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 § 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, 8-9 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li et al. (US 20260230918 A1) in view of Liu et al. (WO 2024243991 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Li teaches a method of wireless communication by a reader device (Method of Fig. 2), comprising:
sending a communication initiation signal to an ambient Internet of Things (A-IoT) device (The reader/writer sends a query (Query) command to the tag. Correspondingly, the tag receives the query command from the reader/writer. The query command is for initializing an inventory cycle, [0080]-[0081]; tag in ambient internet of things(A-IoT), [0070]).
However, Li does not teach receiving charging status information from the A-IoT device; and adjusting a behavior based on the charging status information.
In an analogous art, Liu teaches receiving charging status information from the A-IoT device (The A-IoT device 120 transmits 330 the energy harvesting state report 332 to the LMF…the energy harvesting state report 332 may include one or more of: whether a harvested energy saturates at the AIoT device 120, an average output power of a backscattered signal of the PRS from the A-IoT device 120, or a power up indication, page 9);
adjusting a behavior based on the charging status information (The LMF 110 determines 340 a power adjustment value for adjusting a transmission power of a PRS from the activator 130. The LMF 110 transmits 350 an indication of the power adjustment value 352 to the activator 130. In some example embodiments, the LMF 110 may determine the power adjustment value based on one or more of : the energy harvesting state report 322 from the A-IoT device, page 9).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the device communication of Li with the report of Liu to provide a better solution for power adjustment of PRS for A-IoT device positioning as suggested, Liu page 1.
Regarding claim 8, Li as modified by Liu teaches the method of claim 1. Liu further teaches wherein adjusting the behavior comprises at least one of: adjusting a communication schedule; sending an acknowledgment signal to the A-IoT device to confirm reception of the charging status information; initiating further communication; monitoring signals from the A-IoT device; or proceeding with other tasks (The activator 130 transmits 370 the PRS 372 to the A-IoT device 120 using the adjusted transmission power. Accordingly, the A-IoT device 120 receives 374 the PRS 372 which is transmitted from the activator 130 by using the adjusted transmission power, Liu page 9).
Regarding claim 9, Li teaches a method of wireless communication by an ambient Internet of Things (A-IoT) device (Method of Fig. 2), comprising:
receiving a communication initiation signal from a reader device (The reader/writer sends a query (Query) command to the tag. Correspondingly, the tag receives the query command from the reader/writer. The query command is for initializing an inventory cycle, [0080]-[0081]; tag in ambient internet of things(A-IoT), [0070]).
However, Li does not teach determining a charging status of the A-IoT device; and sending charging status information to the reader device.
In an analogous art, Liu teaches determining a charging status of the A-IoT device (IoT device 120 may determine its energy harvesting state during a positioning procedure, page 9); and sending charging status information to the reader device (The A-IoT device 120 transmits 330 the energy harvesting state report 332 to the LMF…the energy harvesting state report 332 may include one or more of: whether a harvested energy saturates at the AIoT device 120, an average output power of a backscattered signal of the PRS from the A-IoT device 120, or a power up indication, page 9).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the device communication of Li with the report of Liu to provide a better solution for power adjustment of PRS for A-IoT device positioning as suggested, Liu page 1.
Regarding claim 20, Li teaches an apparatus for wireless communication (apparatus 1400 of Fig. 14), the apparatus being an ambient Internet of Things (A-IoT) device (The first-type terminal may be referred to as a terminal device in the Internet of Things, or may be referred to as an A-IoT device, [0128]), comprising:
a memory (memory 1402); and at least one processor (processor 1401) coupled to the memory and configured to:
receive a communication initiation signal from a reader device (The reader/writer sends a query (Query) command to the tag. Correspondingly, the tag receives the query command from the reader/writer. The query command is for initializing an inventory cycle, [0080]-[0081]; tag in ambient internet of things(A-IoT), [0070]).
However, Li does not teach determine a charging status of the A-IoT device; and send charging status information to the reader device.
