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 .
DETAILED ACTION
This action is in response to filing on 11/29/2023.
Claims 1-30 are pending in the application.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 07/17/2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1-16 and 18-30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ryu (Pub. No.: US 2020/0358583 A1) in view of Harel (Pub. No.: US 2018/0070241 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Ryu teaches
A method of wireless communication performed by a radio unit (RU) for wireless communication (Ryu [0007]: method; [0004]: wireless communication; [0058] and [0117]: radio access technology for UE (user equipment)), comprising:
providing, to a distributed unit (DU), capability information associated with at least one antenna element set, the at least one antenna element set comprising a set of antenna elements, of a plurality of antenna elements of the RU, configured for communication while the set of antenna elements is active (Ryu [0050]: “The base station may also be referred to as …a transmit reception point (TRP)” (distributed unit); Ryu [0075-0076]: “The MPUE [multi-panel UE] 404 may transmit UE capabilities 605, which may indicate that the MPUE 404 includes multiple panels. UE capabilities 605 may indicate a total number 607 of panels of the MPUE 404 and/or a maximum number of active panels. The UE capabilities 605 may be carried in an RRC configuration message.”; Ryu [0068]: “Generally, a panel may be a component of a UE including an antenna group including one or more antennas and associated with a panel ID”; [0007] and [0032]: active antennas);
obtaining, from the DU, a slot level control plane configuration message comprising … command that indicates an antenna element set of the at least one antenna element set (Ryu [0077]: “the base station 102 may optionally transmit an activation command 615. The activation command 615 may indicate that the MPUE 404 should activate a number of panels or a specific panel according to an activation process 630”; [0078]: “In an aspect, the activation command 615 may be transmitted within downlink control information (DCI). For example, a DCI format may include one or more bits that indicate a panel ID for an indicated panel”; [0051-0052]: slot configuration); and
communicating, based on the RF channel reconfiguration command, a wireless communication using the antenna element set (Ryu [0078] and [0084]: “The MPUE 404 may activate or deactivate the indicated panel based on the current status of the panel”).
While Ryu does disclose the message comprising a command that indicates an antenna element set, Ryu does not explicitly refer to this as a RF channel reconfiguration command.
However, Harel, in the analogous art of wireless communications utilizing antenna sets and RF signaling, teaches
…a radio frequency (RF) channel reconfiguration command (Harel [0002]: “radio frequency (RF) communication channel reconfiguration”)
It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Ryu to incorporate the teachings of Harel and include an RF channel reconfiguration command. Doing so would reduce RF interferences (Harel [0002]).
Regarding claim 2, Ryu modified by Harel teaches
The method of claim 1 (the limitations of parent claim 1 as indicated above),
Ryu further teaches
further comprising providing, to the DU, a ready communication that indicates that the RU is ready to communicate data traffic, wherein communicating the wireless communication comprises communicating the wireless communication based on providing the ready communication (Ryu fig. 6, [0077], and [0079]: panel status message 625 after the activation process 630 which will result in the UL communication 640).
Regarding claim 3, Ryu modified by Harel teaches
The method of claim 1 (the limitations of parent claim 1 as indicated above),
Ryu further teaches
further comprising:
providing, to the DU, sleep mode capability information indicating a set of defined sleep duration values supported by the RU (Ryu [0076]: “the panel configuration message 610 may indicate sleep modes and corresponding activation times for each panel of the MPUE 404. The activation time may be a length of time for the MPUE 404 to transition the panel from the sleep mode to an active mode ready for transmission. For example, the activation time may be indicated as a number of milliseconds (ms) or as a number of slots for a given frame numerology. The activation time may be panel specific, that is, each panel 410, 412, 414 may have a different activation time. The activation time may also be mode specific. For example, the panel 410 may have an activation time from deep sleep mode, an activation time from light sleep mode, and an activation time for being selected as the transmitting panel”); and
obtaining, from the DU and based on the sleep mode capability information, a management plane message including an indication of a subset of defined sleep duration values, of the set of defined sleep duration values, associated with a control plane processing component of the RU (Ryu [0076-0077]: “the base station 102 may optionally transmit an activation command 615. The activation command 615 may indicate that the MPUE 404 should activate a number of panels or a specific panel according to an activation process 630. The activation process 630 may have an activation time 632, which may be panel-specific and/or status specific”, “The MPUE 404 may transmit a panel configuration message 610. …the panel configuration message 610 may indicate sleep modes and corresponding activation times for each panel of the MPUE 404. The activation time may be a length of time for the MPUE 404 to transition the panel from the sleep mode to an active mode ready for transmission… The activation time may be panel specific, that is, each panel 410, 412, 414 may have a different activation time. The activation time may also be mode specific. For example, the panel 410 may have an activation time from deep sleep mode, an activation time from light sleep mode, and an activation time for being selected as the transmitting panel”).
