DETAILED ACTION
1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . This action is responsive to communication filed on 08/26/2024. Claims 1-15 are cancelled. Claims 16-35 are pending for examination.
Examiner’s Note
2. 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 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.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
3. The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
4. Claims 16-35 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Moon (US 2024/0429994 A1) in view of Kowalski (US 2023/0239768 A1).
Regarding claims 16 and 26, Moon teaches a method performed by a network-controlled repeater (NCR) (repeater) in a wireless communication system, the method comprising:
receiving, from a base station (BS), information configuring a transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state ([0085], base station configures a transmission configuration information (TCI) state.) associated with a quasi co-location (QCL) relationship for a reference signal (DM-RS) ( [0103], TCI state information transmitted from base station to repeater. In this case, the repeater receives, from the base station, information on a QCL source having a QCL relationship with the downlink signal/DM-RS and receives the downlink signal/DM-RS based thereon; wherein [0085], the TCI includes a QCL relationship with a DM-RS.) (Hence, the repeater receives from the base station, TCI sate info associated with a QCL relationship for a RS/DM-RS.);
receiving, from the BS via a control link, a first signal ( [0119], 1st category signal is transmitted through a control link between the base station and the relay node (e.g., repeater or MT entity of repeater)) in a set of symbols ( [0163],1st signal is allocated to a symbol #(n+1) and a symbol #(n+2)) based on the TCI state ( [0148], A period is configured as a set of symbol(s), and configuration information{i.e. TCI} thereof is signaled from the base station to the relay node; Wherein the relay node receives signals {i.e. 1st and 2nd category signal} from the base station.) (Hence, the repeater receives from the base station, 1st signal via control link, in a set of symbols based on the TCI.); and
receiving, from the BS via a backhaul link, a second signal ( [0121], 2nd category signal is transmitted through a backhaul link between the base station and the relay node (e.g., repeater or forwarding entity of repeater) ) in the set of symbols ( [0163],2nd signal is allocated to the symbol #(n+1) and the symbol #(n+2).) based on the TCI state( [0148], A period is configured as a set of symbol(s), and configuration information{i.e. TCI} thereof is signaled from the base station to the relay node; Wherein the relay node receives signals {i.e. 1st and 2nd category signal} from the base station.) (Hence, the repeater receives from the base station, 2nd signal via backhaul link, in the set of symbols based on the TCI.)
Moon teaches a repeater.
Moon does not teach a network-controlled repeater (NCR).
Kowalski teaches a network-controlled repeater (NCR) (28-Fig. 2; [0058], The repeater node 28 is a “network-controlled repeater”, NCR.).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claim invention to take the teaching of Kowalski and apply them on the teaching of Moon to provide “smart repeater”/“NCR” to perform its amplify-and-forward operation in a more efficient manner. Potential benefits include mitigation of unnecessary noise amplification, transmissions and receptions with better spatial directivity, and simplified network integration (Kowalski; [0009]).
Specially for Claim 26, Moon teaches a network-controlled repeater (NCR) (repeater 200—Fig. 2; [0051]; [0108]) in a wireless communication system, the NCR (repeater 200) comprising:
a transceiver (230 of 200—Fig. 2; [0051]); and
a controller (210 of 200—Fig. 2; [0051]) coupled with the transceiver (230) (see Fig. 2, they are coupled) and configured to:
Moon teaches a repeater.
Moon does not teach a network-controlled repeater (NCR).
Kowalski teaches a network-controlled repeater (NCR) (28-Fig. 2; [0058], The repeater node 28 is a “network-controlled repeater”, NCR.).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claim invention to take the teaching of Kowalski and apply them on the teaching of Moon to provide “smart repeater”/“NCR” to perform its amplify-and-forward operation in a more efficient manner. Potential benefits include mitigation of unnecessary noise amplification, transmissions and receptions with better spatial directivity, and simplified network integration (Kowalski; [0009]).
Regarding claims 17, 23, 27 and 33, Moon further teaches wherein the first signal and the second signal are received simultaneously ( [0172], relay node/repeater receives a plurality of signals {i.e. 1st and 2nd} simultaneously (e.g., in the same time period).).
Regarding claims 18, 24, 28 and 34, Moon further teaches wherein the first signal includes at least one of a synchronization signal block (SSB), a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) ([0103], CSI-RS,), or a sounding reference signal (SRS).
Regarding claims 19, 25, 29 and 35, Moon further teaches wherein the first signal is received via the control link by an NCR (repeater) mobile terminal (MT) entity included in the NCR (repeater) ([0119], 1st category signal is transmitted through a control link between the base station and the relay node (e.g., repeater or MT entity of repeater—[0094]).), and
wherein the second signal is received via the backhaul link by an NCR (repeater)forward (FWD) entity included in the NCR (repeater)([0121], 2nd category signal is transmitted through a backhaul link between the base station and the relay node (e.g., repeater or forwarding entity of repeater—[0095])).
Moon teaches a repeater.
