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 .
Continued Examination
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on April 24, 2026 has been entered.
This Office Action is in response to claim amendment filed on April 13, 2026 and wherein claims 1, 3, 28, 29 and 30 being currently amended.
In virtue of this communication, claims 1-30 are currently pending in this Office Action.
The Office appreciates the explanation of the amendment and analyses of the prior arts, and however, although the claims are interpreted in light of the specification, limitations from the specification are not read into the claims. See In re Van Geuns, 988 F.2d 1181, 26 USPQ2d 1057 (Fed. Cir. 1993) and MPEP 2145.
Response to Arguments
The Applicant acknowledges that the claim limitations that recite "means" or "step" are to be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. § 112, sixth paragraph. The Applicant notes that each "means for" feature "shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof."(Remarks, pages 14). Thus, Claim Interpretation as set forth in the previous office action, has been maintained.
Regarding Claim 1, Applicant argue that Wang fails to disclose or suggest at least "a reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) mobile terminal (RIS-MT) array that includes a first set of antenna elements" and "a RIS array that includes a second set of antenna elements for reflection or refraction of communication, “as in claim 1 (Remarks, Pages 15-18) have been fully considered and are not persuasive.
Wang disclose a RIS includes the RIS-MT array, and RIS-MT array that includes a first set of antenna elements, see Fig. 7A, element 752, Fig. 7B, element 772, Fig. 8, element 874, Fig. 9 and para [0082-0084], wherein reflection beams of the uplink signals (transmitted by UE) from APD to BS is reading as RIS-MT.
Wang disclose a RIS includes a RIS array, and a RIS array that includes a second set of antenna elements for reflection or refraction of communication. See Fig. 11A, element 1152, Fig. 11B, element 1172, Fig. 12, element 1274 and para [0097-0099], wherein the reflection beam of the downlink signal (transmitted by BS) from APD to UE is reading as RIS array.
WANG teach RIS array is different than RIS-MT array, see para [0087], “the base station 120 can analyze a phase vector configuration of the APD used to provide reflections of uplink sounding signals that reach the base station 120 (e.g., a narrow beam or narrow beam sweep pattern that results in a peak (received) signal strength or quality) and then uses a reciprocity theorem to configure antennas of the base station (e.g., phase steering vectors) and the APD phase vector for reflecting downlink reference signals to the UE 110” and para [0099], “the base station 120 can use the received ray IDs 1118 and RSRP values 1206 to determine a combination of a base station phase steering vector and an APD phase vector that enables or improves downlink communication via the APD 180 … the base station 120 may leverage reciprocity in uplink and downlink directions … to select a same APD phase vector for reflecting both uplink and downlink communications … the base station 120 may select separate phase vectors for the APD to reflect uplink and downlink communications”.
WANG further disclose selecting RIS array based on RIS-MT training, see Fig. 14, element 1440, 1445, and para [0122-0123], “with multiple iterations of beam sweeping, the base station can direct the APD and UE to implement an initial iteration of beam sweeping a few broad (or wide) beams …, and when the broad beams are selected for the UE and APD, the base station can implement another iteration of the transactions of 1400 to select narrow beams … in response to an RSRP of a received reflection exceeding a threshold, the base station determines to cease beam sweeping operations and configures the APD with a phase vector”, Fig. 16, element 1635, 1640 and para [0142-0143], “the base station may analyze the respective identifiers and signal quality parameters of the reflections to determine which combination of APD phase vector and UE UL beam provided the reflective signal received
at the base station with a highest RSRP… the base station can configure the APD to use the selected phase vector to establish or improve APD-enabled communications between the base station and the UE” and para [0087], “the base station 120 can analyze a phase vector configuration of the APD used to provide reflections of uplink sounding signals that reach the base station 120 (e.g., a narrow beam or narrow beam sweep pattern that results in a peak (received) signal strength or quality) and then uses a reciprocity theorem to configure antennas of the base station (e.g., phase steering vectors) and the APD phase vector for reflecting downlink reference signals to the UE 110 … the base station can start a phase vector training process with downlink CSI-RSs or SSBs that match closely to SRSs of uplink ray 752 in direction and the base station can start the APD beam sweep with angles around the angle of 751”.
Wang disclose phase vector and beam serving the similar as antenna elements, see para [0024-0025], “the antennas… support beamforming … surface-configuration codebooks that store surface-configuration information for a RIS of an APD and beam-sweeping codebooks that store patterns, sequences, or timing information for implementing multiple surface-configurations useful to direct an APD to perform a variety of reflective beamforming” and [0160], “the base station configures an antenna array of the base station with the selected phase steering vector for subsequent downlink communications to the UE through the communication path that includes the APD” and para [0087], “the base station 120 can analyze a phase vector configuration of the APD used to provide reflections of uplink sounding signals that reach the base station 120 (e.g., a narrow beam or narrow beam sweep pattern that results in a peak (received) signal strength or quality) and then uses a reciprocity theorem to configure antennas of the base station (e.g., phase steering vectors) and the APD phase vector for reflecting downlink reference signals to the UE 110”.
For Claim 3, Applicant argue Wang further fails to disclose or suggest that "the RIS-MT array and the RIS array differ based on one or more of: a different antenna element array size, a different orientation, a different location, or a different number of antenna elements," as in dependent claim 3 (Remarks, Page 18) have been fully considered and are not persuasive.
Wang disclose RIS array(s) of APD are independently configurable, and each array can include any number of elements, see para [0034], “The RIS 322 of the APD 180 includes one or more configurable surface element(s) 324 … based on principles of reflection, to control a directionality, phase, amplitude, and/or polarization of the transformed waveform … The RIS 322 can include array(s) of independently configurable surface element(s) 324, where an array can include any number of elements having any size”.
Based on the aforementioned reasoning, therefore, the Applicant’s argument is not
persuasive. Further, the new ground(s) of rejection is necessitated by the applicant amendment. The Office has thoroughly reviewed Applicants' arguments but firmly believes that the cited references to reasonably and properly meet the claimed limitations.
Claim Interpretation
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The claims in this application are given their broadest reasonable interpretation using the plain meaning of the claim language in light of the specification as it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim element (also commonly referred to as a claim limitation) is limited by the description in the specification when 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is invoked.
As explained in MPEP § 2181, subsection I, claim limitations that meet the following three-prong test will be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
(A) the claim limitation uses the term “means” or “step” or a term used as a substitute for “means” that is a generic placeholder (also called a nonce term or a non-structural term having no specific structural meaning) for performing the claimed function;
(B) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is modified by functional language, typically, but not always linked by the transition word “for” (e.g., “means for”) or another linking word or phrase, such as "configured to" or "so that"; and
(C) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is not modified by sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function.
