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 the application filed on 12/19/2023.
Claims 1-30 have been examined and rejected.
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) 1-23 and 29-30 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Novlan (US 20140112194 A1, from IDS) in view of Qi (US 20170142653 A1).
Regarding Claim 1, Novlan discloses an apparatus for wireless communications at a first user equipment (UE) (see FIG. 6. Para 57, the device initiated network assisted discovery protocol), comprising: a processor; memory coupled with the processor; and instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to:
transmit, to a base station, an uplink signal indicating a request for the base station to transmit a UE discovery request signal to at least a second UE (see FIG. 6., paras 58-59, Since the network is not initially aware of the desire by UE to setup a discovery period, the protocol enables UE to indicate this on-demand via an uplink control channel message/i.e., uplink signal … at step 605 discovery request message from UE to the base station);
receive, from the second UE, a sidelink signal based at least in part on transmitting the uplink signal, the sidelink signal indicating that the second UE is available for a cooperative link with the first UE (see FIG. 6., para 59, step 610 discovery feasibility measurement, and discovery resource configuration and signaling - step 615; and D2D discovery protocol step 620);
establish the cooperative link with the second UE based at least in part on receiving the sidelink signal (see FIG. 6. para 59, D2D setup between the two UEs); and
Novlan teaches device discovery with network assistance.
Novlan does not teach communications with out of coverage devices, i.e., the limitation: receive downlink communications from the base station via at least sidelink communications from the second UE over the cooperative link based at least in part on establishing the cooperative link with the second UE.
In the same field of endeavor, Qi teaches this limitation: see paras 135-138, provide an arrangement in which UE's which are out of coverage range of an eNodeB for uplink transmissions and downlink transmissions can discover relay nodes which are either fixed relay nodes or ad hoc relay nodes. Accordingly, relay node discovery can be done either by the UE independently from eNodeB, or by the eNodeB as a part of established protocols; Both downlink and uplink are covered and corresponding eNodeB and UE initiated relay discovery schemes are provided; Any LTE UEs with the relevant RAT can act as relay nodes to facilitate the communications between MTC devices and the eNodeB.
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 Novlan, so that the out-of-coverage UEs can be reached via a relay, for uplink and downlink communication from a base station as taught by Qi, to increase a probability to assist devices in poor coverage area (see Qi, para 139).
Regarding Claims 2, 30, Novlan discloses: transmit, to the base station, one or more indications each corresponding to a respective criterion for the cooperative link associated with the UE discovery request signal (Examiners Note: Using BRI consistent with the specification, this limitation has been interpreted to mean using high transmit power as a criteria for discovery. Based on this interpretation, see para 185, a user with a high discovery priority may wish to utilize a higher transmit power than a user with a low discovery priority in order to increase the probability of successful reception of the discovery signals by other UEs which may not be in the immediate vicinity of UE).
Regarding Claim 3, Novlan discloses the apparatus of claim 2, wherein the one or more indications comprise an indication of a sidelink type for the cooperative link, an indication of a latency for the cooperative link, an indication of a quality of service associated with the cooperative link, or any combination thereof (see para 54, a network-initiated device discovery when the network requires for a UE 116 to transmit data directly to UE 115 over a D2D link/i.e., sidelink type for the cooperative link. An exemplary situation may be a public safety communication network utilized by first responders. Telemetry (video, positioning, or application data) for example may be shared between the UE 116 and UE 115. Even though both devices are within range of eNB, the D2D link may be preferred due to latency or link reliability concerns and session quality and continuity (if the devices remain close to each other but may move in and out of the network coverage) are often very important criteria for public safety networks).
Regarding Claim 4, Novlan discloses the apparatus of claim 1, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: transmit, to the base station, one or more indications, each corresponding to a respective criterion for the second UE (see para 185, a user with a high discovery priority may wish to utilize a higher transmit power than a user with a low discovery priority in order to increase the probability of successful reception of the discovery signals by other UEs which may not be in the immediate vicinity of UE).
