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 .
Status of Claims
Claims 1-5 are pending in the instant application.
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant's claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in Foreign Application Priority No. 202321089373, filed on Dec. 28, 2023.
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 1-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor, regards as the invention.
The phrases “if the computed objective function is not positive” (in claims 1 and 4, 5th limitation) and “if the computed objective function is positive” (in claims 1 and 4, 6th limitation) are indefinite and ambiguous. Objective functions are either maximized or minimized against a goal. The claims fail to provide a baseline reference (a starting point) to define what makes the function “positive” or “not positive”. Objective functions are tools used to maximize or minimize values against an optimization goal, such as improving data throughput or reducing packet loss. They produce mathematical results, not vague “positive” or “negative” states. Assessing a function requires a concrete mathematical metric or a specific threshold value. Claims 2, 3 and 5 are also rejected by virtue of their dependency on indefinite claims 1 and 4.
Claims 2 and 5 recite the limitation, “till all of the plurality of mobile relays or the plurality of source-destination pairs is empty”. This language renders the scope of the claims vague and uncertain. A physical relay or physical pair represents a tangible, physical structure and cannot become “empty”. By contrast, only a digital index, list, or set of data can become “empty”. A person of ordinary skill in the art cannot determine the boundaries of the claimed invention. Specifically, it is unclear whether this limitation requires the physical removal/destruction of tangible items, or if it merely implies that an associated electronic index/list has zero entries. Therefore, the claims are rendered indefinite because the metes and bounds of the claimed step is unclear and multiple interpretations of the scope are possible.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li et al. [Li] (US 2010/0039947 A1) in view of ZISIMOPOULOS et al. [Zisimo] (US 2021/0084609 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Li teaches a method for assigning at least one relay in a network (Li: ¶ 0020, mobile stations operating as relays in wireless communication networks employing the IEEE 802 .16m standard… applicable to…3G Long-Term Evolution (3G LTE) and 3G Partnership Project LTE (3GPP LTE). ¶ 0017, wireless communication devices 100-D, 110, and 140 communicating in a wireless communication network 120.), the method comprising:
computing (301), by the controller (104), a first set of channel gains from at least one source (101) to at least one destination (102) via at least one intermediate stop (202), and a second channel gain from at least one source (101) directly to at least one destination (102) (Li: ¶ 0022, the base station 110 broadcasting a channel quality indicator, such as the channel quality index (CQI), for the direct link (without a relay) between the base station 110 and each destination mobile station 100-D. ¶ 0023, one or more relay mobile stations, such as relay mobile station 140, listening to the uplink transmissions of the mobile stations and measuring the channel quality between the relay mobile station 140 and the destination mobile station 100-D. ¶ 0019, the link between the base station 110 and the mobile station 140 and the link between the mobile station 140 and the destination mobile station 100-D have good qualities; [Examiner’s Note: Showing the relay mobile station 140 positioned as an intermediate point between the source and destination]);
calculating (302), by the controller (104), a first data rate at which at least one source (101) sends data to at least one destination (102) directly and a second data rate at which at least one source (101) sends data to at least one destination (102) with at least one relay (Li: ¶ 0025, the theoretical channel capacity can be replaced by better estimates such as the highest data rate (or throughput) among all available schemes provided by the system. ¶¶ 0024-25, provides Equation 1 referencing “channel capacity (BS➔R)” and “channel capacity (R➔D)”; [Examiner’s Note: via relay, which are computed data rates for both direct and relayed paths.]);
initializing (303), by the controller 104, a plurality of source-destination pairs (101,102) and a plurality of mobile relays (103) (Li: ¶ 0019, the base station 110 can ask the mobile station 140 to act as a relay; [Examiner’s Note: where the relay mobile station 140 serves as a n identifiable intermediate within the relay selection process.] ¶ 0023, base station 110 receives the reported channel quality indicators for the various links from the relay mobile stations; [Examiner’s Note: indicating multiple relay candidates are indexed and tracked.]);