Regarding claim 4, Ryu modified by Harel teaches
The method of claim 1 (the limitations of parent claim 1 as indicated above), wherein the slot level control plane configuration message includes an indication of a deactivation of the antenna element set (Ryu [0087]: “the base station 102 may optionally transmit a deactivation command 655 indicating that the MPUE 404 should place a panel into a sleep mode. The base station may transmit the deactivation command 655 when the panel status message 625 indicates the status of each panel. The base station 102 may have information that is useful for determining whether to place a panel in a sleep mode”), the method further comprising:
providing to the DU, sleep mode capability information indicating a set of sleep modes supported by the RU, wherein the sleep mode capability information further indicates, for each sleep mode of the set of sleep modes, a respective associated wake-up time of a set of wake-up times, and wherein the indication of the deactivation of the antenna element set is associated with a sleep mode of the set of sleep modes (Ryu [0076-0077], [0082], and [0087]: “the base station 102 may optionally transmit a deactivation command 655 indicating that the MPUE 404 should place a panel into a sleep mode. The base station may transmit the deactivation command 655 when the panel status message 625 indicates the status of each panel. The base station 102 may have information that is useful for determining whether to place a panel in a sleep mode”; the panel configuration message 610 may indicate sleep modes and corresponding activation times for each panel of the MPUE 404. The activation time may be a length of time for the MPUE 404 to transition the panel from the sleep mode to an active mode ready for transmission… The activation time may be panel specific, that is, each panel 410, 412, 414 may have a different activation time. The activation time may also be mode specific. For example, the panel 410 may have an activation time from deep sleep mode, an activation time from light sleep mode, and an activation time for being selected as the transmitting panel”);
obtaining, from the DU, an additional slot level control plane configuration message comprising a reactivate command associated with the antenna element set (Ryu fig. 7 and [0076-0077], [0082], and [0087]: showing looping back to messaging used to determine active panels and deciding to activate or deactivate based on activation or deactivation commands (reactivating)); and
reactivating, at a reactivation time and based on the reactivate command, the antenna element set (Ryu fig. 7 and [0076-0077], [0082], and [0087]: showing looping back to determining active panels and deciding to activate or deactivate based on activation or deactivation commands (reactivating)).
Regarding claim 5, Ryu modified by Harel teaches
The method of claim 4 (the limitations of parent claim 4 as indicated above),
Ryu further teaches
wherein the sleep mode capability information indicates, for each wake-up time of the set of wake-up times, a value type, the value type comprising a definite value type or a minimum value type (Ryu [0076] and [0081-0082]: “the panel configuration message 610 may indicate sleep modes and corresponding activation times for each panel of the MPUE 404. The activation time may be a length of time for the MPUE 404 to transition the panel from the sleep mode to an active mode ready for transmission. For example, the activation time may be indicated as a number of milliseconds (ms) or as a number of slots for a given frame numerology”).
Regarding claim 6, Ryu modified by Harel teaches
The method of claim 5 (the limitations of parent claim 5 as indicated above), wherein the reactivation time corresponds to a wake-up time, of the set of wake-up times, associated with the sleep mode based on the sleep mode having the definite value type (Ryu [0076] and [0081-0082]: “the panel configuration message 610 may indicate sleep modes and corresponding activation times for each panel of the MPUE 404. The activation time may be a length of time for the MPUE 404 to transition the panel from the sleep mode to an active mode ready for transmission. For example, the activation time may be indicated as a number of milliseconds (ms) or as a number of slots for a given frame numerology”).
Regarding claim 7, Ryu modified by Harel teaches
The method of claim 5 (the limitations of parent claim 5 as indicated above),
Ryu further teaches
further comprising providing, to the DU and based on the sleep mode having the minimum value type, a ready communication that indicates that the RU is ready to communicate data traffic, wherein the reactivation time is based on a time associated with providing the ready communication (Ryu fig. 6: panel status message 625 after the activation process 630 which will result in the UL communication 640; [0076-0077] and [0079]: “the activation time may be a length of time for the MPUE to transition the panel from the sleep mode to an active mode ready for transmission”).