Regarding Claim 5, Novlan discloses the apparatus of claim 4, wherein the one or more indications comprise see para 185, a user with a high discovery priority may wish to utilize a higher transmit power than a user with a low discovery priority in order to increase the probability of successful reception of the discovery signals by other UEs which may not be in the immediate vicinity of UE), or any combination thereof.
Regarding Claim 6, Novlan discloses the apparatus of claim 1, but does not disclose: transmit, to the base station, an indication of a location of the first UE, an indication of one or more locations associated with the cooperative link, an indication of the second UE, an indication of a group of UEs comprising the second UE, or any combination thereof.
Qi teaches this limitation: see FIG. 3. Para 61, a relay node has activated its Radio Access Interface for receiving signals from UEs which could that the relay node acts to assist the uplink transmissions, the relay node receives a relay assist request message, which may include a UE ID and a cell ID from the UE transmitted as a as a broadcast signal.
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 Novlan, so that the a UE ID and cell ID is received from the UE requesting relay assistance as taught by Qi, to increase a probability to assist devices in poor coverage area (see Qi, para 139).
Regarding Claim 7, Novlan discloses the apparatus of claim 1, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: transmit, to at least the second UE prior to transmitting the uplink signal, a sidelink UE discovery request signal to establish the cooperative link; and monitor for a response to the sidelink UE discovery request signal, wherein transmitting the uplink signal to the base station is based at least in part on failing to receive the response to the sidelink UE discovery request signal (see para 53, provide for the network to initiate device discovery in response to eNB determining (or attempting to determine)/i.e., representing determining by monitoring, whether a first UE and a second UE are within range of a direct D2D communication link).
Regarding Claim 8, Novlan discloses an apparatus for wireless communications at a second user equipment (UE) (see FIG. 8), comprising: a processor; memory coupled with the processor; and instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to:
receive, from a base station and while operating in an idle mode (see FIG. 8., UE 115 in idle mode), a UE discovery request signal corresponding to a first UE (see FIG. 8., para 123, UE 116 signals discovery request (if device initiated) to eNB. In response, eNB determines discovery feasibility… eNB sends a "wakes up" to UE 115 via paging if necessary/i.e., if UE is in idle mode);
transmit, to the first UE, a sidelink signal based at least in part on receiving the UE discovery request signal from the base station, the sidelink signal indicating that the second UE is available for a cooperative link with the first UE (see para 123, eNB determines discovery configuration. Then, eNB sends a UE-specific discovery setup message DSM to each of the UEs. In response, the UEs perform discovery. Thereafter, each of the UE transmit a UE-specific discovery report. In response, eNB determines discovery success or failure);
establish the cooperative link with the first UE based at least in part on transmitting the sidelink signal (see para 123, If discovery is successful, D2D Communication Protocol is performed by the UEs);
Novlan does not teach communications with out of coverage devices, i.e., the limitation: receive downlink communications from the base station via a direct link with the base station; and transmit sidelink communications to the first UE via the cooperative link, the sidelink communications corresponding to the downlink communications received from the base station.
In the same field of endeavor, Qi teaches this limitation: see paras 135-138, provide an arrangement in which UE's which are out of coverage range of an eNodeB for uplink transmissions and downlink transmissions can discover relay nodes which are either fixed relay nodes or ad hoc relay nodes. Accordingly, relay node discovery can be done either by the UE independently from eNodeB, or by the eNodeB as a part of established protocols; Both downlink and uplink are covered and corresponding eNodeB and UE initiated relay discovery schemes are provided; Any LTE UEs with the relevant RAT can act as relay nodes to facilitate the communications between MTC devices and the eNodeB.
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 Novlan, so that the out-of-coverage UEs can be reached via a relay, for uplink and downlink communication from a base station as taught by Qi, to increase a probability to assist devices in poor coverage area (see Qi, para 139).
