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 .
Priority
Applicant’s claim for the benefit of a prior-filed application, PCT/EP2022/050074 filed 1-4-22, under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) or under 35 U.S.C. 120, 121, 365(c), or 386(c) is acknowledged.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 6-28-24. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Drawings
The drawings were received on 6-28-24. These drawings are acceptable.
Specification
The lengthy specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 65, 69-71, 72, 75-77 & 79-81 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1-2) as being anticipated by Yu (US 2011/0223900 A1).
Regarding Claim 65.
Yu (US 2011/0223900 A1) discloses a method of controlling wireless communication, performed by an access node {Yu: Serving Node 702-Fig.7 or 108-Figs. 1 & 3} of a wireless communication network, the method comprising:
controlling a wireless device {Yu: User Equipment 104-Fig.1} to perform a first uplink wireless transmission {Yu: 706-Fig.7} receivable by a further access node {Yu: Uplink Supplemental Node 704-Fig.7} of the wireless communication network;
receiving, from the further access node {Yu: Uplink Supplemental Node 704-Fig.7}, beamforming feedback {Yu: Acknowledgment 710-Fig.7} related to the first uplink wireless transmission {Yu: 706-Fig.7 & 708-Fig.7}, wherein the beamforming feedback indicates at least one beamforming parameter to be applied by the wireless device in sending a second uplink wireless transmission {Yu: Uplink Transmission 714-Fig.7}, wherein the at least one beamforming parameter comprises a Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) State identifier, a Transmitted Precoding Matrix Indicator (TPMI), a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) Resource Indicator (SRI), and/or a Transmission Rank Indicator (TRI) {Yu: ¶0129 wherein “link adaptation of the downlink between a downlink supplemental node and user equipment may be based on channel quality indicator, pre-coding matrix indicator, and rank indication feedback from the user equipment to the serving node.”}; and
controlling, based on the received beamforming feedback, beamforming of the second uplink wireless transmission {Yu: Uplink Transmission 714-Fig.7} from the wireless device to the further access node by sending control data comprising the at least one beamforming parameter to the wireless device {Yu: Uplink Scheduling Grant 712-Fig.7};
wherein the further access node is capable of receiving uplink wireless transmissions and is incapable of sending downlink wireless transmissions {Yu: Fig.7 wherein Uplink Supplemental Node is capable of receiving Uplink Scheduling Parameters 708-Fig.7 and transmitting Acknowledgment 710-Fig.7}.
Regarding Claim 69. With the same reasons as set forth in the method of claim 65, wherein the beamforming feedback {Yu: Acknowledgment 710-Fig.7} comprises a signal representation of the first uplink wireless transmission {Yu: ¶0095 wherein “In response, each uplink supplemental node in the uplink supplemental node set prepares to receive the uplink transmission from user equipment 700 at the scheduled time. In accordance with an illustrative embodiment, serving node 702 may, but need not, receive acknowledgement 710 from each uplink supplemental node for the scheduling information provided by serving node 702”; In other words, the Acknowledgment 710-Fig.7 comprising a grant to the UE’s request to transmit 706-Fig.7, emphasis added}.
Regarding Claim 70. With the same reasons as set forth in the method of claim 69, further comprising:
determining, based on the signal representation {Yu: the grant is inherent in the Acknowledgment 710-Fig.7}, the at least one beamforming parameter to be applied by the wireless device in sending the second uplink wireless transmission; and
sending control data {Yu: Uplink Scheduling Grant 712-Fig.7} comprising the at least one beamforming parameter to the wireless device.