Regarding claim 8, Ryu modified by Harel teaches
The method of claim 1 (the limitations of parent claim 1 as indicated above),
Ryu further teaches
further comprising:
obtaining, from the DU, a management plane message including an indication of an undefined sleep duration associated with a control plane processing component of the RU (Ryu fig. 6, fig. 7, table 1, [0077-0078], and [0083-0084]: management plane message disclosed by the activation command, sleep status bit indication not defined by duration);
obtaining, from the DU, a wake up command associated with the control plane processing component of the RU (Ryu fig. 6, fig. 7, [0077-0078], and [0083-0084]: wake up command disclosed by the UL grant in fig. 6); and
activating the control plane processing component based on the wake up command (Ryu fig. 6, fig. 7, [0077-0078], and [0083-0084]: activating based on wake up command (command to activate)).
Regarding claim 9, Ryu modified by Harel teaches
The method of claim 1 (the limitations of parent claim 1 as indicated above), further comprising:
obtaining, from the DU, a management plane message including an emergency wake-up indication; and
transitioning a control plane processing component from a sleep mode to an awake mode based on the emergency wake-up indication. (Ryu [0076-0077], [0082], and [0087]: the panel configuration message 610 may indicate sleep modes and corresponding activation times for each panel of the MPUE 404. The activation time may be a length of time for the MPUE 404 to transition the panel from the sleep mode to an active mode ready for transmission… The activation time may be panel specific, that is, each panel 410, 412, 414 may have a different activation time. The activation time may also be mode specific. For example, the panel 410 may have an activation time from deep sleep mode, an activation time from light sleep mode, and an activation time for being selected as the transmitting panel”); The term ‘emergency wake-up indication’ is only limited by the limitation recited in the claim. As long as an art teaches using an indication to transition from a sleep mode to an awake mode, this limitation is taught and ‘emergency wake-up indication’ can be the same as a wake up indication)
Regarding claim 10, Ryu modified by Harel teaches
The method of claim 9 (the limitations of parent claim 9 as indicated above),
Ryu further teaches
wherein obtaining the management plane message comprises obtaining the management plane message during a sleep duration associated with the sleep mode (Ryu [0076-0077], [0082], and [0087]: the panel configuration message 610 may indicate sleep modes and corresponding activation times for each panel of the MPUE 404. The activation time may be a length of time for the MPUE 404 to transition the panel from the sleep mode to an active mode ready for transmission… The activation time may be panel specific, that is, each panel 410, 412, 414 may have a different activation time. The activation time may also be mode specific. For example, the panel 410 may have an activation time from deep sleep mode, an activation time from light sleep mode, and an activation time for being selected as the transmitting panel”; further see fig. 7, obtaining messaging while panel deactivated).
Regarding claim 11, Ryu modified by Harel teaches
The method of claim 1 (the limitations of parent claim 1 as indicated above), further comprising:
Upon initial examination Ryu does not appear to explicitly teach activating, based on the RF channel reconfiguration command, each antenna element of the antenna element set; and deactivating, based on the RF channel reconfiguration command, each antenna element of the plurality of antenna elements that is omitted from the antenna element set.
However, Harel, in the analogous art of wireless communications utilizing antenna sets and RF signaling, teaches
activating, based on the RF channel reconfiguration command, each antenna element of the antenna element set (Harel fig. 4, [0023], and [0025]: determination by RF transmit/receiver with respective antenna elements to distribute communications which antenna sets to reconfigure/select (activate or deactivate)); and
deactivating, based on the RF channel reconfiguration command, each antenna element of the plurality of antenna elements that is omitted from the antenna element set (Harel fig. 4, [0023], and [0025]: determination by RF transmit/receiver with respective antenna elements to distribute communications which antenna sets to reconfigure/select (activate or deactivate)).
It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Ryu to incorporate the teachings of Harel and activate or deactivate based on the RF channel reconfiguration command, each antenna element of the plurality of antenna elements that is omitted from the antenna element set. Doing so would reduce RF interferences (Harel [0002]).
