DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. 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
2. Claims 4-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(d) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, 4th paragraph, as being of improper dependent form for failing to further limit the subject matter of the claim upon which it depends, or for failing to include all the limitations of the claim upon which it depends.
Regarding claim 4, the limitation that recites “wherein each of the one or more MTs is configured to support a full signaling stack towards the one or more relay Dus” does not further the limit of claim 1. Specifically, claim 1 already resides this feature (see claim 1, lines 7-8). Accordingly, claim 4 fails to add a further limitation beyond that which is already recited in claim 1.
Claim 5 is rejected by virtue of their dependency on claim 4. The limitation that recites “wherein a top stack of each of the one or more MTs is a Radio Link Control (RLC) protocol configured to relay RLC PDUs to the one or more relay DUs and includes the lower layers of a 5G signal processing stack.” does not further the limit of claim 1, as this feature is already recited in claim 1 (see claim 1, lines 7-8). Therefore, claim 5 also fails to add further limitation beyond that which is already recited in claim 1.
Applicant may cancel the claim(s), amend the claim(s) to place the claim(s) in proper dependent form, rewrite the claim(s) in independent form, or present a sufficient showing that the dependent claim(s) complies with the statutory requirements.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. Claims 1 - 8 and 11-16 and 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable Over Zhou et al. [US 20260040136 A1] in view of Pei et al. [US 11502949 B2], and further in view of Nainar et al. [US 20220191130 A1].
Regarding claim 1, Zhou ‘136 discloses “A network access point, comprising: a donor node including a central unit (CU) and at least one distributed unit (DU),” as “An IAB donor can be an access network element with a complete base station function, or an access network element with a separate form of a centralized unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU). BS 410 may include a CU and a DU, which may be co-located or located separately;” [¶0042, 0091, 0173 and Fig. 1, 9] (Donor architecture as having a CU and DU)
“Wherein the CU is configured to perform functionalities associated with a first subset of layers of 5G signal processing layers and” as “The protocol stack of the CU-UP of the IAB donor may include a GTP-U layer, a UDP layer, an IP layer, an SDAP layer, a PDCP layer, an L2 layer(s), and an L1 layer. The protocol stack of the CU-CP of the IAB donor may include an RRC layer, a PDCP layer, an F1AP layer, an SCTP layer, an IP layer, an L2 layer(s), and an L1 layer” [¶0062, 0063] (CU is configuring (upper layers like SDAP/PDCP))
“The at least one DU is configured to perform functionalities associated with a second subset of layers of the 5G signal processing layers;” as “The UP-protocol stack of the DU of the IAB donor may include an IP layer, a BAP layer, an RLC layer, a MAC layer, and a PHY layer, the CP protocol stack of the DU of the IAB donor may include an IP layer, a BAP layer, an RLC layer, a MAC layer, and a PHY layer; [¶0062, 0063] (DU is configuring (lower layers like RLC/MAC/PHY))
“and a relay node including one or more mobile terminations (MTs) and one or more relay DUs,” as “An IAB node may include an IAB mobile terminal (MT) part and an IAB distributed unit (DU) part” [¶0041]
“wherein: each of the one or more MTs is configured to support a full signaling stack towards the one or more relay DUs,” as “The UP-protocol stack of the MT of IAB node 2 or the DU or MT of IAB node 1 may include a BAP layer, an RLC layer, a MAC layer, and a PHY layer. The CP protocol stack of the MT of IAB node 2 or the DU or MT of IAB node 1 may include a BAP layer, an RLC layer, a MAC layer, and a PHY layer;” [¶0062, 0063] (Configuring full signaling stack)
“and a top stack of each of the one or more MTs is a Radio Link Control (RLC) protocol configured to relay RLC Protocol Data Units (PDUs) to the one or more relay DUs and includes lower layers of the 5G signal processing layers,” as (Figure. 2) “discloses that the MT of each IAB node includes an RLC layer at the top of the MT stack above the MAC and PHY layers. FIG. 2 further shows communication between the RLC layers of the MT and DU via the backhaul RLC channel (BH RLC CH), indicating that the RLC layers relays RLC PDU to the relay DU while including the lower layers of the 5G signal processing stack.”
