DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . The instant First Office Action on the merits is in response to claims filed on 1/25/2024.
Claims 1-20 are pending. Claims 1, 17 and 20 are the base independent claims.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 1/2/2025, 4/2/2025, 1/25/2024 was filed before the mailing of a first Office action on the merits. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97(b). Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Priority
Applicant’s claim for the benefit of a prior-filed application under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) or under 35 U.S.C. 120, 121, or 365(c) is acknowledged.
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copies of papers required under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d) have been filed.
Claim Objections
Claim 9 is objected to because of the following informalities:
In claim 9, the subsequently appeared “a flexible time unit,” “a second TDD pattern,” and “a first TDD pattern” in the claim can change its article from “a” into --the--. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 / 103
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)(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.
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.
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.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as anticipated by Luo et al (US 2022/0399984) or, in the alternative, under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over Luo et al (US 2022/0399984) in view of MCMENAMY et al (US 2024/0187085).
Regarding claim 1, Luo discloses a signal transmission method, comprising:
determining, by a repeater (fig. 3 & par 105; e.g. repeater 305), transmission behavior based on first information (par 108; in one embodiment, base station may transmit a TDD configuration; also par 104), wherein the first information comprises time division duplex (TDD) configuration information and/or (examining note: since the claim shows a limitation in an alternative form, the prior art may teach either or both limitations, and this notice applies to subsequent occurrences of claim limitations that are in the alternative form) data scheduling information (par 104; e.g. the base station 105-a may make different scheduling decisions, configurations, or both on different sets of time resources (e.g., the resource subset 235-a and the resource subset 235-b) for communication between the base station 105-a and the UE 115-b based on whether the repeater knows the TDD pattern); and
performing, by the repeater, signal transmission based on the transmission behavior (par 96, par 163; e.g. adjusting one or more radio frequency components of the repeater based on the second indication of the TDD pattern).
Regarding claim 2, Luo discloses:
wherein the TDD configuration information is determined based on at least one of following:
TDD configuration information of a terminal accessing the repeater; or
data scheduling information of the terminal accessing the repeater (par 104; (e.g., the resource subset 235-a and the resource subset 235-b) for communication between the base station 105-a and the UE 115-b based on whether the repeater knows the TDD pattern).
Regarding claim 3, Luo discloses:
wherein the first information is transmitted by using at least one of following:
F1 signaling, a system information block (SIB), a master information block (MIB), a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), radio resource control (RRC), a medium access control-control element (MAC CE), or a slot format indication (SFI) (par 106; SFI, RRC, SIB).
Regarding claim 4, Luo discloses:
wherein the RRC comprises at least one of cell specific RRC signaling, user equipment (UE) dedicated signaling, mobile termination (MT) dedicated signaling, or repeater dedicated signaling (par 108; cell-specific, UE-specific).
Regarding claim 5, Luo discloses:
wherein second information corresponding to the PDCCH or the SFI meets one of following that:
the second information is dedicated for the repeater; and
the second information is shared by a plurality of repeaters, wherein
the second information comprises at least one of a search space, a radio network temporary identifier (RNTI), or a downlink control information (DCI) format (par 106; SFI communicated in DCI).
Regarding claim 6, the reference discloses the subject matter of claim 5, without specifically disclose the PDCCH including:
wherein configuration information of the PDCCH comprises at least one of following:
a time domain resource for detecting the PDCCH;
a frequency domain resource for detecting the PDCCH; or
a number of times of detecting the PDCCH.
However, it is obvious in view of MCMENAMY. MCMENAMY discloses:
In fig. 31 & par 481; e.g. PDCCH parameters that include a number of Control Channel Elements. One REG is one resource block in frequency domain and one OFDM symbol in time domain.
In view of the above, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teaching of communication protocol configured for the electronic system of MCMENAMY with the electronic system of Luo. One is motivated as such to improve network operating repeaters (MCMENAMY, par 56).
Regarding claim 7, the reference discloses the subject matter of claim 1, without specifically disclose MAC CE signaling including:
wherein in a case that the first information is transmitted by using third information, a type of the third information is related to whether the repeater is in a connected state; wherein
that the type of the third information is related to whether the repeater is in a connected state comprises any one of following that:
in a case that the repeater is in a non-connected state, the third information is at least one of a system information block (SIB), a master information block (MIB), or a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH); and
in a case that the repeater is in the connected state, the third information is at least one of F1 signaling, a SIB, a MIB, a PDCCH, radio resource control (RRC), a medium access control-control element (MAC CE), or a slot format indication (SFI).
However, it is obvious in view of MCMENAMY. MCMENAMY discloses:
In par 213-214; e.g. can be signalled using pre-configuration, RRC signalling, MAC CE, DCI indication.
In view of the above, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teaching of communication protocol configured for the electronic system of MCMENAMY with the electronic system of Luo. One is motivated as such to improve network operating repeaters (MCMENAMY, par 56).