Regarding claim 12, Ryu modified by Harel teaches
The method of claim 1 (the limitations of parent claim 1 as indicated above),
Ryu further teaches
wherein the capability information explicitly indicates the at least one antenna set (Ryu [0073] and [0080]: “the panels of the MPUE may be dynamically defined, for example by selecting a subset of the total antennas or antenna elements as a panel”).
Regarding claim 13, Ryu modified by Harel teaches
The method of claim 1 (the limitations of parent claim 1 as indicated above),
Ryu further teaches
wherein the capability information comprises a flag that indicates that each antenna element set of the plurality of antenna elements is a selectable antenna element set (Ryu [0080]: indicating a panel ID by the UE together with the panel status implicitly means that said panel is selectable as it shows using a bit whether the panel (antenna set) is active).
Regarding claim 14, Ryu modified by Harel teaches
The method of claim 1 (the limitations of parent claim 1 as indicated above),
Ryu further teaches
wherein the RF channel reconfiguration command comprises a bitmap, each bit of the bitmap corresponding to a respective antenna element of the plurality of antenna elements (Ryu [0078]: “the activation command may be transmitted within downlink control information (DCI). For example, a DCI format may include one or more bits that indicate a panel ID for an indicated panel”).
Regarding claim 15, Ryu modified by Harel teaches
The method of claim 1 (the limitations of parent claim 1 as indicated above),
Ryu further teaches
wherein the RF channel reconfiguration command (as mapped in parent claim 1) corresponds to a set of time resources, wherein the slot level control plane configuration message indicates the set of time resources (Ryu fig. 6, [0053], [0101], and [0077]: including time-frequency resources).
Regarding claim 16, Ryu modified by Harel teaches
The method of claim 1 (the limitations of parent claim 1 as indicated above),
Ryu further teaches
further comprising receiving an indication of a group of beamforming weight values, each beamforming weight value of the plurality of beamforming weight values corresponding to a respective antenna element of the plurality of antenna elements, and wherein communicating the wireless communication comprises communicating the wireless communication based on a set of beamforming weights, of the group of beamforming weight values, corresponding to the set of antenna elements (Ryu fig. 6, [0046-0047], and [0077-0078]: the use of beamforming for communication on each panel and in fig. 6 635, the indication of an UL grant for UL transmission of the UE, beam training for best directions (beamforming weight to decide which direction)).
Regarding claim 18, Ryu teaches
A method of wireless communication performed by a distributed unit (DU) for wireless communication (Ryu [0007]: method; [0004]: wireless communication; Ryu [0050]: “The base station may also be referred to as …a transmit reception point (TRP)” (distributed unit)), comprising:
obtaining, from a radio unit (RU), capability information associated with at least one antenna element set, the at least one antenna element set comprising a set of antenna elements, of a plurality of antenna elements of the RU, configured for communication while the set of antenna elements is active (Ryu [0058] and [0117]: radio access technology for UE (user equipment); Ryu [0050]: “The base station may also be referred to as …a transmit reception point (TRP)” (distributed unit); Ryu [0075-0076]: “The MPUE [multi-panel UE] 404 may transmit UE capabilities 605, which may indicate that the MPUE 404 includes multiple panels. UE capabilities 605 may indicate a total number 607 of panels of the MPUE 404 and/or a maximum number of active panels. The UE capabilities 605 may be carried in an RRC configuration message.”; Ryu [0068]: “Generally, a panel may be a component of a UE including an antenna group including one or more antennas and associated with a panel ID”; [0007] and [0032]: active antennas); and
providing, to the RU, a slot level control plane configuration message comprising a …command that indicates an antenna element set of the at least one antenna element set (Ryu [0077]: “the base station 102 may optionally transmit an activation command 615. The activation command 615 may indicate that the MPUE 404 should activate a number of panels or a specific panel according to an activation process 630”; [0078]: “In an aspect, the activation command 615 may be transmitted within downlink control information (DCI). For example, a DCI format may include one or more bits that indicate a panel ID for an indicated panel”; [0051-0052]: slot configuration).
While Ryu does disclose the message comprising a command that indicates an antenna element set, Ryu does not explicitly refer to this as a RF channel reconfiguration command.
