DETAILED ACTION
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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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.
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)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-10, 16-17, 19, and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Sriram (US 20250267508 A1) hereafter Sriram.
Regarding Claim 1:
Sriram discloses:
A distributed antenna system ([¶0019] a distributed antenna system (DAS)) for providing 5G wireless coverage within a building, comprising: a donor antenna device disposed at a first location of the building to communicate with an outdoor 5G radio access network (RAN) node;([¶0033] In the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 1A, the DAS 100 includes one or more donor units 104 that are used to couple the DAS 100 to the base stations 102. ) and a plurality of passive relay antenna devices distributed throughout the building at a plurality of different locations and communicatively coupled to the donor antenna device via one or more wired mediums, ([¶0033] The DAS 100 also includes a plurality of remotely located radio units (RUs) 106 (also referred to as “antenna units,” “access points,” “remote units,” or “remote antenna units”). The RUs 106 are communicatively coupled to the donor units 104.) wherein the donor antenna device comprises a donor antenna and a radio transceiver circuitry integrated and connected with the donor antenna independent of a physical cable, and wherein the donor antenna is configured to capture 5G radio frequency (RF) signals from the outdoor 5G RAN node and transfer the captured 5G RF signals to the radio transceiver circuitry independent of cable loss to maximize received signal power, and wherein the radio transceiver circuitry is configured to transmit the captured 5G RF signals as analog RF signals over the one or more wired mediums to the plurality of passive relay antenna devices,([¶0035] The DAS 100 can also include one or more intermediary combining nodes (ICNs) 112 (also referred to as “expansion” units or nodes). For each base station 102 served by a given ICN 112, the ICN 112 is configured to receive a set of uplink transport data for that base station 102 from a group of “southbound” entities (that is, from RUs 106 and/or other ICNs 112) and generate a single set of combined uplink transport data for that base station 102, which the ICN 112 transmits “northbound” towards the donor unit 104 serving that base station 102. The single set of combined uplink transport data for each served base station 102 is produced by a combining or summing process that uses inputs derived from the uplink RF signals received via the coverage antennas 108 of any southbound RUs 106 included in that base station's simulcast zone. ) and wherein the plurality of passive relay antenna devices are configured to receive the analog RF signals from the donor antenna device and wirelessly re-broadcast the 5G RF signals to provide 5G coverage within the building, ([¶0034] Each RU 106 includes, or is otherwise associated with, a respective set of coverage antennas 108 via which downlink analog RF signals can be radiated to user equipment (UEs) 110 and via which uplink analog RF signals transmitted by UEs 110 can be received. ) and wherein the donor antenna device and the plurality of passive relay antenna devices are configured to execute network time synchronization to the outdoor 5G RAN node based on publicly broadcast synchronization signals in the captured 5G RF signals without explicit coordination from the outdoor 5G RAN node. ([¶0053] In one implementation, one of the units of the DAS 100 is also used to implement a “master” timing entity for the DAS 100 (for example, such a master timing entity can be implemented as a part of a master unit 130 described below). In another example, a separate, dedicated timing master entity (not shown) is provided within the DAS 100. In either case, the master timing entity synchronizes itself to an external timing master entity (for example, a timing master associated with one or more of the O-DUs 124) and, in turn, that entity serves as a timing master entity for the other units of the DAS 100. A time synchronization protocol (for example, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 1588 Precision Time Protocol (PTP), the Network Time Protocol (NTP), or the Synchronous Ethernet (SyncE) protocol) can be used to implement such time synchronization.)
Regarding Claim 2:
Sriram discloses the limitations of parent claims.
Sriram discloses:
wherein the one or more wired mediums is one of: a coaxial cable or an Ethernet cable installed within the building. ([¶0016] A distributed antenna system (DAS) serving a donor base station, the distributed antenna system comprising: a donor interface circuit configured to couple the donor base station to the DAS and to communicate analog radio frequency (RF) signals or time-domain digital data between the donor base station and the donor interface circuit; and a plurality of radio units (RUs) coupled to the donor interface circuit through an Ethernet network;)
Regarding Claim 3:
Sriram discloses the limitations of parent claims.