In an analogous art, Liu teaches determine a charging status of the A-IoT device (IoT device 120 may determine its energy harvesting state during a positioning procedure, page 9); and send charging status information to the reader device (The A-IoT device 120 transmits 330 the energy harvesting state report 332 to the LMF…the energy harvesting state report 332 may include one or more of: whether a harvested energy saturates at the AIoT device 120, an average output power of a backscattered signal of the PRS from the A-IoT device 120, or a power up indication, page 9).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the device communication of Li with the report of Liu to provide a better solution for power adjustment of PRS for A-IoT device positioning as suggested, Liu page 1.
Claims 2-3, 10, 13, 15, 17 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li et al. (US 20260230918 A1) in view of Liu et al. (WO 2024243991 A1) and further in view of Jian et al. (WO-2025036404-A1).
Regarding claim 2, Li as modified by Liu teaches the method of claim 1.
However, Li and Liu do not teach wherein the charging status information is included in a random 16-bit number (RN16) received from the A-IoT device, or in a charging status message shorter than the RN16.
In an analogous art, Jian further teaches wherein the charging status information is included in a random 16-bit number (RN16) received from the A-IoT device, or in a charging status message shorter than the RN16 (reporting when sending the random access request; For example, in the Msg1 of the uplink initiated by the tag on the PRACH, or in the first RN16 sent by the tag after receiving the query, page 14).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the device communication of Li and Liu with the RN16 report of Jian to provide a signal transmission method, a signal transmission device, a communication device and a storage medium, so as to enhance uplink coverage or realize device energy saving as suggested, Jian page 1.
Regarding claim 3, Li as modified by Liu and Jian teaches the method of claim 2, wherein the communication initiation signal comprises a downlink signal (a tag in A-IoT also receives a downlink signal by using a medium-to-low frequency ring oscillator, Li [0070]), and further comprising: sending the RN16 to the A-IoT device along with the downlink signal (the query command is for initializing an inventory cycle. The query command carries flag bit information (such as a selected identifier or an inventoried identifier) and a parameter Q for the tag to calculate a total slot number for random access that is allocated by the reader/writer, Li [0081]).
Regarding claim 10, Li as modified by Liu and Jian teaches the method of claim 9. Jian further teaches wherein the charging status information is included in a random 16-bit number (RN16), or in a charging status message shorter than the RN16 (reporting when sending the random access request; For example, in the Msg1 of the uplink initiated by the tag on the PRACH, or in the first RN16 sent by the tag after receiving the query, page 14).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the device communication of Li and Liu with the RN16 report of Jian to provide a signal transmission method, a signal transmission device, a communication device and a storage medium, so as to enhance uplink coverage or realize device energy saving as suggested, Jian page 1.
Regarding claim 13, Li as modified by Liu and Jian teaches the method of claim 10, wherein the communication initiation signal comprises a downlink signal received along with a random 16-bit number (RN16) from the reader device (a tag in A-IoT also receives a downlink signal by using a medium-to-low frequency ring oscillator, Li [0070]; the query command is for initializing an inventory cycle. The query command carries flag bit information (such as a selected identifier or an inventoried identifier) and a parameter Q for the tag to calculate a total slot number for random access that is allocated by the reader/writer, Li [0081]).
Regarding claim 15, Li as modified by Liu and Jian teaches the method of claim 10. Jian further teaches wherein the communication initiation signal comprises a random access channel (RACH) preamble (Msg1 can also correspond to the situation of MsgA in the two-step RACH, Jian page 12), and further comprising: listening for the preamble on a physical random access channel (PRACH)( For example, the answering device may report the amplification capability information when sending a random access request, such as a Physical Random AccessChannel (PRACH) preamble or request, Jian page 12); and generating the charging status message or incorporating the charging status information into the RN16 ( reporting when sending the random access request; For example, in the Msg1 of the uplink initiated by the tag on the PRACH, or in the first RN16 sent by the tag after receiving the query, Jian page 14)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the device communication of Li and Liu with the RN16 report of Jian to provide a signal transmission method, a signal transmission device, a communication device and a storage medium, so as to enhance uplink coverage or realize device energy saving as suggested, Jian page 1.
