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 .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d).
Claim Objections
Claim 8 is objected to because of the following informalities: “before the receiving indication information from a network device” is not grammatically correct. Appropriate correction is required.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 03/27/2025 was filed after the mailing date of the application on 08/16/2024. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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, 5-7, 11, and 15-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ali et al. (US 2023/0170962), hereinafter Ali in further view of Li et al. (US 2021/0037460), hereinafter Li.
Regarding Claim 1, Ali teaches: A communication method performed by a network controlled repeater or a chip in a network controlled repeater, wherein the network controlled repeater comprises KN donor antenna ports and KN service antenna ports: “For one OFDM symbol, in one embodiment, BS configures the repeater to use one antenna port group/panel to forward the CSI-RS. In one embodiment, the selected antennas/panel at the repeater may be associated with one or more of the antenna ports used to carry CSI-RS in that symbol, as illustrated in FIG. 3A. CSI-RS ports 302 per CSI-RS resource are grouped into two or more groups 304, wherein the grouping is configured by the network, or set by a rule, or a combination thereof. In one example, the CSI-RS ports transmission corresponding to a first group 304a of the two groups of CSI-RS ports is separated by x symbols from the CSI-RS ports transmission corresponding to a second 304b of the two groups of CSI-RS ports” (Ali ¶ 0122-0123), the N service antenna ports are a part of the KN service antenna ports, and the N donor antenna ports are a part of the KN donor antenna ports, wherein donor antenna ports are different in any two of the K time unit sets and service antenna ports are different in any two of the K time unit sets: “In one embodiment, CSI-RS ports 302 per CSI-RS resource are grouped into two or more groups 304, wherein the grouping is configured by the network, or set by a rule, or a combination thereof. In one example, the CSI-RS ports transmission corresponding to a first group 304a of the two groups of CSI-RS ports is separated by x symbols from the CSI-RS ports transmission corresponding to a second 304b of the two groups of CSI-RS ports” (Ali ¶ 0123 and Fig. 3a below), and wherein K is a positive integer greater than 1, N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1, k is any integer greater than 0 and less than or equal to K, and KN represents a product of K and N: As below in Fig. 3a, we can see N is a positive integer greater than 1 (K=2), and N is a positive integer greater than 0, (N=2), and KN represents 4 (or 2*2).
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Ali Fig. 3A
Ali does not teach: the method comprises: performing uplink forwarding in K time unit sets, wherein the performing uplink forwarding in K time unit sets includes performing uplink forwarding in a kth time unit set in the K time unit sets by using N service antenna ports and N donor antenna ports.
Regarding Claim 1, Li teaches: the method comprises: performing uplink forwarding in K time unit sets: “The repeater 205-a may turn on an analog block 230 (e.g., which may include or refer to receive modules, forwarding/transmit modules, as well as an energy measurement module), which may operate in a mmW channel, in a preconfigured set of time intervals (e.g., RACH slots)” (Li ¶ 0109), wherein the performing uplink forwarding in K time unit sets includes performing uplink forwarding in a kth time unit set in the K time unit sets by using N service antenna ports and N donor antenna ports: “In some cases, a wireless repeater 140 may include an array of reception antennas and an array of transmission antennas. In some cases, the wireless repeater 140 may include digital filtering, and the wireless repeater 140 may include a signal processing chain connected (e.g., coupled, linked, attached) between the array of reception of antennas and the array of transmission antennas” (Li ¶ 0085).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the disclosure of Ali with Li for the purpose of improved energy management. According to Li: “The described techniques relate to improved methods, systems, devices, and apparatuses that support modem control using mmW energy measurement. Generally, the described techniques provide for efficient monitoring for out of band control information based on measured energy levels (e.g., in mmW spectrum). For example, a wireless repeater (e.g., a wireless relay, a smart repeater, a mmW repeater, etc.) may operate in a power saving mode and may monitor for out of band control information from a base station according to a slow state (e.g., a sub-6 GHz modem may monitor for control information according to a long, or less frequent, monitoring periodicity relative to a monitoring periodicity associated with a fast state)” (Li ¶ 0042).
Regarding Claim 5, Ali teaches: The method of claim 1, wherein the KN donor antenna ports and the KN service antenna ports correspond to KN downlink forwarding channels: “in one embodiment, BS configures the repeater to use one antenna port group/panel to forward the CSI-RS. In one embodiment, the selected antennas/panel at the repeater may be associated with one or more of the antenna ports used to carry CSI-RS in that symbol, as illustrated in FIG. 3A.” (Ali ¶ 0122).
Ali does not teach: the N donor antenna ports and the N service antenna ports correspond to N uplink forwarding channels.
Regarding Claim 5, Li teaches: the N donor antenna ports and the N service antenna ports correspond to N uplink forwarding channels: “In some cases, a wireless repeater 140 may include an array of reception antennas and an array of transmission antennas. In some cases, the wireless repeater 140 may include digital filtering, and the wireless repeater 140 may include a signal processing chain connected (e.g., coupled, linked, attached) between the array of reception of antennas and the array of transmission antennas” (Li ¶ 0085).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the disclosure of Ali with Li for the purpose of improved energy management. According to Li: “The described techniques relate to improved methods, systems, devices, and apparatuses that support modem control using mmW energy measurement. Generally, the described techniques provide for efficient monitoring for out of band control information based on measured energy levels (e.g., in mmW spectrum). For example, a wireless repeater (e.g., a wireless relay, a smart repeater, a mmW repeater, etc.) may operate in a power saving mode and may monitor for out of band control information from a base station according to a slow state (e.g., a sub-6 GHz modem may monitor for control information according to a long, or less frequent, monitoring periodicity relative to a monitoring periodicity associated with a fast state)” (Li ¶ 0042).