Zhou ‘136 discloses all the claim limitations but does not explicitly disclose “wherein each of the donor node and the relay node includes an SRv6-capable router to provide a mesh functionality.
However, Pei from a similar field of endeavor discloses: wherein each of the donor node and the relay node includes an SRv6-capable router to provide a functionality (the router nodes 314 communicates with the end nodes 312 and with other router nodes 314”. Fig. 4 described “A virtual communication layer 412 configured to route inter-router communication between the virtual router 422”. [Fig. 4] (Router provide connectivity between nodes and maintain mesh routing paths. (mesh functionality)), a wireless network node such as a relay node (RN) or an IAB node or a wireless backhaul node/device can provide wireless access services for UEs. UEs 130A and 130B can be connected to IAB nodes 120A and 120C, respectively. IAB nodes 120A and 120C may therefore be referred to as an access IAB node.” [¶0040, 0055] (Supporting operates as the network access point).
Zhou ‘136 discloses “the donor node and the relay node operate as the network access point for one or more user equipment.” as “a wireless network node such as a relay node (RN) or an IAB node or a wireless backhaul node/device can provide wireless access services for UEs. UEs 130A and 130B can be connected to IAB nodes 120A and 120C, respectively. IAB nodes 120A and 120C may therefore be referred to as an access IAB node. [¶0040, 0055]
The combination of the Zhou and Pei fails to explicitly disclose: wherein each of the donor node and the relay node includes an SRv6-capable router to provide a mesh functionality.
However, Nainar ‘130 from a similar field of endeavor discloses: wherein each of the donor node and the relay node includes an SRv6-capable router to provide a mesh functionality (“The nodes of network 100 implement one or more segment routing protocols to route traffic (i.e., data packets) through the network. For example, network 100 may be based on the SRv6 network programming framework” as (nodes operating using SRv6) and “Each of the lower-level/tier nodes is connected to each of the highest-level/top tier spine nodes S1-S4 in a full-mesh topology.” as (Provide a mesh functionality) [¶0013, 0014]).
In view of the above, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify the combined donor and relay nodes of Zhou ‘136 to include SRc6 capable routing functionality as disclosed by Nainar ‘130 in order to enable segment-based routing of traffic through the network and improve routing flexibility and efficiency within the distributed IAB architecture. Pei (Fig. 3-4) further supports providing router functionality between nodes to facilitate routing of traffic between network elements.
and Pei to include SRv6 capable routing functionality as disclosed by Nainar’130 [¶0013, 0014] in order to provide segment-based routing of traffic within the network, and as further supported by Pei (Fig. 3, 4) for maintaining mesh routing paths between router nodes. The motivation would have been to improve routing efficiency and enable mesh connectivity within the distributed IAB architecture.
Regarding claim 2, Zhou ‘136 discloses the network access point of claim 1, wherein the first subset of layers of a 5G signal processing stack includes service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer and packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer (“Referring to FIG. 2, the UP-protocol stack of the UE may include a service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer, a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, a radio link control (RLC) layer, a medium access control (MAC) layer, and a physical (PHY) layer.” [¶0062] (Met first subset of the 5G signal processing stack)’
Regarding claim 3, Zhou ‘136 discloses the network access point of claim 1, wherein the second subset of layers of a 5G signal processing stack includes Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, Medium Access Control (MAC), and Physical PHY) layers (” as “Referring to FIG. 3, The UP-protocol stack of the DU of IAB node 2 may include a GTP-U layer, a UDP layer, an IP layer, an RLC layer, a MAC layer, and a PHY layer.” [¶0062] (DU performs RLC/MAC/PHY of second subset 5G signal processing stack).