However, Harel, in the analogous art of wireless communications utilizing antenna sets and RF signaling, teaches
…a radio frequency (RF) channel reconfiguration command (Harel [0002]: “radio frequency (RF) communication channel reconfiguration”)
It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Ryu to incorporate the teachings of Harel and include an RF channel reconfiguration command. Doing so would reduce RF interferences (Harel [0002]).
Regarding claim 19, Ryu modified by Harel teaches
The method of claim 18 (the limitations of parent claim 18 as indicated above),
Ryu further teaches
further comprising:
obtaining, from the RU, a ready communication that indicates that the RU is ready to communicate data traffic; and
communicating with the RU based on providing the ready communication. (Ryu fig. 6, [0077], and [0079]: panel status message 625 after the activation process 630 which will result in the UL communication 640)
Regarding claim 20, Ryu modified by Harel teaches
The method of claim 18 (the limitations of parent claim 18 as indicated above),
Ryu further teaches
further comprising providing, to the RU, a management plane message including an indication of quantity of wake-up durations associated with a control plane processing component of the RU (Ryu [0076-0077], [0082], and [0087]: “the base station 102 may optionally transmit a deactivation command 655 indicating that the MPUE 404 should place a panel into a sleep mode. The base station may transmit the deactivation command 655 when the panel status message 625 indicates the status of each panel. The base station 102 may have information that is useful for determining whether to place a panel in a sleep mode”; the panel configuration message 610 may indicate sleep modes and corresponding activation times for each panel of the MPUE 404. The activation time may be a length of time for the MPUE 404 to transition the panel from the sleep mode to an active mode ready for transmission… The activation time may be panel specific, that is, each panel 410, 412, 414 may have a different activation time. The activation time may also be mode specific. For example, the panel 410 may have an activation time from deep sleep mode, an activation time from light sleep mode, and an activation time for being selected as the transmitting panel”).
Regarding claim 21, Ryu modified by Harel teaches
The method of claim 18 (the limitations of parent claim 18 as indicated above), further comprising:
obtaining, from the RU, sleep mode capability information indicating a set of defined sleep duration values supported by the RU (Ryu [0076]: “the panel configuration message 610 may indicate sleep modes and corresponding activation times for each panel of the MPUE 404. The activation time may be a length of time for the MPUE 404 to transition the panel from the sleep mode to an active mode ready for transmission. For example, the activation time may be indicated as a number of milliseconds (ms) or as a number of slots for a given frame numerology. The activation time may be panel specific, that is, each panel 410, 412, 414 may have a different activation time. The activation time may also be mode specific. For example, the panel 410 may have an activation time from deep sleep mode, an activation time from light sleep mode, and an activation time for being selected as the transmitting panel”); and
providing, to the RU and based on the sleep mode capability information, a management plane message including an indication of a subset of defined sleep duration values, of the set of defined sleep duration values, associated with a control plane processing component of the RU (Ryu [0076-0077]: “the base station 102 may optionally transmit an activation command 615. The activation command 615 may indicate that the MPUE 404 should activate a number of panels or a specific panel according to an activation process 630. The activation process 630 may have an activation time 632, which may be panel-specific and/or status specific”, “The MPUE 404 may transmit a panel configuration message 610. …the panel configuration message 610 may indicate sleep modes and corresponding activation times for each panel of the MPUE 404. The activation time may be a length of time for the MPUE 404 to transition the panel from the sleep mode to an active mode ready for transmission… The activation time may be panel specific, that is, each panel 410, 412, 414 may have a different activation time. The activation time may also be mode specific. For example, the panel 410 may have an activation time from deep sleep mode, an activation time from light sleep mode, and an activation time for being selected as the transmitting panel”).