Regarding Claim 6, Ali teaches: The method of claim 1, wherein that the donor antenna ports are different and the service antenna ports are different in any two of the K time unit sets comprises: in any two of the K time unit sets, the service antenna ports do not coincide; and the donor antenna ports do not coincide: “In one embodiment, CSI-RS ports 302 per CSI-RS resource are grouped into two or more groups 304, wherein the grouping is configured by the network, or set by a rule, or a combination thereof. In one example, the CSI-RS ports transmission corresponding to a first group 304a of the two groups of CSI-RS ports is separated by x symbols from the CSI-RS ports transmission corresponding to a second 304b of the two groups of CSI-RS ports” (Ali ¶ 0123 and Fig. 3a above), and as above in Fig. 3a, we can see N is a positive integer greater than 1 (K=2), and N is a positive integer greater than 0, (N=2), and KN represents 4 (or 2*2).
Regarding Claim 7, Ali teaches: The method of claim 1, wherein in the K time unit sets, all of the KN service antenna ports have been used once, and all of the KN donor antenna ports have been used once: “In one embodiment, CSI-RS ports 302 per CSI-RS resource are grouped into two or more groups 304, wherein the grouping is configured by the network, or set by a rule, or a combination thereof. In one example, the CSI-RS ports transmission corresponding to a first group 304a of the two groups of CSI-RS ports is separated by x symbols from the CSI-RS ports transmission corresponding to a second 304b of the two groups of CSI-RS ports” (Ali ¶ 0123 and Fig. 3a above), and as above in Fig. 3a, we can see N is a positive integer greater than 1 (K=2), and N is a positive integer greater than 0, (N=2), and KN represents 4 (or 2*2), meaning all of the KN service and donor antenna ports have been used once.
Regarding Claim 11, Ali teaches: A communication apparatus comprising a processor, a memory coupled to the processor, KN donor antenna ports, and KN service antenna ports, wherein the memory stores a computer program, and when the computer program is run by the processor: “Furthermore, the base network apparatus 800 may include a processor 805, a memory 810, an input device 815, an output device 820, and a transceiver 825 . . . The method 900 may be performed by a repeater node such as a network equipment apparatus 800” (Ali ¶ 0164 and 0195) and “For one OFDM symbol, in one embodiment, BS configures the repeater to use one antenna port group/panel to forward the CSI-RS. In one embodiment, the selected antennas/panel at the repeater may be associated with one or more of the antenna ports used to carry CSI-RS in that symbol, as illustrated in FIG. 3A. CSI-RS ports 302 per CSI-RS resource are grouped into two or more groups 304, wherein the grouping is configured by the network, or set by a rule, or a combination thereof. In one example, the CSI-RS ports transmission corresponding to a first group 304a of the two groups of CSI-RS ports is separated by x symbols from the CSI-RS ports transmission corresponding to a second 304b of the two groups of CSI-RS ports” (Ali ¶ 0122-0123), the N service antenna ports are a part of the KN service antenna ports, and the N donor antenna ports are a part of the KN donor antenna ports, wherein donor antenna ports are different in any two of the K time unit sets and service antenna ports are different in any two of the K time unit sets: “In one embodiment, CSI-RS ports 302 per CSI-RS resource are grouped into two or more groups 304, wherein the grouping is configured by the network, or set by a rule, or a combination thereof. In one example, the CSI-RS ports transmission corresponding to a first group 304a of the two groups of CSI-RS ports is separated by x symbols from the CSI-RS ports transmission corresponding to a second 304b of the two groups of CSI-RS ports” (Ali ¶ 0123 and Fig. 3a above), and wherein K is a positive integer greater than 1, N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1, k is any integer greater than 0 and less than or equal to K, and KN represents a product of K and N: As above in Fig. 3a, we can see N is a positive integer greater than 1 (K=2), and N is a positive integer greater than 0, (N=2), and KN represents 4 (or 2*2).
Ali does not teach: the communication apparatus performs operations comprising: performing uplink forwarding in K time unit sets, wherein the performing uplink forwarding in K time unit sets includes performing uplink forwarding in a kth time unit set in the K time unit sets by using N service antenna ports and N donor antenna ports.
