DETAILED ACTION
This office action is a response to the application 17/551,014 filed on December 14th, 2021.
Claim Status
This office action is based upon claims received on 12/23/2025, which replace all prior or other submitted versions of the claims.
Claims 1, 3 – 12, 14 – 24, and 26 – 30 are pending.
Claims 1, 3 – 12, 14 – 24, and 26 – 30 are rejected.
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 .
Response to Arguments/Remarks
Applicant’s remarks, see page 11 of the Remarks, filed 12/23/2025, with respect to the status of the claims is acknowledged.
Applicant’s arguments, see pages 11 – 17 of the Remarks, filed 12/23/2025, with respect to the rejections of independent claims 1, 12, 24, and 30, and dependent claims 3 – 11, 13 – 23, and 25 – 29, under applied prior art references of record in the office action dated 10/14/2025, particularly with regards to the amended limitations, have been fully considered and are persuasive. However, upon further consideration, due to the amended limitations, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Park et al. [US PG PUB 20200358505] hereinafter Park and Faxér et al. [US 20220039099 A1] hereinafter Faxér 1. Therefore, the rejection has been revised as set forth below according to the amended claims. See office action below.
It should be noted that the scope of the previous claim 1 has been changed with the current amendment. Therefore, this amendment necessitates a new ground(s) of rejection.
Regarding applicant’s arguments about the references individually, Examiner respectfully disagrees with the applicant because the previously presented independent claim 1 rejection was a 35 USC §103 rejection comprising four applicable references within the same scope of invention. In response to applicant's arguments against the references individually, one cannot show nonobviousness by attacking references individually where the rejections are based on combinations of references. See In re Keller, 642 F.2d 413, 208 USPQ 871 (CCPA 1981); In re Merck & Co., 800 F.2d 1091, 231 USPQ 375 (Fed. Cir. 1986).
All remaining arguments presented by Applicant not specifically addressed herein and directed to various independent and dependent claims are found unpersuasive for the same reasons as stated herein, with regard to independent claim 1. The rejection has been revised and set forth below according to the amended claims.
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.
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.
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.
Claims 1, 3 – 6, 8 – 12, 14 – 17, 20 – 24, and 26 – 30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park et al. [US PG PUB 20200358505] hereinafter Park and further in view of Faxér et al. [US PG PUB 20220039099] hereinafter Faxér 1, Faxér et al. [US PG PUB 20210336660] hereinafter Faxér 2, and Kotecha et al. [US 20200366360 A1] hereinafter Kotecha.
Regarding claim 1, Park teaches a method for wireless communications at a user equipment (UE) (Park: Fig. 1, ¶ 44; UE 120), comprising:
transmitting synchronization signal block (SSB) measurement results associated with a plurality of received SSBs of an SSB burst (Park: Fig. 5 (¶57, ¶66 - ¶67); wherein the UE receives a plurality of SSBs transmitted in a burst, and the UE sweeps the receive beams in order to determine an appropriate receive beam. Once the UE succeeds in receiving a symbol of the SSB, the UE and BS have discovered a beam pairing. The UE measures signal quality of the signal, such as reference signal receive power (RSRP) or another signal quality parameter. The UE then reports the measured results together with the symbol index to the BS. In some cases, the UE may report multiple symbol indices to the BS, corresponding to multiple beam pairings);
receiving an indication that a single channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) resource indicator is configured to indicate a selection of two or more beams (Park: Fig. 4 & 5 (¶63 - ¶77), Fig. 14 (¶100 - ¶104), and Fig. 15 (¶109 - ¶118); wherein the UE receives a single transmission configuration indicator (TCI) from a base station (BS), for a UE to perform beam management procedures. Likewise, in ¶ 117, the BS sends a CSI configuration for the beam management procedures which configures the UE with at least one CSI-RS resource set (i.e., the single CSI-RS resource indicator), each set may include resources configured with a number of ports with each port associated with a different BS transmit beam for a CSI-RS. Therefore, the single TCI indication received from the BS indicates that the single CSI-RS resource indicator is associated with multiple beams (i.e., two or more beams)), wherein a quantity of the two or more beams is in accordance with the SSB measurement results (Park: Fig. 5 (¶57, ¶66 - ¶67); wherein the UE then reports the measured results together with the symbol index to the BS. In some cases, the UE may report multiple symbol indices to the BS, corresponding to multiple beam pairings. Therefore, the quantity of the two or more beams in the beam pairings are in accordance with the SSB measurement results);
monitoring, a downlink burst comprising one or more CSI-RSs in accordance with at least the single CSI-RS resource indicator (Park: Fig. 14 & 15, step 1410 / step 1515, ¶ 104 and ¶ 112 , ¶ 117; wherein the beam management procedure includes the UE (upon receiving a PDSCH that contains the multi-beam data transmission downlink form the BS) measuring another RS (CSI-RS) received from the BS using the one or more preferred UE receive beams based on the single TCI received from the BS (which comprised the single CSI-RS resource indicator). A person having ordinary skill in the art would find it obvious that when the UE performs a beam management procedure, the UE has to monitor for a downlink burst or transmission);
