DETAILED ACTION
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 of this title, 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.
Claims 1-10 and 15-30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wanuga et al. (US 2022/0225121, “Wanuga”) in view of Wang et al. (US 2020/0389852, “Wang”).
Regarding claim 1, discloses an apparatus for wireless communication at a first wireless device, comprising:
- a memory; and at least one processor coupled to the memory and, based at least in part on information stored in the memory, the at least one processor is configured to (See Fig.1B, a memory and a processor):
- identify one or more backscatter Internet of Things (IoT) devices, each backscatter IoT device in the one or more backscatter IoT devices being associated with a respective device direction (See ¶.20, the WTRUs, any of which may be referred to as an IoT device, a vehicle, a robot, or a drone, which has its device direction; ¶.110, the WTRU may transmit RSs on the configured resources. After the transmission of RS, the WTRU may monitor and perform measurements of the backscatter. To make backscatter measurements, the WTRU may perform at least one of several procedures. For instance, the WTRU may measure received power of the backscatter; measure phase of the backscatter; estimate the channel impulse response of the backscatter and/or relevant parameters of channel impulse response (e.g., round-trip-time, delay spread, path-loss, etc.); and/or perform cross-correlation between the received backscatter and the sequence used to transmit the RSs; See ¶.111, the WTRU may monitor and measure backscatter on the receive beam or beams corresponding to the transmit beam or beams used for transmitting RSs; See ¶.112, a WTRU may be configured to report an Rx signal strength on the back-scatter signal for each beam); and
- transmit a plurality of sets of reference signals for pathloss estimation (See ¶.110, the WTRU may transmit RSs on the configured resources. After the transmission of RS, the WTRU may monitor and perform measurements of the backscatter. To make backscatter measurements, the WTRU may perform at least one of several procedures. For instance, the WTRU may measure received power of the backscatter; measure phase of the backscatter; estimate relevant parameters of channel impulse response (e.g., round-trip-time, delay spread, path-loss, etc.); and/or perform cross-correlation between the received backscatter and the sequence used to transmit the RSs; See ¶.163, a WTRU may perform measurement by transmitting a reference signal (e.g., SRS, DMRS, PTRS, similar signal) and estimating the associated backscatter channel. The WTRU may estimate relevant parameters (e.g., a round-trip-travel time, path loss (γ), or delay spread); See Fig.9 and ¶.166, the WTRU may estimate a pathloss γ1 and γ2 for the two beams respectively),
- each set of references signals in the plurality of sets of reference signals corresponding to a respective signal direction based on beamforming (See ¶.104, during a WTRU Rx beam selection procedure (P3), a base station (e.g., gNB) may transmit multiple or repeated CSI-RSs using the same spatial domain transmission filter (i.e. the same beam). The number of CSI-RS repetitions may equal the number of WTRU receive beams reported for the WTRU's capabilities; See ¶.118, the WTRU may be configured to report one or more beam blockage reports along with one or more the beam indications such as beam direction, SRS ID, or CSI-RS ID; See ¶.133, the WTRU may perform backscatter measurements for each RS repetition using different beam directions; Examiner’s Note: Wang further explicitly discloses “each set of RSs corresponding to a respective signal direction based on beamforming”),
- the plurality of sets of reference signals comprising at least one first set of reference signals associated with the one or more backscatter IoT devices (See ¶.133, the WTRU may perform backscatter measurements for each RS repetition using different beam directions; See Claim 21, receiving configuration information indicating resources for receiving a first set of reference signals from one or more transmit/receive points (TRPs) using a first set of receive (Rx) beams, one or more resource sets for transmitting a second set of reference signals; transmitting, in a plurality of spatial directions, the second set of reference signals using one of the indicated one or more resources sets),
- each first set of reference signals in the at least one first set of reference signals corresponding to at least one respective backscatter IoT device in the one or more backscatter IoT devices based on the signal direction of the first set of reference signals (See ¶.104, during a WTRU Rx beam selection procedure (P3), a base station (e.g., gNB) may transmit multiple CSI-RSs using the same spatial domain transmission filter (i.e. the same beam). The number of CSI-RS may equal the number of WTRU receive beams reported for the WTRU's capabilities; See ¶.111, the WTRU may monitor and measure backscatter on the receive beam or beams corresponding to the transmit beam or beams used for transmitting RSs; See ¶.116, by monitoring and measuring the backscatter of the transmitted RSs over a receive beam; See ¶.118, the WTRU may be configured to report one or more beam blockage reports along with one or more the beam indications such as beam direction, SRS ID, or CSI-RS ID; See ¶.133, the WTRU may perform backscatter measurements for each RS repetition using different beam directions; See Claim 21, receiving configuration information indicating resources for receiving a first set of reference signals from one or more transmit/receive points (TRPs) using a first set of receive (Rx) beams; See ¶.146, a number of CSI-RSs configured within a CSI-RS set may be updated based on the beam blockage rate. In another example, a number of SRS (i.e. the number of beams used of SRS) may be updated based on the beam blockage rate from the WTRU) and the device direction of the at least one respective backscatter IoT device being consistent (See ¶.20, the WTRU may be a vehicle, a drone, an IoT, or a robot which has its own steady moving direction).