Sriram discloses:
wherein the radio transceiver circuitry comprises a controller configured to convert the 5G RF signals captured from the outdoor 5G RAN node in a first 5G frequency spectrum to a second 5G frequency spectrum for transmission of the captured 5G RF signals as analog RF signals over the one or more wired mediums to the plurality of passive relay antenna devices. ([¶0046] In general, the various base stations 102 are configured to communicate with a core network (not shown) of the associated wireless operator using an appropriate backhaul network (typically, a public wide area network such as the Internet). Also, the various base stations 102 may be from multiple, different wireless operators and/or the various base stations 102 may support multiple, different wireless protocols and/or RF bands.)
Regarding Claim 4:
Sriram discloses the limitations of parent claims.
Sriram discloses:
wherein the donor antenna device further comprises a first signal output port and a second signal output port, each connected to the radio transceiver circuitry for concurrent relay of the captured 5G RF signals as analog RF signals over the one or more wired mediums from the donor antenna device, and wherein the first signal output port is connected to a first passive relay device of the plurality of passive relay antenna devices via a first wired medium to serve a first zone in the building and the second signal output port is connected to a second passive relay device of the plurality of passive relay antenna devices via a second wired medium to serve a second zone in the building. ([¶0047] In general, for each base station 102, the DAS 100 is configured to receive a set of one or more downlink base station signals from the base station 102 (via an appropriate donor unit 104), generate downlink transport data derived from the set of downlink base station signals, and transmit the downlink transport data to the RUs 106 in the base station's simulcast zone. For each base station 102 served by a given RU 106, the RU 106 is configured to receive the downlink transport data transmitted to it via the DAS 100 and use the received downlink transport data to generate one or more downlink analog radio frequency signals that are radiated from one or more coverage antennas 108 associated with that RU 106 for reception by user equipment 110. In this way, the DAS 100 increases the coverage area for the downlink capacity provided by the base stations 102. Also, for any southbound entities (for example, southbound RUs 106 or ICNs 112) coupled to the RU 106 (for example, in a daisy chain or ring architecture), the RU 106 forwards any downlink transport data intended for those southbound entities towards them.)
Regarding Claim 5:
Sriram discloses the limitations of parent claims.
Sriram discloses:
wherein the donor antenna device further comprises a first signal output port and a second signal output port, each connected to the radio transceiver circuitry for concurrent relay of the captured 5G RF signals as analog RF signals in a hybrid wired and wireless medium from the donor antenna device, wherein the first signal output port is connected to a first passive relay device of the plurality of passive relay antenna devices via a first wired medium to serve a first zone in the building and the second signal output port is connected to a RF antenna configured to relay a wireless radio frequency signal towards a second passive relay device of the plurality of passive relay antenna devices to serve a second zone in the building. ([¶0047] In general, for each base station 102, the DAS 100 is configured to receive a set of one or more downlink base station signals from the base station 102 (via an appropriate donor unit 104), generate downlink transport data derived from the set of downlink base station signals, and transmit the downlink transport data to the RUs 106 in the base station's simulcast zone. For each base station 102 served by a given RU 106, the RU 106 is configured to receive the downlink transport data transmitted to it via the DAS 100 and use the received downlink transport data to generate one or more downlink analog radio frequency signals that are radiated from one or more coverage antennas 108 associated with that RU 106 for reception by user equipment 110. In this way, the DAS 100 increases the coverage area for the downlink capacity provided by the base stations 102. Also, for any southbound entities (for example, southbound RUs 106 or ICNs 112) coupled to the RU 106 (for example, in a daisy chain or ring architecture), the RU 106 forwards any downlink transport data intended for those southbound entities towards them.)
Regarding Claim 6:
Sriram discloses the limitations of parent claims.
