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 .
Status of the Claims
This office action considers claims 1-3, 5-8 and 15-27 filed on 03/23/2026 are pending for prosecution.
Claims 4 and 9-14 are canceled.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments filed on 03/23/2026 with respect to claims 1-3, 5-8 and 15-27 have been considered but they are moot as they are not applicable to combination of prior arts used in this office action.
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 1-3, 5-6, 15-25 and 27 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li et al. (US 20210037457 A1, of IDS, hereinafter ‘LI’) in view of Abedini et al. (US 20210297144 A1, hereinafter ‘ABEDINI’).
Regarding claim 1, LI teaches a repeater (Fig. 3 Repeater 205-b) control method (
[0105] repeater 205-a may be configured to perform relay operations (e.g., wireless repeater operations, such as signal amplification, signal phase rotation, signal forwarding, etc.) to reduce or minimize path loss or interference for various communications in various environments. In some cases, the repeater may be configured via base station 105-a control signaling. For example, base station 105-a may control parameters of repeater 205-a forwarding such as amplification, direction, frequency gains, frequency translation, etc. for various communications (e.g., synchronization signaling, random access signaling, connected mode signaling such as transmissions 220 etc.) between base station 105-a and UE 115-a. As such, a repeater 205-a may monitor a control channel 210 (e.g., a PDCCH) for control information 215 from base station 105-a in order to perform (e.g., configure) relay duties (e.g., amplification and forwarding operations).
Fig. 3, [0120] FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a process flow 300 that supports power saving of smart repeaters with attached UE), comprising:
determining, by a repeater, a target state based on a terminal access status and/or
first information indicated by a network-side device (
[0107] As such, repeater 205-a may implement one or more aspects of the described techniques to realize power savings via efficient control channel monitoring based on resource types or transmission types of configured relay or forwarding operations. For example, base station 105-a may transmit a repeater configuration to repeater 205-a (e.g., via control information 215-a), where the repeater configuration may indicate parameters of repeater 205-a forwarding such as amplification, direction, frequency gains, frequency translation, etc. for a transmission 220 (e.g., which may be uplink or downlink) between base station 105-a and an attached UE 115-a. According to the techniques described herein, a repeater 205-a may configure a control interface (e.g., digital interface 235 and control channel 210 monitoring) subsequent to configured forwarding operations (e.g., subsequent to configured wireless repeater relay operations) based on a type of resources configured for the communications to be repeated or relayed by the repeater 205-a ……….. one or more integrated circuits (e.g., transceivers, processors, etc.) of repeater 205-a may implement the power savings techniques discussed herein to reduce overall power consumption for the repeater 205-a.
[0111] Repeater 205-a may operate in a power saving mode and monitor for control information 215 from base station 105-a according to a low power state (e.g., according to a long control channel monitoring periodicity relative to a monitoring periodicity associated with a fast state or full power state). Base station 105-a may determine or identify a transmission 220 to occur between the UE 115-a and the base station 105-a, and the base station 105-a may transmit a repeater configuration to the repeater 205-a (e.g., where the repeater configuration configures the repeater 205-a with forwarding operations for the transmission 220). If the repeater configuration indicates a first resource type (e.g., Type-1 resources) associated with the transmission 220, the repeater 205-a may transition to a low power state (e.g., power off a digital interface 235 for some time duration) after forwarding the transmission 220 (e.g., after transmitting forwarded transmission 225), based on the first resource type associated with the transmission 220 not being further associated with subsequent activity. Alternatively, if the repeater configuration indicates a second resource type (e.g., Type-2 resources) associated with the transmission 220, the repeater 205-a may power digital interface 235 for some time duration after transmitting forwarded transmission 225, based on the second resource type associated with the transmission further being associated with potential subsequent activity.
Fig. 3 at 305, [0122] At 305, base station 105-b may transmit a repeater configuration to repeater 205-b. As discussed herein, a repeater configuration may include information or parameters for configuring forwarding (e.g., relay operations) by the repeater 205-b. For example, a repeater configuration may indicate parameters of wireless repeater forwarding such as amplification, direction, frequency gains, frequency translation, etc. for a transmission (e.g., uplink or downlink) between a base station and an attached UE. Further, a repeater configuration may indicate time and frequency resources for repeater 205-a monitoring and forwarding.); and
performing, by the repeater, state switching based on the target state (
[0111] Repeater 205-a may operate in a power saving mode and monitor for control information 215 from base station 105-a according to a low power state (e.g., according to a long control channel monitoring periodicity relative to a monitoring periodicity associated with a fast state or full power state). Base station 105-a may determine or identify a transmission 220 to occur between the UE 115-a and the base station 105-a, and the base station 105-a may transmit a repeater configuration to the repeater 205-a (e.g., where the repeater configuration configures the repeater 205-a with forwarding operations for the transmission 220). If the repeater configuration indicates a first resource type (e.g., Type-1 resources) associated with the transmission 220, the repeater 205-a may transition to a low power state (e.g., power off a digital interface 235 for some time duration) after forwarding the transmission 220 (e.g., after transmitting forwarded transmission 225), based on the first resource type associated with the transmission 220 not being further associated with subsequent activity. Alternatively, if the repeater configuration indicates a second resource type (e.g., Type-2 resources) associated with the transmission 220, the repeater 205-a may power digital interface 235 for some time duration after transmitting forwarded transmission 225, based on the second resource type associated with the transmission further being associated with potential subsequent activity.