Use of the word “means” (or “step for”) in a claim with functional language creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim element is to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) (pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph). The presumption that 35 U.S.C. 112(f) (pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph) is invoked is rebutted when the function is recited with sufficient structure, material, or acts within the claim itself to entirely perform the recited function.
Absence of the word “means” (or “step for”) in a claim creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim element is not to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) (pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph). The presumption that 35 U.S.C. 112(f) (pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph) is not invoked is rebutted when the claim element recites function but fails to recite sufficiently definite structure, material or acts to perform that function.
Claim limitations in this application that use the word “means” (or “step”) are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. Conversely, claim limitations in this application that do not use the word “means” (or “step”) are not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action.
Claim 29 in this application use the word “means for”, so they are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, they are being interpreted to cover the corresponding structure described in the specification as performing the claimed function, and equivalents thereof.
A review of the specification appears to show the structures provided in para [0005] and Fig. 16 are interpreted as the corresponding structures for the "means for" limitations.
Because this/these claim limitation(s) is/are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, it/they is/are being interpreted to cover the corresponding structure described in the specification as performing the claimed function, and equivalents thereof.
If applicant does not intend to have this/these limitation(s) interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, applicant may: (1) amend the claim limitation(s) to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph (e.g., by reciting sufficient structure to perform the claimed function); or (2) present a sufficient showing that the claim limitation(s) recite(s) sufficient structure to perform the claimed function so as to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
(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.
Claims 1-7, 9-15, 19-25, 27-30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C.102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Wang et al. (WO 2022187801 A1, hereinafter Wang).
Claim 1: Wang teaches an apparatus for wireless communication at a first network node (Fig. 1, elements 121, 122), comprising:
at least one memory (Fig.2, 260); and at least one processor (Fig.2, 258) coupled to the at least one memory and, based at least in part on information stored in the at least one memory, the at least one processor ([0025], “The CRM 260 may include any suitable memory or storage device …store device data 262 of the base stations 120. The device data 262 includes network-scheduling data, radio resource- management data, applications, and/or an operating system of the base station 120, which are executable by processor(s) 258 to enable communication with another base station 120, core network entities, and/or the UE 110.”), is configured to:
perform beam training with a reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) mobile terminal (RIS-MT) array that includes a first set of antenna elements (Fig. 7A, element 752, Fig. 7B, element 772, Fig. 8, element 874, wherein reflection beams of the uplink signals (transmitted by UE) from APD to BS is reading as RIS-MT. Fig. 9, [0084-0085], disclose antenna panel is corresponding to its beam for the reflection, [0160], “the base station configures an antenna array of the base station with the selected phase steering vector for subsequent downlink communications to the UE through the communication path that includes the APD”, Fig. 14, Fig. 16, [0115- 0123], [0136-0144], disclose beam training with using an APD to beam sweep reflected uplink beams),wherein a RIS (Fig. 13, 14, 15, element 180) includes the RIS-MT array (Fig. 7A, element 752, Fig. 7B, element 772, Fig. 8, element 874, [0083], “the base station 120 may decode or demodulate a received ray ID 718 and/or obtain one or more signal quality parameters (e.g. , RSRP) for the uplink signal reflections received at the base station … which include the reflection 874 of the sounding signal 871 … the base station 120 can use the received ray IDs 718 and RSRP values 806 to determine a combination of a UE phase steering vector and an APD phase vector that enables or improves uplink communication via the APD 180”, wherein reflection beams of the uplink signals (transmitted by UE) from APD to BS is reading as RIS-MT. Fig. 14, element 1420, 1425, FIG. 16, element 1620, 1625, [0140-0141], “the APD implements phase vectors of the phase sweeping pattern to sweep reflections of the uplink sounding signals that reach the APD … the base station receives, from the APD, respective reflections of at least one of the uplink sounding signals transmitted by the UE”) and a RIS array ( Fig. 11A, element 1152, Fig. 11B, element 1172, Fig. 12, element 1274, [0098], “the UE 110 receives one or more of the reflections of the reference signal 1271 that the APD 180 beam sweeps toward the UE … include the reflection 1274 of the reference signal 1271”, [0087], “the base station can start a phase vector training
process with downlink CSI-RSs or SSBs that match closely to SRSs of uplink ray 752 in direction and the base station can start the APD beam sweep with angles around the angle of 751”, [0099], “the base station 120 can use the received ray IDs 1118 and RSRP values 1206 to determine a combination of a base station phase steering vector and an APD phase vector that enables or improves downlink communication via the APD 180”, wherein the reflection beam of the downlink signal (transmitted by BS) from APD to UE is reading as RIS array. Fig. 15, Fig.18, [0125-0134], [0155-0160], disclose BS configure APD with the selected phase vector based on signal quality parameter of the beam swept reflection of the downlink reference signal), and wherein the RIS-MT array is associated with but different than the RIS array that includes a second set of antenna elements for reflection or refraction of communication ([0087], “the base station 120 can analyze a phase vector configuration of the APD used to provide reflections of uplink sounding signals that reach the base station 120 (e.g., a narrow beam or narrow beam sweep pattern that results in a peak (received) signal strength or quality) and then uses a reciprocity theorem to configure antennas of the base station (e.g., phase steering vectors) and the APD phase vector for reflecting downlink reference signals to the UE 110 … … the base station can start a phase vector training process with downlink CSI-RSs or SSBs that match closely to SRSs of uplink ray 752 in direction and the base station can start the APD beam sweep with angles around the angle of 751”, [0099], “the base station 120 can use the received ray IDs 1118 and RSRP values 1206 to determine a combination of a base station phase steering vector and an APD phase vector that enables or improves downlink communication via the APD 180 … the base station 120 may leverage reciprocity in uplink and downlink directions … to select a same APD phase vector for
reflecting both uplink and downlink communications … the base station 120 may select separate phase vectors for the APD to reflect uplink and downlink communications at different respective frequencies”) between the first network node (Fig. 11A, Fig. 11B, Fig. 12, element 120 is reading as network node) and one or more wireless devices (Fig. 11A, Fig. 11B, Fig. 12, element 110 is reading as wireless device);
