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 Office Action is in response to communication filed on 4/9/2026
Claims 1-4, 9-11, 13-14, 16-17 and 19-27 are pending. Claims 1, 17 and 20 are the base independent claims. Claims 1, 17 and 20 are amended. Claims 21-27 are newly added.
Response to Arguments/Amendment
Regarding claim 1, Applicant files arguments with respect to the amendment.
--In response, new grounds of rejection are made by Chae based on the amended claim limitations. The rest of the arguments have been fully considered but are moot because the arguments do not apply to the new reference being used in the current rejection.
Regarding claims 17 and 20, because the patent scopes of the limitations in the independent claims are the same as in claim 1, therefore the claims are rejected based on the same reason given to claim 1 mutatis mutandis.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-4, 9-11, 16-17 and 19-27 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Chae et al (US 2021/0377939).
Regarding claim 1, Chae discloses a signal transmission method, comprising:
receiving or transmitting, by a repeater (par 46; e.g. a repeater node), only in symbols indicated as downlink by first information (fig. 19 & par 233; e.g. tdd_UL-DL-ConfigurationCommon) or only in symbols indicated as uplink by the first information (par 237, par 239; e.g. a number of slots with only downlink symbols or with only uplink symbols).
Regarding claim 2, Chae discloses:
wherein the first information comprises time division duplex (TDD) configuration information (par 228; e.g. TDD)
Regarding claim 3, Chae discloses:
wherein the first information is transmitted by using radio resource control (RRC) (fig. 21 & par 265; e.g. uplink and downlink configuration may be transmitted via SIB or RRC).
Regarding claim 4, Chae discloses:
wherein the RRC comprises at least one of cell specific RRC signaling, or user equipment (UE) dedicated signaling (par 233; e.g. cell specific).
Regarding claim 9, Chae 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 the flexible time unit in the second TDD pattern based on the first TDD pattern; updating the uplink time unit in the second TDD pattern based on the first TDD pattern; and updating the downlink time unit in the second TDD pattern based on the 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 232, par 252; e.g. when a cell specific uplink and downlink configuration is reconfigured/changed, a wireless device may trigger resource reselection for sidelink transmission. In an example, a base station may transmit an SIB comprising a new TDD configuration).
Regarding claim 10, Chae discloses:
wherein at least one of start time, end time, or duration of the first TDD pattern is determined based on the first information (par 236; e.g. slot configuration period of P msec).
Regarding claim 11, Chae discloses:
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 user equipment (UE) dedicated RRC signaling (par 232, par 252; e.g. when a cell specific uplink and downlink configuration is reconfigured/changed, a wireless device may trigger resource reselection for sidelink transmission. In an example, a base station may transmit an SIB comprising a new TDD configuration).
Regarding claim 16, Chae discloses:
wherein the method further comprises: performing no transmission, by the repeater, in symbols indicated as flexible by the first information (par 232; e.g. If both the SFI and the semi-static signaling indicate a certain symbol to be flexible, then the symbol should be treated as reserved and not used for transmission).
Regarding claims 17 and 20, Chae discloses a repeater (par 46; e.g. a repeater node), comprising a processor, a memory, and a program or instructions stored in the memory an executable on the processor (par 206; memory and processor), wherein the program or instructions, when executed by the processor, cause the repeater to perform:
receiving or transmitting only in symbols indicated as downlink by first information (fig. 19 & par 233; e.g. tdd_UL-DL-ConfigurationCommon) or only in symbols indicated as uplink by the first information (par 237, par 239; e.g. a number of slots with only downlink symbols or with only uplink symbols).
Regarding claims 19 and 26, Chae discloses:
performing no transmission in symbols indicated as flexible by the first information (par 232; e.g. If both the SFI and the semi-static signaling indicate a certain symbol to be flexible, then the symbol should be treated as reserved and not used for transmission).
Regarding claim 21, 22 and 27, Chae discloses:
not performing at least one of receiving, amplifying, or forwarding an uplink or downlink signal (par 232; e.g. If both the SFI and the semi-static signaling indicate a certain symbol to be flexible, then the symbol should be treated as reserved and not used for transmission, hence implies not receiving, amplifying, or forwarding an uplink or downlink signal).
Regarding claim 23, Chae discloses:
wherein the first information comprises time division duplex (TDD) configuration information (par 228; e.g. TDD)
Regarding claim 24, Chae discloses:
wherein the first information is transmitted by using radio resource control (RRC) (fig. 21 & par 265; e.g. uplink and downlink configuration may be transmitted via SIB or RRC).
Regarding claim 25, Chae discloses:
wherein the RRC comprises at least one of cell specific RRC signaling, or user equipment (UE) dedicated signaling (par 233; e.g. cell specific).
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.
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 13 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chae et al (US 2021/0377939) in view of Luo et al (US 2022/0399984).
Regarding claim 13, the reference discloses the subject matter of claim 1, without explicitly discloses the limitations of claim 13, however, Lou discloses:
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).
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 Luo with the electronic system of Chae. One is motivated as such to improve the performance of the repeater (Luo, par 48).
Regarding claim 14, the reference discloses the subject matter of claim 1, without explicitly discloses the limitations of claim 14, however, Lou 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).
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 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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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, HADI ARMOUCHE can be reached at 571-270-3618. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/YAOTANG WANG/SCE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2409
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