Fig. 3 at 310-325, [0124] At 310, repeater 205-b may configure repeater forwarding circuitry based on the repeater configuration received at 305. For example, repeater 205-b may tune an analog interface to some bandwidth, power the analog interface for some time duration, power antennas of the repeater based on indicated directions or beams, etc. based on the repeater configuration.); wherein
the target state comprises a first state or a second state, the first state indicates that the repeater amplifies and/or forwards an input signal, and the second state indicates that the repeater does not amplify and/or forward an input signal (
[0111] Repeater 205-a may operate in a power saving mode and monitor for control information 215 from base station 105-a according to a low power state (e.g., according to a long control channel monitoring periodicity relative to a monitoring periodicity associated with a fast state or full power state). Base station 105-a may determine or identify a transmission 220 to occur between the UE 115-a and the base station 105-a, and the base station 105-a may transmit a repeater configuration to the repeater 205-a (e.g., where the repeater configuration configures the repeater 205-a with forwarding operations for the transmission 220). If the repeater configuration indicates a first resource type (e.g., Type-1 resources) associated with the transmission 220, the repeater 205-a may transition to a low power state (e.g., power off a digital interface 235 for some time duration) after forwarding the transmission 220 (e.g., after transmitting forwarded transmission 225), based on the first resource type associated with the transmission 220 not being further associated with subsequent activity. Alternatively, if the repeater configuration indicates a second resource type (e.g., Type-2 resources) associated with the transmission 220, the repeater 205-a may power digital interface 235 for some time duration after transmitting forwarded transmission 225, based on the second resource type associated with the transmission further being associated with potential subsequent activity.
[0112] That is, subsequent to forwarding or relaying a transmission, a repeater 205-a may monitor for control information from the base station 105-a according to a low power state or a fast state (e.g., according to a short, or more frequent, monitoring periodicity relative to a monitoring periodicity associated with a low power state) based on a resource type associated with the transmission 220 configured for repeater 205-a forwarding via a repeater configuration from base station 105-a. The resource type may be indicated by a repeater configuration that configures forwarding operations (e.g., amplification and forwarding operations) associated with the transmission 220.
[0113] In cases where a resource type of associated with a transmission 220 results in the repeater 205-a monitoring for control information 215 in a fast state, the base station 105-a may further transmit control commands (e.g., fast commands configuring more frequent control channel monitoring by the wireless repeater, slow commands configuring less frequent control channel monitoring by the wireless repeater, etc.) to the repeater 205-a, via control information 215-b, to modify the monitoring configuration of the repeater 205-a. If no control commands are received from the base station 105-a (e.g., prior to expiration of a time duration in which the repeater 205-a operates in the fast state), the repeater 205-a may transition back to a low power state (e.g., and monitor the control channel 210 less frequently, saving power at the repeater 205-a). If one or more control commands are received from the base station 105-a (e.g., prior to expiration of a time duration in which the repeater 205-a operates in the fast state), the repeater 205-a may configure the digital interface 235 according to the one or more control commands, configure forwarding operations for subsequent transmissions according to the one or more control commands, etc.
Fig. 3 at 315-325, [0125] At 315, repeater 205-b may monitor for a first transmission based on the repeater forwarding circuitry configured at 310. For example, in some cases, a repeater configuration may configure the repeater 205-b to forward on the downlink, in which case repeater 205-b may monitor for a transmission from base station 105-b and receive a transmission at 320-a. In some cases, a repeater configuration may configure the repeater 205-b to forward on the uplink, in which case repeater 205-b may monitor for a transmission from UE 115-b and receive a transmission at 320-b. In some cases, repeater 205-b may perform forwarding operations, and forward the transmission received at 320-a or 320-b, according to the repeater configuration.
[0127] At 325, repeater 205-b may configure a control interface (e.g., power a control interface for a first time duration or transition to a low power state) based on the repeater configuration, according to the techniques described herein. For example, based on a resource type associated with the transmission received and forwarded at 320-a or 320-b, the repeater 205-b may power a control interface for a first time duration or transition to a low power state (e.g., based on whether the resource type is indicative of potential subsequent communications between base station 105-b and UE 115-b, based on whether the resource type is indicative of potential control information signaling from base station 105-b for subsequent forwarding operations, etc.).).
