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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed July 2, 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. The applicant argues that Zhang fails to disclose that terminal device forwards the capability information on its own, rather the capability information is sent by a network device on its behalf. The applicant further argues that the information is sent via a target message. The examiner, however, disagrees. Based on a reasonable broad interpretation, Zhang teaches these limitations.
The claim language only requires that a terminal device sends capability information and data information to a network side device. As shown in figure 1, a terminal device sends first indication information directly to a network device. The terminal device further sends other information/data to the network device (In the act S201, a terminal device sends first indication information to a network device, wherein the first indication information is used to indicate that the terminal device has an ability of receiving a backscatter communication signal.) (0059). The sending of this information is inherently transmitted in a message and since it is going directly to the network device, it can be considered a target message.
Based on the above remarks, the examiner maintains that Zhang taken solely or collectively discloses the invention as presently claims. A rejection to the claims is set forth below.
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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-5, 10 and 16-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Zhang, U.S. Patent Pub. No. 2022/0386348.
Regarding claim 1, Zhang discloses a method for reporting a capability of a BSC terminal (terminal device), comprising: sending (as shown in figure 1), by the BSC terminal, capability information (indication information) of the BSC terminal to a network side device (network device), wherein the capability information is used to indicate one or more capabilities (capability of receiving a backscatter communication signal) supported by the BSC terminal wherein the sending by the BSC terminal, capability information of the BSC terminal to a network side device comprises sending by the BSC terminal, capability information to the network side device through a target message, wherein the target message (capability message) comprises the capability information and data information (In the act S201, a terminal device sends first indication information to a network device, wherein the first indication information is used to indicate that the terminal device has an ability of receiving a backscatter communication signal.) (0059). See also 0062 (the first indication information may also be used to indicate at least one of: the number of the first electronic devices using downlink signals, an amount of information that the first electronic device needs to transmit, a waveform and/or a modulation mode superimposed by the first electronic device on the reflected downlink signal, and frequency ranges of downlink signals that different types of first electronic devices can reflect.).
Regarding claim 2, Zhang discloses the method for reporting the capability of the BSC terminal according to claim 1, wherein the capability information comprises at least one of the following: at least one piece of first information or at least one piece of second information, wherein first information is used to indicate one capability parameter supported by the BSC terminal, and second information is used to indicate at least two capability parameters supported by the BSC terminal (the first indication information may also be used to indicate at least one of: the number of the first electronic devices using downlink signals, an amount of information that the first electronic device needs to transmit, a waveform and/or a modulation mode superimposed by the first electronic device on the reflected downlink signal, and frequency ranges of downlink signals that different types of first electronic devices can reflect.) (0062).
Regarding claim 3, Zhang discloses the method for reporting the capability of the BSC terminal according to claim 1, wherein the capability information comprises inherently terminal type information, and there is a correspondence between the terminal type information and a capability parameter supported by a terminal (the first indication information may also be used to indicate at least one of: the number of the first electronic devices using downlink signals, an amount of information that the first electronic device needs to transmit, a waveform and/or a modulation mode superimposed by the first electronic device on the reflected downlink signal, and frequency ranges of downlink signals that different types of first electronic devices can reflect.) (0062).
Regarding claim 4, Zhang discloses the method for reporting the capability of the BSC terminal according to claim 2, wherein the capability parameter comprises at least one of the following: an energy supply manner, an energy storage parameter, an amplitude modulation parameter, a phase modulation parameter, a frequency modulation parameter, an operating frequency band, a modulation bandwidth of a backscatter signal, a quantity of transmit antennas, a quantity of receive antennas, an encryption parameter, a coding parameter, or a device identifier (ID) (the first indication information may also be used to indicate at least one of: the number of the first electronic devices using downlink signals, an amount of information that the first electronic device needs to transmit, a waveform and/or a modulation mode superimposed by the first electronic device on the reflected downlink signal, and frequency ranges of downlink signals that different types of first electronic devices can reflect.) (0062).
