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 § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
The claim language “ wherein the first cell station and the second cell station are a single cell station” in claim 10 is unclear.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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.
Claim(s) 1-4,12-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Chae to (US20200163028)
Regarding claims 1,12 Chae teaches a wireless terminal for communicating in a cellular network, the cellular network comprising at least one first cell station, the first cell station serving a first cell, and at least one relay station served by a second cell station serving a second cell, (fig.7, fig.13, [0154] discloses the eNB may transmit a PDSCH to the remote UE and, at the same time, directly indicate a PUCCH resource to be used by the relay UE for HARQ ACK transmission. After the eNB informs the relay UE of the PUCCH resource for the HARQ ACK transmission, the remote UE may transmit HARQ ACK to the relay UE. This method may be efficiently applied to a heterogeneous network (HetNet) situation (for example, a situation in which DL and UL coverage is asymmetric, that is, a UL signal is transmitted to a near relay cell but a DL signal is received from a far macro cell)) the wireless terminal comprising: a controller to operate in a TX-limited operation mode([00133] discloses when the remote UE transmits a UL signal through the relay UE, the remote UE may consume low power compared to when the remote UE directly transmits the UL signal to the eNB. This is because a distance between the remote UE and the relay UE is expected to be shorter than that between the remote UE and the eNB. Thus, the remote UE may transmit the UL signal to the eNB through the relay UE in terms of efficient use of transmission power) , a receiver configured by the controller in the TX-limited operation mode to receive first downlink signals sent directly by the first cell station and carrying respective first downlink control information, ([0140]-[0152] disclose the eNB signals to the relay UE the transmission power range of the remote UE, the relay UE may determine a prescribed value within the transmission power range signaled from the eNB and then inform the remote UE of the prescribed value. That is, the transmission power may be determined by the relay UE rather than the remote UE, and thus, the complexity of the remote UE may be reduced ) wherein at least one of the respective first downlink control information includes at least an indication of a first configuration parameter to be used by the wireless terminal for transmitting a signal directly to the relay station and at least one of the respective first downlink control information includes at least a second configuration parameter to be used by the wireless terminal for receiving a further downlink signal directly from the first cell station,([0152] discloses , the remote UE may inform the value of k and the CCE index, the relay UE may obtain the value of k and the CCE index by decoding the DCI of the remote UE, or the eNB may signal the value of k and the CCE index), the relay UE may transmit ACK on a PUCCH resource corresponding to the CCE index of the remote UE in subframe (n+k)) the controller being adapted to generate uplink information,([0153] discloses the relay UE may transmit HARQ ACK on a HARQ ACK resource of the remote UE by considering that the HARQ ACK resource of the remote UE is not used. Thus, eNB implementation may be simplified. That is, the eNB may maintain conventional DL HARQ operation without distinguishing which UE transmits the HARQ ACK)
a transmitter configured by the controller in the TX-limited operation mode to transmit to the relay station using the first configuration parameter the second signal carrying the uplink information,the uplink information to be forwarded to the second cell station([0163] discloses the remote UE may transmit a UL signal to the eNB only through the relay UE to minimize the transmission power of the UL signal and reduce complexity. Specifically, the remote UE may transmit to the relay UE ACK/NACK information for a DL signal received from the eNB in a sidelink signal ), and wherein the receiver is further adapted to receive the further downlink signal directly from the first cell station using the second configuration parameter([0154] discloses After the eNB informs the relay UE of the PUCCH resource for the HARQ ACK transmission, the remote UE may transmit HARQ ACK to the relay UE. This method may be efficiently applied to a heterogeneous network (HetNet) situation (for example, a situation in which DL and UL coverage is asymmetric, that is, a UL signal is transmitted to a near relay cell but a DL signal is received from a far macro cell)).
Regarding claim 2, Chae teaches wherein the controller initiates TX-limited operation mode after the reception by the receiver of a TX limited operation mode activation signal, being a downlink signal sent directly by the first cell station indicating or triggering TX-limited operation mode activation([0154] discloses After the eNB informs the relay UE of the PUCCH resource for the HARQ ACK transmission, the remote UE may transmit HARQ ACK to the relay UE. This method may be efficiently applied to a heterogeneous network (HetNet) situation (for example, a situation in which DL and UL coverage is asymmetric, that is, a UL signal is transmitted to a near relay cell but a DL signal is received from a far macro cell)).
