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 .
This action is in response to amendment filed on 6/9/2026.
Claims 1-17 and 19 are amended.
Claims 18, 20-22 are cancelled.
The 35 U.S.C. 101 rejection for claim 17 is withdrawn based on claim amendments.
The 35 U.S.C. 101 rejection for claim 19 is maintained as detailed below.
Claims 1-17 and 19 are examined and rejected, see response to arguments below.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Independent claim 19 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because this claim is directed to a computer readable storage medium. This claim recites in part: “… a computer readable storage medium on which is stored a computer program comprising instructions which, when executed on at least one processor of network equipment, cause the network equipment to perform the method of claim 1”. Claim 19 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 as covering non-statutory subject matter. This claim is directed to a computer readable medium (CRM) that covers transitory signals which is not statutory.
This rejection can be overcome by amending the claim to include the limitation “non-transitory” prior to “medium”.
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(s) 1-6, 8-12, 15, 17 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Seol (US 20190372740 A1) in view of Gormley (US 20200344619 A1, from IDS).
Regarding Claim 1, Seol discloses a method performed by network equipment configured for use in a wireless communication network, the method comprising:
determining an inter-network interference condition (see para 64, the base station allocates a resource for a subframe based on inter-cell interference. Specifically, the base station may allocate resources for a subframe consistent with the basic TDD configuration/i.e., for normal TDD, and a subframe not consistent with the basic TDD configuration in the determined TDD configuration based on inter-cell interference/i.e., for dynamic TDD); and
adapting, based on the determined inter-network interference condition, time division duplexing, TDD, configuration of one or more radio network nodes in the wireless communication network (see para 51, the selection module/i.e., in the base station, determines a particular TDD configuration/i.e., representing adapting, from the TDD configuration list using information about resources allocated by the scheduling module for DL transmission or UL transmission. Here, the information about the resources allocated by the scheduling module for DL transmission or UL transmission is determined based on statistical information about data previously transmitted and received configuration based on historical or statistical data of resource allocation for UL/DL for dynamic TDD; at para 7, When the ratio of time resources used for DL transmission and those for UL transmission is dynamically adjusted/i.e. adapted, according to the characteristics of data, it is possible to efficiently use time resources; also see FIG. 9 illustrates an operating method of a base station for determining whether to use a dynamic TDD configuration, or regular TDD configuration).
Seol teaches collecting statistical data to allocate resources for scheduling UL/DL transmission in dynamic TDD.
Seol does not disclose details regarding using sensors to measure inter-cell interference, i.e., the limitation: inter-network interference condition measured by a set of sensors deployed in a coverage area of the wireless communication network
In the same field of endeavor, Gormley teaches this limitation: see FIG. 1, performance monitoring system connected to the trace utility; see para 54, Performance Monitoring (PM) data includes data input from a dedicated PM tool, as well as data received directly from element management system (EMS), or elements of the Operations and Support System (OSS) … Performance Monitoring (PM) data may be derived directly from network event data by the spectrum analytics server. For example, when event data is available to the spectrum analytics server, the server may aggregate individual events to create equivalent PM counters and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). PM data is derived from sources other than a PM system; also see para 63, The network event data may be collected by a trace utility that is integrated with a cellular network/i.e., FIG. 1 is collectively representing the interference collected using sensor data (via trace utility) for generating the interference pattern (of FIG.1); and at para 65, Embodiments utilize additional information sources beyond the sources illustrated in FIG. 1, such as information provided by SON (Self Organizing Network) tools, including analysis and insight into neighbor relationships not readily apparent from the sources listed above. Additional external integrations may also include radio frequency propagation planning tools that may be used to enhance accuracy of interference detection and interference localization.
It would have been obvious, to one having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the system of Seol, so as to include details regarding the collection of statistical interference data in TDD as taught by Gormley, the motivation being to optimize network capacity by mitigating interference in times allocated to uplink transmissions (see Gormley, para 8).