Regarding Claim 9, Novlan discloses the apparatus of claim 8, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: receive the UE discovery request signal from the base station via a broadcast message (see FIG. 8, para 123, UE 116 signals discovery request 805 (if device initiated) to eNB. In response, eNB determines discovery feasibility … eNB 103 sends a "wakes up" to UE 115 via paging. Thereafter, eNB sends UE-specific discovery feasibility measurement DFM request 820 to the UEs. The UE-specific DFM request 820 can be a broadcast message).
Regarding Claim 10, Novlan discloses the apparatus of claim 9, wherein the broadcast message comprises a paging channel message, a system information message, a message communicated over a broadcast channel corresponding to UE cooperation, or any combination thereof (see para 216, the discovery setup message DSM is signaled to UEs via common/broadcast signaling (e.g. in one of the existing or new System Information Block (SIB) messages/i.e., a system information message. A DCI configuring the PDSCH to carry the DSM is transmitted to UE in a common search space of PDCCH/ePDCCH. In the case where multiple UEs are engaged in discovery with the same set or subset of UEs, redundancy can be removed and decoding complexity reduced as the DSMs are multicast to the UEs in the same downlink resources).
Regarding Claim 11, Novlan discloses the apparatus of claim 8, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: activate sidelink communications at the second UE in response to receiving the UE discovery request signal from the base station, wherein transmitting the sidelink signal is based at least in part on activating the sidelink communications (see para 123, eNB determines discovery configuration. Then, eNB sends a UE-specific discovery setup message DSM to each of the UEs. In response, the UEs perform discovery. Thereafter, each of the UE transmit a UE-specific discovery report. In response, eNB determines discovery success or failure).
Regarding Claim 12, Novlan discloses the apparatus of claim 8, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: receive one or more indications each corresponding to a respective criterion for the cooperative link associated with the UE discovery request signal, a respective criterion for the second UE, or any combination thereof (Examiners Note: Using BRI consistent with the specification, this limitation has been interpreted to mean using high transmit power as a criteria for discovery. Based on this interpretation, see para 185, a user with a high discovery priority may wish to utilize a higher transmit power than a user with a low discovery priority in order to increase the probability of successful reception of the discovery signals by other UEs which may not be in the immediate vicinity of UE).
Regarding Claim 13, Novlan discloses the apparatus of claim 12, wherein the one or more indications comprise an indication of a sidelink type for the cooperative link, an indication of a latency for the cooperative link, an indication of a quality of service associated with the cooperative link, an indication of a frequency band associated with the direct link, an indication of a transmit power associated with the direct link, an indication of a location of the first UE, an indication of one or more locations associated with the cooperative link, an indication of the second UE, an indication of a group of UEs comprising the second UE, or any combination thereof (see para 54, a network-initiated device discovery when the network requires for a UE 116 to transmit data directly to UE 115 over a D2D link/i.e., sidelink type for the cooperative link. An exemplary situation may be a public safety communication network utilized by first responders. Telemetry (video, positioning, or application data) for example may be shared between the UE 116 and UE 115. Even though both devices are within range of eNB, the D2D link may be preferred due to latency or link reliability concerns and session quality and continuity (if the devices remain close to each other but may move in and out of the network coverage) are often very important criteria for public safety networks).
.
Regarding Claim 14, Novlan discloses an apparatus for wireless communications at a base station (see FIG. 6, para 59, eNB), comprising: a processor; memory coupled with the processor; and instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to:
receive, from a first user equipment (UE), an uplink signal indicating a request for the base station to transmit a UE discovery request signal to at least a second UE (see FIG. 6., paras 58-59, Since the network is not initially aware of the desire by UE to setup a discovery period, the protocol enables UE to indicate this on-demand via an uplink control channel message/i.e., uplink signal … at step 605 discovery request message from UE to the base station);
transmit, to at least the second UE and based at least in part on receiving the uplink signal, the UE discovery request signal corresponding to the first UE (see FIG. 6., para 59, step 610 discovery feasibility measurement, and discovery resource configuration and signaling - step 615; and D2D discovery protocol step 620);
receive, from at least one of the first UE or the second UE, an indication of a cooperative link between the first UE and the second UE based at least in part on transmitting the UE discovery request signa see FIG. 6. para 59, D2D setup between the two UEs); and
Novlan teaches in FIG. 6., a device initiated and network assisted discovery setup.
