. System Model - … where an M-antenna AP delivers information and power simultaneously, through an L-element IRS, to a single antenna UE … Page 3, Section B. Reflection Pattern and Composite Channel - … IRS element L ∈{1,...,L} varies its impedance Zl=Rl+jXl to reflect the incoming signal … Page 11, ¶2 - The impacts of the number of transmit antennas M and the IRS elements L on the R-E behavior are revealed in Figs. 10(a) and 11(a). First, it is observed that adding either active or passive elements can improve the equivalent SNR … Examiner interprets the aperture size of the RIS as the number of reflective elements (L-elements) it contains);
Yet, Zhao does not explicitly teach wherein a first beamwidth of the at least one composite signal at a first location is narrower than a second beamwidth of the at least one composite signal at a second location that is closer to the RIS than the first location,
However, in the analogous art, Iwabuchi explicitly teaches wherein a first beamwidth of the at least one composite signal at a first location is narrower than a second beamwidth of the at least one composite signal at a second location that is closer to the RIS than the first location, (Fig. 1-2 & ¶0049 - More specifically, it is determined whether a beam having a wide coverage is appropriate if the power reaching the reception point 20 is weak or whether a beam having a high power is appropriate if the beam width is narrow. Fig. 4 & ¶0057 - In the short-distance region indicated by reference numeral 44 in FIG. 4… it is desirable to secure a large beam width. ¶0059 - In addition, in the long-distance region 48 illustrated in FIG. 4… it is desirable to narrow the beam width to generate a beam having a high power. Examiner interprets that Fig. 4 includes a reception point 20 located in two locations (short-distance region 44 (second location) and long-distance region 48 (first location), the beam generated towards 44 has a larger beam width than the beam generated towards region 48 in which it is desired to be narrower).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add the teaching of Iwabuchi to the teaching of Zhao. The motivation would be because the invention tackles improving reception quality at a reception point while reducing an overhead required for beam search by appropriately controlling a beam width of a reflected wave toward the reception point (¶0011, Iwabuchi);
Re. Claim 26, Zhao teaches a method of wireless communication performed by a network node, comprising: establishing a connection with a user equipment (UE); and configuring a reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) to produce a redirected signal that includes at least one composite signal that includes at least one multiplexed non-data signal, the at least one multiplexed non-data signal including at least one multiplexed power-bearing signal providing power to energy harvesting devices, (Fig. 1-2, 5 & Abstract - This paper proposes a novel IRS-aided SWIPT system where a multi-carrier multi-antenna Access Point (AP) transmits information and power simultaneously, with the assist of an IRS, to a single-antenna User Equipment (UE) employing practical receiving schemes. Page 4, Section C. Received Signal - The received superposed signal at the single-antenna UE is y(t) = … Note that the modulated component can be used for energy harvesting if necessary … Page 2, ¶2 - Inspired by the development of real-time reconfigurable metamaterials [19], the authors of [20] introduced a programmable metasurface that steers or polarizes the electromagnetic wave at a specific frequency to mitigate signal attenuation. Page 3, Section A. Transmitted Signal - … we superpose a multi-carrier modulated information-bearing waveform to a multi-carrier unmodulated power-dedicated deterministic multisine to boost the spectrum and energy efficiency);
and wherein producing the redirected signal that includes the at least one composite signal is based at least in part on an aperture size of the RIS (Fig. 10(a), 11(a) & Page 2, Section B. Intelligent Reflecting Surface - In practice, an IRS consists of multiple individual sub-wavelength reflecting elements to adjust the amplitude and phase of the incoming signal (i.e., passive beamforming). Page 3, Section II. System Model - … where an M-antenna AP delivers information and power simultaneously, through an L-element IRS, to a single antenna UE … Page 3, Section B. Reflection Pattern and Composite Channel - … IRS element L ∈{1,...,L} varies its impedance Zl=Rl+jXl to reflect the incoming signal … Page 11, ¶2 - The impacts of the number of transmit antennas M and the IRS elements L on the R-E behavior are revealed in Figs. 10(a) and 11(a). First, it is observed that adding either active or passive elements can improve the equivalent SNR … Examiner interprets the aperture size of the RIS as the number of reflective elements (L-elements) it contains);
Yet, Zhao does not explicitly teach wherein a first beamwidth of the redirected signal at a first location is narrower than a second beamwidth of the redirected signal at a second location that is closer to the RIS than the first location,
However, in the analogous art, Iwabuchi explicitly teaches wherein a first beamwidth of the redirected signal at a first location is narrower than a second beamwidth of the redirected signal at a second location that is closer to the RIS than the first location, (Fig. 1-2 & ¶0049 - More specifically, it is determined whether a beam having a wide coverage is appropriate if the power reaching the reception point 20 is weak or whether a beam having a high power is appropriate if the beam width is narrow. Fig. 4 & ¶0057 - In the short-distance region indicated by reference numeral 44 in FIG. 4… it is desirable to secure a large beam width. ¶0059 - In addition, in the long-distance region 48 illustrated in FIG. 4… it is desirable to narrow the beam width to generate a beam having a high power. Examiner interprets that Fig. 4 includes a reception point 20 located in two locations (short-distance region 44 (second location) and long-distance region 48 (first location), the beam generated towards 44 has a larger beam width than the beam generated towards region 48 in which it is desired to be narrower).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add the teaching of Iwabuchi to the teaching of Zhao. The motivation would be because the invention tackles improving reception quality at a reception point while reducing an overhead required for beam search by appropriately controlling a beam width of a reflected wave toward the reception point (¶0011, Iwabuchi);
Claims 13, 19, 25 and 35 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhao and Iwabuchi, and further in view of Haija (US 20240405807), Haija hereinafter.