Wanuga discloses the method of each set of RSs corresponding to beam direction and Wang further explicitly discloses the limitations “each set of references signals in the plurality of sets of reference signals corresponding to a respective signal direction based on beamforming (Wang, See Fig.1 and ¶.43, the base station 180 may transmit a beamformed signal to the UE in one or more transmit directions 182′. The UE may receive the beamformed signal from the base station in one or more receive directions 182″. The UE 104 may also transmit a beamformed signal to the base station in one or more transmit directions. The base station may receive the beamformed signal from the UE in one or more receive directions. The base station/UE may perform beam training to determine the best receive and transmit directions for each of the base station/UE; See Fig.4A and ¶.67-68, FIG. 4A is a diagram 400 illustrating a base station 402 in communication with a UE 404. Referring to FIG. 4A, the base station may transmit one or more beamformed signals to the UE in different directions 406a, 406b, 406c, 408a, 408b, 408c. The UE may find the best receive direction for each of the beamformed signals from the base station . The base station/UE may perform beam training to determine the best receive and transmit directions beam correspondence. [0068] In the illustrated example of FIG. 4A, the base station may provide the UE an SRS resource set including one or multiple SRS resources and indicate beam directions 406a, 406b, 406c, 408a, 408b, 408c for each of the resources in the form of spatial relation information signals. It may be appreciated that resources in a resource set may be associated with different beam directions and, thus, may a resource set may be associated with multiple spatial relation information signals).”
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to apply “each set of references signals in the plurality of sets of reference signals corresponding to a respective signal direction based on beamforming” as taught by Wang into the system of Wanuga, so that it provides a way for transmitting and receiving a beamformed signal in one or more transmit/receiving directions (Wang, See Fig.4A and ¶.68).
Regarding claim 2, Wanuga discloses “the plurality of sets of reference signals further include at least one second set of reference signals not corresponding to any backscatter IoT device in the one or more backscatter IoT devices (See 320 Fig.3 and ¶.84, estimating target velocity can be made challenging by the presence of multiple targets and/or multi-path reflections; See ¶.91, receiver may be co-located, or multi-static, in which one or more radios perform transmission and reception is performed by one or many devices at a separate location).”
Regarding claim 3, Wanuga discloses “receive, from a second wireless device, an indication of a configuration for the pathloss estimation (See ¶.84, estimating target velocity can be made challenging by the presence of multiple targets and/or multi-path reflections; See ¶.91, receiver may be co-located, or multi-static, in which one or more radios perform transmission and reception is performed by one or many devices at a separate location; See ¶.110, the WTRU may measure received power of the backscatter; measure phase of the backscatter; estimate the channel impulse response of the backscatter and/or relevant parameters of channel impulse response (e.g., round-trip-time, delay spread, path-loss, etc.); and/or perform cross-correlation between the received backscatter and the sequence used to transmit the RSs; See ¶.20, the WTRUs, any of which may be referred to as an IoT device, a vehicle, a robot, or a drone, i.e. anyone of the devices is a second wireless device).”