Regarding claim 3, Chae teaches wherein the controller initiates TX-limited operation mode operation if the transmit or receive operation meets one or more preconfigured signal strength/signal reception quality threshold or one or more signal transmission failure threshold, or if the energy levels of the wireless terminal are below a certain threshold, or upon discovery of the relay station([0141] discloses when the difference between the sidelink measurement of the relay UE and the sidelink measurement of the remote UE is less than the predetermined threshold, the relay UE may feed back only one of the two sidelink measurements to the eNB).
Regarding claim 4, Chae teaches wherein the transmitter is adapted to transmit an initial signal to the first cell station and/or to the relay station indicating or triggering TX-limited operation mode activation([0141] discloses when the difference between the sidelink measurement of the relay UE and the sidelink measurement of the remote UE is less than the predetermined threshold, the relay UE may feed back only one of the two sidelink measurements to the eNB).
Regarding claim 13, Chae teaches The cellular communication system of claim 12, wherein the relay station comprises a relay station transmitter for transmitting to the second cell station a relayed message including the uplink information([0154] discloses After the eNB informs the relay UE of the PUCCH resource for the HARQ ACK transmission, the remote UE may transmit HARQ ACK to the relay UE. This method may be efficiently applied to a heterogeneous network (HetNet) situation (for example, a situation in which DL and UL coverage is asymmetric, that is, a UL signal is transmitted to a near relay cell but a DL signal is received from a far macro cell)).
Regarding claim 14, Chae teaches The cellular communication system of claim 13 wherein the second cell station is adapted to transmit to the relay station a third downlink signal carrying third downlink control information, ([0152] discloses , the remote UE may inform the value of k and the CCE index, the relay UE may obtain the value of k and the CCE index by decoding the DCI of the remote UE, or the eNB may signal the value of k and the CCE index), the relay UE may transmit ACK on a PUCCH resource corresponding to the CCE index of the remote UE in subframe (n+k)) wherein the third downlink control information includes at least an indication of a third configuration parameter that is used by the relay station for transmitting the relayed message to the second cell station([0152] discloses , the remote UE may inform the value of k and the CCE index, the relay UE may obtain the value of k and the CCE index by decoding the DCI of the remote UE, or the eNB may signal the value of k and the CCE index), the relay UE may transmit ACK on a PUCCH resource corresponding to the CCE index of the remote UE in subframe (n+k)) .
Regarding claim 15, Chae teaches The cellular communication system of claim 14, wherein the first downlink signal and the second downlink signal are a single downlink signal being received at the wireless terminal and at the relay station(fig.7, fig.13, [0154] discloses the eNB may transmit a PDSCH to the remote UE and, at the same time, directly indicate a PUCCH resource to be used by the relay UE for HARQ ACK transmission. After the eNB informs the relay UE of the PUCCH resource for the HARQ ACK transmission, the remote UE may transmit HARQ ACK to the relay UE. This method may be efficiently applied to a heterogeneous network (HetNet) situation (for example, a situation in which DL and UL coverage is asymmetric, that is, a UL signal is transmitted to a near relay cell but a DL signal is received from a far macro cell)) .
Regarding claim 16, Chae teaches The cellular communication system of claim 14, wherein the second downlink signal and the third downlink signal are a single downlink signal being received at the relay station(fig.7, fig.13, [0154] discloses the eNB may transmit a PDSCH to the remote UE and, at the same time, directly indicate a PUCCH resource to be used by the relay UE for HARQ ACK transmission. After the eNB informs the relay UE of the PUCCH resource for the HARQ ACK transmission, the remote UE may transmit HARQ ACK to the relay UE. This method may be efficiently applied to a heterogeneous network (HetNet) situation (for example, a situation in which DL and UL coverage is asymmetric, that is, a UL signal is transmitted to a near relay cell but a DL signal is received from a far macro cell)) .
