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 .
Priorities and Examiner Remarks
This application is a National Stage entry of PCT/FI2023/050050 (international filing date: 01/24/2023), which claims foreign priority to applications of FINLAND: 20225062 (filed 01/26/2022) and 20225394 (filed 05/06/2022),
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.
The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or non-obviousness.
Claims 1-4, and 6-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over NI et al. (WO 2021/244532 A1, hereinafter NI, corresponding US 20230096819 A1 is used for translation and citation below), in view of Wu et al. (US 20090227291 A1, cited in IDS, hereinafter Wu).
Regarding claim 1,
NI teaches an apparatus, comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code; the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor (NI, see at least fig. 24, e.g. various apparatus components),
cause the apparatus at least to (NI, in general, see fig. 12-13 and their corresponding paragraphs for uplink and downlink communications; see also sections including para. 143-146 of fig. 9 for relevant information related to antenna orientations):
transmit or receive, by an access node of a first cell with at least one antenna, at least one signal to or from at least one edge area of the first cell using (i) single-polarization or single-orbital angular momentum (OAM) mode communication (NI, see at least para. 194-197 disclosing steps 205-206, in particular, para. 197 in view of para. 125 and 146, “...S206. The terminal device sends a second OAM reference signal to the network device in the second beam direction. Specifically, the second OAM reference signal may be borne on a second OAM composite beam, and the second OAM composite beam may be a composite beam of a linearly polarized beam and an OAM beam...”, note that para. 125 discloses “...each antenna element may be a single polarization element, a dual polarization element, or a triple polarization element...”, also note that per para. 146, examiner interprets either a vertical antenna, a horizontal antenna, or both can be used);
and (ii) a first antenna configuration comprising a first antenna direction configured to direct the at least one signal to the at least one edge area of the first cell (NI, see at least para. 195, “...the network device may select most appropriate beamforming directions for different terminal devices based on spatial locations of propagation axes of OAM-RS s from a plurality of different terminal devices and by comprehensively considering overall transmission performance of the plurality of terminal devices. Herein, a principle of selecting the most appropriate beamforming direction includes but is not limited to ... a principle of ensuring quality of service of an edge user of a cell...”, in other words, beamforming directions are for edge users and non-edge users of a cell);
and
transmit or receive, by the access node of the first cell with the at least one antenna, at least one signal to or from at least one non-edge area of the first cell using (i) multi-polarization or multi-OAM mode communication with the first polarization or OAM mode and at least a second polarization or OAM mode (NI, see at least para. 194-197 disclosing steps 205-206, in particular, para. 197 in view of para. 125 and 146, “...the second OAM reference signal may be borne on a second OAM composite beam, and the second OAM composite beam may be a composite beam of a linearly polarized beam and an OAM beam...”, ...”, note that para. 125 discloses “...each antenna element may be a single polarization element, a dual polarization element, or a triple polarization element...”,
and (ii) a second antenna configuration comprising a second antenna direction configured to direct the at least one signal to the at least one non-edge area of the first cell (NI, see at least para. 195, “...the network device may select most appropriate beamforming directions for different terminal devices based on spatial locations of propagation axes of OAM-RS s from a plurality of different terminal devices and by comprehensively considering overall transmission performance of the plurality of terminal devices. Herein, a principle of selecting the most appropriate beamforming direction includes but is not limited to ... a principle of ensuring quality of service of an edge user of a cell...”, in other words, beamforming directions are for edge users and non-edge users of a cell).
NI does not specifically teach (a) a first antenna tilt configured to direct ... to the at least one edge area, a second antenna tilt configured to direct ... to the at least one non-edge area; (and b) wherein the second polarization or OAM mode is orthogonal to the first polarization or OAM mode and configured for single-polarization or single-OAM mode communication at at least one edge area of a second cell, wherein the second cell is adjacent to the first cell.
Wu teaches (a) a first antenna tilt configured to direct ... to the at least one edge area, a second antenna tilt configured to direct ... to the at least one non-edge area (Wu, in general, see fig. 1-2 and paragraphs 19-23, in particular, see at least para. 21, e.g. fig. 2 shows a cell (or any given cell) has an inner or an outer region respectively serve by polarized antennas);
(and b) wherein the second polarization or OAM mode is substantially orthogonal to the first polarization or OAM mode (Wu, see at least fig. 2, e.g. a vertical antennas is orthogonal to horizontal antennas)
and configured for single-polarization or single-OAM mode communication at at least one edge area of a second cell (Wu, see at least fig. 2, e.g. cell edge of cell 202 is assigned with vertical antennas, whereas cell edge of cell 204 is assigned with horizontal antennas),
wherein the second cell is adjacent to the first cell (Wu, see at least fig. 2, e.g. cell 202 is adjacent to cell 204).
