DETAILED ACTION
This communication is in response to the claims filed on 10/14/2023.
Application No: 18/487,056
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U. S. C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U. S. C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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 of this title, 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 set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co. , 383 U. S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U. S. C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U. S. C. 103 as being unpatentable over Elkotby et al. (US 20220225402 A1) in view of WANG et al. ( US 20240107447 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Elkotby teaches a method ([0092], FIGS. 1A-1D, e.g. Disclosed herein are various methods, apparatus, and systems whereby signaling between network infrastructure and one or more energy harvesting IoT or WTRU devices can help in the optimization of energy transfer by allowing the IoT or WTRU devices to tune their energy harvesting components to maximize energy harvesting and/or minimize power consumption (e.g., minimize attempting to harvest energy during silence periods)), comprising:
receiving Radio Frequency (RF) characteristics associated with a backscatter communication device ([0119], e.g. An EH device may use one or more of the following information/messages to communicate with the network (e.g., an eNB or a gNB). [0120] a) A message requesting a minimum of E.sub.h Joules to be transferred within a certain period T (i.e. receiving Radio Frequency (RF) characteristics message). [0121] b) A message defining/reporting the EH device harvesting capability/parameters, e.g., the minimum and/or maximum harvesting bandwidth, RF-to-energy conversion efficiency (i.e. receiving Radio Frequency (RF) characteristics), and/or waveforms supported. [0118] feedback signaling from WTRU(s) to the gateway should generally be performed over the ZE air interface using backscattering, as shown in FIG. 6 (i.e. receiving Radio Frequency (RF) characteristics associated with a backscatter communication device));
the computing device has an ability to charge the backscatter communication device to at least meet a predetermined energy need of the backscatter communication device ([0108], e.g. with regards to RB-based resource dedication, due to the ability of the eNB (or gNB or other form of base station) to dedicate a set of RBs that can span a considerable part or all of the energy harvesting band, the eNB has more flexibility/degrees of freedom in the design of the EH waveform. The waveform design can take the EH signal transmission schedule into account. The eNB may consider, among other options, one or more of the following waveform generation strategies depending on the EH device capability, e.g., bandwidth and/or energy harvesting efficiency associated with the supported waveforms (i.e. an ability to charge the backscatter communication device to at least meet a predetermined energy need) ); and
scheduling, in response to determining that the computing device has the ability to charge the backscatter communication device, charging of the backscatter communication device to at least meet the predetermined energy need of the backscatter communication device ([0103], e.g. the dedicated EH signal may be generated according to a specific schedule to guarantee the transfer of a minimum energy E.sub.h within a certain duration T. For example, the network may guarantee the transmission of a minimum amount of power within a fixed/dynamic narrowband or a wideband that is associated with either DL and/or UL according to one or combination of the following schedule characteristics such that Eq. (1) is satisfied, where the transmission power at each time unit (e.g., OFDM symbol, mini-slot, slot, subframe, frame) can be fixed or variable (i.e. scheduling, to charging of the backscatter communication device to at least meet the predetermined energy need of the backscatter communication device)),
Elkotby teaches methods and apparatus for waveform design and signaling for energy harvesting (EH) in a wireless network. In an example, a method includes receiving a control message including a contention-based backscattering configuration, determining parameters for transmitting a feedback within a contention-based transmission window based on the contention-based backscattering configuration. However Elkotby differs from the claimed invention in not specifically and clearly describing wherein
determining, by a computing device based on the RF characteristics and a Received Signal Strength Indicator.
However, in the analogous field of endeavor, WANG teaches wherein
determining, by a computing device based on the RF characteristics and a Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) from the backscatter communication device ([0094], e.g. FIG. 7 is a diagram 700 illustrating example aspects of RFID tags. A RFID tag may perform passive energy harvesting. A RFID tag may perform self-sensing using an antenna as a sensor. In an example, macroscopic changes with respect to the RFID tag may be detected by a RFID reader by performing a measurement, such as a received signal strength indicator (RS SI) measurement. A RFID tag may also be equipped with sensors such as a temperature sensor, a camera, etc. A RFID tag may report sensor readings. In an example, a base station (e.g., a gNB) may provide power to the RFID tag (e.g., via backscatter radio and/or inductive coupling) wirelessly and the RFID tag may utilize the power for sensing and/or reporting sensing results to the base station (I.e. determining, by a computing device based on the RF characteristics and a Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) from the backscatter communication device)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to implement the method of WANG within the method of Elkotby. The motivation to combine references is that the combined method provides that various technologies pertaining to a power consumption model for an energy harvesting device are disclosed herein. In an example, a device that supports energy harvesting obtains, via at least one energy harvesting operation, energy from a wireless transmission. The device transmits, for a network node, an indication of power consumption of the device for at least one of wireless communications or sensing at the device. The indication of the power consumption of the device may enable the network node to manage an energy transfer and duty cycle of a communication phase of the device in an energy efficient manner such that communications are not skipped due to the device lacking sufficient energy and/or such that the device does not skip sensing due to the device lacking sufficient energy (See WANG [0032]).