Regarding Claim 2, Seol discloses: obtaining a model that models, for each of multiple candidate TDD configurations of the one or more radio network nodes, performance achievable with the candidate TDD configuration under different inter- network interference conditions, and wherein said adapting comprises: selecting, from the candidate TDD configurations, a candidate TDD configuration that, according to the model, achieves a performance objective under an inter-network interference condition corresponding to the determined inter-network interference condition; and configuring the one or more radio network nodes with the selected candidate TDD configuration (Examiners Note: Using BRI consistent with the specification, the limitation “candidate TDD configuration” has been interpreted to mean “TDD configuration for normal TDD”; and the limitation “a candidate TDD configuration that, according to the model, achieves a performance objective under an inter-network interference condition corresponding to the determined inter-network interference condition” has been interpreted to mean “TDD configuration for dynamic-TDD”. Based on this interpretation, see FIG. 3. Depicting a base station with TDD configuration list, see paras 51-52, the selection module determines a particular TDD configuration from the TDD configuration list using information about resources allocated by the scheduling module for DL transmission or UL transmission. Here, the information about the resources allocated by the scheduling module for DL transmission or UL transmission are determined based on statistical information/i.e., model, about data previously transmitted and received/i.e., multiple candidate TDD configurations … Specifically, the scheduling module may allocate a resource for a subframe in the determined TDD configuration, which is assigned DL transmission or UL transmission differently from in the basic TDD configuration, in consideration of inter-cell interference/i.e., representing adapting TDD configuration based on interference … Here, the possibility of occurrence of interference may be determined based on at least one of the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), the channel quality indicator (CQI), and the path loss of a channel with each terminal/i.e., representing performance achievable with selected TDD configuration based on inter-network interference in SNR, CQI or pathloss).
Regarding Claim 3, Seol discloses the method of claim 2, wherein obtaining the model comprises obtaining a labeled dataset that comprises one or more measurement records for each of the candidate TDD configurations, wherein each measurement record comprises a measurement of performance achieved with the candidate TDD configuration and a measurement by the set of sensors (30) of an inter-network interference condition under which the performance was measured (see para 52, the scheduling module may allocate a resource for a subframe in the determined TDD configuration, which is assigned DL transmission or UL transmission differently from in the basic TDD configuration, in consideration of inter-cell interference/i.e., representing adapting TDD configuration based on interference … Here, the possibility of occurrence of interference may be determined based on at least one of the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), the channel quality indicator (CQI), and the path loss of a channel with each terminal/i.e., representing performance achievable with selected TDD configuration based on inter-network interference in SNR, CQI or pathloss).
Seol teaches collecting statistical data to allocate resources for scheduling UL/DL transmission in dynamic TDD.
Seol does not disclose details regarding using sensors to measure inter-cell interference, i.e., the limitation: inter-network interference condition measured by a set of sensors (30) deployed in a coverage area of the wireless communication network
In the same field of endeavor, Gormley teaches this limitation: see FIG. 1, performance monitoring system connected to the trace utility; see para 54, Performance Monitoring (PM) data includes data input from a dedicated PM tool, as well as data received directly from element management system (EMS), or elements of the Operations and Support System (OSS) … PM data may be derived directly from network event data by the spectrum analytics server. For example, when event data is available to the spectrum analytics server, the server may aggregate individual events to create equivalent PM counters and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). PM data is derived from sources other than a PM system; also see para 63, The network event data may be collected by a trace utility that is integrated with a cellular network/i.e., FIG. 1 is collectively representing the interference collected using sensor data (trans utility) for generating the interference pattern (of FIG.1); and at para 65, Embodiments utilize additional information sources beyond the sources illustrated in FIG. 1, such as information provided by SON (Self Organizing Network) tools, including analysis and insight into neighbor relationships not readily apparent from the sources listed above. Additional external integrations may also include radio frequency propagation planning tools that may be used to enhance accuracy of interference detection and interference localization.
It would have been obvious, to one having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the system of Seol, so as to include details regarding the collection of statistical interference data in TDD as taught by Gormley, the motivation being to optimize network capacity by mitigating interference in times allocated to uplink transmissions (see Gormley, para 8).
Regarding Claim 4, Seol discloses the method of claim 3, wherein each measurement record also comprises a measurement of a channel condition at one or more wireless devices under which the performance was measured (see para 52, the possibility of occurrence of interference may be determined based on at least one of the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), the channel quality indicator (CQI), and the path loss of a channel with each terminal/i.e., representing channel condition).