Therefore, it would have been obvious, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to a person having ordinary skill in the art to incorporate Wu into NI such that the inter-cell interference is greatly reduced and a boost in system capacity can be achieved without introducing too much additional overhead into a system (Wu, see para. 8).
Regarding claim 2, NI in view of Wu teaches claim 1.
NI further teaches transmit, to a device, a condition for applying the single-polarization or single-OAM mode communication or the multi-polarization or multi-OAM mode communication at least at the first cell, wherein the condition comprises a threshold for a received signal strength (Ni, see at least para. 195, “...The first indication information includes but is not limited to information such as the first spatial location that is estimated by the network device for the terminal device and that is of the propagation axis, a layer 1 reference signal received power (layer 1 reference signal received power, L1-RSRP) obtained by the network device by listening to the OAM-RS, and a beamforming direction (namely, the second beam direction) that is selected by the network device for the terminal device and that is used when a signal is sent next time...”).
Regarding claim 3, NI in view of Wu teaches claim 1.
NI further teaches receive, from a device, an indication of a received signal strength (NI, see at least para. 209, “... In a subsequent downlink communication process, the network device preferably sends a signal by using a specified spatial filter solution. Herein, the spatial filter solution includes a beamforming direction (namely, the third beamforming direction) during next sending. In addition, the terminal device further feeds back, to the network device, an L1-RSRP corresponding to each BF-CSI-RS...”);
and determine to transmit or receive the at least one signal to or from the device using the multi-polarization or multi-OAM mode communication, in response to determining that the received signal strength exceeds a threshold (NI, see at least para. 210-211 along with para. 199, “... the third OAM reference signal may be an OAM-RS. The third OAM reference signal may be borne on a composite beam of a linearly polarized beam and an OAM beam...”, note that para. 199 discloses “...In the second step, when L1-RSRPs corresponding to different OAM-RSs are all greater than or equal to a preset threshold, a plurality of antenna elements are separately deployed at spatial locations with strongest electric field amplitudes in a plurality of OAM modes, where mapping points of azimuths of the plurality of antenna elements around the propagation axis are evenly distributed. When some or all L1-RSRPs are less than a preset threshold, an OAM mode having a maximum L1-RSRP value is selected, and then a plurality of antenna elements are deployed at a spatial location with a strongest or relatively strong electric field amplitude in the OAM mode, where mapping points of azimuths of the plurality of antenna elements around the propagation axis are evenly distributed...”).
Regarding claim 4, NI in view of Wu teaches claim 3.
NI further teaches transmit or receive the at least one signal using the single-polarization or single-OAM mode communication or the multi-polarization or multi-OAM mode communication with a beam directed towards the device (NI, see at least para. 210-211 along with para. 199, “... the third OAM reference signal may be an OAM-RS. The third OAM reference signal may be borne on a composite beam of a linearly polarized beam and an OAM beam...”).
Regarding claim 6, NI in view of Wu teaches claim 2.
NI further teaches wherein the received signal strength comprises a carrier-to-interference ratio, a signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio, or a reference signal received power of the first cell (Ni, see at least para. 195, “...The first indication information includes but is not limited to information such as the first spatial location that is estimated by the network device for the terminal device and that is of the propagation axis, a layer 1 reference signal received power (layer 1 reference signal received power, L1-RSRP) obtained by the network device by listening to the OAM-RS, and a beamforming direction (namely, the second beam direction) that is selected by the network device for the terminal device and that is used when a signal is sent next time...”).
Regarding claim 7, NI in view of Wu teaches claim 1.
NI does not specifically wherein the first polarization or OAM mode is configured for single-polarization or single-OAM mode communication at at least one edge area of a third cell, wherein the third cell is adjacent to the second cell, and wherein the first cell, the second cell, and the third cell are located in a linear pattern.
Wu teaches wherein the first polarization or OAM mode is configured for single-polarization or single-OAM mode communication at at least one edge area of a third cell, wherein the third cell is adjacent to the second cell, and wherein the first cell, the second cell, and the third cell are located in a substantially linear pattern (Wu, in general, see fig. 1-2 and paragraphs 19-23, in particular, see at least para. 21 and fig. 2, for example, see outer region of the cell 202, and see any three cell in-line along with their outer regions).
Therefore, it would have been obvious, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to a person having ordinary skill in the art to incorporate Wu into NI such that the inter-cell interference is greatly reduced and a boost in system capacity can be achieved without introducing too much additional overhead into a system (Wu, see para. 8).