Regarding claim 2, Elkotby in view of WANG teaches all the limitations of claim 1. Elkotby further teaches wherein the RF characteristics are received from the backscatter communication device ([0119], e.g. An EH device may use one or more of the following information/messages to communicate with the network (e.g., an eNB or a gNB). [0120] a) A message requesting a minimum of E.sub.h Joules to be transferred within a certain period T. [0121] b) A message defining/reporting the EH device harvesting capability/parameters, e.g., the minimum and/or maximum harvesting bandwidth, RF-to-energy conversion efficiency (i.e. he RF characteristics are received from the backscatter communication device) , and/or waveforms supported).
Regarding claim 3, Elkotby in view of WANG teaches all the limitations of claim 1. Elkotby further teaches wherein the RF characteristics are received from a database based on an address of the backscatter communication device ([0085], e.g. Operational range and energy harvesting efficiency are important characteristics of a passive receiver. The power received by a rectification diode-based energy harvesting device as a function of distance, with respect to the EH signal transmitter, and type of transmitted waveform is illustrated in FIG. 2. It is seen that, for a desired received power level, the operational distance may be optimized by properly selecting (i.e. selecting from a database or table) the number of tones for a power optimized waveform (POW)).
Regarding claim 4, Elkotby in view of WANG teaches all the limitations of claim 1. Elkotby further teaches wherein the RF characteristics comprise a harvesting efficiency comprising an efficiency of turning RF energy into Direct Current (DC) energy via an antenna and rectifier associated with the backscatter communication device ([0085], e.g. Operational range and energy harvesting efficiency are important characteristics of a passive receiver. The power received by a rectification diode-based energy harvesting device as a function of distance, with respect to the EH signal transmitter, and type of transmitted waveform is illustrated in FIG. 2. It is seen that, for a desired received power level, the operational distance may be optimized by properly selecting (i.e. selecting from a database or table) the number of tones for a power optimized waveform (POW) (i.e. efficiency of turning RF energy into Direct Current (DC) energy)).
Regarding claim 5, Elkotby in view of WANG teaches all the limitations of claim 1. Elkotby further teaches wherein the RF characteristics comprise a transmit repetition rate indicating how frequently the backscatter communication device desires to transmit ([0085], e.g. Operational range and energy harvesting efficiency are important characteristics of a passive receiver. The power received by a rectification diode-based energy harvesting device as a function of distance, with respect to the EH signal transmitter, and type of transmitted waveform is illustrated in FIG. 2. It is seen that, for a desired received power level, the operational distance may be optimized by properly selecting (i.e. repeating selection from a database or table with range of parameters) the number of tones for a power optimized waveform (POW) (i.e. turning RF energy and transmit indicating frequently the backscatter communication device desires)).
Regarding claim 6, Elkotby in view of WANG teaches all the limitations of claim 1. Elkotby further teaches wherein the RF characteristics comprise a transmission duration ([0103], e.g. the dedicated EH signal may be generated according to a specific schedule to guarantee the transfer of a minimum energy E.sub.h within a certain duration T. For example, the network may guarantee the transmission of a minimum amount of power within a fixed/dynamic narrowband or a wideband that is associated with either DL and/or UL according to one or combination of the following schedule characteristics such that Eq. (1) is satisfied, where the transmission power at each time unit (e.g., OFDM symbol, mini-slot, slot, subframe, frame) can be fixed or variable).