obtaining, in accordance with monitoring of the downlink burst, respective reference signal receive power measurements corresponding to the two or more beams indicated by the single CSI-RS resource indicator (Park: Fig. 5 (¶64, ¶66 - ¶67); wherein the UE performs UE RX beam sweeping (e.g., over the beams) to determine the “best” UE RX beam for the CSI-RS report. The UE measures signal quality of the signal, such as reference signal receive power (RSRP) and the UE reports the measured signal quality (e.g., RSRP) to the BS together with the symbol index. In some cases, the UE may report multiple symbol indices to the BS, corresponding to multiple beam pairings. Therefore, in accordance with the monitoring of the downlink burst, the UE obtains the RSRP measurements of the beam pairings and reports them to the base station);
transmitting, based at least in part on measurement of the one or more CSI-RSs, a channel state information report comprising the single CSI-RS resource indicator that indicates the two or more beams (Park: Fig. 14, step 1410, ¶ 85 and ¶ 104; wherein after the UE measures the RS (CSI-RS) from the BS using the one or more preferred UE receive beams based on the single TCI received from the BS, the UE reports channel state information (CSI) back to the BS based on the measurement performed, and wherein the RS is associated with the first set of BS transmit beams, the single TCI state points to the CSI-RS (i.e., the single CSI-RS resource indicator) and the associated BS TX beams used in the CSI report procedure, and the CSI report includes CSI-RS resource indicator (CRI) (i.e., the single CSI-RS resource indicator). Therefore, the CSI report includes the single CSI-RS resource indicator that indicates the two or more beams), wherein the channel state information report indicates the respective reference signal receive power measurements corresponding to the two or more beams indicated by the single CSI-RS resource indicator (Park: Fig. 5 (¶64, ¶66 - ¶67); wherein the UE performs UE RX beam sweeping (e.g., over the beams) to determine the “best” UE RX beam for the CSI-RS report. The UE measures signal quality of the signal, such as reference signal receive power (RSRP) and the UE reports the measured signal quality (e.g., RSRP) to the BS together with the symbol index. In some cases, the UE may report multiple symbol indices to the BS, corresponding to multiple beam pairings. Therefore, in accordance with the monitoring of the downlink burst, the UE obtains the RSRP measurements of the beam pairings and reports them to the base station); and
receiving a downlink transmission using the beams indicated in the channel state information report, the beams indicated via the single CSI-RS resource indicator (Park: Fig. 14, step 1415, ¶ 102; wherein the UE receiving a multi-beam (e.g., multiple simultaneous BS TX beams) data transmission (e.g., a PDSCH) from the BS using the determined one or more UE receive beams).
Park does not explicitly teach the two or more beams selected by the UE are indicated in the CSI report, and beams indicated by the UE via the single CSI-RS resource indicator.
Referring to the invention of Faxér 1, Faxér 1 teaches the two or more beams selected by the UE are indicated in the CSI report, and two or more beams indicated by the UE via the single CSI-RS resource indicator (Faxér 1: ¶ 53; wherein the gNB transmits multiple CSI-RS resources in a plurality of beams and the UE feeds back a number of the strongest beams of the plurality of beams in the form of multiple CSI-RS resource indicators (CRIs) in the CSI report. Therefore, the CSI report includes a number of (wherein “a number of” implies two or more) the strongest beams that the UE feeds back (selects / indicates) from the plurality of beams sent by the gNB (network device)).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the UE selection of beams teachings of Faxér 1 into the CSI-RS teachings of the invention of Park in order for the network device (gNB) to determine how to transmit DL data to a UE over plurality of antenna ports (Faxér 1: ¶ 53).
Referring to the invention of Faxér 2, Faxér 2 teaches that “Typically though, CSI is only fed back for a single, preferred, CSI-RS resource and if multiple CSI-RS resources are configured, the transmitter of the CSI feedback initially performs a CSI-RS resource selection using a CSI-RS resource indicator (CRI)” (Faxér 2: ¶ 6). Therefore, Faxér 2 teaches that a CSI feedback is only for a single, preferred, CSI-RS resource and even if there are multiple CSI-RS resources configured, the transmitter initially performs a selection of the single preferred CSI-RS using a CSI-RS resource indicator (CRI) to make the selection of one CSI-RS. Likewise, A CSI-RS port may be precoded so that it is virtualized over multiple physical antenna ports (i.e., a single CSI-RS may indicate multiple physical antenna ports/beams) (Faxér 2: ¶ 4 – 6).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the single, preferred CSI-RS teachings of Faxér 2 into the CSI report teachings of Faxér 1, and the combined inventions of Park in order to effectively support precoding in a MIMO wireless communication system (Faxér 2: ¶ 4).
In view of the teachings of Faxér 2, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art that the CSI reporting in Faxér 1 could include the CSI feedback that is based on a single preferred CSI-RS resource (i.e., single CRI) as taught by Faxér 2, in order to effectively support precoding in a MIMO wireless communication system. Therefore, the limitation “the two or more beams selected by the UE are indicated in the CSI report” and “beams indicated by the UE via the single CSI-RS resource indicator” will be obviously met.