Regarding Claim 71. With the same reasons as set forth in the method of claim 65, wherein the beamforming feedback is further based on interference of a third uplink wireless transmission to the first uplink wireless transmission {Yu: ¶0096-¶0097, e.g. ¶0096 wherein “To reduce interference or resource contention, serving node 702 and uplink supplemental node 704 preferably should avoid scheduling transmissions from other user equipment in the same cell during the scheduled transmission time interval for the indicated resource block. For example, in accordance with an illustrative embodiment, certain resource blocks may be reserved for uplink supplemental node operation. Such reserved resource blocks may define an uplink supplemental node "resource zone". Serving node 702 will then use the resource blocks from this resource zone when serving node 702 schedules user equipment transmissions that involve uplink supplemental node assistance. While uplink supplemental node 704 receives the scheduling parameters, it simply receives the uplink transmission, and there is no conflict. Alternatively, when uplink supplemental node 704 receives the scheduling parameters from serving node 702 it does not automatically schedule the indicated resource blocks in the indicated transmission time interval. If the indicated resource blocks are used by uplink supplemental node 704 for high priority transmissions, such as voice service, then uplink supplemental node 704 may notify serving node 702 that it will not be involved in uplink reception for the indicated transmission time interval.”}.
Regarding Claim 72.
Yu (US 2011/0223900 A1) discloses a method of controlling wireless communication, performed by an access node {Yu: Serving Node 702-Fig.7 or 108-Figs.1 & 3} of a wireless communication network, the method comprising:
receiving a first uplink wireless transmission from a wireless device {Yu: Request to Transmit 706-Fig.7};
determining beamforming feedback related to the first uplink wireless transmission {Yu: ¶0095 wherein “In response to receiving request to transmit 706 from user equipment 700, serving node 702 establishes uplink scheduling parameters 708. For example, in response to receiving request to transmit 706 from user equipment 700, serving node 702 may schedule uplink resource blocks, transmission time intervals, the modulation and coding scheme, and transmission modes for user equipment 700. Serving node sends uplink scheduling parameters 708 to each uplink supplemental node in the uplink supplemental node set”}, wherein the beamforming feedback indicates at least one beamforming parameter to be applied by the wireless device in sending a second uplink wireless transmission, wherein the at least one beamforming parameter comprises a Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) State identifier, a Transmitted Precoding Matrix Indicator (TPMI), a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) Resource Indicator (SRI), and/or a Transmission Rank Indicator (TRI) {Yu: ¶0129 wherein “link adaptation of the downlink between a downlink supplemental node and user equipment may be based on channel quality indicator, pre-coding matrix indicator, and rank indication feedback from the user equipment to the serving node.”}; and
sending the beamforming feedback {Yu: 708-Fig.7} to a further access node {Yu: Uplink Supplemental Node 704-Fig.7} of the wireless communication network, wherein the beamforming feedback enables the further access node to control beamforming of the second uplink wireless transmission {Yu: Uplink Transmission 714-Fig.7} from the wireless device to the access node by sending control data {Yu: Acknowledgment 710-Fig.7} comprising the at least one beamforming parameter{Yu: Uplink Scheduling Grant 712 in Fig.7} to the wireless device {Yu: ¶0095-¶0097};
wherein the access node is capable of receiving uplink wireless transmissions and is incapable of sending downlink wireless transmissions {Yu: Fig.7 wherein Serving Node is capable of receiving Request to Transmit 706-Fig.7 & Acknowledgment 710-Fig.7 and transmitting Uplink Scheduling Parameters 708-Fig.7 & Uplink Scheduling Grant 712-Fig.7}.
Regarding Claim 74. With the same reasons as set forth in the method of claim 72, Yu does not explicitly disclose wherein the beamforming feedback comprises at least one channel estimate based on the first uplink wireless transmission.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Sahin (US 2023/0131135 A1) disclose wherein the beamforming feedback comprises at least one channel estimate based on the first uplink wireless transmission {Sahin: 330-Fig.3 & ¶0022 wherein “At step 330, the RU 310 may perform an SRS-based channel estimation to produce an SRS-based channel matrix using the received SRS. The SRS-based channel matrix may be computed by an SRS-based least squares channel estimation. The RU 310 may estimate strengths for a plurality of pre-determined beams for each antenna of each of the plurality of UEs by performing a 2D-DFT on the SRS-based channel matrix for each of the plurality of UEs. At step 335, the RU 310 may send the SRS-based channel matrix along with a list of k strongest beams and their complex values, and a rank for each of the plurality of UEs to an L1 321 of a DU associated with the gNB over the fronthaul interface 115.”} 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 Sahin’s teaching to Yu’s system with the motivation being to “calculating UL beamformer matrix per physical resource block group (PRG) and to improve the performance of UL MU MIMO in cellular networks.”{Sahin: ¶0004}
Regarding Claim 75. The method of claim 72, wherein the beamforming feedback comprises a signal representation of the first uplink wireless transmission.