Regarding claim 7, Elkotby in view of WANG teaches all the limitations of claim 1. Elkotby further teaches wherein the RF characteristics comprise a power dissipation per frame indicating how much energy each frame dissipates from power reserves of the backscatter communication device ([0171], e.g. In order for the serving cell to efficiently allocate time/frequency/power resources for the feedback transmissions of EH WTRU(s), coordination between the BS and served EH WTRU(s) is necessary. Otherwise, the BS will have to allocate resources accommodating the worst-case scenario under its coverage, which might lead to unnecessary loss or time, frequency, and/or power resources (i.e. a power loss dissipation per frame). [0203] The EH WTRU may determine whether there is a need for transmitting feedback information based on the EH WTRU's current EH state (e.g., current battery state or power level)).
Regarding claim 8, Elkotby in view of WANG teaches all the limitations of claim 1. WANG further teaches wherein the RF characteristics comprise a charging capacity of the backscatter communication device ([0100], e.g. the base station may deliver wireless energy to the UE via a backscatter radio. A UE that reports energy storage capabilities (e.g., passive, semi-passive, or active) may aid the base station in determining an energy charging time for the UE and/or strategies for communicating with the UE (e.g., power control) (i.e. RF characteristics comprise a charging capacity)).
The motivation to combine reference of WANG within the method of Elkotby before the effective filing date of the invention is that the new method provides techniques that supports energy harvesting. Further, various technologies pertaining to a power consumption model for an energy harvesting device are disclosed herein. In an example, a device that supports energy harvesting obtains, via at least one energy harvesting operation, energy from a wireless transmission. The device transmits, for a network node, an indication of power consumption of the device for at least one of wireless communications or sensing at the device. The indication of the power consumption of the device may enable the network node to manage an energy transfer and duty cycle of a communication phase of the device in an energy efficient manner such that communications are not skipped due to the device lacking sufficient energy and/or such that the device does not skip sensing due to the device lacking sufficient energy (See WANG [0032])).
Regarding claim 9, Elkotby in view of WANG teaches all the limitations of claim 1. Elkotby further teaches wherein the predetermined energy need ensures that the backscatter communication device is charged in time to meet a repetition interval of the backscatter communication device ([0109], e.g. In various embodiments, the allocation of power may be uniform across one or a subset of the subcarriers within the allocated RBs for N consecutive slots that is repeated every M slots for a total duration T. [0114] configure the EH signal transmission schedule, and design the EH signal waveform such that it can efficiently exploit the currently configured DL synchronization and/or reference signals. For example, the eNB can dedicate 2 REs in each of 6 consecutive RBs as part of a BWP configured for one of the served WTRUs over a duration of a single slot that is repeated every 5 ms … In that example, the EH signal waveform design will be constrained to the 4 consecutive OFDM symbols occupied by CSI-RS (i.e. backscatter communication device is charged in time to meet a repetition interval)).
Regarding claim 10, Elkotby in view of WANG teaches all the limitations of claim 1. Elkotby further teaches wherein the computing device comprises an Access Point (AP) ([0031], e.g. The communications systems 100 may also include a base station 114a and/or a base station 114b. Each of the base stations 114a, 114b may be any type of device configured to wirelessly interface with at least one of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d to facilitate access to one or more communication networks, such as the CN 106/115, … eNode B, a Home Node B, a Home eNode B, a gNB, a New Radio (NR) NodeB, a site controller, an access point (AP), a wireless router).