Regarding claim 4, Zhou ‘136 discloses the network access point of claim 1, “wherein each of the one or more MTs is configured to support a full signaling stack towards the one or more relay Dus “(as “An IAB node may include an IAB mobile terminal (MT) part and an IAB distributed unit (DU) part. Referring to FIG. 3, the CP protocol stack of the UE may include a radio resource control (RRC) layer, a PDCP layer, an RLC layer, a MAC layer, and a physical (PHY) layer. The UP-protocol stack of the MT of IAB node 2 or the DU or MT of IAB node 1 may include a BAP layer, an RLC layer, a MAC layer, and a PHY layer. [¶0041, 0062, 0063] (This discloses that an IAB node includes an MT and DU and that MT support full protocol stack.)
Regarding claim 5, Zhou ‘136 discloses the network access point of claim 1, “wherein a top stack of each of the one or more MTs is a Radio Link Control (RLC) protocol configured to relay RLC PDUs to the one or more relay DUs and includes the lower layers of a 5G signal processing stack. as, (Figure. 2) “discloses that the MT of each IAB node includes an RLC layer at the top of the MT stack above the MAC and PHY layers. FIG. 2 further shows communication between the RLC layers of the MT and DU via the backhaul RLC channel (BH RLC CH), indicating that the RLC layers relays RLC PDU to the relay DU while including the lower layers of the 5G signal processing stack.”
Regarding claim 7, Zhou ‘136 discloses the network access point of claim 1, wherein each donor node is configured with one or more IPv6 addresses and a unique 10-bit BAP routing ID (as “the IP header information of the IP packet may include a destination IP address of the IP packet or IPv6 flow label of the IP packet. The endpoint of the F1 transport bearer of the CU may include at least one of: a transport network layer (TNL) address, a transport layer address, or an IP address at the CU. The information for the BH link may include at least one of the following: a backhaul adaptation protocol (BAP) routing ID associated with the BH link. Each UL or DL packet in a BH link may be mapped to a specific BAP routing identity (ID) and added in the BAP header. The BAP routing ID may be configured by an IAB donor-CU.”. [¶0015, 0016, 0017, 0071] (Each IAB donor node is assigned a BAP routing identifier used for back haul routing, because the BAP routing identifier is used to identify the node in the routing process, the identifier must uniquely identify the node within the IAB network.)
Regarding claim 11, Zhou ‘136 discloses a mesh-based radio access node comprising: one or more donor nodes; and one or more relay nodes,” (as “a wireless communication system including multiple IAB donors and IAB nodes forming a multi-hop network. See, (Fig. 1: IAB donor 110A, 110B and IAB node 120A-120C) multi-hop networking may be adopted in an IAB network. one or more donor nodes; and one or more relay nodes. [¶0043, 0045, 0056] (Donor and relay (IAB) nodes in a multi-hop network architecture), and the one or more donor nodes and the one or more relay nodes are configured to communicate over a combination of wired and self-backhaul channels (the radio link between an IAB donor (e.g., IAB donor 110A or 110B in FIG. 1) and an IAB node or between two IAB nodes may be referred to as a backhaul link (BL). Multi-hop networking may be adopted in an IAB network. [¶0043, 0057] (Wireless backhaul link between donor and relay nodes).
Zhou ‘136 discloses all the claim limitations but fails to explicitly disclose: wherein: each of the one or more donor nodes and the one or more relay nodes includes at least one SRv6 router.
However, Nainar from a similar field of endeavor discloses: wherein: each of the one or more donor nodes and the one or more relay nodes includes at least one SRv6 router,” as “The nodes of network 100 implement one or more segment routing protocols to route traffic (i.e., data packets) through the network. For example, network 100 may be based on the SRv6 network programming framework. The nodes of network 100 may each include any network device, such as a router or a switch.” (Fig. 1, ¶0043) (Nodes operating using SRv6).
The combination of Zhou ‘136 and Nainar ‘130 discloses all the claim limitations above but fails to explicitly disclose: communicate over wired channels.
