DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
Claims 35-54 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 35 recites the limitation "the one or more downlink and uplink signals of the cell" in line 22 of the claim. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
The independent claims 42 and 49 which recite the same claim limitation, are also rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) for the same reason explained for independent claim 35. The dependent claims 36-41, 43-48, and 50-54 are also rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) based on their dependence to independent claims 35, 42, and 49.
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.
Claims 35-54 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang et al. US (2020/0196225) in view of LI et al. US (2021/0036764), further in view of Rofougaran et al. US (2020/0403689), and further in view of Abedini et al. US (2021/0298069).
Regarding Claim 35, Wang discloses a first apparatus (see Fig. 1 i.e., relay node, Fig. 6 i.e., relay node A & Fig. 32) comprising at least one processor (see Fig. 32 i.e., processor 3201) and at least one memory (see Fig. 32 i.e., memory 3202) including computer program code (see Para [0860] i.e., memory 3202 in which computer executable instructions are stored), the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor (see Fig. 32 & Para’s [0034] & [0860]), cause the first apparatus to perform the following operations: obtaining repeater configuration information indicative of configuring the first apparatus for a co-located distributed unit (DU) function; (see Fig. 1 i.e., co-located DU function in relay node, Fig. 6 i.e., step 1 & Para’s [0007] i.e., each relay node includes a distributed unit (DU) part, [0311] i.e., step 1 (configuring a relay node) & [0332] i.e., step 1: the OAM/base station transmits a configuration message to the relay node A to configure the relay node to access the anchor node & [0338] i.e., distributed unit of the relay node)
obtaining, via a radio resource control (RRC) signaling procedure that transparently carries a F1 SETUP REQUEST message (see Para [0267] i.e., a request message (e.g., an F1 setup request) generated by the relay node for establishing a connection between the relay node (or the DU of the relay node) and the anchor node (or the central unit of the anchor node (or the CU of the anchor node) & [0358] i.e., The F1 setup request may be in the form of a container, [0364], & [0379]), control information provided over a Fl-control plane (F1-C) interface and defined by a F1 application protocol (F1AP), (see Para’s [0007] i.e., The F1 interface is divided into a control plane F1-C (i.e., control plane data is used for signaling control information) and a user plane F1-U. The transmission network layer of F1-C is transmitted based on the IP. For more reliably transmitting signaling, an SCTP protocol has been added on IP. The protocol of the application layer is F1AP. The SCTP can provide reliable transmission for application layer message [0011] i.e., The distributed unit part of the relay node establishes a connection with the central unit of the anchor node, and the connection can be used to support data communication (such as F1-C, F1-U) on the F1 interface (i.e., control plane data communicated on F1-C may be control information), [0014], [0016] i.e., control plane data (i.e., “control information”) & [0249])
wherein the control information is obtained from a centralized unit (CU) of the serving node via the F1-C interface established between the CU of the serving node and a co-located DU function hosted by the first apparatus, (see Para’s [0007] i.e., The F1 interface is divided into a control plane F1-C (i.e., control plane is used for obtaining control signaling information) and a user plane F1-U. The transmission network layer of F1-C is transmitted based on the IP. For more reliably transmitting signaling, an SCTP protocol has been added on IP. The protocol of the application layer is F1AP. The SCTP can provide reliable transmission for application layer message, [0011] i.e., The distributed unit part of the relay node establishes a connection with the central unit of the anchor node, and the connection can be used to support data communication (such as F1-C, F1-U) on the F1 interface, [0014], [0016] i.e., control plane data (i.e., “control information”)& [0249])
the first apparatus being a repeater node type explicitly indicated during the RRC connection setup; (see Fig. 6 i.e., step 0 & Para’s [0330] i.e., IAB relay node, [0335] i.e., step 0: The relay node A transmits a message indicating the relay node to the base station/anchor node & [0376-0378])
obtaining, via RRC signaling, a F1 SETUP RESPONSE message that provides cell information configuring the cell of the serving node to be repeated; (see Para’s [0365-0368] i.e., A response message for establishing a connection with the anchor node (the CU of the anchor node) by the relay node A (or the DU of the relay node A). The message includes configuration information related to the anchor node, for example, information of a cell which the anchor node requests the relay node A to activate (such as identification information, the system information of the anchor node side, and supportable PLMN list information), which detail contents may be referred to as F1 Setup Response message)
and repeating, the one or more downlink and uplink signals of the cell between exactly one user equipment (UE) served by the cell and the serving node being a network node, (see Para’s [0007-0012] i.e., the user 1 connects with relay nodes by a wireless link and communicates with the anchor node through a wireless link between the relay nodes (i.e., first apparatus such as the relay node performs “repeating”))
While Wang suggests the first apparatus (i.e., “repeater”) may obtain control information communication over the F1-C interface from the base station (see Para’s [0007] i.e., control plane F1-C & [0011] i.e., The distributed unit part of the relay node establishes a connection with the central unit of the anchor node, and the connection can be used to support data communication (such as F1-C) on the F1 interface), Wang does not disclose the claim features of obtaining control information being indicative of cell configuration for controlling an amplify- and-forward (A/F) type repeating of one or more signals of a cell of a serving node and the first apparatus being a smart repeater (SR) node type. However the claim features would be rendered obvious in view of LI et al. US (2021/0036764).
LI discloses obtaining control information being indicative of cell configuration for controlling an amplify- and-forward (A/F) type repeating of one or more signals of a cell of a serving node, (see Para’s [0082] i.e., For example repeater 730 simply amplifies the received signal and forwards it to become the transmitted signal 734 (e.g., amplify-and-forward), [0085-0087] i.e., gNB may provide control information to a smart repeater…This control information may allow the network entity to control spatial resources (e.g., receive and/or transmit beams) (i.e., “cell configuration”) at the repeater, [0088-0092] i.e., the network entity sends control information indicating at least one of one or more receive beams or one or more transmit beams (i.e., transmit/receive beams may be “cell configuration”) for the first wireless device to use to at least one of receive a second RF signal from the second wireless device (i.e., network entity) or forward the second RF signal to a third wireless device, [0093-0095] i.e., repeater performs downlink or uplink based on the control information, & [0096] i.e., amplify-and-forward).
wherein the control information is obtained from a centralized unit (CU) of the serving node via the F1-C interface established between the CU of the serving node and a co-located DU function hosted by the first apparatus (see Fig. 2 i.e., control information obtained via F1-C interface of access node/IAB donor 208 (i.e., “serving node”) & Para’s [0058-0059] i.e., F1-C protocols & [0087-0090] i.e., gNB may provide control information to a smart repeater)
and the first apparatus being a smart repeater (SR) node type (see Para’s [0087] i.e., smart repeater & [0097]).
Repeating the one or more downlink and uplink signals of the cell between exactly one user equipment served by the cell and the serving node being a network node (see Para’s [0090] & [0095])
(LI suggests the control information may allow the network entity to control spatial resources at the smart repeater, which may allow for better coverage and potentially allow the support of more UEs than conventional repeater deployments, (see Para’s [0087])).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date for the repeater which may obtain control information from the base station as disclosed in Wang to be implemented as the smart repeater and obtain control information such as cell configuration for controlling an amplify-and-forward (A/F) type repeating of one or more signals of a cell of a serving node as disclosed in the teachings of LI, because the motivation lies in LI that the control information may allow the network entity to control spatial resources at the smart repeater, which may allow for better coverage and potentially allow the support of more UEs than conventional repeater deployments.