Novlan does not teach in FIG. 6.: transmit, to the first UE and the second UE, downlink communications for the first UE via a first direct link with the first UE and a second direct link with the second UE.
Examiners Note: Using BRI consistent with the specification, this limitation has been interpreted to mean, “hybrid network”. Based on this interpretation, see para 48, FIG. 4A., The hybrid communication network can support devices, such as UE 114, UE 115 and UE 116, which can connect both to access points (AP) 405 (infrastructure mode) and other D2D-enabled devices. AP 405 can be an eNodeB, such as eNB 101, eNB 102 and eNB 103, or AP 405 can be a wireless hotspot, femtocell, microcell, other the like. Additionally, UE 114, UE 115 and UE 116 are capable of establishing a direct connection. That is, UE 114, UE 115 and UE 116 are each capable of establishing a direct communication link for with each other without routing communications through an access point or router. D2D communication may either be network-controlled where the operator manages the switching between direct and conventional cellular links, or the direct links may be managed by the devices without operator control. D2D allows combining infrastructure-mode and ad hoc communication.
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 teachings of Novlan, to include “hybrid network”, so as to combine infrastructure mode and ad-hoc mode, since Novlan already teaches this in the hybrid network setup.
Regarding Claim 15, Novlan discloses the apparatus of claim 14, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: receive, from the first UE, one or more indications each corresponding to a respective criterion for the cooperative link associated with the UE discovery request signal (Examiners Note: Using BRI consistent with the specification, this limitation has been interpreted to mean using high transmit power as a criteria for discovery. Based on this interpretation, see para 185, a user with a high discovery priority may wish to utilize a higher transmit power than a user with a low discovery priority in order to increase the probability of successful reception of the discovery signals by other UEs which may not be in the immediate vicinity of UE).
Regarding Claim 16, Novlan discloses the apparatus of claim 15, wherein the one or more indications comprise an indication of a sidelink type for the cooperative link, an indication of a latency for the cooperative link, an indication of a quality of service associated with the cooperative link, or any combination thereof (see para 54, a network-initiated device discovery when the network requires for a UE 116 to transmit data directly to UE 115 over a D2D link/i.e., sidelink type for the cooperative link. An exemplary situation may be a public safety communication network utilized by first responders. Telemetry (video, positioning, or application data) for example may be shared between the UE 116 and UE 115. Even though both devices are within range of eNB, the D2D link may be preferred due to latency or link reliability concerns and session quality and continuity (if the devices remain close to each other but may move in and out of the network coverage) are often very important criteria for public safety networks).
Regarding Claim 17, Novlan discloses the apparatus of claim 14, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: receive, from the first UE, one or more indications each corresponding to a respective criterion for the second UE (see para 185, a user with a high discovery priority may wish to utilize a higher transmit power than a user with a low discovery priority in order to increase the probability of successful reception of the discovery signals by other UEs which may not be in the immediate vicinity of UE).
Regarding Claim 18, Novlan discloses the apparatus of claim 17, wherein the one or more indications comprise an indication of a frequency band associated with the second direct link, an indication of a transmit power associated with the second direct link (see para 185, a user with a high discovery priority may wish to utilize a higher transmit power than a user with a low discovery priority in order to increase the probability of successful reception of the discovery signals by other UEs which may not be in the immediate vicinity of UE), or any combination thereof, and wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: receive, from at least the second UE, a capability message indicating a capability of the second UE, wherein transmitting the UE discovery request signal to the second UE is based at least in part on the capability of the second UE satisfying the respective criterion for the second UE (see para 140, FIG. 10., the D2D discovery request (D2D DR) 1005 is configured to differentiate between discovery requests utilized for discovery between devices within network coverage (IC DR) and an ad-hoc discovery request for devices outside of network coverage since the network may need to configure additional or different resources to allow the IC UE (UE 116) and the out-of-coverage (OOC) UE(s) (UE 114) to have a synchronized discovery period as well as well-defined common and UE-specific discovery resources. Also, depending on UE context or capability, different priority can be given to IC vs. OOC discovery (that is, UE 116 vs UE 114 discovery). The Discovery Request Type field in the D2D DR 1005 can be used to select between an IC-oriented discovery mode and one for network-assisted ad-hoc discovery/i.e., representing criteria base on UE capability).
