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 .
Claims 1, 5-6 and 8 are pending.
Figure 1 of the application illustrates the claimed invention.
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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, 4, 6 and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mouser et al. (US 2024/0154685 A1), referring to Provisional application No. 63/422,778, filed on Nov. 4, 2022, in view of Ashworth et al. (US 2022/0109493 A1)
Regarding claims 1, 6 and 8, Mouser et al. discloses a repeater system for transmitting or receiving a signal based on cross division duplex (XDD), comprising ([0261]: “a repeater can be a frequency division duplex (FDD)/time division duplex (TDD) integrated repeater.”):
a donor antenna (Donor Antenna 2304) configured to receive a frequency division duplex (FDD) downlink signal from a base transceiver station (BTS), transmit the FDD downlink signal to a first downlink path through a downlink of a donor duplexer, receive a time division duplex (TDD) downlink signal from the BTS, transmit the TDD downlink signal to a second downlink path through an uplink of the donor duplexer, receive a TDD uplink signal that has been output through a first uplink path through the donor duplexer, transmit the TDD uplink signal to the BTS, receive an FDD uplink signal that has been output through a second uplink path through the donor duplexer, and transmit the FDD uplink signal to the BTS;
a server antenna (e.g., s server antenna 2302) configured to transmit the FDD downlink signal that has been output through the first downlink path to a terminal, transmit the TDD downlink signal that has been output through the second downlink path to the terminal, receive the TDD uplink signal from the terminal, transmit the TDD uplink signal to the first uplink path through a downlink of a server duplexer, receive the FDD uplink signal from the terminal, and transmit the FDD uplink signal to the second uplink path through an uplink of the server duplexer (see para.[0261]-[0268], ; and
a digital signal processor configured to receive the FDD downlink signal that has been transmitted through the first downlink path, the TDD downlink signal that has been transmitted through the second downlink path, that TDD uplink signal that has been transmitted through the first uplink path, and the FDD uplink signal that has been transmitted through the second uplink path and to perform filtering suitable for a signal bandwidth on each of the FDD downlink signal, the TDD downlink signal, the TDD uplink signal and the FDD uplink signal (controller 2306 and TDD sync Detection Module 2310), see figure 23.
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Mouser et al. teaches wherein input/output stages of the first downlink path (2321), the second downlink path (2341), the first uplink path (2339), and the second uplink path (2385) further comprise four path configuration units configured to change paths of an FDD signal and a TDD signal, and
wherein each of the four path configuration units is configured to transmit power in one direction and block transmission of power in another direction, (see figure 23).
Mouser et al. teaches wherein each of the four path configuration units comprises at least one signal switch configured to change a path of an FDD signal and a TDD signal see figure 21 below. Alternative, the signal switch can be replaced with a circulator to discriminate between transmitted and received signals. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the switch can be replaced by a circulator in order to achieve substantially the same result that no switch control signal would be necessary.
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Mouser et al. further teaches wherein the path configuration unit at an input/output state of the first downlink path and the first uplink path is coupled to the donor duplexer and is configured to route the FDD downlink signal from the donor duplexer to the first downlink path and route the TDD uplink signal form the first uplink path to the donor duplexer.
([0207]: “The second antenna 2104 can be coupled to a second port (e.g., a donor port) 2105. The second port 2105 can be coupled to a multiplexer (or a diplexer, a duplexer, a circulator, or a splitter) 2114. The multiplexer 2114 can direct the TDD second-direction signal, based on its frequency, to a TDD first path or a TDD second path.”). Therefore, it would have been obvious to those skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to replace the multiplexer 2114 with a donor multiplexer, such as in the claim, to achieve substantially the same result.
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In an alternative, Ashworth et al. (US 2022/0109493 A1) in the same field of invention teaches these features.
Ashworth et al. discloses a bi-directional repeater system comprises a signal booster, such as a cellular signal repeater connected to a first antenna and a second antenna. The first antenna can be a donor antenna and the second antenna can be a server antenna in an FDD repeater. Alternatively, the donor antenna and server antenna can be a TDD repeater, wherein input/output stages of the first downlink path (621), the second downlink path (642), the first uplink path (638), and the second uplink path (658) further comprise four path configuration units configured to change paths of an FDD signal and a TDD signal (616, 617, 618 and 619), and
wherein each of the four path configuration units is configured to transmit power in one direction and block transmission of power in another (see figure 6).
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Although Ashworth et al. teaches wherein each of the four path configuration units comprises at least one signal switch (see figure 6), it would have been obvious to those skilled in the art to implement each of the four with a circulator in order to achieve substantially the same result that no switch control signal would be necessary.
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Ashworth et al. further teaches ([0091]: “The second port 605 can be coupled to a multiplexer (or a diplexer, a duplexer, a circulator, or a splitter) 614. The second-direction signal received at the second antenna 604 from the base station can be directed to multiplexer 614. The multiplexer 614 can direct the TDD second-direction signal, based on its frequency, to a TDD first path or a TDD second path.” Therefore, it would have been obvious to those having ordinary skilled in the art to replace the multiplexer 614 with a duplexer.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to those skilled in the art before the claimed invention was made to combine teaching in Ashworth et al. with Mouser et al. so to implement a bi-directional repeater system such as in the claimed invention.
Regarding claim 4, Mouser et al. teaches a TDD sync signal generator configured to generate a TDD switching signal capable of separating uplink and downlink (see TDD Sync Detection Module 2310, figure 23).
Claim(s) 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mouser et al. (US 2024/0154685 A1), referring to Provisional application No. 63/422,778, filed on Nov. 4, 2022, in view of Ashworth et al. (US 2022/0109493 A1), further in view of WO2007/102707 A1), hereinafter referred as D1.
Regarding claim 5, Mouser et al. fails to explicitly teach wherein the digital signal processor is configured to perform a digital pre-distortion function.
D1, in the same field of invention, teaches this feature.
D1 teaches (“controlling a linear power amplification of the forward repeater signal by using predistortion information in linkage with a predistortion signal processor; the distortion signal processor linked with the AFEC apparatus and linearly power-amplifying the forward repeater signal from the AFEC apparatus based on the predistortion information power.”)
For the above reason, it would have been obvious to those having ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine D1 with Mouser et al.
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant disclosure.
LEE et al. (US 2024/0073832 A1) discloses a digital frequency division duplex (FDD) repeater in FIG. 2, but also by other types of repeaters, such as a digital TDD repeater, or a hybrid repeater with mixed analog and digital circuits.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRENDA H PHAM whose telephone number is (571)272-3135. The examiner can normally be reached 571-272-3135.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Charles Jiang can be reached at 571-270-7191. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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BRENDA H. PHAM
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2412
/BRENDA H PHAM/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2412
