DETAILED ACTION
This office action is a response to the 371 application entering national stage from PCT/CN2022/077992 filed on February 25, 2022.
Claims 30-38 are pending.
Claims 30-38 are rejected.
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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on August 23, 2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Specification
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 30, 31, 33, 34, 36, 37 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wangua et al. U.S. Patent Application Publication 2024/0364414, hereinafter Wanuga, in view of Miao et al. U.S. Patent Application Publication 2024/0405846, hereinafter Miao.
Regarding Claim 30, Wangua discloses a communication method performed by a repeater, the method (Abstract; Figure 1-3, 10-13 and 23-27) comprising:
receiving, from a network device, configuration information of a periodic forwarding resource set for a link between the repeater and a terminal device (Paragraph [0064] ] For the periodic downlink transmissions such as SSBs, SIB1 signals, and CSI-RSs, the repeater's access link transmission beam and activation periods may be semi-statically configured by the donor; Paragraph [0110] The repeater may receive, at 1408, the semi-static configuration information for the SSBs it transmits periodically. The configuration information may include scheduling of resources for the SSBs, access link transmission beam configuration (e.g., the repeater can also be allowed to allocate beams freely within the SSB indices used by the gNB to repeater communication), periodicity, repeater cell identifier, and/or master information block (MIB) information; Paragraph [0132] The donor gNB 2102 may send configuration parameters to the repeater 2104, at 2108. The configuration parameters sent by the donor gNB 2102 to the repeater 2104 may include resource allocation for SRS, access link receive beam configuration for SRS signals, and/or uplink allocation on the control link for forwarding SRS information (this can be a PUCCH allocation over the backhaul link)),
wherein each periodic forwarding resource in the periodic forwarding resource set is configured with a periodicity and a beam index, and all the periodic forwarding resources in the periodic forwarding resource set have a same periodicity (Paragraph [0066-0067] The repeater may have its own independent cell resources, such as a physical cell identifier (PCI) and corresponding beam identifier space. The scheduling and beams of its cell-specific resources, such as SSBs, broadcast SIBs, RACH occasions, CSI-RS and SRS, may be configured by the donor gNB. The repeater may transmit its SSBs, periodic SIBs and CSI-RSs, detect PRACH preambles, and receive SRS, based on the configured schedules and beam information received from its donor; Paragraph [0110-0132] The repeater may receive, at 1408, the semi-static configuration information for the SSBs it transmits periodically. The configuration information may include scheduling of resources for the SSBs, access link transmission beam configuration (e.g., the repeater can also be allowed to allocate beams freely within the SSB indices used by the gNB to repeater communication), periodicity, repeater cell identifier, and/or master information block (MIB) information);
and performing transmission or reception on the link between the repeater and the terminal device based on the configuration information of the periodic forwarding resource set (Paragraph [0066-0067] The repeater may amplify and forward the downlink and uplink control and data channels, e.g., PDCCH, PDSCH, PUCCH, and PUSCH. The control unit may receive, from the donor, the access link transmit beam and receive beam configuration information, and may receive the activation time periods for relaying the transmissions of downlink and uplink signals and channels, respectively; Paragraph [0078-0084] The repeater 304 may, at 308, receive semi-static configuration information for the SSBs it relays from the donor gNB 302. The configuration information may include the following for each SSB: scheduling of resources for the SSB, access link transmission beam configuration (the repeater 304 can also be allowed to select beams freely within the SSB indices allocated by the gNB 302 to repeater 304 communication), and periodicity).
Wangua readily discloses reception and transmission of configuration information of a periodic forwarding resource set but may not explicitly disclose the beam index wherein each periodic forwarding resource in the periodic forwarding resource set is configured with a periodicity and abeam index, and all the periodic forwarding resources in the periodic forwarding resource set have a same periodicity.
However, Miao more specifically teaches the beam index wherein each periodic forwarding resource in the periodic forwarding resource set is configured with a periodicity and a beam index (Paragraph [0082-0099] the beam determination process is described by using the case where the base station periodically configures the beam usable by the repeater (that is, the configuration information is the first configuration information) as an example. In an embodiment, the case where the beam used by the repeater is determined by using the first configuration information may include four examples described below; The DL receive beam indicates the receive beam used by the repeater when the repeater receives transmissions from the base station on the DL link; and the UL transmit beam indicates the transmit beam used by the repeater when the repeater transmits transmissions to the base station on the UL link; Paragraph [0170-0171] the resource group is a group of time domain resources which is periodic, and the time domain resources within one period include at least one of the following: a group of symbols, multiple groups of symbols, a group of time units, or multiple groups of time units. A group of symbols includes at least one symbol, and a group of time units includes at least one time unit).