Regarding claim 17, Chae teaches The cellular communication system of claim 1, wherein the message carrying the uplink information includes at least one uplink user data packet to be forwarded by the relay station to the second cell station([00133] discloses when the remote UE transmits a UL signal through the relay UE, the remote UE may consume low power compared to when the remote UE directly transmits the UL signal to the eNB. This is because a distance between the remote UE and the relay UE is expected to be shorter than that between the remote UE and the eNB. Thus, the remote UE may transmit the UL signal to the eNB through the relay UE in terms of efficient use of transmission power) .
Regarding claim 18, Chae teaches A relay station operating in a cellular communication network, (fig.7, fig.13, [0154] discloses the eNB may transmit a PDSCH to the remote UE and, at the same time, directly indicate a PUCCH resource to be used by the relay UE for HARQ ACK transmission. After the eNB informs the relay UE of the PUCCH resource for the HARQ ACK transmission, the remote UE may transmit HARQ ACK to the relay UE. This method may be efficiently applied to a heterogeneous network (HetNet) situation (for example, a situation in which DL and UL coverage is asymmetric, that is, a UL signal is transmitted to a near relay cell but a DL signal is received from a far macro cell)) comprising: at least one first cell station, the first cell station serving a first cell and a wireless terminal served by the first cell station, wherein the relay station is served by a second cell station serving a second cell, wherein the relay station comprises a relay station receiver adapted to receive from the second cell station a second downlink signal carrying second downlink control information, ,([0152] discloses , the remote UE may inform the value of k and the CCE index, the relay UE may obtain the value of k and the CCE index by decoding the DCI of the remote UE, or the eNB may signal the value of k and the CCE index), the relay UE may transmit ACK on a PUCCH resource corresponding to the CCE index of the remote UE in subframe (n+k)) and wherein the second downlink control information including at least an indication of at least one first configuration parameter for receiving a message from the wireless terminal;([0142] discloses the eNB may determine at least one of a sidelink transmission power range, a power configuration parameter range, or a specific transmission power value based on the sidelink measurement information fed back by the relay UE and then inform the relay or remote UE of the determination. In the case of the bidirectional relay, the relay UE may signal to the remote UE information on at least one of a transmission power parameter for the remote UE, a parameter range, a transmission power value, or a transmission power value range through physical layer signaling or higher layer signaling) a relay station controller for controlling the relay station receiver to receive the message including uplink information on the first configuration parameter; ([00133] discloses when the remote UE transmits a UL signal through the relay UE, the remote UE may consume low power compared to when the remote UE directly transmits the UL signal to the eNB. This is because a distance between the remote UE and the relay UE is expected to be shorter than that between the remote UE and the eNB. Thus, the remote UE may transmit the UL signal to the eNB through the relay UE in terms of efficient use of transmission power) and a relay station transmitter adapted for forwarding the uplink information in a relayed-data message to the second cell station([00133] discloses when the remote UE transmits a UL signal through the relay UE, the remote UE may consume low power compared to when the remote UE directly transmits the UL signal to the eNB. This is because a distance between the remote UE and the relay UE is expected to be shorter than that between the remote UE and the eNB. Thus, the remote UE may transmit the UL signal to the eNB through the relay UE in terms of efficient use of transmission power).