Regarding Claim 11, Li teaches the communication apparatus performs operations comprising: performing uplink forwarding in K time unit sets: “The repeater 205-a may turn on an analog block 230 (e.g., which may include or refer to receive modules, forwarding/transmit modules, as well as an energy measurement module), which may operate in a mmW channel, in a preconfigured set of time intervals (e.g., RACH slots)” (Li ¶ 0109), wherein the performing uplink forwarding in K time unit sets includes performing uplink forwarding in a kth time unit set in the K time unit sets by using N service antenna ports and N donor antenna ports: “In some cases, a wireless repeater 140 may include an array of reception antennas and an array of transmission antennas. In some cases, the wireless repeater 140 may include digital filtering, and the wireless repeater 140 may include a signal processing chain connected (e.g., coupled, linked, attached) between the array of reception of antennas and the array of transmission antennas” (Li ¶ 0085).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the disclosure of Ali with Li for the purpose of improved energy management. According to Li: “The described techniques relate to improved methods, systems, devices, and apparatuses that support modem control using mmW energy measurement. Generally, the described techniques provide for efficient monitoring for out of band control information based on measured energy levels (e.g., in mmW spectrum). For example, a wireless repeater (e.g., a wireless relay, a smart repeater, a mmW repeater, etc.) may operate in a power saving mode and may monitor for out of band control information from a base station according to a slow state (e.g., a sub-6 GHz modem may monitor for control information according to a long, or less frequent, monitoring periodicity relative to a monitoring periodicity associated with a fast state)” (Li ¶ 0042).
Regarding Claim 15, Ali teaches: The communication apparatus of claim 11, wherein the KN donor antenna ports and the KN service antenna ports correspond to KN downlink forwarding channels: “in one embodiment, BS configures the repeater to use one antenna port group/panel to forward the CSI-RS. In one embodiment, the selected antennas/panel at the repeater may be associated with one or more of the antenna ports used to carry CSI-RS in that symbol, as illustrated in FIG. 3A.” (Ali ¶ 0122).
Ali does not teach: the N donor antenna ports and the N service antenna ports correspond to N uplink forwarding channels.
Regarding Claim 15, Li teaches: the N donor antenna ports and the N service antenna ports correspond to N uplink forwarding channels: “In some cases, a wireless repeater 140 may include an array of reception antennas and an array of transmission antennas. In some cases, the wireless repeater 140 may include digital filtering, and the wireless repeater 140 may include a signal processing chain connected (e.g., coupled, linked, attached) between the array of reception of antennas and the array of transmission antennas” (Li ¶ 0085).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the disclosure of Ali with Li for the purpose of improved energy management. According to Li: “The described techniques relate to improved methods, systems, devices, and apparatuses that support modem control using mmW energy measurement. Generally, the described techniques provide for efficient monitoring for out of band control information based on measured energy levels (e.g., in mmW spectrum). For example, a wireless repeater (e.g., a wireless relay, a smart repeater, a mmW repeater, etc.) may operate in a power saving mode and may monitor for out of band control information from a base station according to a slow state (e.g., a sub-6 GHz modem may monitor for control information according to a long, or less frequent, monitoring periodicity relative to a monitoring periodicity associated with a fast state)” (Li ¶ 0042).
Regarding Claim 16, Ali teaches: The communication apparatus of claim 11.
Ali does not teach: the communication apparatus comprises a terminal device or a chip in a terminal device.
Regarding Claim 16, Li teaches: the communication apparatus comprises a terminal device or a chip in a terminal device: “a repeating device (e.g., a wireless repeater, a smart repeater, a mmW repeater, a wireless relay device, or the like) may be used to repeat and/or relay the transmission from the base station to the UE, and vice versa” (Li ¶ 0037).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the disclosure of Ali with Li for the purpose of improved energy management. According to Li: “The described techniques relate to improved methods, systems, devices, and apparatuses that support modem control using mmW energy measurement. Generally, the described techniques provide for efficient monitoring for out of band control information based on measured energy levels (e.g., in mmW spectrum). For example, a wireless repeater (e.g., a wireless relay, a smart repeater, a mmW repeater, etc.) may operate in a power saving mode and may monitor for out of band control information from a base station according to a slow state (e.g., a sub-6 GHz modem may monitor for control information according to a long, or less frequent, monitoring periodicity relative to a monitoring periodicity associated with a fast state)” (Li ¶ 0042).
Claims 2-3 and 12-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ali and Li as applied to Claims 1 and 11 above in further view of Tsai (US 2023/0113144), hereinafter Tsai.
Regarding Claim 2, Ali teaches: The method of claim 1, wherein the KN service antenna ports are one-to-one associated with the KN donor antenna ports to form KN associations, and a set of the KN associations forms a second association relationship: “in one embodiment, BS configures the repeater to use one antenna port group/panel to forward the CSI-RS. In one embodiment, the selected antennas/panel at the repeater may be associated with one or more of the antenna ports used to carry CSI-RS in that symbol, as illustrated in FIG. 3A.” (Ali ¶ 0122).
Ali and Li do not explicitly teach: wherein the N donor antenna ports are one-to-one associated with the N service antenna ports to form N associations, and a set of the N associations forms a first association relationship; and the first association relationship is a part of the second association relationship.
Regarding Claim 2, Tsai teaches: the N donor antenna ports are one-to-one associated with the N service antenna ports to form N associations, and a set of the N associations forms a first association relationship; and the first association relationship is a part of the second association relationship: “FIG. 10 is diagram illustrating SRS resource sets corresponding to different groups of antenna ports according to the first approach or the second approach. As described supra, the UE 804 transmits SRSs to the base station 802 through the repeater 806 and the repeater 808 on (f, t).sub.2,1 and (f, t).sub.2,2. In this example, the UE 804 transmits SRSs from group 1 of antenna ports in an SRS resource set #1 on (f, t).sub.2,1 ; the UE 804 transmits SRSs from group 2 of antenna ports in an SRS resource set #2 on (f, t).sub.2,2” (Tsai ¶ 0102). Tsai Fig 10 below shows these relationships.