Regarding claim 11, Elkotby teaches a system ([0092], FIGS. 1A-1D, e.g. Disclosed herein are various methods, apparatus, and systems whereby signaling between network infrastructure and one or more energy harvesting IoT or WTRU devices can help in the optimization of energy transfer by allowing the IoT or WTRU devices to tune their energy harvesting components to maximize energy harvesting and/or minimize power consumption (e.g., minimize attempting to harvest energy during silence periods)), comprising:
a memory storage; and a processing unit disposed in a computing device, the processing unit coupled to the memory storage ([0043] FIG. 1B is a system diagram illustrating an example WTRU 102. As shown in FIG. 1B, the WTRU 102 may include a processor 118, a transceiver 120, a transmit/receive element 122, a speaker/microphone 124, a keypad 126, a display/touchpad 128, non-removable memory 130, removable memory 132, a power source 134, a global positioning system (GPS) chipset 136, and/or other peripherals 138, among others), , wherein the processing unit is operative to:
receive Radio Frequency (RF) characteristics associated with a backscatter communication device ([0119], e.g. An EH device may use one or more of the following information/messages to communicate with the network (e.g., an eNB or a gNB). [0120] a) A message requesting a minimum of E.sub.h Joules to be transferred within a certain period T (i.e. receiving Radio Frequency (RF) characteristics message). [0121] b) A message defining/reporting the EH device harvesting capability/parameters, e.g., the minimum and/or maximum harvesting bandwidth, RF-to-energy conversion efficiency (i.e. receiving Radio Frequency (RF) characteristics), and/or waveforms supported. [0118] feedback signaling from WTRU(s) to the gateway should generally be performed over the ZE air interface using backscattering, as shown in FIG. 6 (i.e. receiving Radio Frequency (RF) characteristics associated with a backscatter communication device));
the computing device has an ability to charge the backscatter communication device to at least meet a predetermined energy need of the backscatter communication device ([0108], e.g. with regards to RB-based resource dedication, due to the ability of the eNB (or gNB or other form of base station) to dedicate a set of RBs that can span a considerable part or all of the energy harvesting band, the eNB has more flexibility/degrees of freedom in the design of the EH waveform. The waveform design can take the EH signal transmission schedule into account. The eNB may consider, among other options, one or more of the following waveform generation strategies depending on the EH device capability, e.g., bandwidth and/or energy harvesting efficiency associated with the supported waveforms (i.e. an ability to charge the backscatter communication device to at least meet a predetermined energy need) ); and
schedule, in response to determining that the computing device has the ability to charge the backscatter communication device, charging of the backscatter communication device to at least meet the predetermined energy need of the backscatter communication device ([0103], e.g. the dedicated EH signal may be generated according to a specific schedule to guarantee the transfer of a minimum energy E.sub.h within a certain duration T. For example, the network may guarantee the transmission of a minimum amount of power within a fixed/dynamic narrowband or a wideband that is associated with either DL and/or UL according to one or combination of the following schedule characteristics such that Eq. (1) is satisfied, where the transmission power at each time unit (e.g., OFDM symbol, mini-slot, slot, subframe, frame) can be fixed or variable (i.e. scheduling, to charging of the backscatter communication device to at least meet the predetermined energy need of the backscatter communication device)),
Elkotby teaches methods and apparatus for waveform design and signaling for energy harvesting (EH) in a wireless network. In an example, a method includes receiving a control message including a contention-based backscattering configuration, determining parameters for transmitting a feedback within a contention-based transmission window based on the contention-based backscattering configuration. However Elkotby differs from the claimed invention in not specifically and clearly describing wherein
determine, based on the RF characteristics and a Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) from the backscatter communication device.
However, in the analogous field of endeavor, WANG teaches wherein
d determine, based on the RF characteristics and a Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) from the backscatter communication device ([0094], e.g. FIG. 7 is a diagram 700 illustrating example aspects of RFID tags. A RFID tag may perform passive energy harvesting. A RFID tag may perform self-sensing using an antenna as a sensor. In an example, macroscopic changes with respect to the RFID tag may be detected by a RFID reader by performing a measurement, such as a received signal strength indicator (RS SI) measurement. A RFID tag may also be equipped with sensors such as a temperature sensor, a camera, etc. A RFID tag may report sensor readings. In an example, a base station (e.g., a gNB) may provide power to the RFID tag (e.g., via backscatter radio and/or inductive coupling) wirelessly and the RFID tag may utilize the power for sensing and/or reporting sensing results to the base station (I.e. determining, by a computing device based on the RF characteristics and a Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) from the backscatter communication device)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to implement the method of WANG within the method of Elkotby. The motivation to combine references is that the combined method provides that various technologies pertaining to a power consumption model for an energy harvesting device are disclosed herein. In an example, a device that supports energy harvesting obtains, via at least one energy harvesting operation, energy from a wireless transmission. The device transmits, for a network node, an indication of power consumption of the device for at least one of wireless communications or sensing at the device. The indication of the power consumption of the device may enable the network node to manage an energy transfer and duty cycle of a communication phase of the device in an energy efficient manner such that communications are not skipped due to the device lacking sufficient energy and/or such that the device does not skip sensing due to the device lacking sufficient energy (See WANG [0032]).
