DETAILED ACTION
This action is responsive to claims filed on 10/2/2024.
Claims 1-18 are pending examination.
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 statements (IDS) submitted on 10/2/2024 and 5/9/2025 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements are being considered by the examiner.
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d). Receipt is acknowledged of certified copy required by 37 CFR 1.55 for parent Application No CN202210351784.7 filed on 4/2/2022. Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for domestic benefit/national stage under 35 U.S.C. 119(e), 120, 121, 365(c), or 386(c) for parent Application No PCT/KR2023/004396 filed on 3/31/2023.
Preliminary Amendment
Acknowledgment is made of preliminary amendments made to claims filed on 11/18/2024 amending claims 1-15 and adding new claims 16-18.
Drawings
The drawings were received on 10/2/2024. These drawings are unacceptable. The drawings, specifically Fig.2a, 2b, and 5b-28, are objected to because reference characters, sheet numbers, and view numbers must be oriented in the same direction as the view so as to avoid having to rotate the sheet and reference characters should be arranged to follow the profile of the object depicted, as per 37 CFR 1.84(p)(1). Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Abstract
Applicant is reminded of the proper language and format for an abstract of the disclosure.
The abstract should be in narrative form and generally limited to a single paragraph on a separate sheet within the range of 50 to 150 words in length. The abstract should describe the disclosure sufficiently to assist readers in deciding whether there is a need for consulting the full patent text for details.
The language should be clear and concise and should not repeat information given in the title. It should avoid using phrases which can be implied, such as, “The disclosure concerns,” “The disclosure defined by this invention,” “The disclosure describes,” etc. In addition, the form and legal phraseology often used in patent claims, such as “means” and “said,” should be avoided.
The abstract of the disclosure is objected to because it is not limited to a single paragraph on a separate sheet. A corrected abstract of the disclosure is required and must be presented on a separate sheet, apart from any other text. See MPEP § 608.01(b).
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.
The lengthy specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-18 are rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Kim et al. (US 20230189253 A1; hereinafter Kim).
Regarding Claim 1, Kim disclose(s):
A method performed by a network controlled repeater (NCR) comprising an NCR mobile terminal (NCR-MT) and an NCR forward (NCR-FWD) in a wireless communication system, the method comprising:
receiving, from a user equipment (UE), a first uplink signal; and [(Kim ¶74-79; Fig. 4)
[0074] The intermediate node may receive a signal from the base station and transmit the signal to the terminal. The intermediate node may receive a signal of the terminal and transmit the signal to the base station. The intermediate node may relay communication between the base station and the terminal. In the present disclosure, a signal may include a signal and/or channel. In the transmission operation described above, the intermediate node may amplify the signal. In addition, the intermediate node may perform an additional beamforming function
[0075] The base station may transmit a signal to control the intermediate node. The intermediate node may receive the signal from the base station and may perform operations related to a control plane and/or data plane to recognize or interpret the signal. For example, radio resource control (RRC) signaling may be transmitted and received between the intermediate node and the base station. A data channel may be transmitted and received. between the intermediate node and the base station according to dynamic scheduling. A radio link through which transmission and reception between the intermediate node and the base station are performed may be referred to as a control link (i.e., C-link). Since the intermediate node operates as a type of terminal controlled by the base station through the control link, it may be referred to as ‘network controlled repeater-mobile termination (NCR-MT)’.
[0079] Referring to FIG. 4, the intermediate node may relay transmission of a data channel between the base station and the terminal using a radio frequency (RF) layer. The relaying function of the intermediate node may be referred to as ‘network controlled repeater-forwarding (NCR-Fwd)’.
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identifying a time resource for transmitting a second uplink signal for forwarding the first uplink signal to a base station (BS), [ (See Kim ¶5; ¶70-79; ¶103-108; ¶123; ¶165-166; Fig. 4; Fig. 11)
[0005] Meanwhile, an intermediate node for relaying communication between a base station and a terminal may be introduced into the communication system. The intermediate node may receive a signal from the base station and transmit the signal to the terminal. In addition, the intermediate node may receive a signal from the terminal and transmit the signal to the base station. Depending on a situation of the communication system, the relaying operation of the intermediate node may not be required. In this case, methods for controlling the operation of the intermediate node are needed.