-Claim 75 is rejected with the same reasons as set forth in claim 69.
Regarding Claim 76. The method of claim 72, further comprising:
receiving a third uplink wireless transmission from another wireless device {Yu: ¶0096 wherein “To reduce interference or resource contention, serving node 702 and uplink supplemental node 704 preferably should avoid scheduling transmissions from other user equipment in the same cell during the scheduled transmission time interval for the indicated resource block.” In other words, the serving node 702-Fig.7 does receive other request to transmit from another UE, emphasis added}; and
determining the beamforming feedback further based on interference of the third uplink wireless transmission to the first uplink wireless transmission {Yu: ¶0096-¶0097, e.g. ¶0096 wherein “To reduce interference or resource contention, serving node 702 and uplink supplemental node 704 preferably should avoid scheduling transmissions from other user equipment in the same cell during the scheduled transmission time interval for the indicated resource block. For example, in accordance with an illustrative embodiment, certain resource blocks may be reserved for uplink supplemental node operation. Such reserved resource blocks may define an uplink supplemental node "resource zone". Serving node 702 will then use the resource blocks from this resource zone when serving node 702 schedules user equipment transmissions that involve uplink supplemental node assistance. While uplink supplemental node 704 receives the scheduling parameters, it simply receives the uplink transmission, and there is no conflict. Alternatively, when uplink supplemental node 704 receives the scheduling parameters from serving node 702 it does not automatically schedule the indicated resource blocks in the indicated transmission time interval. If the indicated resource blocks are used by uplink supplemental node 704 for high priority transmissions, such as voice service, then uplink supplemental node 704 may notify serving node 702 that it will not be involved in uplink reception for the indicated transmission time interval.”}.
Regarding Claim 77.
Yu (US 2011/0223900 A1) discloses a method of controlling wireless communication, performed by a wireless device {Yu: UE 200-Fig.2, UE 104-Fig.1}, the method comprising:
performing a first uplink wireless transmission {Yu: Request to Transmit 706-Fig.7} receivable by an access node {Yu: Serving Node 702-Fig.7} of a wireless communication network;
receiving, in response to the first uplink wireless transmission, control data {Yu: Uplink Scheduling Grant 712-Fig.7} comprising at least one beamforming parameter {Yu: Acknowledgment 710-Fig.7} from a further access node {Yu: Uplink Supplemental Node 704-Fig.7} of the wireless communication network, wherein the at least one beamforming parameter comprises a Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) State identifier, a Transmitted Precoding Matrix Indicator (TPMI), a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) Resource Indicator (SRI), and/or a Transmission Rank Indicator (TRI) {Yu: ¶0129 wherein “link adaptation of the downlink between a downlink supplemental node and user equipment may be based on channel quality indicator, pre-coding matrix indicator, and rank indication feedback from the user equipment to the serving node.”}; and
performing, based on the received at least one beamforming parameter {Yu: Uplink Scheduling Grant 712-Fig.7}, a beamformed second uplink wireless transmission {Yu: Uplink Transmission 714-Fig.7} to the access node;
wherein the access node is capable of receiving uplink wireless transmissions and is incapable of sending downlink wireless transmissions {Yu: Fig.7 wherein Serving Node is capable of receiving Request to Transmit 706-Fig.7 & Acknowledgment 710-Fig.7 and transmitting Uplink Scheduling Parameters 708-Fig.7 & Uplink Scheduling Grant 712-Fig.7}.
Regarding Claim 79.