LI does not explicitly disclose the first information comprises time division duplex (TDD) configuration information; and
that the repeater determines the target state based on the first information indicated by the network-side device comprises at least one of the following:
when the TDD configuration comprises an uplink (UL) configuration and/or a downlink (DL) configuration, determining that the target state is the first state;
when the TDD configuration comprises a flexible configuration, determining that the target state is the second state; or
determining the target state based on a ratio of the TDD configurations, wherein the ratio of the TDD configurations is a ratio between a first configuration and a second configuration, the first configuration comprises an UL configuration and/or a DL configuration, and the second configuration comprises a flexible configuration.
In an analogous art, ABEDINI teaches the first information comprises time division duplex (TDD) configuration information (
Fig. 6, [0098] As an example, the base station may determine a forwarding direction for the set of resources as indicated by a cell-specific TDD configuration previously provided to the repeater); and
that the repeater determines the target state based on the first information indicated by the network-side device comprises at least one of the following:
when the TDD configuration comprises an uplink (UL) configuration and/or a downlink (DL) configuration, determining that the target state is the first state (
[0098] As an example, the base station may determine a forwarding direction for the set of resources as indicated by a cell-specific TDD configuration previously provided to the repeater. Here, if the cell-specific TDD configuration indicates that the set of resources is a set of downlink resources, a set of uplink resources, or a set of null resources, then the base station may determine that an indication of the forwarding direction is not to be included in the configuration information (e.g., since the repeater has previously received the cell-specific TDD configuration indicating the forwarding direction).
[0102] As shown by reference 604, the base station may transmit, and the repeater may receive, the configuration information, associated with configuring operation of the repeater, based at least in part on determining whether to include the indication of the forwarding direction.
[0106] As shown by reference 606, the repeater may determine the forwarding direction for the set of resources. In some aspects, the repeater may determine the forwarding direction based at least in part on TDD information associated with the set of resources.);
in a case that the TDD configuration comprises a flexible configuration, determining that the target state is the second state (
[0098] Conversely, if the cell-specific TDD configuration indicates that the set of resources is a set of flexible resources, then the base station may determine that an indication of the forwarding direction is to be included in the configuration information (e.g., since the repeater has yet to receive an indication of a forwarding direction for the set of resources). Here, the base station may determine (e.g., based at least in part on scheduling information available to the base station) the forwarding direction for the set of resources, and may indicate the determined forwarding direction accordingly.
See also [0102. 0106] cited above); or
determining the target state based on a ratio of the TDD configurations, wherein the ratio of the TDD configurations is a ratio between a first configuration and a second configuration, the first configuration comprises an UL configuration and/or a DL configuration, and the second configuration comprises a flexible configuration.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to take the technique of determining a forwarding direction for a set of resources based at least in part on time division duplexing (TDD) information associated with the set of resources for a repeater being configured by base station or network-side device of ABEDINI to the system of power saving of smart repeaters with attached user equipment of LI in order to take the advantage of a method for leveraging information previously received by the repeater to simplify configuration of the repeater, which may reduce signaling overhead and/or improve resource usage efficiency associated with configuring operation of the repeater while conserving repeater power (ABEDINI: [0080, 0091]).
Regarding claim 19, LI teaches a repeater, comprising a processor, a memory, and a program or instructions stored in the memory and executable on the processor, wherein the program or the instructions, when executed by the processor (
Fig. 3 Repeater 205-b, Fig. 11 device 1105,
[0186] FIG. 11 shows a diagram of a system 1100 including a device 1105 …… may be an example of ….a repeater 140, a repeater 205, ….. may include …..a communications manager 1110, an I/O controller 1115, a transceiver 1120, an antenna 1125, memory 1130, and a processor 1140.
[0191] The memory 1130 may include RAM and ROM. The memory 1130 may store computer-readable, computer-executable code or software 1135 including instructions that, when executed, cause the processor to perform various functions described herein. ),
Further claim 19 is interpreted mutatis mutandis of claim 1, and rejected for the same reason as set forth for claim 1.
Regarding claim 20, LI teaches a non-transitory readable storage medium, wherein the non-transitory readable storage medium stores a program or instructions, and the program or instructions, when executed by a processor (
Fig. 3 Repeater 205-b, Fig. 11 device 1105,
[0186] FIG. 11 shows a diagram of a system 1100 including a device 1105 …… may be an example of ….a repeater 140, a repeater 205, ….. may include …..a communications manager 1110, an I/O controller 1115, a transceiver 1120, an antenna 1125, memory 1130, and a processor 1140.
[0191] The memory 1130 may include RAM and ROM. The memory 1130 may store computer-readable, computer-executable code or software 1135 including instructions that, when executed, cause the processor to perform various functions described herein.):
Further claim 20 is interpreted mutatis mutandis of claim 1, and rejected for the same reason as set forth for claim 1.