[0070] In order to support repeated transmissions for the eMBB traffic in the time domain, a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) repetition (e.g., PUSCH repetition type A) may be introduced. In this case, a PUSCH allocated on a slot basis may be repeatedly transmitted. To extend a coverage, a time resource may be allocated over a plurality of slots. When the PUSCH repetition type A is used, the time resource may be configured by an RRC message and/or a DCI. The number of repetitions of the PUSCH may be indicated by the RRC message, and a time resource for transmitting the PUSCH in the first slot may be indicated by the DCI (e.g., in case of type 2 configured grant (CG) or dynamic grant) or the RRC message (e.g., in case of type 1 CG).
[0071] In order to support URLLC traffic, it may be preferable for the terminal to perform frequent reception operations in downlink (DL) resources and/or frequent transmission operations in uplink (UL) resources. In a time division duplex (TDD) system, the terminal may operate based on a half-duplex scheme. Accordingly, a time of supporting DL traffic and/or UL traffic may increase according to a slot pattern. On the other hand, in a frequency division duplex (FDD) system, the terminal may utilize DL resources and UL resources at the same time. Accordingly, the above-described problem in the TDD system may not occur in the FDD system. The FDD system may use two or more carriers. When two or more serving cells are configured to the terminal in the TDD system, the terminal may utilize DL resources and UL resources.
[0103] A TDD scenario may be considered. A TDD slot pattern may be classified into a common pattern and a terminal (UE)-specific pattern. The base station may transmit system information including information on a common pattern to the terminal. Alternatively, in an RRC connection procedure between the base station and the terminal, the base station may transmit an RRC message including information on the common pattern to the terminal. The terminal may obtain the information on the common pattern from the base station. The common pattern may be interpreted as a slot pattern commonly applied to a plurality of terminals.
[0104] Thereafter, the base station may configure a UE-specific pattern to the terminal through RRC signaling. The UE-specific pattern may be an independent slot pattern for each terminal. The terminal may obtain information on the UE-specific pattern from the base station. When the UE-specific pattern is configured to the terminal, the terminal may interpret a slot pattern by applying the UE-specific pattern. Some of flexible (FL) symbols configured to the terminal may be dynamically configured as downlink (DL) symbols or uplink (UL) symbols. The terminal may receive a DL signal and/or a DL channel using DL symbols. The terminal may receive a UL signal and/or a UL channel using UL symbols. The terminal may receive DCI indicating a slot format. Based on information included in the DCI, the terminal may regard a portion of FL symbols as DL symbols and may regard another portion of the FL symbols as UL symbols.
[0105] For one FL symbol, a first terminal may regard the corresponding FL symbol as a DL symbol, a second terminal may regard the corresponding FL symbol as a UL symbol, and a third terminal may regard the corresponding FL symbol as an FL symbol.
[0106] FIG. 11 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a common pattern and a UE-specific pattern in a TDD scenario.
[0107] Referring to FIG. 11, ‘DL’ may mean DL symbol(s) or a DL period, ‘UL’ may mean UL symbol(s) or a UL period, and ‘FL’ may mean FL symbol(s) or an FL period. The FL symbol regarded by the first terminal may be different from the FL symbol regarded by the second terminal. Depending on a specific DCI format received from the base station, a DL-UL switching boundary for the first terminal may be different from a DL-UL switching boundary for the second terminal.
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wherein the NCR does not support simultaneous transmissions of the second uplink signal and a third uplink signal to the BS.[(See Kim ¶108; ¶156; ¶165-166; Fig. 11; Fig. 15; Fig. 17)
[0108] The intermediate node may need to perform switching between DL and UL based on one of the switching boundary of the first terminal and the switching boundary of the second terminal. The intermediate node may not perform a switching operation between DL and UL. In this case, assuming that separate antenna arrays are configured for DL and UL to support full-duplex operation, the antenna array may be directed in an unnecessary direction. Therefore, considering performance and efficiency, it may be preferable for the intermediate node to perform the switching operation between DL and UL.
[0155] FIG. 15 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a first exemplary embodiment of a transmission power of an intermediate node.
[0156] Referring to FIG. 15, a resource allocated for a terminal a and a resource allocated for a terminal b may overlap (e.g., partially overlap) in the time domain. Each of the terminal a and the terminal b may transmit a UL signal/channel using the allocated resource. The intermediate node may receive the UL signal/channel of each of the terminal a and the terminal b, and may transmit the corresponding UL signal/channel to the base station. That is, the intermediate node may perform a UL forwarding procedure.
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[0165] FIG. 17 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a first exemplary embodiment of a method of deriving a time unit during which constant amplification gain is applied.