The combination of Wang in view of LI does not disclose the claim features of the control information being indicative of one or more control parameters including at least a pass-band setting and an amplifier gain setting for controlling an amplify-and-forward (A/F) type repeating of one or more signals of a cell of a serving node, and repeating, by dynamically adjusting the pass-band and amplifier gain of the A/F repeating and controlling a filtering of the one or more signals based on the most recently obtained control information, the one or more downlink and uplink signals of the cell between exactly one UE served by the cell and the serving node being a network node. However the claim features would be rendered obvious in view of Rofougaran et al. US (2020/0403689).
Rofougaran discloses a repeater receiving control information being indicative of one or more control parameters including at least a pass-band setting (see Para’s [0196-0197] i.e., band-pass filtering of the received signal & [0198] i.e., bandwidth of the passband (i.e., “pass-band setting”) may be sent to the repeater device 802 through the control channel) and an amplifier gain setting (see Para’s [0038] i.e., the baseband processor may be further configured to adjust a forward end-to-end gain of the repeater device for a downlink or an uplink communication based on a request received through the control channel (i.e., “amplifier gain setting”), [0097] i.e., the first controller 322 may be configured to adjust one or more parameters (e.g., amplifier gains) associated with the Rx/Tx phased antenna arrays based on received one or more control signals, [0100], & [0185]) for controlling an amplify-and-forward (A/F) type repeating of one or more signals of a cell of a serving node (The claim language of “for controlling an amplify-and-forward (A/F) type repeating of one or more signals of a cell of a serving node” is simply a statement of intended use and is not considered limiting to the claim limitation (see Outdry Techs. Corp V. Geox Pg.’s 2-3 regarding statement of intended use), Rofougaran, see Para’s [0033] i.e., smart amplify-and-forward operations are executed by the repeater, [0038] i.e., amplify and forward by the repeater in downlink and uplink directions, & [0226])
and repeating, by dynamically adjusting the pass-band (see Para’s [0196-0197] i.e., band-pass filtering of the signals & [0198] i.e., bandwidth of the passband may be sent to the repeater device 802 through the control channel) and amplifier gain of the A/F repeating (see Para’s [0097], [0100], [0185], & [0196] i.e., For example the received signal may be 2) passed through phase and gain adjustment, 3) passed through band-pass filtering) and controlling a filtering of the one or more signals based on the most recently obtained control information (see Para’s [0038] i.e., the repeater device includes a filter, where the baseband processor may be further configured to tune a user planes frequency response via the filter in a downlink direction and uplink direction to allow or reject one or more BWPs of one or more NR frequency bands, [0197-0198] i.e., filter 824 of the repeater device 802, & [0214-0215]), the one or more downlink and uplink signals of the cell between exactly one UE served by the cell and the serving node being a network node (see Para’s [0038] i.e., amplify and forward by the repeater in downlink and uplink directions, [0185], [0196-0198], & [0226] i.e., the repeater device 802 performs various intelligent processing of incoming and outgoing signals without adding to any noticeable increase in latency. In other words, smart amplify-and-forwarding operations are executed by the repeater device).
(Rofougaran suggests the gain adjustment to the uplink and downlink signals performed by the repeater, minimizes the impact of interference and achieves low error communication with the base station in the uplink or UEs in the downlink, (see Para’s [0041], [0185], [0201] i.e., the power control is used by the repeater device to minimize the impact of interference, & [0206])).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date for the control information received by the repeater for controlling the amplify and forward type repeating of the one or more signals as disclosed in Wang in view of LI to include the one or more parameters including a pass-band setting and an amplifier gain setting included in the control information received by the repeater device for dynamically adjusting the pass-band, amplifier gain, and controlling filtering of the signals of the A/F repeating as disclosed in the teachings of Rofougaran, because the motivation lies in Rofougaran that the gain adjustment to the uplink and downlink signals performed by the repeater, minimizes the impact of interference and achieves low error communication with the base station in the uplink or UEs in the downlink.
While Wang discloses the F1 setup response message provides cell information that includes system information (Wang, see Para [0368] i.e., the message includes configuration information related to the anchor node, for example, information of a cell which the anchor node requests the relay node A to activate (such as the identification information, the system information of the anchor node side, and supportable PLMN list information) The combination of Wang in view of LI, and further in view of Rofougaran does not disclose the information configuring which one or more signals of the cell of the serving node are to be repeated. However the claim feature would be rendered obvious in view of Abedini et al. US (2021/0298069).
Abedini discloses system information configuring which one or more signals of the cell of the serving node are to be repeated by repeater (see Para [0091] i.e., Therefore, the repeater would have information indicating a location (e.g., in a time-domain) of SSBs transmitted by the base station (e.g., based on a bitmap received in the system information block 1 (SIB), [0092-0093] i.e., the repeater is to act as a relay between a base station and a UE, [0095] i.e., the access procedure configuration may include an indication of whether the repeater is to forward signals in resources associated with a set of SSBs, & [0096]).
(Abedini suggests the configuration information included in system information configures the repeater with resource allocation information for indicating the resource location of SSBs transmitted by the base station in order to properly forward the signals in the indicated resources and includes smaller amount of information resulting in reduced signaling overhead and improving resource usage efficiency when configuring the repeater, (see Para [0090-0092] & [0096-0097])).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date for the system information included in the F1 setup response message sent to the repeater as disclosed in Wang in view of LI, and further in view of Rofougaran to include the system information configuring which one or more signals such as SSBs of the cell of the serving node are to be repeated by repeater as disclosed in the teachings of Abedini, because the motivation lies in Abedini that the configuration information included in the system information configures the repeater with resource allocation information for indicating the resource location of SSBs transmitted by the base station in order to properly forward the signals in the indicated resources and includes smaller amount of information resulting in reduced signaling overhead and improving resource usage efficiency when configuring the repeater.
Regarding Claim 36, the combination of Wang in view of LI, and further in view of Abedini discloses the first apparatus of claim 35, but does not disclose wherein the control information further comprises cell activity information, network deployment information, power level information, or time division duplex (TDD) configuration information for the serving node. However the claim feature would be rendered obvious in view of Rofougaran et al. US (2020/0403689).
Rofougaran discloses wherein the control information further comprises power level information (see Para [0201] i.e., In another implementation, a request in the form of a control message may be communicated to the repeater device 802 to increase or decrease a power back-off (i.e., an amount of power level))
(Rofougaran suggests the gain adjustment to the uplink and downlink signals performed by the repeater, minimizes the impact of interference and achieves low error communication with the base station in the uplink or UEs in the downlink, (see Para’s [0041], [0185], [0201] i.e., the power control is used by the repeater device to minimize the impact of interference, & [0206])).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date for the control information received by the repeater for controlling the amplify and forward type repeating of the one or more signals as disclosed in Wang in view of LI, and further in view of Abedini to further include the power level information in the control information received by the repeater device for dynamically adjusting the pass-band, amplifier gain, and controlling filtering of the signals of the A/F repeating as disclosed in the teachings of Rofougaran, because the motivation lies in Rofougaran that based on the control information, the gain adjustment to the uplink and downlink signals performed by the repeater, minimizes the impact of interference and achieves low error communication with the base station in the uplink or UEs in the downlink.
