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 .
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.
Claim(s) 1-2, 9, 14-21, 22-23, 25-26 & 28-29 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by McMenamy et al. (US 2024/0413858 A1).
Regarding claims 1 & 22, McMenamy discloses the user equipment (UE) for wireless communication and network node, comprising:
one or more memories (see memory [0687]); and one or more processors coupled to the one or more memories (see processor [0687]), the one or more processors individually or collectively configured to cause the UE/Network (see UE/GnB in fig. 20) to:
communicate, within a time period (“frame period” which is time duration, “changes” by RIS configuration [0398]), with a network node via a primary communication path comprising a link between the network node and a first electromagnetic radiation reflection relay network node (see “reconfigurable intelligent surface”, [0028] which reflects electromagnetic communication signals ) and a link between the first electromagnetic radiation reflection relay network node and the UE (see fig. 20, containing UE1/UE2 wherein multipath connections to gNB can be obtained, direct or via GNB RIS or via secondary RIS on top of building, therefore one of many paths);
and communicate, within the time period (“frame period” which is time duration, “changes” by RIS configuration [0398]), with the network node via at least one secondary communication path (see, fig. 20, secondary path can be via RIS on top of building and then on to gNB versus direct to gNB) comprising a link between the UE and a second electromagnetic radiation reflection relay network node (see fig. 20 illustration, containing UE1/UE2 wherein multipath connections to gNB can be obtained, direct or via GNB RIS or via secondary RIS on top of building , therefore by gNB “forwarding” inter-cell between gNB “directly” as additional relay as described in [0367]);
McMenamy does not best disclose however CN 103517438 A best discloses to provide, to the network node, channel state information (CSI) indicative of a first value of a channel parameter associated with the link between the UE and the second relay network node and a second value of the channel
parameter associated with a link between the UE and a third relay network node (see [0012] discloses multiple nodes upto “k-th relay node”, wherein “channel state parameter” can be provided between source and k-th relay node);
In CN 103517438 A the relay node was not an electromagnetic radiation reflection relay node. However, this was disclosed by primary reference Mcmenamy (see reflection surface in [0028]). Therefore, It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to combine the teachings of McMenamy with that of CA 103517438 A. Doing so would conform to well known standards and configurations in the field of invention.
Regarding claims 25 and 28, McMenamy in view of CA 103517438 A discloses first electromagnetic radiation reflection relay network node for wireless communication and second electromagnetic radiation reflection relay network node for wireless communication, comprising:
one or more memories (see memory [0687]); and one or more processors coupled to the one or more memories (see processor [0687]), the one or more processors individually or collectively configured to cause the first electromagnetic radiation reflection relay network (see RIS network fig. 20, for carrying electromagnetic signal on reflection relay) node to:
receive, from a network node (see either gNB in fig. 220), configuration information indicative of a configuration for communicating with a user equipment (UE) (see [0368], “wherein the controller unit associated with the primary cell is adapted for coordinating/orchestrating a RIS configuration considering inputs/requests from intra-primary-cell end-to-end links ”); and communicate, within a time period (see “frame period” [0399]), with the UE via a primary communication path comprising a link between a network node and the first electromagnetic radiation reflection relay network node (see fig. 20, gNB to relay RIS on top of building and described “relay node” [0548], inter alia) and a link between the first electromagnetic radiation reflection relay network node and the UE (see gNB and link to UE, fig. 20);
McMenamy does not best disclose however CN 103517438 A best discloses to provide, to the network node, channel state information (CSI) indicative of a first value of a channel parameter associated with the link between the UE and the second relay network node and a second value of the channel
parameter associated with a link between the UE and a third relay network node (see [0012] discloses multiple nodes upto “k-th relay node”, wherein “channel state parameter” can be provided between source and k-th relay node);
In CN 103517438 A the relay node was not an electromagnetic radiation reflection relay node. However, this was disclosed by primary reference Mcmenamy (see reflection surface in [0028]). Therefore, It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to combine the teachings of McMenamy with that of CA 103517438 A. Doing so would conform to well known standards and configurations in the field of invention.
Regarding claim 2, McMenamy in view of CA 103517438 A discloses the UE of claim 1, wherein the at least one secondary communication path further comprises: a link between the second electromagnetic radiation reflection relay network node (see RIS “relay” on top of building fig. 20 and described [0070]) and the first electromagnetic radiation reflection relay network node (see gnB with RIS, fig. 20);
and a link between the first electromagnetic radiation reflection relay network node (see RIS “relay” on top of building fig. 20 and described [0070]) and the network node ( see gnB with RIS, fig. 20).
