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 .
This is a Non-final action for application number 18/861,985 in response to an original application filed on 10/31/2024.
Claims 1-14, 24, 25, 32, 35, 36 and 60 are currently pending and have been considered below.
Claims 1, 24 and 60 are independent claims.
Claims 15-23, 26-31, 33, 34, 37-59 and 61-64 have been cancelled.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS), submitted on 10/31/2024, 08/01/2025 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claim 60 is objected to because of the following informalities: Please replace “IF” with “WHEN”. Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 1-14, 24, 25, 32, 35, 36 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yan et al. (EP 3952119 A1) in view of Koorapaty et al. (WO 2015/114566 A1).
Regarding claims 1 and 24, an apparatus comprising at least one processor, [Figure 12, wherein the apparatus includes a processor 401], and at least one memory including computer program code, [Figure 12, wherein the apparatus includes a processor 402], the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform at least:
receiving, from a network node, configuration of at least one passive terminal discovery signal associated with at least one passive radio, [Figure 3A, Ref # S304, wherein a network node “Excitation device 10” sends configuration information to apparatus receiving device 30, (Yan et al., Paragraphs 72-74)],
transmitting at least one passive terminal discovery signal according to the configuration; and/or receiving at least one passive terminal discovery signal according to the configuration, [Figure 3A, Ref # S303, wherein the apparatus receives a first signal from a network node, (Yan et al., Paragraphs 68 and 69)],
measuring at least one backscatter passive terminal discovery signal from the at least one passive radio, [Figure 3B, Ref # S309-S311, the receiving device 30 receives the second signal backscattered by the backscatter device 20, where the second signal carries backscatter device data obtained after the first scrambling. The receiving device 30 may demodulate the second signal based on the first sequence determined by the receiving device 30, to obtain the backscatter device data carried on the second signal. Optionally, after demodulating the second signal based on the first sequence, the receiving device 30 may further perform channel decoding on a demodulated second signal, to obtain the backscatter device data carried on the second signal, (Yan et al., Paragraph 92)],
Yan et al. fails to explicitly teach reporting at least the measured backscatter to the network node,
Koorapaty et al. teaches that the wireless device may report a set of radio resource measurements to the network node, (Koorapaty et al., Page 4, Lines 20-30),
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention was made to modify Yan et al. by reporting at least the measured backscatter to the network node, (Koorapaty et al., Page 4, Lines 20-30), in order to receive a discovery burst, (Koorapaty et al., Page 4, Lines 1-10)
Regarding claims 2 and 25, the apparatus caused to perform: receiving information for determining association between the at least one passive radio and the at least one backscatter passive terminal discovery signal, [the parameter of the first sequence includes at least one of the following information: a sequence type of the first sequence, an initial value of the first sequence, and a sequence shift value of the first sequence. Because there may be a plurality of parameters of the first sequence, a parameter diversity of the first sequence can be increased, (Yan et al., Paragraph 9)].
Regarding claim 3, the apparatus of claim 2, wherein the association is defined by a sub-signature associated with the at least one passive radio, wherein the sub-signature is passive radio specific configuration of a subset of radio resources, [The first sequence and the second sequence in this application may be different scrambling sequences, and the scrambling sequence may further have another name, for example, a signature sequence or a scrambling code, (Yan et al., Paragraph 54)].
Regarding claim 4, the apparatus of any preceding claim 1, wherein the configuration of at least one passive terminal discovery signal comprises: a configuration for transmission of at least one passive terminal discovery signal, [the parameter of the first sequence includes at least one of the following information: a sequence type of the first sequence, an initial value of the first sequence, and a sequence shift value of the first sequence. Because there may be a plurality of parameters of the first sequence, a parameter diversity of the first sequence can be increased, (Yan et al., Paragraph 9)].
Regarding claim 5, the apparatus of claim 4, caused to perform: detecting at least one backscatter passive terminal discovery signal from the at least one passive radio based on a pattern of the signal corresponding to a sub-signature associated with the transmitted at least one passive terminal discovery signal, [the parameter of the first sequence includes at least one of the following information: a sequence type of the first sequence, an initial value of the first sequence, and a sequence shift value of the first sequence. Because there may be a plurality of parameters of the first sequence, a parameter diversity of the first sequence can be increased, (Yan et al., Paragraph 9)].
Regarding claim 6, the apparatus of any preceding claim 1, wherein the configuration of at least one passive terminal discovery signal comprises: a configuration for reception of at least one passive terminal discovery signal, [the parameter of the first sequence includes at least one of the following information: a sequence type of the first sequence, an initial value of the first sequence, and a sequence shift value of the first sequence. Because there may be a plurality of parameters of the first sequence, a parameter diversity of the first sequence can be increased, (Yan et al., Paragraph 9)].
Regarding claim 7, the apparatus of claim 6, caused to perform: measuring, according to the configuration, the at least one passive terminal discovery signal received from the network node, wherein the at least one passive terminal discovery signal is a double purpose signal having a first purpose regarding the apparatus and a second purpose regarding the passive radio; and transmitting measurement results to the network node, [The RSU receives the backscatter signal from the OBU, and performs operations such as demodulation, decryption, and/or decoding on the backscatter signal to obtain the vehicle information carried on the backscatter signal, to identify the vehicle, (Yan et al., Paragraph 50)].
Regarding claim 8, the apparatus of claim 7, wherein the first purpose comprises at least one of: paging, synchronization, initial access, demodulation, and positioning, [The RSU receives the backscatter signal from the OBU, and performs operations such as demodulation, decryption, and/or decoding on the backscatter signal to obtain the vehicle information carried on the backscatter signal, to identify the vehicle, (Yan et al., Paragraph 50)].
Regarding claims 9 and 32, the apparatus wherein the sub-signature is based on at least one of: time dimension, frequency dimension, or waveform of the passive terminal discovery signal, [Yan et al., Paragraph 59].
Regarding claim 10, the apparatus wherein the sub-signature is unique for a passive radio, [Yan et al., Paragraph 59].
Regarding claim 11, the apparatus wherein the sub-signature is unique for a group of passive radios, [Yan et al., Paragraph 59].
Regarding claims 12 and 35, the apparatus caused to perform:
receiving a request to measure the at least one backscatter passive terminal discovery signal, [Yan et al., Figure 3a, Ref # S306].
Regarding claims 13 and 36, the apparatus caused to perform: transmitting the at least one passive terminal discovery signal according to the configuration, wherein the at least one passive terminal discovery signal is a double purpose signal having a first purpose regarding the apparatus and a second purpose regarding the at least one passive radio, [The RSU receives the backscatter signal from the OBU, and performs operations such as demodulation, decryption, and/or decoding on the backscatter signal to obtain the vehicle information carried on the backscatter signal, to identify the vehicle, (Yan et al., Paragraph 50)].
Regarding claim 14, the apparatus of claim 13, wherein the first purpose comprises at least one of: uplink channel determination, demodulation, and positioning, [Yan et al., Figure 3b, Ref # S311].
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 60 is allowed.
Conclusion
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/SHUKRI TAHA/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2478
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