Regarding claim 17, Li as modified by Liu and Jian teaches the method of claim 10. Jian further teaches wherein the A-IoT device sends the RN16 or the charging status message by using backscattering communication with amplitude shift keying (ASK) or on-off keying (OOK) modulation (the sixth indication information may also be used to indicate at least one of a transmit power level and modulation information, where the modulation information may include at least one of the following: On-Off Keying (OOK) modulation method; Jian page 10).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the device communication of Li and Liu with the RN16 report of Jian to provide a signal transmission method, a signal transmission device, a communication device and a storage medium, so as to enhance uplink coverage or realize device energy saving as suggested, Jian page 1.
Regarding claim 19, Li as modified by Liu teaches the method of claim 9.
However, Li and Liu do not teach receiving an acknowledgment signal from the reader device to confirm the charging status information has been received.
In an analogous art, Jian teaches receiving an acknowledgment signal from the reader device to confirm the charging status information has been received (Report after receiving the confirmation command (ACK) from the read/write device; for example, the tag reports when sending EPC after receiving ACK, Jian page 14).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the device communication of Li and Liu with the RN16 report of Jian to provide a signal transmission method, a signal transmission device, a communication device and a storage medium, so as to enhance uplink coverage or realize device energy saving as suggested, Jian page 1.
Claims 4-5 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li in view of Liu and further in view of Jian and Elshafie et al. (US 20260051765 A1).
Regarding claim 4, Li as modified by Jian teaches the method of claim 3.
However, Li, Liu and Jian do not teach wherein the downlink signal comprises one of: a primary synchronization signal (PSS), a secondary synchronization signal (SSS), or a low power wake-up signal (LP-WUS).
In an analogous art, Elshafie teaches wherein the downlink signal comprises one of: a primary synchronization signal (PSS), a secondary synchronization signal (SSS), or a low power wake-up signal (LP-WUS) (the energy-providing device 205 may indicate a selected energy-harvesting procedure that is to be performed in a WUS to the energy-harvesting device, Elshafie [0133]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the device communication of Li, Liu and Jian with the report of Elshafie to provide method for energy transfer devices supporting multiple types of wireless energy transfer to better charge the device as suggested, Elshafie [0002].
Regarding claim 5, Li as modified by Liu and Jian teaches the method of claim 2. Jian further teaches wherein the communication initiation signal comprises a random access channel (RACH) preamble (For example, the answering device may report the amplification capability information when sending a random access request, such as a Physical Random AccessChannel (PRACH) preamble or request, Jian page 12).
However, Li, Liu and Jian do not teach listening for the RN16 or the charging status message on a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH).
In an analogous art, Elshafie teaches listening for the RN16 or the charging status message on a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH)( reports 235 (e.g., charging rate reports) may be communicated on dedicated PUCCH and/or PUSCH resources, piggy backed with other types of messages (e.g., scheduling request messages, buffer status report (BSR) messages, RACH messages), piggy backed with HARQ-ACK feedback from the energy-harvesting device, [0143]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the device communication of Li, Liu and Jian with the report of Elshafie to provide method for energy transfer devices supporting multiple types of wireless energy transfer to better charge the device as suggested, Elshafie [0002].
Regarding claim 14, Li as modified by Liu and Jian teaches the method of claim 13.
However, Li, Liu and Jian do not teach wherein the downlink signal comprises one of: a primary synchronization signal (PSS), a secondary synchronization signal (SSS), or a low power wake-up signal (LP-WUS).
In an analogous art, Elshafie teaches wherein the downlink signal comprises one of: a primary synchronization signal (PSS), a secondary synchronization signal (SSS), or a low power wake-up signal (LP-WUS) (the energy-providing device 205 may indicate a selected energy-harvesting procedure that is to be performed in a WUS to the energy-harvesting device, Elshafie [0133]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the device communication of Li, Liu and Jian with the report of Elshafie to provide method for energy transfer devices supporting multiple types of wireless energy transfer to better charge the device as suggested, Elshafie [0002].
Claims 6 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li in view of Liu and further in view of Jian and Wei et al. (US 20240114569 A1).
Regarding claim 6, Li as modified by Liu and Jian teaches the method of claim 2, further comprising: listening for the RN16 or the charging status message on a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) (The tag sends RN16 to the reader/writer. Correspondingly, the reader/writer receives RN16 from the tag, Li [0084]).
However, Li, Liu and Jian do not teach wherein the communication initiation signal comprises a discovery signal over a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH).