Moon does not teach a network-controlled repeater (NCR).
Kowalski teaches a network-controlled repeater (NCR) (28-Fig. 2; [0058], The repeater node 28 is a “network-controlled repeater”, NCR.).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claim invention to take the teaching of Kowalski and apply them on the teaching of Moon to provide “smart repeater”/“NCR” to perform its amplify-and-forward operation in a more efficient manner. Potential benefits include mitigation of unnecessary noise amplification, transmissions and receptions with better spatial directivity, and simplified network integration (Kowalski; [0009]).
Regarding claims 20 and 30, Moon further teaches wherein the TCI state corresponds to two reference signals ([0088], TCI state information required for terminal to receive CSI-RS, SRS.).
Regarding claims 21 and 31, Moon further teaches further comprising:
transmitting, to a user equipment (UE) via an access link, the second signal by the NCR (repeater) FWD entity ([0121], 2nd category signal is transmitted through a backhaul link between the base station and the relay node (e.g., repeater or forwarding entity of repeater—[0095]) and is transmitted through an access link between the relay node and the terminal.).
Moon teaches a repeater.
Moon does not teach a network-controlled repeater (NCR).
Kowalski teaches a network-controlled repeater (NCR) (28-Fig. 2; [0058], The repeater node 28 is a “network-controlled repeater”, NCR.).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claim invention to take the teaching of Kowalski and apply them on the teaching of Moon to provide “smart repeater”/“NCR” to perform its amplify-and-forward operation in a more efficient manner. Potential benefits include mitigation of unnecessary noise amplification, transmissions and receptions with better spatial directivity, and simplified network integration (Kowalski; [0009]).
Regarding claims 22 and 32, Moon teaches a method performed by a base station in a wireless communication system, the method comprising:
transmitting, to a network-controlled repeater (NCR) (repeater), information configuring a transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state ([0085], base station configures a transmission configuration information (TCI) state.) associated with a quasi co-location (QCL) relationship for a reference signal (DM-RS) ( [0103], TCI state information transmitted from base station to repeater. In this case, the repeater receives, from the base station, information on a QCL source having a QCL relationship with the downlink signal/DM-RS and receives the downlink signal/DM-RS based thereon; wherein [0085], the TCI includes a QCL relationship with a DM-RS.) (Hence, the base station transmits to the repeater, TCI sate info associated with a QCL relationship for a RS/DM-RS.);
transmitting, to the NCR (repeater) via a control link, a first signal ( [0119], 1st category signal is transmitted through a control link between the base station and the relay node (e.g., repeater or MT entity of repeater)) in a set of symbols ( [0163],1st signal is allocated to a symbol #(n+1) and a symbol #(n+2)) based on the TCI state ( [0148], A period is configured as a set of symbol(s), and configuration information{i.e. TCI} thereof is signaled from the base station to the relay node; Wherein the relay node receives signals {i.e. 1st and 2nd category signal} from the base station.) (Hence, the base station transmits to the repeater, 1st signal via control link, in a set of symbols based on the TCI.); and
transmitting, to the NCR (repeater) via a backhaul link, a second signal ( [0121], 2nd category signal is transmitted through a backhaul link between the base station and the relay node (e.g., repeater or forwarding entity of repeater) ) in the set of symbols ( [0163],2nd signal is allocated to the symbol #(n+1) and the symbol #(n+2).) based on the TCI state( [0148], A period is configured as a set of symbol(s), and configuration information{i.e. TCI} thereof is signaled from the base station to the relay node; Wherein the relay node receives signals {i.e. 1st and 2nd category signal} from the base station.) (Hence, the base station transmits to the repeater, 2nd signal via backhaul link, in the set of symbols based on the TCI.)
Moon teaches a repeater.
Moon does not teach a network-controlled repeater (NCR).
Kowalski teaches a network-controlled repeater (NCR) (28-Fig. 2; [0058], The repeater node 28 is a “network-controlled repeater”, NCR.).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claim invention to take the teaching of Kowalski and apply them on the teaching of Moon to provide “smart repeater”/“NCR” to perform its amplify-and-forward operation in a more efficient manner. Potential benefits include mitigation of unnecessary noise amplification, transmissions and receptions with better spatial directivity, and simplified network integration (Kowalski; [0009]).
Specially for Claim 32, Moon teaches a base station (BS) (200—Fig. 2; [0051]; [0087]) in a wireless communication system, the BS (200) comprising:
a transceiver (230 of 200—Fig. 2; [0051]); and
a controller (210 of 200—Fig. 2; [0051]) coupled with the transceiver (230)(see Fig. 2, they are coupled) and configured to:
Conclusion
5. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MEHEDI S ALEY whose telephone number is (571)270-0439. The examiner can normally be reached Mon, Thus, Fri: 9-5. 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, Jeffrey M Rutkowski can be reached at 571-270-01215. 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.
/MEHEDI S ALEY/Examiner, Art Unit 2415
/JEFFREY M RUTKOWSKI/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2415
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