However, Pei (US 11502949 B2) discloses communicate over wired channels (see Fig. 3 “the router nodes 314 communicates with the end nodes 312 and with other router nodes 314”. Fig. 4 described “A virtual communication layer 412 configured to route inter-router communication between the virtual router 422”. (Router provide connectivity between nodes and maintain mesh routing paths. (mesh functionality)), Each server 110 is connected to a plurality of router devices 112 by one or more wired connections 114. (Fig. 1, section 8)
The deterministic connection may be a wired connection between the server and each of the physical router devices. Description (Col. 7) (Wired connection between router devices).
In view of the above, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combined mesh-based radio access node of Zhou to include SRv6 capable router as taught by Nainar and wired mesh routing communication as taught by Pei. Nainar teaches network nodes operating using SRv6 segment routing protocols (Fig. 1; ¶0043), and Pei teaches router nodes communicating with one another and maintaining mesh routing paths, including via wired connections (Fig. 3, 4; Col. 7). The motivation would have been to for a person in ordinary skill in the art to incorporate SRv6 routing and wired mesh connectivity into Zhou’s multi-hop IAB architecture in order to improve routing efficiency, enhance network resiliency, and provide reliable communication paths between donor and relay nodes.
Regarding claim 12, Zhou ‘136 discloses the mesh-based radio access node of claim 11, “wherein each of the one or more donor nodes comprises: a central unit (CU) and at least one distributed unit (DU),” (as “An IAB donor can be an access network element with a complete base station function, or an access network element with a separate form of a centralized unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU). The CU of an IAB donor may be referred to as an “IAB donor-CU” (or directly referred to as a “CU”), and the DU of the IAB donor may be referred to as an “IAB donor-DU.” [¶0042] (Donor node having CU and DU.
Regarding claim 13, Zhou ‘136 discloses the mesh-based radio access node of claim 11,
“wherein each of the one or more relay nodes comprises: one or more mobile terminations (MTs) and one or more relay DUs.” (as “An IAB node may include an IAB mobile terminal (MT) part and an IAB distributed unit (DU) part. When an IAB node connects to its parent node (which may be another IAB node or an IAB donor), it can be regarded as a UE, i.e., the role of an MT. The UP-protocol stack of the DU of IAB node 2 may include a BAP layer, an RLC layer, a MAC layer, and a PHY layer.” [¶0041, 0062]. Also (fig. 1) shows IAB nodes including MT components in the drawing. (Relay (IAB) include one or more MTs)
Regarding claim 14, Zhou ‘136 discloses the mesh-based radio access node of claim 13,
“, wherein each of the one or more MTs is configured to support full 5G signaling stack” (see, “(Fig. 3) showing full protocol stack including RRC, PDCP, RLC, MAC, PHY). Also, An IAB node may include an IAB mobile terminal (MT) part and an IAB distributed unit (DU) part. The CP protocol stack of the MT of IAB node 2 or the DU or MT of IAB node 1 may include a BAP layer, an RLC layer, a MAC layer, and a PHY layer. [¶0041, 0063] (MT include complete signaling protocol stack including multiple 5G)
Claim 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable Over Zhou et al. [US 20260040136 A1] in view of Pei et al. [US 11502949 B2], and further in view of Nainar et al. [US 20220191130 A1] and further in view of Schneider et al. [US 20230413046 A1]
The combination of Zhou ‘136, Pei and Nainar discloses all the claim limitations set forth above but fails to explicitly disclose: Regarding claim 15, The mesh-based radio access node of claim 14, wherein each of the one or more MTs does not support any application function.