Sriram discloses:
wherein the donor antenna of the donor antenna device is further configured to switch between two different carrier frequencies from two different wireless carrier networks for the capture of the 5G RF signals alternatively from two different RAN nodes based on an instruction received from a central cloud server. ([¶0080] The master unit 130 and/or donor unit 114 or 118 for each RF-interface base station 116 and CPRI BBU 120, for each slot, receiving a downlink base station signal or stream of time-domain baseband IQ data for each downlink antenna port of the RF-interface base station 116 or CPRI BBU 120 (block 202), generates time-domain baseband IQ data for each downlink antenna port for a slot (if necessary) (optional block 204), using the time-domain baseband IQ data for the slot, generates frequency-domain baseband IQ data for each downlink antenna port for that slot (block 208), uses the frequency-domain baseband IQ data for each downlink antenna port for that slot to identify valid PRBs for that slot (block 210), and transmits frequency-domain baseband IQ data for only valid PRBs over the DAS 100 towards the RUs 106 in the simulcast zone of that base station 116 or BBU 120 (block 212).)
Regarding Claim 7:
Sriram discloses the limitations of parent claims.
Sriram discloses:
wherein the donor antenna of the donor antenna device is further configured to concurrently receive two different carrier frequencies from two different wireless carrier networks for concurrent capture of the 5G RF signals from two different RAN nodes based on an instruction received from a central cloud server. ([¶0046] In general, the various base stations 102 are configured to communicate with a core network (not shown) of the associated wireless operator using an appropriate backhaul network (typically, a public wide area network such as the Internet). Also, the various base stations 102 may be from multiple, different wireless operators and/or the various base stations 102 may support multiple, different wireless protocols and/or RF bands. [¶0080] The master unit 130 and/or donor unit 114 or 118 for each RF-interface base station 116 and CPRI BBU 120, for each slot, receiving a downlink base station signal or stream of time-domain baseband IQ data for each downlink antenna port of the RF-interface base station 116 or CPRI BBU 120 (block 202), generates time-domain baseband IQ data for each downlink antenna port for a slot (if necessary) (optional block 204), using the time-domain baseband IQ data for the slot, generates frequency-domain baseband IQ data for each downlink antenna port for that slot (block 208), uses the frequency-domain baseband IQ data for each downlink antenna port for that slot to identify valid PRBs for that slot (block 210), and transmits frequency-domain baseband IQ data for only valid PRBs over the DAS 100 towards the RUs 106 in the simulcast zone of that base station 116 or BBU 120 (block 212).)
Regarding Claim 8:
Sriram discloses the limitations of parent claims.
Sriram discloses:
wherein the radio transceiver circuitry is configured to aggregate the 5G RF signals from the two different RAN nodes into a single composite signal stream for transmission as the analog RF signals over the one or more wired mediums to the plurality of passive relay antenna devices. ([¶0080] The master unit 130 and/or donor unit 114 or 118 for each RF-interface base station 116 and CPRI BBU 120, for each slot, receiving a downlink base station signal or stream of time-domain baseband IQ data for each downlink antenna port of the RF-interface base station 116 or CPRI BBU 120 (block 202), generates time-domain baseband IQ data for each downlink antenna port for a slot (if necessary) (optional block 204), using the time-domain baseband IQ data for the slot, generates frequency-domain baseband IQ data for each downlink antenna port for that slot (block 208), uses the frequency-domain baseband IQ data for each downlink antenna port for that slot to identify valid PRBs for that slot (block 210), and transmits frequency-domain baseband IQ data for only valid PRBs over the DAS 100 towards the RUs 106 in the simulcast zone of that base station 116 or BBU 120 (block 212).)
Regarding Claim 9:
Sriram discloses the limitations of parent claims.