Regarding Claim 5, Seol discloses the method of claim 3, wherein said selecting comprises: selecting, from among one or more measurement records that include a measurement of an inter-network interference condition that is similar to the determined inter-network interference condition (50C) according to similarity criteria, a measurement record that includes a measurement of performance meeting a performance objective; and selecting the candidate TDD configuration for which the selected measurement record was obtained (see para 83, FIG. 10A. the base station allocates a resource for the subframe, which is not consistent with the basic TDD configuration, in a determined TDD configuration of a TDD configuration list… the base station allocates the resource to a terminal having an SNR or CQI equal to or greater than the threshold value/i.e., representing meeting a performance objective. Also, the base station allocates the resource for a terminal having a higher SNR or CQI with a higher probability. Thereafter, the base station transmits control information indicating a resource allocation result and may receive an uplink signal).
Regarding Claim 6, Seol discloses the method of claim 2, wherein said selecting comprises selecting, from the candidate TDD configurations, a candidate TDD configuration that, according to the model, achieves a performance objective while meeting one or more performance constraints, under an inter-network interference condition corresponding to the determined inter-network interference condition (see para 81, the base station identifies whether there is a terminal which is likely to cause interference. When there is no terminal which is likely to cause interference, the base station allocates resources (performs operation 1007)… A terminal being likely to cause interference may mean that the terminal is located in an outskirt area of a cell. For example, when a terminal has an SNR or CQI less than a threshold value/i.e., performance constraint, or has a path greater than a threshold value/i.e., performance objective, the terminal may be determined to be located in the outskirt area of the cell).
Regarding Claim 8, Seol discloses the method of claim 2, wherein said adapting comprises adapting, based on the determined inter-network interference condition, TDD configuration of multiple radio network nodes in the wireless communication network, and wherein each candidate TDD configuration is a candidate combination of multiple TDD patterns with which to respectively configure the multiple radio network nodes (see FIG. 3. paras 46-49, The TDD configuration list refers to a list of a plurality of TDD configurations. Here, a TDD configuration refers to a pattern that specifies whether each of a plurality of subframes included in a frame (e.g., a radio frame) is for UL transmission or for DL transmission. That is, the TDD configuration refers to the result of allocating the plurality of subframes for DL transmission and UL transmission. That is, the TDD configuration list includes a plurality of TDD configurations having different ratios of DL transmission and UL transmission. The TDD configuration list includes N TDD configurations in which DL transmission or UL transmission is assigned to each subframe in units of K subframes … para 52, The scheduling module allocates a resource based on the TDD configuration determined by the selection module. Specifically, the scheduling module may allocate a resource for a subframe in the determined TDD configuration/i.e. adapting to use dynamic TDD configuration, which is assigned DL transmission or UL transmission differently from in the basic TDD configuration, in consideration of inter-cell interference).
Regarding Claim 9, Seol discloses the method of claim 1, but does not disclose: configuring at least one of any one or more of: a bandwidth or frequency range over which the set of sensors detects the inter- network interference condition; a center frequency at which the set of sensors detects the inter-network interference condition; a quantity in terms of which the set of sensors detects the inter-network interference condition; and an interval at which the set of sensors detects the inter-network interference condition.
In the same field of endeavor, Gormley teaches the limitation “configuring an interval at which the set of sensors detects the inter-network interference condition”, it further discloses: see FIG. 1. para 53, The performance monitoring system generates performance data for the wireless network. The PM data may be derived from observations of network performance, which may be reported at a predetermined time interval, e.g., every minute, 5 minutes, 15 minutes, hourly or daily. PM data may include raw event counts (e.g. counts of dropped calls or handover failures during the observation period) or complex derived performance indicators (e.g. noise rise normalized by user loading, Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) distribution statistics normalized by data volume, downlink power information, uplink interference information, etc.). PM data may include raw or aggregated performance data.
It would have been obvious, to one having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the system of Seol, so as to include details regarding the collection of statistical interference data in TDD as taught by Gormley, the motivation being to optimize network capacity by mitigating interference in times allocated to uplink transmissions (see Gormley, para 8).
Regarding Claim 10, Seol discloses the method of claim 1, but does not disclose: said adapting is further based on weights respectively assigned to sensors in the set.
