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 § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(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.
Claims 1-3, 6 and 9-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a1) as being anticipated by Xue et al (US20210211169A1).
Regarding claim 1 (Original), Xue’169 discloses a communication method of an electronic device (see, Fig. 1 and 7A, UE in cooperative reception within CoMP network, par 0087), the communication method comprising:
receiving, from a plurality of relay devices (relay stations (either relay BSs or UE) can be equated to a plurality of relay devices, par 0032), a plurality of signals of a downlink (coordinated CoMP transmissions from TRPs and other UEs to UE can be equated to plurality of signals of a downlink, par 0078, 0093) associated with a signal of an uplink transmitted by a first electronic device (see, Fig. 7B, UE in a cooperative reception group receives coordinated CoMP transmissions (with traffic originated from an UE) from TRPs and other UEs (with both TRPs and other UEs as relay station), par 0032, 0078, 0087. Noted, relay station (BS or UE) relays data transmission from UE to another UE, par 0032. Noted further, BS as intermediary between UEs in cellular network, par 0036, 0038);
restoring a plurality of pieces of data with the plurality of signals being processed (see, UE decodes the full downlink transmission based on portion of signal received at the UE and information (decoded bits) provided by the other UEs in the cooperative reception group, par 0093);
identifying reception data corresponding to transmission data included in the signal with the plurality of pieces of data being multiplexed (portion of signal targeted at UE and portion of signal targeted at other UE and thus multiplexed, par 0093) based on a set multiplexing rule (see, UE decodes downlink transmission from TRPs in combination with the information received from the cooperating UEs using precoder based on the decoded bits (portion of signal) from other cooperative UEs (and TRPs) with both cooperative UEs and TRPs functioned as relay station, par 0032, 0093. Noted, precoder employs BD-ZF precoding with beamforming weights of matrix associated with specific UE in coordinated beamforming and thus BD-ZF precoding for specific UE can be equated to one set, and BD-ZF precoding with beamforming weights of matrix can be equated to set multiplexing rule (weight A and B are non-zero matrices respectively associated with a first UE and a second UE), par 0085; Noted further, transmission from each UE corresponding to one set and other UEs can be equated to relay station, par 0032).
Regarding claim 2 (Original), Xue’169 discloses the communication method of claim 1 (see, Fig. 1 and 7A, UE in cooperative reception within CoMP network, par 0087), wherein first data (data stream from UE can be equated to first data, par 0101) is data identified with the signal being processed in the plurality of relay devices (see, data stream from UE scheduled by TRPs as relay stations with valid network identity (C-RNTI) to enable communication between TRPs and UEs for UE traffic, par 0100), and
when the plurality of relay devices divides the first data into a plurality of pieces of first data (see, BD-ZF precoding with A and B as non-zero matrices respectively associated with a first UE and a second UE in BD-ZF precoding, par 0085) based on a set division rule (see, each TRP of TRPs generated data for each UE according to BD-ZF precoding with A and B as non-zero matrices respectively associated with a first UE and a second UE in BD-ZF precoding, par 0085, 0093. Noted, if relay through other UE to UE, data generated according to BD-ZF precoding with non-zero weight matrices associated with the relay UE, par 0085, 0093. Noted further, precoder employs BD-ZF precoding with beamforming weights of matrix associated with specific UE in coordinated beamforming and thus BD-ZF precoding for specific UE can be equated to one set, and BD-ZF precoding with beamforming weights of matrix can be equated to set multiplexing rule (weight A and B are non-zero matrices respectively associated with a first UE and a second UE), par 0085), the plurality of signals (FIG. 7B, downlink transmissions to UE and other UE, par 0093) is a plurality of signals respectively corresponding to the plurality of pieces of first data transmitted from the plurality of relay devices (see, Fig. 7B, TRPs transmit downlink transmission to UE and other UEs in cooperative reception group via different precoded data according to BD-ZF precoding with beamforming weights of matrix to specific UE (and thus different data through different UE), par 0085, 0098. Noted, BD-ZF precoding for specific UE with beamforming weights matrix
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Regarding claim 3 (Original), Xue’169 discloses the communication method of claim 2 (see, Fig. 1 and 7A, UE in cooperative reception within CoMP network, par 0087), wherein each of the plurality of pieces of first data includes at least a portion of the first data (precoded data with different weight matrices for one specific UE of UEs can be equated to portion of the first data, par 0085) according to the set division rule (see, downlink transmission to UE through TRP and through relay UEs in cooperative reception group are precoded with BD-ZF precoding for specific UE with beamforming weights matrix
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, where A and B are non-zero matrices respectively associated with a first UE and a second UE, par 0085, 0087).