Regarding claim 5, Zhang discloses the method for reporting the capability of the BSC terminal according to claim 2, wherein the second information comprises a modulation mode, and the modulation mode is used to indicate at least one of an amplitude modulation parameter, a phase modulation parameter, a frequency modulation parameter, or a coding parameter; and/or, the second information comprises an antenna capability, and the antenna capability is used to indicate at least one of a quantity of transmit antennas or a quantity of receive antennas (the first indication information may also be used to indicate at least one of: the number of the first electronic devices using downlink signals, an amount of information that the first electronic device needs to transmit, a waveform and/or a modulation mode superimposed by the first electronic device on the reflected downlink signal, and frequency ranges of downlink signals that different types of first electronic devices can reflect.) (0062).
Regarding claim 10, Zhang discloses the method for reporting the capability of the BSC terminal according to claim 1, wherein the sending, by the BSC terminal, capability information of the BSC terminal to a network side device comprises: inherently after the BSC terminal is in a connected state, sending, by the BSC terminal, the capability information to the network side device since the network device receives the capability information from the terminal; or, when the BSC terminal performs random access, sending, by the BSC terminal, the capability information to the network side device (In the act S201, a terminal device sends first indication information to a network device, wherein the first indication information is used to indicate that the terminal device has an ability of receiving a backscatter communication signal.) (0059).
Regarding claim 16, Zhang discloses a method for reporting a capability of a BSC terminal (terminal), comprising: receiving (as shown in figure 1), by a network side device (network device), capability information of the backscatter communication (BSC) terminal sent by the BSC terminal, wherein the capability information is used to indicate one or more capabilities (capability of receiving a backscatter communication signal) supported by the BSC terminal (In the act S201, a terminal device sends first indication information to a network device, wherein the first indication information is used to indicate that the terminal device has an ability of receiving a backscatter communication signal.) (0059). See also 0062 (the first indication information may also be used to indicate at least one of: the number of the first electronic devices using downlink signals, an amount of information that the first electronic device needs to transmit, a waveform and/or a modulation mode superimposed by the first electronic device on the reflected downlink signal, and frequency ranges of downlink signals that different types of first electronic devices can reflect.).
Regarding claim 17, Zhang discloses a terminal, being a backscatter communication (BSC) terminal and comprising a processor, a memory, and a program or an instruction stored in the memory and executable on the processor, wherein the program or the instruction, when executed by the processor, causes the BSC terminal to perform (The terminal device includes a processor and a memory that is configured to store a computer program which is capable of being run on the processor, wherein the processor is configured to perform the acts of the method for backscatter communication performed by the terminal device when running the computer program.) (0013): sending capability information of the BSC terminal to a network side device, wherein the capability information is used to indicate one or more capabilities supported by the BSC terminal (In the act S201, a terminal device sends first indication information to a network device, wherein the first indication information is used to indicate that the terminal device has an ability of receiving a backscatter communication signal.) (0059). See also 0062 (the first indication information may also be used to indicate at least one of: the number of the first electronic devices using downlink signals, an amount of information that the first electronic device needs to transmit, a waveform and/or a modulation mode superimposed by the first electronic device on the reflected downlink signal, and frequency ranges of downlink signals that different types of first electronic devices can reflect.).
Regarding claim 18, Zhang discloses a network side device, comprising a processor, a memory, and a program or an instruction stored in the memory and executable on the processor, wherein when the program or the instruction is executed by the processor, the steps of the method for reporting the capability of the BSC terminal according to claim 16 (as described above) are implemented (a network device is provided in an implementation of the present disclosure, the network device includes a processor and a memory that is configured to store a computer program that is capable of being run on the processor, wherein the processor is configured to perform the acts of the method for backscatter communication performed by the network device when running the computer program.) (0014).