Regarding Claim 37, the combination of Wang in view of LI, and further in view of Abedini the first apparatus of claim 36, but does not disclose the claim feature of wherein the filtering of the one or more signals comprises adjusting filter parameters in real time during the repeating so as to minimize noise amplification while forwarding the signals. However the claim feature would be rendered obvious in view of Rofougaran et al. US (2020/0403689).
Rofougaran discloses wherein the filtering of the one or more signals comprises adjusting filter parameters in real time during the repeating so as to minimize noise amplification while forwarding the signals. (The claim language of “so as to minimize noise amplification while forwarding the signals” is simply a statement of intended use and is not considered limiting to the claim limitation (see Outdry Techs. Corp V. Geox Pg.’s 2-3 regarding statement of intended use), (Rofougaran, see Para’s [0038] i.e., the repeater device includes a filter, where the baseband processor may be further configured to tune a user planes frequency response via the filter in a downlink direction and uplink direction to allow or reject one or more BWPs of one or more NR frequency bands, [0197-0198] i.e., filter 824 of the repeater device 802, [0199], [0201], [0214-0215], & [0227] i.e., repeater device while processing of incoming and outgoing signals does not amplify noise))
(Rofougaran suggests the filtering and processing performed on the uplink and downlink signals by the repeater, achieves the desired signal bandwidth when forwarding the signal and minimizes the impact of interference and achieves low error communication with the base station in the uplink or UEs in the downlink, (see Para’s [0041], [0185], [0201] i.e., the power control is used by the repeater device to minimize the impact of interference, & [0206])).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date for the signal processing performed by the repeater for forwarding signals as disclosed in Wang in view of LI, and further in view of Abedini to perform the filtering of the one or more signals by adjusting filter parameters in real time during the repeating as performed by the repeater as disclosed in Rofougaran, because the motivation lies in Rofougaran that the filtering and processing performed on the uplink and downlink signals by the repeater, achieves the desired signal bandwidth when forwarding the signal and minimizes the impact of interference and achieves low error communication with the base station in the uplink or UEs in the downlink.
Regarding Claim 38, Wang discloses the first apparatus of claim 37, wherein the repeater configuration information is obtained from an operations, administration, and maintenance (OAM) center of the radio network rather than being pre-configured during installation, (see Para [0309] i.e., The first node may be an OAM system, [0311], [0331] i.e., when the first node is the OAM or the base station serving for the relay node A, & [0332] i.e., The OAM/base station (e.g., first node) transmits a configuration message to the relay node A to configure the relay node).
Regarding Claim 39, the combination of Wang in view of LI, and further in view of Abedini discloses the first apparatus of claim 38, but does not disclose the claim feature of wherein the control information is updated a plurality of times during operation, and the repeating is performed in accordance with the most recently received control information. However the claim features would be rendered obvious in view of Rofougaran et al. US (2020/0403689).
Rofougaran discloses wherein the control information is updated a plurality of times during operation, (see Para’s [0041] i.e., Furthermore, the repeater device is highly programmable and can be remotely updated by the RNM server to meet any new requirements and allow or reject one or more bandwidth parts of one or more frequency bands (i.e., “control information may be updated a plurality of times”) [0189] i.e., any update of filter properties, & [0197-0199]).
and the repeating is performed in accordance with the most recently received control information, (see Para’s [0041], [0185] i.e., the repeater device 802 may be further configured to adjust a forward end-to-end gain of the repeater device for a downlink or an uplink communication based on a request received through the control channel, [0197-0199] i.e., repeating operations are based on most recently received control information received through the control channel).
(Rofougaran suggests the repeater device can be updated to meet any new requirements and allow or reject one or more desired bandwidth parts of one or more NR frequency bands in order to meet QoS for 5G NR communication, (see Para’s [0041], [0189], & [0199])).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date for the control information received by the repeater for controlling the amplify and forward type repeating of the one or more signals as disclosed in Wang in view of LI to be updated a plurality of times during operation as disclosed in the teachings of Rofougaran who discloses the repeating is performed in accordance with the most recently received control information, because the motivation lies in Rofougaran that the repeater device can be updated to meet any new requirements and allow or reject one or more desired bandwidth parts of one or more NR frequency bands in order to meet QoS for 5G NR communication.
Regarding Claim 40, the combination of Wang in view of LI, and further in view of Abedini discloses the first apparatus of claim 39, but does not disclose the claim feature of wherein the first apparatus is further caused to dynamically adjust a transmit power level of the amplify-and-forward repeating in addition to adjusting the pass-band and amplifier gain. However the claim feature would be rendered obvious in view of Rofougaran et al. US (2020/0403689).
Rofougaran discloses wherein the first apparatus is further caused to dynamically adjust a transmit power level of the amplify-and-forward repeating in addition to adjusting the pass-band and amplifier gain (see Para’s [0185], [0198], [0201] i.e., In another implementation, a request in the form of a control message may be communicated to the repeater device 802 to increase or decrease a power back-off (i.e., an amount of power level))
(Rofougaran suggests the power control is used by the repeater to minimize the impact of interference and use only as much power as needed to achieve low error communication with the base station in the uplink or UEs in the downlink, (see Para [0201])).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date for the signal processing performed by the repeater for forwarding signals as disclosed in Wang in view of LI, and further in view of Abedini to dynamically adjust a transmit power level of the amplify-and-forward repeating in addition to adjusting the pass-band and amplifier gain as performed by the repeater as disclosed in Rofougaran because the motivation lies in Rofougaran that the power control is used by the repeater to minimize the impact of interference and use only as much power as needed to achieve low error communication with the base station in the uplink or UEs in the downlink
Regarding Claim 41, Wang discloses the first apparatus of claim 40, wherein the F1 SETUP REQUEST message is transparently transmitted as a container in an uplink information transfer message of the RRC signaling procedure, (see Para’s [0267] & [0358] i.e., the F1 setup request may be included in the message 2-1-1 in form of a container & [0379])
Regarding Claim 42, Wang discloses a system (see Para [0002]) comprising: a first apparatus (see Fig. 1 i.e., relay node, Fig. 6 i.e., relay node A & Fig. 32); at least one processor (see Fig. 32 i.e., processor 3201) and at least one memory (see Fig. 32 i.e., memory 3202) including computer program code (see Para [0860] i.e., memory 3202 in which computer executable instructions are stored), the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor (see Fig. 32 & Para’s [0034] & [0860]), cause the first apparatus to perform the following operations: obtaining repeater configuration information indicative of configuring the first apparatus for a co-located distributed unit (DU) function; (see Fig. 1 i.e., co-located DU function in relay node, Fig. 6 i.e., step 1 & Para’s [0007] i.e., each relay node includes a distributed unit (DU) part, [0311] i.e., step 1 (configuring a relay node) & [0332] i.e., step 1: the OAM/base station transmits a configuration message to the relay node A to configure the relay node to access the anchor node & [0338] i.e., distributed unit of the relay node)
obtaining, via a radio resource control (RRC) signaling procedure that transparently carries a F1 SETUP REQUEST message (see Para [0267] i.e., a request message (e.g., an F1 setup request) generated by the relay node for establishing a connection between the relay node (or the DU of the relay node) and the anchor node (or the central unit of the anchor node (or the CU of the anchor node) & [0358] i.e., The F1 setup request may be in the form of a container, [0364], & [0379]), control information provided over a Fl-control plane (F1-C) interface and defined by a F1 application protocol (F1AP), (see Para’s [0007] i.e., The F1 interface is divided into a control plane F1-C (i.e., control plane data is used for signaling control information) and a user plane F1-U. The transmission network layer of F1-C is transmitted based on the IP. For more reliably transmitting signaling, an SCTP protocol has been added on IP. The protocol of the application layer is F1AP. The SCTP can provide reliable transmission for application layer message [0011] i.e., The distributed unit part of the relay node establishes a connection with the central unit of the anchor node, and the connection can be used to support data communication (such as F1-C, F1-U) on the F1 interface (i.e., control plane data communicated on F1-C may be control information), [0014], [0016] i.e., control plane data (i.e., “control information”) & [0249])