Park and Faxér 1 both teach that the respective reference signal receive power measurements are reported in a CSI-RS report ((Park: Fig. 5 (¶64, ¶66 - ¶67); wherein the UE performs UE RX beam sweeping (e.g., over the beams) to determine the “best” UE RX beam for the CSI-RS report. The UE measures signal quality of the signal, such as reference signal receive power (RSRP) and the UE reports the measured signal quality (e.g., RSRP) to the BS together with the symbol index. In some cases, the UE may report multiple symbol indices to the BS, corresponding to multiple beam pairings. Therefore, in accordance with the monitoring of the downlink burst, the UE obtains the RSRP measurements of the beam pairings and reports them to the base station) and (Faxér 1: ¶ 53; wherein the gNB transmits multiple CSI-RS resources in a plurality of beams and the UE feeds back a number of the strongest beams of the plurality of beams in the form of multiple CSI-RS resource indicators (CRIs) together with L1-RSRP (reference signal received power) for each selected resource in the CSI report. Therefore, the CSI report includes a number of (wherein “a number of” implies two or more) the strongest beams that the UE feeds back (selects / indicates) from the plurality of beams sent by the gNB)). However, Park in view of Faxér 1 and Faxér 2 does not explicitly disclose that the downlink transmission is a linear combination of at least a first beam of the two or more beams weighted by a first beam weight and a second beam of the two or more beams weighted by a second beam weight, the first beam weight and the second beam weight being based at least in part on the respective reference signal receive power measurements indicated in the channel state information report.
Referring to the invention of Kotecha, Kotecha teaches that downlink transmission (Kotecha: ¶ 22; wherein the base station uses beamforming techniques to transmit one or more data streams through the transmit antenna array) is a linear combination (Kotecha: ¶ 34; wherein the cell search may be performed with a weighted linear combination of some of the identified RX beams) of at least a first beam of the two or more beams weighted by a first beam weight and a second beam of the two or more beams weighted by a second beam weight (Kotecha:¶ 22, ¶ 34; wherein, a third stage computation is performed by the user equipment for each selected SSB frequency and RX beam identified in the first and second stage computations… and wherein the base station uses beamforming techniques to transmit one or more data streams through the transmit antenna array, and the receiver combines the received signal stream(s) from the receive antenna array to reconstruct the transmitted data. This is accomplished with “beamforming” weights whereby each data signal si is processed … for transmission by applying a weight vector wi to the signal si and transmitting the result xi over the transmit antenna array, …and wherein the base station has an array of N transmit antennas, the digital signal processor and analog beamformer prepare a transmission signal, represented by the vector xi, for each signal si. The transmission signal vector xi is determined in accordance with equation
xi = wi · si,
where wi is the ith beamforming, N dimensional transmission weight vector (also referred to as a “transmit beamformer”), and each coefficient wj of weight vector wi represents a weight and phase shift on the jth transmit antenna), the first beam weight and the second beam weight being based at least in part on the respective reference signal receive power measurements indicated in the channel state information report (Kotecha: ¶ 22, ¶ 34, ¶ 75-76; wherein, the weighting could be based on the received signal strength metric, and wherein the UE device generates a composite received signal strength metric value from a batch of samples collected over the plurality of receive beams detected in the first receiver sweep period to detect one or more SSBs (it should be noted that while Kotecha did not explicitly state that the RSRP (i.e., RX beam power) or the RSSI is received in a CSI report, a person having ordinary skill in the art would understand that an RSRP or an RSSI (which is analogous to maximum power or amplitude (Kotecha: ¶ 20)) can be received in a CSI report because an RSRP or an RSSI can be derived or estimated from a CSI report)).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the concept of a base station sending a downlink transmission using a linear combination of beams as taught by Kotecha into the beam management process of the combined inventions of Park, Faxér 1 and Faxér 2, in order to improve throughput in wireless communication links (Kotecha: ¶ 2).
Regarding claim 3, Park in view of Faxér 1, Faxér 2, and Kotecha teaches the method of claim 1, wherein obtaining the respective reference signal receive power measurements comprises:
measuring a reference signal received power associated with each of the two or more beams indicated by the single CSI-RS resource indicator (Park: Fig. 4, ¶ 64; wherein the UE 404 may determine the strongest beam, such as the beam having a highest channel quality measurement… the highest reference signal received power (RSRP), when performing beam sweeping for each of a number of BS transmit (TX) beams (i.e., two or more beams) in order to determine the best RX beam corresponding to each of the TX beams), and wherein transmitting the channel state information report comprises:
transmitting the channel state information report comprising the reference signal received power associated with the two or more beams (Park: ¶ 67; wherein the UE may report the measured signal quality (e.g., RSRP) to the BS together with the symbol index. In some cases, the UE may report multiple symbol indices to the BS, corresponding to multiple beam pairings).
Regarding claim 4, Park in view of Faxér 1, Faxér 2, and Kotecha teaches the method of claim 3, further comprising:
selecting the two or more beams based at least in part on a threshold reference signal received power associated with measurements of the one or more CSI-RSs (Park: ¶ 96; wherein the UE 1304 can determine the best RX beam(s) (e.g., strongest beams, beams having a highest signal quality measurement, or beams having a signal quality measurement above a threshold) for each of the multi-beam CSI-RS transmissions); and
transmitting an indication of the two or more beams associated with the single CSI-RS resource indicator, the two or more beams having the reference signal received power that exceeds the threshold reference signal received power (Park: ¶ 97; wherein, using the determined RX beams from the beam management procedure, the UE 1304 can measure the multi-beam CSI-RS transmission (e.g., CSI-RS #m0) to determine the CSI feedback (e.g., PMI, CQI, etc.) for reporting to the BS 1302).