However, Schneider ‘046 from a similar field of endeavor teaches regarding claim 15 “The mesh-based radio access node of claim 14, wherein each of the one or more MTs does not support any application function”. as (“FIG. 5 is a flow graph of a method in accordance with at least some embodiments of the present invention. The phases of the illustrated method may be performed in PEGC/UE 110, for example, or in a control device configured to control the functioning thereof, when installed therein. Phase 510 comprises transmitting, from an apparatus, to a cellular core network a request to open a protocol session to a network which is external to the cellular core network, the request being configured to cause the cellular core network to transmit a code associated with a subscription of the apparatus to the external network. Phase 520 comprises forwarding an authentication request originating in the external network to a node connected with the apparatus, via a local connection, and forwarding an authentication response from the node to the external network via the cellular core network. Finally, phase 530 comprises relaying packets comprised in the protocol session between the node and the external network without participating in the protocol session as an endpoint”.)
Regarding claim 16, Zhou ‘136 discloses the mesh-based radio access node of claim 14,
“each of the one or more MTs is configured to support the full 5G signaling stack towards the one or more relay DUs,” (see, “When an IAB node provides service to its child node (which may be another IAB node or a UE), it can be regarded as a network device, i.e., the role of a DU. The CP protocol stack of the MT of IAB node 2 or the DU or MT of IAB node 1 may include a BAP layer, an RLC layer, a MAC layer, and a PHY layer. (Fig. 3) shows MT stack communicating towards DU.” [¶0041, 0063] (MT uses full signaling stack and communicates towards DU), “and a top stack of each of the one or more MTs is a Radio Link Control (RLC) protocol configured to relay RLC PDUs to the one or more relay DUs and includes lower layers of 5G signal processing layers (see, (Figure. 2) “discloses that the MT of each IAB node includes an RLC layer at the top of the MT stack above the MAC and PHY layers. FIG. 2 further shows communication between the RLC layers of the MT and DU via the backhaul RLC channel (BH RLC CH), indicating that the RLC layers relays RLC PDU to the relay DU while including the lower layers of the 5G signal processing stack.)”
Regarding claim 19, Zhou ‘136 discloses “the mesh-based radio access node of claim 11, wherein the one or more donor nodes are configured to communicate with a 5G core” (see, as “The IAB donor may be connected to the core network (for example, connected to the 5G core (5GC) network)” [¶0042] (Donor node communicates with 5G core)
Regarding claim 20, Zhou ‘136 discloses “the mesh-based radio access node of claim 11, comprising: two donor nodes configured to provide redundant connectivity to a 5G core” (see, as “As shown in FIG. 1, the wireless communication system 100 may include some base stations (e.g., IAB donor 110A and IAB donor 110B). IAB node 120A can be directly connected to IAB donors 110A and 110B. [¶0046, 0053] (Multiple donor node providing connectivity towards core network).
7. Claims 6 and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable Over Zhou et al. [US 20260040136 A1] in view of Nainar et al. [US 20220191130 A1], Pei et al. [US 11502949 B2] ]] and further in view of Tayeb et al. [US 20240179528 A1]
The combination of Zhou ‘136, Pei and Nainar discloses all the claim limitations set forth above but fails to explicitly disclose: Regarding claim 6, wherein the CU is configured to: terminate traffic received at the CU from a 5G core; and include Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling functions in communications with the one or more user equipment and the relay node.
The combination of Zhou ‘136, Pei and Nainar discloses all the claim limitations set forth above but fails to explicitly disclose: Regarding claim 8, a unique 10-bit BAP routing ID, wherein the unique 10-bit BAP routing ID is received by the relay node via RRC signaling; and one or more IPv6 addresses acquired by the relay node during session establishment
However, Tayab ‘528 from a similar field of endeavor teaches regarding claim 6 “the network access point of claim 1, “wherein the CU is configured to: terminate traffic received at the CU from a 5G core; and include Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling functions in communications with the one or more user equipment and the relay node (as “A base station, which may be referred to as an IAB-donor, may terminate the CU functionality. Routing of control plane information towards AMF. The UPF may route and forward packets and provide the WTRUs access to packet-switched network. RRCint may be used for the protection of RRC signaling. [¶0075, 0065-0069, 0113] (CU/DU architecture where the donor node terminates CU functionality and communicates with 5G core entities, which mean traffic from the core network is received and terminated at the CU before being forward in the RAN).
