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 (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 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.
Claim(s) 1-2,8-9,13-14,17-18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being MONELL to (WO0232011A1)
Regarding claim 1, MONELL teaches a method of wireless communication, comprising: determining, by a terminal device(fig.1, mobile station), a target downlink channel for receiving a downlink signal, (page 18, lines 19-25 discloses the second mobile station MS2 tunes to the target downlink radio frequency carrier F2 and synchronizes according to steps 1-2 described previously, with the target timeslot TS21 on the target downlink radio frequency F2).
Regarding claims 2,9,14,18 MONELL teaches determining the target downlink channel for receiving the downlink signal according to at least one of: a downlink channel corresponding to a first downlink signal, wherein the first downlink signal is used for supplying power to the terminal device; (page 18, lines 19-25 discloses on the target downlink radio frequency carrier F2 are transmitted using a transmission power level, or a plurality of transmission power levels, equal to or higher than the transmission power level used for transmission in the target timeslot TS2) .
Regarding claim 8, MONELL teaches a method of wireless communication, comprising: determining, by a network device,(fig.1, base station), a target downlink channel for transmitting a downlink signal ( page 17, lines 24-30 discloses the target base station BS2 in the target cell C2 begin downlink transmission of bursts of digital radio symbols on the seized channel and changes downlink power control mode for the target downlink radio frequency carrier F2 to synchronization mode TSPC).
Regarding claim 13, MONELL teaches a terminal device(page.7, fig.1, mobile station), comprising: a processor, configured to determine a target downlink channel for receiving a downlink signal, (page 18, lines 19-25 discloses the second mobile station MS2 tunes to the target downlink radio frequency carrier F2 and synchronizes …with the target timeslot TS21 on the target downlink radio frequency F2).
Regarding claim 17, MONELL teaches a network device, comprising: a processor,(fig.1, base station) configured to determine a target downlink channel for transmitting a downlink signal ( page 17, lines 24-30 discloses the target base station BS2 in the target cell C2 begin downlink transmission of bursts of digital radio symbols on the seized channel and changes downlink power control mode for the target downlink radio frequency carrier F2 to synchronization mode TSPC).
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.
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.
Claim(s) 3-4,10,15,19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over MONELL to (WO0232011A1) in view of MANOLAKOS to (WO 2022060576 A1)
Regarding claims 3,10,15,19 MONELL teaches wherein the target downlink channel is the same as the downlink channel corresponding to the first downlink signal, (page 18, lines 19-25 discloses the second mobile station MS2 tunes to the target downlink radio frequency carrier F2 and synchronizes according to steps 1-2 described previously, with the target timeslot TS21 on the target downlink radio frequency F2) wherein the target downlink channel being the same as the downlink channel corresponding to the first downlink signal comprises that(page 18, lines 19-25 discloses the second mobile station MS2 tunes to the target downlink radio frequency carrier F2 and synchronizes according to steps 1-2 described previously, with the target timeslot TS21 on the target downlink radio frequency F2), but does not discloses a center frequency point of the target downlink channel is the same as a center frequency point of the downlink channel corresponding to the first downlink signal
However, MANOLAKOS teaches a center frequency point of the target downlink channel is the same as a center frequency point of the downlink channel corresponding to the first downlink signal( [0088]discloses DL PRS Point A parameter defines a frequency of a reference resource block (and the lowest subcarrier of the resource block), with DL PRS resources belonging to the same DL PRS resource set having the same Point A and all DL PRS resource sets belonging to the same frequency layer having the same Point A. A frequency layer also has the same DL PRS bandwidth, the same start PRB (and center frequency), and the same value of comb size (i.e., a frequency of PRS resource elements per symbol such that for comb-N, every N- resource element is a PRS resource element))
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to enable the system of MONELL include a center frequency point of the target downlink channel is the same as a center frequency point of the downlink channel corresponding to the first downlink signal, as suggested by MANOLAKOs. This modification would benefit the system to reduce signal interference.