Regarding claim 9, McMenamy in view of CA 103517438 A discloses the UE of claim 8, wherein the channel parameter comprises at least one of a received power at the UE, a multiplexing gain at the UE (see gain, [0118]), or an interference level at the UE (see [0118], “the UE may try to evaluate a best beam configuration in view of a predefined criterion, e.g., data throughput, energy consumption, interference caused”).
Regarding claim 14, McMenamy in view of CA 103517438 A discloses the UE of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors, to cause the UE to communicate via the at least one secondary communication path, are individually or collectively configured to cause the UE to communicate, based on the first electromagnetic radiation reflection relay network node and the second electromagnetic radiation reflection relay network node being associated with a common frequency band (see “same frequency band” [0012]), in accordance with a time division multiplexing scheme (time division [0012]).
Regarding claim 15, McMenamy in view of CA 103517438 A discloses the UE of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors, to cause the UE to communicate via the at least one secondary communication path, are individually or collectively configured to cause the UE to communicate, based on the first electromagnetic radiation reflection relay network node being associated with a first frequency band and the second electromagnetic radiation reflection relay network node being associated with a second, different, frequency band (see “different frequencies” [0254] for different reflections of RIS), in accordance with a frequency division multiplexing scheme (see FDM of OFDM in [0222]).
Regarding claim 16, McMenamy in view of CA 103517438 A discloses the UE of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors, to cause the UE to communicate via the at least one secondary communication path, are individually or collectively configured to cause the UE to communicate via the at least one secondary communication path in association with a low-latency communication scheme (see [0673], regarding RIS communication and feedback defined in terms of latency response parameters).
Regarding claim 17, McMenamy in view of CA 103517438 A discloses the UE of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors, to cause the UE to communicate via the at least one secondary communication path, are individually or collectively configured to cause the UE to communicate via the at least one secondary communication path in association with a link failure prediction (see [0667], “These procedures are defined on L1/L2, and essentially include beam establishment, beam refinement and beam recovery in case of a beam failure [10]. When RIS is employed as a passive relay-type RIS, which may be one of the main scenarios in extending the NR-framework, a single link is broken into two cascading links, and there is no longer one-to-one beam pair relationship between a base station and a UE. This has implications for all phases of beam management as it's procedures rely on a frequent information exchange. Some of the aspects to take into consideration are: [0668] As (passive) RIS does not generate synchronisation signals, which identify the cell, cell search with RIS as a passive relay will need to be considered. One of the options could be that only specific Synchronization Signal Blocks (SSBs), generated by the base station, are used to aid RIS discovery. ”).
Regarding claim 18, McMenamy in view of CA 103517438 A discloses the UE of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors, to cause the UE to communicate via the at least one secondary communication path, are individually or collectively configured to cause the UE to communicate via the at least one secondary communication path (see fig. 20, displaying multipath communication via at least one relay for second communication path) in association with a set of time resources (see [0305], “RIS-specific reference signals may be transmitted on specific time-frequency resources”).
Regarding claim 19, McMenamy in view of CA 103517438 A discloses the UE of claim 18, wherein the set of time resources comprises at least one of a symbol, a slot, or a frame (see frame period, slot period and symbol period in [0399]-[0401]).
Regarding claim 20, McMenamy in view of CA 103517438 A discloses the UE of claim 18, wherein the one or more processors are further individually or collectively configured to cause the UE to receive, from the network node, a communication indicative of the set of time resources (see time resources for reference signals which are received by UE, [0305]).
Regarding claim 21, McMenamy in view of CA 103517438 A discloses the UE of claim 20, wherein the communication comprises at least one of a radio resource control message (see RRC [0302]) or a dynamic control communication.
Regarding claims 23 & 29, McMenamy in view of CA 103517438 A discloses a network node of claim 22 and network node of claim 28, wherein the one or more processors are further individually or collectively configured to cause the network node to provide (see gNB fig. 20), to the first electromagnetic radiation reflection relay network node (see RIS relay network in fig. 20), configuration information (see configuration messages [0495]) that configures the first electromagnetic radiation reflection relay network node to transmit at least one synchronization signal block (SSB) (see SSB [0488]) associated with the first electromagnetic radiation reflection relay network node (see RIS [0484]).