Regarding claim 22, Ryu modified by Harel teaches
The method of claim 18 (the limitations of parent claim 18 as indicated above), wherein the slot level control plane configuration message includes an indication of a deactivation of the antenna element set, the method further comprising:
obtaining from the RU, sleep mode capability information indicating a set of sleep modes supported by the RU, wherein the sleep mode capability information further indicates, for each sleep mode of the set of sleep modes, a respective associated wake-up time of a set of wake-up times, and wherein the indication of the deactivation of the antenna element set is associated with a sleep mode of the set of sleep modes (Ryu [0076-0077], [0082], and [0087]: “the base station 102 may optionally transmit a deactivation command 655 indicating that the MPUE 404 should place a panel into a sleep mode. The base station may transmit the deactivation command 655 when the panel status message 625 indicates the status of each panel. The base station 102 may have information that is useful for determining whether to place a panel in a sleep mode”; the panel configuration message 610 may indicate sleep modes and corresponding activation times for each panel of the MPUE 404. The activation time may be a length of time for the MPUE 404 to transition the panel from the sleep mode to an active mode ready for transmission… The activation time may be panel specific, that is, each panel 410, 412, 414 may have a different activation time. The activation time may also be mode specific. For example, the panel 410 may have an activation time from deep sleep mode, an activation time from light sleep mode, and an activation time for being selected as the transmitting panel”);
providing, to the RU, an additional slot level control plane configuration message comprising a reactivate command associated with the antenna element set (Ryu fig. 7 and [0076-0077], [0082], and [0087]: showing looping back to messaging used to determine active panels and deciding to activate or deactivate based on activation or deactivation commands (reactivating)); and
reactivating, at a reactivation time and based on the reactivate command, the antenna element set (Ryu fig. 7 and [0076-0077], [0082], and [0087]: showing looping back to determining active panels and deciding to activate or deactivate based on activation or deactivation commands (reactivating)).
Regarding claim 23, Ryu modified by Harel teaches
The method of claim 22 (the limitations of parent claim 22 as indicated above), wherein the sleep mode capability information indicates, for each wake-up time of the set of wake-up times, a value type, the value type comprising a definite value type or a minimum value type (Ryu [0076] and [0081-0082]: “the panel configuration message 610 may indicate sleep modes and corresponding activation times for each panel of the MPUE 404. The activation time may be a length of time for the MPUE 404 to transition the panel from the sleep mode to an active mode ready for transmission. For example, the activation time may be indicated as a number of milliseconds (ms) or as a number of slots for a given frame numerology”).
Regarding claim 24, Ryu modified by Harel teaches
The method of claim 18 (the limitations of parent claim 18 as indicated above), further comprising:
providing, to the RU, a management plane message including an indication of an undefined sleep duration associated with a control plane processing component of the RU (Ryu fig. 6, fig. 7, table 1, [0077-0078], and [0083-0084]: management plane message disclosed by the activation command, sleep status bit indication not defined by duration);
providing, to the RU, a wake up command associated with the control plane processing component of the RU (Ryu fig. 6, fig. 7, [0077-0078], and [0083-0084]: wake up command disclosed by the UL grant in fig. 6); and
activating the control plane processing component based on the wake up command (Ryu fig. 6, fig. 7, [0077-0078], and [0083-0084]: activating based on wake up command (command to activate)).
Regarding claim 25, Ryu modified by Harel teaches
The method of claim 18 (the limitations of parent claim 18 as indicated above),
further comprising providing, to the RU, a management plane message including an emergency wake-up indication associated with a transition, of a control plane processing component of the RU, from a sleep mode of the RU to an awake mode of the RU. (Ryu [0076-0077], [0082], and [0087]: the panel configuration message 610 may indicate sleep modes and corresponding activation times for each panel of the MPUE 404. The activation time may be a length of time for the MPUE 404 to transition the panel from the sleep mode to an active mode ready for transmission… The activation time may be panel specific, that is, each panel 410, 412, 414 may have a different activation time. The activation time may also be mode specific. For example, the panel 410 may have an activation time from deep sleep mode, an activation time from light sleep mode, and an activation time for being selected as the transmitting panel”); The term ‘emergency wake-up indication’ is only limited by the limitation recited in the claim. As long as an art teaches using an indication to transition from a sleep mode to an awake mode, this limitation is taught and ‘emergency wake-up indication’ can be the same as a wake up indication)
Regarding claim 26, Ryu modified by Harel teaches
The method of claim 25 (the limitations of parent claim 25 as indicated above), wherein providing the management plane message comprises providing the management plane message during a sleep duration associated with the sleep mode of the RU (Ryu [0076-0077], [0082], and [0087]: the panel configuration message 610 may indicate sleep modes and corresponding activation times for each panel of the MPUE 404. The activation time may be a length of time for the MPUE 404 to transition the panel from the sleep mode to an active mode ready for transmission… The activation time may be panel specific, that is, each panel 410, 412, 414 may have a different activation time. The activation time may also be mode specific. For example, the panel 410 may have an activation time from deep sleep mode, an activation time from light sleep mode, and an activation time for being selected as the transmitting panel”; further see fig. 7, obtaining messaging while panel deactivated).