Regarding claim 6 (Original), Xue’169 discloses the communication method of claim 1 (see, Fig. 1 and 7A, UE in cooperative reception within CoMP network, par 0087), wherein the restoring of the plurality of pieces of data (see, UE decodes the full downlink transmission based on portion of signal received at the UE and information (decoded bits) provided by the other UEs in the cooperative reception group, par 0093) comprises:
identifying a plurality of pieces of demodulated data with the plurality of signals being demodulated (see, UE decodes the full downlink transmission based on portion of signal received at the UE and information (decoded bits) provided by the other UEs in the cooperative reception group with data precoded by BD-ZF precoding according to BD-ZF precoding for specific UE with beamforming weights matrix
A
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, where A and B are non-zero matrices respectively associated with a first UE and a second UE, par 0085 par 0085, 0093. Noted, decoding with precoder of weight matrix can be equated to demodulated); and
restoring the plurality of pieces of data with an error (interference term can be equated to error, par 0093) in the plurality of pieces of demodulated data being corrected (see, UE decodes the full downlink transmission based on portion of signal received at the UE and information (decoded bits) provided by the other UEs in the cooperative reception group and UE use downlink transmit precoder to determine an interference term to be subtracted from the signal received at the UE based on the decoded bits from the other UEs in the cooperative reception group, par 0093).
Regarding claim 9 (Currently Amended), Xue’169 discloses an electronic device (see, Fig. 2, UE, par 0044) comprising:
a transceiver (see, Fig. 2, antennas in UE, par 0042);
a storage configured to store one or more instructions (Fig. 2, memories in UE stores program codes for UE operation, par 0044); and
a processor (Fig. 2, processor in UE, par 0042) configured to execute the one or more instructions to perform the communication method of claim 1 (see, Fig. 2, processor executes instructions for wireless communication, par 0044).
Regarding claim 10 (Original), Xue’169 discloses a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium (Fig. 2, memories in UE stores program codes for UE operation, par 0044) comprising a computer program for performing the communication method of claim 1 (see, Fig. 1 and 7A, UE in cooperative reception within CoMP network, par 0087),
Regarding claim 11 (Original), Xue’169 discloses a communication method of a relay device (see, Fig. 1, relay stations (either relay BSs or UEs) relays transmission of data from an upstream station (a BS or a UE) to a downstream station (a UE or a BS), par 0032), the communication method comprising:
receiving a signal of an uplink transmitted by a first electronic device (see, Fig. 1, relay stations (either relay BS or relay UE) relays transmission of data from a UE, par 0032);
identifying first data corresponding to transmission data (data stream for each UE can be equated to transmission data, par 0104) included in the signal with the signal being processed (see, Fig. 8C, TRPs configured UEs with uplink transmit precoder and combines uplink transmission at the spatial locations of the respective TRPs, par 0105-0106);
identifying division data (see, BD-ZF precoding with A and B as non-zero matrices respectively associated with a first UE and a second UE in BD-ZF precoding, par 0085) including at least a portion of the first data based on a set division rule (see, one TRP generated data for each UE according to BD-ZF precoding with A and B as non-zero matrices respectively associated with a first UE and a second UE in BD-ZF precoding, par 0085, 0093. Noted, if relay UE, relays to UE the data generated for specific UE according to BD-ZF precoding with specific non-zero matrices associated with specific UE, par 0085, 0093); and
transmitting a signal of a downlink including the division data (see, BD-ZF precoding with A and B as non-zero matrices respectively associated with a first UE and a second UE in BD-ZF precoding, par 0085) to an electronic device (see, Fig. 1 and 7B, relay stations (either relay BS or relay UEs) relays transmission of data from a UE to specific UE in cooperative reception group, par 0032, 0085, 0093).