Regarding claim 2, LI, in view of ABEDINI, teaches the method according to claim 1, wherein the first information further comprises at least one of the following:
first indication information, used to indicate that the repeater is to perform state switching or is not to perform state switching (
[0122] At 305, base station 105-b may transmit a repeater configuration to repeater 205-b. As discussed herein, a repeater configuration may include information or parameters for configuring forwarding (e.g., relay operations) by the repeater 205-b. For example, a repeater configuration may indicate parameters of wireless repeater forwarding such as amplification, direction, frequency gains, frequency translation, etc. for a transmission (e.g., uplink or downlink) between a base station and an attached UE.
[0127] At 325, repeater 205-b may configure a control interface (e.g., power a control interface for a first time duration or transition to a low power state) based on the repeater configuration);
second indication information, used to indicate that the repeater is in the first state or the second state (
[0127] At 325, repeater 205-b may configure a control interface (e.g., power a control interface for a first time duration or transition to a low power state) based on the repeater configuration….
[0129] As discussed herein, a repeater 205-b may transition back to a low power state in cases where additional control information is not received from base station 105-b prior to expiration of the first time duration. );
data scheduling information (
[0122] At 305, base station 105-b may transmit a repeater configuration to repeater 205-b. ….a repeater configuration may explicitly or implicitly (e.g., based on locations of time and frequency resources) indicate a resource type associated with a transmission to be forwarded by the repeater 205-b.);
time division duplex (TDD) configuration information;
beam information (
[0123] the repeater configuration may include …. a receive beam direction for the radio frequency analog signal, a receive time interval for the radio frequency analog signal, a transmit beam direction for the radio frequency analog signal ….
Fig. 3 at 310-325, [0124] At 310, repeater 205-b may configure repeater forwarding circuitry based on the repeater configuration received at 305. For example, repeater 205-b may tune an analog interface to some bandwidth, power the analog interface for some time duration, power antennas of the repeater based on indicated directions or beams, etc. based on the repeater configuration);
beam identifier (ID) or beam index (
[0122] At 305, base station 105-b may transmit a repeater configuration to repeater 205-b. ….. a repeater configuration may indicate a direction of a transmission (e.g., uplink or downlink), one or more receive beams for monitoring for the transmission, time resources for monitoring for the transmission, one or more transmit beams for forwarding the received transmission);
transmit power of the repeater;
discontinuous reception (DRX) configuration information (
[0108] UE 115-a may be configured to operate in a DRX mode, where the UE 115-a may be assigned a set of periodic PDCCH monitoring time slots where the UE 115-a may be paged (e.g., and woken up or activated) by the base station 105-a (e.g., or alternatively may not be paged, and may transition back to a sleep state or off duration of the DRX mode). As such, resource types associated with various transmissions (e.g., transmissions 220 that repeater 205-a may be configured to forward) may ….. be associated with subsequent activity. Specifically, resource types associated with various transmissions may ….. be associated with subsequent communications (e.g., between the base station 105-a and the UE 115-a) that the repeater 205-a may be configured to forward.);
terminal identification information;
load information;
target resource information, wherein the target resource information comprises at
least one of hard resource information, soft resource information, or unavailable resource information (
[0127] At 325, repeater 205-b may configure a control interface (e.g., power a control interface for a first time duration or transition to a low power state) based on the repeater configuration, according to the techniques described herein. For example, based on a resource type associated with the transmission received and forwarded at 320-a or 320-b, the repeater 205-b may power a control interface for a first time duration or transition to a low power state (e.g., based on whether the resource type is indicative of potential subsequent communications between base station 105-b and UE 115-b, based on whether the resource type is indicative of potential control information signaling from base station 105-b for subsequent forwarding operations, etc.));
master cell group (MCG) configuration information; or
secondary cell group (SCG) configuration information.