Regarding Claim 19, Novlan discloses the apparatus of claim 14, but does not disclose: receive one or more indications from the first UE, the one or more indications comprising an indication of a location of the first UE, an indication of one or more locations associated with the cooperative link, an indication of the second UE, an indication of a group of UEs comprising the second UE, or any combination thereof, wherein transmitting the UE discovery request signal is based at least in part on receiving the one or more indications.
Qi teaches this limitation: see paras 57-61, FIG. 3., provides a flow diagram showing the operations of both the UE and an LTE UE which operates to support uplink transmissions by the UE but operating as an ad hoc relay node … a relay node has activated its Radio Access Interface for receiving signals from UEs which could that the relay node acts to assist the uplink transmissions, the relay node receives a relay assist request message/i.e., representing UE discovery request signal, which may include a UE ID and a cell ID from the UE transmitted as a as a broadcast signal.
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 Novlan, so that the a UE ID and cell ID is received from the UE requesting relay assistance as taught by Qi, to increase a probability to assist devices in poor coverage area (see Qi, para 139).
Regarding Claim 20, Novlan discloses the apparatus of claim 14, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: transmit, to at least the second UE, one or more indications each corresponding to a respective criterion for the cooperative link associated with the UE discovery request signal, a respective criterion for the second UE, or any combination thereof (Examiners Note: Using BRI consistent with the specification, this limitation has been interpreted to mean using high transmit power as a criteria for discovery. Based on this interpretation, see para 185, a user with a high discovery priority may wish to utilize a higher transmit power than a user with a low discovery priority in order to increase the probability of successful reception of the discovery signals by other UEs which may not be in the immediate vicinity of UE).
Regarding Claim 21, Novlan discloses the apparatus of claim 20, wherein the one or more indications comprise an indication of a sidelink type for the cooperative link, an indication of a latency for the cooperative link, an indication of a quality of service associated with the cooperative link, an indication of a frequency band associated with the second direct link, an indication of a transmit power associated with the second direct link, an indication of a location of the first UE, an indication of one or more locations associated with the cooperative link, an indication of the second UE, an indication of a group of UEs comprising the second UE, any combination thereof (see para 54, a network-initiated device discovery when the network requires for a UE 116 to transmit data directly to UE 115 over a D2D link/i.e., sidelink type for the cooperative link. An exemplary situation may be a public safety communication network utilized by first responders. Telemetry (video, positioning, or application data) for example may be shared between the UE 116 and UE 115. Even though both devices are within range of eNB, the D2D link may be preferred due to latency or link reliability concerns and session quality and continuity (if the devices remain close to each other but may move in and out of the network coverage) are often very important criteria for public safety networks).
Regarding Claim 22, Novlan discloses the apparatus of claim 14, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: transmit the UE discovery request signal to at least the second UE via a broadcast message (see FIG. 8, para 123, UE 116 signals discovery request 805 (if device initiated) to eNB. In response, eNB determines discovery feasibility … eNB 103 sends a "wakes up" to UE 115 via paging. Thereafter, eNB sends UE-specific discovery feasibility measurement DFM request 820 to the UEs. The UE-specific DFM request 820 can be a broadcast message).
Regarding Claim 23, Novlan discloses the apparatus of claim 22, wherein the broadcast message comprises a paging channel message, a system information message, a message communicated over a broadcast channel corresponding to UE cooperation, or any combination thereof (see para 216, the discovery setup message DSM is signaled to UEs via common/broadcast signaling (e.g. in one of the existing or new System Information Block (SIB) messages/i.e., a system information message. A DCI configuring the PDSCH to carry the DSM is transmitted to UE in a common search space of PDCCH/ePDCCH. In the case where multiple UEs are engaged in discovery with the same set or subset of UEs, redundancy can be removed and decoding complexity reduced as the DSMs are multicast to the UEs in the same downlink resources).