-Claim 79 is rejected with the same reasons as set forth in claim 65 and further as following:
An access node of a wireless communication network, the access node {Yu: Serving Node 702-Fig.7; 108-Figs.1 & 3} comprising:
at least one processor {Yu: Processor 304-Fig.3 & ¶0055}; and
a memory {Yu: memory 306-Fig.3 & ¶0056} containing program code executable by the at least one processor;
wherein execution of the program code by the at least one processor causes the access node to {Yu: ¶0055, ¶0059-¶0063}:
control a wireless device to perform a first uplink wireless transmission receivable by a further access node of the wireless communication network;
receive, from the further access node, beamforming feedback related to the first uplink wireless transmission, wherein the beamforming feedback indicates at least one beamforming parameter to be applied by the wireless device in sending a second uplink wireless transmission, wherein the at least one beamforming parameter comprises a Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) State identifier, a Transmitted Precoding Matrix Indicator (TPMI), a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) Resource Indicator (SRI), and/or a Transmission Rank Indicator (TRI); and
control, based on the received beamforming feedback, beamforming of the second uplink wireless transmission from the wireless device to the further access node by sending control data comprising the at least one beamforming parameter to the wireless device;
wherein the further access node is capable of receiving uplink wireless transmissions and incapable of sending downlink wireless transmissions.
Regarding Claim 80.
-Claim 80 is rejected with the same reasons as set forth in claim 72 and further as following:
An access node {Yu: 108-Figs.1 & 3} of a wireless communication network, the access node comprising:
at least one processor {Yu: Processor 304-Fig.3 & ¶0055}; and
a memory {Yu: memory 306-Fig.3 & ¶0056} containing program code executable by the at least one processor;
wherein execution of the program code by the at least one processor causes the access node to {Yu: ¶0055, ¶0059-¶0063}:
receive a first uplink wireless transmission from a wireless device;
determine beamforming feedback related to the first uplink wireless transmission, wherein the beamforming feedback indicates at least one beamforming parameter to be applied by the wireless device in sending a second uplink wireless transmission, wherein the at least one beamforming parameter comprises a Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) State identifier, a Transmitted Precoding Matrix Indicator (TPMI), a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) Resource Indicator (SRI), and/or a Transmission Rank Indicator (TRI); and
send the beamforming feedback to a further access node of the wireless communication network, wherein the beamforming feedback enables the further access node to control beamforming of the second uplink wireless transmission from the wireless device to the access node by sending control data comprising the at least one beamforming parameter to the wireless device; wherein the access node is capable of receiving uplink wireless transmissions and is incapable of sending downlink wireless transmissions.
Regarding Claim 81.
-Claim 81 is rejected with the same reasons as set forth in claim 77 and further as following:
A wireless device {Yu: UE 200-Fig.2 & UE 104-Fig.1} for operation in a wireless communication network, the wireless device comprising:
at least one processor {Yu: processor 202-Fig.2 & ¶0041}; and
a memory {Yu: storage media 206-Fig.2 & ¶0042} containing program code executable by the at least one processor;
wherein execution of the program code by the at least one processor causes the wireless device to {Yu: ¶0041-¶0042 & ¶0045}:
perform a first uplink wireless transmission receivable by an access node of the wireless communication network;
receive, in response to the first uplink wireless transmission, control data comprising at least one beamforming parameter from a further access node of the wireless communication network, wherein the at least one beamforming parameter comprises a Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) State identifier, a Transmitted Precoding Matrix Indicator (TPMI), a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) Resource Indicator (SRI), and/or a Transmission Rank Indicator (TRI); and
perform, based on the received at least one beamforming parameter, a beamformed second uplink wireless transmission to the access node;
wherein the access node is capable of receiving UL wireless transmissions and is not capable of sending DL wireless transmissions.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim(s) 66, 73 & 78 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yu (US 2011/0223900 A1) in view of Sahin (US 20230131135 A1).
Regarding Claim 66. With the same reasons as set forth in the method of claim 65, Yu does not explicitly disclose wherein the first uplink wireless transmission comprises at least one SRS.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Sahin (US 20230131135 A1) disclose wherein the first uplink wireless transmission comprises at least one SRS {Sahin: Fig.3 & ¶0022 wherein “An RU 310 associated with a gNB may receive SRS from a plurality of UEs associated with the gNB”, see also ¶0005}. 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 Sahin’s teaching to Yu’s system with the motivation being for “calculating an UL beamformer matrix”{Sahin: ¶0004}.