Sriram discloses:
wherein each of the donor antenna device and the plurality of passive relay antenna devices is further configured to adjust at least one operating parameter based on a control instruction received from a central cloud server. ([¶0088] Each RU 106 in the simulcast zone of each RF-interface base station 116 and CPRI BBU 120, for each slot, receives downlink control-plane and user-plane data for each downlink antenna port of the RF-interface base station 116 or CPRI BBU 120 (block 214), generates a downlink analog RF signal for each downlink antenna port using the received downlink control-plane and user-plane data for that downlink antenna port (block 216), and wirelessly transmitting the downlink analog RF signals for the downlink antenna ports from the coverage antennas 108 associated with the RU 106 (block 218). The received downlink control-plane and user-plane data for each downlink antenna port of the RF-interface base station 116 and CPRI BBU 120 can be used to generate a downlink analog RF signal for that downlink antenna port by using the downlink control-plane data to identify which PRBs the corresponding downlink user-plane data corresponds to and converting the downlink frequency-domain user-plane data to time-domain baseband IQ data (for example, by performing an IFFT process). The time-domain baseband IQ data for the valid PRBs is then used to generate respective downlink analog RF signals for the downlink antenna ports, and the downlink analog RF signals are radiated from respective coverage antennas 108 associated with the RU 106 (for example, as described above in connection with FIGS. 1A-1D).)
Regarding Claim 10:
Sriram discloses the limitations of parent claims.
Sriram discloses:
wherein the at least one operating parameter comprises one or more of: a gain level at each of the plurality of passive relay antenna devices, a routing path among the plurality of passive relay antenna devices, a channel allocation, a bandwidth allocation, a beamforming parameter, and an antenna combining instruction. ([¶0088] Each RU 106 in the simulcast zone of each RF-interface base station 116 and CPRI BBU 120, for each slot, receives downlink control-plane and user-plane data for each downlink antenna port of the RF-interface base station 116 or CPRI BBU 120 (block 214), generates a downlink analog RF signal for each downlink antenna port using the received downlink control-plane and user-plane data for that downlink antenna port (block 216), and wirelessly transmitting the downlink analog RF signals for the downlink antenna ports from the coverage antennas 108 associated with the RU 106 (block 218). The received downlink control-plane and user-plane data for each downlink antenna port of the RF-interface base station 116 and CPRI BBU 120 can be used to generate a downlink analog RF signal for that downlink antenna port by using the downlink control-plane data to identify which PRBs the corresponding downlink user-plane data corresponds to and converting the downlink frequency-domain user-plane data to time-domain baseband IQ data (for example, by performing an IFFT process). The time-domain baseband IQ data for the valid PRBs is then used to generate respective downlink analog RF signals for the downlink antenna ports, and the downlink analog RF signals are radiated from respective coverage antennas 108 associated with the RU 106 (for example, as described above in connection with FIGS. 1A-1D).)
Regarding Claim 16:
Sriram discloses the limitations of parent claims.
Sriram discloses:
wherein a data propagation path of user data relayed through a network of the donor antenna device and the plurality of passive relay antenna devices is analog without any digital decoding or encoding of the user data in the analog RF signals to reduce latency less than a threshold time. ([¶0008] Moreover, the O-RAN Alliance has developed an open, standardized fronthaul interface that is suitable for use in implementing distributed base station topologies using switched Ethernet networks as the fronthaul. (“O-RAN” is an acronym for “Open Radio Access Network.”) The O-RAN fronthaul interface was designed primarily for use with user-plane data that is communicated in frequency-domain form. Communicating user-plane data in frequency-domain form reduces the amount of bandwidth used (relative to communicating data in time-domain form). The O-RAN fronthaul interface does support communicating data in time-domain form; however, doing so is bandwidth intensive.)
Regarding Claim 17:
Sriram discloses the limitations of parent claims.