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It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the disclosure of Ali and Li with Tsai for the purpose of improved MIMO gain. According to Tsai: “Normally the number of base station's antennas N.sub.r is much greater than the number of MT's antennas N.sub.t. So base station cannot reach maximum MIMO gain with N.sub.r antennas in a traditional configuration. The present disclosure provides an uplink distributed SU-MIMO framework to improve MIMO gain” (Tsai ¶ 0060).
Regarding Claim 3, Ali teaches: The method of claim 2, wherein the KN service antenna ports and the KN donor antenna ports are used when performing downlink forwarding, and the KN service antenna ports and the KN donor antenna ports remain in the second association relationship: “in one embodiment, BS configures the repeater to use one antenna port group/panel to forward the CSI-RS. In one embodiment, the selected antennas/panel at the repeater may be associated with one or more of the antenna ports used to carry CSI-RS in that symbol, as illustrated in FIG. 3A.” (Ali ¶ 0122).
Claims 8-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ali and Li as applied to Claim 1 above in further view of Abedini et al. (US 2022/0053433), hereinafter Abedini.
Regarding Claim 8, Ali teaches: The method of claim 1, wherein before the receiving indication information from a network device, the method further comprises: sending capability indication information to the network device: “A capability of a device in terms of the number of antenna panels, their duplexing capabilities, their beamforming capabilities, and so on, may or may not be transparent to other devices. In some embodiments, capability information may be communicated via signaling” (Ali ¶ 0081), and the network controlled repeater is capable of using the KN donor antenna ports and the KN service antenna ports during downlink forwarding: “In one embodiment directed to a repeater without measurement capability, e.g., no baseband, a smart repeater(s) with no baseband capability receives from the BS a configuration for amplifying and forwarding CSI-RS” (Ali ¶ 0120).
Ali and Li do not teach: the capability indication information indicates to the network device that the network controlled repeater is capable of using the N donor antenna ports in the KN donor antenna ports and the N service antenna ports in the KN service antenna ports during uplink forwarding.
Regarding Claim 8, Abedini teaches: the capability indication information indicates to the network device that the network controlled repeater is capable of using the N donor antenna ports in the KN donor antenna ports and the N service antenna ports in the KN service antenna ports during uplink forwarding: “the process 2600 may further include receiving capability information from the repeater device, estimating a quantity of beams supported by the repeater device based on the capability information, and determining the first quantity of SSBs based on the quantity of beams supported by the repeater device. In some examples, the capability information may include at least one of: a maximum number of configured transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states per component carrier, a maximum number of configured spatial relations, a maximum number of sounding reference signal (SRS) resource sets, a maximum number of SRS resources per set, or a combination thereof” (Abedini ¶ 0308).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the disclosure of Ali and Li with Abedini for the purpose of improving the performance of wireless communication networks using repeaters. According to Abedini: “Improvements to repeater device technology, including technology that may allow a repeater device to configure itself with little or no interaction with a network access node, could improve the performance and flexibility of wireless communication networks that employ repeater device technology.” (Abedini ¶ 0346).
Regarding Claim 9, Ali and Li teach: The method of claim 1.
Ali and Li do not teach: the performing uplink forwarding in K time unit sets further comprises: receiving K sounding reference signals or K sounding reference signal sets from a terminal device in the K time unit sets, and performing uplink forwarding.
Regarding Claim 9, Abedini teaches: the performing uplink forwarding in K time unit sets further comprises: receiving K sounding reference signals or K sounding reference signal sets from a terminal device in the K time unit sets, and performing uplink forwarding: “In some examples, the communication and processing circuitry 2541 may be configured to receive and process uplink beamformed signals at a mmWave frequency or a sub-6 GHz frequency via the transceiver 2510 and an antenna array 2520. For example, the communication and processing circuitry 2541 may be configured to receive a respective reference signal (e.g., SRS or DMRS) on each of a plurality of uplink beams from the repeater device during an uplink beam sweep” (Abedini ¶ 0290) and “The second repeater device 2918, therefore, may always receive omnidirectionally and transmit omnidirectionally. This has at least one drawback, for example, of wasting transmitted signal energy by directing transmitted signal energy mostly in directions other than the toward the second UE 2926. With respect to the second repeater device 2918, fronthaul-link bidirectional communication with the network access node 2902 and access-link bidirectional communication with the second UE 2926 may be transmitted and/or received, all the time, via the second repeater device 2918 omnidirectional beam 2920” (Abedini ¶ 0361).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the disclosure of Ali and Li with Abedini for the purpose of improving the performance of wireless communication networks using repeaters. According to Abedini: “Improvements to repeater device technology, including technology that may allow a repeater device to configure itself with little or no interaction with a network access node, could improve the performance and flexibility of wireless communication networks that employ repeater device technology.” (Abedini ¶ 0346).
Claims 4 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ali, Li, and Tsai as applied to claim 3 and claim 13 above and further in view of Abedini.