Regarding claim 19, Zhang discloses a non-transitory readable storage medium, wherein the non-transitory readable storage medium stores a program or an instruction, and when the program or the instruction is executed by a processor, the steps of the method for reporting the capability of the BSC terminal according to claim 1 (as described above) are implemented (The storage medium stores an executable program, wherein, when the executable program is executed by a processor, the method for backscatter communication performed by the terminal device is implemented.) (0017).
Regarding claim 20, Zhang discloses a non-transitory readable storage medium, wherein the non-transitory readable storage medium stores a program or an instruction, and when the program or the instruction is executed by a processor, the steps of the method for reporting the capability of the BSC terminal according to claim 16 (as described above) are implemented (The storage medium stores an executable program, wherein, when the executable program is executed by a processor, the method for backscatter communication performed by the terminal device is implemented.) (0017).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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) 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang in view of Guo et al. (Guo), U.S. Patent Pub. No. 2020/0396598.
Regarding claim 6, Zhang discloses the method for reporting the capability of the BSC terminal according to claim 1 as described above. Zhang, however, fails to disclose wherein the method further comprises: receiving, by the BSC terminal, a terminal capability enquiry message sent by the network side device; and the sending, by the BSC terminal, capability information of the BSC terminal to a network side device comprises: sending, by the BSC terminal, the capability information to the network side device according to the terminal capability enquiry message.
In a similar field of endeavor, Guo discloses an RRC procedure. Guo further discloses wherein a network side device sends an enquiry message to a terminal device for requesting capability information and the terminal device sending its capability device to the network side device according to the enquiry message (the wireless device may receive a capability enquiry from the serving cellular base station. The capability enquiry may be received during an initial cell access by a wireless device, or at any of various other times, e.g., after RRC connection setup is complete. As one possibility, the capability enquiry may be received while access stratum security has not been established (e.g., prior to access stratum security establishment). As another possibility, the capability enquiry may be received while access stratum security has been established (e.g., after access stratum security establishment)…In 506, the wireless device may determine how much capability information to provide in response to the capability enquiry. The wireless device may determine how much capability information to provide in response to the capability enquiry based at least in part on whether access stratum security has been established with the serving cellular base station of the wireless device when the capability enquiry is received.) (0067, 0068).
Claim(s) 7 and 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang in view of Dahlen, U.S. Patent Pub. No. 2014/0162669.
Regarding claim 7, Zhang discloses the method for reporting the capability of the BSC terminal according to claim 1 as described above. Zhang, however, fails to specifically disclose wherein the sending, by the BSC terminal, capability information of the BSC terminal to a network side device comprises: when the BSC terminal meets a trigger condition, actively reporting, by the BSC terminal, the capability information to the network side device, wherein the trigger condition comprises at least one of: first network access registration or a change of the capability information of the BSC terminal.
In a similar field of endeavor, Dahlen discloses an apparatus and a method for selecting a frequency band in a mobile communication system. Dahlen further discloses sending, by a mobile node, capability information of the mobile node to a base station comprises: when the mobile node meets a trigger condition, actively reporting, by the mobile node, the capability information to base station, wherein the trigger condition comprises at least one of: first network access registration or a change of the capability information of the mobile node (At step 300 a base station receives information on at least one radio capability from a mobile node. The at least one radio capability may be received in a RRC connection establishment, UE capability enquiry procedure, location updating, network attachment or registration message.) (0068).
Therefore, before the effective filing date, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify Zhang with the teachings of Dahlen. The motivation for this modification would have been to combine prior art elements according to known methods to yield predictable results.
Regarding claim 8, the combination of Zhang and Dahlen discloses the method for reporting the capability of the BSC terminal according to claim 7 as described above. The combination further teaches sending messages via NAS signaling (ENB 252 sends an UL NAS Transport message containing the attach complete message to MME 254) (Dahlen, 0065). Although Dahlen fails to specifically disclose the mobile node sending the capability information to the base station using NAS signaling, the examiner contends that before the effective filing date, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify the system for the mobile node to send the capability information via network attached storage (NAS) signaling. The motivation for this modification would have been to combine prior art elements according to known methods to yield predictable results.