Regarding claim 3, LI, in view of ABEDINI, teaches the method according to claim 2, wherein that the repeater determines the target state based on the data scheduling information indicated by the network-side device (
[0122] At 305, base station 105-b may transmit a repeater configuration to repeater 205-b. ….a repeater configuration may explicitly or implicitly (e.g., based on locations of time and frequency resources) indicate a resource type associated with a transmission to be forwarded by the repeater 205-b) comprises at least one of the following:
when scheduling data indicated by the data scheduling information is uplink (UL) data and/or downlink (DL) data, determining that the target state is the first state (
[0122] ….. For example, a repeater configuration may indicate parameters of wireless repeater forwarding such as amplification, direction, frequency gains, frequency translation, etc. for a transmission (e.g., uplink or downlink) between a base station and an attached UE. Further, a repeater configuration may indicate time and frequency resources for repeater 205-a monitoring and forwarding. For example, a repeater configuration may indicate a direction of a transmission (e.g., uplink or downlink) ……. As such, a repeater configuration may explicitly or implicitly (e.g., based on locations of time and frequency resources) indicate a resource type associated with a transmission to be forwarded by the repeater 205-b.);
when the data scheduling information schedules no UL data or DL data,
determining that the target state is the second state (
[0127] At 325, repeater 205-b may configure a control interface (e.g., power a control interface for a first time duration or transition to a low power state) based on the repeater configuration); or
when the scheduling data indicated by the data scheduling information is predetermined data, determining that the target state is the first state; wherein the predetermined data comprises at least one of physical random access channel (PRACH), physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), sounding reference signal (SRS), channel state information-reference signal (CSI-RS), synchronization signal block (SSB), or common search space (CSS) (
[0104] For example, to support communications between base station 105-a and UE 115-a, repeater 205-a may amplify and forward SSBs (e.g., to relay system information to UEs 115), as well as amplify and forward random access channel (RACH) messaging (e.g., to facilitate UE 115 random access procedures). As such, repeater 205-a may facilitate UE 115-a attachment (e.g., connection) to base station 105-a (e.g., via relay of system information and random access messaging).
[0108] When a UE 115-a is connected (e.g., attached) to base station 105-a, the UE 115-a may, in some cases, be allocated semi-persistent resources. For example, UE 115-a may be allocated PUCCH resources for a SR transmission, a CQI transmission, a PMI transmission, a SRS transmission, etc. In other examples, UE 115-a may be allocated downlink resources for a CSI-RS transmission. …… As such, resource types associated with various transmissions (e.g., transmissions 220 that repeater 205-a may be configured to forward) may ….. be associated with subsequent activity. Specifically, resource types associated with various transmissions may ….. be associated with subsequent communications (e.g., between the base station 105-a and the UE 115-a) that the repeater 205-a may be configured to forward.).
Regarding claim 5, LI, in view of ABEDINI, teaches the method according to claim 2, wherein that the repeater determines the target state based on the target resource information indicated by the network-side device comprises at least one of the following:
when the target resource information is the hard resource, determining that the target state is the first state (
[0115] For Type-2 resources, base station 105-a may configure repeater 205-a for the one-shot transmission as in Type-1, and in addition may configure repeater 205-a to turn on the digital interface 235 after the one-shot transmission for a time period (e.g., a first time duration) that is in the order of, or at least as large as, the time window of potential follow-up activities.);
when the target resource information is the unavailable resource, determining that the target state is the second state; or
when the target resource information is the soft resource, determining that the target state is the second state or the first state (
[0048] Further, a UE may be configured to operate in a discontinuous reception (DRX) mode, where the UE may be assigned a set of periodic PDCCH monitoring time slots where the UE may be paged (e.g., and woken up or activated) by the base station (e.g., or alternatively may not be paged, and may transition back to a sleep state or off duration of the DRX mode). As such, resource types associated with various transmissions (e.g., transmissions that a wireless repeater may be configured to forward) may ….be associated with subsequent activity.
[0115] If no commands are received from base station 105-a, repeater 205-a may turn off the digital interface 235.).
Regarding claim 6, LI, in view of ABEDINI, teaches the method according to claim 5, wherein the determining that the target state is the second state or the first state in a case that the target resource information is the soft resource comprises any one of the following:
when the target resource information is the soft resource and third indication information sent by the network-side device is received, determining the target state based on the third indication information, wherein the third indication information is used to indicate that the repeater is in the first state or the second state; and
when the target resource information is the soft resource, determining by default that the target state is the second state (
[0048] a UE may be configured to operate in a discontinuous reception (DRX) mode, where the UE may be assigned a set of periodic PDCCH monitoring time slots where the UE may be paged (e.g., and woken up or activated) by the base station (e.g., or alternatively may not be paged, and may transition back to a sleep state or off duration of the DRX mode). As such, resource types associated with various transmissions (e.g., transmissions that a wireless repeater may be configured to forward) may or may not be associated with subsequent activity. Specifically, resource types associated with various transmissions may or may not be associated with subsequent communications (e.g., between the base station and the UE) that the wireless repeater may be configured to forward.
[0113] If no control commands are received from the base station 105-a (e.g., prior to expiration of a time duration in which the repeater 205-a operates in the fast state), the repeater 205-a may transition back to a low power state (e.g., and monitor the control channel 210 less frequently, saving power at the repeater 205-a).
[0127] the repeater 205-b may power a control interface for a first time duration or transition to a low power state (e.g., based on whether the resource type is indicative of potential subsequent communications between base station 105-b and UE 115-b, based on whether the resource type is indicative of potential control information signaling from base station 105-b for subsequent forwarding operations, etc.).).