Regarding Claim 4, Ali teaches: The method of claim 3, wherein an Ith donor antenna port in the N donor antenna ports is associated with a Jth service antenna port in the N service antenna ports in both uplink forwarding and downlink forwarding: : “In one embodiment, CSI-RS ports 302 per CSI-RS resource are grouped into two or more groups 304, wherein the grouping is configured by the network, or set by a rule, or a combination thereof. In one example, the CSI-RS ports transmission corresponding to a first group 304a of the two groups of CSI-RS ports is separated by x symbols from the CSI-RS ports transmission corresponding to a second 304b of the two groups of CSI-RS ports” (Ali ¶ 0123 and Fig. 3a above) where the antenna ports are used for both uplink and downlink forwarding: “This new type of RF repeaters aims at extending the network coverage in both uplink and downlink communication with the help of more control information from the network for efficient amplify and forward mechanism that make use of time and spatial information of the Uu link” (Ali ¶ 0046) ; and wherein both i and j are positive integers less than or equal to N: as seen in fig. 3A above where I and J are both positive integers and would necessarily be less than or equal to N as a consequence of being part of the N donor antenna ports and the N service antenna ports.
Ali, Li, and Tsai do not teach: a gain coefficient from the Ith service antenna port to the Jth donor antenna port in uplink forwarding is a.sub.i−1, a gain coefficient from the i.sup.th donor antenna port to the j.sup.th service antenna port in downlink forwarding is a.sub.i−1′, and a.sub.i−1 and a.sub.i−1′ satisfy at least one of: an amplitude difference between a.sub.i−1 and a.sub.i−1′ is less than a first amplitude threshold; or a phase difference between a.sub.i−1 and a.sub.i−1′ is less than a first phase threshold.
Regarding Claim 4, Abedini teaches: a gain coefficient from the Ith service antenna port to the Jth donor antenna port in uplink forwarding is a.sub.i−1, a gain coefficient from the Ih donor antenna port to the Jth service antenna port in downlink forwarding is a.sub.i−1′: “The amplifier 1310 may include one or more components capable of amplifying an input signal and outputting an amplified signal. For example, the amplifier 1310 may include a power amplifier, a variable gain component, and/or the like” (Abedini ¶ 0208) and “the baseband processor 1312 may include a controller, a microcontroller, a processor, and/or the like. In some aspects, the baseband processor 1312 may control a level of amplification or gain applied by the amplifier 1310 to an input signal” (Abedini ¶ 0209), and a.sub.i−1 and a.sub.i−1′ satisfy at least one of: an amplitude difference between a.sub.i−1 and a.sub.i−1′ is less than a first amplitude threshold: “the network access node may also configure the plurality of repeater devices based on a power level of a broadcast channel carrying cell-specific information to the plurality of repeater devices, where the configuring is based on a comparison of the power level to a predetermined low threshold and a predetermined high threshold” (Abedini ¶ 0426).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the disclosure of Ali, Li, and Tsai with Abedini for the purpose of improving the performance of wireless communication networks using repeaters. According to Abedini: “Improvements to repeater device technology, including technology that may allow a repeater device to configure itself with little or no interaction with a network access node, could improve the performance and flexibility of wireless communication networks that employ repeater device technology.” (Abedini ¶ 0346).
Regarding Claim 14, Ali teaches: The communication apparatus of claim 13, wherein an Ith donor antenna port in the N donor antenna ports is associated with a Jth service antenna port in the N service antenna ports in both uplink forwarding and downlink forwarding: : “In one embodiment, CSI-RS ports 302 per CSI-RS resource are grouped into two or more groups 304, wherein the grouping is configured by the network, or set by a rule, or a combination thereof. In one example, the CSI-RS ports transmission corresponding to a first group 304a of the two groups of CSI-RS ports is separated by x symbols from the CSI-RS ports transmission corresponding to a second 304b of the two groups of CSI-RS ports” (Ali ¶ 0123 and Fig. 3a above) where the antenna ports are used for both uplink and downlink forwarding: “This new type of RF repeaters aims at extending the network coverage in both uplink and downlink communication with the help of more control information from the network for efficient amplify and forward mechanism that make use of time and spatial information of the Uu link” (Ali ¶ 0046) ; and wherein both i and j are positive integers less than or equal to N: as seen in fig. 3A above where I and J are both positive integers and would necessarily be less than or equal to N as a consequence of being part of the N donor antenna ports and the N service antenna ports.
Ali, Li, and Tsai do not teach: a gain coefficient from the Ith service antenna port to the Jth donor antenna port in uplink forwarding is a.sub.i−1, a gain coefficient from the i.sup.th donor antenna port to the j.sup.th service antenna port in downlink forwarding is a.sub.i−1′, and a.sub.i−1 and a.sub.i−1′ satisfy at least one of: an amplitude difference between a.sub.i−1 and a.sub.i−1′ is less than a first amplitude threshold; or a phase difference between a.sub.i−1 and a.sub.i−1′ is less than a first phase threshold.