wherein the control information is obtained from a centralized unit (CU) of the serving node via the F1-C interface established between the CU of the serving node and a co-located DU function hosted by the first apparatus, (see Para’s [0007] i.e., The F1 interface is divided into a control plane F1-C (i.e., control plane is used for obtaining control signaling information) and a user plane F1-U. The transmission network layer of F1-C is transmitted based on the IP. For more reliably transmitting signaling, an SCTP protocol has been added on IP. The protocol of the application layer is F1AP. The SCTP can provide reliable transmission for application layer message, [0011] i.e., The distributed unit part of the relay node establishes a connection with the central unit of the anchor node, and the connection can be used to support data communication (such as F1-C, F1-U) on the F1 interface, [0014], [0016] i.e., control plane data (i.e., “control information”)& [0249])
the first apparatus being a repeater node type explicitly indicated during the RRC connection setup; (see Fig. 6 i.e., step 0 & Para’s [0330] i.e., IAB relay node, [0335] i.e., step 0: The relay node A transmits a message indicating the relay node to the base station/anchor node & [0376-0378])
obtaining, via RRC signaling, a F1 SETUP RESPONSE message that provides cell information configuring the cell of the serving node to be repeated; (see Para’s [0365-0368] i.e., A response message for establishing a connection with the anchor node (the CU of the anchor node) by the relay node A (or the DU of the relay node A). The message includes configuration information related to the anchor node, for example, information of a cell which the anchor node requests the relay node A to activate (such as identification information, the system information of the anchor node side, and supportable PLMN list information), which detail contents may be referred to as F1 Setup Response message)
and repeating, the one or more downlink and uplink signals of the cell between exactly one user equipment (UE) served by the cell and the serving node being a network node, (see Para’s [0007-0012] i.e., the user 1 connects with relay nodes by a wireless link and communicates with the anchor node through a wireless link between the relay nodes (i.e., first apparatus such as the relay node performs “repeating”))
While Wang suggests the first apparatus (i.e., “repeater”) may obtain control information communication over the F1-C interface from the base station (see Para’s [0007] i.e., control plane F1-C & [0011] i.e., The distributed unit part of the relay node establishes a connection with the central unit of the anchor node, and the connection can be used to support data communication (such as F1-C) on the F1 interface), Wang does not disclose the claim features of obtaining control information being indicative of cell configuration for controlling an amplify- and-forward (A/F) type repeating of one or more signals of a cell of a serving node and the first apparatus being a smart repeater (SR) node type. However the claim features would be rendered obvious in view of LI et al. US (2021/0036764).
LI discloses obtaining control information being indicative of cell configuration for controlling an amplify- and-forward (A/F) type repeating of one or more signals of a cell of a serving node, (see Para’s [0082] i.e., For example repeater 730 simply amplifies the received signal and forwards it to become the transmitted signal 734 (e.g., amplify-and-forward), [0085-0087] i.e., gNB may provide control information to a smart repeater…This control information may allow the network entity to control spatial resources (e.g., receive and/or transmit beams) (i.e., “cell configuration”) at the repeater, [0088-0092] i.e., the network entity sends control information indicating at least one of one or more receive beams or one or more transmit beams (i.e., transmit/receive beams may be “cell configuration”) for the first wireless device to use to at least one of receive a second RF signal from the second wireless device (i.e., network entity) or forward the second RF signal to a third wireless device, [0093-0095] i.e., repeater performs downlink or uplink based on the control information, & [0096] i.e., amplify-and-forward).
wherein the control information is obtained from a centralized unit (CU) of the serving node via the F1-C interface established between the CU of the serving node and a co-located DU function hosted by the first apparatus (see Fig. 2 i.e., control information obtained via F1-C interface of access node/IAB donor 208 (i.e., “serving node”) & Para’s [0058-0059] i.e., F1-C protocols & [0087-0090] i.e., gNB may provide control information to a smart repeater)
and the first apparatus being a smart repeater (SR) node type (see Para’s [0087] i.e., smart repeater & [0097]).
Repeating the one or more downlink and uplink signals of the cell between exactly one user equipment served by the cell and the serving node being a network node (see Para’s [0090] & [0095])
(LI suggests the control information may allow the network entity to control spatial resources at the smart repeater, which may allow for better coverage and potentially allow the support of more UEs than conventional repeater deployments, (see Para’s [0087])).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date for the repeater which may obtain control information from the base station as disclosed in Wang to be implemented as the smart repeater and obtain control information such as cell configuration for controlling an amplify-and-forward (A/F) type repeating of one or more signals of a cell of a serving node as disclosed in the teachings of LI, because the motivation lies in LI that the control information may allow the network entity to control spatial resources at the smart repeater, which may allow for better coverage and potentially allow the support of more UEs than conventional repeater deployments.
The combination of Wang in view of LI does not disclose the claim features of the control information being indicative of one or more control parameters including at least a pass-band setting and an amplifier gain setting for controlling an amplify-and-forward (A/F) type repeating of one or more signals of a cell of a serving node, and repeating, by dynamically adjusting the pass-band and amplifier gain of the A/F repeating and controlling a filtering of the one or more signals based on the most recently obtained control information, the one or more downlink and uplink signals of the cell between exactly one UE served by the cell and the serving node being a network node. However the claim features would be rendered obvious in view of Rofougaran et al. US (2020/0403689).
Rofougaran discloses a repeater receiving control information being indicative of one or more control parameters including at least a pass-band setting (see Para’s [0196-0197] i.e., band-pass filtering of the received signal & [0198] i.e., bandwidth of the passband (i.e., “pass-band setting”) may be sent to the repeater device 802 through the control channel) and an amplifier gain setting (see Para’s [0038] i.e., the baseband processor may be further configured to adjust a forward end-to-end gain of the repeater device for a downlink or an uplink communication based on a request received through the control channel (i.e., “amplifier gain setting”), [0097] i.e., the first controller 322 may be configured to adjust one or more parameters (e.g., amplifier gains) associated with the Rx/Tx phased antenna arrays based on received one or more control signals, [0100], & [0185]) for controlling an amplify-and-forward (A/F) type repeating of one or more signals of a cell of a serving node (The claim language of “for controlling an amplify-and-forward (A/F) type repeating of one or more signals of a cell of a serving node” is simply a statement of intended use and is not considered limiting to the claim limitation (see Outdry Techs. Corp V. Geox Pg.’s 2-3 regarding statement of intended use), Rofougaran, see Para’s [0033] i.e., smart amplify-and-forward operations are executed by the repeater, [0038] i.e., amplify and forward by the repeater in downlink and uplink directions, & [0226])
and repeating, by dynamically adjusting the pass-band (see Para’s [0196-0197] i.e., band-pass filtering of the signals & [0198] i.e., bandwidth of the passband may be sent to the repeater device 802 through the control channel) and amplifier gain of the A/F repeating (see Para’s [0097], [0100], [0185], & [0196] i.e., For example the received signal may be 2) passed through phase and gain adjustment, 3) passed through band-pass filtering) and controlling a filtering of the one or more signals based on the most recently obtained control information (see Para’s [0038] i.e., the repeater device includes a filter, where the baseband processor may be further configured to tune a user planes frequency response via the filter in a downlink direction and uplink direction to allow or reject one or more BWPs of one or more NR frequency bands, [0197-0198] i.e., filter 824 of the repeater device 802, & [0214-0215]), the one or more downlink and uplink signals of the cell between exactly one UE served by the cell and the serving node being a network node (see Para’s [0038] i.e., amplify and forward by the repeater in downlink and uplink directions, [0185], [0196-0198], & [0226] i.e., the repeater device 802 performs various intelligent processing of incoming and outgoing signals without adding to any noticeable increase in latency. In other words, smart amplify-and-forwarding operations are executed by the repeater device).