Regarding claim 8, NI teaches an apparatus, comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code; the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor (NI, see at least fig. 24, e.g. various apparatus components),
cause the apparatus at least to (NI, in general, see fig. 12-13 and their corresponding paragraphs for uplink and downlink communications; see also sections including para. 143-146 of fig. 9 for relevant information related to antenna orientations):
determine to transmit or receive at least one signal using single-polarization or single-OAM communication with a first polarization or OAM mode at a first cell, in response to determining that a received signal strength of the first cell does not exceed a threshold, or in response to receiving, from an access node of the first cell, a request for single-polarization or single-OAM communication at the first cell (NI, see at least para. 194-197 disclosing steps 205-206, in particular, para. 197 in view of para. 125 and 167, “...S206. The terminal device sends a second OAM reference signal to the network device in the second beam direction. Specifically, the second OAM reference signal may be borne on a second OAM composite beam, and the second OAM composite beam may be a composite beam of a linearly polarized beam and an OAM beam...”, note that para. 125 discloses “...each antenna element may be a single polarization element, a dual polarization element, or a triple polarization element...”, also note that para. 167 discloses “...The network device or the terminal device sends joint transceiving manner request (Joint-TRX-Request) signaling to the peer end, to recommend a transmit-end communication module configuration manner and a receive-end communication module configuration manner in current communication. Herein, a transmit-end communication module configuration manner set includes: using only MIMO precoding, using only OAM mode modulation, and jointly using MIMO precoding and OAM mode modulation...”);
determine to transmit or receive at least one signal using multi-polarization or multi-OAM communication with the first polarization or OAM mode and at least a second polarization or OAM mode at the first cell, in response to determining that the received signal strength of the first cell exceeds the threshold, or in response to receiving, from the access node of the first cell, a request for multi-polarization or multi-OAM communication at the first cell (NI, see at least para. 194-197 disclosing steps 205-206, in particular, para. 197 in view of para. 125 and 167, “...S206. The terminal device sends a second OAM reference signal to the network device in the second beam direction. Specifically, the second OAM reference signal may be borne on a second OAM composite beam, and the second OAM composite beam may be a composite beam of a linearly polarized beam and an OAM beam...”, note that para. 125 discloses “...each antenna element may be a single polarization element, a dual polarization element, or a triple polarization element...”, also note that para. 167 discloses “...The network device or the terminal device sends joint transceiving manner request (Joint-TRX-Request) signaling to the peer end, to recommend a transmit-end communication module configuration manner and a receive-end communication module configuration manner in current communication. Herein, a transmit-end communication module configuration manner set includes: using only MIMO precoding, using only OAM mode modulation, and jointly using MIMO precoding and OAM mode modulation...”);
and
transmit or receive the at least one signal to or from the first cell using the single-polarization or single-OAM communication or the multi-polarization or multi-OAM communication (NI, see at least para. 194-197 disclosing steps 205-206, in particular, para. 197 in view of para. 125 and 167, “...S206. The terminal device sends a second OAM reference signal to the network device in the second beam direction. Specifically, the second OAM reference signal may be borne on a second OAM composite beam, and the second OAM composite beam may be a composite beam of a linearly polarized beam and an OAM beam...”)
or
transmit an indication of the single-polarization or single-OAM communication or the multi-polarization or multi-OAM communication to an external antenna device for transmission or reception of the at least one signal to or from the first cell via the external antenna device.
NI does not specifically teach wherein the second polarization or OAM mode is orthogonal to the first polarization or OAM mode.
Wu teaches wherein the second polarization or OAM mode is orthogonal to the first polarization or OAM mode (Wu, see at least fig. 2, e.g. a vertical antennas is orthogonal to horizontal antennas).
Therefore, it would have been obvious, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to a person having ordinary skill in the art to incorporate Wu into NI such that the inter-cell interference is greatly reduced and a boost in system capacity can be achieved without introducing too much additional overhead into a system (Wu, see para. 8).
Regarding claim 9, NI in view of Wu teaches claim 8.
NI does not specifically wherein the second polarization or OAM mode is configured for single-polarization or single-OAM mode communication at at least one edge area of a second cell, wherein the second cell is adjacent to the first cell.
Wu teaches wherein the second polarization or OAM mode is configured for single-polarization or single-OAM mode communication at at least one edge area of a second cell, wherein the second cell is adjacent to the first cell (Wu, in general, see fig. 1-2 and paragraphs 19-23, in particular, see at least para. 21 and fig. 2, for example, see outer region of the cell 202, and see cell 202 that is adjacent to cell 204).
Therefore, it would have been obvious, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to a person having ordinary skill in the art to incorporate Wu into NI such that the inter-cell interference is greatly reduced and a boost in system capacity can be achieved without introducing too much additional overhead into a system (Wu, see para. 8).
Regarding claim 10, NI in view of Wu teaches claim 8.
NI further teaches wherein the threshold for the received signal strength is pre-configured at the apparatus (NI, see at least para. 199, e.g. preset threshold).
Regarding claim 11, NI in view of Wu teaches claim 8.