computing (305), by the controller (104), the values of an objective function for the index of at least one intermediate stop from the plurality of intermediate stops and the index of at least one source destination pair from the plurality of source destination pairs (Li: ¶ 0024, Equation 1: 1/channel capacity (BS➔D) – 1/ channel capacity (BS➔R) – 1/ channel capacity (R➔D) > threshold; [Examiner’s Note: Li teaches Equation 1 which is an objective function computed for the relay route selection]. ¶ 0023, the base station determining the relay mobile station that provides an optimal route for transmitting the packets from the base station 110 to the destination mobile station 100-D; [Examiner’s Note: confirming computation across multiple source-destination pairs and relay conditions.]);
enabling (306), by the controller (104), the at least one source (101) to communicate with the at least one destination directly, if the computed objective function is not positive (Li: ¶ 0023, If the capacity of the measured channel is not higher than the predetermined channel quality, at 275 of the method 200, the channel quality indicator is not reported to the base station 110 by the relay mobile station; [Examiner’s Note: meaning direct communication continues without relay assignment when the objective comparison is not satisfied. ¶ 0024, Equation 1: 1/channel capacity (BS➔D) – 1/ channel capacity (BS➔R) – 1/ channel capacity (R➔D) > threshold; [Examiner’s Note: the threshold comparison in Equation 1 where the left-hand side must exceed the threshold for relay selection, and when it does not, relay assignment is not performed.]); and
assigning (307), by the controller (104), at least one mobile relay from the plurality of mobile relays to a source-destination pair, if the computed objective function is positive, to enable the at least one source-destination pair (101,102) to communicate with each other (Li: ¶ 0023, base station 110 receives the reported channel quality indicators for the various links from the relay mobile stations… At 290, the method 200 comprises the base station 10 broadcasting a routing table to the relay mobile stations and the destination mobile stations 100-D. ¶ 0019, the base station 110 can ask the mobile station 140 to act as a relay and relay the traffic between the base station 110 and the destination mobile station 100-D. ¶ 0017, the wireless communication devices comprise a base station (BS) 110 communicating with a destination mobile station (MS) 100-D via a relay mobile station (RMS) 140; [Examiner’s Note: Li explains that the relay mobile station 140 is a mobile station positioned between the base station and destination.]).
Li does not explicitly disclose, “a millimeter wave (mmWave)” network, “a plurality of indices of at least one intermediate stop (202)” explicitly initialized; “wherein the at least one mobile relay travels to at least one intermediate stop (202)”.
However, in the analogous field (wireless relay networking) of endeavor, Zisimo teaches a millimeter wave (mmWave) network (Zisimo: ¶ 0045, stations 180, such as a gNB, may operate in a traditional sub 6 GHz spectrum, in millimeter wave (mm W) frequencies, and/or near mmW frequencies. ¶ 0006, relay nodes in the wireless communication system allows the relay node to provide additional coverage); a plurality of indices of at least one intermediate stop (202) (Zisimo: ¶ 0087, one or more UEs and one or more mobile relays. ¶ 0089, the relay discovery assistance entity 702 may receive location information for multiple UEs 706. The relay discovery assistance entity 702 may receive location information for multiple mobile relays 704. ¶ 0074, base station 402 may maintain neighbor lists that contain a list of neighboring cells; [Examiner’s Note: confirming indexed tracking of multiple destinations/relays.]); and wherein the at least one mobile relay travels to at least one intermediate stop (202) (Zisimo: ¶ 0070, Relay nodes may be used to fill coverage gaps … A relay node may have a connection to a base station…Once connected, a relay node may relay the signal…Relay nodes may be stationary. In some examples, a relay node may be mobile and may move within the coverage area…For mobile relays, a relay may be located in a vehicle, such as a bus, taxi, train, or car, among others. The mobile relay may provide coverage to neighboring UEs, which can be in the vehicle itself or in the vicinity of the vehicle.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Li by further including, a millimeter wave (mmWave) network; a plurality of indices of at least one intermediate stop (202); and wherein the at least one mobile relay travels to at least one intermediate stop (202), as taught by Zisimo, since doing so would have achieved the predictable result of expanding compatibility with modern high-frequency networks by incorporating mmWave operation and mobile relay movement characterization [Zisimo: ¶¶ 0045, 70].