Regarding claim 27, Ryu teaches
A radio unit (RU) for wireless communication (Ryu [0004]: wireless communication; [0058] and [0117]: radio access technology for UE (user equipment)), comprising:
one or more memories (Ryu [0008-0012]: memory); and
one or more processors coupled to the one or more memories (Ryu [0008-0012]: processor coupled to the memory) and configured to cause the RU to:
provide, to a distributed unit (DU), capability information associated with at least one antenna element set, the at least one antenna element set comprising a set of antenna elements, of a plurality of antenna elements of the RU, configured for communication while the set of antenna elements is active (Ryu [0050]: “The base station may also be referred to as …a transmit reception point (TRP)” (distributed unit); Ryu [0075-0076]: “The MPUE [multi-panel UE] 404 may transmit UE capabilities 605, which may indicate that the MPUE 404 includes multiple panels. UE capabilities 605 may indicate a total number 607 of panels of the MPUE 404 and/or a maximum number of active panels. The UE capabilities 605 may be carried in an RRC configuration message.”; Ryu [0068]: “Generally, a panel may be a component of a UE including an antenna group including one or more antennas and associated with a panel ID”; [0007] and [0032]: active antennas);
obtain, from the DU, a slot level control plane configuration message comprising a … command that indicates an antenna element set of the at least one antenna element set (Ryu [0077]: “the base station 102 may optionally transmit an activation command 615. The activation command 615 may indicate that the MPUE 404 should activate a number of panels or a specific panel according to an activation process 630”; [0078]: “In an aspect, the activation command 615 may be transmitted within downlink control information (DCI). For example, a DCI format may include one or more bits that indicate a panel ID for an indicated panel”; [0051-0052]: slot configuration); and
communicate, based on the RF channel reconfiguration command, a wireless communication using the antenna element set (Ryu [0078] and [0084]: “The MPUE 404 may activate or deactivate the indicated panel based on the current status of the panel”).
While Ryu does disclose the message comprising a command that indicates an antenna element set, Ryu does not explicitly refer to this as a RF channel reconfiguration command.
However, Harel, in the analogous art of wireless communications utilizing antenna sets and RF signaling, teaches
…a radio frequency (RF) channel reconfiguration command (Harel [0002]: “radio frequency (RF) communication channel reconfiguration”)
It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Ryu to incorporate the teachings of Harel and include an RF channel reconfiguration command. Doing so would reduce RF interferences (Harel [0002]).
Regarding claim 28, Ryu modified by Harel teaches
The RU of claim 27 (the limitations of parent claim 27 as indicated above), wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause the RU to:
Upon initial examination Ryu does not appear to explicitly teach activating, based on the RF channel reconfiguration command, each antenna element of the antenna element set; and deactivating, based on the RF channel reconfiguration command, each antenna element of the plurality of antenna elements that is omitted from the antenna element set.
However, Harel, in the analogous art of wireless communications utilizing antenna sets and RF signaling, teaches
activate, based on the RF channel reconfiguration command, each antenna element of the antenna element set (Harel fig. 4, [0023], and [0025]: determination by RF transmit/receiver with respective antenna elements to distribute communications which antenna sets to reconfigure/select (activate or deactivate)); and
deactivate, based on the RF channel reconfiguration command, each antenna element of the plurality of antenna elements that is omitted from the antenna element set (Harel fig. 4, [0023], and [0025]: determination by RF transmit/receiver with respective antenna elements to distribute communications which antenna sets to reconfigure/select (activate or deactivate)).
It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Ryu to incorporate the teachings of Harel and activate or deactivate based on the RF channel reconfiguration command, each antenna element of the plurality of antenna elements that is omitted from the antenna element set. Doing so would reduce RF interferences (Harel [0002]).
