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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1, 5, 6, 7, 11 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by U.S. Patent Application Publication 2024/0154657 to Elshafie et al.
As concerns claim 1, a reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS), comprising:
a plurality of elements (Fig. 4, RIS element; 0038), each of the plurality of elements configured to receive and/or transmit signals (abstract-antennas; Fig. 5A, 104 RIS); and
a controller (Fig. 8, 103 RIS Controller) configured to: receive a first feedback (Fig. 8, 808-feedback), the first feedback comprising channel quality information (0045-0046-feedback, parameters; 0047-reference signals, metrics) associated with a wireless channel (0035-wireless communication) between the RIS (Fig. 4, RIS element; Fig. 8) and at least one other device (0037-communcation device; Fig. 8; 0045);
determine routing information (0038-active RIS element; 0045; 0060-scheduling) for the plurality of elements of the RIS based on (Fig. 8, 810-configure precoding weights based on feedback) the first feedback, wherein the routing information comprises a mapping (0038-re-radiate beams in certain direction from a transmitter toward a receiver, beamforming; 0045-the RIS 104 may be configured with a codebook for precoding one or more elements thereon (referred to as MS elements) to allow a beam from one of the BS 110a and UE 120a (e.g., a transmitter) to be re-radiated off the MS to reach the other one of the BS 110a and UE 120a (e.g., a receiver); 0060-scheduling) of ingress signals from each of the plurality of elements to egress signals (0038-re-radiate beams in certain direction from a transmitter toward a receiver, beamforming; 0045-codebook for one or more elements to allow a beam from one transmitter to reach a receiver) from each of the other elements of the plurality of elements;
receive a first signal (0045-a received radio signal) via a first element of the plurality of elements;
route (0033-signal communicated, beamformed in a particular direction; 0038-re-radiate beams in certain direction from a transmitter to a receiver; 0069-scheduler) the first signal to at least a second element of the plurality of elements based on the determined routing information, wherein a phase shift (0033-phase shift value; 0038-phase shift) is applied to the first signal; and
transmit the phase shifted first signal via the second element (0033; 0038-from transmitter to a receiver; 0045).
As concerns claim 5, the RIS of claim 1,wherein the first element and the second element are a same element (Fig. 4, RIS element; 0038; antenna).
As concerns claim 6, the RIS of claim 1,wherein the first feedback is received from a wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU) (Fig. 8, BS 110 is a “node” in the network; 0047-0048; 0050-base station or network node).
As concerns claim 7, the RIS of claim 1,wherein the first feedback is received from a network node (BRI: “node” is a broad term; Fig. 8, BS 110 is a “node” in the network; 0047-0048; 0050-base station or network node).
As concerns claim 11, the RIS of claim 1,wherein the phase shifted first signal is transmitted via the second element towards a plurality of receivers (0044-UE with multiple transmission configurations, antenna arrays, panels).
As concerns claim 13, the RIS of claim 1,wherein the phase shifted first signal is beamformed (0033) via the second element towards a receiver (0033-beamformed in particular direction; 0038-towards a receiver).
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.
Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Application Publication 2024/0154657 to Elshafie et al. in view of U.S. Patent No. 5,343,173 to Balodis.
Elshafie et al. ‘657 do not disclose:
As concerns claim 2, the RIS of claim 1 wherein each element of the RIS is connected to each of the other elements of the RIS via a load impedance network, the load impedance network being configured to provide multi-directional connections between each of the plurality of elements.
Balodis ‘173 teach:
As concerns claim 2, the RIS of claim 1 wherein each element of the RIS is connected to each of the other elements of the RIS via a load impedance network, the load impedance network being configured to provide multi-directional connections between each of the plurality of elements (Col. 5, lines 4-24-antenna elements, impedance matching, load impedance of network, antenna connections).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to provide the system of Elshafie et al. ‘657 with a load impedance network, as taught by Balodis ‘173, in order to provide signal processing reducing power loss and signal distortion.
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Application Publication 2024/0154657 to Elshafie et al. in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication 2022/0294506 to Kuriyama et al.
Elshafie et al. ‘657 do not disclose:
As concerns claim 12, the RIS of claim 1,wherein the determined routing information comprises an off-diagonal beamforming matrix.
Kuriyama et al. ‘506 teach:
As concerns claim 12, the RIS of claim 1,wherein the determined routing information comprises an off-diagonal beamforming matrix (0035).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to provide the system of Elshafie et al. ‘657 with off-diagonal beamforming matrix, as taught by Kuriyama et al. ‘506, in order to provide signal processing reducing interference.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3, 4 and 8-10 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 any intervening claims.
Claims 14-17 are allowed.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed March 2, 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
The applicant argues Elshafie does not teach “a mapping of ingress signals from each of the plurality of elements to egress signals from each of the other elements of the plurality of elements”. The claims are given the broadest reasonable interpretation in light of the specification. The applicant has not indicated which specific passages from the specification would shed light on this claimed limitation. Given the claims their broadest reasonable interpretation, without reading limitations from the specification into the claims, the prior art of Elshafie, at least at paragraph 0045 disclose “the RIS 104 may be configured with a codebook for precoding one or more elements thereon (referred to as MS elements) to allow a beam from one of the BS 110a and UE 120a (e.g., a transmitter) to be re-radiated off the MS to reach the other one of the BS 110a and UE 120a (e.g., a receiver)”. Thus there is a “mapping” of ingress signals (“transmitter”) to egress signals (“receiver”) from the elements to provide for routing a signal from a specific transmitter to a specific receiver element.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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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/JOHN B WALSH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2451