Regarding claim 4, Wanuga discloses “receive, from a second wireless device, a pathloss estimation report including a plurality of pathloss measurements, each backscatter IoT device in the one or more backscatter IoT devices corresponding to at least one respective first pathloss measurement in the plurality of pathloss measurements, the plurality of pathloss measurements further including at least one second pathloss measurement not corresponding to any backscatter IoT device in the one or more backscatter IoT devices (See ¶.84, estimating target velocity can be made challenging by the presence of multiple targets and/or multi-path reflections; See ¶.91, receiver may be co-located, or multi-static, in which one or more radios perform transmission and reception is performed by one or many devices at a separate location; See ¶.110, the WTRU may measure received power of the backscatter; measure phase of the backscatter; estimate the channel impulse response of the backscatter and/or relevant parameters of channel impulse response (e.g., round-trip-time, delay spread, path-loss, etc.); and/or perform cross-correlation between the received backscatter and the sequence used to transmit the RSs; See further ¶.164 and ¶.166 for estimation of pathloss with the measurements; See Figs.5-6 and ¶.123, measurement reporting; See ¶.110-111, performing measurements of the backscatter and pathloss estimation from a plurality of WTRUs, i.e. IoTs).”
Regarding claim 5, Wanuga discloses “transmit a query signal to a first backscatter IoT device in the one or more backscatter IoT devices based on the at least one respective first pathloss measurement corresponding to the first backscatter IoT device (See 502 Fig.5, sending indication for active set of measurement and reporting configuration after sending measurement and reporting configuration).”
Regarding claim 6, Wanuga discloses “receive, from a second wireless device, a plurality of reference signal measurement results, each reference signal measurement result corresponding to a respective set of reference signals in the plurality of sets of reference signals (See ¶.84, estimating target velocity can be made challenging by the presence of multiple targets and/or multi-path reflections; See ¶.91, receiver may be co-located, or multi-static, in which one or more radios perform transmission and reception is performed by one or many devices at a separate location; See 406 Fig.4, WTUR sends JCS measurement report; See 706 Fig.7, JCS measurement report from WTRU; See ¶.133, the WTRU may perform backscatter measurements for each RS repetition using different beam directions; See Claim 21, receiving configuration information indicating resources for receiving a first set of reference signals from one or more transmit/receive points (TRPs) using a first set of receive (Rx) beams, one or more resource sets for transmitting a second set of reference signals; transmitting, in a plurality of spatial directions, the second set of reference signals using one of the indicated one or more resources sets; See ¶.110, the WTRU may transmit RSs on the configured resources. After the transmission of RS, the WTRU may monitor and perform measurements of the backscatter. To make backscatter measurements, the WTRU may perform at least one of several procedures. For instance, the WTRU may measure received power of the backscatter; measure phase of the backscatter; estimate the channel impulse response of the backscatter and/or relevant parameters of channel impulse response (e.g., round-trip-time, delay spread, path-loss, etc.); and/or perform cross-correlation between the received backscatter and the sequence used to transmit the RSs).”
Regarding claim 7, Wanuga discloses “each reference signal measurement result in the plurality of reference signal measurement results includes at least one of a reference signal received power (RSRP), a reference signal received quality (RSRQ), or a signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) (See ¶.155, send RSRP; See ¶.156, downlink RSRP; See further ¶.157; See ¶.159, observing interference due to WTRU Tx beam).”
Regarding claim 8, Wanuga discloses “each reference signal measurement result is an averaged result over the respective set of reference signals (See ¶.114, average statistics related to the measurement; See ¶.117, a simple average over the N measurement periods).”
Regarding claim 9, Wanuga discloses “receive a response from a first backscatter IoT device in the one or more backscatter IoT devices, the response being based on a query signal from a second wireless device (See Figs.4-5; See ¶.84, estimating target velocity can be made challenging by the presence of multiple targets and/or multi-path reflections; See ¶.91, receiver may be co-located, or multi-static, in which one or more radios perform transmission and reception is performed by one or many devices at a separate location).”
Regarding claim 10, Wanuga discloses “each set of reference signals in the plurality of sets of reference signals is associated with a respective reference signal set identifier (ID) (See ¶.118, SSB ID, SRS ID or CSI-RS ID).”
Regarding claim 15, Wanuga discloses “a transceiver coupled to the at least one processor, wherein the first wireless device is a user equipment (UE) or a network entity (See Fig.1A).”
Regarding claim 16, it is a method claim corresponding to the apparatus claim 1 and is therefore rejected for the similar reasons set forth in the rejection of the claim.