Regarding claim 29, Ryu teaches
A distributed unit (DU) for wireless communication (Ryu [0004]: wireless communication; Ryu [0050]: “The base station may also be referred to as …a transmit reception point (TRP)” (distributed unit)), comprising:
one or more memories (Ryu [0008-0012]: memory); and
one or more processors coupled to the one or more memories (Ryu [0008-0012]: processor coupled with the memory configured to execute the instructions to perform method) and configured to cause the DU to:
obtain, from a radio unit (RU), capability information associated with at least one antenna element set, the at least one antenna element set comprising a set of antenna elements, of a plurality of antenna elements of the RU, configured for communication while the set of antenna elements is active (Ryu [0058] and [0117]: radio access technology for UE (user equipment); Ryu [0050]: “The base station may also be referred to as …a transmit reception point (TRP)” (distributed unit); Ryu [0075-0076]: “The MPUE [multi-panel UE] 404 may transmit UE capabilities 605, which may indicate that the MPUE 404 includes multiple panels. UE capabilities 605 may indicate a total number 607 of panels of the MPUE 404 and/or a maximum number of active panels. The UE capabilities 605 may be carried in an RRC configuration message.”; Ryu [0068]: “Generally, a panel may be a component of a UE including an antenna group including one or more antennas and associated with a panel ID”; [0007] and [0032]: active antennas); and
provide, to the RU, a slot level control plane configuration message comprising a … command that indicates an antenna element set of the at least one antenna element set (Ryu [0077]: “the base station 102 may optionally transmit an activation command 615. The activation command 615 may indicate that the MPUE 404 should activate a number of panels or a specific panel according to an activation process 630”; [0078]: “In an aspect, the activation command 615 may be transmitted within downlink control information (DCI). For example, a DCI format may include one or more bits that indicate a panel ID for an indicated panel”; [0051-0052]: slot configuration).
While Ryu does disclose the message comprising a command that indicates an antenna element set, Ryu does not explicitly refer to this as a RF channel reconfiguration command.
However, Harel, in the analogous art of wireless communications utilizing antenna sets and RF signaling, teaches
…a radio frequency (RF) channel reconfiguration command (Harel [0002]: “radio frequency (RF) communication channel reconfiguration”)
It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Ryu to incorporate the teachings of Harel and include an RF channel reconfiguration command. Doing so would reduce RF interferences (Harel [0002]).
Regarding claim 30, Ryu modified by Harel teaches
The DU of claim 29 (the limitations of parent claim 29 as indicated above), wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause the DU to:
obtain, from the RU, a ready communication that indicates that the RU is ready to communicate data traffic; and
communicate with the RU based on providing the ready communication. (Ryu fig. 6, [0077], and [0079]: panel status message 625 after the activation process 630 which will result in the UL communication 640)
Claim 17 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ryu (Pub. No.: US 2020/0358583 A1) in view of Harel (Pub. No.: US 2018/0070241 A1) further in view of Emmanuel (Pub. No.: US 2017/0280460 A1).
Regarding claim 17, Ryu modified by Harel teaches
The method of claim 1 (the limitations of parent claim 1 as indicated above),
Ryu modified by Harel does not appear to teach wherein the slot level control plane configuration message comprises a spatial stream mute index having a value indicating at least one of a quantity of spatial streams to be muted, a quantity of spatial streams to remain active, a set of spatial stream identifiers (IDs) associated with a set of spatial streams to be muted, or a set of spatial stream IDs associated with a set of spatial streams to remain active.
However, Emmanuel, in the analogous art of wireless communication methods that reduce interference, teaches
wherein the slot level control plane configuration message comprises a spatial stream mute index having a value indicating at least one of a quantity of spatial streams to be muted, a quantity of spatial streams to remain active, a set of spatial stream identifiers (IDs) associated with a set of spatial streams to be muted, or a set of spatial stream IDs associated with a set of spatial streams to remain active (Emmanuel [0086] and [0097]: spatial stream index identifying how many streams of data (total quantity of spatial streams), differing amounts of streams, able to reduce or increase number of streams (reducing is muting spatial streams)).
It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the combination of Ryu and Harel to incorporate the teachings of Emmanuel and have the slot level control plane configuration message comprises a spatial stream mute index having a value indicating at least one of a quantity of spatial streams to be muted, a quantity of spatial streams to remain active, a set of spatial stream identifiers (IDs) associated with a set of spatial streams to be muted, or a set of spatial stream IDs associated with a set of spatial streams to remain active. Doing so would reduce interferences (Emmanuel [0001]).
Conclusion
The following prior art made of record is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure.
Vermani et al. (Pub. No.: US 2019/0045366 A1) discloses spatial streams being identified by spatial stream index and allocations of particular amounts. Beamforming is also disclosed
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/R.E.M./Examiner, Art Unit 2412
/CHARLES C JIANG/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2412