Examiners Note: Using BRI consistent with the specification, the above limitation has been interpreted to mean “adapting and analyzing based on the probability that an interference event is a tropospheric ducting interference event by computing a tropospheric ducting interference score that indicates a probability that an event is a tropospheric ducting interference event”. Based on this interpretation, and in the same field of endeavor, Gormley teaches the limitation: see FIG. 7. Para 91, a process for analyzing tropospheric ducting for each multi-site interference event; see para 111, The various tropospheric ducting factors analyzed in process of FIG. 7 will be used to quantify the probability/i.e., representing weight, that an interference event is a tropospheric ducting interference event at S408, for example by computing a tropospheric ducting interference score that indicates a probability that an event is a tropospheric ducting interference event. The score may be calculated using the characteristics that were analyzed by process 700 (FIG.7). Examples of quantification include performing correlations and calculating or estimating probabilities … paras 117-118, After computing probabilities, correlations and scores for the tropospheric ducting factors, the values may be weighted based on importance to accurate detection of tropospheric ducting events. The individual weighting factors may be statically determined based on testing or may be adjusted dynamically via adaptive or machine learning processes based on ongoing detection of such events. A weighted characteristic score may be summed to create a total score that represents total aggregate likelihood that the detected event resulted from tropospheric ducting. This total score is compared to a detection threshold. Total scores greater than or equal to the defined threshold are considered valid tropospheric ducting events. Events meeting or exceeding the detection threshold may trigger automated or manual mitigation actions such as alarms or reports, and pertinent information regarding the detected event are added to the cumulative tropospheric ducting history files for performing future correlations.
It would have been obvious, to one having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the system of Seol, so as to include details regarding the collection of statistical interference data in TDD and assigning weights based on detected events to measure interference using sensors as taught by Gormley, the motivation being to optimize network capacity by mitigating interference in times allocated to uplink transmissions (see Gormley, para 8).
Regarding Claim 11, Seol discloses the method of claim 1, wherein said adapting comprises adapting, based on the determined inter-network interference condition, a combination of TDD patterns with which respective radio network nodes in the wireless communication network are configured (see FIG. 3. paras 46-49, The TDD configuration list refers to a list of a plurality of TDD configurations. Here, a TDD configuration refers to a pattern that specifies whether each of a plurality of subframes included in a frame (e.g., a radio frame) is for UL transmission or for DL transmission. That is, the TDD configuration refers to the result of allocating the plurality of subframes for DL transmission and UL transmission. That is, the TDD configuration list includes a plurality of TDD configurations having different ratios of DL transmission and UL transmission. The TDD configuration list includes N TDD configurations in which DL transmission or UL transmission is assigned to each subframe in units of K subframes … para 52, The scheduling module allocates a resource based on the TDD configuration determined by the selection module. Specifically, the scheduling module may allocate a resource for a subframe in the determined TDD configuration/i.e. adapting to use dynamic TDD configuration, which is assigned DL transmission or UL transmission differently from in the basic TDD configuration, in consideration of inter-cell interference).
Regarding Claim 12, Seol discloses the method of claim 1, wherein said adapting comprises adapting TDD configuration of the one or more radio network nodes further based on traffic to be communicated in the wireless communication network (see FIGs. 2-3. Paras 47-48, the storage unit stores a DL/UL buffer state/i.e., depicting traffic, and a TDD configuration list. The controller (FIG. 2) includes a selection module and a scheduling module. The DL/UL buffer state includes a DL buffer state and a UL buffer state. The DL buffer state may refer to information indicating the total amount of data for a base station to transmit in a cell, and the UL buffer state may refer to information indicating the amount of data for at least one terminal to transmit to the base station in the cell. Here, since the at least one terminal may periodically or aperiodically report information (e.g., buffer state information) about the amount of data for the terminal to transmit to the base station, the base station may identify the amount of data to be transmitted by the at least one terminal. The TDD configuration list may refer to a list of a plurality of TDD configurations. Here, a TDD configuration refers to a pattern that specifies whether each of a plurality of subframes included in a frame (e.g., a radio frame) is for UL transmission or for DL transmission… para 52, The selection module may determine a particular TDD configuration from the TDD configuration list based on the DL/UL buffer state/i.e., based on traffic to be communicated in a network).
Regarding Claim 15, Seol discloses the method of claim 1, but does not disclose details regarding: at least some of the sensors in the set are deployed at fixed locations within the coverage area of the wireless communication network and/or are dedicated to detecting inter-network interference conditions.
In the same field of endeavor, Gormley teaches: see para 58. FIG. 1. Topology data is data relating to the location and orientation of network elements, including information such as the antenna latitude and longitude of a base station, antenna height, pointing angle for sectorized antennas, antenna beamwidth, site deployment type (e.g. indoor, outdoor, distributed antenna system, etc.), etc. In addition to interference detection and characterization, topology data is used to aid in correlating PM data and network event data against actual physical locations, and for understanding physical distance relationships between network elements/i.e. the network elements used for collectively monitoring performance representing sensors.