Regarding claim 17, it is an apparatus claim at a second wireless device as a receiving side corresponding to the claims 1 & 4 and is therefore rejected for the similar reasons set forth in the rejection of the claim.
Regarding claims 18-26, they are claims corresponding to claims 2-9 & 15, respectively and are therefore rejected for the similar reasons set forth in the rejection of the claims.
Regarding claim 27, Wanuga discloses an apparatus for wireless communication at an Internet of Things (IoT) device , comprising:
- a memory; and at least one processor coupled to the memory and, based at least in part on information stored in the memory, the at least one processor is configured to (See Fig.1B, a memory and a processor):
- receive an indication of a configuration for second pathloss estimation from a wireless device (See ¶.110, the WTRU may transmit RSs on the configured resources. After the transmission of RS, the WTRU may monitor and perform measurements of the backscatter. To make backscatter measurements, the WTRU may perform at least one of several procedures. For instance, the WTRU may measure received power of the backscatter; measure phase of the backscatter; estimate relevant parameters of channel impulse response (e.g., round-trip-time, delay spread, path-loss, etc.); and/or perform cross-correlation between the received backscatter and the sequence used to transmit the RSs; See ¶.163, a WTRU may perform measurement by transmitting a reference signal (e.g., SRS, DMRS, PTRS, similar signal) and estimating the associated backscatter channel. The WTRU may estimate relevant parameters (e.g., a round-trip-travel time, path loss (γ), or delay spread); See Fig.9 and ¶.166, the WTRU may estimate a pathloss γ1 and γ2 for the two beams respectively);
- receive at least one set of second reference signals for the second pathloss estimation from the wireless device (See ¶.133, the WTRU may perform backscatter measurements for each RS repetition using different beam directions; See Claim 21, receiving configuration information indicating resources for receiving a first set of reference signals from one or more transmit/receive points (TRPs) using a first set of receive (Rx) beams, one or more resource sets for transmitting a second set of reference signals; transmitting, in a plurality of spatial directions, the second set of reference signals using one of the indicated one or more resources sets); and
- transmit a second pathloss estimation report to the wireless device based on the at least one set of second reference signals, the second pathloss estimation report including a second pathloss measurement of a second pathloss between the wireless device and the IoT device (See ¶.89, continuous waveform radar systems may not suffer from a minimum ranging distance and may offer a more natural framework for estimating a targets velocity, but such systems may perform sub-optimally in multi-target scenarios, or scenarios involving rich multipath propagation; See ¶.110, the WTRU may transmit RSs on the configured resources. After the transmission of RS, the WTRU may monitor and perform measurements of the backscatter. To make backscatter measurements, the WTRU may perform at least one of several procedures. For instance, the WTRU may measure received power of the backscatter; measure phase of the backscatter; estimate the channel impulse response of the backscatter and/or relevant parameters of channel impulse response (e.g., round-trip-time, delay spread, path-loss, etc.); and/or perform cross-correlation between the received backscatter and the sequence used to transmit the RSs; See ¶.116, the WTRU may estimate a pathloss γ1 and γ2 for the two beams respectively).”
Regarding claim 28, Wanuga discloses “receive a continuous wave from the wireless device, wherein the second pathloss estimation report is transmitted based further on the continuous wave (See ¶.89, continuous waveform radar systems may not suffer from a minimum ranging distance and may offer a more natural framework for estimating a targets velocity, but such systems may perform sub-optimally in multi-target scenarios, or scenarios involving rich multipath propagation; See further ¶.85 and ¶.87 for continuous wave (CW) radar).”
Regarding claim 29, it is a claim corresponding to the claim 6 and is therefore rejected for the similar reasons set forth in the rejection of the claim.
Regarding claim 30, Wanuga discloses “wherein the configuration for the second pathloss estimation is associated with a command mode of the IoT device (See ¶.150, receiving an explicit command; See ¶.3, an indication to activate; See ¶.118, each of the WTRUs reports with beam indication such as beam direction, quasi collocated SSB ID, SRS ID, or CSI-RS ID, etc).”
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 11-14 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Jung H Park whose telephone number is 571-272-8565. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 7:00 AM-3:00 PM.
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/JUNG H PARK/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2411
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