[0166] Referring to FIG. 17, a resource allocated for a terminal a and a resource allocated for a terminal b may overlap (e.g., partially overlap) in the time domain. The resource allocated for each of the terminal a and the terminal b may not overlap with a resource allocated for a terminal c in the time domain. When consecutive symbols are scheduled, the intermediate node may regard the consecutive symbols as one time unit and maintain the same amplification gain within one time unit. In the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 17, the intermediate node may derive two time units (e.g., time1, time2). During the time 1, the amplification gain of the intermediate node may be maintained to be the same, and during the time 2, the amplification gain of the intermediate node may be maintained to be the same. The amplification gain of the intermediate node during the time 1 may be different from the amplification gain of the intermediate node during the time 2. In a DL forwarding procedure, the UL signal/channel 1 may be interpreted as a DL signal/channel 1, the UL signal/channel 2 may be interpreted as a DL signal/channel 2, and the UL signal/channel 3 may be interpreted as a DL signal/channel 3.
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Regarding Claims 2 and 10, Kim disclose(s):
The method of claim 1, wherein, in case that the third uplink signal on the time resource is being transmitted, a transmission of the second uplink signal on the time resource is not performed. [(See Kim ¶103-108; ¶156; ¶165-166; Fig. 11; Fig. 15; Fig. 17)
[0165] FIG. 17 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a first exemplary embodiment of a method of deriving a time unit during which constant amplification gain is applied.
[0166] Referring to FIG. 17, a resource allocated for a terminal a and a resource allocated for a terminal b may overlap (e.g., partially overlap) in the time domain. The resource allocated for each of the terminal a and the terminal b may not overlap with a resource allocated for a terminal c in the time domain. When consecutive symbols are scheduled, the intermediate node may regard the consecutive symbols as one time unit and maintain the same amplification gain within one time unit. In the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 17, the intermediate node may derive two time units (e.g., time1, time2). During the time 1, the amplification gain of the intermediate node may be maintained to be the same, and during the time 2, the amplification gain of the intermediate node may be maintained to be the same. The amplification gain of the intermediate node during the time 1 may be different from the amplification gain of the intermediate node during the time 2. In a DL forwarding procedure, the UL signal/channel 1 may be interpreted as a DL signal/channel 1, the UL signal/channel 2 may be interpreted as a DL signal/channel 2, and the UL signal/channel 3 may be interpreted as a DL signal/channel 3.
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Regarding Claim 3 and 11, Kim disclose(s):
The method of claim 1, wherein an uplink transmission timing of the second uplink signal is identified according to a frame timing for an uplink transmission timing of the third uplink signal. [(See Kim ¶103-108; ¶156; ¶165-169; Fig. 11; Fig. 15; Fig. 17)
[0165] FIG. 17 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a first exemplary embodiment of a method of deriving a time unit during which constant amplification gain is applied.
[0166] Referring to FIG. 17, a resource allocated for a terminal a and a resource allocated for a terminal b may overlap (e.g., partially overlap) in the time domain. The resource allocated for each of the terminal a and the terminal b may not overlap with a resource allocated for a terminal c in the time domain. When consecutive symbols are scheduled, the intermediate node may regard the consecutive symbols as one time unit and maintain the same amplification gain within one time unit. In the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 17, the intermediate node may derive two time units (e.g., time1, time2). During the time 1, the amplification gain of the intermediate node may be maintained to be the same, and during the time 2, the amplification gain of the intermediate node may be maintained to be the same. The amplification gain of the intermediate node during the time 1 may be different from the amplification gain of the intermediate node during the time 2. In a DL forwarding procedure, the UL signal/channel 1 may be interpreted as a DL signal/channel 1, the UL signal/channel 2 may be interpreted as a DL signal/channel 2, and the UL signal/channel 3 may be interpreted as a DL signal/channel 3.
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Regarding Claims 4 and 12, Kim disclose(s):
The method of claim 1:
wherein time division duplex (TDD) uplink-downlink configuration information is received from the BS, and [ (See Kim ¶103-108; Fig. 11)
[0103] A TDD scenario may be considered. A TDD slot pattern may be classified into a common pattern and a terminal (UE)-specific pattern. The base station may transmit system information including information on a common pattern to the terminal. Alternatively, in an RRC connection procedure between the base station and the terminal, the base station may transmit an RRC message including information on the common pattern to the terminal. The terminal may obtain the information on the common pattern from the base station. The common pattern may be interpreted as a slot pattern commonly applied to a plurality of terminals.