Regarding claim 8, “the network access point of claim 1, a unique 10-bit BAP routing ID, wherein the unique 10-bit BAP routing ID is received by the relay node via RRC signaling; and one or more IPv6 addresses acquired by the relay node during session establishment (see, “An IAB node communicates with a parent’s node and child nodes. The IAB-donor may assign a unique L2 address (BAP address) to each IAB node. Each IAB node is assigned an IP address that is routable from a donor base station. The SMF may perform other functions, such as managing and allocating UE IP address, managing PDU sessions. [¶0075, 0076, 0068] (IAB nodes (relay nodes) assigned a unique BAP routing identifier and IP address by the donor node, indicating the relay node receives routing and addressing information during session establishment).
8. Claims 9-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable Over Zhou et al. [US 20260040136 A1] in view of Nainar et al. [US 20220191130 A1], Pei et al. [US 11502949 B2] ]] and further in view of Heron et al. [US 20200099610 A1].
The combination of Zhou ‘136, Pei and Nainar discloses all the claim limitations set forth above but fails to explicitly disclose: Regarding claim 9, the network access point of claim 1, wherein the donor node and the relay node are configured with an SRv6 policy that defines one or more hops and behaviors along a respective SRv6 router in each of the donor node and the relay node.
The combination of Zhou ‘136 and Nainar discloses all the claim limitations set forth above but fails to explicitly disclose: Regarding claim 10, the network access point of claim 9, wherein the behaviors are triggered upon receiving an incoming packet with a destination address (DA) matching a segment identifier (SID) identified on the respective SRv6 router.
However, Heron ‘610 from a similar field of endeavor teaches regarding claim 9, “the network access point of claim 1, wherein the donor node and the relay node are configured with an SRv6 policy that defines one or more hops and behaviors along a respective SRv6 router in each of the donor node and the relay node (see, as “Segment Routing is a source routing architecture in which a source chooses a path or route (also sometimes referred to as an SR Policy) and encodes it in a packet header as an ordered list of instructions referred to as segments. The SRv6 segments 342 can comprise 128-bit values representing a topological instruction (e.g., node or link traversal) or an operator-defined instruction (e.g., virtual function). In addition to forwarding addresses, the Destination Address 354 and/or Segment List 340 can include functions or commands (“SR functions”) to be executed by associated segment endpoints or segments.” [¶0052 – 0054, 0058, 0059] (SRv6 policy implemented in an order segment /SID list that defines routing hops associated function behavior executed at SRv6 router along the path. SRv6 policy defining one more hops and behavior with SRv6 routers).
In view of the above, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify the donor and relay nodes of Zho, as modified by Naiar and Pei, to implement an SRv6 policy defining one or more hops and associated behaviors as disclosed by Heron [¶0052 – 0054, 0058, 0059], and to execute such behaviors upon destination address to SID matching as further disclosed by Heron .” [¶0055, 0058, 0076]. The motivation would have been to enable controlled segment-based routing and execution of routing behaviors along defined paths within the network, thereby improving traffic, flexibility providing predictable routing control in the SRv6 enabled mesh architecture.