Sriram discloses:
The distributed antenna system according to claim 16, wherein each of the donor antenna device and the plurality of passive relay antenna devices is further configured to receive control instructions over an out-of-band frequency channel from a central cloud server in a control and management plane different from one or more 5G carrier frequencies operated in the data propagation path. ([¶0010] A distributed antenna system (DAS), comprising: one of (a) a radio frequency (RF) donor configured to be communicatively coupled to a downlink antenna port of an RF interface base station, and (b) a digital donor configured to be communicatively coupled to a downlink antenna port of a baseband unit; a master timing entity configured to be synchronized with a time base of the RF interface base station or the baseband unit, and to provide a synchronized time base to components of the DAS used to determine slot related timing; and a plurality of remote units each of which is communicatively coupled to one of (a) the RF donor and (b) the digital donor, and each remote unit in a simulcast zone of the RF interface base station or the baseband unit is configured to (i) receive, for a slot, frequency-domain downlink baseband IQ data including only valid physical resource blocks (PRBs) which includes (p) control-plane data which identifies PRBs of the slot which contain valid PRBs and (q) corresponding user-plane data which contains baseband IQ data for the valid PRBs of the slot, (ii) using the frequency-domain downlink baseband IQ data including only the valid PRBs, generate downlink analog RF signals including only valid PRBs, and (iii) wirelessly transmit the downlink analog RF signals including only the valid PRBs)
Regarding Claim 19:
Sriram discloses:
A method of operating a distributed antenna system([¶0011] A method of reducing downlink data transported in a distributed antenna system (DAS)) for providing 5G wireless coverage within a building, the method comprising: capturing, by a donor antenna of a donor antenna device, 5G radio frequency (RF) signals from an outdoor 5G radio access network (RAN) node, wherein the donor antenna device is disposed at a first location of the building; ([¶0033] The DAS 100 also includes a plurality of remotely located radio units (RUs) 106 (also referred to as “antenna units,” “access points,” “remote units,” or “remote antenna units”). The RUs 106 are communicatively coupled to the donor units 104.) transferring, by the donor antenna, the captured 5G RF signals to a radio transceiver circuitry of the donor antenna device independent of cable loss to maximize received signal power; ([¶0035] The DAS 100 can also include one or more intermediary combining nodes (ICNs) 112 (also referred to as “expansion” units or nodes). For each base station 102 served by a given ICN 112, the ICN 112 is configured to receive a set of uplink transport data for that base station 102 from a group of “southbound” entities (that is, from RUs 106 and/or other ICNs 112) and generate a single set of combined uplink transport data for that base station 102, which the ICN 112 transmits “northbound” towards the donor unit 104 serving that base station 102. The single set of combined uplink transport data for each served base station 102 is produced by a combining or summing process that uses inputs derived from the uplink RF signals received via the coverage antennas 108 of any southbound RUs 106 included in that base station's simulcast zone. ) transmitting, by the radio transceiver circuitry, the captured 5G RF signals as analog RF signals over one or more wired mediums to a plurality of passive relay antenna devices of the distributed antenna system, wherein the plurality of passive relay antenna devices are distributed throughout the building at a plurality of different locations and communicatively coupled to the donor antenna device via the one or more wired mediums; receiving, by the plurality of passive relay antenna devices, the analog RF signals from the donor antenna device and wirelessly re-broadcasting the 5G RF signals to provide 5G coverage within the building; ([¶0034] Each RU 106 includes, or is otherwise associated with, a respective set of coverage antennas 108 via which downlink analog RF signals can be radiated to user equipment (UEs) 110 and via which uplink analog RF signals transmitted by UEs 110 can be received. ) and executing, by the donor antenna device and the plurality of passive relay antenna devices, network time synchronization to the outdoor 5G RAN node based on publicly broadcast synchronization signals in the captured 5G RF signals without explicit coordination from the outdoor 5G RAN node. ([¶0053] In one implementation, one of the units of the DAS 100 is also used to implement a “master” timing entity for the DAS 100 (for example, such a master timing entity can be implemented as a part of a master unit 130 described below). In another example, a separate, dedicated timing master entity (not shown) is provided within the DAS 100. In either case, the master timing entity synchronizes itself to an external timing master entity (for example, a timing master associated with one or more of the O-DUs 124) and, in turn, that entity serves as a timing master entity for the other units of the DAS 100. A time synchronization protocol (for example, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 1588 Precision Time Protocol (PTP), the Network Time Protocol (NTP), or the Synchronous Ethernet (SyncE) protocol) can be used to implement such time synchronization.)