Regarding Claim 29, Novlan discloses a method for wireless communications at a first user equipment (UE) (see FIG. 6), comprising:
transmitting, to a base station, an uplink signal indicating a request for the base station to transmit a UE discovery request signal to at least a second UE (see FIG. 6., paras 58-59, Since the network is not initially aware of the desire by UE to setup a discovery period, the protocol enables UE to indicate this on-demand via an uplink control channel message/i.e., uplink signal … at step 605 discovery request message from UE to the base station);
receiving, from the second UE, a sidelink signal based at least in part on transmitting the uplink signal, the sidelink signal indicating that the second UE is available for a cooperative link with the first UE (see FIG. 6., para 59, step 610 discovery feasibility measurement, and discovery resource configuration and signaling - step 615; and D2D discovery protocol step 620);
establishing the cooperative link with the second UE based at least in part on receiving the sidelink signal (see FIG. 6. para 59, D2D setup between the two UEs); and
Novlan teaches device discovery with network assistance.
Novlan does not teach communications with out of coverage devices, i.e., the limitation: receiving downlink communications from the base station via at least sidelink communications from the second UE over the cooperative link based at least in part on establishing the cooperative link with the second UE.
In the same field of endeavor, Qi teaches this limitation: see paras 135-138, provide an arrangement in which UE's which are out of coverage range of an eNodeB for uplink transmissions and downlink transmissions can discover relay nodes which are either fixed relay nodes or ad hoc relay nodes. Accordingly, relay node discovery can be done either by the UE independently from eNodeB, or by the eNodeB as a part of established protocols; Both downlink and uplink are covered and corresponding eNodeB and UE initiated relay discovery schemes are provided; Any LTE UEs with the relevant RAT can act as relay nodes to facilitate the communications between MTC devices and the eNodeB.
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 Novlan, so that the out-of-coverage UEs can be reached via a relay, for uplink and downlink communication from a base station as taught by Qi, to increase a probability to assist devices in poor coverage area (see Qi, para 139).
Claim(s) 24-25, 28 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Novlan in view of Qi, in view of Norp (US 20240008117 A1).
Regarding Claim 24, Novlan in view of Qi discloses the apparatus of claim 14, but do not disclose details regarding: receive, from the first UE, a request for multiple transmission reception point operation; select, based at least in part on receiving the request for multiple transmission reception point operation, a group of UEs based at least in part on each UE in the group of UEs being served by a first transmission reception point different than a second transmission reception point serving the first UE; and transmit the UE discovery request signal to the selected group of UEs, the selected group of UEs comprising the second UE.
Norp teaches these limitations: see FIG. 1A., see para 96, device D1 in network domain d1 may request a service. The request is received by the dual-connection device DCD/i.e., representing a base station, and the dual-connection device DCD may inform the device D1 that the service is available in the network domain d2… paras 99-100, a group of user device such as closed group enables restricted service discovery and advertisement of services and secure communications… the dual-connection device DCD has access to control information and/or status information. The control information may comprise permissions and/or restrictions for advertisement and/or discovery of devices and/or services in and between respective domains also see at para 102, FIG. 1C.
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 system of Novlan and Qi, so as to provide a request for multi-TRP operation to discover groups of devices in different domains and request services by discovery via cross domain connection as taught by Norp, to provide service advertisement and/or discovery of services between networks (see Norp, Technical Field).
Regarding Claim 25, Novlan in view of Qi do not disclose: transmit the downlink communications via the first direct link associated with the second transmission reception point and via the second direct link associated with the first transmission reception point.