identify, based on the beam training with the RIS-MT array (Fig. 14, Fig. 16, [0122-0123], “with multiple iterations of beam sweeping, the base station can direct the APD and UE to implement an initial iteration of beam sweeping a few broad (or wide) beams …, the base station can implement another iteration of the transactions of 1400 to select narrow beams … in response to an RSRP of a received reflection exceeding a threshold, the base station determines to cease beam sweeping operations and configures the APD with a phase vector and configures the UE 110 with a phase steering vector for subsequent communication through the wireless channel”, [0142-0143], “the base station may analyze the respective identifiers and signal quality parameters of the
reflections to determine which combination of APD phase vector and UE UL beam
provided the reflective signal received at the base station with a highest RSRP… the base station can configure the APD to use the selected phase vector to establish or improve APD-enabled communications between the base station and the UE”), a first beam for communication of configuration information (Fig. 11B, element 1054, Fig. 12, element 1056, wherein element 1054 and 1056 is reading as first beam. [0095], “the base station 120 transmits a narrow beam 1054 that includes signal ray 1171 toward an RIS of the APD 180 … The base station may then use the reported information to lookup a corresponding APD phase vector and base station beams to evaluate results of the downlink CSI process and select respective phase vectors for the APD 180 ”, [0097], “the base station 120 implements beam sweeping with an APD 180 of reflections of a downlink reference signal 1271 transmitted (e.g., narrow beam 1056) by the base station based on an APD beam sweeping pattern index … to sweep reflections 1276-1272”,
[0087], “the base station can start a phase vector training process with downlink CSI-RSs or SSBs that match closely to SRSs of uplink ray 752 in direction and the base station can start the APD beam sweep with angles around the angle of 751”) between the first network node (Fig. 7A, Fig. 7B, Fig. 8, element 120 is reading as network node) and the RIS-MT array (Fig.7A, element 752, Fig. 7B, element 772, Fig. 8, element 874);
and transmit communication from the first network node to the RIS array based on a second beam (Fig. 12, element 1272-1276, wherein beams 1272-1276 is reading as second beam), wherein the communication is for reflection or refraction ([0097], “the base station 120 implements beam sweeping with an APD 180 of reflections of a downlink reference signal 1271 transmitted (e.g., narrow beam 1056) by the base station based on an APD beam
sweeping pattern … to sweep reflections 1276-1272, some of which reach the UE 110 for analysis and decoding”) to a wireless device (Fig. 11A, Fig. 11B, Fig. 12, element 110), and wherein the second beam is determined for the RIS array based,, at least in part, on the first beam identified for the RIS-MT array ([0087], “the base station 120 can analyze a phase vector configuration of the APD used to provide reflections of uplink sounding signals that reach the base station 120 (e.g., a narrow beam or narrow beam sweep pattern that results in a peak (received) signal strength or quality) and then uses a reciprocity theorem to configure antennas of the base station (e.g., phase steering vectors) and the APD phase vector for reflecting downlink reference signals to the UE 110 … the base station can use a “best” RSRP value of the reflected uplink ray 752 to determine downlink communications settings that result in a “best” RSRP of a downlink reflection … the base station can start a phase vector training process with downlink CSI-RSs or SSBs that match closely to SRSs of uplink ray 752 in direction and the base station can start the APD beam sweep with angles around the angle of 751”, [0097], “the base station 120 may configure the APD 180 and / or DL beam IDs using the theorem of reciprocity and based on aspects of the uplink processes”, [0099], “the base station 120 may select separate phase vectors for the APD to reflect uplink and downlink communications at different respective frequencies”).
Claim 28 is a method of claim 1, and is analyzed and rejected according to claim 1.
Claim 29 is analyzed and rejected according to claim 1 and Wang further disclose the equivalent of “means for” ([0162], “A base station apparatus comprising: at least one wireless transceiver; a processor; and computer-readable storage media comprising instructions, responsive to execution by the processor, for directing the base station apparatus to perform any one of the methods recited in examples 1 to 39”).
Claim 30 is analyzed and rejected according to claim 1 and Wang further teaches a computer-readable medium storing computer executable code at a first network node, the computer executable code ([0135], “Some operations of the example methods may be described in the general context of executable instructions stored on computer-readable storage memory that is local and/or remote to a computer processing system, and implementations can include software applications, programs, functions”).
Claim 2: Wang teaches the apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor, is further configured to: obtain, from a network entity, at least one RIS codebook comprising at least one RIS configuration for the RIS array ([0025], “The device data 262 includes network-scheduling data, radio resource- management data … The device data 262 also includes
codebooks … The codebooks 264 may include any suitable type or combination of codebooks, including surface-configuration codebooks that store surface-configuration information for a RIS of an APD and beam-sweeping codebooks that store patterns, sequences, or timing information for implementing multiple surface-configurations useful to direct an APD to perform a variety of reflective beamforming … the surface-configuration codebooks and beam-sweeping codebooks include phase- vector information, angular information (e.g., calibrated to respective phase vectors), and/or beam-configuration information … The base station 120 may generate or revise the APD information 266 to add new APDs 180 that are detected, update information of known APDs 180, or delete existing ADPs 180 that are deprecated”); and
transmit, for the RIS-MT array, at least one identifier for the at least one RIS codebook, at least one index of the at least one RIS configuration, and a time-hopping schedule for the at least one RIS configuration for the RIS array comprised in the at least one RIS codebook, wherein to transmit the communication to the RIS array for the reflection or the refraction to the wireless device using the second beam, the at least one processor is configured to transmit the communication to the RIS array for the reflection or the refraction to the wireless device using the second beam further based on the at least one identifier for the at least one RIS codebook, the at least one index of the at least one RIS configuration, and the time-hopping schedule ([0040], “the base station 120 manages a configuration of the RIS of the APD 180 through use of a surface-configuration codebook 408 … the base station 120 may also manage a time-varying configuration of the RIS of the APD 180 through use of a beam sweeping
codebook … the base station 120 transmits multiple surface-configuration codebooks to the APD 180, such as a first surface-configuration codebook for downlink communications, a second surface-configuration codebook for uplink communications, a phase vector codebook, a beam sweeping codebook”, wherein downlink surface codebook, uplink surface codebook and “a phase vector codebook” is reading as RIS codebook, and “a time-varying configuration of the RIS” is reading as index of the at least one RIS configuration, and “a time-varying configuration of the RIS” is reading as the time-hopping schedule. Fig. 12, element 1274 is reading as second beam , [0097], “the base station 120 implements beam sweeping with an APD 180 of reflections of a downlink reference signal 1271 transmitted (e.g., narrow beam 1056) by the base station based on an APD beam sweeping pattern index 620…to sweep reflections 1276-1272”).