Regarding claim 5, Park in view of Faxér 1, Faxér 2, and Kotecha teaches the method of claim 4, wherein the two or more beams comprise a total quantity of beams in a channel having the reference signal received power that exceeds the threshold reference signal received power (Park: ¶ 97; wherein the UE provides CSI feedback for the TX beams, and the BS can select (e.g., based on the PMI report) a subset of the beams (e.g., the best TX beams) to actually use for the PDSCH transmission. In some examples, even when the candidate beam set has more TX beams (e.g., four TX beams as shown in the CSI report procedure in FIG. 13), the UE can select a subset of the beams (e.g., two TX beams) when reporting a PMI).
Regarding claim 6, Park in view of Faxér 1, Faxér 2, and Kotecha teaches the method of claim 1, further comprising:
receiving a set of transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states associated with the two or more beams (Park: ¶ 84; wherein the CSI report configuration, received from the BS, may configure the TCI state(s) associated with the CSI-RS resources for the UE to measure); and
selecting the two or more beams based at least in part on the set of TCI states (Park: ¶ 86; wherein after the UE measures the RS (CSI-RS) from the BS the UE 1020 can feed back to the BS 1010 an index of a preferred beam b.sub.1 (e.g., TX beam 1014) or beams of the candidate beams).
Regarding claim 8, Park in view of Faxér 1, Faxér 2, and Kotecha teaches the method of claim 1, further comprising:
receiving an indication of a set of TCI states and a repetition factor associated with the one or more CSI-RSs (Park: ¶ 95 - ¶ 96; wherein the BS 1302 transmits multiple TX beams per CSI-RS with repetition, and the CSI-RSs used for the new beam management procedure (e.g., the CSI-RS resource set with CSI-RSs #n0, #n1, #n2, #n3) is configured with an associated TCI-state for the CSI-RS); and
receiving one or more repetitions of the one or more CSI-RSs in accordance with the repetition factors (Park: ¶ 95; wherein as shown in Fig. 13, the BS 1302 repeats the CSI-RS #n, each repetition (CSI-RS #n0, CSI-RS #n1, CSI-RS #n2, CSI-RS #n3) uses the same set of multiple beams (e.g., identical beam sets 1306, 1308, 1310, 1313 using the ports #0, #1, #2, #3, respectively)), the one or more repetitions of the one or more CSI-RSs being associated with a determination of a beam weight factor to be used in analog beamforming, hybrid beamforming, or both (Park: Fig. 13, ¶ 98; wherein after the new CSI reporting procedure, using the CSI-RS #m0, and based on the TCI-state (which embodies a beam weight factor), the UE 1304 can determine the UE RX beam(s) 1320 corresponding to the indicated multi-beam CSI-RS to apply for the analog precoding/detecting (e.g., analog beamforming). The UE can apply demodulation reference signals (DMRS) for the digital detecting. Based on the analog and digital detecting, the UE 1304 can perform the hybrid detecting 1326 to receive and demodulate the multi-beam PDSCH).
Regarding claim 9, Park in view of Faxér 1, Faxér 2, and Kotecha teaches the method of claim 8, wherein the beam weight factor is based at least in part on a weighted combination of a set of beam weight vectors associated with the one or more repetitions of the one or more CSI-RSs (Park: Fig. 13, ¶ 97; wherein determining the RX beams is based on the UE having and including multiple RF chains (RX beam vectors that are selected within a predefined analog beamforming codebook) and a single RX beam is determined per chain like in Fig. 13, scenario 1322b).
Regarding claim 10, Park in view of Faxér 1, Faxér 2, and Kotecha teaches the method of claim 8, further comprising:
receiving an indication that the UE is to perform a full beam sweep or a partial beam sweep across beams of the set of TCI states (Park: ¶ 96; wherein the BS 1302 transmits multiple TX beams per CSI-RS with repetition, and the CSI-RSs used for the new beam management procedure (e.g., the CSI-RS resource set with CSI-RSs #n0, #n1, #n2, #n3) is configured with an associated TCI-state for the CSI-RS, pointing to the TX beams. For each CSI-RS repetition using the set BS TX beams, the UE 1304 can sweep with its RX beams 1313, 1316, 1318), wherein the beam weight factor is based on a weighted combination of beam weights of the full beam sweep or the partial beam sweep (Park: Fig. 13, ¶ 97; wherein determining the RX beams is based on the UE having and including multiple RF chains (RX beam vectors that are selected within a predefined analog beamforming codebook) and a single RX beam is determined per chain like in Fig. 13, scenario 1322b).