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 Wangua with the teachings of Miao. The method enables reducing power consumption, data rate, and battery life of the network element. The method allows a beamforming repeater with control channel to reduce power consumption of the access link transmit beam and the backhaul transmit beam, thus improving performance of a network element in an efficient manner, and hence improving network performance and reducing cost of a wireless communication system in an effective manner (Miao Abstract; Paragraph [0002-0010 and 0061-0068]).
Regarding Claim 31, Wangua in view of Miao disclose the method of Claim 30. Wangua in view of Miao further disclose wherein each periodic forwarding resource is configured with a slot offset and a symbol offset (Miao Paragraph [0037-0039, 0054, 0075, 0171-0193 and 0241] Slot offset and symbol offset corresponding to parameters for periodic resources).
Regarding Claim 33, Wangua discloses a communication method performed by a network device, the method (Abstract; Figure 1-3, 10-13 and 23-27) comprising:
transmitting, to a repeater, configuration information of a periodic forwarding resource set for a link between the repeater and a terminal device (Paragraph [0064] ] For the periodic downlink transmissions such as SSBs, SIB1 signals, and CSI-RSs, the repeater's access link transmission beam and activation periods may be semi-statically configured by the donor; Paragraph [0110] The repeater may receive, at 1408, the semi-static configuration information for the SSBs it transmits periodically. The configuration information may include scheduling of resources for the SSBs, access link transmission beam configuration (e.g., the repeater can also be allowed to allocate beams freely within the SSB indices used by the gNB to repeater communication), periodicity, repeater cell identifier, and/or master information block (MIB) information; Paragraph [0132] The donor gNB 2102 may send configuration parameters to the repeater 2104, at 2108. The configuration parameters sent by the donor gNB 2102 to the repeater 2104 may include resource allocation for SRS, access link receive beam configuration for SRS signals, and/or uplink allocation on the control link for forwarding SRS information (this can be a PUCCH allocation over the backhaul link)),
wherein each periodic forwarding resource in the periodic forwarding resource set is configured with a periodicity and a beam index, and all the periodic forwarding resources in the periodic forwarding resource set have a same periodicity (Paragraph [0066-0067] The repeater may have its own independent cell resources, such as a physical cell identifier (PCI) and corresponding beam identifier space. The scheduling and beams of its cell-specific resources, such as SSBs, broadcast SIBs, RACH occasions, CSI-RS and SRS, may be configured by the donor gNB. The repeater may transmit its SSBs, periodic SIBs and CSI-RSs, detect PRACH preambles, and receive SRS, based on the configured schedules and beam information received from its donor; Paragraph [0110-0132] The repeater may receive, at 1408, the semi-static configuration information for the SSBs it transmits periodically. The configuration information may include scheduling of resources for the SSBs, access link transmission beam configuration (e.g., the repeater can also be allowed to allocate beams freely within the SSB indices used by the gNB to repeater communication), periodicity, repeater cell identifier, and/or master information block (MIB) information),
wherein the configuration information of the periodic forwarding resource set is used for the repeater to perform transmission or reception on the link between the repeater and the terminal device (Paragraph [0066-0067] The repeater may amplify and forward the downlink and uplink control and data channels, e.g., PDCCH, PDSCH, PUCCH, and PUSCH. The control unit may receive, from the donor, the access link transmit beam and receive beam configuration information, and may receive the activation time periods for relaying the transmissions of downlink and uplink signals and channels, respectively; Paragraph [0078-0084] The repeater 304 may, at 308, receive semi-static configuration information for the SSBs it relays from the donor gNB 302. The configuration information may include the following for each SSB: scheduling of resources for the SSB, access link transmission beam configuration (the repeater 304 can also be allowed to select beams freely within the SSB indices allocated by the gNB 302 to repeater 304 communication), and periodicity).
Wangua readily discloses reception and transmission of configuration information of a periodic forwarding resource set but may not explicitly disclose the beam index wherein each periodic forwarding resource in the periodic forwarding resource set is configured with a periodicity and abeam index, and all the periodic forwarding resources in the periodic forwarding resource set have a same periodicity.
However, Miao more specifically teaches the beam index wherein each periodic forwarding resource in the periodic forwarding resource set is configured with a periodicity and a beam index (Paragraph [0082-0099] the beam determination process is described by using the case where the base station periodically configures the beam usable by the repeater (that is, the configuration information is the first configuration information) as an example. In an embodiment, the case where the beam used by the repeater is determined by using the first configuration information may include four examples described below; The DL receive beam indicates the receive beam used by the repeater when the repeater receives transmissions from the base station on the DL link; and the UL transmit beam indicates the transmit beam used by the repeater when the repeater transmits transmissions to the base station on the UL link; Paragraph [0170-0171] the resource group is a group of time domain resources which is periodic, and the time domain resources within one period include at least one of the following: a group of symbols, multiple groups of symbols, a group of time units, or multiple groups of time units. A group of symbols includes at least one symbol, and a group of time units includes at least one time unit).