Claim 3: Wang teaches the apparatus of claim 2, wherein the network entity is one of the first network node, a second network node, a core network entity, a centralized unit (CU), or an operations, administration, and maintenance (OAM) entity (Fig. 1, [0014], “the base stations 120 (e.g., an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network Node B, E-UTRAN Node B, evolved Node B, eNodeB, eNB, Next Generation Node B, gNode B, gNB, ng-eNB, or the like)”, [0022], “The nomenclature for this distributed base station functionality varies and includes terms such as Central Unit (CU), Distributed Unit (DU), Baseband Unit (BBU), Remote Radio Head (RRH), and/or Remote Radio Unit (RRU).”), and wherein the RIS-MT array and the RIS array differ based on one or more of: a different antenna element array size ([0034], “The RIS 322 of the APD 180 includes one or more configurable surface element(s) 324 … based on principles of reflection, to control a directionality,
phase, amplitude, and/or polarization of the transformed waveform … The RIS 322 can include array(s) of independently configurable surface element(s) 324, where an array can include any number of elements having any size), a different orientation ([0034], “The RIS 322 of the APD 180 includes one or more configurable surface element(s) 324 … based on principles of reflection, to control a directionality, phase, amplitude, and/or polarization of the transformed waveform”), a different location (alternative), or a different number of antenna elements (alternative).
Claim 4: Wang teaches the apparatus of claim 2, wherein the at least one RIS configuration indicates a plurality of reflection directions or refraction directions or incident directions ([0017], “the base station 121 communicates direction information (e.g., a UE-to-BS communication direction or a BS-to-UE communication direction) with the surface configuration such that the APD 180 configures the RIS to reflect a wireless signal in the indicated direction (e.g., by determining or using reciprocal reflection angles”).
Claim 5: Wang teaches the apparatus of claim 2, wherein the at least one RIS configuration comprises at least one multiple lobe RIS configuration ([0017], “ The base station 121 may also communicate time information to the APD 180 that indicates when to apply the surface configuration to the RIS, such as a time slot, a start time, a time-duration, periodic time information (e.g., for applying the surface configuration periodically), or dynamic time information (e.g., for applying the surface configuration once)”).
Claim 6: Wang teaches the apparatus of claim 2, wherein the at least one processor, is further configured to: determine the at least one index of the at least one RIS configuration, wherein to transmit the at least one index of the at least one RIS configuration, the at least one processor, is configured to transmit the at least one index of the at least one RIS configuration based on the determination ([0032], “ the APD manager 320 receives an indication of a surface configuration over the wireless links 133 (an APD control channel), extracts the surface configuration from the codebooks 316 using the indication … the APD manager 320 receives an indication of a beam sweeping pattern ( e.g . , beam sweeping pattern index) over the wireless links 133, and applies a sequence of various surface configurations to the RIS based on the beam sweeping pattern and/or in accordance with a synchronization or pattern timing indicated by or received with the indication”, ).
Claim 7: Wang teaches the apparatus of claim 2, wherein the at least one processor, is further configured to: receive, from the network entity or the RIS-MT array ([0032], “the APD manager 320 initiates the transmission of uplink messages to the base station over the wireless links 133, such as acknowledgments/negative acknowledgments (ACKs/NACKs) for various APD configuration or management commands”, [0028], “The base stations 120 include an inter-base station interface 272, … which the base station manager 270 configures to exchange user-plane data and control -plane information between another base station 120, to manage the communication of the base stations 120 with the UE 110”), an indication of the at least one index of the at least one RIS configuration (Fig. 1, [0025], “The codebooks 264 may include any suitable type or combination of codebooks, including surface-configuration codebooks that store surface-configuration information for a RIS of an APD and beam-sweeping codebooks that store patterns, sequences, or timing information for implementing multiple surface-configurations useful to direct an APD to perform a variety of reflective beamforming), wherein to transmit the at least one index of the at least one RIS configuration, the at least one processor, is configured to transmit the at least one index of the at least one RIS configuration based on the indication of the at least one index of the at least one RIS configuration ([0032], “ the APD manager 320 receives an indication of a surface configuration over the wireless links 133 (an APD control channel), extracts the surface configuration from the codebooks 316 using the indication … the APD manager 320 receives an indication of a beam sweeping pattern ( e.g . , beam sweeping pattern index) over the wireless links 133, and applies a sequence of various surface configurations to the RIS based on the beam sweeping pattern and/or in accordance with a synchronization or pattern timing indicated by or received with the indication”).
Claim 9: Wang teaches the apparatus of claim 1, wherein the second beam for the communication to the RIS array is based on the first beam identified for the RIS-MT array and translation information for the RIS array relative to the RIS-MT array, and wherein the first beam is associated with a first frequency and the second beam is associated with a second frequency due to the translation information (Fig. 11A,element 1102, Fig. 11B, element 1104, disclose the mapping between first beam (element 1151, 1171) and second beam (element 1152, 1172, [0102], “ the beam sweeping pattern of the APD is associated or bound with time and frequency resources and/or identifiers of the uplink sounding signals to enable the base station to determine which APD phase vectors are associated with the reflections that reach the base station”, [0099], “the base station 120 may select separate phase vectors for the APD to reflect uplink and downlink communications at different respective frequencies”).
Claim 10: Wang teaches the apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: transmit first reference symbols to the RIS array for the reflection to a second network node (Fig. 18, elements 1820, [0157], “At block 1820, the base station transmits downlink reference signals toward an RIS of the APD while the APD implements the phase sweeping pattern … the downlink reference signals may be modulated or encoded with beam identifiers to enable the UE to identify respective
reflections or downlink signals that reach the UE”, wherein UE is reading as second network node);
and receive a measurement report of the first reference symbols from the second network node (Fig. 18, elements 1830, [0158], “At block 1830, the base station receives, from the UE, a report of received reflections of the downlink reference signals”),
wherein to transmit the communication to the RIS array for the reflection or the refraction to the wireless device using the second beam, the at least one processor, is configured to transmit the communication to the RIS array for the reflection or the refraction to the wireless device using the second beam further based on the measurement report of the first reference symbols (Fig. 18, elements 1835, 1840, [0159], “ the base station selects a phase vector for the APD or a phase steering vector for the base station based on the report of the received reflections of the downlink reference signals”, Fig. 12, [0099], “the base station 120 can use the received ray IDs 1118 and RSRP values 1206 to determine a combination of a base station phase steering vector and an APD phase vector that enables or improves downlink communication via the APD 180. Concluding the present example, the base station 120 selects phase vector 91 (-97 dBm) and the base station phase steering vector associated with downlink reference signal 1271 (or base station
downlink beam) for use in subsequent downlink communication”).
Claim 11: Wang teaches the apparatus of claim 10, wherein to transmit the first reference symbols, the at least one processor, is configured to transmit the first reference symbols over multiple time-frequency resources (Fig. 18, elements 1820, 1825, [0157], “At block 1820, the base station transmits downlink reference signals toward an RIS of the APD while the APD implements the phase sweeping pattern and optionally, at block 1825, the base station transmits other downlink reference signals toward the UE …the downlink reference signals may be modulated or encoded with beam identifiers to enable the UE to identify respective reflections or downlink signals that reach the UE”, [0162], Example 35, “scheduling transmission of the at least one downlink reference signal for time resources of an air interface that extends between the UE and base station”, [0022], “ reflection-access information that indicates time information on when to use the APD surface and/or configurable surface element information that indicates portions of the APD surface available to the UE 110”, [0033], “the beam sweeping pattern may include reflection identifier information by which the APD 180 modulates or applies (e.g., using the RIS) one or more reflection identifiers to a downlink reference signal or uplink sounding signal reflected by the APD 180”).