Regarding Claim 20:
Sriram discloses:
A computer program product for operating a distributed antenna system for providing 5G wireless coverage within a building, the computer program product comprising a computer-readable storage medium having program instructions embodied therewith, the program instructions are executable by a system to cause the system to execute operations,([¶0055] specific features described here as being implemented thereby, can be implemented in hardware, software, or combinations of hardware and software, and the various implementations (whether hardware, software, or combinations of hardware and software) can also be referred to generally as “circuitry,” a “circuit,” or “circuits” that is or are configured to implement at least some of the associated functionality. When implemented in software, such software can be implemented in software or firmware executing on one or more suitable programmable processors (or other programmable device) or configuring a programmable device (for example, processors or devices included in or used to implement special-purpose hardware, general-purpose hardware, and/or a virtual platform). In such a software example, the software can comprise program instructions that are stored (or otherwise embodied) on or in an appropriate non-transitory storage medium or media (such as flash or other non-volatile memory, magnetic disc drives, and/or optical disc drives) from which at least a portion of the program instructions are read by the programmable processor or device for execution thereby) the operations comprising: capturing, by a donor antenna of a donor antenna device, 5G radio frequency (RF) signals from an outdoor 5G radio access network (RAN) node, wherein the donor antenna device is disposed at a first location of the building; ([¶0033] The DAS 100 also includes a plurality of remotely located radio units (RUs) 106 (also referred to as “antenna units,” “access points,” “remote units,” or “remote antenna units”). The RUs 106 are communicatively coupled to the donor units 104.) transferring, by the donor antenna, the captured 5G RF signals to a radio transceiver circuitry of the donor antenna device independent of cable loss to maximize received signal power; transmitting, by the radio transceiver circuitry, the captured 5G RF signals as analog RF signals over one or more wired mediums to a plurality of passive relay antenna devices of the distributed antenna system, wherein the plurality of passive relay antenna devices are distributed throughout the building at a plurality of different locations and communicatively coupled to the donor antenna device via the one or more wired mediums; ([¶0035] The DAS 100 can also include one or more intermediary combining nodes (ICNs) 112 (also referred to as “expansion” units or nodes). For each base station 102 served by a given ICN 112, the ICN 112 is configured to receive a set of uplink transport data for that base station 102 from a group of “southbound” entities (that is, from RUs 106 and/or other ICNs 112) and generate a single set of combined uplink transport data for that base station 102, which the ICN 112 transmits “northbound” towards the donor unit 104 serving that base station 102. The single set of combined uplink transport data for each served base station 102 is produced by a combining or summing process that uses inputs derived from the uplink RF signals received via the coverage antennas 108 of any southbound RUs 106 included in that base station's simulcast zone. ) receiving, by the plurality of passive relay antenna devices, the analog RF signals from the donor antenna device and wirelessly re-broadcasting the 5G RF signals to provide 5G coverage within the building; ([¶0034] Each RU 106 includes, or is otherwise associated with, a respective set of coverage antennas 108 via which downlink analog RF signals can be radiated to user equipment (UEs) 110 and via which uplink analog RF signals transmitted by UEs 110 can be received. )) and executing, by the donor antenna device and the plurality of passive relay antenna devices, network time synchronization to the outdoor 5G RAN node based on publicly broadcast synchronization signals in the captured 5G RF signals without explicit coordination from the outdoor 5G RAN node. ([¶0053] In one implementation, one of the units of the DAS 100 is also used to implement a “master” timing entity for the DAS 100 (for example, such a master timing entity can be implemented as a part of a master unit 130 described below). In another example, a separate, dedicated timing master entity (not shown) is provided within the DAS 100. In either case, the master timing entity synchronizes itself to an external timing master entity (for example, a timing master associated with one or more of the O-DUs 124) and, in turn, that entity serves as a timing master entity for the other units of the DAS 100. A time synchronization protocol (for example, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 1588 Precision Time Protocol (PTP), the Network Time Protocol (NTP), or the Synchronous Ethernet (SyncE) protocol) can be used to implement such time synchronization.)
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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.
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 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.
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.
Claim(s) 11-15, and 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sriram in view of Black (US 20220240305 A1) hereafter Black.
Regarding Claim 11:
Sriram discloses the limitations of parent claims.
Sriram does not disclose:
wherein each of the donor antenna device and the plurality of passive relay antenna devices further comprises a local oscillator configured to be synchronized based on the publicly broadcast synchronization signals to enable coherent transmission and reception over the one or more wired mediums.