In an analogous art, Wei teaches wherein the communication initiation signal comprises a discovery signal over a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) (The non-RedCap UE 104B may, in step 920, monitor for discovery signals transmitted by a neighboring device. That is, the non-RedCap UE 104B may monitor the PSCCH and/or the PSSCH for the presence announcement from the RedCap UE, [0091]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the device communication of Li, Liu and Jian with the communication of Wei to provide a methods and a system for improvements in sidelink, V2X, V2V, and/or D2D technology as suggested, Wei [0003].
Regarding claim 16, Li as modified by Liu and Jian teaches the method of claim 10. Jian teaches further comprising: listening for the RN16 or the charging status message on a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) (reporting when sending the random access request; For example, in the Msg1 of the uplink initiated by the tag on the PRACH, or in the first RN16 sent by the tag after receiving the query, page 14) and generating the charging status message or incorporating the charging status information into the RN16 (reporting when sending the random access request; For example, in the Msg1 of the uplink initiated by the tag on the PRACH, or in the first RN16 sent by the tag after receiving the query, page 14).
However, Li, Liu and Jian do not teach wherein the communication initiation signal comprises a discovery signal over a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH).
In an analogous art, Wei teaches wherein the communication initiation signal comprises a discovery signal over a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) (The non-RedCap UE 104B may, in step 920, monitor for discovery signals transmitted by a neighboring device. That is, the non-RedCap UE 104B may monitor the PSCCH and/or the PSSCH for the presence announcement from the RedCap UE, [0091]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the device communication of Li, Liu and Jian with the communication of Wei to provide a methods and a system for improvements in sidelink, V2X, V2V, and/or D2D technology as suggested, Wei [0003].
Claims 11-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li in view of Liu and further in view of Jian and Zheng et al. (US 20260205210 A1).
Regarding claim 11, Li as modified by Liu and Jian teaches the method of claim 10.
However, Li, Liu and Jian do not teach wherein: the A-IoT device sends the charging status message when an energy level of the A-IoT device is insufficient for backscattering communication; and the A-IoT device sends the RN16 when the energy level is sufficient for backscattering communication.
In an analogous art, Zheng teaches wherein: the A-IoT device sends the charging status message when an energy level of the A-IoT device is insufficient for backscattering communication (A-IoT device 505 may perform, in response to receiving the continuous wave signal, the measurement of the signal in the RF resource based on an amount of energy stored by the A-IoT device 505 satisfying (e.g., being above) an energy storage threshold, a received power level of the continuous wave signal satisfying (e.g., being below) a received power level threshold, or both. If neither of these criteria are satisfied, the A-IoT device 505 may request measurement assistance as described with reference to FIG. 6 because of an inability of the A-IoT device 505 itself, or for other reasons based on an implementation of the A-IoT device 505 such as a lack of energy or the received power level being below the threshold, [0135]); the A-IoT device sends the RN16 when the energy level is sufficient for backscattering communication (A-IoT device 505 may transmit, to the reader 515 and via a backscatter link, a report indicating the measurement of the signal in the RF measurement, [0136]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the device communication of Li, Liu and Jian with the measurement of Zheng to provide a methods and a system for measurement relaxation and measurement assistance for passive wireless devices as suggested, Zheng [0002].
Regarding claim 12, Li as modified by Liu and Jian teaches the method of claim 10.
However, Li, Liu and Jian do not teach wherein: the A-IoT device sends the charging status message when there is a change in a charging state of the A-IoT device; and the A-IoT device sends the RN16 when there is no change in the charging state of the A-IoT device.
In ana analogous art, Zheng teaches wherein: the A-IoT device sends the charging status message when there is a change in a charging state of the A-IoT device (A-IoT device 505 may perform, in response to receiving the continuous wave signal, the measurement of the signal in the RF resource based on an amount of energy stored by the A-IoT device 505 satisfying (e.g., being above) an energy storage threshold, a received power level of the continuous wave signal satisfying (e.g., being below) a received power level threshold, or both. If neither of these criteria are satisfied, the A-IoT device 505 may request measurement assistance as described with reference to FIG. 6 because of an inability of the A-IoT device 505 itself, or for other reasons based on an implementation of the A-IoT device 505 such as a lack of energy or the received power level being below the threshold, [0135]); and the A-IoT device sends the RN16 when there is no change in the charging state of the A-IoT device (A-IoT device 505 may transmit, to the reader 515 and via a backscatter link, a report indicating the measurement of the signal in the RF measurement, [0136]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the device communication of Li, Liu and Jian with the measurement of Zheng to provide a methods and a system for measurement relaxation and measurement assistance for passive wireless devices as suggested, Zheng [0002].