Regarding claims 4, MONELL does not explicitly teach wherein a location of the target downlink channel is predefined, wherein the location of the target downlink channel being predefined comprises that: a center frequency point of the target downlink channel is predefined; or wherein the target downlink channel is a channel where a center frequency point of the operating frequency band for the terminal device is located
However, MANOLAKOS teaches wherein a location of the target downlink channel is predefined, wherein the location of the target downlink channel being predefined comprises that: a center frequency point of the target downlink channel is predefined; or wherein the target downlink channel is a channel where a center frequency point of the operating frequency band for the terminal device is located ( [0088]discloses DL PRS Point A parameter defines a frequency of a reference resource block (and the lowest subcarrier of the resource block), with DL PRS resources belonging to the same DL PRS resource set having the same Point A and all DL PRS resource sets belonging to the same frequency layer having the same Point A. A frequency layer also has the same DL PRS bandwidth, the same start PRB (and center frequency), and the same value of comb size (i.e., a frequency of PRS resource elements per symbol such that for comb-N, every N- resource element is a PRS resource element))
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to enable the system of MONELL include wherein a location of the target downlink channel is predefined, wherein the location of the target downlink channel being predefined comprises that: a center frequency point of the target downlink channel is predefined; or wherein the target downlink channel is a channel where a center frequency point of the operating frequency band for the terminal device is located, as suggested by MANOLAKOS. This modification would benefit the system to reduce signal interference.
Claim(s) 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over MONELL to (WO0232011A1) in view of "Two to tango hybrid light and backscatter networks for next billion devices" from IDS
Regarding claim 6, MONELL does not explicitly teach wherein determining the target uplink channel for transmitting the back scattering signal comprises: determining the target uplink channel for transmitting the back scattering signal according to at least one of: a frequency location of the target downlink channel; a downlink channel corresponding to a first downlink signal, wherein the first downlink signal is used for supplying power to the terminal device; a downlink signaling sent by a network device; an operating frequency band for the terminal device; or predefined information
However, "Two to tango hybrid light and backscatter networks for next billion devices" teaches wherein determining the target uplink channel for transmitting the back scattering signal comprises: (section 3.2, "While operat-ing on this harvested energy, the tag does baseband processing to receive transmissions using light, and can also transmit messages such as uplink transmissions using RF backscatter mechanism. LED bulb. LiFi bulbs jointly provide the energy required by the tag to operate and downlink communication data") determining the target uplink channel for transmitting the back scattering signal (section 3.2, "While operat-ing on this harvested energy, the tag does baseband processing to receive transmissions using light, and can also transmit messages such as uplink transmissions using RF backscatter mechanism. LED bulb. LiFi bulbs jointly provide the energy required by the tag to operate and downlink communication data") according to at least one of: a frequency location of the target downlink channel; a downlink channel corresponding to a first downlink signal, wherein the first downlink signal is used for supplying power to the terminal device (section 3.3.1, "This allows having a zero power consumption for the LiFi front-end in our tags")
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to enable the system of MONELL include wherein determining the target uplink channel for transmitting the back scattering signal comprises: determining the target uplink channel for transmitting the back scattering signal according to at least one of: a frequency location of the target downlink channel; a downlink channel corresponding to a first downlink signal, wherein the first downlink signal is used for supplying power to the terminal device; a downlink signaling sent by a network device; an operating frequency band for the terminal device; or predefined information, as suggested by "Two to tango hybrid light and backscatter networks for next billion devices." This modification would benefit the system to reduce signal interference.
Claim(s) 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over MONELL to (WO0232011A1) in view of "Two to tango hybrid light and backscatter networks for next billion devices" from IDS
Regarding claims 7, the combination of MONELL and "Two to tango hybrid light and backscatter networks for next billion devices" does not explicitly teach wherein a frequency location of the target uplink channel is the same as the frequency location of the target downlink channel, wherein the frequency location of the target uplink channel being the same as the frequency location of the target downlink channel comprises that: a center frequency point of the target uplink channel is the same as a center frequency point of the target downlink channel
However, Wang teaches wherein a frequency location of the target uplink channel is the same as the frequency location of the target downlink channel, wherein the frequency location of the target uplink channel being the same as the frequency location of the target downlink channel comprises that: ( [0070] discloses UE (e.g., UE 120) includes means for identifying capability information, of a backscattering radio, relating to at least one of a polarization conversion capability of the backscattering radio or a backscattering modulation capability of the backscattering radio) a center frequency point of the target uplink channel is the same as a center frequency point of the target downlink channel ([0088] discloses the network node 110 (e.g., an RFID reader associated with the network node 110) may transmit a signal. As shown by reference number 415, in some aspects, the backscattering radio 405 may receive the signal without performing backscattering)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to enable the system of MONELL include wherein a frequency location of the target uplink channel is the same as the frequency location of the target downlink channel, wherein the frequency location of the target uplink channel being the same as the frequency location of the target downlink channel comprises that: a center frequency point of the target uplink channel is the same as a center frequency point of the target downlink channel, as suggested by Wang. This modification would benefit the system to reduce signal interference.