Regarding Claim 73. The method of claim 72, wherein the first uplink wireless transmission comprises at least one SRS.
-Claim 73 is rejected with the same reasons as set forth in claim 66.
Regarding Claim 78. The method of claim 77, wherein the first uplink wireless transmission comprises at least one SRS.
-Claim 78 is rejected with the same reasons as set forth in claim 66.
Claim(s) 67-68 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yu (US 2011/0223900 A1) in view of Huang (US 2025/0063586 A1).
Regarding Claim 67. With the same reasons as set forth in the method of claim 65, wherein the beamforming feedback comprises at least one channel estimate based on the first uplink wireless transmission.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Huang (US 2025/0063586 A1) disclose wherein the beamforming feedback comprises at least one channel estimate based on the first uplink wireless transmission {Huang: ¶0009 wherein “If the channel estimation is conducted at the BBU instead, each RU will need to send the received reference signal to the BBU via the fronthaul link. The data amount sent from RU l will be N.sub.l complex values per resource element (RE) of the scheduled reference signal, e.g., Sounding Reference Signal (SRS)”}. 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 Huang’s teaching to Yu’s system with the motivation being to “increase the traffic load in both the aggregated star-topology and the cascaded topology”{Huang: ¶0009}.
Regarding Claim 68. With the same reasons as set forth in the method of claim 67, Yu does not explicitly comprise: determining, based on the at least one channel estimate, at least one beamforming parameter to be applied by the wireless device in sending the second uplink wireless transmission; and sending control data comprising the at least one beamforming parameter to the wireless device.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Huang (US 2025/0063586 A1) disclose “determining, based on the at least one channel estimate, at least one beamforming parameter to be applied by the wireless device in sending the second uplink wireless transmission” {Huang: 204-Fig.4 & 206-Fig.4 wherein the RU “obtaining 204 a first UL channel estimate Ĥ.sub.1 of a communication channel between the first number of UEs 181, 182, 183 and the first RU 140. The method further comprises determining 206 first intermediate BFW C.sub.1 to be used for centralized interference mitigation, based on the first UL channel estimate Ĥ.sub.1”}; “and sending control data comprising the at least one beamforming parameter to the wireless device”{Huang: 208-Fig.4 wherein the RU “sending 208, to the first AU 120, at least a part of the determined first intermediate BFW C.sub.1”}. 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 Huang’s teaching to Yu’s system with the motivation being for “scheduling information, such as information regarding reference signals sent by the first number of UEs and IDs of the first number of UEs sending the reference signals”{Huang: ¶0042}.
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Pamp (US 8315629 B2, same assignee) discloses that a base station reduces interference from user equipment operating in a neighboring cell by monitoring one or more channels of neighboring base stations to receive a signal transmitted by a user equipment that is being served by one of the neighboring base stations, and detecting when a power level of the signal transmitted by the user equipment exceeds a threshold power level. The base station then uses the received signal transmitted by the user equipment to acquire an identifier of the user equipment. The base station then communicates with a network node of the mobile communication system to arrange for it to serve the user equipment itself but in only the uplink direction. The neighboring base station continues to serve the user equipment in the downlink direction in what is now an asymmetrical uplink/downlink connection {Claims 1-19}.
Soriaga (US 10505597 B2) discloses wireless communications and, more particularly, to reference signals (RS) and link adaptation for massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO). In one aspect, a method is provided which may be performed by a wireless device such as a base station (BS). The method generally includes receiving sounding reference signals (SRS) and at least one of: feedback regarding interference or a whitening matrix from one or more user equipments (UEs), determining beamforming parameters for transmissions to a group of one or more UEs based, at least in part, on the SRS and at least one of: the feedback regarding interference or the whitening matrix, and transmitting channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS) to UEs in the group using the determined beamforming parameters {Figs.1-20}.
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/PHUONGCHAU BA NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2464
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