Regarding claim 2, Li in view of Zisimo teaches the method, as claimed in claim 1.
Li teaches the method further comprises assigning, by the controller (104), at least one mobile relay to at least one source-destination pair (101,102) (Li: ¶ 0023, base station 110 receives the reported channel quality indicators for the various links from the relay mobile stations and the method 200 comprises at 280 the base station determining the relay mobile station that provides an optimal route.¶¶ 0024-26, [See] Equation 1..Equation 2; [Examiner’s Note: Equations 1 & 2 evaluated across multiple candidate relay-mobile station combinations.]).
Li does not explicitly disclose, till all of the plurality of mobile relays or the plurality of source-destination pairs is empty.
However, in the analogous field (wireless relay networking) of endeavor, Zisimo teaches, till all of the plurality of mobile relays or the plurality of source-destination pairs is empty (Zisimo: ¶ 0087, one or more UEs and one or more mobile relays. ¶ 0089, the relay discovery assistance entity 702 may receive location information for multiple UEs 706. The relay discovery assistance entity 702 may receive location information for multiple mobile relays 704. ¶ 0089, relay discovery assistance entity 702 may use the determination, at 712, to identify mobile relays within a certain area or a certain range of the UE(s); [Examiner’s Note: implying systematic processing across all available pairing options.]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Li by further including, till all of the plurality of mobile relays or the plurality of source-destination pairs is empty, as taught by Zisimo, since doing so would have achieved the desirable result of providing a predictable and optimal resource allocation result that maximizing network utility by exhausting available relay-destination pairings.
Regarding claim 3, Li in view of Zisimo teaches the method, as claimed in claim 1.
Li teaches the method further comprises communicating (310), by the at least one source (101) with the at least one destination via the assigned mobile relay (Li: ¶ 0019, the base station 110 can ask the mobile station 140 to act as a relay and relay the traffic between the base station 110 and the destination mobile station 100-D. ¶ 0030, the relay mobile station 140 forwards the packet D1 to the destination mobile station 100-D in the second uplink subframe 370…The destination mobile station 100-D combines the two received signals, one from the base station 110 and one from the relay station 140, to improve performance.).
Regarding claim 4, Li teaches a controller in a network (Fig. 7, Ref. 700), the controller configured to:
compute a first set of channel gains from at least one source (101) to at least one destination (102) via at least one intermediate stop (202), and a second channel gain from at least one source (101) directly to at least one destination (102) (Li: ¶ 0022, the base station 110 broadcasting a channel quality indicator, such as the channel quality index (CQI), for the direct link (without a relay) between the base station 110 and each destination mobile station 100-D. ¶ 0023, one or more relay mobile stations, such as relay mobile station 140, listening to the uplink transmissions of the mobile stations and measuring the channel quality between the relay mobile station 140 and the destination mobile station 100-D. ¶ 0019, the link between the base station 110 and the mobile station 140 and the link between the mobile station 140 and the destination mobile station 100-D have good qualities; [Examiner’s Note: Showing the relay mobile station 140 positioned as an intermediate point between the source and destination.]);