Regarding Claim 14, Abedini teaches: a gain coefficient from the Ith service antenna port to the Jth donor antenna port in uplink forwarding is a.sub.i−1, a gain coefficient from the Ih donor antenna port to the Jth service antenna port in downlink forwarding is a.sub.i−1′: “he amplifier 1310 may include one or more components capable of amplifying an input signal and outputting an amplified signal. For example, the amplifier 1310 may include a power amplifier, a variable gain component, and/or the like” (Abedini ¶ 0208) and “the baseband processor 1312 may include a controller, a microcontroller, a processor, and/or the like. In some aspects, the baseband processor 1312 may control a level of amplification or gain applied by the amplifier 1310 to an input signal” (Abedini ¶ 0209), and a.sub.i−1 and a.sub.i−1′ satisfy at least one of: an amplitude difference between a.sub.i−1 and a.sub.i−1′ is less than a first amplitude threshold: “the network access node may also configure the plurality of repeater devices based on a power level of a broadcast channel carrying cell-specific information to the plurality of repeater devices, where the configuring is based on a comparison of the power level to a predetermined low threshold and a predetermined high threshold” (Abedini ¶ 0426).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the disclosure of Ali, Li, and Tsai with Abedini for the purpose of improving the performance of wireless communication networks using repeaters. According to Abedini: “Improvements to repeater device technology, including technology that may allow a repeater device to configure itself with little or no interaction with a network access node, could improve the performance and flexibility of wireless communication networks that employ repeater device technology.” (Abedini ¶ 0346).
Regarding Claim 14, Ali teaches: The communication apparatus of claim 13, wherein an Ith donor antenna port in the N donor antenna ports is associated with a Jth service antenna port in the N service antenna ports in both uplink forwarding and downlink forwarding: : “In one embodiment, CSI-RS ports 302 per CSI-RS resource are grouped into two or more groups 304, wherein the grouping is configured by the network, or set by a rule, or a combination thereof. In one example, the CSI-RS ports transmission corresponding to a first group 304a of the two groups of CSI-RS ports is separated by x symbols from the CSI-RS ports transmission corresponding to a second 304b of the two groups of CSI-RS ports” (Ali ¶ 0123 and Fig. 3a above) where the antenna ports are used for both uplink and downlink forwarding: “This new type of RF repeaters aims at extending the network coverage in both uplink and downlink communication with the help of more control information from the network for efficient amplify and forward mechanism that make use of time and spatial information of the Uu link” (Ali ¶ 0046) ; and wherein both i and j are positive integers less than or equal to N: as seen in fig. 3A above where I and J are both positive integers and would necessarily be less than or equal to N as a consequence of being part of the N donor antenna ports and the N service antenna ports.
Ali, Li, and Tsai do not teach: a gain coefficient from the Ith service antenna port to the Jth donor antenna port in uplink forwarding is a.sub.i−1, a gain coefficient from the i.sup.th donor antenna port to the j.sup.th service antenna port in downlink forwarding is a.sub.i−1′, and a.sub.i−1 and a.sub.i−1′ satisfy at least one of: an amplitude difference between a.sub.i−1 and a.sub.i−1′ is less than a first amplitude threshold; or a phase difference between a.sub.i−1 and a.sub.i−1′ is less than a first phase threshold.
Regarding Claim 14, Abedini teaches: a gain coefficient from the Ith service antenna port to the Jth donor antenna port in uplink forwarding is a.sub.i−1, a gain coefficient from the Ih donor antenna port to the Jth service antenna port in downlink forwarding is a.sub.i−1′: “he amplifier 1310 may include one or more components capable of amplifying an input signal and outputting an amplified signal. For example, the amplifier 1310 may include a power amplifier, a variable gain component, and/or the like” (Abedini ¶ 0208) and “the baseband processor 1312 may include a controller, a microcontroller, a processor, and/or the like. In some aspects, the baseband processor 1312 may control a level of amplification or gain applied by the amplifier 1310 to an input signal” (Abedini ¶ 0209), and a.sub.i−1 and a.sub.i−1′ satisfy at least one of: an amplitude difference between a.sub.i−1 and a.sub.i−1′ is less than a first amplitude threshold: “the network access node may also configure the plurality of repeater devices based on a power level of a broadcast channel carrying cell-specific information to the plurality of repeater devices, where the configuring is based on a comparison of the power level to a predetermined low threshold and a predetermined high threshold” (Abedini ¶ 0426).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the disclosure of Ali, Li, and Tsai with Abedini for the purpose of improving the performance of wireless communication networks using repeaters. According to Abedini: “Improvements to repeater device technology, including technology that may allow a repeater device to configure itself with little or no interaction with a network access node, could improve the performance and flexibility of wireless communication networks that employ repeater device technology.” (Abedini ¶ 0346).
Claims 17 and 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ali in further view of Abedini.
Regarding Claim 17, Ali teaches: A communication apparatus comprising a processor and a memory, wherein the memory stores a computer program, and when the computer program is run by the processor: “The user equipment apparatus 700 may be one embodiment of the remote unit 105 and/or the UE, described above. Furthermore, the user equipment apparatus 700 may include a processor 705, a memory 710, an input device 715, an output device 720, and a transceiver 725” (Ali ¶ 0148).
Ali does not teach: the communication apparatus performs operations comprising: sending K sounding reference signals in K time unit sets, wherein the sending K sounding reference signals in K time unit sets comprises sending a k.sup.th sounding reference signal in the K sounding reference signals in a k.sup.th time unit set in the K time unit sets, the k.sup.th sounding reference signal comprises J sounding reference signal ports, any two of the K sounding reference signals are in two different time unit sets, K is a positive integer greater than 1, k is any integer greater than 0 and less than or equal to K, and J is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1.