Regarding claim 15, LI, in view of ABEDINI, teaches the method according to claim 1, wherein the method further comprises:
switching, by the repeater, from the second state to the first state when the repeater is in the second state but needs to forward and/or perform amplification processing on a signal sent by a target device; wherein the target device is a terminal and/or a network-side device under a coverage of the repeater (
[0114] For Type-1 resources, base station 105-a may configure repeater 205-a (e.g., via a repeater configuration, that may be conveyed via control information 215-a) with a downlink or uplink direction, beam patterns that match the intended signal direction, etc. After receiving such a repeater configuration, repeater 205-a may turn off digital interface 235 (e.g., or repeater 205-a may operate digital interface 235 according to a low power state). For example, if UE 115-a is allocated with a set of PUCCH slots to send SRS, base station 105-a may configure repeater 205-a to the uplink direction in the set of PUCCH slots (e.g., meaning that repeater 205-a may be configured with a receive beam pointing towards UE 115-a and a transmit beam pointing towards base station 105-a). As another example, if UE 115-a is allocated with a set of slots to receive CSI-RS, base station 105-a may configure repeater 205-a to the downlink direction in the set of slots (e.g., meaning that repeater 205-a may be configured with a receive beam pointing towards base station 105-a and a transmit beam pointing towards UE 115-a).
[0115] For Type-2 resources, base station 105-a may configure repeater 205-a for the one-shot transmission as in Type-1, and in addition may configure repeater 205-a to turn on the digital interface 235 after the one-shot transmission for a time period (e.g., a first time duration) that is in the order of, or at least as large as, the time window of potential follow-up activities.
Fig. 3, [0120] FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a process flow 300 that supports power saving of smart repeaters with attached UE…. includes a base station 105-b, which may be an example of base stations and network devices described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 ….
[0122] At 305, base station 105-b may transmit a repeater configuration to repeater 205-b. As discussed herein, a repeater configuration may include information or parameters for configuring forwarding (e.g., relay operations) by the repeater 205-b. For example, a repeater configuration may indicate parameters of wireless repeater forwarding such as amplification, direction, frequency gains, frequency translation, etc. for a transmission (e.g., uplink or downlink) between a base station and an attached UE.).
Regarding claim 16, LI, in view of ABEDINI, teaches the method according to claim 1, wherein before the determining, by a repeater, a target state based on a terminal access status and/or first information indicated by a network-side device (
Fig. 3, [0122] At 305, base station 105-b may transmit a repeater configuration to repeater 205-b. As discussed herein, a repeater configuration may include information or parameters for configuring forwarding (e.g., relay operations) by the repeater 205-b. For example, a repeater configuration may indicate parameters of wireless repeater forwarding such as amplification, direction, frequency gains, frequency translation, etc. for a transmission (e.g., uplink or downlink) between a base station and an attached UE.), the method further comprises:
when at least one piece of state configuration information is configured in the repeater, determining target configuration information based on the at least one piece of state configuration information, wherein a state determining rule for the repeater is configured in the state configuration information (
[0114] For Type-1 resources, base station 105-a may configure repeater 205-a (e.g., via a repeater configuration, that may be conveyed via control information 215-a) with a downlink or uplink direction, beam patterns that match the intended signal direction, etc. …. if UE 115-a is allocated with a set of slots to receive CSI-RS, base station 105-a may configure repeater 205-a to the downlink direction in the set of slots (e.g., meaning that repeater 205-a may be configured with a receive beam pointing towards base station 105-a and a transmit beam pointing towards UE 115-a).
[0115] for Type-2 resources, base station 105-a may configure repeater 205-a for the one-shot transmission as in Type-1, and in addition may configure repeater 205-a to measure the energy in the one-shot transmission (e.g., using analog interface 230). If enough energy is detected, the repeater 205-a may turn on the digital interface 235 for a time period (e.g., a first time duration), and monitor for additional control information 215-b as described herein.); and
the determining, by a repeater, a target state based on a terminal access status and/or first information indicated by a network-side device comprises:
determining, by the repeater, the target state based on the target configuration information according to the terminal access status and/or the first information indicated by the network-side device (
See [0114, 0115 and 0122] cited above).
Regarding claim 18, LI, in view of ABEDINI, teaches the method according to claim 1, wherein after the performing, by the repeater, state switching based on the target state, the method further comprises:
in a case that the repeater switches to the first state, performing, by the repeater, signal amplification based on a first operating pattern; wherein at least one operating pattern is configured for the repeater, at least one amplification factor of the repeater is configured for each operating pattern, different amplification factors correspond to different time-domain information and/or frequency-domain information, and the first operating pattern belongs to the at least one operating pattern (
[0055] Accordingly, the wireless repeater may be configured to perform relay operations (e.g., wireless repeater operations, such as signal amplification, signal phase rotation, signal forwarding, etc.) to reduce or minimize path loss or interference in various environments. In some cases, the wireless repeater may be configured via base station control signaling. For example, a base station may control parameters for wireless repeater forwarding such as amplification, direction, frequency gains, frequency translation, or the like. As such, a wireless repeater may monitor a control channel (e.g., a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH)) for control information from the base station in order to configure and perform relay (e.g., amplification and forwarding) duties.