(Rofougaran suggests the gain adjustment to the uplink and downlink signals performed by the repeater, minimizes the impact of interference and achieves low error communication with the base station in the uplink or UEs in the downlink, (see Para’s [0041], [0185], [0201] i.e., the power control is used by the repeater device to minimize the impact of interference, & [0206])).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date for the control information received by the repeater for controlling the amplify and forward type repeating of the one or more signals as disclosed in Wang in view of LI to include the one or more parameters including a pass-band setting and an amplifier gain setting included in the control information received by the repeater device for dynamically adjusting the pass-band, amplifier gain, and controlling filtering of the signals of the A/F repeating as disclosed in the teachings of Rofougaran, because the motivation lies in Rofougaran that the gain adjustment to the uplink and downlink signals performed by the repeater, minimizes the impact of interference and achieves low error communication with the base station in the uplink or UEs in the downlink.
While Wang discloses the F1 setup response message provides cell information that includes system information (Wang, see Para [0368] i.e., the message includes configuration information related to the anchor node, for example, information of a cell which the anchor node requests the relay node A to activate (such as the identification information, the system information of the anchor node side, and supportable PLMN list information) The combination of Wang in view of LI, and further in view of Rofougaran does not disclose the information configuring which one or more signals of the cell of the serving node are to be repeated. However the claim feature would be rendered obvious in view of Abedini et al. US (2021/0298069).
Abedini discloses system information configuring which one or more signals of the cell of the serving node are to be repeated by repeater (see Para [0091] i.e., Therefore, the repeater would have information indicating a location (e.g., in a time-domain) of SSBs transmitted by the base station (e.g., based on a bitmap received in the system information block 1 (SIB), [0092-0093] i.e., the repeater is to act as a relay between a base station and a UE, [0095] i.e., the access procedure configuration may include an indication of whether the repeater is to forward signals in resources associated with a set of SSBs, & [0096]).
(Abedini suggests the configuration information included in system information configures the repeater with resource allocation information for indicating the resource location of SSBs transmitted by the base station in order to properly forward the signals in the indicated resources and includes smaller amount of information resulting in reduced signaling overhead and improving resource usage efficiency when configuring the repeater, (see Para [0090-0092] & [0096-0097])).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date for the system information included in the F1 setup response message sent to the repeater as disclosed in Wang in view of LI, and further in view of Rofougaran to include the system information configuring which one or more signals such as SSBs of the cell of the serving node are to be repeated by repeater as disclosed in the teachings of Abedini, because the motivation lies in Abedini that the configuration information included in the system information configures the repeater with resource allocation information for indicating the resource location of SSBs transmitted by the base station in order to properly forward the signals in the indicated resources and includes smaller amount of information resulting in reduced signaling overhead and improving resource usage efficiency when configuring the repeater.
Regarding Claim 43, the combination of Wang in view of LI, and further in view of Abedini discloses the system of claim 42, but does not disclose wherein the control information further comprises cell activity information, network deployment information, power level information, or time division duplex (TDD) configuration information for the serving node. However the claim feature would be rendered obvious in view of Rofougaran et al. US (2020/0403689).
Rofougaran discloses wherein the control information further comprises power level information (see Para [0201] i.e., In another implementation, a request in the form of a control message may be communicated to the repeater device 802 to increase or decrease a power back-off (i.e., an amount of power level))
(Rofougaran suggests the gain adjustment to the uplink and downlink signals performed by the repeater, minimizes the impact of interference and achieves low error communication with the base station in the uplink or UEs in the downlink, (see Para’s [0041], [0185], [0201] i.e., the power control is used by the repeater device to minimize the impact of interference, & [0206])).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date for the control information received by the repeater for controlling the amplify and forward type repeating of the one or more signals as disclosed in Wang in view of LI, and further in view of Abedini to further include the power level information in the control information received by the repeater device for dynamically adjusting the pass-band, amplifier gain, and controlling filtering of the signals of the A/F repeating as disclosed in the teachings of Rofougaran, because the motivation lies in Rofougaran that based on the control information, the gain adjustment to the uplink and downlink signals performed by the repeater, minimizes the impact of interference and achieves low error communication with the base station in the uplink or UEs in the downlink.
Regarding Claim 44, the combination of Wang in view of LI, and further in view of Abedini discloses the system of claim 43, but does not disclose the claim feature of wherein the filtering of the one or more signals comprises adjusting filter parameters in real time during the repeating so as to minimize noise amplification while forwarding the signals. However the claim feature would be rendered obvious in view of Rofougaran et al. US (2020/0403689).
Rofougaran discloses wherein the filtering of the one or more signals comprises adjusting filter parameters in real time during the repeating so as to minimize noise amplification while forwarding the signals. (The claim language of “so as to minimize noise amplification while forwarding the signals” is simply a statement of intended use and is not considered limiting to the claim limitation (see Outdry Techs. Corp V. Geox Pg.’s 2-3 regarding statement of intended use), (Rofougaran, see Para’s [0038] i.e., the repeater device includes a filter, where the baseband processor may be further configured to tune a user planes frequency response via the filter in a downlink direction and uplink direction to allow or reject one or more BWPs of one or more NR frequency bands, [0197-0198] i.e., filter 824 of the repeater device 802, [0199], [0201], [0214-0215], & [0227] i.e., repeater device while processing of incoming and outgoing signals does not amplify noise))
(Rofougaran suggests the filtering and processing performed on the uplink and downlink signals by the repeater, achieves the desired signal bandwidth when forwarding the signal and minimizes the impact of interference and achieves low error communication with the base station in the uplink or UEs in the downlink, (see Para’s [0041], [0185], [0201] i.e., the power control is used by the repeater device to minimize the impact of interference, & [0206])).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date for the signal processing performed by the repeater for forwarding signals as disclosed in Wang in view of LI, and further in view of Abedini to perform the filtering of the one or more signals by adjusting filter parameters in real time during the repeating as performed by the repeater as disclosed in Rofougaran, because the motivation lies in Rofougaran that the filtering and processing performed on the uplink and downlink signals by the repeater, achieves the desired signal bandwidth when forwarding the signal and minimizes the impact of interference and achieves low error communication with the base station in the uplink or UEs in the downlink.