Black discloses:
wherein each of the donor antenna device and the plurality of passive relay antenna devices further comprises a local oscillator configured to be synchronized based on the publicly broadcast synchronization signals to enable coherent transmission and reception over the one or more wired mediums. ([¶0006] The use of time synchronization has been common practice already for cellular networks of different generations and is an integral part of operating 5G cellular radio systems. The 5G radio network components themselves are also time synchronized, e.g., for advanced radio transmission, such as synchronized Time Division Duplex (TDD) operation, cooperative multipoint (CoMP) transmission, or carrier aggregation (CA). The new 5G capability introduced when integrating 5G systems and TSN networks is to provide 5G internal clock (reference time) delivery as a service over the 5G system (5GS).)
Sriram and Black are analogous as they both pertain to wireless technology. Thus, 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 Sriram to incorporate a local oscillator as taught by Black in order to reduce bandwidth consumption and simplify management of the DAS ([Abstract] Sriram).
Regarding Claim 12:
Sriram discloses the limitations of parent claims.
Sriram does not disclose:
wherein the publicly broadcast synchronization signals intended for one or more indoor user equipment (UEs) comprise a Primary Synchronization Signal (PSS) and a Secondary Synchronization Signal (SSS).
Black discloses:
wherein the publicly broadcast synchronization signals intended for one or more indoor user equipment (UEs) comprise a Primary Synchronization Signal (PSS) and a Secondary Synchronization Signal (SSS). ([¶0024] FIG. 3 illustrates the time-frequency structure of a Synchronization Signal Block (SSB). Specifically, the SSB, which may also be referred to as a Synchronization Signal and PBCH (SS/PBCH) block consists of primary synchronization signals (PSS) and secondary synchronization signals (SSS), each occupying 1 symbol and 127 subcarriers. PBCH spans across 3 OFDM symbols and 240 subcarriers, but an unused part occupies one symbol in the middle for SSS)
Sriram and Black are analogous as they both pertain to wireless technology. Thus, 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 Sriram to use PSS and SSS as taught by Black in order to reduce bandwidth consumption and simplify management of the DAS ([Abstract] Sriram).
Regarding Claim 13:
Sriram discloses the limitations of parent claims.
Sriram does not disclose:
wherein the radio transceiver circuitry comprises a controller configured to estimate a carrier frequency offset (CFO) by analyzing synchronization signal blocks signal's phase rotation in a frequency domain for a carrier frequency synchronization with the outdoor 5G RAN node.
Black discloses:
wherein the radio transceiver circuitry comprises a controller configured to estimate a carrier frequency offset (CFO) by analyzing synchronization signal blocks signal's phase rotation in a frequency domain for a carrier frequency synchronization with the outdoor 5G RAN node. ([¶0037] Typically, this is achieved by configuring the UE with a CSI-RS for tracking, which is also known as a Tracking Reference Signal (TRS), for time/frequency offset estimation. To be able to use any QCL reference, the UE would have to receive it with a sufficiently good Signal to Interference and Noise Ratio (SINR). In many cases, this means that the TRS has to be transmitted in a suitable beam to a certain UE. It may be noted that in 3GPP specifications TRS is defined as a special kind of Non-Zero Power (NZP) CSI-RS with a higher layer parameter ‘trs-Info’ configured.
Sriram and Black are analogous as they both pertain to wireless technology. Thus, 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 Sriram to estimate a carrier frequency offset as taught by Black in order to reduce bandwidth consumption and simplify management of the DAS ([Abstract] Sriram).
Regarding Claim 14:
Sriram discloses the limitations of parent claims.
Sriram does not disclose:
wherein the controller is further configured to compensate for the CFO in a local oscillator of the donor antenna device to align the donor antenna to the carrier frequency of the outdoor 5G RAN node.