Regarding claim 11, Park in view of Faxér 1, Faxér 2, and Kotecha teaches the method of claim 1, wherein the two or more beams comprise a different quantity of beams associated with different respective CSI-RS resource indicators (Park: ¶ 117; wherein the BS sends a CSI configuration for the beam management procedures which configures the UE with at least one CSI-RS resource set, each set may include resources configured with a number of ports with each port associated with a different (i.e., respective) BS transmit beam for a CSI-RS).
Regarding claim 12, Park teaches a method for wireless communications at a network device (Park: Fig. 1, ¶ 44; Base Station (BS) 110), comprising:
receiving synchronization signal block (SSB) measurement results associated with a plurality of transmitted SSBs of an SSB burst (Park: Fig. 5 (¶57, ¶66 - ¶67); wherein the UE receives a plurality of SSBs transmitted in a burst, and the UE sweeps the receive beams in order to determine an appropriate receive beam. Once the UE succeeds in receiving a symbol of the SSB, the UE and BS have discovered a beam pairing. The UE measures signal quality of the signal, such as reference signal receive power (RSRP) or another signal quality parameter. The UE then reports the measured results together with the symbol index to the BS. In some cases, the UE may report multiple symbol indices to the BS, corresponding to multiple beam pairings);
transmitting an indication that a single channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) resource indicator is configured to indicate a selection of two or more beams (Park: Fig. 4 & 5 (¶63 - ¶77), Fig. 14 (¶100 - ¶104), and Fig. 15 (¶109 - ¶118); wherein the UE receives a single transmission configuration indicator (TCI) from a base station (BS), for a UE to perform beam management procedures. Likewise, in ¶ 117, the BS sends a CSI configuration for the beam management procedures which configures the UE with at least one CSI-RS resource set (i.e., the single CSI-RS resource indicator), each set may include resources configured with a number of ports with each port associated with a different BS transmit beam for a CSI-RS. Therefore, the single TCI indication received from the BS indicates that the single CSI-RS resource indicator is associated with multiple beams (i.e., two or more beams)), wherein a quantity of the two or more beams is in accordance with the SSB measurement results (Park: Fig. 5 (¶57, ¶66 - ¶67); wherein the UE then reports the measured results together with the symbol index to the BS. In some cases, the UE may report multiple symbol indices to the BS, corresponding to multiple beam pairings. Therefore, the quantity of the two or more beams in the beam pairings are in accordance with the SSB measurement results);
transmitting a downlink burst comprising one or more CSI-RSs in accordance with at least the single CSI-RS resource indicator (Park: Fig. 14 & 15, step 1410 / step 1515, ¶ 104 and ¶ 112 , ¶ 117; wherein the beam management procedure includes the UE (upon receiving a PDSCH that contains the multi-beam data transmission downlink form the BS) measuring another RS (CSI-RS) received from the BS using the one or more preferred UE receive beams based on the single TCI received from the BS (which comprised the single CSI-RS resource indicator));
receiving a channel state information report comprising the single CSI-RS resource indicator that indicates the two or more beams (Park: Fig. 14, step 1410, ¶ 85 and ¶ 104; wherein after the UE measures the RS (CSI-RS) from the BS using the one or more preferred UE receive beams based on the single TCI received from the BS, the UE reports channel state information (CSI) back to the BS based on the measurement performed, and wherein the RS is associated with the first set of BS transmit beams, the single TCI state points to the CSI-RS (i.e., the single CSI-RS resource indicator) and the associated BS TX beams used in the CSI report procedure, and the CSI report includes CSI-RS resource indicator (CRI) (i.e., the single CSI-RS resource indicator). Therefore, the CSI report includes the single CSI-RS resource indicator that indicates the two or more beams), wherein the channel state information report indicates respective reference signal receive power measurements corresponding to the two or more beams indicated by the single CSI-RS resource indicator (Park: Fig. 5 (¶64, ¶66 - ¶67); wherein the UE performs UE RX beam sweeping (e.g., over the beams) to determine the “best” UE RX beam for the CSI-RS report. The UE measures signal quality of the signal, such as reference signal receive power (RSRP) and the UE reports the measured signal quality (e.g., RSRP) to the BS together with the symbol index. In some cases, the UE may report multiple symbol indices to the BS, corresponding to multiple beam pairings. Therefore, in accordance with the monitoring of the downlink burst, the UE obtains the RSRP measurements of the beam pairings and reports them to the base station); and
transmitting a downlink transmission using the beams indicated in the one or more channel state information reports, the beams indicated via the CSI-RS resource indicator (Park: Fig. 14, step 1415, ¶ 102; wherein the UE receiving a multi-beam (e.g., multiple simultaneous BS TX beams) data transmission (e.g., a PDSCH) from the BS using the determined one or more UE receive beams).
Park does not explicitly teach channel state information report comprising at least a single CSI-RS resource indicator that indicates the two or more beams.
Referring to the invention of Faxér 1, Faxér 1 teaches the two or more beams are indicated in the CSI report, and the two or more beams indicated by the single CSI-RS resource indicator (Faxér 1: ¶ 53; wherein the gNB transmits multiple CSI-RS resources in a plurality of beams and the UE feeds back a number of the strongest beams of the plurality of beams in the form of multiple CSI-RS resource indicators (CRIs) in the CSI report. Therefore, the CSI report includes a number of (wherein “a number of” implies two or more) the strongest beams that the UE feeds back (selects / indicates) from the plurality of beams sent by the gNB (network device)).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the UE selection of beams teachings of Faxér 1 into the CSI-RS teachings of the invention of Park in order for the network device (gNB) to determine how to transmit DL data to a UE over plurality of antenna ports (Faxér 1: ¶ 53).