Regarding Claim 45, Wang discloses the system of claim 44, wherein the repeater configuration information is obtained from an operations, administration, and maintenance (OAM) center of the radio network rather than being pre-configured during installation, (see Para [0309] i.e., The first node may be an OAM system, [0311], [0331] i.e., when the first node is the OAM or the base station serving for the relay node A, [0332] i.e., The OAM/base station (e.g., first node) transmits a configuration message to the relay node A to configure the relay node).
Regarding Claim 46, the combination of Wang in view of LI, and further in view of Abedini discloses the system of claim 45, but does not disclose the claim feature of wherein the control information is updated a plurality of times during operation, and the repeating is performed in accordance with the most recently received control information. However the claim features would be rendered obvious in view of Rofougaran et al. US (2020/0403689).
Rofougaran discloses wherein the control information is updated a plurality of times during operation, (see Para’s [0041] i.e., Furthermore, the repeater device is highly programmable and can be remotely updated by the RNM server to meet any new requirements and allow or reject one or more bandwidth parts of one or more frequency bands (i.e., “control information may be updated a plurality of times”) [0189] i.e., any update of filter properties, & [0197-0199]).
and the repeating is performed in accordance with the most recently received control information, (see Para’s [0041], [0185] i.e., the repeater device 802 may be further configured to adjust a forward end-to-end gain of the repeater device for a downlink or an uplink communication based on a request received through the control channel, [0197-0199] i.e., repeating operations are based on most recently received control information received through the control channel).
(Rofougaran suggests the repeater device can be updated to meet any new requirements and allow or reject one or more desired bandwidth parts of one or more NR frequency bands in order to meet QoS for 5G NR communication, (see Para’s [0041], [0189], & [0199])).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date for the control information received by the repeater for controlling the amplify and forward type repeating of the one or more signals as disclosed in Wang in view of LI to be updated a plurality of times during operation as disclosed in the teachings of Rofougaran who discloses the repeating is performed in accordance with the most recently received control information, because the motivation lies in Rofougaran that the repeater device can be updated to meet any new requirements and allow or reject one or more desired bandwidth parts of one or more NR frequency bands in order to meet QoS for 5G NR communication.
Regarding Claim 47, the combination of Wang in view of LI, and further in view of Abedini discloses the first apparatus of claim 46, but does not disclose the claim feature of wherein the first apparatus is further caused to dynamically adjust a transmit power level of the amplify-and-forward repeating in addition to adjusting the pass-band and amplifier gain. However the claim feature would be rendered obvious in view of Rofougaran et al. US (2020/0403689).
Rofougaran discloses wherein the first apparatus is further caused to dynamically adjust a transmit power level of the amplify-and-forward repeating in addition to adjusting the pass-band and amplifier gain (see Para’s [0185], [0198], [0201] i.e., In another implementation, a request in the form of a control message may be communicated to the repeater device 802 to increase or decrease a power back-off (i.e., an amount of power level))
(Rofougaran suggests the power control is used by the repeater to minimize the impact of interference and use only as much power as needed to achieve low error communication with the base station in the uplink or UEs in the downlink, (see Para [0201])).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date for the signal processing performed by the repeater for forwarding signals as disclosed in Wang in view of LI, and further in view of Abedini to dynamically adjust a transmit power level of the amplify-and-forward repeating in addition to adjusting the pass-band and amplifier gain as performed by the repeater as disclosed in Rofougaran because the motivation lies in Rofougaran that the power control is used by the repeater to minimize the impact of interference and use only as much power as needed to achieve low error communication with the base station in the uplink or UEs in the downlink
Regarding Claim 48, Wang discloses the system of claim 47, wherein the F1 SETUP REQUEST message is transparently transmitted as a container in an uplink information transfer message of the RRC signaling procedure, (see Para’s [0267] & [0358] i.e., the F1 setup request may be included in the message 2-1-1 in form of a container & [0379])
Regarding Claim 49, Wang discloses a method performed by a first apparatus (see Fig. 1 i.e., relay node, Fig. 6 i.e., relay node A & Fig. 32), the method comprising: obtaining repeater configuration information indicative of configuring the first apparatus for a co-located distributed unit (DU) function; (see Fig. 1 i.e., co-located DU function in relay node, Fig. 6 i.e., step 1 & Para’s [0007] i.e., each relay node includes a distributed unit (DU) part, [0311] i.e., step 1 (configuring a relay node) & [0332] i.e., step 1: the OAM/base station transmits a configuration message to the relay node A to configure the relay node to access the anchor node & [0338] i.e., distributed unit of the relay node)
obtaining, via a radio resource control (RRC) signaling procedure that transparently carries a F1 SETUP REQUEST message (see Para [0267] i.e., a request message (e.g., an F1 setup request) generated by the relay node for establishing a connection between the relay node (or the DU of the relay node) and the anchor node (or the central unit of the anchor node (or the CU of the anchor node) & [0358] i.e., The F1 setup request may be in the form of a container, [0364], & [0379]), control information provided over a Fl-control plane (F1-C) interface and defined by a F1 application protocol (F1AP), (see Para’s [0007] i.e., The F1 interface is divided into a control plane F1-C (i.e., control plane data is used for signaling control information) and a user plane F1-U. The transmission network layer of F1-C is transmitted based on the IP. For more reliably transmitting signaling, an SCTP protocol has been added on IP. The protocol of the application layer is F1AP. The SCTP can provide reliable transmission for application layer message [0011] i.e., The distributed unit part of the relay node establishes a connection with the central unit of the anchor node, and the connection can be used to support data communication (such as F1-C, F1-U) on the F1 interface (i.e., control plane data communicated on F1-C may be control information), [0014], [0016] i.e., control plane data (i.e., “control information”) & [0249])
wherein the control information is obtained from a centralized unit (CU) of the serving node via the F1-C interface established between the CU of the serving node and a co-located DU function hosted by the first apparatus, (see Para’s [0007] i.e., The F1 interface is divided into a control plane F1-C (i.e., control plane is used for obtaining control signaling information) and a user plane F1-U. The transmission network layer of F1-C is transmitted based on the IP. For more reliably transmitting signaling, an SCTP protocol has been added on IP. The protocol of the application layer is F1AP. The SCTP can provide reliable transmission for application layer message, [0011] i.e., The distributed unit part of the relay node establishes a connection with the central unit of the anchor node, and the connection can be used to support data communication (such as F1-C, F1-U) on the F1 interface, [0014], [0016] i.e., control plane data (i.e., “control information”)& [0249])
the first apparatus being a repeater node type explicitly indicated during the RRC connection setup; (see Fig. 6 i.e., step 0 & Para’s [0330] i.e., IAB relay node, [0335] i.e., step 0: The relay node A transmits a message indicating the relay node to the base station/anchor node & [0376-0378])
obtaining, via RRC signaling, a F1 SETUP RESPONSE message that provides cell information configuring the cell of the serving node to be repeated; (see Para’s [0365-0368] i.e., A response message for establishing a connection with the anchor node (the CU of the anchor node) by the relay node A (or the DU of the relay node A). The message includes configuration information related to the anchor node, for example, information of a cell which the anchor node requests the relay node A to activate (such as identification information, the system information of the anchor node side, and supportable PLMN list information), which detail contents may be referred to as F1 Setup Response message)
and repeating, the one or more downlink and uplink signals of the cell between exactly one user equipment (UE) served by the cell and the serving node being a network node, (see Para’s [0007-0012] i.e., the user 1 connects with relay nodes by a wireless link and communicates with the anchor node through a wireless link between the relay nodes (i.e., first apparatus such as the relay node performs “repeating”))
While Wang suggests the first apparatus (i.e., “repeater”) may obtain control information communication over the F1-C interface from the base station (see Para’s [0007] i.e., control plane F1-C & [0011] i.e., The distributed unit part of the relay node establishes a connection with the central unit of the anchor node, and the connection can be used to support data communication (such as F1-C) on the F1 interface), Wang does not disclose the claim features of obtaining control information being indicative of cell configuration for controlling an amplify- and-forward (A/F) type repeating of one or more signals of a cell of a serving node and the first apparatus being a smart repeater (SR) node type. However the claim features would be rendered obvious in view of LI et al. US (2021/0036764).
