Most Relevant Prior Art for US Patent 7310537

This section identifies the prior art cited against US Patent 7310537 and assesses their potential to anticipate the independent claims under 35 U.S.C. § 102. The core inventive concept of US7310537 revolves around including "beam identity information" in signals transmitted on multiple beams, identifying received beams based on this information, and selecting a set of geometrically distinguished beams for further transmission.

The analysis below is based on the "Patent Citations (8)" section of US7310537.

Cited Prior Art Analysis

1. US5894598A

Full Citation: US5894598A, "Radio communication system using portable mobile terminal"
Publication/Filing Date: Priority Date: 1995-09-06, Publication Date: 1999-04-13
Brief Description: This patent generally describes a radio communication system that uses portable mobile terminals. (A detailed abstract or description beyond the title was not readily available through the search, but typical radio communication systems of this era would involve handoff and channel selection without the explicit "beam identity information" and "geometrically distinguished beams" as a core component of selection).
Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102):
- Independent Claims 1, 20, 26, 29, 30: This patent is unlikely to anticipate the core claims of US7310537, as its broad title suggests a general radio communication system. Without specific disclosure of including "beam identity information" in signals, using that information to identify received beams, and selecting a "set of geometrically distinguished beams," it does not appear to teach all elements of the independent claims.

2. US6377636B1

Full Citation: US6377636B1, "Method and wireless communications system using coordinated transmission and training for interference mitigation"
Publication/Filing Date: Priority Date: 1999-11-02, Publication Date: 2002-04-23
Brief Description: This patent focuses on methods and systems for wireless communication that use coordinated transmission and training to mitigate interference. While it deals with optimizing transmission, it does not explicitly mention the use of "beam identity information" for selection of "geometrically distinguished beams."
Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102):
- Independent Claims 1, 20, 26, 29, 30: Similar to US5894598A, this patent's abstract suggests a focus on interference mitigation through coordinated transmission and training. It is unlikely to disclose the specific mechanism of embedding "beam identity information" for the identification and selection of "geometrically distinguished beams" as described in the independent claims of US7310537.

3. US6473467B1

Full Citation: US6473467B1, "Method and apparatus for measuring reporting channel state information in a high efficiency, high performance communications system"
Publication/Filing Date: Priority Date: 2000-03-22, Publication Date: 2002-10-29
Brief Description: This patent describes a method where channel state information (CSI) is used to precondition transmissions between transmitter and receiver units. It involves assigning disjoint sub-channel sets to transmit antennas and transmitting pilot symbols on a subset of these sub-channels. Receiver units determine CSI for the sub-channels carrying pilot symbols and report these CSI values back to the transmitter.
Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102):
- Independent Claims 1, 20, 26, 29, 30: This patent is highly relevant. It explicitly discusses transmitting pilot symbols and receivers determining channel state information (CSI) from them, which is then reported back. This aligns with the "receiving at the second station signals transmitted from the first station" and "identifying beams via which the second station received signals from the first station based on said identity information" aspects, especially if the "pilot symbols" can be interpreted as carrying "beam identity information" and the "sub-channel sets" correlate to beams. The distinction lies in whether it teaches selecting a set of geometrically distinguished beams based on this information, rather than just using CSI for preconditioning. If the pilot symbols implicitly or explicitly identify beams and lead to selecting geometrically distinct paths, it could anticipate.

4. US6745050B1

Full Citation: US6745050B1, "Multichannel multiuser detection"
Publication/Filing Date: Priority Date: 2000-10-23, Publication Date: 2004-06-01
Brief Description: This patent broadly covers multichannel multiuser detection. (Similar to earlier citations, a more specific abstract beyond the title was not readily available through search results.) This typically involves separating signals from multiple users transmitted over multiple channels.
Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102):
- Independent Claims 1, 20, 26, 29, 30: While it deals with multiple channels and users, the title "Multichannel multiuser detection" does not immediately suggest the specific mechanism of beam identity information and selection of geometrically distinguished beams as claimed in US7310537. Further analysis of the full patent would be required to determine if it discloses these specific elements.