Claim 12: Wang teaches the apparatus of claim 11, wherein the first reference symbols are frequency division multiplexed over multiple beams, wherein the measurement report further comprises time-frequency identifiers and measured signal strengths for the multiple beams (Fig. 18, element 1830, [0158], “the UE 110 can decode or demodulate a reflection identifier and/or obtain one or more signal quality parameters (e.g., RSRP) for reflections or direct downlink reference signals received at the UE 110. The UE 110 then sends the report indicative of the reflection identifier and/or one or more signal quality parameters back to the base station 120”),
and wherein to transmit the communication to the RIS array for the reflection or the refraction to the wireless device using the second beam, the at least one processor, is configured to transmit the communication to the RIS array for the reflection or the refraction to the wireless device using the second beam based on the time-frequency identifiers and the measured signal strengths (Fig. 18, element 1835, 1840, [0159], “The base station 120 may select a phase vector for the APD or a phase steering vector for the base station based on an analysis of identifiers, CSI information, SSB indexes, and/or other signal quality parameters of the reflections that the UE provides as feedback for the reflections that reach the UE”, [0160], “The base station may configure the APD to use the selected phase vector to reflect subsequent communications between the base station and the UE through the communication path that includes the APD”, Fig. 15, element 1525 is reading as first beam, element 1535 is reading as the second beam, [0128], “At 1525, the base station 120 transmits downlink reference signals toward the RIS of the APD … As described with reference to FIGs. 11 A- 12”, [0129], “At 1535, the APD 180 transforms the downlink reference signals to direct reflections of the downlink reference signals for reception by the UE 110 … the APD 180 modulates an APD-beam ID onto a respective reflection, such that an identifier of the reflection includes information provided by the BS-beam ID of the base station 120 and/or the APD-beam ID.”).
Claim 13: Wang teaches the apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor, is further configured to: receive first reference symbols over multiple time-frequency resources, wherein the first reference symbols are reflected or refracted to the first network node by the RIS array from a second network node (Fig. 16, element 1615, 1620, 1625, [0139-0141], wherein the base station receives, from the APD, respective reflections of at least one of the uplink sounding signals transmitted by the UE.);
and measure the first reference symbols (Fig. 16, element 1635, [0142], “the base station may analyze the respective identifiers and signal quality parameters of the reflections to determine which combination of APD phase vector and UE UL beam provided the reflective signal received at the base station with a highest RSRP”. Fig. 18, element 1830, [0158], “the base station receives, from the UE, a report of received reflections of the downlink reference signals”),
wherein to transmit the communication to the RIS array for the reflection or the refraction to the wireless device using the second beam, the at least one processor, is configured to transmit the communication to the RIS array for the reflection or the refraction to the wireless device using the second beam further based on the measured first reference symbols (Fig. 16, element 1635, 1640, 1645, [0143-0144], based on a selected phase vector for the APD, the base station can configure the APD to use the selected phase vector and configure the UE to use the selected phase steering vector to establish or improve APD-enabled communications between the base station and the UE. Fig. 18, [0155-0160], disclose BS configure APD with the selected phase vector based on signal quality parameter of the beam swept reflection of the downlink reference signal, [0087], “the base station can use a “best” RSRP value of the reflected uplink ray 752 to determine downlink
communications settings that result in a “best” RSRP of a downlink … the base station can start a phase vector training process with downlink CSI-RSs or SSBs that match closely to SRSs of uplink ray 752 in direction”).
Claim 14: Wang teaches the apparatus of claim 13, wherein the at least one processor, is further configured to: provide the second network node with a configuration for the multiple time-frequency resources, wherein to receive the first reference symbols, the at least one processor, is configured to receive the first reference symbols based on the configuration (Fig. 16, element 1615,[0139], “the base station sends parameters of the channel sounding process to the UE to configure the UE to implement the channel sounding process at a predefined time and with uplink sounding resources (e.g., SRS resources) associated with the phase sweeping pattern of the APD”).
Claim 15: Wang teaches The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the at least one processor, is further configured to: transmit, for the second network node, at least one of: a first indication that the multiple time-frequency resources are to be modified (Fig. 16, element 1615, [0139], “ the base station sends parameters of the channel sounding process to the UE to configure the UE to implement the channel sounding process at a predefined time and with uplink sounding resources (e.g., SRS resources) associated with the phase sweeping pattern of the APD”) , a second indication that attributes of a beam associated with the first reference symbols are to be modified (Fig. 16, element 1620, [0140], “the base station directs the APD to implement the phase sweeping pattern while the UE transmits uplink sounding signals that correspond to the uplink sounding process. As described herein, the base station may schedule the channel sounding process of the UE to coincide with the phase sweeping pattern implemented by the APD. Thus, the base station may direct the UE to transmit beams of uplink sounding signals while the APD implements phase vectors of the phase sweeping pattern to sweep reflections of the uplink sounding signals that reach the APD. The base station may also direct the UE to transmit an omnidirectional, broad beam, or separate beams of uplink signals that reach the APD and/or the base station direct”), or a third indication that a transmit power level of the beam is to be modified (alternative).
Claim 19: Wang teaches The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor, is further configured to: obtain, from a network entity, (1) at least one RIS codebook comprising at least one RIS configuration associated with a first reflection or a first refraction between a second network node and a third network node with respect to the RIS array ([0025], “The codebooks 264 may include any suitable type or combination of codebooks, including surface-configuration codebooks that store surface-configuration information for a RIS of an APD and beam-sweeping codebooks that store patterns, sequences, or timing information for implementing multiple surface-configurations useful to direct an APD to perform a variety of reflective beamforming”) and (2) translation information for changing the first reflection or the first refraction to a second reflection or a second refraction between the second network node and the first network node with respect to the RIS array ([0025], “The base station 120 may generate or revise the APD information 266 to add new APDs 180 that are detected, update information of known APDs 180, or delete existing ADPs 180 that are deprecated”, [0026], “the PVF 268 of the base station 120 manages usage of the APDs 180 to direct or steer reflections of wireless signals (e.g., signal ray or beams) to the base station on the uplink or to the UE on the downlink”, [0028], “The base stations 120 include an inter-base station interface 272, … which the base station manager 270 configures to exchange user-plane data and control -plane information between another base station 120, to manage the communication of the base stations 120 with the UE 110”);
and transmit, for the RIS array, the at least one RIS codebook and the translation information, wherein to transmit the communication to the RIS array for the reflection or the refraction to the wireless device using the second beam, the at least one processor, is configured to transmit the communication to the RIS array for the reflection or the refraction to the wireless device using the second beam further based on the at least one RIS codebook and the translation information ([0040], “the base station 120 manages a configuration of the RIS of the APD 180 through use of a surface-configuration codebook 408 … the base station 120 may also manage a time-varying configuration of the RIS of the APD 180 through use of a beam sweeping codebook … the base station 120 transmits multiple surface-configuration codebooks to the APD 180, such as a first surface-configuration
codebook for downlink communications, a second surface-configuration codebook for uplink communications, a phase vector codebook, a beam sweeping codebook”, [0160], “The base station may configure the APD to use the selected phase vector to reflect
subsequent communications between the base station and the UE through the communication path that includes the APD”, [0099], “the base station 120 may leverage reciprocity in uplink and downlink directions (e.g., for time division duplex (TDD) systems) to select a same APD phase vector for reflecting both uplink and downlink
communications … the base station 120 may select separate phase vectors for the APD to reflect uplink and downlink communications”).