Re. Claims 13, 19, 25 and 35, Zhou and Iwabuchi teach Claims 1, 14, 20 and 26.
Yet, Zhou and Iwabuchi do not explicitly teach the at least one composite signal is multiplexed in an angular domain.
However, in the analogous art, Haija explicitly teaches the at least one composite signal is multiplexed in an angular domain (Fig. 5, 8 & ¶0146 - Knowing an incident angle (angle of arrival (AoA)) of a beam being received at the RIS 530 and a reflected (or redirected) angle (angle of departure (AoD)) of a beam being reflected away from the RIS 530 is usually sufficient to properly configure the RIS 530 to allow the RIS 530 to redirect an incident signal from the BS 510 to a UE 520. ¶0166 - The distance to the RIS 830 normal to the RIS 830 for the BS 810 and for the UE 820 are provided, the angles expressed in azimuth and elevation for the angle of departure from either the BS 810 and the UE 820 (which would also be the angle of arrival if the link has directional reciprocity), and the beamwidths for the BS 810 and the UE 820 are all shown in the table).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add the teaching of Haija to the teachings of Zhao and Iwabuchi. The motivation would be because the invention relates generally to wireless communications, and in particular embodiments, use of reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS) in communication systems (¶0002, Haija).
Claims 3-4, 16, 22 and 28 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhao, Iwabuchi, and further in view of Haija et al. (US 20220014935), Haija2 hereinafter.
Re. Claims 3, 16, 22 and 28, Zhao and Iwabuchi teach Claims 1, 14, 20 and 26.
Yet, Zhao and Iwabuchi do not explicitly teach the one or more processors are further configured to: receive a transmission that includes timing or frequency information of the at least one multiplexed non-data signal.
However, in the analogous art, Haija2 explicitly teaches the one or more processors are further configured to: receive/output/receiving/outputting a transmission that includes timing or frequency information of the at least one multiplexed non-data signal (Fig. 7 & ¶0007 - there is provided a method involving receiving, by a UE, configuration information, the configuration information identifying both a reference signal and a carrier frequency of the reference signal being used to determine channel information about a channel between a base station and the UE via a RIS. Please also see ¶0063, ¶0099 and ¶0134. Examiner interprets that only one of the claimed features to be mapped because of the presence of “or”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add the teaching of Haija2 to the teachings of Zhao and Iwabuchi. The motivation would be because the invention relates generally to wireless communications, and in particular embodiments, use of configurable surfaces to reflect wireless signals between a transmitter and receiver (¶0001, Haija2).
Re. Claim 4, Zhou and Iwabuchi and Haija2 teach Claim 3.
Yet, Zhou and Iwabuchi do not explicitly teach the at least one composite signal further includes at least one multiplexed data signal, and wherein the transmission further includes timing or frequency information of the at least one multiplexed data signal.
However, in the analogous art, Haija2 explicitly teaches the at least one composite signal further includes at least one multiplexed data signal (Fig. 6A & ¶0123 - it may be possible to use frequency selective scheduling combined with beamforming to maximize a rate experienced at the receiver. It is also possible to configure a sufficient portion of the RIS for reflecting to this UE while satisfying a service requirement for this UE (e.g. transmission rate)), and wherein the transmission further includes timing or frequency information of the at least one multiplexed data signal (Fig. 7 & ¶0007 - there is provided a method involving receiving, by a UE, configuration information, the configuration information identifying both a reference signal and a carrier frequency of the reference signal being used to determine channel information about a channel between a base station and the UE via a RIS. Please also see ¶0063, ¶0099 and ¶0134. Examiner interprets that only one of the claimed features to be mapped because of the presence of “or”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add the teaching of Haija2 to the teachings of Zhou and Iwabuchi. The motivation would be because the invention relates generally to wireless communications, and in particular embodiments, use of configurable surfaces to reflect wireless signals between a transmitter and receiver (¶0001, Haija2).