calculate a first data rate at which at least one source (101) sends data to at least one destination (102) directly and a second data rate at which at least one source (101) sends data to at least one destination (102) with at least one relay (Li: ¶ 0025, the theoretical channel capacity can be replaced by better estimates such as the highest data rate (or throughput) among all available schemes provided by the system. ¶¶ 0024-25, provides Equation 1 referencing “channel capacity (BS➔R)” and “channel capacity (R➔D)”; [Examiner’s Note: via relay, which are computed data rates for both direct and relayed paths.]);
initialize, a plurality of source-destination pairs (101,102) and a plurality of mobile relays (103) (Li: ¶ 0019, the base station 110 can ask the mobile station 140 to act as a relay; [Examiner’s Note: where the relay mobile station 140 serves as a n identifiable intermediate within the relay selection process.] ¶ 0023, base station 110 receives the reported channel quality indicators for the various links from the relay mobile stations; [Examiner’s Note: indicating multiple relay candidates are indexed and tracked.]);
compute the values of an objective function for the index of at least one intermediate stop from the plurality of intermediate stops and the index of at least one source destination pair from the plurality of source destination pairs (Li: ¶ 0024, Equation 1: 1/channel capacity (BS➔D) – 1/ channel capacity (BS➔R) – 1/ channel capacity (R➔D) > threshold; [Examiner’s Note: Li teaches Equation 1 which is an objective function computed for the relay route selection]. ¶ 0023, the base station determining the relay mobile station that provides an optimal route for transmitting the packets from the base station 110 to the destination mobile station 100-D; [Examiner’s Note: confirming computation across multiple source-destination pairs and relay conditions.]);
enable the at least one source (101) to communicate with the at least one destination directly, if the computed objective function is not positive (Li: ¶ 0023, If the capacity of the measured channel is not higher than the predetermined channel quality, at 275 of the method 200, the channel quality indicator is not reported to the base station 110 by the relay mobile station; [Examiner’s Note: meaning direct communication continues without relay assignment when the objective comparison is not satisfied. ¶ 0024, Equation 1: 1/channel capacity (BS➔D) – 1/ channel capacity (BS➔R) – 1/ channel capacity (R➔D) > threshold; [Examiner’s Note: the threshold comparison in Equation 1 where the left-hand side must exceed the threshold for relay selection, and when it does not, relay assignment is not performed.]); and
assign at least one mobile relay from the plurality of mobile relays, if the computed objective function is positive, to enable the at least one source-destination pair (101,102) to communicate with each other (Li: ¶ 0023, base station 110 receives the reported channel quality indicators for the various links from the relay mobile stations… At 290, the method 200 comprises the base station 10 broadcasting a routing table to the relay mobile stations and the destination mobile stations 100-D. ¶ 0019, the base station 110 can ask the mobile station 140 to act as a relay and relay the traffic between the base station 110 and the destination mobile station 100-D. ¶ 0017, the wireless communication devices comprise a base station (BS) 110 communicating with a destination mobile station (MS) 100-D via a relay mobile station (RMS) 140; [Examiner’s Note: Li explains that the relay mobile station 140 is a mobile station positioned between the base station and destination.]).
Li does not explicitly disclose, “a millimeter wave (mmWave)” network, “a plurality of indices of at least one intermediate stop (202)” explicitly initialized; “wherein the at least one mobile relay travels to at least one intermediate stop (202)”.