Regarding claim 12 (Original), Xue’169 discloses a communication system of a plurality of electronic devices using a relay device (see, Fig. 1, UEs communicates with BSs in wireless network with relay stations (either relay BSs or UEs) relays transmission of data from an upstream station (a BS or a UE) to a downstream station (a UE or a BS), par 0029, 0032), the communication system comprising:
a first electronic device (see, Fig. 1 and 8A, UE in uplink transmission, par 0032, 0095);
a plurality of relay devices (see, Fig. 1, relay stations (either relay BSs or UEs) relays transmission of data from an upstream station (a BS or a UE) to a downstream station (a UE or a BS), par 0032); and
an electronic device (see, Fig. 7A, a UE in a cooperative reception group, par 0087),
wherein the first electronic device transmits a signal of an uplink including transmission data (see, Fig. 1, relay stations (either relay BS or relay UE) relays transmission of data from a UE, par 0032),
the plurality of relay devices (Fig. 1, relay BSs can be equated to plurality of relay devices, par 0032) identifies first data corresponding to the transmission data with the signal being processed (see, relay BSs schedules UE for uplink data transmission by subframe and symbol (and thus identifies uplink data transmission from specific UE according to scheduled resource), par 0044, 0048), divides the first data into a plurality of pieces of first data (data precoded by BD-ZF precoding with A and B as non-zero matrices respectively associated with a first UE and a second UE in BD-ZF precoding can be equated to pieces of first data, par 0085) based on a set division rule (see, each of TRPs as relay stations precode data for one UE by BD-ZF precoding with specific non-zero weight matrices for specific UE (and thus divide data according to specific UE), par 0032, 0085. Noted, precoder employs BD-ZF precoding with beamforming weights of matrix associated with specific UE in coordinated beamforming and thus BD-ZF precoding for specific UE can be equated to one set, and BD-ZF precoding with beamforming weights of matrix can be equated to set multiplexing rule (weight A and B are non-zero matrices respectively associated with a first UE and a second UE), par 0085), and transmits a plurality of signals of a downlink (downlink transmission through scheduled slots and symbols can be equated to transmits a plurality of signals of a downlink, par 0048, 0093) corresponding to the plurality of pieces of first data to the electronic device (see, Fig. 7B, each of TRPs as relay stations transmits downlink transmission according to BD-ZF precoding to specific UE with specific weight, par 0032, 0085, 0093), and
the electronic device (UE can be equated to electronic device, par 0093) receives the plurality of signals from the plurality of relay devices (see, Fig. 7B, UE receives data precoded by BD-ZF precoding through scheduled slots and symbols, par 0048, 0085, 0093), restores a plurality of pieces of data with the plurality of signals being processed (see, UE decodes the full downlink transmission based on portion of signal received at the UE and information (decoded bits) provided by the other UEs in the cooperative reception group, par 0093), and identifies reception data corresponding to the transmission data with the plurality of pieces of data being multiplexed (portion of signal targeted at UE and portion of signal targeted at other UE and thus multiplexed, par 0093) based on a set multiplexing rule (see, UE decodes downlink transmission from TRPs in combination with the information received from the cooperating UEs using precoder based on the decoded bits (portion of signal) from other cooperative UEs (and TRPs) with both cooperative UEs and TRPs functioned as relay station, par 0032, 0093. Noted, precoder employs BD-ZF precoding with beamforming weights of matrix associated with specific UE in coordinated beamforming and thus BD-ZF precoding for specific UE can be equated to one set, and BD-ZF precoding with beamforming weights of matrix can be equated to set multiplexing rule (weight A and B are non-zero matrices respectively associated with a first UE and a second UE), par 0085; Noted further, transmission from each UE corresponding to one set while other UEs can be equated to relay stations, par 0032).
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 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 col. 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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied 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 4-5 and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Xue’169 in view of Zheng et al (WO2007079638A1).
Regarding claim 4 (Original), Xue’169 discloses the communication method of claim 2 (see, Fig. 1 and 7A, UE in cooperative reception within CoMP network, par 0087).
Xue’169 discloses all the claim limitations but fails to explicitly teach:
wherein the plurality of signals is signals having different frequencies and generated with the plurality of pieces of first data being modulated in the plurality of relay devices, and the identifying of the reception data comprises:
identifying, based on a plurality of frequencies corresponding to the plurality of signals, an order associated with multiplexing of the plurality of pieces of data; and
identifying, based on the order, the reception data with the plurality of pieces of data being multiplexed.