Black discloses:
wherein the controller is further configured to compensate for the CFO in a local oscillator of the donor antenna device to align the donor antenna to the carrier frequency of the outdoor 5G RAN node. ([¶0047] For a gNB with single TRP, ReferenceTime T.sub.ref provides clock information associated with the single TRP. However, for a gNB with multiple TRPs, each TRP is likely to be located at different distances from the baseband, and there exists non-negligible delay on the backhaul links between the different TRPs and the baseband unit. The local time at each TRP varies slightly. Thus, it is not clear which TRP the ReferenceTime T.sub.ref should be associated with and so the time synchronization target on the Uu interface cannot be met.)
Sriram and Black are analogous as they both pertain to wireless technology. Thus, 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 Sriram to compensate for the carrier frequency offset as taught by Black in order to reduce bandwidth consumption and simplify management of the DAS ([Abstract] Sriram).
Regarding Claim 15:
Sriram discloses the limitations of parent claims.
Sriram does not disclose:
wherein each of the plurality of passive relay antenna devices is further configured to: determine a path loss to each user equipment (UE) of one or more indoor UEs in the building based on Channel State Information Reference Signals (CSI-RS) channel independent of the explicit coordination from the outdoor 5G RAN node; and adjust transmit power from each of the plurality of passive relay antenna devices based on the determined path loss.
Black discloses:
wherein each of the plurality of passive relay antenna devices is further configured to: determine a path loss to each user equipment (UE) of one or more indoor UEs in the building based on Channel State Information Reference Signals (CSI-RS) channel independent of the explicit coordination from the outdoor 5G RAN node; and adjust transmit power from each of the plurality of passive relay antenna devices based on the determined path loss. ([¶0037] Typically, this is achieved by configuring the UE with a CSI-RS for tracking, which is also known as a Tracking Reference Signal (TRS), for time/frequency offset estimation. To be able to use any QCL reference, the UE would have to receive it with a sufficiently good Signal to Interference and Noise Ratio (SINR). In many cases, this means that the TRS has to be transmitted in a suitable beam to a certain UE. It may be noted that in 3GPP specifications TRS is defined as a special kind of Non-Zero Power (NZP) CSI-RS with a higher layer parameter ‘trs-Info’ configured.)
Sriram and Black are analogous as they both pertain to wireless technology. Thus, 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 Sriram to use CSI-RS as taught by Black in order to reduce bandwidth consumption and simplify management of the DAS ([Abstract] Sriram).
Regarding Claim 18:
Sriram discloses the limitations of parent claims.
Sriram does not disclose:
wherein each of the plurality of passive relay antenna devices is further configured to perform Multi-User, Multiple Input, Multiple Output (Mu-MIMO) to corresponding connected UEs via corresponding one of: mmWave New Radio Unlicensed (NR-U) links or mmWave New Radio (NR) licensed links.
Black discloses:
wherein each of the plurality of passive relay antenna devices is further configured to perform Multi-User, Multiple Input, Multiple Output (Mu-MIMO) to corresponding connected UEs via corresponding one of: mmWave New Radio Unlicensed (NR-U) links or mmWave New Radio (NR) licensed links. ([¶0036] QCL type D was introduced to facilitate beam management with analog beamforming and is known as spatial QCL. There is currently no strict definition of spatial QCL, but the understanding is that if two transmitted antenna ports are spatially QCL, the UE can use the same Rx beam to receive them. Note that for beam management, the discussion mostly revolves around QCL Type D, but it is also necessary to convey a Type A QCL relation for the RSs to the UE, so that it can estimate all the relevant large scale parameters. In practice, spatial QCL between two different signals imply that they are transmitted from the same place and in the same beam. [¶0137] The network node 600 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 600, for example GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, Zigbee, Z-wave, LoRaWAN, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) or Bluetooth wireless technologies. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chip or set of chips and other components within network node 600.)
Sriram and Black are analogous as they both pertain to wireless technology. Thus, 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 Sriram to use MIMO communications (spatial multiplexing) as taught by Black in order to reduce bandwidth consumption and simplify management of the DAS ([Abstract] Sriram).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HUGH MARK ASHLEY whose telephone number is (571)272-0199. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8-430.
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, Asad Nawaz can be reached at (571) 272-3988. 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.
/HUGH MARK ASHLEY/Examiner, Art Unit 2463
/ASAD M NAWAZ/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2463
Prosecution Insights