Referring to the invention of Faxér 2, Faxér 2 teaches that “Typically though, CSI is only fed back for a single, preferred, CSI-RS resource and if multiple CSI-RS resources are configured, the transmitter of the CSI feedback initially performs a CSI-RS resource selection using a CSI-RS resource indicator (CRI)” (Faxér 2: ¶ 6). Therefore, Faxér 2 teaches that a CSI feedback is only for a single, preferred, CSI-RS resource and even if there are multiple CSI-RS resources configured, the transmitter initially performs a selection of the single preferred CSI-RS using a CSI-RS resource indicator (CRI) to make the selection of one CSI-RS. Likewise, A CSI-RS port may be precoded so that it is virtualized over multiple physical antenna ports (i.e., a single CSI-RS may indicate multiple physical antenna ports/beams) (Faxér 2: ¶ 4 – 6).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the single, preferred CSI-RS teachings of Faxér 2 into the CSI report teachings of Faxér 1, and the combined inventions of Park in order to effectively support precoding in a MIMO wireless communication system (Faxér 2: ¶ 4).
In view of the teachings of Faxér 2, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art that the CSI reporting in Faxér 1 could include the CSI feedback that is based on a single preferred CSI-RS resource (i.e., single CRI) as taught by Faxér 2, in order to effectively support precoding in a MIMO wireless communication system. Therefore, the limitation “the two or more beams are indicated in the CSI report” and “beams indicated by the single CSI-RS resource indicator” will be obviously met.
Park and Faxér 1 both teach that the respective reference signal receive power measurements are reported in a CSI-RS report ((Park: Fig. 5 (¶64, ¶66 - ¶67); wherein the UE performs UE RX beam sweeping (e.g., over the beams) to determine the “best” UE RX beam for the CSI-RS report. The UE measures signal quality of the signal, such as reference signal receive power (RSRP) and the UE reports the measured signal quality (e.g., RSRP) to the BS together with the symbol index. In some cases, the UE may report multiple symbol indices to the BS, corresponding to multiple beam pairings. Therefore, in accordance with the monitoring of the downlink burst, the UE obtains the RSRP measurements of the beam pairings and reports them to the base station) and (Faxér 1: ¶ 53; wherein the gNB transmits multiple CSI-RS resources in a plurality of beams and the UE feeds back a number of the strongest beams of the plurality of beams in the form of multiple CSI-RS resource indicators (CRIs) together with L1-RSRP (reference signal received power) for each selected resource in the CSI report. Therefore, the CSI report includes a number of (wherein “a number of” implies two or more) the strongest beams that the UE feeds back (selects / indicates) from the plurality of beams sent by the gNB)). However, Park in view of Faxér 1 and Faxér 2 does not explicitly disclose that the downlink transmission is a linear combination of at least a first beam of the two or more beams weighted by a first beam weight and a second beam of the two or more beams weighted by a second beam weight, the first beam weight and the second beam weight being based at least in part on the respective reference signal receive power measurements indicated in the channel state information report.
Referring to the invention of Kotecha, Kotecha teaches that downlink transmission (Kotecha: ¶ 22; wherein the base station uses beamforming techniques to transmit one or more data streams through the transmit antenna array) is a linear combination (Kotecha: ¶ 34; wherein the cell search may be performed with a weighted linear combination of some of the identified RX beams) of at least a first beam of the two or more beams weighted by a first beam weight and a second beam of the two or more beams weighted by a second beam weight (Kotecha:¶ 22, ¶ 34; wherein, a third stage computation is performed by the user equipment for each selected SSB frequency and RX beam identified in the first and second stage computations… and wherein the base station uses beamforming techniques to transmit one or more data streams through the transmit antenna array, and the receiver combines the received signal stream(s) from the receive antenna array to reconstruct the transmitted data. This is accomplished with “beamforming” weights whereby each data signal si is processed … for transmission by applying a weight vector wi to the signal si and transmitting the result xi over the transmit antenna array, …and wherein the base station has an array of N transmit antennas, the digital signal processor and analog beamformer prepare a transmission signal, represented by the vector xi, for each signal si. The transmission signal vector xi is determined in accordance with equation
xi = wi · si,
where wi is the ith beamforming, N dimensional transmission weight vector (also referred to as a “transmit beamformer”), and each coefficient wj of weight vector wi represents a weight and phase shift on the jth transmit antenna), the first beam weight and the second beam weight being based at least in part on the respective reference signal receive power measurements indicated in the channel state information report (Kotecha: ¶ 22, ¶ 34, ¶ 75-76; wherein, the weighting could be based on the received signal strength metric, and wherein the UE device generates a composite received signal strength metric value from a batch of samples collected over the plurality of receive beams detected in the first receiver sweep period to detect one or more SSBs (it should be noted that while Kotecha did not explicitly state that the RSRP (i.e., RX beam power) or the RSSI is received in a CSI report, a person having ordinary skill in the art would understand that an RSRP or an RSSI (which is analogous to maximum power or amplitude (Kotecha: ¶ 20)) can be received in a CSI report because an RSRP or an RSSI can be derived or estimated from a CSI report)).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the concept of a base station sending a downlink transmission using a linear combination of beams as taught by Kotecha into the beam management process of the combined inventions of Park, Faxér 1 and Faxér 2, in order to improve throughput in wireless communication links (Kotecha: ¶ 2).