Claim 20: Wang teaches the apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor, is further configured to: obtain, from a network entity, at least one RIS codebook comprising at least one of: a first indication of an incident signal direction from the first network node to the RIS array (alternative), a second indication of a distance between the first network node and the RIS array (alternative), at least one RIS configuration ([0042], “the beam-sweeping
codebook indicates an order or sequence of surface configurations, timing or periodicity information, and/or APD reflection identifiers to cycle through in order to beam sweep
reflections of downlink or uplink signals in a horizontal direction or vertical direction”, [0040], “the base station 120 transmits multiple surface-configuration codebooks to
the APD 180, such as a first surface-configuration codebook for downlink communications, a second surface-configuration codebook for uplink communications, a phase vector codebook, a beam sweeping codebook”), or a set of reflect or refract angles and distance ranges for the wireless device, wherein to transmit the communication to the RIS array for the reflection or the refraction to the wireless device using the second beam (alternative), the at least one processor, is configured to transmit the communication to the RIS array for the reflection or the refraction to the wireless device using the second beam further based on the first indication (alternative), the second indication (alternative), the at least one RIS configuration ([0042], “the beam-sweeping codebook indicates an order or sequence of surface configurations, timing or periodicity information, and/or APD reflection
identifiers to cycle through in order to beam sweep reflections of downlink or uplink signals in a horizontal direction or vertical direction”, [0040], “the base station 120 transmits multiple surface-configuration codebooks to the APD 180, such as a first surface-configuration codebook for downlink communications, a second surface-configuration codebook for uplink communications, a phase vector codebook, a beam sweeping codebook,”, [0025], “the surface- configuration codebooks and beam-sweeping codebooks include phase- vector information, angular information(e.g., calibrated to respective phase vectors), and/or beam-configuration information”), or the set of reflect or refract angles and the distance ranges (alternative).
Claim 21: Wang teaches The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor, is further configured to: obtain a range of angle values with respect to a reference coordinate of the first network node or a direction between the first network node and the RIS-MT array, wherein to perform the beam training with the RIS-MT array, the at least one processor, is configured to perform the beam training with the RIS-MT array based on the range of angle values ([0025], “the surface- configuration codebooks and beam-sweeping codebooks
include phase- vector information, angular information (e.g., calibrated to respective phase vectors), and/or beam-configuration information”, [0064], “The base station 120 also selects a beam sweeping pattern of narrower beams for the APD 180 to cover a sweep area limited to approximately the angular sweep of the successful broad
reflection beam 662”, [0042], “the beam-sweeping codebook indicates an order or sequence of surface configurations, timing or periodicity information, and/or APD reflection identifiers to cycle through in order to beam sweep reflections of downlink or uplink signals in a horizontal direction or vertical direction”, [0040], “such as a first surface-configuration codebook for downlink communications, a second surface-configuration codebook for uplink communications, a phase vector codebook, a beam sweeping codebook”).
Claim 22: Wang teaches The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor, is further configured to: select a network node from a plurality of network nodes, wherein to transmit the communication to the RIS array for the reflection or the refraction to the wireless device using the second beam, the at least one processor, is configured to transmit the communication to the RIS array for the reflection or the refraction to the wireless device using the second beam based on first reference symbols received from the network node or second reference symbols transmitted for the network node ([0045], “the base station 120 configures the APD 180 with a beam sweeping pattern and timing information (e.g. , start and stop times for a time slot assigned to the particular UE) … the base station 120 communicates surface configuration changes on a slot-by-slot basis using signaling on the APD fast-control channel. These allow the base station to configure the APD for multiple UEs, such as in scenarios where different UEs are assigned different time slots or different numerologies, and enable concurrent determination of APD phase vectors or phase steering vectors for multiple UEs”, Fig. 16, elements 1625, 1630, 1635, 1640, 1645, [0141-0144], wherein the base station configures the UE and APD with the selected phase steering vector based on highest RSRP of the received reflections, thus enable or improve APD-enabled communications between the base station and the UE, Fig. 18, [0159-0160], disclose the base station configure the APD to use the selected phase vector to reflect subsequent communications between the base station and the UE through the communication path that includes the APD based on signal quality of beam swept reflections of the downlink reference signal).
Claim 23: Wang teaches the apparatus of claim 22, wherein the network node and the RIS array belong to a same distributed unit (DU), wherein the network node and the RIS array belong to different distributed units (DUs) of a same centralized unit (CU), or wherein the network node and the RIS array belong to different centralized units (CUs) (Fig.1, [0014], “the wireless links 130 include a wireless link 133 between at least one of the base stations 120 (e.g., base station 121) and an adaptive phase-changing device 180 (APD 180) to control a surface configuration of the APD 180. In other implementations, the base stations 120 include a wireline interface for communicating control information with the APD 180”, [0022], “The nomenclature for this distributed base station functionality varies and includes terms such as Central Unit (CU), Distributed Unit (DU), Baseband Unit (BBU), Remote Radio Head (RRH), and/or Remote Radio Unit ”. [0048], “Generally, the example 500 shows a base station 120 using an APD 180 to direct or steer a reflection of a wireless signal communicated between the base station 120 and a user equipment 110. The APD 180 may be selected from a set of multiple APDs 180 deployed within communication range of the base station 120”).