It would have been obvious, to one having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the system of Seol, so as to include details regarding the collection of statistical interference data in TDD as taught by Gormley, the motivation being to optimize network capacity by mitigating interference in times allocated to uplink transmissions (see Gormley, para 8).
Regarding Claim 17, Seol discloses Network equipment configured for use in a wireless communication network, the network equipment configured to:
determine an inter-network interference condition measured by a set of sensors deployed in a coverage area of the wireless communication network, wherein the inter- network interference condition characterizes interference to the wireless communication network from one or more other wireless communication networks (see para 64, the base station allocates a resource for a subframe based on inter-cell interference. Specifically, the base station may allocate resources for a subframe consistent with the basic TDD configuration/i.e., for normal TDD, and a subframe not consistent with the basic TDD configuration in the determined TDD configuration based on inter-cell interference/i.e., for dynamic TDD); and
adapt, based on the determined inter-network interference condition, time division duplexing, TDD, configuration of one or more radio network nodes in the wireless communication network (see para 51, the selection module/i.e., in the base station, determines a particular TDD configuration/i.e., representing adapting, from the TDD configuration list using information about resources allocated by the scheduling module for DL transmission or UL transmission. Here, the information about the resources allocated by the scheduling module for DL transmission or UL transmission is determined based on statistical information about data previously transmitted and received configuration based on historical or statistical data of resource allocation for UL/DL for dynamic TDD; at para 7, When the ratio of time resources used for DL transmission and those for UL transmission is dynamically adjusted/i.e. adapted, according to the characteristics of data, it is possible to efficiently use time resources; also see FIG. 9 illustrates an operating method of a base station for determining whether to use a dynamic TDD configuration, or regular TDD configuration).
Seol teaches collecting statistical data to allocate resources for scheduling UL/DL transmission in dynamic TDD.
Seol does not disclose details regarding using sensors to measure inter-cell interference, i.e., the limitation: inter-network interference condition measured by a set of sensors deployed in a coverage area of the wireless communication network
In the same field of endeavor, Gormley teaches this limitation: see FIG. 1, performance monitoring system connected to the trace utility; see para 54, Performance Monitoring (PM) data includes data input from a dedicated PM tool, as well as data received directly from element management system (EMS), or elements of the Operations and Support System (OSS) … Performance Monitoring (PM) data may be derived directly from network event data by the spectrum analytics server. For example, when event data is available to the spectrum analytics server, the server may aggregate individual events to create equivalent PM counters and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). PM data is derived from sources other than a PM system; also see para 63, The network event data may be collected by a trace utility that is integrated with a cellular network/i.e., FIG. 1 is collectively representing the interference collected using sensor data (via trace utility) for generating the interference pattern (of FIG.1); and at para 65, Embodiments utilize additional information sources beyond the sources illustrated in FIG. 1, such as information provided by SON (Self Organizing Network) tools, including analysis and insight into neighbor relationships not readily apparent from the sources listed above. Additional external integrations may also include radio frequency propagation planning tools that may be used to enhance accuracy of interference detection and interference localization.
It would have been obvious, to one having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the system of Seol, so as to include details regarding the collection of statistical interference data in TDD as taught by Gormley, the motivation being to optimize network capacity by mitigating interference in times allocated to uplink transmissions (see Gormley, para 8).
Regarding Claim 19, Seol discloses a computer readable storage medium on which is stored a computer program comprising instructions which, when executed on at least one processor of network equipment- (20), cause the network equipment (20) to perform the method of claim 1 (see para 89).
Claim(s) 7, 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Seol in view of Gormley, in view of Abedini (US 20210359829 A1).
Regarding Claim 7, Seol in view of Gormley do not disclose details regarding: the performance objective comprises a maximum sum-throughput of the wireless communication network, and wherein the one or more performance constraints include a bounded latency and minimum throughput for each wireless communication device in the wireless communication network.
Examiners Note: Using BRI consistent with the specification, this limitation has been interpreted to mean: providing a TDD configuration to increase throughput (performance objective) and reduce latency (performance constraint).