Regarding Claim 17, Abedini teaches: the communication apparatus performs operations comprising: sending K sounding reference signals in K time unit sets, wherein the sending K sounding reference signals in K time unit sets comprises sending a k.sup.th sounding reference signal in the K sounding reference signals in a k.sup.th time unit set in the K time unit sets: “The communication and processing circuitry 2541 may further be configured to receive an uplink signal on one or more uplink receive beams via one or more uplink transmit beams applied to the uplink signal. For example, the communication and processing circuitry 2541 may be configured to receive the uplink signal on one or more uplink receive beams via at least one second antenna panel of the antenna array 2520. The uplink signal may include, for example, a PUCCH, PUSCH, SRS, DMRS, or PRACH” (Abedini ¶ 0292) and “The processor 4804 may be configured to generate, schedule, and modify a resource assignment or grant of time-frequency resources (e.g., a set of one or more resource elements). For example, the processor 4804 may schedule time-frequency resources within a plurality of time division duplex (TDD) and/or frequency division duplex (FDD) subframes, slots, and/or mini-slots to carry user data traffic and/or control information to and/or from multiple repeater devices” (Abedini ¶ 0489), the k.sup.th sounding reference signal comprises J sounding reference signal ports: “The SISO repeater device 2000 may have a single input (e.g., a first port) that is amplified by an amplifier 2002 and then transmitted via a single output (e.g., a second port). In other examples, the SISO repeater device 2000 may have multiple inputs and multiple outputs (e.g., where only one input/output pair may be selected at any given time)” (Abedini ¶ 0238), any two of the K sounding reference signals are in two different time unit sets, K is a positive integer greater than 1, k is any integer greater than 0 and less than or equal to K, and J is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1: These design features are necessitated by the TDD scheduling proposed by Abedini, as there are at least 2 SRS resources : “For example, the communication and processing circuitry 2141 may be configured to transmit a respective reference signal (e.g., SRS or DMRS) on each of a plurality of uplink beams” (Abedini ¶ 0250), k would be an integer greater than 0 and less than equal to K as k would be equal to the number of SRS resources assigned to the UE, and J would by necessity be a positive integer greater than or equal to 1 as the repeater device has at least a single port.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the disclosure of Ali with Abedini for the purpose of improving the performance of wireless communication networks using repeaters. According to Abedini: “Improvements to repeater device technology, including technology that may allow a repeater device to configure itself with little or no interaction with a network access node, could improve the performance and flexibility of wireless communication networks that employ repeater device technology.” (Abedini ¶ 0346).
Regarding Claim 19, Ali teaches: The communication apparatus of claim 17.
Ali does not teach: the communication apparatus is configured to, before the sending K sounding reference signals in K time unit sets, to perform operations comprising: receiving sounding reference signal configuration information from a network device, wherein the sounding reference signal configuration information is used for configuring the K sounding reference signals and a time unit set in which each sounding reference signal is located, each sounding reference signal comprises J sounding reference signal ports, and different sounding reference signals are in different time unit sets.
Regarding Claim 19, Abedini teaches: the communication apparatus is configured to, before the sending K sounding reference signals in K time unit sets, to perform operations comprising: receiving sounding reference signal configuration information from a network device: “the UE may receive the SI from the network access node. The system information may take the form of the MIB and SIBs discussed above. The system information includes essential or critical information for a UE to access the network such as downlink (DL) channel configuration information, uplink (UL) channel configuration information, access class information, and cell barring information, as well as other less critical information” (Abedini ¶ 0127), wherein the sounding reference signal configuration information is used for configuring the K sounding reference signals and a time unit set in which each sounding reference signal is located, each sounding reference signal comprises J sounding reference signal ports: “In an example of an uplink beam management scheme, the UE 602 may be configured to sweep or transmit on each of a plurality of uplink transmit beams 608a-608e. For example, the UE 602 may transmit an SRS on each beam in the different beam directions” (Abedini ¶ 0151), and different sounding reference signals are in different time unit sets: These design features are necessitated by the TDD scheduling proposed by Abedini, as there are at least 2 SRS resources : “For example, the communication and processing circuitry 2141 may be configured to transmit a respective reference signal (e.g., SRS or DMRS) on each of a plurality of uplink beams” (Abedini ¶ 0250), k would be an integer greater than 0 and less than equal to K as k would be equal to the number of SRS resources assigned to the UE, and J would by necessity be a positive integer greater than or equal to 1 as the repeater device has at least a single port.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the disclosure of Ali with Abedini for the purpose of improving the performance of wireless communication networks using repeaters. According to Abedini: “Improvements to repeater device technology, including technology that may allow a repeater device to configure itself with little or no interaction with a network access node, could improve the performance and flexibility of wireless communication networks that employ repeater device technology.” (Abedini ¶ 0346).
Regarding Claim 20, Ali teaches: The communication apparatus of claim 17, wherein the communication apparatus comprises a terminal device or a chip in a terminal device: “The user equipment apparatus 700 may be one embodiment of the remote unit 105 and/or the UE, described above. Furthermore, the user equipment apparatus 700 may include a processor 705, a memory 710, an input device 715, an output device 720, and a transceiver 725” (Ali ¶ 0148).
Claims 10 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 under Ali, Abedini, and Tsai.
Regarding Claim 10, Ali teaches: A communication method performed by a terminal device or a chip in a terminal device: “The user equipment apparatus 700 may be one embodiment of the remote unit 105 and/or the UE, described above. Furthermore, the user equipment apparatus 700 may include a processor 705, a memory 710, an input device 715, an output device 720, and a transceiver 725” (Ali ¶ 0148).