Regarding claim 10, the network access point of claim 9, wherein the behaviors are triggered upon receiving an incoming packet with a destination address (DA) matching a segment identifier (SID) identified on the respective SRv6 router (see, “(Fig. 4C) shows “the vSwitch 424B can perform the End.S function (an example of an implementation of which is set forth in Table 2) and determine that there is an entry in its FIB for the last segment or SID. Also, “A Destination Address 354 of the outer IPv6 header 350 can be set to the first segment or SID 342, and the packet may be forwarded to the corresponding segment endpoint following the shortest path. Destination Address 354 and/or Segment List 340 can include functions or commands (“SR functions”) to be executed by associated segment endpoints. Upon receiving the packet 404C.” [¶0055, 0058, 0076] (SRv6 router behavior/function are executed when an incoming packets destination address matches. DA to SID matching at an SRv6 router)
In view of the above, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify the donor and relay nodes of Zhou, as modified by Nainar and Pei, to implement an SRv6 policy defining one or more hops and associated behaviors as disclosed by Heron [¶0052 – 0054, 0058, 0059], and to execute such behaviors upon destination address to SID matching as further disclosed by Heron .” [¶0055, 0058, 0076]. The motivation would have been to enable controlled segment-based routing and execution of routing behaviors along defined paths within the network, thereby improving traffic, flexibility providing predictable routing control in the SRv6 enabled mesh architecture.
12. Claims 17-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable
Over Zhou et al. [US 20260040136 A1] in view of Nainar et al. [US 20220191130 A1] and, Pei et al. [US 11502949 B2] and further in view of Abedini et al. [US 20220312488 A1].
The combination of Zhou, Nainar and Pei discloses all the claim limitations but fails to explicitly disclose: Regarding claim 17, the mesh-based radio access node of claim 11, wherein the one or more relay nodes are configured to prevent self-interference by performing time-domain separation of one or more transmitter and receiver duty cycles.
Regarding claim 18, the mesh-based radio access node of claim 11, wherein the one or more relay nodes are configured to prevent self-interference using one of beamforming or null forming at each of the one or more relay node.
However, Abedini ‘488 from a similar field of endeavor discloses: Regarding claim 17, the mesh-based radio access node of claim 11, wherein the one or more relay nodes are configured to prevent self-interference by performing time-domain separation of one or more transmitter and receiver duty cycles (see,“A TDM capability, such as the first communication capability 700, may mean that the IAB node time division multiplexes communications on a parent link 715 (such as a backhaul (BH) link) with communications on child links 720 (such as an access link). The IAB node may attempt to align the concurrent communications in the time domain (for example, using an OFDM symbol boundary). By aligning the concurrent communications in the time domain, the IAB node may be enabled to mitigate or cancel the interference caused by the concurrent communications. he IAB node may need to apply power control to transmissions to avoid or mitigate self-interference (for example, self-interference caused by a transmission by the IAB node that interferes with a concurrent reception at the IAB node).” [¶0086, 0090, 0097] (Time-division multiplexing and time-domain alignment to mitigate self-interference between concurrent transmit/receive communications).
Regarding claim 18, the mesh-based radio access node of claim 11, wherein the one or more relay nodes are configured to prevent self-interference using one of beamforming or null forming at each of the one or more relay nodes (see, “wireless backhaul links 370 between base stations may use millimeter wave signals to carry information or may be directed toward a target base station using beamforming, inter-link interference may be reduced. The one or more conditions may be associated with handling interference caused by the simultaneous communications, one or more beams or one or more pairs of beams of the IAB node may not be capable of being used for an enhanced duplex mode. The wireless node 905 may select one or more beams (or beam pairs) for the RACH configuration based at least in part on one or more beams (or beam pairs) associated with the parent link to ensure that the wireless node 905 is configured to communicate using beams that are suitable for the enhanced duplex mode.” [¶0065, 0089, 0108] (Beamforming and beam selection to reduce interference during simultaneous communications, which reads on preventing self-interference using beamforming/null forming).
In view of the above, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify the donor and relay nodes of Zhu, as modified by Naiar and Pei, to incorporate interference mitigation techniques as disclosed by Abedini, including time domain separation [¶0086, 0090, 0097] and beamforming or null forming [¶0065, 0089, 0108], in order to reduce or prevent self-interference during concurrent communications in mesh-based IAB network.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ARHAM AHMED whose telephone number is (571)272-8950. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 7:30 am - 5 pm. Alternate Friday off..
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/A.N.A./Examiner, Art Unit 2473
/KWANG B YAO/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2473