Regarding claim 14, Park in view of Faxér 1, Faxér 2, and Kotecha teaches the method of claim 12, wherein receiving the channel state information report comprises:
receiving the channel state information report comprising a measured reference signal received power associated with each of the two or more beams indicated by the single CSI-RS resource indicator (Park: ¶ 67; wherein the UE may report a measured signal quality (e.g., RSRP) to the BS together with the symbol index. In some cases, the UE may report multiple symbol indices to the BS, corresponding to multiple beam pairings).
Regarding claim 15, Park in view of Faxér 1, Faxér 2, and Kotecha teaches the method of claim 14, further comprising:
receiving an indication of the two or more beams associated with the single CSI-RS resource indicator, the two or more beams having a reference signal received power that exceeds a threshold reference signal received power associated with measurements of the one or more CSI-RSs (Park: ¶ 97; wherein, using the determined RX beams from the beam management procedure (the best RX beam(s) (e.g., strongest beams, beams having a highest signal quality measurement, or beams having a signal quality measurement above a threshold)), the UE 1304 can measure the multi-beam CSI-RS transmission (e.g., CSI-RS #m0) to determine the CSI feedback (e.g., PMI, CQI, etc.) for reporting to the BS 1302).
Regarding claim 16, Park in view of Faxér 1, Faxér 2, and Kotecha teaches the method of claim 15, wherein the two or more beams comprise a total quantity of beams in a channel having the reference signal received power that exceeds the threshold reference signal received power (Park: ¶ 97; wherein the UE provides CSI feedback for the TX beams, and the BS can select (e.g., based on the PMI report) a subset of the beams (e.g., the best TX beams) to actually use for the PDSCH transmission. In some examples, even when the candidate beam set has more TX beams (e.g., four TX beams as shown in the CSI report procedure in FIG. 13), the UE can select a subset of the beams (e.g., two TX beams) when reporting a PMI).
Regarding claim 17, Park in view of Faxér 1, Faxér 2, and Kotecha teaches the method of claim 12, further comprising:
transmitting a set of transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states associated with the two or more beams (Park: ¶ 84; wherein the CSI report configuration, received from the BS, may configure the TCI state(s) associated with the CSI-RS resources for the UE to measure).
Regarding claim 20, Park in view of Faxér 1, Faxér 2, and Kotecha teaches the method of claim 12, further comprising:
transmitting an indication of a set of TCI states and a repetition factor associated with the one or more CSI-RSs (Park: ¶ 95 - ¶ 96; wherein the BS 1302 transmits multiple TX beams per CSI-RS with repetition, and the CSI-RSs used for the new beam management procedure (e.g., the CSI-RS resource set with CSI-RSs #n0, #n1, #n2, #n3) is configured with an associated TCI-state for the CSI-RS);
transmitting one or more repetitions of the one or more CSI-RSs in accordance with the repetition factor (Park: ¶ 95; wherein as shown in Fig. 13, the BS 1302 repeats the CSI-RS #n, each repetition (CSI-RS #n0, CSI-RS #n1, CSI-RS #n2, CSI-RS #n3) uses the same set of multiple beams (e.g., identical beam sets 1306, 1308, 1310, 1313 using the ports #0, #1, #2, #3, respectively)); and
receiving a beam having a beam weight factor based at least in part on the one or more repetitions of the one or more CSI-RSs (Park: Fig. 13, ¶ 98; wherein after the new CSI reporting procedure, using the CSI-RS #m0, and based on the TCI-state (which embodies a beam weight factor), the UE 1304 can determine the UE RX beam(s) 1320 corresponding to the indicated multi-beam CSI-RS to apply for the analog precoding/detecting (e.g., analog beamforming). The UE can apply demodulation reference signals (DMRS) for the digital detecting. Based on the analog and digital detecting, the UE 1304 can perform the hybrid detecting 1326 to receive and demodulate the multi-beam PDSCH).
Regarding claim 21, Park in view of Faxér 1, Faxér 2, and Kotecha teaches the method of claim 20, wherein the beam weight factor is based at least in part on a weighted combination of a set of beam weight vectors associated with the one or more repetitions of the one or more CSI-RSs (Park: Fig. 13, ¶ 97; wherein determining the RX beams is based on the UE having and including multiple RF chains (RX beam vectors that are selected within a predefined analog beamforming codebook) and a single RX beam is determined per chain like in Fig. 13, scenario 1322b).