[0056] For example, a wireless repeater may operate in a power saving mode and monitor for control information from a base station according to a low power state or a slow state (e.g., according to a long monitoring periodicity relative to a monitoring periodicity associated with a full power state or fast state). ); and
in a case that a first condition is met, switching, by the repeater, from the first operating pattern to a second operating pattern, wherein the second operating pattern is an operating pattern other than the first operating pattern in the at least one operating pattern (
[0056] For example, a wireless repeater may operate in a power saving mode and monitor for control information from a base station according to a low power state or a slow state (e.g., according to a long monitoring periodicity relative to a monitoring periodicity associated with a full power state or fast state).
LI does not explicitly disclose
the first condition is determined based on at least one of the following:
a pattern switching indication sent by the network-side device;
an operating time for the first operating pattern;
data scheduling information;
time division duplex (TDD) configuration information;
beam information;
beam identifier (ID) or beam index;
transmit power of the repeater;
discontinuous reception (DRX) configuration information;
terminal identification information;
load information; or
target resource information, wherein the target resource information comprises at least one of hard resource information, soft resource information, or unavailable resource information.
ABEDINI teaches the first condition is determined based on at least one of the following:
a pattern switching indication sent by the network-side device;
an operating time for the first operating pattern;
data scheduling information;
time division duplex (TDD) configuration information;
beam information;
beam identifier (ID) or beam index;
transmit power of the repeater;
discontinuous reception (DRX) configuration information;
terminal identification information;
load information; or
target resource information, wherein the target resource information comprises at least one of hard resource information, soft resource information, or unavailable resource information (
Fig. 6, [0098] As an example, the base station may determine a forwarding direction for the set of resources as indicated by a cell-specific TDD configuration previously provided to the repeater. Here, if the cell-specific TDD configuration indicates that the set of resources is a set of downlink resources, a set of uplink resources, or a set of null resources, then the base station may determine that an indication of the forwarding direction is not to be included in the configuration information (e.g., since the repeater has previously received the cell-specific TDD configuration indicating the forwarding direction). Conversely, if the cell-specific TDD configuration indicates that the set of resources is a set of flexible resources, then the base station may determine that an indication of the forwarding direction is to be included in the configuration information (e.g., since the repeater has yet to receive an indication of a forwarding direction for the set of resources). Here, the base station may determine (e.g., based at least in part on scheduling information available to the base station) the forwarding direction for the set of resources, and may indicate the determined forwarding direction accordingly.
[0102] As shown by reference 604, the base station may transmit, and the repeater may receive, the configuration information, associated with configuring operation of the repeater, based at least in part on determining whether to include the indication of the forwarding direction.
[0106] As shown by reference 606, the repeater may determine the forwarding direction for the set of resources.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to take the technique of determining a forwarding direction for a set of resources based at least in part on time division duplexing (TDD) information associated with the set of resources for a repeater being configured by base station or network-side device of ABEDINI to the system of power saving of smart repeaters with attached user equipment of LI in order to take the advantage of a method for leveraging information previously received by the repeater to simplify configuration of the repeater, which may reduce signaling overhead and/or improve resource usage efficiency associated with configuring operation of the repeater while conserving repeater power (ABEDINI: [0080, 0091]).
Regarding claim 18, LI, in view of ABEDINI, teaches the method according to claim 16.
LI does not explicitly disclose wherein the at least one piece of state configuration information and/or the at least one operating pattern is configured based on a predetermined dimension, and the predetermined dimension comprises at least one of the following:
uplink (UL) dimension;
downlink (DL) dimension;
time unit dimension;
time division multiplexing (TDM) dimension;
frequency division multiplexing (FDM) dimension;
space division multiplexing (SDM) dimension;
frequency domain dimension, wherein the frequency domain dimension comprises at least one frequency domain subdimension; or
time domain dimension, wherein the time domain dimension comprises at least one time domain subdimension.