However Zheng’638 from the same field of endeavor (see, Fig. 1, single-hop transit system includes a source node, a set of transit nodes, and a destination node, page 12 par 02) discloses:
wherein the plurality of signals (parallel data streams, p12 second paragraph) is signals having different frequencies (Fig. 1, frequency diversity in multipath by dividing the frequency band into many mutually orthogonal subbands to transmit parallel data streams through transit node group, p12 second paragraph 2) and generated with the plurality of pieces of first data being modulated (data stream through OFDM modulation can be equated to the plurality of pieces of first data being modulated, p12 second paragraph) in the plurality of relay devices (see, Fig. 1, specific data stream through OFDM modulation generated for each transit node in transit node group according to frequency diversity in multipath, p12 second paragraph 2), and the identifying of the reception data (see, Fig. 1-2, destination node performs space-frequency with matrix C on the received signal to obtain a signal sequence sent by source code through transit node group, page 13 par 01-03) comprises:
identifying, based on a plurality of frequencies (Fig. 1, frequency diversity in multipath by dividing the frequency band into many mutually orthogonal subbands to transmit parallel data streams through transit node group, p12 second paragraph 2) corresponding to the plurality of signals, an order (Fig. 2, order of transit node i, page 13 par 02) associated with multiplexing of the plurality of pieces of data (see, Fig. 1-2, each transit node in transit node group corresponding to specific lines in matrix and corresponding to subbands in frequency diversity implied, p12 second paragraph 2, page 13 par 01-03); and
identifying, based on the order (Fig. 2, order of transit node i, page 13 par 02), the reception data with the plurality of pieces of data being multiplexed (see, Fig. 1-2, destination node performs space-frequency with matrix C on the received signal to obtain a signal sequence sent by source code through each transmit node i (i=1,…, N) in transit node group, page 12 par 02, page 13 par 01-03).
In view of the above, it would have been obvious before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains to implement the method as taught by Zheng’638 into that of Xue’169. The motivation would have been to compose a MIMO system with multi-antenna by using all antennae of a group of relay stations and realize a distributive MIMO codec transmission system of a group of relay stations (abstract).
Regarding claim 5 (Original), Xue’169 discloses the communication method of claim 2 (see, Fig. 1 and 7A, UE in cooperative reception within CoMP network, par 0087).
Xue’169 discloses all the claim limitations but fails to explicitly teach:
wherein the identifying of the reception data comprises:
identifying, based on values in set positions of the plurality of pieces of data, an order associated with multiplexing of the plurality of pieces of data; and
identifying, based on the order, the reception data by multiplexing the plurality of pieces of data.
However Zheng’638 from the same field of endeavor (see, Fig. 1, single-hop transit system includes a source node, a set of transit nodes, and a destination node, page 12 par 02) discloses:
wherein the identifying of the reception data (see, Fig. 1-2, destination node performs Time division multiplexing through subchannel with matrix C on the received signal to obtain a signal sequence sent by source code through transit node group, page 13 par 01-03) comprises:
identifying, based on values (one subchannel of subchannels corresponding to transit node i (i from 1 to N) can be equated to order, page 14 par 03) in set positions of the plurality of pieces of data (one subchannel of subchannels corresponding to transit node i (i from 1 to N), page 14 par 03), an order associated with multiplexing of the plurality of pieces of data (see, Fig. 1, destination node performs spatial time using time division multiplexing on the received signal to obtain a signal sequence sent by the source node according to one subchannel of subchannels corresponding to transit node i (i from 1 to N) using matrix C, page 14 par 03-page 15 par 03. Noted, due to space time coding, set positions of the plurality of pieces of data implied); and
identifying, based on the order (one subchannel of subchannels corresponding to transit node i (i from 1 to N) can be equated to order, page 14 par 03), the reception data by multiplexing the plurality of pieces of data (see, Fig. 1, destination node performs spatial time on the received signal to obtain a signal sequence s sent by the source node according to one subchannel of subchannels corresponding to transit node i (i from 1 to N) using matrix C, page 14 par 03-page 15 par 03).
In view of the above, it would have been obvious before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains to implement the method as taught by Zheng’638 into that of Xue’169. The motivation would have been to compose a MIMO system with multi-antenna by using all antennae of a group of relay stations and realize a distributive MIMO codec transmission system of a group of relay stations (abstract).