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 Wangua with the teachings of Miao. The method enables reducing power consumption, data rate, and battery life of the network element. The method allows a beamforming repeater with control channel to reduce power consumption of the access link transmit beam and the backhaul transmit beam, thus improving performance of a network element in an efficient manner, and hence improving network performance and reducing cost of a wireless communication system in an effective manner (Miao Abstract; Paragraph [0002-0010 and 0061-0068]).
Regarding Claim 34, Wangua in view of Miao disclose the method of Claim 33. Wangua in view of Miao further disclose wherein each periodic forwarding resource is configured with a slot offset and a symbol offset (Miao Paragraph [0037-0039, 0054, 0075, 0171-0193 and 0241] Slot offset and symbol offset corresponding to parameters for periodic resources).
Regarding Claim 36, Wangua discloses a repeater, comprising: a processor configured to cause the repeater (Abstract; Figure 1-3, 10-13 and 23-27), to:
receive, from a network device, configuration information of a periodic forwarding resource set for a link between the repeater and a terminal device (Paragraph [0064] ] For the periodic downlink transmissions such as SSBs, SIB1 signals, and CSI-RSs, the repeater's access link transmission beam and activation periods may be semi-statically configured by the donor; Paragraph [0110] The repeater may receive, at 1408, the semi-static configuration information for the SSBs it transmits periodically. The configuration information may include scheduling of resources for the SSBs, access link transmission beam configuration (e.g., the repeater can also be allowed to allocate beams freely within the SSB indices used by the gNB to repeater communication), periodicity, repeater cell identifier, and/or master information block (MIB) information; Paragraph [0132] The donor gNB 2102 may send configuration parameters to the repeater 2104, at 2108. The configuration parameters sent by the donor gNB 2102 to the repeater 2104 may include resource allocation for SRS, access link receive beam configuration for SRS signals, and/or uplink allocation on the control link for forwarding SRS information (this can be a PUCCH allocation over the backhaul link)),
wherein each periodic forwarding resource in the periodic forwarding resource set is configured with a periodicity and abeam index, and all the periodic forwarding resources in the periodic forwarding resource set have a same periodicity (Paragraph [0066-0067] The repeater may have its own independent cell resources, such as a physical cell identifier (PCI) and corresponding beam identifier space. The scheduling and beams of its cell-specific resources, such as SSBs, broadcast SIBs, RACH occasions, CSI-RS and SRS, may be configured by the donor gNB. The repeater may transmit its SSBs, periodic SIBs and CSI-RSs, detect PRACH preambles, and receive SRS, based on the configured schedules and beam information received from its donor; Paragraph [0110-0132] The repeater may receive, at 1408, the semi-static configuration information for the SSBs it transmits periodically. The configuration information may include scheduling of resources for the SSBs, access link transmission beam configuration (e.g., the repeater can also be allowed to allocate beams freely within the SSB indices used by the gNB to repeater communication), periodicity, repeater cell identifier, and/or master information block (MIB) information).
and perform transmission or reception on the link between the repeater and the terminal device based on the configuration information of the periodic forwarding resource set (Paragraph [0066-0067] The repeater may amplify and forward the downlink and uplink control and data channels, e.g., PDCCH, PDSCH, PUCCH, and PUSCH. The control unit may receive, from the donor, the access link transmit beam and receive beam configuration information, and may receive the activation time periods for relaying the transmissions of downlink and uplink signals and channels, respectively; Paragraph [0078-0084] The repeater 304 may, at 308, receive semi-static configuration information for the SSBs it relays from the donor gNB 302. The configuration information may include the following for each SSB: scheduling of resources for the SSB, access link transmission beam configuration (the repeater 304 can also be allowed to select beams freely within the SSB indices allocated by the gNB 302 to repeater 304 communication), and periodicity).
Wangua readily discloses reception and transmission of configuration information of a periodic forwarding resource set but may not explicitly disclose the beam index wherein each periodic forwarding resource in the periodic forwarding resource set is configured with a periodicity and abeam index, and all the periodic forwarding resources in the periodic forwarding resource set have a same periodicity.
However, Miao more specifically teaches the beam index wherein each periodic forwarding resource in the periodic forwarding resource set is configured with a periodicity and a beam index (Paragraph [0082-0099] the beam determination process is described by using the case where the base station periodically configures the beam usable by the repeater (that is, the configuration information is the first configuration information) as an example. In an embodiment, the case where the beam used by the repeater is determined by using the first configuration information may include four examples described below; The DL receive beam indicates the receive beam used by the repeater when the repeater receives transmissions from the base station on the DL link; and the UL transmit beam indicates the transmit beam used by the repeater when the repeater transmits transmissions to the base station on the UL link; Paragraph [0170-0171] the resource group is a group of time domain resources which is periodic, and the time domain resources within one period include at least one of the following: a group of symbols, multiple groups of symbols, a group of time units, or multiple groups of time units. A group of symbols includes at least one symbol, and a group of time units includes at least one time unit).