Claims 5 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhao and Iwabuchi and Haija2, and further in view of Zheng et al. (US 2023/0038936), Zheng hereinafter.
Re. Claim 5, Zhao and Iwabuchi and Haija2 teach Claim 3.
Yet, Zhao and Iwabuchi and Haija2 do not explicitly teach the at least one composite signal further includes at least one multiplexed data signal, wherein the transmission is a first transmission, and wherein the one or more processors, to receive the first transmission, are configured to receive the first transmission in a search space, and wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: receive, in the search space, a second transmission that includes timing or frequency information of the at least one multiplexed data signal.
However, in the analogous art, Zheng explicitly teaches the at least one composite signal further includes at least one multiplexed data signal, wherein the transmission is a first transmission, and wherein the one or more processors, to receive the first transmission, are configured to receive the first transmission in a search space, (Fig. 1-2 & ¶0101 - as shown in FIG. 1, the base station sends the first DCI (“multiplexed data signal”) to the UE in the first search space);
and wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: receive, in the search space, a second transmission that includes timing or frequency information of the at least one multiplexed data signal (Fig. 1-2 & ¶0191 - The base station sends second DCI to the UE in the first common search space, where the second DCI is used to schedule common information. Correspondingly, the UE detects the second DCI from the base station in the first common search space. ¶0193 - If the UE detects the second DCI, the UE may receive the PDSCH by using a transmission parameter indicated by the second DCI, to obtain the system message carried on the PDSCH). Please also see ¶0179 regarding frequency/time domain resource locations).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add the teaching of Zheng to the teachings of Zhao and Iwabuchi and Haija2. The motivation would be because embodiments of this application relate to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a control information transmission method (¶0002, Zheng).
Re. Claim 6, Zhao and Iwabuchi and Haija2 teach Claim 3.
Yet, Zhao and Iwabuchi and Haija2 do not explicitly teach the at least one composite signal further includes at least one multiplexed data signal, wherein the transmission is a first transmission, and wherein the one or more processors, to receive the first transmission, are configured to receive the first transmission in a first search space, and wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: receive, in a second search space, a second transmission that includes timing or frequency information of the at least one multiplexed data signal.
However, in the analogous art, Zheng explicitly teaches the at least one composite signal further includes at least one multiplexed data signal, wherein the transmission is a first transmission, and wherein the one or more processors, to receive the first transmission, are configured to receive the first transmission in a first search space, (Fig. 1-2 & ¶0101 - as shown in FIG. 1, the base station sends the first DCI (“multiplexed data signal”) to the UE in the first search space);
and wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: receive, in a second search space, a second transmission that includes timing or frequency information of the at least one multiplexed data signal (Fig. 1-2 & ¶0187 - A message carrying the configuration information of the first common search space may further carry configuration information of another common search space (for example, a second common search space). ¶0192 - Optionally, operation 204: The base station sends, to the UE, the common information scheduled by using the second DCI. Correspondingly, the UE receives the common information sent by the base station. ¶0193 - In addition, the base station sends, to the UE, a PDSCH scheduled by using the second DCI, where the PDSCH carries a system message. Please also see ¶0179 regarding frequency/time domain resource locations).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add the teaching of Zheng to the teachings of Zhao and Iwabuchi and Haija2. The motivation would be because embodiments of this application relate to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a control information transmission method (¶0002, Zheng).
Claims 8, 31 and 33 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhao and Iwabuchi, and further in view of Zhao, Y., & He, J. (2023). Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface Technology White Paper (2023) [Review of Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface Technology White Paper (2023)]. RISTA, Zhou2 hereinafter.
Re. Claims 8, 31 and 33, Zhou and Iwabuchi teach Claims 1, 20 and 26.
Yet, Zhou and Iwabuchi do not explicitly teach the aperture size is an active aperture size of the RIS.