[0104] Thereafter, the base station may configure a UE-specific pattern to the terminal through RRC signaling. The UE-specific pattern may be an independent slot pattern for each terminal. The terminal may obtain information on the UE-specific pattern from the base station. When the UE-specific pattern is configured to the terminal, the terminal may interpret a slot pattern by applying the UE-specific pattern. Some of flexible (FL) symbols configured to the terminal may be dynamically configured as downlink (DL) symbols or uplink (UL) symbols. The terminal may receive a DL signal and/or a DL channel using DL symbols. The terminal may receive a UL signal and/or a UL channel using UL symbols. The terminal may receive DCI indicating a slot format. Based on information included in the DCI, the terminal may regard a portion of FL symbols as DL symbols and may regard another portion of the FL symbols as UL symbols.
[0105] For one FL symbol, a first terminal may regard the corresponding FL symbol as a DL symbol, a second terminal may regard the corresponding FL symbol as a UL symbol, and a third terminal may regard the corresponding FL symbol as an FL symbol.
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wherein the time resource is identified based on the TDD uplink-downlink configuration information. [(See Kim ¶103-108; Fig. 11)]
Regarding Claims 5 and 13, Kim disclose(s):
The method of claim 4, wherein the TDD uplink-downlink configuration information includes a slot format indicating at least one uplink symbol for the time resource [(See Kim ¶103-108; Fig. 11)]
Regarding Claims 6 and 14, Kim disclose(s):
The method of claim 4, wherein the TDD uplink-downlink configuration information includes a cell-specific TDD configuration or an NCR-specific TDD configuration. [(See Kim ¶103-108; Fig. 11)]
Regarding Claim 7, Kim disclose(s):
The method of claim 1, wherein the NCR-FWD amplifies and forwards the first uplink signal to the BS. [(See Kim ¶74-79; ¶157)
[0157] The base station may indicate or configure a predetermined transmission power to the intermediate node. In the UL forwarding procedure, the intermediate node may use the predetermined transmission power indicated by the base station. An amplification gain 1 used when a UL signal/channel 1 of the terminal a is transmitted, an amplification gain 2 used when the UL signal/channel 1 of the terminal a and a UL signal/channel 2 of the terminal b are transmitted, and an amplification gain 3 used when the UL signal/channel of the terminal b 2 is transmitted may be different.
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Regarding Claims 8 and 17, Kim disclose(s):
The method of claim 1,wherein side control information is received by the NCR-MT from the BS, and wherein the NCR-FWD is controlled based on the side control information.[(See Kim ¶75; ¶123; ¶185)]
Regarding Claim 9, Kim disclose(s):
A network controlled repeater (NCR) comprising an NCR mobile terminal (NCR-MT) and an NCR forward (NCR-FWD) in a wireless communication system, the NCR comprising:
a transceiver; and (See Kim ¶58-60; Fig. 2)
a controller coupled with the transceiver and configured to: (See Kim ¶58-60; Fig. 2)
receive, from a user equipment, UE, a first uplink signal, and (Kim ¶74-79; Fig. 4)
identify a time resource for transmitting a second uplink signal for forwarding the first uplink signal to a base station (BS), (See Kim ¶5; ¶70-79; ¶103-108; ¶165-166; Fig. 4; Fig. 11)
wherein the NCR does not support simultaneous transmissions of the second uplink signal and a third uplink signal to the BS (See Kim ¶108; ¶156; ¶165-166; Fig. 11; Fig. 15; Fig. 17)
Regarding Claim 15, Kim disclose(s):
The NCR of claim 9, wherein the NCR-FWD amplifies and forwards the first uplink signal to the BS, (See Kim ¶74-79; ¶157)
wherein the second uplink signal is associated with the NCR-FWD, and (See Kim ¶103-108; ¶123; ¶143-151 Fig. 11; Fig. 14)
wherein the third uplink signal is associated with the NCR-MT. (See Kim ¶103-108; ¶123; ¶143-151 Fig. 11; Fig. 14)
Regarding Claims 16 and 18, Kim disclose(s):
The method of claim 1, wherein the second uplink signal is associated with the NCR-FWD, and wherein the third uplink signal is associated with the NCR-MT. (See Kim ¶103-108; ¶123; ¶143-151 Fig. 11; Fig. 14)
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Rowan K Fakhro whose telephone number is (703)756-1467. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8:00am - 5:00pm.
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/RKF/Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2468
/MARCUS SMITH/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2468
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