Ali does not teach: the method comprises: sending K sounding reference signal sets in K time unit sets, wherein the sending K sounding reference signal sets in K time unit sets comprises sending a k.sup.th sounding reference signal set in the K sounding reference signal sets in a k.sup.th time unit set in the K time unit sets, the k.sup.th sounding reference signal set comprises L sounding reference signals, and each sounding reference signal comprises J sounding reference signal ports, wherein any two sounding reference signals in the k.sup.th sounding reference signal set are in two different time unit sets, and the any two sounding reference signals are associated with different antenna ports; and in any two of the K sounding reference signal sets, sending, by using a same antenna port, sounding reference signal ports with a same number that are of sounding reference signals having a same ranking in the any two sounding reference signal sets, wherein K is a positive integer greater than 1, k is any integer greater than 0 and less than or equal to K, L is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1, and J is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1.
Regarding Claim 17, Abedini teaches: the method comprises: sending K sounding reference signals in K time unit sets, wherein the sending K sounding reference signals in K time unit sets comprises sending a k.sup.th sounding reference signal in the K sounding reference signals in a k.sup.th time unit set in the K time unit sets: “The communication and processing circuitry 2541 may further be configured to receive an uplink signal on one or more uplink receive beams via one or more uplink transmit beams applied to the uplink signal. For example, the communication and processing circuitry 2541 may be configured to receive the uplink signal on one or more uplink receive beams via at least one second antenna panel of the antenna array 2520. The uplink signal may include, for example, a PUCCH, PUSCH, SRS, DMRS, or PRACH” (Abedini ¶ 0292) and “The processor 4804 may be configured to generate, schedule, and modify a resource assignment or grant of time-frequency resources (e.g., a set of one or more resource elements). For example, the processor 4804 may schedule time-frequency resources within a plurality of time division duplex (TDD) and/or frequency division duplex (FDD) subframes, slots, and/or mini-slots to carry user data traffic and/or control information to and/or from multiple repeater devices” (Abedini ¶ 0489), the k.sup.th sounding reference signal comprises J sounding reference signal ports: “The SISO repeater device 2000 may have a single input (e.g., a first port) that is amplified by an amplifier 2002 and then transmitted via a single output (e.g., a second port). In other examples, the SISO repeater device 2000 may have multiple inputs and multiple outputs (e.g., where only one input/output pair may be selected at any given time)” (Abedini ¶ 0238), any two of the K sounding reference signals are in two different time unit sets, and the any two sounding reference signals are associated with different antenna ports: “The SISO repeater device 2000 may have a single input (e.g., a first port) that is amplified by an amplifier 2002 and then transmitted via a single output (e.g., a second port). In other examples, the SISO repeater device 2000 may have multiple inputs and multiple outputs (e.g., where only one input/output pair may be selected at any given time)” (Abedini ¶ 0238), sending, by using a same antenna port, sounding reference signal ports with a same number that are of sounding reference signals having a same ranking in the any two sounding reference signal sets: “An antenna array may be referred to as a phased array because phase values and/or phase offsets of the antenna elements may be configured to form a beam, with different phase values and/or phase offsets being used for different beams (e.g., in different directions)” (Abedini ¶ 02098), or in other words the same antenna port that sends an SRS will have the same ranking (phase difference) as any other SRS sent by the port as the beams would be fixed, K is a positive integer greater than 1, k is any integer greater than 0 and less than or equal to K, and J is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1: These design features are necessitated by the TDD scheduling proposed by Abedini, as there are at least 2 SRS resources : “For example, the communication and processing circuitry 2141 may be configured to transmit a respective reference signal (e.g., SRS or DMRS) on each of a plurality of uplink beams” (Abedini ¶ 0250), k would be an integer greater than 0 and less than equal to K as k would be equal to the number of SRS resources assigned to the UE, and J would by necessity be a positive integer greater than or equal to 1 as the repeater device has at least a single port.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the disclosure of Ali with Abedini for the purpose of improving the performance of wireless communication networks using repeaters. According to Abedini: “Improvements to repeater device technology, including technology that may allow a repeater device to configure itself with little or no interaction with a network access node, could improve the performance and flexibility of wireless communication networks that employ repeater device technology.” (Abedini ¶ 0346).
Regarding Claim 18, Ali and Abedini teach: The communication apparatus of claim 17.
Ali and Abedini do not teach: wherein the J sounding reference signal ports of the k.sup.th sounding reference signal are in a same time unit.
Regarding Claim 18, Tsai teaches the J sounding reference signal ports of the k.sup.th sounding reference signal are in a same time unit: see Tsai Fig. 10 above showing multiple SRSs sent on multiple frequencies during a same time unit.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the disclosure of Ali and Abedini with Tsai for the purpose of improved MIMO gain. According to Tsai: “Normally the number of base station's antennas N.sub.r is much greater than the number of MT's antennas N.sub.t. So base station cannot reach maximum MIMO gain with N.sub.r antennas in a traditional configuration. The present disclosure provides an uplink distributed SU-MIMO framework to improve MIMO gain” (Tsai ¶ 0060).
Conclusion
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/B.D.L./Examiner, Art Unit 2473
/BRADLEY D LYTLE JR./Examiner, Art Unit 2473
/KWANG B YAO/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2473
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