Claim 24: Wang teaches the apparatus of claim 22, wherein the network node is the first network node or a second network node, and wherein to select the network node, the at least one processor, is configured to select the network node based on a link budget associated with the RIS array ( Fig. 13, [0104-0113], disclose the base station may detect a decrease in signal quality, a decrease in throughput, or loss of a wireless link with the UE through a direct (e.g. LoS path) communication path or a communication path through a different APD , and then BS start beam sweeping procedure as described in Fig. 13, wherein the base station analyze the respective identifiers and signal quality parameters of the reflections that reach the base station to determine which combination of APD phase vector and UE UL beam provide a reflective signal with a highest RSRP at the base station, [0059], “the base station 120 may select an APD 180 that is near the UE 110 (e.g., UE’s estimated position), an APD 180 located near a LoS communication path between the base station and the UE, or an APD 180 that is likely to provide an APD-enabled communication path between the base station and the UE”).
Claim 25: Wang teaches the apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor, is further configured to: transmit first reference symbols over first multiple time-frequency resources to the RIS array for the reflection or the refraction to a second network node (Fig. 5, [0048], “a base station 120 using an APD 180 to direct or steer a reflection of a wireless signal communicated between the base station 120 and a user equipment 110”, [0049], “a communication path may include a direct communication path between the base station 120 and the UE 110 or an indirect communication path that includes an APD 180 … the base station 120 can transmit a reference signal (e.g., independent of an active wireless link) using a beam pattern (e.g, one broad or multiple narrow beams) that reaches the APD 180 and/or the UE 110 to implement aspects of phase vector training for APD-enabled communication.”. Fig. 11B, [0095], wherein the base station 120 may transmit separate downlink beams toward the APD 180 and the UE 110. In the context of separate beam transmission, the base station 120 transmits a narrow beam 1054 that includes signal ray 1171 toward an RIS of the APD 180, which is reflected as
reflection 1172 (e.g., reflected signal ray) toward the UE 110);
and receive second reference symbols over second multiple time-frequency resources, wherein the second references symbols are reflected or refracted to the first network node by the RIS array from the second network node (Fig. 5, [0051], “ the UE 110 can transmit a sounding signal (e.g. , independent of an active wireless link) using a beam pattern (e.g. , an omnidirectional pattern or multiple beams) that reaches the APD 180 and/or the base station 120 to implement aspects of phase vector training for APD-enabled communication”, Fig. 8, [0076-0083], wherein the base station 120 use the APD 180 to implement beam sweeping to steer or direct (e.g., by beamforming) reflections of uplink sounding signals that may reach the base station 120 ), wherein to transmit the communication to the RIS array for the reflection or the refraction to the wireless device using the second beam, the at least one processor, is configured to transmit the communication to the RIS array for the reflection or the refraction to the wireless device using the second beam further based on transmitted first reference symbols and the received second reference symbols ([0052], “To implement various aspects of phase vector training for APD-enabled communication, the base station 120 may direct the UE 110 to transmit a wireless signal with a direct signal ray propagating toward the APD 180 and optionally with direct signal rays propagating toward the base station 120”, [0133], “the base station may analyze the respective identifiers and signal quality parameters of the reflections to determine which combination of APD phase vector and base station downlink beam provide a reflective signal with a highest RSRP at the UE”, [0134], “the base station configures the APD to use the selected phase vector to reflect subsequent communications between the base station and the UE through the communication path that includes the APD”, Fig. 18, [0158-0160], disclose UE sends the report indicative of the reflection identifier and one or more signal quality parameters back to the base station, base station selects a phase vector for the APD or a phase steering vector for the base station based on the report of the received reflections of the downlink reference signals, and the base station may configure the APD to use the selected phase vector to reflect subsequent communications between the base station and the UE through the communication path that includes the APD ).
Claim 27: Wang teaches The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising at least one of a transceiver or an antenna (Fig. 2, element 252, 254, 256) coupled to the at least one processor (Fig. 2, element 258), wherein to transmit the communication to the RIS array for the reflection or the refraction to the wireless device, the at least one processor, is configured to transmit the communication to the RIS array for the reflection or the refraction to the wireless device via at least one of the transceiver or the antenna ([0024], “The RF front end 254 of the base station 120 can couple or connect the wireless transceivers 256 (e.g., radio frequency transceivers) to the antennas 252 to facilitate various types of wireless communication. …The antennas 252 and the RF front end 254 can be tuned to, and/or be tunable to, one or more frequency bands … the antennas 252, the RF front end 254, and/or the wireless transceivers 256 may be configured to support beamforming, such as Massive-MIMO, for the transmission and reception of communications with the UE 110, other UEs, and/or another base station 120”, Fig. 3, [0030], “the antennas 302, the RF front end 304, and the transceiver(s) 306 may be configured to support beamforming for the transmission and reception of communications with the base station 120 and/or UE 110”).
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.
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 nonobviousness.
Claims 8, 26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang et al. (WO 2022187801 A1, hereinafter Wang) in view of Haija et al. (US 20240405807 A1, hereinafter Haija).
Claim 8: Wang does not explicitly teach the apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: obtain, from a network entity, (1) an indication of a third beam associated with communication between a second network node and the RIS-MT array and (2) translation information for changing the third beam for communication between the first network node and RIS-MT array or between the first network node and RIS array, wherein to transmit the communication to the RIS array, the at least one processor, is configured to translate the third beam to the second beam based on the translation information.
However, Haija, from the same or similar field of endeavor, teaches the apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: obtain, from a network entity, (1) an indication of a third beam associated with communication between a second network node and the RIS-MT array (Fig. 10, element 1040, 1065, [0177], “ beamforming a signal to send to the RIS 1030 that includes configuration information for the RIS 1030
to reflect reference signals transmitted by the BS 1010 in different directions, which can be measured by the UE 1020 to determine one or more of AoD from the BS 1010”, [0186], “the BS (or the network) sends RIS configuration information to the RIS … The RIS
configuration information may include information to configure the RIS 1030 that has been determined based on determinations made by the BS 1010 at step 1055, such as the overlapped beam spot size and location, updated AoA and AoD at RIS and the active region for the RIS 1030”, [0176], “determines beam parameter information such as an angle of arrival (AoA) at the RIS 1030 and an angle of departure (AoD) at the RIS 1030 (in both azimuth and elevation direction as appropriate) for a beam” ) and (2) translation information for changing the third beam for communication between the first network node and RIS-MT array or between the first network node and RIS array, wherein to transmit the communication to the RIS array, the at least one processor, is configured to translate the third beam to the second beam based on the translation information (Fig. 10, element 1065, [0186], “the BS (or the network) sends RIS configuration information to the RIS … The RIS
configuration information may include information to configure the RIS 1030 that has been determined based on determinations made by the BS 1010 at step 1055, such as the overlapped beam spot size and location, updated AoA and AoD at RIS and the active region for the RIS 1030”, Fig. 12, Element 1270, [0201], “The RIS configuration information may be used to configure an appropriate portion of the RIS 1230 to redirect a signal between the BS 1210 and UE 1220 in which the BS beam spot and the UE beam spot are highly overlapped … The RIS configuration information may include information to configure the RIS 1230 that has been determined based on determinations made by the BS 1210 at step 1250, such as the overlapped beam spot size and location, updated AoA and AoD at the RIS 1220 and the active region for the RIS 1230”, wherein updating RIS configuration to redirect the signal between BS and UE with highly overlapped beam spot is reading as translation.).