Based on this interpretation, see Abedini para 65, the requesting node may adjust one or more TDD configurations used by the requesting node based on one or more requested TDD configurations received from one or more other nodes. As a result, the requesting node may reduce interference, which provides greater quality and/or reliability within a network including the nodes. Additionally, by reducing interference, the requesting node may increase throughput (e.g., by reducing a quantity of lost communications) and/or reduce latency (e.g., by reducing a quantity of retransmissions) within the network.
It would have been obvious, to one having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the combined systems of Seol and Gormley, so as to include details regarding providing a TDD configuration to increase throughput (performance objective) and reduce latency (performance constraint) as taught by Abedini, the motivation being to provide techniques and apparatuses for requesting intended time division duplex configurations (see Abedini, Field of the disclosure).
Regarding Claim 16, Seol in view of Gormley do not disclose details regarding: the wireless communication network is an industrial internet-of-things, IoT, network.
Abedini teaches this limitation: see paras 35-36, A UE may also be referred to as an … industrial manufacturing equipment. Some UEs may be considered machine-type communication (MTC) or evolved or enhanced machine-type communication (eMTC) UEs. MTC and eMTC UEs include, for example, robots, drones, remote devices, sensors, meters, monitors, and/or location tags, that may communicate with a base station, another device (e.g., remote device), or some other entity. A wireless node may provide, for example, connectivity for or to a network (e.g., a wide area network such as Internet or a cellular network) via a wired or wireless communication link. Some UEs may be considered Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices, and/or may be implemented as NB-IoT (narrowband internet of things) devices.
It would have been obvious, to one having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the combined systems of Seol and Gormley, so as to include details regarding providing an industrial internet-of-things, IoT, network as taught by Abedini, based on the KSR rationale F - Known work in one field of endeavor may prompt variations of it for use in either the same field or a different one based on design incentives or other market forces if the variations are predictable to one of ordinary skill in the art.
Claim(s) 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Seol in view of Gormley, in view of Haustein (US 20230189382 A1, having foreign priority date Jan 14, 2021).
Regarding Claim 13, Seol in view of Gormley do not disclose details regarding: the inter- network interference condition characterizes cross-link interference to the wireless communication network from one or more other wireless communication networks.
In the same field of endeavor, Haustein teaches this limitation: see FIG. 18 - an illustration of CLI and inter-cell interference in a multi-hop IAB network; paras 344-345, FIG. 18 is an extension of FIG. 17 which illustrates ICI and CLI in more detail. This is done for three example scenarios: “Inter-branch (or inter-tree) interference on backhaul and access link”; “Inter-hop interference between access and backhaul links”; and “Inter-string interference on access link”. The scenarios illustrate how interference could affect inter-branch, inter-hop and inter-string communication in either both the backhaul and access links (the first two cases) or in the access link only; para 337, Cross-link interference occurs in dynamic TDD systems, where adjacent cells use different transmission directions, as can be seen in FIG. 15 showing examples of CLI. Dynamic TDD systems improve spectrum utilization and enable flexible adaptation to varying traffic patterns. However, CLI remains of the major challenges.
It would have been obvious, to one having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the combined systems of Seol and Gormley, so as to include cross link interference that occurs in dynamic TDD as taught by Haustein, the motivation being to ensure that the dynamic TDD considers not just inter-network interference but also the cross link interference; and to mitigate CLI, gNBs can exchange and coordinate their intended TDD DL-UL configurations over Xn and F1 interfaces; and the victim UEs can be configured to perform CLI measurements (see Haustein, para 400).
Claim(s) 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Seol in view of Gormley, in view of Montojo (US 20100074209 A1).
Regarding Claim 14, Seol in view of Gormley do not disclose details regarding: the inter- network interference condition characterizes at least out-of-band interference to the wireless communication network from one or more other wireless communication networks.
Montojo teaches this limitation: see para 62, dynamic resource allocation may be performed to obtain resources with less inter-cell interference. Whenever an offending UE desires to send control information on the uplink, a resource request may be sent to ask neighboring eNBs to clear certain resources to be used by the offending UE. The offending UE may then send its control information on the cleared resources and may observe less inter-cell interference… By assigning these resources to the offending UEs, the probability of these UEs transmitting at high power may be reduced, which may then mitigate emissions out of band.