Regarding claim 12, Elkotby in view of WANG teaches all the limitations of claim 11. Elkotby further teaches wherein the RF characteristics comprise a harvesting efficiency comprising an efficiency of turning RF energy into Direct Current (DC) energy via an antenna and rectifier associated with the backscatter communication device. ([0085], e.g. Operational range and energy harvesting efficiency are important characteristics of a passive receiver. The power received by a rectification diode-based energy harvesting device as a function of distance, with respect to the EH signal transmitter, and type of transmitted waveform is illustrated in FIG. 2. It is seen that, for a desired received power level, the operational distance may be optimized by properly selecting (i.e. selecting from a database or table) the number of tones for a power optimized waveform (POW) (i.e. efficiency of turning RF energy into Direct Current (DC) energy)).
Regarding claim 13, Elkotby in view of WANG teaches all the limitations of claim 11. Elkotby further teaches wherein the RF characteristics comprise a transmit repetition rate indicating how frequently the backscatter communication device desires to transmit ([0085], e.g. Operational range and energy harvesting efficiency are important characteristics of a passive receiver. The power received by a rectification diode-based energy harvesting device as a function of distance, with respect to the EH signal transmitter, and type of transmitted waveform is illustrated in FIG. 2. It is seen that, for a desired received power level, the operational distance may be optimized by properly selecting (i.e. repeating selection from a database or table with range of parameters) the number of tones for a power optimized waveform (POW) (i.e. turning RF energy and transmit indicating frequently the backscatter communication device desires)).
Regarding claim 14, Elkotby in view of WANG teaches all the limitations of claim 11. Elkotby further teaches wherein the RF characteristics comprise a transmission duration ([0103], e.g. the dedicated EH signal may be generated according to a specific schedule to guarantee the transfer of a minimum energy E.sub.h within a certain duration T. For example, the network may guarantee the transmission of a minimum amount of power within a fixed/dynamic narrowband or a wideband that is associated with either DL and/or UL according to one or combination of the following schedule characteristics such that Eq. (1) is satisfied, where the transmission power at each time unit (e.g., OFDM symbol, mini-slot, slot, subframe, frame) can be fixed or variable).
Regarding claim 15, Elkotby in view of WANG teaches all the limitations of claim 11. Elkotby further teaches wherein the RF characteristics comprise a power dissipation per frame indicating how much energy each frame dissipates from power reserves of the backscatter communication device ([0171], e.g. In order for the serving cell to efficiently allocate time/frequency/power resources for the feedback transmissions of EH WTRU(s), coordination between the BS and served EH WTRU(s) is necessary. Otherwise, the BS will have to allocate resources accommodating the worst-case scenario under its coverage, which might lead to unnecessary loss or time, frequency, and/or power resources (i.e. a power loss dissipation per frame). [0203] The EH WTRU may determine whether there is a need for transmitting feedback information based on the EH WTRU's current EH state (e.g., current battery state or power level)).
Regarding claim 16, Elkotby in view of WANG teaches all the limitations of claim 11. WANG further teaches wherein the RF characteristics comprise a charging capacity of the backscatter communication device ([0100], e.g. the base station may deliver wireless energy to the UE via a backscatter radio. A UE that reports energy storage capabilities (e.g., passive, semi-passive, or active) may aid the base station in determining an energy charging time for the UE and/or strategies for communicating with the UE (e.g., power control) (i.e. RF characteristics comprise a charging capacity)).
The motivation to combine reference of WANG within the method of Elkotby before the effective filing date of the invention is that the new method provides techniques that supports energy harvesting. Further, various technologies pertaining to a power consumption model for an energy harvesting device are disclosed herein. In an example, a device that supports energy harvesting obtains, via at least one energy harvesting operation, energy from a wireless transmission. The device transmits, for a network node, an indication of power consumption of the device for at least one of wireless communications or sensing at the device. The indication of the power consumption of the device may enable the network node to manage an energy transfer and duty cycle of a communication phase of the device in an energy efficient manner such that communications are not skipped due to the device lacking sufficient energy and/or such that the device does not skip sensing due to the device lacking sufficient energy (See WANG [0032])).