NI further teaches receive, from the access node of the first cell, a condition for using the single-polarization or single-OAM mode communication or the multi-polarization or multi-OAM communication at least at the first cell, wherein the condition comprises the threshold for the received signal strength. (Ni, see at least para. 195, “...The first indication information includes but is not limited to information such as the first spatial location that is estimated by the network device for the terminal device and that is of the propagation axis, a layer 1 reference signal received power (layer 1 reference signal received power, L1-RSRP) obtained by the network device by listening to the OAM-RS, and a beamforming direction (namely, the second beam direction) that is selected by the network device for the terminal device and that is used when a signal is sent next time...”).
Regarding claim 12, NI in view of Wu teaches claim 8.
NI further teaches measure the received signal strength of the first cell; and transmit an indication of the received signal strength of the first cell to the access node (NI, see at least para. 209 along with para. 160, “... In a subsequent downlink communication process, the network device preferably sends a signal by using a specified spatial filter solution. Herein, the spatial filter solution includes a beamforming direction (namely, the third beamforming direction) during next sending. In addition, the terminal device further feeds back, to the network device, an L1-RSRP corresponding to each BF-CSI-RS...”).
Regarding claim 13, NI in view of Wu teaches claim 8.
NI further teaches select a first antenna configuration for a polarization or a OAM communication with the first polarization or OAM mode based on received signal strength measurements of a plurality of antenna configurations configured for different polarizations or OAM modes. (NI, see at least para. 199 in view of para. 195, note that “..., a principle of selecting the most appropriate beamforming direction includes but is not limited to a principle of maximizing a system throughput, a principle of proportional fairness between a plurality of users, and a principle of ensuring quality of service of an edge user of a cell...”; also note that “...a design method for selecting a physical antenna includes: In a first step, it is determined whether the first spatial location that is of the propagation axis and that is estimated in step S204 falls within a spatial range of a physical antenna array deployed by the network device; and if the first spatial location falls within the spatial range, a second step is performed; or if the first spatial location does not fall within the spatial range, a third step is performed. In the second step, when L1-RSRPs corresponding to different OAM-RSs are all greater than or equal to a preset threshold, a plurality of antenna elements are separately deployed at spatial locations with strongest electric field amplitudes in a plurality of OAM modes, where mapping points of azimuths of the plurality of antenna elements around the propagation axis are evenly distributed. When some or all L1-RSRPs are less than a preset threshold, an OAM mode having a maximum L1-RSRP value is selected, and then a plurality of antenna elements are deployed at a spatial location with a strongest or relatively strong electric field amplitude in the OAM mode, where mapping points of azimuths of the plurality of antenna elements around the propagation axis are evenly distributed...”).
NI does not teach the single-polarization or single-OAM communication with the first polarization or OAM mode.
Wu teaches wherein the single-polarization or single-OAM communication with the first polarization or OAM mode (Wu, in general, see fig. 1-2 and paragraphs 19-23, in particular, see at least para. 21 and fig. 2, “...the wireless terminal situated in the outer boundary region of the cell may be served by a base station vertical polarized antenna...”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to a person having ordinary skill in the art to incorporate Wu into NI such that the inter-cell interference is greatly reduced and a boost in system capacity can be achieved without introducing too much additional overhead into a system (Wu, see para. 8).
Regarding claim 14, this claim is rejected for the same reasoning as claim 1 except this claim is in method claim format.
Regarding claim 15, this claim is rejected for the same reasoning as claim 8 except this claim is in method claim format.
Regarding claim 16, NI in view of Wu teaches claim 1.
NI does not specifically wherein the dominance area of the cell comprises a geographical area in which the cell has a strongest signal compared to other cells.
Wu teaches wherein the dominance area of the cell comprises a geographical area in which the cell has a strongest signal compared to other cells (Wu, see at least para. 21 and fig. 2, for one non-limiting example, “...For example, a first type of cell can use more power on the vertical direction and less power on the horizontal direction. For second type cells, they operate in an opposite way, i.e., they put more power on the horizontal direction and less power on the vertical direction. It should be appreciated that in the center part of a cell, each of the wireless terminals, e.g., mobiles, can be served by both base station antennas, while in the outer regions of the cell, the wireless terminal, e.g., mobile, will be served by a base station polarization antenna transmitting at a sufficient power level from the perspective of the wireless terminal...”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to a person having ordinary skill in the art to incorporate Wu into NI such that the inter-cell interference is greatly reduced and a boost in system capacity can be achieved without introducing too much additional overhead into a system (Wu, see para. 8).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 07/07/2026 have been fully considered. Regarding independent claims 1, 8, 14, and 15, since applicant's amendment necessitated new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action, previous Office action's rejections are moot. Accordingly, corresponding dependent claims have also been rejected in this Office action.
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 YEE F LAM whose telephone number is (571)270-7577. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8am-5pm. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Ayman Abaza can be reached on 571-270-0422. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/YEE F LAM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2465
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