Regarding claim 8, Luo discloses:
wherein validity time of the third information is determined based on a first value and a first time unit in which the third information is received; or
validity time of the third information is determined based on first indication information transmitted by a network-side device; or
validity time of the third information is determined based on time at which next third information is received (par 97; in some cases, rules may be defined for overriding flexible resources. For example, the TDDConfigDedicated may override flexible resources indicated by TDDConfigCommon into downlink resources and uplink resources, and the SFI may override flexible resources indicated by TDDConfigCommon, TDDConfigDedicated, or both into downlink resources and uplink resources).
Regarding claim 9, Luo discloses:
wherein the method further comprises any one of following:
updating an uplink time unit, a downlink time unit, and a flexible time unit in a second TDD pattern based on a first TDD pattern;
updating a flexible time unit in a second TDD pattern based on a first TDD pattern;
updating an uplink time unit in a second TDD pattern based on a first TDD pattern; and
updating a downlink time unit in a second TDD pattern based on a first TDD pattern, wherein
the first TDD pattern is determined based on the first information, and the second TDD pattern is determined based on fourth information (par 97; in some cases, rules may be defined for overriding flexible resources. For example, the TDDConfigDedicated may override flexible resources indicated by TDDConfigCommon into downlink resources and uplink resources, and the SFI may override flexible resources indicated by TDDConfigCommon, TDDConfigDedicated, or both into downlink resources and uplink resources).
Regarding claim 10, the reference discloses the subject matter of claim 9, without specifically disclose:
wherein at least one of start time, end time, or duration of the first TDD pattern is determined based on the first information.
However, it is obvious in view of MCMENAMY. MCMENAMY discloses:
In par 275; e.g. provide network and cell specific settings (MIB, SIB, DCI) e.g. to extract TDD structure, framestart, center frequency etc.
In view of the above, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teaching of communication protocol configured for the electronic system of MCMENAMY with the electronic system of Luo. One is motivated as such to improve network operating repeaters (MCMENAMY, par 56).
Regarding claim 11, the reference discloses the subject matter of claim 9, without specifically disclose:
wherein the fourth information is transmitted by using a system information block (SIB) or a master information block (MIB) in a case that the first information is transmitted by using radio resource control (RRC) signaling;
the fourth information is transmitted by using either a SIB or a MIB in a case that the first information is transmitted by using cell specific RRC signaling;
the fourth information is transmitted by using any one of cell specific RRC signaling, a SIB, or a MIB in a case that the first information is transmitted by using any one of user equipment (UE) dedicated RRC signaling, mobile termination (MT) dedicated RRC signaling, or repeater dedicated RRC signaling;
the fourth information is transmitted by using RRC in a case that the first information is transmitted by using a first slot format indication (SFI); and
the fourth information is transmitted by using a second SFI in a case that the first information is transmitted by using a first SFI.
However, it is obvious in view of MCMENAMY. MCMENAMY discloses:
In par 428; e.g. repeater may be configured for determining information indicating the UL-DL structure by RRC signalling or by detecting MIB and SIB.
In view of the above, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teaching of communication protocol configured for the electronic system of MCMENAMY with the electronic system of Luo. One is motivated as such to improve network operating repeaters (MCMENAMY, par 56).
Regarding claim 12, MCMENAMY further discloses:
wherein that the fourth information is transmitted by using the second SFI in the case that the first information is transmitted by using the first SFI comprises at least one of following that:
the second SFI is a UE dedicated SFI in a case that the first SFI is a UE dedicated SFI;
the second SFI is a UE dedicated SFI in a case that the first SFI is an MT dedicated SFI or a repeater dedicated SFI;
the second SFI is an MT dedicated SFI or a repeater dedicated SFI in a case that the first SFI is an MT dedicated SFI or a repeater dedicated SFI; or
the second SFI is an MT dedicated SFI or a repeater dedicated SFI in a case that the first SFI is a UE dedicated SFI (par 451; e.g. a repeater may A specific DCI format scrambled together with repeater specific RNTI is used to signal UL/DL resources which are relevant for all UEs served by the repeater (such a repeater may have MT functionality; also par 149).
Regarding claim 13, Luo discloses:
wherein before the determining, by a repeater, transmission behavior based on first information, the method further comprises:
in a case that the repeater does not receive the first information, performing at least one of following operations:
transmitting a TDD pattern request to a network-side device; or
determining the transmission behavior based on specified TDD configuration information, wherein the specified TDD configuration information is TDD configuration information configured by the network-side device for a terminal (par 97; the TDD pattern may be indicated by a common TDD configuration associated with a cell (e.g., a cell-specific TDDConfigCommon), which may be broadcast by the base station 105-a).