Regarding claim 26, McMenamy in view of CA 103517438 A discloses the first electromagnetic radiation reflection relay network node of claim 25, wherein the one or more processors are further individually or collectively configured to cause the first electromagnetic radiation reflection relay network node to: receive, from the network node, additional configuration information that configures the first electromagnetic radiation reflection relay network node to transmit at least one synchronization signal block (SSB) (see see SSB [0488]) associated with the first electromagnetic radiation reflection relay network node (see nodes in fig. 20 of RIS network); and transmit the at least one SSB (see SSB [0488]).
Claim(s) 3, 24 & 27 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over McMenamy et al. in view of CN 103517438 A in further view of (CA 3220242 A1).
Regarding claim 3, McMenamy discloses the UE of claim 1,
McMenamy does not specifically disclose however CA 3220242 A1 discloses wherein the one or more processors, to cause the UE to communicate via the primary communication path (of filtered signals via various multiple metasurfaces, page 5), are individually or collectively configured to cause the UE to communicate data in association with a primary phase matrix (first matrix, page 6, based on “filter configuration” therefore a preference specified here between first or second matrix) associated with the first electromagnetic radiation reflection relay network node and, wherein the one or more processors, to cause the UE to communicate via the at least one secondary communication path (see one of signal paths via various “multiple meta surfaces”, page 5), are individually or collectively configured to cause the UE to communicate the data in association with at least one secondary phase matrix (“second matrix”, page 6) associated with at least one of the second electromagnetic radiation reflection relay network node or at least one additional electromagnetic radiation reflection relay network node (see any of multiple metasufaces, page 5);
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to combine the teachings of CA 3220242 A1 with that of McMenamy et al. (US 2024/0413858 A1). Doing so would conform to well-known conventions within the field of invention.
Regarding claim 24 and 27, McMenamy discloses the network node of claim 22 and the network node of claim first electromagnetic radiation reflection relay network node of claim 25, wherein the one or more processors (see processors [0667]) are further individually or collectively configured to cause the network node to: communicate, during an initial time period occurring prior to the time period (see [0398] Therefore, embodiments propose to align the RIS configuration changes to be aligned and synchronized with at least: [0399] Radio frame period [0400] Slot period [0401] Symbol period [0402] Short symbol period [0403] Or any combination of the above, therefore an initial time period would exist)
McMenamy does not specifically disclose, with the UE only via the primary communication path and in association with a first phase matrix (first matrix, page 6) associated with the first electromagnetic radiation reflection relay network node; and provide, to the first electromagnetic radiation reflection relay network node, configuration information indicative of a primary phase matrix (first matrix, page 6, which is based on “filter configuration”, therefore a specification here) for communicating with the UE, wherein communicating with the UE via the primary communication path within the time period comprises communicating data in association with the primary phase matrix (first matrix, page 6, based on “filter configuration”);
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to combine the teachings of CA 3220242 A1 with that of McMenamy et al. (US 2024/0413858 A1). Doing so would conform to well-known conventions within the field of invention.
Claim 4-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over McMenamy et al. (US 2024/0413858 A1) in view of CN 103517438 A in further view of Haija et al. (US 2022/0014935 A1).
Regarding claim 4, McMenamy discloses the UE of claim 1,
McMenamy does not specifically disclose however Haija discloses wherein the one or more processors, to cause the UE to communicate via the primary communication path, are individually or collectively configured to cause the UE to communicate in association with at least one of a wide-beam radiation pattern associated with the first electromagnetic radiation reflection relay network node ((see “wide-beam” regarding “RIS”, [0109])) or a multi-lobe radiation pattern associated with the first electromagnetic radiation reflection relay network node.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to combine the teachings of Haija with that of McMenamy. Doing so would conform to well-known conventions within the field of invention.
Regarding claim 5, McMenamy discloses the UE of claim 1,
McMenamy does not specifically disclose however Haija discloses wherein the one or more processors, to cause the UE to communicate via the at least one secondary communication path, are individually or collectively configured to cause the UE to communicate in association with at least one of a wide-beam radiation pattern associated with the first electromagnetic radiation reflection relay network node ((see “wide-beam” regarding “RIS”, [0109])) or a multi-lobe radiation pattern associated with the first electromagnetic radiation reflection relay network node;
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to combine the teachings of Haija with that of McMenamy. Doing so would conform to well-known conventions within the field of invention.