Regarding claim 17, Elkotby in view of WANG teaches all the limitations of claim 11. Elkotby further teaches wherein the predetermined energy need ensures that the backscatter communication device is charged in time to meet a repetition interval of the backscatter communication device ([0109], e.g. In various embodiments, the allocation of power may be uniform across one or a subset of the subcarriers within the allocated RBs for N consecutive slots that is repeated every M slots for a total duration T. [0114] configure the EH signal transmission schedule, and design the EH signal waveform such that it can efficiently exploit the currently configured DL synchronization and/or reference signals. For example, the eNB can dedicate 2 REs in each of 6 consecutive RBs as part of a BWP configured for one of the served WTRUs over a duration of a single slot that is repeated every 5 ms … In that example, the EH signal waveform design will be constrained to the 4 consecutive OFDM symbols occupied by CSI-RS (i.e. backscatter communication device is charged in time to meet a repetition interval)).
Regarding claim 18, Elkotby in view of WANG teaches all the limitations of claim 11. Elkotby further teaches wherein the computing device comprises an Access Point (AP) ([0031], e.g. The communications systems 100 may also include a base station 114a and/or a base station 114b. Each of the base stations 114a, 114b may be any type of device configured to wirelessly interface with at least one of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d to facilitate access to one or more communication networks, such as the CN 106/115, … eNode B, a Home Node B, a Home eNode B, a gNB, a New Radio (NR) NodeB, a site controller, an access point (AP), a wireless router).
Regarding claim 19, Elkotby teaches a non-transitory computer-readable medium that stores a set of instructions ([0208], e.g. In addition, the methods described herein may be implemented in a computer program, software, or firmware incorporated in a computer readable medium for execution by a computer or processor. Examples of non-transitory computer-readable storage media include, but are not limited to, a read only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), a register, cache memory),
which when executed perform a method executed by the set of instructions ([0092], FIGS. 1A-1D, e.g. Disclosed herein are various methods, apparatus, and systems whereby signaling between network infrastructure and one or more energy harvesting IoT or WTRU devices can help in the optimization of energy transfer by allowing the IoT or WTRU devices to tune their energy harvesting components to maximize energy harvesting and/or minimize power consumption (e.g., minimize attempting to harvest energy during silence periods)), comprising:
receiving Radio Frequency (RF) characteristics associated with a backscatter communication device ([0119], e.g. An EH device may use one or more of the following information/messages to communicate with the network (e.g., an eNB or a gNB). [0120] a) A message requesting a minimum of E.sub.h Joules to be transferred within a certain period T (i.e. receiving Radio Frequency (RF) characteristics message). [0121] b) A message defining/reporting the EH device harvesting capability/parameters, e.g., the minimum and/or maximum harvesting bandwidth, RF-to-energy conversion efficiency (i.e. receiving Radio Frequency (RF) characteristics), and/or waveforms supported. [0118] feedback signaling from WTRU(s) to the gateway should generally be performed over the ZE air interface using backscattering, as shown in FIG. 6 (i.e. receiving Radio Frequency (RF) characteristics associated with a backscatter communication device));
the computing device has an ability to charge the backscatter communication device to at least meet a predetermined energy need of the backscatter communication device ([0108], e.g. with regards to RB-based resource dedication, due to the ability of the eNB (or gNB or other form of base station) to dedicate a set of RBs that can span a considerable part or all of the energy harvesting band, the eNB has more flexibility/degrees of freedom in the design of the EH waveform. The waveform design can take the EH signal transmission schedule into account. The eNB may consider, among other options, one or more of the following waveform generation strategies depending on the EH device capability, e.g., bandwidth and/or energy harvesting efficiency associated with the supported waveforms (i.e. an ability to charge the backscatter communication device to at least meet a predetermined energy need) ); and
scheduling, in response to determining that the computing device has the ability to charge the backscatter communication device, charging of the backscatter communication device to at least meet the predetermined energy need of the backscatter communication device ([0103], e.g. the dedicated EH signal may be generated according to a specific schedule to guarantee the transfer of a minimum energy E.sub.h within a certain duration T. For example, the network may guarantee the transmission of a minimum amount of power within a fixed/dynamic narrowband or a wideband that is associated with either DL and/or UL according to one or combination of the following schedule characteristics such that Eq. (1) is satisfied, where the transmission power at each time unit (e.g., OFDM symbol, mini-slot, slot, subframe, frame) can be fixed or variable (i.e. scheduling, to charging of the backscatter communication device to at least meet the predetermined energy need of the backscatter communication device)),
Elkotby teaches methods and apparatus for waveform design and signaling for energy harvesting (EH) in a wireless network. In an example, a method includes receiving a control message including a contention-based backscattering configuration, determining parameters for transmitting a feedback within a contention-based transmission window based on the contention-based backscattering configuration. However Elkotby differs from the claimed invention in not specifically and clearly describing wherein
determining, by a computing device based on the RF characteristics and a Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) from the backscatter communication device.