Wang and Haija are both considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of wireless communication. 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 the system of Wang and the features of updating RIS beam configuration from the network entity, as taught by Haija, for the benefit of allowing network entity control the RIS configuration between BS and UE.
Claim 26: Wang does not explicitly teach the apparatus of claim 1, wherein the RIS array is associated with a set of network nodes, wherein the at least one processor, is further configured to: combine a set of beams associated with the set of network nodes and the RIS array, wherein to transmit the communication to the RIS array for the reflection or the refraction to the wireless device using the second beam, the at least one processor, is configured to transmit the communication to the RIS array for the reflection or the refraction to the wireless device using the second beam further based on combined set of beams.
However, Haija, from the same or similar field of endeavor, teaches the apparatus of claim 1, wherein the RIS array is associated with a set of network nodes, wherein the at least one processor, is further configured to: combine a set of beams associated with the set of network nodes and the RIS array, wherein to transmit the communication to the RIS array for the reflection or the refraction to the wireless device using the second beam, the at least one processor, is configured to transmit the communication to the RIS array for the reflection or the refraction to the wireless device using the second beam further based on combined set of beams (Fig. 11A, 11B, 11C, [0205], “the BS 1110 sends common information to multiple UEs UE1 1120, UE2 1130 and UE3 1140. The BS 1110 may transmit via a wide beam 1112 that has a large beam spot 1115 on the RIS 1150. The RIS 1150 is configured such that different RIS portions within the BS beam spot 1115 redirect the incident signal towards different UEs, UE1 1120, UE2 1130 and UE3 1140”).
Wang and Haija are both considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of wireless communication. 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 the system of Wang and the features of the RIS array is associated with a set of network nodes, as taught by Haija, for the benefit of allowing network to support RIS configuration for multiple UEs .
Claims 16-18 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang et al. (WO 2022187801 A1, hereinafter Wang) in view of GUNTURU et al. (US 20230022225 A1, hereinafter GUNTURU).
Claim 16: Wang does not explicitly teach the apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor, is further configured to: transmit, for the RIS array, first reference symbols over multiple time-frequency resources; and measure a first reflection of the first reference symbols, wherein to transmit the communication to the RIS array for the reflection or the refraction to the wireless device using the second beam, the at least one processor, is configured to transmit the communication to the RIS array for the reflection or the refraction to the wireless device using the second beam further based on the measured first reflection of the first reference symbols.
However, GUNTURU, from the same or similar field of endeavor, teaches teach the apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor, is further configured to: transmit, for the RIS array, first reference symbols over multiple time-frequency resources (Fig. 11, [0126], “The base station can transmit multiple reference signals denoted by “R” indicating the repetition of each reference signals”, Fig. 15, [0144], “The base station 102 can configure multiple sets of IRS associated reference signals to the UE using the component CSI-measconfig for measuring the set of pilots or reference signals associated with each of the IRS”); and measure a first reflection of the first reference symbols (Fig. 11, [0127], “The IRS panel can reflect the signals in different directions one after the other in time division manner”, [0128], “The base station 102 can capture reflected signals from the IRS to identify the beams with the maximum signal strength represented by “M”, Fig. 15, [0145], “the UE can be configured to measure all the configured reference signals and reports the RSRP/ SINR through CSI-feedback. The UE can send the measurement report to the base station for associating the UE to the IRS”), wherein to transmit the communication to the RIS array for the reflection or the refraction to the wireless device using the second beam, the at least one processor, is configured to transmit the communication to the RIS array for the reflection or the refraction to the wireless device using the second beam further based on the measured first reflection of the first reference symbols (Fig. 11, [0128], “the periodicity can be transmitted by the base station 102 to the IRS using the parameters M, N and R. Further, the base station can associate the IRS id with the identified reference signals resource set.”, [0125], “the base station, on receiving the discovery signal, can indicate the IRS to enable a set of IRS elements for a pre-defined time interval with the specified time duration”, Fig. 15, [0147-0148], wherein The base station can be configured to identify the IRS panel and the associated group of reflecting elements of the panel based on the identified maximum reference signals, and request the IRS controller to enable the corresponding IRS panels with the groups of reflecting elements one by one in a specified time intervals).
Wang and GUNTURU are both considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of wireless communication. 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 the system of Wang and the features of detecting the reflection between BS and IRS, as taught by GUNTURU, for the benefit of finding the most reliable and robust communication path between BS and wireless device via IRS reflection.
Claim 17: The combination of Wang and GUNTURU teaches the apparatus of claim 16, GUNTURU additionally teaches wherein to measure the reflection of the first reference symbols, the at least one processor, is configured to measure the reflection of the first reference symbols via a full-duplex operation (Fig. 11, [0125-0128], disclose BS capture and measure reflected signals, and the reflected signals are the reflection signals of BS transmitted reference signals, wherein BS measuring its own reflection signals while transmitting signals at the same time, thus BS is working at a full-duplex operation).
The motivation for combining Wang and GUNTURU regarding to the claim 16 is also applied to claim 17.
Claim 18: The combination of Wang and GUNTURU teaches the apparatus of claim 16, GUNTURU additionally teaches wherein the at least one processor, is further configured to: transmit an indication of a periodicity and an offset that the RIS array is to apply during transmission of the first reference symbols over the multiple time-frequency resources, wherein the reflection of the first reference symbols is based on the indication of the periodicity and the offset, and wherein to measure the first reflection of the first reference symbols, the at least one processor, is configured to measure the first reflection of the first reference symbols via a subband full-duplex operation (Fig. 11, [0128], “the periodicity can be transmitted by the base station 102 to the IRS using the parameters M, N and R. Further, the base station can associate the IRS id with the identified reference signals resource set.”, [0125], “the base station, on receiving the discovery signal, can indicate the IRS to enable a set of IRS elements for a pre-defined time interval with the specified time duration”. Fig. 10, [0124], “the reflecting elements of the surface numbered as 1, 2, 3 and 4 form a group in which the beams are reflected for a first period of time (t1) specified by the base station in a particular direction. In the same manner other group of reflecting elements 5, 6, 7
and 8 can reflect beams for a second period of time (t2) for reflecting in a particular direction”).
The motivation for combining Wang and GUNTURU regarding to the claim 16 is also applied to claim 18.
Conclusion
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/Y.Z./Examiner, Art Unit 2472
/NICHOLAS A JENSEN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2472
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