Norp teaches these limitations: see FIG. 1A., see paras 96-100, also see at para 102, FIG. 1C., the network domain d2 is defined as a group of devices being part of, for example, a Proximity Services, ProSe, group. The dual-connection device DCD uses direct communication as specified in 3GPP TS 23.303 and/or 3GPP TR 23.752 to communicate with one or more user devices D5, D7 in domain d2. These user devices are part of a ProSe Group identified by a ProSe Group ID. The dual-connection device DCD may use a ProSe Group IP multicast address for the direct communication
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 system of Novlan and Qi, so as to provide a request for multi-TRP operation to discover groups of devices in different domains and request services by discovery via cross domain connection as taught by Norp, to provide service advertisement and/or discovery of services between networks (see Norp, Technical Field).
Regarding Claim 28, Novlan in view of Qi do not disclose: select a group of UEs based at least in part on each UE in the group of UEs being associated with a location for the cooperative link, a UE group identifier associated with the cooperative link, a UE identifier associated with the cooperative link, or any combination thereof; and transmit the UE discovery request signal to the selected group of UEs, the selected group of UEs comprising the second UE.
Norp teaches these limitations: see FIG. 1C., see paras 99-102, paras 99-100, a group of user device such as closed group enables restricted service discovery and advertisement of services and secure communications… the dual-connection device DCD has access to control information and/or status information. The control information may comprise permissions and/or restrictions for advertisement and/or discovery of devices and/or services in and between respective domains also see at para 102, FIG. 1C… the network domain d2 is defined as a group of devices being part of, for example, a Proximity Services, ProSe, group. The dual-connection device DCD uses direct communication as specified in 3GPP TS 23.303 and/or 3GPP TR 23.752 to communicate with one or more user devices D5, D7 in domain d2. These user devices are part of a ProSe Group identified by a ProSe Group ID.
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 system of Novlan and Qi, so as to provide a request for multi-TRP operation to discover groups of devices in different domains and request services by discovery via cross domain connection as taught by Norp, to provide service advertisement and/or discovery of services between networks (see Norp, Technical Field).
Claim(s) 26-27 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Novlan in view of Qi, in view of Xue (US 20160088648 A1).
Regarding Claim 26, Novlan in view of Qi discloses the apparatus of claim 14 and teach discovery request signal, but do not disclose: receive, from the first UE, a request for multiple user multiple input multiple output operation; select, based at least in part on receiving the request for multiple user multiple input multiple output operation, a group of UEs based at least in part on each UE in the group of UEs being served by a first beam different than a second beam serving the first UE, wherein a spatial separation between the first beam and the second beam satisfies a threshold; and transmit the UE discovery request signal to the selected group of UEs, the selected group of UEs comprising the second UE.
Xue teaches this limitation: see para 50, the eNode B can determine candidate pairs for MU-MIMO transmissions. In one example, a candidate pair can be selected from antennas of a UE and paired with selected antennas of the eNode B. In another example, the candidate pairs can include UEs in a MU-MIMO group with a spatial domain separation that exceeds a selected threshold (i.e. non-overlapping channels).
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 system of Novlan and Qi, so as to determine UEs in a MU-MIMO group with a spatial domain separation that exceeds a threshold as taught by Xue, to achieve an increased data throughput and link reliability (see Xue, Background), and also based on KSR rational (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.
Regarding Claim 27, Novlan discloses the apparatus of claim 26, but do not disclose: transmit the downlink communications via the first direct link associated with the second beam and via the second direct link associated with the first beam.
Examiners Note: Using BRI consistent with the specification, the above limitation has been interpreted to mean communication using non-overlapping beams.
Based on this interpretation, see Xue paras 64-66, for a candidate MU-MIMO set selected using the exhaustive pairing scheme, the eNode B can communicate beamformed reference signals that do not have overlapping angles.
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 system of Novlan and Qi, so that the base station uses non-overlapping beams for communicating with candidate MIMO sets as taught by Xue, the advantage of the eNode B generating beamforming vectors or pre-coding vectors is to increase an accuracy in determining a spatial separation of major paths (see Xue, para 64), and also based on KSR rational (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.
Conclusion
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/DEEPA BELUR/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2472
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