However, in the analogous field of endeavor, WANG teaches wherein
determining, by a computing device based on the RF characteristics and a Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) from the backscatter communication device ([0094], e.g. FIG. 7 is a diagram 700 illustrating example aspects of RFID tags. A RFID tag may perform passive energy harvesting. A RFID tag may perform self-sensing using an antenna as a sensor. In an example, macroscopic changes with respect to the RFID tag may be detected by a RFID reader by performing a measurement, such as a received signal strength indicator (RS SI) measurement. A RFID tag may also be equipped with sensors such as a temperature sensor, a camera, etc. A RFID tag may report sensor readings. In an example, a base station (e.g., a gNB) may provide power to the RFID tag (e.g., via backscatter radio and/or inductive coupling) wirelessly and the RFID tag may utilize the power for sensing and/or reporting sensing results to the base station (I.e. determining, by a computing device based on the RF characteristics and a Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) from the backscatter communication device)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to implement the method of WANG within the method of Elkotby. The motivation to combine references is that the combined method provides that various technologies pertaining to a power consumption model for an energy harvesting device are disclosed herein. In an example, a device that supports energy harvesting obtains, via at least one energy harvesting operation, energy from a wireless transmission. The device transmits, for a network node, an indication of power consumption of the device for at least one of wireless communications or sensing at the device. The indication of the power consumption of the device may enable the network node to manage an energy transfer and duty cycle of a communication phase of the device in an energy efficient manner such that communications are not skipped due to the device lacking sufficient energy and/or such that the device does not skip sensing due to the device lacking sufficient energy (See WANG [0032]).
Regarding claim 20, Elkotby in view of WANG teaches all the limitations of claim 19. Elkotby further teaches wherein the predetermined energy need ensures that the backscatter communication device is charged in time to meet a repetition interval of the backscatter communication device ([0109], e.g. In various embodiments, the allocation of power may be uniform across one or a subset of the subcarriers within the allocated RBs for N consecutive slots that is repeated every M slots for a total duration T. [0114] configure the EH signal transmission schedule, and design the EH signal waveform such that it can efficiently exploit the currently configured DL synchronization and/or reference signals. For example, the eNB can dedicate 2 REs in each of 6 consecutive RBs as part of a BWP configured for one of the served WTRUs over a duration of a single slot that is repeated every 5 ms … In that example, the EH signal waveform design will be constrained to the 4 consecutive OFDM symbols occupied by CSI-RS (i.e. backscatter communication device is charged in time to meet a repetition interval)).
Prior Art Record
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent
to applicant’s disclosure.
Zalewski; Gary M. (US-20210194528-A1) - DEVICES THAT USE POWER HARVESTING POWER SOURCES FOR OPERATION.
LEE; Kang Yoon (US-20230014594-A1) - ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ALGORITHM-BASED WIRELESS CHARGING SYSTEM CAPABLE OF HIGH-SPEED RESPONSE TO ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGES.
Fahim; Mohammad Tarek (US-20240175963-A1) - BACKSCATTER-BASED POSITIONING.
Zeine; Hatem Ibrahim Munir (US-11670969-B2) - Wireless power transmission system capable of changing power transmission frequency.
Maguire; Yael G. (US-20140113561-A1) - Wireless communication system, has wireless device for generating operating power for device from radio frequency signal, receiving data transmitted using signal and communicating data to base station using backscatter communication.
Gupta; Piyush (US-12457630-B2) - Energy-state feedback for efficient wireless power transfer to IoT devices.
REYNOLDS MATTHEW S (WO-2019067956-A1) - Wireless power transfer device for determining channel transfer function from backscatter signals, has controller to estimate channel information for channels between wirelessly powered device (WPD) and antennas based on backscatter signals.
Conclusion
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/MAHENDRA R PATEL/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2645