Claim(s) 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang in view of Nekoogar et al. (Nekoogar), U.S. Patent Pub No. 2015/0339499.
Regarding claim 11, Zhang discloses the method for reporting the capability of the BSC terminal according to claim 4 as described above. Zhang, however, fails to disclose, wherein the energy supply manner comprises at least one of the following: passive, semi-passive, or active.
In a similar field of endeavor, Nekoogar discloses a secure optionally passive RFID tag or sensor with an external source and data logging.
Nekoogar further discloses wherein an energy supply manner of a backscatter device such as an RFID comprises at least one of the following: passive, semi-passive, or active (RFID tags may be either passive, semi-passive, (also known as battery-assisted passive or BAP, or semi-active) or active. Passive RFID tags have no internal power source but instead harvest energy from received radio signals of an appropriate frequency transmitted by an RFID reader or transceiver, and use that energy to power the tag circuitry. Outgoing signals are generally produced by backscatter modulation which is then detected by the RFID reader or transceiver, and is viewed as a form of signal transmission.) (0005).
Therefore, before the effective filing date, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify Zhang with the teachings of Nekoogar. The motivation for this modification would have been to combine prior art elements according to known methods to yield predictable results.
Claim(s) 12-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang in view of well-known prior art.
Regarding claim 12, Zhang discloses the method for reporting the capability of the BSC terminal according to claim 4 as described above. Zhang, however, fails to disclose wherein the energy storage parameter comprises at least one of the following: a maximum energy storage capacity, a type of an energy storage capability, or signal information used for energy storage; the maximum energy storage capacity comprises at least one of the following: a maximum energy storage electric quantity or a maximum energy storage power; and the signal information comprises at least one of the following: a bandwidth, a frequency, a waveform, or a signal format.
The examiner contends, however, that it is known that an energy storage parameter can for instance include a maximum energy storage capacity and the examiner takes official notice as such.
Therefore, before the effective filing date, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify Zhang. The motivation for this modification would have been to inform the network side device its energy storage capacity to ensure enough energy was available for communication.
Regarding claim 13, Zhang discloses the method for reporting the capability of the BSC terminal according to claim 4 as described above. Zhang, however, fails to disclose, wherein the operating frequency band comprises at least one of the following: an operating frequency band of an incoming signal or an operating frequency band of the backscatter signal.
The examiner contends, however, that it is known in the art for an operating frequency band to comprise an operating frequency band of an incoming signal or an operating frequency band of the backscatter signal.
Therefore, before the effective filing date, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify Zhang with the teachings of well-known prior art. The motivation for this modification would have been to combine prior art elements according to known methods to yield predictable results.
Regarding claim 14, Zhang discloses the method for reporting the capability of the BSC terminal according to claim 4 as described above. Zhang, however, fails to disclose wherein the encryption parameter comprises at least one of the following: whether encryption is supported or an encryption algorithm.
The examiner contends, however, that it is well-known in the art for an encryption parameter to comprise at least one of the following: whether encryption is supported or an encryption algorithm.
Therefore, before the effective filing date, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify Zhang with the teachings of well-known prior art. The motivation for this modification would have been to combine prior art elements according to known methods to yield predictable results.
Regarding claim 15, discloses the method for reporting the capability of the BSC terminal according to claim 4 as described above. Zhang, however fails to disclose wherein the coding parameter comprises at least one of the following: a coding manner or a coding rate.
The examiner contends, however, that it is well-known in the art for a coding parameter to comprise at least one of the following: a coding manner or a coding rate.
Therefore, before the effective filing date, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify Zhang with the teachings of well-known prior art. The motivation for this modification would have been to combine prior art elements according to known methods to yield predictable results.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TEMICA M. BEAMER whose telephone number is (571)272-7797. The examiner can normally be reached Monday thru Friday; 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Matthew D. Anderson can be reached at 571-272-4177. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/TEMICA M BEAMER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2646
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