It would have been obvious, to one having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the combined systems of Seol and Gormley, so as to consider out-of-band interference reduction that share resources with inter-cell interference information as taught by Montojo, the motivation being mitigate emissions out of band (see Montojo, para 62).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 6/9/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive as detailed below:
On page 8, the Applicant argue, regarding claim 1, that: Seol's "inter-cell interference" is not the claimed "inter-network interference condition". The Examiner respectfully disagrees. Under broadest reasonable interpretation, inter-cell interference is the same as inter-network interference, since “Network” could also mean a “Cell”. Inter-cell interference can happen in the same base station, while the inter-network interference can happen when two of the eNBs belonging to the same RAT are interfering with each other. The broads interpretation is inter-network interference is interference occurring in the same network, so it can be two cells that interfere with each other in the same network.
The Applicant further argues on page 9 that: “… Seol's inter-cell interference is not described as interference between different wireless communication networks. Rather, Seol describes adjacent cells/base stations operating within a common TDD cellular framework. For example, Seol explains that a "basic TDD configuration" may be "shared by a plurality of base stations," and that the same basic TDD configuration may be set for both the base station and "another base station causing interference" (Seol, paras. [0051], [0063]). In that context, Seol's "inter-cell interference" refers to interference among cells/base stations sharing or coordinating around a TDD configuration framework. Seol does not identify the interfering adjacent cell or base station as belonging to another wireless communication network.”
Here, the Applicant is arguing that Seol does not teach Dynamic TDD configuration for inter-cell or inter-network interference. The Examiner respectfully disagrees. Seol teaches both “basic TDD configuration” and “Dynamic TDD configuration”.
Seol FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 teach using dynamic TDD configuration, based on the amount of resources allocated for uplink and downlink. At paragraphs 73-78., FIG. 9. The base station identifies the amount of data (both uplink data and downlink data). If the ration of the uplink data to downlink data is not fixed it uses dynamic TDD configuration to dynamically change the ratio between resources for DL transmission and resources for UL transmission according to the characteristics of data, thus efficiently using resources.
On page 10, the Applicant argue that: The secondary reference “Gormley does not teach measuring interference from "one or more other wireless communication networks. The cited Gormley passages … do not disclose that the collected data measures an inter-network interference condition from other wireless communication networks, nor do they identify any other wireless communication network as the source of the measured interference condition. Thus, Gormley does not supply the missing "inter-network interference condition" aspect of claim 1. At most, Gormley provides additional ways to collect or analyze network performance/event/interference-related information. But the claim requires a specific kind of measured interference condition, one that characterizes interference to the wireless communication network from one or more other wireless communication networks. Gormley's cited disclosures do not provide that teaching.”
Gormley is used to teach collecting interference data using sensor data (via trace utility) for generating the interference pattern (of FIG.1)… information provided by SON (Self Organizing Network) tools, including analysis and insight into neighbor relationships. Additional external integrations may also include radio frequency propagation planning tools that may be used to enhance accuracy of interference detection and interference localization.
Hence the combination of reference Seol and Gormley teach Claim 1.
On page 11, the Applicant argues that: “… even with Gormley added to Seol, the resulting system would still use network performance data in connection with Seol's inter-cell dynamic TDD process. The combination would not change Seol's "inter-cell interference" into the claimed "inter-network interference condition," nor would it result in a determination of an interference condition that "characterizes interference to the wireless communication network from one or more other wireless communication networks."
Here the Applicant is arguing that Seol does not teach inter-network interference, and hence the combination of Seol and Gormley would not result in the claimed method (of claim1).
The Examiner respectfully disagrees. As detailed in 1) above, the primary reference Seol teaches inter-cell/inter-network interference. Gormley teaches colleting sensor data for generating the interference pattern.
Hence the combination of Seol and Gormley teaches claim 1.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Khoryaev (US 20140018090 A1) teaches inter-node interference cancellation… paragraphs 35-36, method to cancel, reduce, or eliminate the inter-node interference from an aggressor node in networks with dynamic TDD configurations. Each cell or node of a TDD network can adjust the TDD configuration for the node to better fit DL and UL traffic conditions, or each node can provide an adaptation of TDD configuration to traffic conditions... Inter-node interference cancellation can be used in HetNets or a centralized, cooperative, or cloud radio access network (C-RAN), where the transmission station (or node) functionality can be subdivided between a baseband unit (BBU) processing pool and a remote radio unit (RRU) or a remote radio head (RRH) with optical fiber connecting the BBU to the RRU. The C-RAN can provide centralized processing, co-operative radio, and real-time cloud infrastructure RAN.
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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/DEEPA BELUR/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2472
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