Claims 7 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li in view of Liu and further in view of Jian and Abukhalaf et al. (US 20220006330 A1).
Regarding claim 7, Li as modified by Liu and Jian teaches the method of claim 2.
However, Li, Liu and Jian do not teach wherein: the charging status message comprises a binary string including multiple sections respectively indicating: a charging state indicating whether the A-IoT device is currently charging, fully charged, or not charging; a battery level representing a current level of the A-IoT device's battery or energy storage; and a time to full charge; and/or the RN16 comprises multiple bits respectively indicating the charging state, the battery level, and the time to full charge.
In an analogous art, Abukhlaf teaches wherein: the charging status message comprises a binary string including multiple sections respectively indicating: a charging state indicating whether the A-IoT device is currently charging, fully charged, or not charging; a battery level representing a current level of the A-IoT device's battery or energy storage; and a time to full charge; and/or the RN16 comprises multiple bits respectively indicating the charging state, the battery level, and the time to full charge (The packet may also include a byte (B.sub.1) with at least one bit (e.g., b.sub.0 through b.sub.6 in FIG. 6) for conveying the state of charge (battery level) of a battery within the device. There may be a predetermined value that indicates that the device does not have a battery (e.g., for power transmitters without an internal battery). Otherwise, the battery level represents the current state of charge of the device battery, [0099]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the device communication of Li, Liu and Jian with the state information of Abukhalaf to provide a methods and a system wherein battery-powered transmitting device may report its state of charge to the power receiving device in response to a state of charge query from the power receiving device as suggested, Abukhalaf [0006].
Regarding claim 18, Li as modified by Liu and Jian teaches the method of claim 10.
However, Li, Liu and Jian do not teach wherein: the charging status message comprises a binary string including multiple sections respectively indicating: a charging state indicating whether the A-IoT device is currently charging, fully charged, or not charging; a battery level representing a current level of the A-IoT device's battery or energy storage; and a time to full charge; and/or the RN16 comprises multiple bits respectively indicating the charging state, the battery level, and the time to full charge.
In an analogous art, Abukhlaf teaches wherein: the charging status message comprises a binary string including multiple sections respectively indicating: a charging state indicating whether the A-IoT device is currently charging, fully charged, or not charging; a battery level representing a current level of the A-IoT device's battery or energy storage; and a time to full charge; and/or the RN16 comprises multiple bits respectively indicating the charging state, the battery level, and the time to full charge (The packet may also include a byte (B.sub.1) with at least one bit (e.g., b.sub.0 through b.sub.6 in FIG. 6) for conveying the state of charge (battery level) of a battery within the device. There may be a predetermined value that indicates that the device does not have a battery (e.g., for power transmitters without an internal battery). Otherwise, the battery level represents the current state of charge of the device battery, [0099]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the device communication of Li, Liu and Jian with the state information of Abukhalaf to provide a methods and a system wherein battery-powered transmitting device may report its state of charge to the power receiving device in response to a state of charge query from the power receiving device as suggested, Abukhalaf [0006].
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Tian et al. (US 20240430938 A1): Methods, systems, and devices for wireless communications are described. A user equipment (UE) may receive a downlink signal from a network entity, the downlink signal associated with a set of available random access channel occasions, each random access channel occasion in the set of available random access channel occasions defining a resource set available for a random access procedure with the network entity. The UE may perform the random access procedure with the network entity using at least one random access channel occasion of the set of available random access channel occasions, the at least one random access channel occasion selected based at least in part on the downlink signal.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NICOLE M LOUIS-FILS whose telephone number is (571)270-0671. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday.
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/NICOLE M LOUIS-FILS/ Examiner, Art Unit 2641
/CHARLES N APPIAH/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2641
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