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 Wangua with the teachings of Miao. The method enables reducing power consumption, data rate, and battery life of the network element. The method allows a beamforming repeater with control channel to reduce power consumption of the access link transmit beam and the backhaul transmit beam, thus improving performance of a network element in an efficient manner, and hence improving network performance and reducing cost of a wireless communication system in an effective manner (Miao Abstract; Paragraph [0002-0010 and 0061-0068]).
Regarding Claim 37, Wangua in view of Miao disclose the repeater of Claim 36. Wangua in view of Miao further disclose wherein each periodic forwarding resource is configured with a slot offset and a symbol offset (Miao Paragraph [0037-0039, 0054, 0075, 0171-0193 and 0241] Slot offset and symbol offset corresponding to parameters for periodic resources).
Claims 32, 35 and 38 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wangua in view of Miao further as applied to claim 30, 33 and 36 above, and further in view of Wai et al. U.S. Patent Application Publication 2023/0327746, hereinafter Wai.
Regarding Claim 32 and 38, Wangua in view of Miao disclose the method and repeater of Claim 30 and 36. Wangua in view of Miao fail to explicitly disclose transmitting, to the network device, information of at least one beam used by the repeater for the link between the repeater and the terminal device.
However, Wai more specifically teaches transmitting, to the network device, information of at least one beam used by the repeater for the link between the repeater and the terminal device (Figure 12; Paragraph [0176-0229] When the switching of the reception beam is completed, the beam control unit 106 of the non-reproduction wireless relay device 10 controls the reception beam switching unit 107 and the transmission beam switching unit 109 so that transmission of the beam ID feedback signal from the terminal station 30 to the base station 20 can be relayed by using the terminal station side reception antenna 117 and the base station side transmission antenna 119 (step S4203). When relaying transmission of the beam ID feedback signal from the terminal station 30 to the base station 20, the non-reproduction wireless relay device 10 waits until receiving (the beam ID notification) of the information indicating the beam ID transmitted from the base station 20; it may be configured to notify the base station 20 by the control signal each time when the non-reproduction wireless relay devices 10 (10a) switches the candidate beam, and transmit the beam search signal to the non-reproduction wireless relay devices 10 (10a) each time when the base station 20 receives the notification).
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 Wangua in view of Miao with the teachings of Wai. Wai provides a solution which can deliver radio waves to a position where there is no line of sight. Using a wireless relay device capable of amplifying a wireless signal or changing the traveling direction of the wireless signal. The beam forming is a technique for improving directivity of radio waves by forming a beam in which power is concentrated in a specific direction (Wai Abstract; Paragraph [0028-0032]).
Regarding Claim 35, Wangua in view of Miao disclose the method of Claim 33. Wangua in view of Miao fail to explicitly disclose receiving, from the repeater, information of at least one beam used by the repeater for the link between the repeater and the terminal device.
However, Wai more specifically teaches receiving, from the repeater, information of at least one beam used by the repeater for the link between the repeater and the terminal device (Figure 12; Paragraph [0176-0229] When the switching of the reception beam is completed, the beam control unit 106 of the non-reproduction wireless relay device 10 controls the reception beam switching unit 107 and the transmission beam switching unit 109 so that transmission of the beam ID feedback signal from the terminal station 30 to the base station 20 can be relayed by using the terminal station side reception antenna 117 and the base station side transmission antenna 119 (step S4203). When relaying transmission of the beam ID feedback signal from the terminal station 30 to the base station 20, the non-reproduction wireless relay device 10 waits until receiving (the beam ID notification) of the information indicating the beam ID transmitted from the base station 20; it may be configured to notify the base station 20 by the control signal each time when the non-reproduction wireless relay devices 10 (10a) switches the candidate beam, and transmit the beam search signal to the non-reproduction wireless relay devices 10 (10a) each time when the base station 20 receives the notification).
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 Wangua in view of Miao with the teachings of Wai. Wai provides a solution which can deliver radio waves to a position where there is no line of sight. Using a wireless relay device capable of amplifying a wireless signal or changing the traveling direction of the wireless signal. The beam forming is a technique for improving directivity of radio waves by forming a beam in which power is concentrated in a specific direction (Wai Abstract; Paragraph [0028-0032]).
Conclusion
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IVAN O. LATORRE
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2409
/IVAN O LATORRE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2409
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