LI discloses obtaining control information being indicative of cell configuration for controlling an amplify- and-forward (A/F) type repeating of one or more signals of a cell of a serving node, (see Para’s [0082] i.e., For example repeater 730 simply amplifies the received signal and forwards it to become the transmitted signal 734 (e.g., amplify-and-forward), [0085-0087] i.e., gNB may provide control information to a smart repeater…This control information may allow the network entity to control spatial resources (e.g., receive and/or transmit beams) (i.e., “cell configuration”) at the repeater, [0088-0092] i.e., the network entity sends control information indicating at least one of one or more receive beams or one or more transmit beams (i.e., transmit/receive beams may be “cell configuration”) for the first wireless device to use to at least one of receive a second RF signal from the second wireless device (i.e., network entity) or forward the second RF signal to a third wireless device, [0093-0095] i.e., repeater performs downlink or uplink based on the control information, & [0096] i.e., amplify-and-forward).
wherein the control information is obtained from a centralized unit (CU) of the serving node via the F1-C interface established between the CU of the serving node and a co-located DU function hosted by the first apparatus (see Fig. 2 i.e., control information obtained via F1-C interface of access node/IAB donor 208 (i.e., “serving node”) & Para’s [0058-0059] i.e., F1-C protocols & [0087-0090] i.e., gNB may provide control information to a smart repeater)
and the first apparatus being a smart repeater (SR) node type (see Para’s [0087] i.e., smart repeater & [0097]).
Repeating the one or more downlink and uplink signals of the cell between exactly one user equipment served by the cell and the serving node being a network node (see Para’s [0090] & [0095])
(LI suggests the control information may allow the network entity to control spatial resources at the smart repeater, which may allow for better coverage and potentially allow the support of more UEs than conventional repeater deployments, (see Para’s [0087])).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date for the repeater which may obtain control information from the base station as disclosed in Wang to be implemented as the smart repeater and obtain control information such as cell configuration for controlling an amplify-and-forward (A/F) type repeating of one or more signals of a cell of a serving node as disclosed in the teachings of LI, because the motivation lies in LI that the control information may allow the network entity to control spatial resources at the smart repeater, which may allow for better coverage and potentially allow the support of more UEs than conventional repeater deployments.
The combination of Wang in view of LI does not disclose the claim features of the control information being indicative of one or more control parameters including at least a pass-band setting and an amplifier gain setting for controlling an amplify-and-forward (A/F) type repeating of one or more signals of a cell of a serving node, and repeating, by dynamically adjusting the pass-band and amplifier gain of the A/F repeating and controlling a filtering of the one or more signals based on the most recently obtained control information, the one or more downlink and uplink signals of the cell between exactly one UE served by the cell and the serving node being a network node. However the claim features would be rendered obvious in view of Rofougaran et al. US (2020/0403689).
Rofougaran discloses a repeater receiving control information being indicative of one or more control parameters including at least a pass-band setting (see Para’s [0196-0197] i.e., band-pass filtering of the received signal & [0198] i.e., bandwidth of the passband (i.e., “pass-band setting”) may be sent to the repeater device 802 through the control channel) and an amplifier gain setting (see Para’s [0038] i.e., the baseband processor may be further configured to adjust a forward end-to-end gain of the repeater device for a downlink or an uplink communication based on a request received through the control channel (i.e., “amplifier gain setting”), [0097] i.e., the first controller 322 may be configured to adjust one or more parameters (e.g., amplifier gains) associated with the Rx/Tx phased antenna arrays based on received one or more control signals, [0100], & [0185]) for controlling an amplify-and-forward (A/F) type repeating of one or more signals of a cell of a serving node (The claim language of “for controlling an amplify-and-forward (A/F) type repeating of one or more signals of a cell of a serving node” is simply a statement of intended use and is not considered limiting to the claim limitation (see Outdry Techs. Corp V. Geox Pg.’s 2-3 regarding statement of intended use), Rofougaran, see Para’s [0033] i.e., smart amplify-and-forward operations are executed by the repeater, [0038] i.e., amplify and forward by the repeater in downlink and uplink directions, & [0226])
and repeating, by dynamically adjusting the pass-band (see Para’s [0196-0197] i.e., band-pass filtering of the signals & [0198] i.e., bandwidth of the passband may be sent to the repeater device 802 through the control channel) and amplifier gain of the A/F repeating (see Para’s [0097], [0100], [0185], & [0196] i.e., For example the received signal may be 2) passed through phase and gain adjustment, 3) passed through band-pass filtering) and controlling a filtering of the one or more signals based on the most recently obtained control information (see Para’s [0038] i.e., the repeater device includes a filter, where the baseband processor may be further configured to tune a user planes frequency response via the filter in a downlink direction and uplink direction to allow or reject one or more BWPs of one or more NR frequency bands, [0197-0198] i.e., filter 824 of the repeater device 802, & [0214-0215]), the one or more downlink and uplink signals of the cell between exactly one UE served by the cell and the serving node being a network node (see Para’s [0038] i.e., amplify and forward by the repeater in downlink and uplink directions, [0185], [0196-0198], & [0226] i.e., the repeater device 802 performs various intelligent processing of incoming and outgoing signals without adding to any noticeable increase in latency. In other words, smart amplify-and-forwarding operations are executed by the repeater device).
(Rofougaran suggests the gain adjustment to the uplink and downlink signals performed by the repeater, minimizes the impact of interference and achieves low error communication with the base station in the uplink or UEs in the downlink, (see Para’s [0041], [0185], [0201] i.e., the power control is used by the repeater device to minimize the impact of interference, & [0206])).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date for the control information received by the repeater for controlling the amplify and forward type repeating of the one or more signals as disclosed in Wang in view of LI to include the one or more parameters including a pass-band setting and an amplifier gain setting included in the control information received by the repeater device for dynamically adjusting the pass-band, amplifier gain, and controlling filtering of the signals of the A/F repeating as disclosed in the teachings of Rofougaran, because the motivation lies in Rofougaran that the gain adjustment to the uplink and downlink signals performed by the repeater, minimizes the impact of interference and achieves low error communication with the base station in the uplink or UEs in the downlink.
While Wang discloses the F1 setup response message provides cell information that includes system information (Wang, see Para [0368] i.e., the message includes configuration information related to the anchor node, for example, information of a cell which the anchor node requests the relay node A to activate (such as the identification information, the system information of the anchor node side, and supportable PLMN list information) The combination of Wang in view of LI, and further in view of Rofougaran does not disclose the information configuring which one or more signals of the cell of the serving node are to be repeated. However the claim feature would be rendered obvious in view of Abedini et al. US (2021/0298069).