5. US6970682B2

Full Citation: US6970682B2, "Wireless packet switched communication systems and networks using adaptively steered antenna arrays"
Publication/Filing Date: Priority Date: 2001-04-27, Publication Date: 2005-11-29
Brief Description: This patent describes wireless packet switched communication systems and networks that utilize adaptively steered antenna arrays. "Adaptively steered antenna arrays" inherently implies the ability to form and direct beams.
Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102):
- Independent Claims 1, 20, 26, 29, 30: The use of "adaptively steered antenna arrays" to form beams is relevant to US7310537, which mentions adaptive beamforming (e.g., in claim 6). However, the critical elements of "beam identity information" embedded in signals and the subsequent selection of "geometrically distinguished beams" based on this explicit identity information are not immediately apparent from the title alone. It might involve beamforming without this specific identity-based selection mechanism.

6. US7020110B2

Full Citation: US7020110B2, "Resource allocation for MIMO-OFDM communication systems"
Publication/Filing Date: Priority Date: 2002-01-08, Publication Date: 2006-03-28
Brief Description: This patent pertains to resource allocation in MIMO-OFDM communication systems. MIMO (Multiple Input/Multiple Output) systems inherently deal with multiple channels and can involve multiple beams. US7310537 also refers to MIMO specifications.
Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102):
- Independent Claims 1, 20, 26, 29, 30: This patent is highly relevant due to its focus on MIMO-OFDM systems and resource allocation. MIMO systems often involve channel estimation and feedback, similar to US7310537's context. If this patent teaches explicit "beam identity information" (e.g., within reference signals or pilots) being used by a receiving station to identify specific beams and then select a set of "geometrically distinguished beams" for transmission, it could anticipate. The "resource allocation" could potentially encompass beam selection. Without deeper analysis of its claims and detailed description, it's difficult to definitively state anticipation, but it presents a strong potential overlap.

7. US6850741B2

Full Citation: US6850741B2, "Method for selecting switched orthogonal beams for downlink diversity transmission"
Publication/Filing Date: Priority Date: 2002-04-04, Publication Date: 2005-02-01
Brief Description: This patent describes a method for selecting switched orthogonal beams specifically for downlink diversity transmission. The term "selecting switched orthogonal beams" directly addresses beam selection, and "downlink diversity transmission" implies multiple paths.
Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102):
- Independent Claims 1, 20, 26, 29, 30: This patent is highly relevant as it explicitly discusses "selecting switched orthogonal beams" for transmission. The key question for anticipation against US7310537 is whether this selection is based on beam identity information (explicitly included in signals and used for identification) and whether the selection is specifically of a "set of geometrically distinguished beams." If the "orthogonal beams" inherently carry identifiable characteristics used for selection in a way that correlates to "geometrically distinguished," then this patent could be a very strong anticipatory reference.

8. US6754475B1

Full Citation: US6754475B1, "Transmission performance measurement and use thereof"
Publication/Filing Date: Priority Date: 2002-06-28, Publication Date: 2004-06-22
Brief Description: This patent is directed to methods and apparatus for transmission performance measurement and the use of such measurements. (A more detailed abstract or description beyond the title was not readily available through the search.) This often involves feedback mechanisms to optimize transmission.
Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102):
- Independent Claims 1, 20, 26, 29, 30: While "transmission performance measurement" can be related to channel quality and signal reception, it does not explicitly teach the inclusion of "beam identity information" in signals for identification and the subsequent selection of "geometrically distinguished beams." More information on the specific measurements and their use would be needed to assess anticipation accurately, but based on the title, it appears less specific to the unique beam selection mechanism of US7310537 than some other cited patents.

Summary of Most Relevant Prior Art:

Based on the titles and available abstracts, US6473467B1 ("Method and apparatus for measuring reporting channel state information..."), US7020110B2 ("Resource allocation for MIMO-OFDM communication systems"), and US6850741B2 ("Method for selecting switched orthogonal beams for downlink diversity transmission") appear to be the most relevant prior art. These patents delve into areas directly related to multi-antenna communication, channel state information, and beam selection. The degree to which they anticipate US7310537 depends specifically on whether they disclose the explicit inclusion of "beam identity information" in signals and the subsequent selection of "geometrically distinguished beams" based on that identity information. The other patents seem more general in their scope concerning multi-beam communication or focus on different aspects that are less directly aligned with the specific inventive step of US7310537's independent claims.

Prior art