Claim(s) 6-7 and 30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over McMenamy et al. (US 2024/0413858 A1) in view of CN 103517438 A in further view of Lee et al. (US 2019/0036754 A1).
Regarding claim 6, McMenamy discloses the UE of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors, to cause the UE to communicate via the primary communication path, are individually or collectively configured to cause the UE to communicate in association with a power level associated with the first electromagnetic radiation reflection relay network node, and wherein the one or more processors, to cause the UE to communicate via the at least one secondary communication path, are individually or collectively configured to cause the UE to communicate in association with a power level associated with the second electromagnetic radiation reflection relay network node (see [0308], “RIS-specific reference signals are expected to include typical L1 measurement matrix, e.g., RSRP, RSSI, RSRQ and/or SINR”, here different power levels for different RIS, see RIS specific).
McMenamy does not specifically disclose however Lee discloses a first power level and a second power level (see claim 1, second power level higher than first power level);
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to combine the teachings of Lee with that of McMenamy. Doing so would conform to well-known conventions within the field of invention.
Regarding claim 7, McMenamy discloses the UE of claim 6, McMenamy does not specifically disclose however Lee discloses wherein the second power level is higher than the first power level (see claim 1, second power level higher than first power level);
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to combine the teachings of Lee with that of McMenamy. Doing so would conform to well-known conventions within the field of invention.
Regarding claim 30, McMenamy discloses the second electromagnetic radiation reflection relay network node of claim 28,
wherein the one or more processors, to cause the second electromagnetic radiation reflection relay network node to communicate via the secondary communication path (see more than one path in fig.20 involving RIS network), are individually or collectively configured to cause the second electromagnetic radiation reflection relay network node (see multiple nodes in fig. 20 ) to communicate in association with associated with the second electromagnetic radiation reflection relay network node, associated with a primary communication path comprising a link between the network node and the first electromagnetic radiation reflection relay network node and a link between the first electromagnetic radiation reflection relay network node and the UE (see UE, RIS and GNB fig. 20).
McMenamy does not specifically disclose however Lee discloses a second power level, the second power level being different than a first power level (see claim 1, second power level higher than first power level);
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to combine the teachings of Lee with that of McMenamy. Doing so would conform to well-known conventions within the field of invention.
Claim(s) 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over McMenamy et al. (US 2024/0413858 A1) in view of CN 103517438 A in further view of Wu et al. (US 2024/0258717 A1).
Regarding claim 13, McMenamy discloses the UE of claim 1,
McMenamy does not specifically disclose however Wu discloses wherein the one or more processors, to cause the UE to communicate via the at least one secondary communication path, are individually or collectively configured to cause the UE to communicate in accordance with a spatial division multiplexing scheme (see SDM which stands for spatial division multiplexing [0170]) in which a first beam (see [0170] BEAM) is associated with the first electromagnetic radiation reflection relay network node (see metasurface [0170]) and a second beam is associated with the second electromagnetic radiation reflection relay network node.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to combine the teachings of Wu with that of McMenamy. Doing so would conform to well-known conventions within the field of invention.
Claim(s) 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over McMenamy et al. (US 2024/0413858 A1) in view of CN 103517438 A in further view of McMenamy et al. (US 2024/0413858 A1)(Background).
Regarding claim 14, McMenamy discloses the UE of claim 1,
However does not disclose what McMenamy Background discloses wherein the one or more processors, to cause the UE to communicate via the at least one secondary communication path, are individually or collectively configured to cause the UE to communicate, based on the first electromagnetic radiation reflection relay network node and the second electromagnetic radiation reflection relay network node being associated with a common frequency band (see “same frequency band” [0012]), in accordance with a time division multiplexing scheme (time division [0012]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to combine the teachings of McMenamy Background with that of McMenamy. Doing so would conform to well-known conventions within the field of invention.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 8-12 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
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 K. WILFORD SHAHEED whose telephone number is (469) 295-9175. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday 9 am-6pm; CST; ALT Friday. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. The examiner’s Supervisor, Jinsong Hu, can be reached at (571)272-3965, where attempts to reach the examiner are unsuccessful.
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/KHALID W SHAHEED/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2643
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