Regarding claim 8 (Original), Xue’169 discloses the communication method of claim 2 (see, Fig. 1 and 7A, UE in cooperative reception within CoMP network, par 0087), wherein the plurality of relay devices (relay stations (either relay BSs or UEs) can be equated to a plurality of relay devices, par 0032) is simultaneously positioned in a first area (CoMP for uplink and downlink within a coverage area, par 0081) associated with a first antenna (Fig. 7A, TRP can be antenna of a base station, par 0082) included in the first electronic device (see, Fig. 7A, UE cooperative reception receives transmission from TRP (antenna of a base station as one relay station) and other UEs in CoMP network with other UEs (as relay stations) forward bits from TRP to the UE, par 0032, 0081, 0082. Noted, single TRP in CoMP network, par 0082) and an area associated with an antenna included in the electronic device (see, Fig. 2, UE covered under BS and thus UE antenna within cell of the BS, par 0061).
Xue’169 discloses all the claim limitations but fails to explicitly teach:
the set multiplexing rule corresponds to a set division rule in the plurality of relay devices.
However Zheng’638 from the same field of endeavor (see, Fig. 1, single-hop transit system includes a source node, a set of transit nodes, and a destination node, page 12 par 02) discloses: the set multiplexing (spatial multiplexing through transit nodes can be equated to set multiplexing, page 14 par 03) rule corresponds to a set division rule (transit node i using corresponding subchannel can be equated to set division rule, page 14 par 03) in the plurality of relay devices (see, Fig. 1-2, source node transmits to destination node through each transit node i of transit node group transmitting specific data stream in parallel using one subchannel with one subchannel of subchannels corresponding to transit node i (i from 1 to N) in spatial multiplexing, page 14 par 03).
In view of the above, it would have been obvious before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains to implement the method as taught by Zheng’638 into that of Xue’169. The motivation would have been to compose a MIMO system with multi-antenna by using all antennae of a group of relay stations and realize a distributive MIMO codec transmission system of a group of relay stations (abstract).
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Xue’169 in view of Nagelberg et al (US11196478B1).
Regarding claim 7 (Original), Xue’169 discloses the communication method of claim 1 (see, Fig. 1 and 7A, UE in cooperative reception within CoMP network, par 0087).
Xue’169 discloses all the claim limitations but fails to explicitly teach: wherein the plurality of relay devices is a plurality of small communication satellites.
However Nagelberg’478 from the same field of endeavor (see, Fig. 1, communication system in a geographical area including cell towers, television and radio tower, user devices, wireless relays and relay control device, Col. 3 lines 44-55) discloses: wherein the plurality of relay devices (wireless relays can be equated to plurality of relay devices, Col. 5 line 51-67) is a plurality of small communication satellites (see, smallsats (small low cost satellites) replaced wireless relays, Col. 5 line 51-67).
In view of the above, it would have been obvious before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains to implement the method as taught by Nagelberg’478 into that of Xue’169. The motivation would have been to establish wireless ad hoc network using a series of wireless relays deployed in a geographical area where an extreme event has occurred (abstract).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
YU et al (US20090047901A1) discloses Fig. 1, a source node 100, two relay stations (RSs) 110 and 120, and a destination node 130 in the scenario example (par 0030);
A relationship between transmitted/received signals at each node is given in Equation 1 below:
y r1 =g 1 x s +n r1,
y r2 =g 2 x s +n r2,
y d =h 1 x r1 +h 2 x r2 +n d, [Eqn. 1]
where yr1 is the signal received by RS1 110 from source node 100, g1 is the channel matrix between RS1 110 and source node 100, xs is the signal transmitted by source node 100, nr1 is the noise in RS1 110, yr2 is the signal received by RS2 120 from source node 100, g2 is the channel matrix between RS2 120 and source node 100, nr2 is the noise in RS2 120, yd is the signal received by destination node 130 from RSs 110 and 120, h1 is the channel matrix between RS1 110 and destination node 130, h2 is the channel matrix between RS2 120 and destination node 130, xr1 is the signal transmitted by RS1 110, xr2 is the signal transmitted by RS2 120, and nd is the noise in destination node 130 (par 0031).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to XUAN LU whose telephone number is (571)272-2844. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday - Friday 7:30am-5:30pm.
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/XUAN LU/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2473