Regarding claim 19., Chae teaches A first cell station serving a first cell in a cellular communication system, comprising: at least one relay station served by a second cell station serving a second cell, a wireless terminal served by the first cell station, (fig.7, fig.13, [0154] discloses the eNB may transmit a PDSCH to the remote UE and, at the same time, directly indicate a PUCCH resource to be used by the relay UE for HARQ ACK transmission. After the eNB informs the relay UE of the PUCCH resource for the HARQ ACK transmission, the remote UE may transmit HARQ ACK to the relay UE. This method may be efficiently applied to a heterogeneous network (HetNet) situation (for example, a situation in which DL and UL coverage is asymmetric, that is, a UL signal is transmitted to a near relay cell but a DL signal is received from a far macro cell)) wherein the first station cell station comprises: a first cell station transmitter for transmitting to the wireless terminal a first downlink signal carrying first downlink control information, the first downlink control information including at least an indication of a first configuration parameter to be used by the wireless terminal for transmitting a message to the relay station, ([0152] discloses , the remote UE may inform the value of k and the CCE index, the relay UE may obtain the value of k and the CCE index by decoding the DCI of the remote UE, or the eNB may signal the value of k and the CCE index), the relay UE may transmit ACK on a PUCCH resource corresponding to the CCE index of the remote UE in subframe (n+k)) a first cell station controller for configuring the relay station with second downlink control information, the second downlink control information including at least an indication of a second configuration parameter to be used by the relay station for receiving the message from the wireless terminal, ;([0142] discloses the eNB may determine at least one of a sidelink transmission power range, a power configuration parameter range, or a specific transmission power value based on the sidelink measurement information fed back by the relay UE and then inform the relay or remote UE of the determination. In the case of the bidirectional relay, the relay UE may signal to the remote UE information on at least one of a transmission power parameter for the remote UE, a parameter range, a transmission power value, or a transmission power value range through physical layer signaling or higher layer signaling) wherein the first and second resource at least partially overlap([0154] discloses After the eNB informs the relay UE of the PUCCH resource for the HARQ ACK transmission, the remote UE may transmit HARQ ACK to the relay UE. This method may be efficiently applied to a heterogeneous network (HetNet) situation (for example, a situation in which DL and UL coverage is asymmetric, that is, a UL signal is transmitted to a near relay cell but a DL signal is received from a far macro cell)).
Regarding claim 20, Chae teaches A method for operating a wireless terminal to communicate in a cellular network, the cellular network comprising at least one first cell station, wherein the said first cell station serves a first cell, and at least one relay station served by a second cell station, wherein the second cell station serves a second cell, (fig.7, fig.13, [0154] discloses the eNB may transmit a PDSCH to the remote UE and, at the same time, directly indicate a PUCCH resource to be used by the relay UE for HARQ ACK transmission. After the eNB informs the relay UE of the PUCCH resource for the HARQ ACK transmission, the remote UE may transmit HARQ ACK to the relay UE. This method may be efficiently applied to a heterogeneous network (HetNet) situation (for example, a situation in which DL and UL coverage is asymmetric, that is, a UL signal is transmitted to a near relay cell but a DL signal is received from a far macro cell)) comprising: the wireless terminal receiving a downlink signal sent by the first cell station and carrying downlink control information, wherein the downlink control information including at least an indication of a first configuration parameter to be used by the wireless terminal for transmitting a message to the relay station([0142] discloses the eNB may determine at least one of a sidelink transmission power range, a power configuration parameter range, or a specific transmission power value based on the sidelink measurement information fed back by the relay UE and then inform the relay or remote UE of the determination. In the case of the bidirectional relay, the relay UE may signal to the remote UE information on at least one of a transmission power parameter for the remote UE, a parameter range, a transmission power value, or a transmission power value range through physical layer signaling or higher layer signaling) the wireless terminal generating uplink information; and the wireless terminal transmitting to the relay station using the first configuration parameter the message carrying the uplink information, wherein the uplink information is to be forwarded to the second cell station([0154] discloses After the eNB informs the relay UE of the PUCCH resource for the HARQ ACK transmission, the remote UE may transmit HARQ ACK to the relay UE. This method may be efficiently applied to a heterogeneous network (HetNet) situation (for example, a situation in which DL and UL coverage is asymmetric, that is, a UL signal is transmitted to a near relay cell but a DL signal is received from a far macro cell)).
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.
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.
Claim(s) 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chae to (US20200163028) in view of Kim to (US 20200169318 A1)
Regarding claim 11, Chae does not explicitly teach wherein the transmitter is adapted to use backscatter communication
However, Kim teaches wherein the transmitter is adapted to use backscatter communication([0016] IoT devices in a service area of a high-power base station (i.e., a macro cell, a hybrid access point) may transmit information to a gateway located at a long distance via multi-hop relays using an ambient backscatter communication)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to enable the system of Chae include wherein the transmitter is adapted to use backscatter communication, as suggested by Kim. This modification would benefit to reduce signal interference.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5-9 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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ZEWDU A BEYEN whose telephone number is (571)270-7157. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00-6:00.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Huy D Vu can be reached at 571-272-3155. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ZEWDU A BEYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2461
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