Claim(s) 5,11,12,16,20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over MONELL to (WO0232011A1) in view of Wang to (US20240089725)
Regarding claims 5,11,16 MONELL teaches wherein the downlink signaling sent by the network device comprises a first downlink signaling, ( page 17, lines 24-30 discloses the target base station BS2 in the target cell C2 begin downlink transmission of bursts of digital radio symbols on the seized channel and changes downlink power control mode for the target downlink radio frequency carrier F2 to synchronization mode TSPC) the first downlink signaling being used for indicating a frequency location of the target downlink channel, (page 17, lines 24-30 discloses the target base station BS2 in the target cell C2 begin downlink transmission of bursts of digital radio symbols on the seized channel and changes downlink power control mode for the target downlink radio frequency carrier F2 to synchronization mode TSPC) , but does not explicitly teach the first capability information being used for indicating information of a downlink channel supported by the terminal device, wherein the information of the downlink channel supported by the terminal device comprises at least one of: a frequency location, a channel bandwidth or a channel number of the downlink channel supported by the terminal device
However, Wang teaches the first capability information being used for indicating information of a downlink channel supported by the terminal device,( [0070] discloses UE (e.g., UE 120) includes means for identifying capability information, of a backscattering radio, relating to at least one of a polarization conversion capability of the backscattering radio or a backscattering modulation capability of the backscattering radio) wherein the information of the downlink channel supported by the terminal device comprises at least one of: a frequency location, a channel bandwidth or a channel number of the downlink channel supported by the terminal device([0088] discloses the network node 110 (e.g., an RFID reader associated with the network node 110) may transmit a signal. As shown by reference number 415, in some aspects, the backscattering radio 405 may receive the signal without performing backscattering)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to enable the system of MONELL include the first capability information being used for indicating information of a downlink channel supported by the terminal device, wherein the information of the downlink channel supported by the terminal device comprises at least one of: a frequency location, a channel bandwidth or a channel number of the downlink channel supported by the terminal device, as suggested by Wang. This modification would benefit the system to reduce signal interference.
Regarding claims 12,20, MONELL teaches transmitting, by the network device, a second downlink signaling, the second downlink signaling being used for determining a frequency location of the target uplink channel, ( page 17, lines 24-30 discloses the target base station BS2 in the target cell C2 begin downlink transmission of bursts of digital radio symbols on the seized channel and changes downlink power control mode for the target downlink radio frequency carrier F2 to synchronization mode TSPC)wherein the second downlink signaling is used for indicating a fifth frequency gap, wherein the fifth frequency gap is a frequency gap of the target uplink channel relative to the target downlink channel or a downlink channel corresponding to a first downlink signal( page 17, lines 24-30 discloses the target base station BS2 in the target cell C2 begin downlink transmission of bursts of digital radio symbols on the seized channel and changes downlink power control mode for the target downlink radio frequency carrier F2 to synchronization mode TSPC), and the first downlink signal is used for supplying power to a terminal device, ( page 17, lines 24-30 discloses the target base station BS2 in the target cell C2 begin downlink transmission of bursts of digital radio symbols on the seized channel and changes downlink power control mode for the target downlink radio frequency carrier F2 to synchronization mode TSPC), but does not explicitly teach wherein the frequency location of the target uplink channel is determined by the network device based on at least one of the following information: a type of a terminal device, a type of services of the terminal device, an identification (ID) of the terminal device, or second capability information reported by the terminal device, the second capability information being used for indicating information of an uplink channel supported by the terminal device, wherein the information of the uplink channel supported by the terminal device comprises at least one of: a frequency location, a channel bandwidth or a channel number of the uplink channel supported by the terminal device
However, Wang teaches capability information reported by the terminal device, the second capability information being used for indicating information of an uplink channel supported by the terminal device,([ 0070] discloses UE (e.g., UE 120) includes means for identifying capability information, of a backscattering radio, relating to at least one of a polarization conversion capability of the backscattering radio or a backscattering modulation capability of the backscattering radio) wherein the information of the uplink channel supported by the terminal device comprises at least one of: a frequency location, a channel bandwidth or a channel number of the uplink channel supported by the terminal device ([0088] discloses the network node 110 (e.g., an RFID reader associated with the network node 110) may transmit a signal. As shown by reference number 415, in some aspects, the backscattering radio 405 may receive the signal without performing backscattering)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to enable the system of MONELL include capability information reported by the terminal device, the second capability information being used for indicating information of an uplink channel supported by the terminal device, wherein the information of the uplink channel supported by the terminal device comprises at least one of: a frequency location, a channel bandwidth or a channel number of the uplink channel supported by the terminal device, as suggested by Wang. This modification would benefit the system to reduce signal interference.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ZEWDU A BEYEN whose telephone number is (571)270-7157. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00-6:00.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Huy D Vu can be reached at 571-272-3155. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/ZEWDU A BEYEN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2461