ABEDINI teaches wherein the at least one piece of state configuration information and/or the at least one operating pattern is configured based on a predetermined dimension, and the predetermined dimension comprises at least one of the following:
uplink (UL) dimension;
downlink (DL) dimension;
time unit dimension;
time division multiplexing (TDM) dimension;
frequency division multiplexing (FDM) dimension;
space division multiplexing (SDM) dimension;
frequency domain dimension, wherein the frequency domain dimension comprises at least one frequency domain subdimension; or
time domain dimension, wherein the time domain dimension comprises at least one time domain subdimension (
[0098] As an example, the base station may determine a forwarding direction for the set of resources as indicated by a cell-specific TDD configuration previously provided to the repeater.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to take the technique of determining a forwarding direction for a set of resources based at least in part on time division duplexing (TDD) information associated with the set of resources for a repeater being configured by base station or network-side device of ABEDINI to the system of power saving of smart repeaters with attached user equipment of LI in order to take the advantage of a method for leveraging information previously received by the repeater to simplify configuration of the repeater, which may reduce signaling overhead and/or improve resource usage efficiency associated with configuring operation of the repeater while conserving repeater power (ABEDINI: [0080, 0091]).
Regarding claim 21, LI, in view of ABEDINI, teaches the method according to claim 1, wherein the first information or the second information is transmitted via fifth information, and the fifth information comprises at least one of radio resource control (RRC), configuration information, media access control control element (MAC CE), and downlink control information (DCI) (
a base station may control parameters for wireless repeater forwarding such as amplification, direction, frequency gains, frequency translation, or the like. As such, a wireless repeater may monitor a control channel (e.g., a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH)) for control information from the base station in order to configure and perform relay (e.g., amplification and forwarding) duties.
[0056] For example, a wireless repeater may operate in a power saving mode and monitor for control information from a base station according to a low power state or a slow state (e.g., according to a long monitoring periodicity relative to a monitoring periodicity associated with a full power state or fast state). ).
See also ABEDINI [0087-0088] using backhaul link between base station and repeater configurations of the repeater can be provided using DCI.
[0092] For example, a repeater that uses an in-band control ….previously detected a base station …. acquired system information (SI) associated with the base station. Therefore, the repeater may have information indicating a cell-specific time division duplexing (TDD) configuration.
[0102] …the base station may transmit, and the repeater may receive, the access procedure configuration via, for example, DCI, a medium access control control element (MAC-CE), radio resource control (RRC) signaling….
Regarding claim 22, the claim is interpreted and rejected for the same reason as set forth for claim 2.
Regarding claim 23, the claim is interpreted and rejected for the same reason as set forth for claim 3.
Regarding claim 24, the claim is interpreted and rejected for the same reason as set forth for claim 5.
Regarding claim 25, the claim is interpreted and rejected for the same reason as set forth for claim 6.
Regarding claim 27, the claim is interpreted and rejected for the same reason as set forth for claim 21.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 7-8 and 26 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 in intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding claim 7, LI, ABEDINI, ASHWORTH or any prior art of record either alone or in combination fails to teach the method according to claim 2, wherein that the repeater determines the target state based on the MCG configuration information and/or the SCG configuration information indicated by the network-side device comprises at least one of the following:
in a case that both the MCG configuration information and the SCG configuration information indicate a state of the repeater being the second state, determining that the target state is the second state; or
in a case that the MCG configuration information or the SCG configuration information indicates the state of the repeater being the first state, determining that the target state is the first state.
Regarding claim 8, LI, ABEDINI, ASHWORTH or any prior art of record either alone or in combination fails to teach the method according to claim 2, wherein
in a case that the MCG configuration information indicates an operating time range of the repeater being a first time range and the SCG configuration information indicates the operating time range of the repeater being a second time range, the operating time range of the repeater is a sum of the first time range and the second time range;
in a case that the MCG configuration information indicates the operating time range of the repeater being the first time range and the SCG configuration information indicates the operating time range of the repeater being the second time range, the operating time range of the repeater is an overlapping portion between the first time range and the second time range;
in a case that the MCG configuration information indicates an operating frequency range of the repeater being a first frequency range and the SCG configuration information indicates the operating frequency range of the repeater being a second frequency range, the operating frequency range of the repeater is a sum of the first frequency range and the second frequency range;
in a case that the MCG configuration information indicates the operating frequency range of the repeater being the first frequency range and the SCG configuration information indicates the operating frequency range of the repeater being the second frequency range, the operating frequency range of the repeater is an overlapping portion between the first frequency range and the second frequency range; and
in a case that the MCG configuration information indicates the operating time range of the repeater being the first time range and the operating frequency range being the first frequency range, and that the SCG configuration information indicates the operating time range of the repeater being the second time range and the operating frequency range being the second frequency range, the operating time range of the repeater is the overlapping portion between the first time range and the second time range portion, and the operating frequency range of the repeater is the sum of the first frequency range and the second frequency range.
Regarding claim 26, the claim with similar feature as in claim 7, is interpreted same as set forth for claim 7.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
McMenamy et al. (US 20240187085 A1), describing REMOTE BEAM MANAGEMENT FOR NETWORK-CONTROLLED REPEATERS
Rofougaran et al. (US 20200403689 A1), describing REPEATER DEVICE FOR 5G NEW RADIO COMMUNICATION
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.
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/SHAH M RAHMAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2413
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