However, in the analogous art, Zhou2 explicitly teaches the aperture size is an active aperture size of the RIS (Fig. 44-45 & Page 69, Section 6.2 Active RIS - By integrating the active power amplifiers in RIS unit cells, the RIS is made capable of secondary field enhancement of space electromagnetic waves. The digital coding technique is also used for digitally discrete modulation of the state of the power amplifier, thus realizing the reconfigurable capability of the radiated far-field beam of the RIS. Page 70, Section 6.2 Active RIS - As shown in Figure 45, the active RIS can amplify the reflected signals via power amplifiers integrated into their elements and compensate the path loss caused by the multiplicative fading effect. The experimental measurements based on a prototype with 64 active RIS elements at 3.5 GHz verified a 10-dB signal enhancement compared to that of a metallic plate …. adding several active RISs in the network can substantially enhance the communication performance, since active RISs can opportunistically amplify the reflected signal along the multi-reflection path, thus effectively compensating the severe path loss).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add the teaching of Zhou2 to the teachings of Zhou and Iwabuchi. The motivation would be because the whitepaper explores potential interfaces and corresponding protocols between RIS and the base station, which hopefully be helpful for RIS to smartly reconfigure the wireless propagation environment (Page 90, Section 8.1 Iterative Evolution: Upward Spiral of 6G Technologies in 5G Evolution, Zhou2).
Claims 9, 32 and 34 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhou and Iwabuchi, and further in view of Liu et al. (US 2025/0096850), Liu hereinafter.
Re. Claims 9, 32 and 34, Zhou and Iwabuchi teach Claims 1, 20 and 26.
Yet, Zhou and Iwabuchi do not explicitly teach the RIS is a first RIS that is selected from among a plurality of RISs based at least in part on the aperture size of the first RIS.
However, in the analogous art, Liu explicitly teaches the RIS is a first RIS that is selected from among a plurality of RISs based at least in part on the aperture size of the first RIS (Fig. 8 & ¶0054 - The UE 606 or the BS 602 can request a size of an area, such as 20*20 elements. ¶0061 - the method 800 can further include transmitting a request for availability of a specified subset of the plurality of reflective elements, wherein the signal includes at least one of… the request can indicate a size of the specified subset or a coordinate of the specified subset. Fig. 9A & ¶0065 - a UE 906 can be served by multiple RISs 904. The BS 902 can select optimal or candidate subpanels from multiple RISs 904 using the training process).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add the teaching of Liu to the teachings of Zhou and Iwabuchi. The motivation would be because techniques are disclosed for signaling schemes in environments including one or more Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces (RISs) (¶0002, Liu).
Claims 10, 18, 24 and 30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhou and Iwabuchi, and further in view of Kowalski et al. (US 20080074990), Kowalski hereinafter.
Re. Claims 10, 18, 24 and 30, Zhou and Iwabuchi teach Claims 1, 14, 20 and 26.
Yet, Zhou and Iwabuchi do not explicitly teach the at least one composite signal includes at least one multiplexed data signal as well as the at least one multiplexed non-data signal.
However, in the analogous art, Kowalski explicitly teaches the at least one composite signal includes at least one multiplexed data signal as well as the at least one multiplexed non-data signal (Fig. 7 & ¶0057 - In one embodiment, the transmitter 704 may include a data signal 706 (“multiplexed data signal”) and a reference signal 708 (“multiplexed non-data signal”). The data signal 706 and the reference signal 708 may be combined into a single combined signal 710).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add the teaching of Kowalski to the teachings of Zhou and Iwabuchi. The motivation would be because a method for combining a reference signal with a data signal is disclosed (Abstract, Kowalski).
Claims 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhou and Iwabuchi, and further in view of Ding et al. (US 2024/0337726), Ding hereinafter.
Re. Claim 12, Zhou and Iwabuchi teach Claim 1.
Yet, Zhou and Iwabuchi do not explicitly teach the at least one multiplexed non-data signal includes at least one multiplexed sensing signal.
However, in the analogous art, Ding explicitly teaches the at least one multiplexed non-data signal includes at least one multiplexed sensing signal (Fig. 2 & ¶0215 – [0217] - The first signal is a sensing-dominant signal or an integrated sensing and communication signal… The first signal is a communication-dominant signal, or a sensing-enhanced communication-dominant signal, such as a 5G NR signal or Wi-Fi signal…).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add the teaching of Ding to the teachings of Zhou and Iwabuchi. The motivation would be because due to the widespread deployment of millimeter wave and multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) technologies, communication signals in future wireless communication systems often have high resolution in both time and angular domains, making it possible to achieve high-precision sensing using communication signals. Therefore, it is best to jointly design sensing and communication systems so that they can share the same frequency band and hardware to improve frequency efficiency and reduce hardware costs. This has prompted research on integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) (¶0052, Ding).
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ALYSSA WILLIAMS whose telephone number is (571)270-7673. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 8-5pm. 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, Ayman Abaza can be reached on (571) 270-0422. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ALYSSA WILLIAMS/Examiner, Art Unit 2465B
/AYMAN A ABAZA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2465
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