Abedini discloses system information configuring which one or more signals of the cell of the serving node are to be repeated by repeater (see Para [0091] i.e., Therefore, the repeater would have information indicating a location (e.g., in a time-domain) of SSBs transmitted by the base station (e.g., based on a bitmap received in the system information block 1 (SIB), [0092-0093] i.e., the repeater is to act as a relay between a base station and a UE, [0095] i.e., the access procedure configuration may include an indication of whether the repeater is to forward signals in resources associated with a set of SSBs, & [0096]).
(Abedini suggests the configuration information included in system information configures the repeater with resource allocation information for indicating the resource location of SSBs transmitted by the base station in order to properly forward the signals in the indicated resources and includes smaller amount of information resulting in reduced signaling overhead and improving resource usage efficiency when configuring the repeater, (see Para [0090-0092] & [0096-0097])).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date for the system information included in the F1 setup response message sent to the repeater as disclosed in Wang in view of LI, and further in view of Rofougaran to include the system information configuring which one or more signals such as SSBs of the cell of the serving node are to be repeated by repeater as disclosed in the teachings of Abedini, because the motivation lies in Abedini that the configuration information included in the system information configures the repeater with resource allocation information for indicating the resource location of SSBs transmitted by the base station in order to properly forward the signals in the indicated resources and includes smaller amount of information resulting in reduced signaling overhead and improving resource usage efficiency when configuring the repeater.
Regarding Claim 50, the combination of Wang in view of LI, and further in view of Abedini discloses the method of claim 49, but does not disclose wherein the control information further comprises cell activity information, network deployment information, power level information, or time division duplex (TDD) configuration information for the serving node. However the claim feature would be rendered obvious in view of Rofougaran et al. US (2020/0403689).
Rofougaran discloses wherein the control information further comprises power level information (see Para [0201] i.e., In another implementation, a request in the form of a control message may be communicated to the repeater device 802 to increase or decrease a power back-off (i.e., an amount of power level))
(Rofougaran suggests the gain adjustment to the uplink and downlink signals performed by the repeater, minimizes the impact of interference and achieves low error communication with the base station in the uplink or UEs in the downlink, (see Para’s [0041], [0185], [0201] i.e., the power control is used by the repeater device to minimize the impact of interference, & [0206])).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date for the control information received by the repeater for controlling the amplify and forward type repeating of the one or more signals as disclosed in Wang in view of LI, and further in view of Abedini to further include the power level information in the control information received by the repeater device for dynamically adjusting the pass-band, amplifier gain, and controlling filtering of the signals of the A/F repeating as disclosed in the teachings of Rofougaran, because the motivation lies in Rofougaran that based on the control information, the gain adjustment to the uplink and downlink signals performed by the repeater, minimizes the impact of interference and achieves low error communication with the base station in the uplink or UEs in the downlink.
Regarding Claim 51, the combination of Wang in view of LI, and further in view of Abedini discloses the method of claim 50, but does not disclose the claim feature of wherein the filtering of the one or more signals comprises adjusting filter parameters in real time during the repeating so as to minimize noise amplification while forwarding the signals. However the claim feature would be rendered obvious in view of Rofougaran et al. US (2020/0403689).
Rofougaran discloses wherein the filtering of the one or more signals comprises adjusting filter parameters in real time during the repeating so as to minimize noise amplification while forwarding the signals. (The claim language of “so as to minimize noise amplification while forwarding the signals” is simply a statement of intended use and is not considered limiting to the claim limitation (see Outdry Techs. Corp V. Geox Pg.’s 2-3 regarding statement of intended use), (Rofougaran, see Para’s [0038] i.e., the repeater device includes a filter, where the baseband processor may be further configured to tune a user planes frequency response via the filter in a downlink direction and uplink direction to allow or reject one or more BWPs of one or more NR frequency bands, [0197-0198] i.e., filter 824 of the repeater device 802, [0199], [0201], [0214-0215], & [0227] i.e., repeater device while processing of incoming and outgoing signals does not amplify noise))
(Rofougaran suggests the filtering and processing performed on the uplink and downlink signals by the repeater, achieves the desired signal bandwidth when forwarding the signal and minimizes the impact of interference and achieves low error communication with the base station in the uplink or UEs in the downlink, (see Para’s [0041], [0185], [0201] i.e., the power control is used by the repeater device to minimize the impact of interference, & [0206])).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date for the signal processing performed by the repeater for forwarding signals as disclosed in Wang in view of LI, and further in view of Abedini to perform the filtering of the one or more signals by adjusting filter parameters in real time during the repeating as performed by the repeater as disclosed in Rofougaran, because the motivation lies in Rofougaran that the filtering and processing performed on the uplink and downlink signals by the repeater, achieves the desired signal bandwidth when forwarding the signal and minimizes the impact of interference and achieves low error communication with the base station in the uplink or UEs in the downlink.
Regarding Claim 52, Wang discloses the method of claim 51, wherein the repeater configuration information is obtained from an operations, administration, and maintenance (OAM) center of the radio network rather than being pre-configured during installation. (see Para [0309] i.e., The first node may be an OAM system, [0311], [0331] i.e., when the first node is the OAM or the base station serving for the relay node A, [0332] i.e., The OAM/base station (e.g., first node) transmits a configuration message to the relay node A to configure the relay node).
Regarding Claim 53, the combination of Wang in view of LI, and further in view of Abedini discloses the method of claim 52, but does not disclose the claim feature of wherein the control information is updated a plurality of times during operation, and the repeating is performed in accordance with the most recently received control information. However the claim features would be rendered obvious in view of Rofougaran et al. US (2020/0403689).
Rofougaran discloses wherein the control information is updated a plurality of times during operation, (see Para’s [0041] i.e., Furthermore, the repeater device is highly programmable and can be remotely updated by the RNM server to meet any new requirements and allow or reject one or more bandwidth parts of one or more frequency bands (i.e., “control information may be updated a plurality of times”) [0189] i.e., any update of filter properties, & [0197-0199]).
and the repeating is performed in accordance with the most recently received control information, (see Para’s [0041], [0185] i.e., the repeater device 802 may be further configured to adjust a forward end-to-end gain of the repeater device for a downlink or an uplink communication based on a request received through the control channel, [0197-0199] i.e., repeating operations are based on most recently received control information received through the control channel).
(Rofougaran suggests the repeater device can be updated to meet any new requirements and allow or reject one or more desired bandwidth parts of one or more NR frequency bands in order to meet QoS for 5G NR communication, (see Para’s [0041], [0189], & [0199])).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date for the control information received by the repeater for controlling the amplify and forward type repeating of the one or more signals as disclosed in Wang in view of LI to be updated a plurality of times during operation as disclosed in the teachings of Rofougaran who discloses the repeating is performed in accordance with the most recently received control information, because the motivation lies in Rofougaran that the repeater device can be updated to meet any new requirements and allow or reject one or more desired bandwidth parts of one or more NR frequency bands in order to meet QoS for 5G NR communication.
Regarding Claim 54, Wang discloses the method of claim 53, further comprising dynamically adjusting a transmit power level of the amplify-and-forward repeating in addition to adjusting the pass- band and amplifier gain, and wherein the F1 SETUP REQUEST message is transparently transmitted as a container in an uplink information transfer message of the RRC signaling procedure. (see Para’s [0267] & [0358] i.e., the F1 setup request may be included in the message 2-1-1 in form of a container & [0379])
Conclusion
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/ADNAN BAIG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2461
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