Regarding claim 14, Luo discloses:
wherein after the determining the transmission behavior based on specified TDD configuration information, the method further comprises:
in a case that the repeater receives the first information transmitted by the network-side device, performing, by the repeater, a step of determining the transmission behavior based on the first information (par 112; e.g. the repeater 405 may include detect the TDD pattern may include the capability to decode SFI indications).
Regarding claim 15, Luo discloses:
determining, by the repeater, transmission behavior in a target time unit based on the first information (par 100; e.g. the repeater 205 may operate differently between the first subset of time resources and the second subset of time resources).
Regarding claim 16, Luo discloses:
wherein the determining, by the repeater, transmission behavior in a target time unit based on the first information comprises any one of following that:
in a case that it is determined, based on the first information, that the target time unit is a flexible time unit, the transmission behavior of the repeater in the target time unit is uplink transmission (par 109; e.g. a fourth indication to perform a second set of channel measurements on a second set of resources indicated by the TDD pattern as flexibly configurable as either uplink or downlink);
in a case that it is determined, based on the first information, that the target time unit is a flexible time unit, the transmission behavior of the repeater in the target time unit is downlink transmission;
in a case that it is determined, based on the first information, that the target time unit is a flexible time unit, the transmission behavior of the repeater in the target time unit is no transmission;
in a case that it is determined, based on the first information, that the target time unit is a flexible time unit and no first indication signaling is received, the transmission behavior of the repeater in the target time unit is no transmission;
in a case that it is determined, based on the first information, that the target time unit is a flexible time unit and second indication signaling is received but the second indication signaling indicates that the target time unit is a flexible time unit, the transmission behavior of the repeater in the target time unit is no transmission; and
in a case that it is determined, based on the first information, that the target time unit is a flexible time unit, second indication signaling is received, and the second indication signaling indicates that the target time unit is not an uplink or downlink time unit, the transmission behavior of the repeater in the target time unit is no transmission (see examining note above).
Regarding claim 17, Luo discloses a repeater (fig. 3 & par 105; e.g. repeater 305), comprising a processor, a memory (fig. 8; e.g. memory and processor), and a program or instructions stored in the memory and executable on the processor, wherein the program or instructions, when executed by the processor, cause the repeater to perform:
determining transmission behavior based on first information (par 108; in one embodiment, base station may transmit a TDD configuration; also par 104), wherein the first information comprises time division duplex (TDD) configuration information and/or (examining note: since the claim shows a limitation in an alternative form, the prior art may teach either or both limitations, and this notice applies to subsequent occurrences of claim limitations that are in the alternative form) data scheduling information (par 104; e.g. the base station 105-a may make different scheduling decisions, configurations, or both on different sets of time resources (e.g., the resource subset 235-a and the resource subset 235-b) for communication between the base station 105-a and the UE 115-b based on whether the repeater knows the TDD pattern); and
performing signal transmission based on the transmission behavior (par 96, par 163; e.g. adjusting one or more radio frequency components of the repeater based on the second indication of the TDD pattern).
Regarding claim 18, Luo discloses:
determining transmission behavior in a target time unit based on the first information (par 100; e.g. the repeater 205 may operate differently between the first subset of time resources and the second subset of time resources).
Regarding claim 19, Luo discloses:
wherein the determining transmission behavior in a target time unit based on the first information comprises any one of following that:
in a case that it is determined, based on the first information, that the target time unit is a flexible time unit, the transmission behavior of the repeater in the target time unit is uplink transmission (par 109; e.g. a fourth indication to perform a second set of channel measurements on a second set of resources indicated by the TDD pattern as flexibly configurable as either uplink or downlink);
in a case that it is determined, based on the first information, that the target time unit is a flexible time unit, the transmission behavior of the repeater in the target time unit is downlink transmission;
in a case that it is determined, based on the first information, that the target time unit is a flexible time unit, the transmission behavior of the repeater in the target time unit is no transmission;
in a case that it is determined, based on the first information, that the target time unit is a flexible time unit and no first indication signaling is received, the transmission behavior of the repeater in the target time unit is no transmission;
in a case that it is determined, based on the first information, that the target time unit is a flexible time unit and second indication signaling is received but the second indication signaling indicates that the target time unit is a flexible time unit, the transmission behavior of the repeater in the target time unit is no transmission; and
in a case that it is determined, based on the first information, that the target time unit is a flexible time unit, second indication signaling is received, and the second indication signaling indicates that the target time unit is not an uplink or downlink time unit, the transmission behavior of the repeater in the target time unit is no transmission (see examining note above).
Regarding claim 20, Luo also discloses a non-transitory readable storage medium for performing the method of claim 1 based on the rejection mapping above.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to YAOTANG WANG whose telephone number is (571)272-4023. The examiner can normally be reached 10:00-18:00 ET (M, W, TH & alternate F).
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/YAOTANG WANG/SCE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2409