However, in the analogous field (wireless relay networking) of endeavor, Zisimo teaches a millimeter wave (mmWave) network (Zisimo: ¶ 0045, stations 180, such as a gNB, may operate in a traditional sub 6 GHz spectrum, in millimeter wave (mm W) frequencies, and/or near mmW frequencies. ¶ 0006, relay nodes in the wireless communication system allows the relay node to provide additional coverage); a plurality of indices of at least one intermediate stop (202) (Zisimo: ¶ 0087, one or more UEs and one or more mobile relays. ¶ 0089, the relay discovery assistance entity 702 may receive location information for multiple UEs 706. The relay discovery assistance entity 702 may receive location information for multiple mobile relays 704. ¶ 0074, base station 402 may maintain neighbor lists that contain a list of neighboring cells; [Examiner’s Note: confirming indexed tracking of multiple destinations/relays.]); and wherein the at least one mobile relay travels to at least one intermediate stop (202) (Zisimo: ¶ 0070, Relay nodes may be used to fill coverage gaps … A relay node may have a connection to a base station…Once connected, a relay node may relay the signal…Relay nodes may be stationary. In some examples, a relay node may be mobile and may move within the coverage area…For mobile relays, a relay may be located in a vehicle, such as a bus, taxi, train, or car, among others. The mobile relay may provide coverage to neighboring UEs, which can be in the vehicle itself or in the vicinity of the vehicle.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Li by further including, a millimeter wave (mmWave) network; a plurality of indices of at least one intermediate stop (202); and wherein the at least one mobile relay travels to at least one intermediate stop (202), as taught by Zisimo, since doing so would have achieved the predictable result of expanding compatibility with modern high-frequency networks by incorporating mmWave operation and mobile relay movement characterization [Zisimo: ¶¶ 0045, 70].
Regarding claim 5, Li in view of Zisimo teaches the controller, as claimed in claim 4.
Li teaches the controller is further configured to assign at least mobile relay to at least one source-destination pair (101,102) (Li: ¶ 0023, base station 110 receives the reported channel quality indicators for the various links from the relay mobile stations and the method 200 comprises at 280 the base station determining the relay mobile station that provides an optimal route.¶¶ 0024-26, [See] Equation 1..Equation 2; [Examiner’s Note: Equations 1 & 2 evaluated across multiple candidate relay-mobile station combinations.]).
Li does not explicitly disclose, till all of the plurality of mobile relays or the plurality of source-destination pairs is empty.
However, in the analogous field (wireless relay networking) of endeavor, Zisimo teaches, till all of the plurality of mobile relays or the plurality of source-destination pairs is empty (Zisimo: ¶ 0087, one or more UEs and one or more mobile relays. ¶ 0089, the relay discovery assistance entity 702 may receive location information for multiple UEs 706. The relay discovery assistance entity 702 may receive location information for multiple mobile relays 704. ¶ 0089, relay discovery assistance entity 702 may use the determination, at 712, to identify mobile relays within a certain area or a certain range of the UE(s); [Examiner’s Note: implying systematic processing across all available pairing options]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Li by further including, till all of the plurality of mobile relays or the plurality of source-destination pairs is empty, as taught by Zisimo, since doing so would have achieved the desirable result of providing a predictable and optimal resource allocation result that maximizing network utility by exhausting available relay-destination pairings.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Freda et al. (US 2018/0092017 A1); Freda et al. teaches a remote WTRU discovers multiple mobile relays, measure their signal quality, filter them by service support, and choose the best relay above a threshold. It can then reselect another relay when the current one falls below the threshold or no longer supports the service. The network may also assist or override selection, configure resources, and maintain continuity across relay changes. The solution combines relay discovery, quality ranking, service awareness, and reselection control. See [¶¶ 0006-07, 96-103, 109-115, 136-141].
Hsu et al. (US 2012/0135677 A1); Hsu et al. teaches improves relay-based wireless communication by distributing relay capability and status information early, then using that information to select an appropriate relay with beamforming and channel measurements. It supports multiple relay-selection paths, including source-directed, destination-directed, and coordinator-directed workflows, so the network can use whatever node has the best information. After a relay is selected, the relay can later initiate teardown itself by sending a relay termination signal or relay teardown frame, either directly or through a coordinator. This makes relay participation non-binding and can preserve communication continuity by switching to a backup relay. See [¶¶ 0025-34, 35-61, 63-67, 75].
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MAJDI ALSOMIRI whose telephone number is (571) 270-0427. The examiner can normally be reached 7AM-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 at (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.
/M.A./Examiner, Art Unit 2465
/John Pezzlo/
Primary Examiner, AU2465B
1 July 2026
Prosecution Insights