Regarding claim 22, Park in view of Faxér 1, Faxér 2, and Kotecha teaches the method of claim 20, further comprising:
transmitting an indication to perform a full beam sweep or a partial beam sweep across beams of the set of TCI states (Park: ¶ 96; wherein the BS 1302 transmits multiple TX beams per CSI-RS with repetition, and the CSI-RSs used for the new beam management procedure (e.g., the CSI-RS resource set with CSI-RSs #n0, #n1, #n2, #n3) is configured with an associated TCI-state for the CSI-RS, pointing to the TX beams. For each CSI-RS repetition using the set BS TX beams, the UE 1304 can sweep with its RX beams 1313, 1316, 1318).
Regarding claim 23, Park in view of Faxér 1, Faxér 2, and Kotecha teaches the method of claim 12, wherein the two or more beams comprise a different quantity of beams associated with different respective CSI-RS resource indicators (Park: ¶ 117; wherein the BS sends a CSI configuration for the beam management procedures which configures the UE with at least one CSI-RS resource set, each set may include resources configured with a number of ports with each port associated with a different (i.e., respective) BS transmit beam for a CSI-RS).
Regarding claim 24, Park teaches an apparatus for wireless communications at a user equipment (UE) (Park: Fig. 1, ¶ 44; UE 120), comprising:
one or more processors (Park: Fig. 16, ¶ 120; Processor 1604); and
one or more memories in electronic communication with the one or more processors (Park: Fig. 16, ¶ 120; Processor 1612) and storing instructions executable by the one or more processors to cause the apparatus to (Park: Fig. 16, ¶ 120; wherein the processor 1704 has circuitry configured to implement the code stored in the computer-readable medium/memory 1612):
transmit synchronization signal block (SSB) measurement results associated with a plurality of received SSBs of an SSB burst (Park: Fig. 5 (¶57, ¶66 - ¶67); wherein the UE receives a plurality of SSBs transmitted in a burst, and the UE sweeps the receive beams in order to determine an appropriate receive beam. Once the UE succeeds in receiving a symbol of the SSB, the UE and BS have discovered a beam pairing. The UE measures signal quality of the signal, such as reference signal receive power (RSRP) or another signal quality parameter. The UE then reports the measured results together with the symbol index to the BS. In some cases, the UE may report multiple symbol indices to the BS, corresponding to multiple beam pairings);
receive an indication that a single channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) resource indicator is configured to indicate a selection of two or more beams (Park: Fig. 4 & 5 (¶63 - ¶77), Fig. 14 (¶100 - ¶104), and Fig. 15 (¶109 - ¶118); wherein the UE receives a single transmission configuration indicator (TCI) from a base station (BS), for a UE to perform beam management procedures. Likewise, in ¶ 117, the BS sends a CSI configuration for the beam management procedures which configures the UE with at least one CSI-RS resource set (i.e., the single CSI-RS resource indicator), each set may include resources configured with a number of ports with each port associated with a different BS transmit beam for a CSI-RS. Therefore, the single TCI indication received from the BS indicates that the single CSI-RS resource indicator is associated with multiple beams (i.e., two or more beams)), wherein a quantity of the two or more beams is in accordance with the SSB measurement results (Park: Fig. 5 (¶57, ¶66 - ¶67); wherein the UE then reports the measured results together with the symbol index to the BS. In some cases, the UE may report multiple symbol indices to the BS, corresponding to multiple beam pairings. Therefore, the quantity of the two or more beams in the beam pairings are in accordance with the SSB measurement results);
monitor a downlink burst comprising one or more CSI-RSs in accordance with at least the single CSI-RS resource indicator (Park: Fig. 14 & 15, step 1410 / step 1515, ¶ 104 and ¶ 112 , ¶ 117; wherein the beam management procedure includes the UE (upon receiving a PDSCH that contains the multi-beam data transmission downlink form the BS) measuring another RS (CSI-RS) received from the BS using the one or more preferred UE receive beams based on the single TCI received from the BS (which comprised the single CSI-RS resource indicator). A person having ordinary skill in the art would find it obvious that when the UE performs a beam management procedure, the UE has to monitor for a downlink burst or transmission);
obtain, in accordance with monitoring of the downlink burst, respective reference signal receive power measurements corresponding to the two or more beams indicated by the single CSI-RS resource indicator (Park: Fig. 5 (¶64, ¶66 - ¶67); wherein the UE performs UE RX beam sweeping (e.g., over the beams) to determine the “best” UE RX beam for the CSI-RS report. The UE measures signal quality of the signal, such as reference signal receive power (RSRP) and the UE reports the measured signal quality (e.g., RSRP) to the BS together with the symbol index. In some cases, the UE may report multiple symbol indices to the BS, corresponding to multiple beam pairings. Therefore, in accordance with the monitoring of the downlink burst, the UE obtains the RSRP measurements of the beam pairings and reports them to the base station);
transmit, based at least in part on measurement of the one or more CSI-RSs, a channel state information report comprising the single CSI-RS resource indicator that indicates the two or more beams (Park: Fig. 14, step 1410, ¶ 85 and ¶ 104; wherein after the UE measures the RS (CSI-RS) from the BS using the one or more preferred UE receive beams based on the single TCI received from the BS, the UE reports channel state information (CSI) back to the BS based on the measurement performed, and wherein the RS is associated with the first set of BS transmit beams, the single TCI state points to the CSI-RS (i.e., the single CSI-RS resource indicator) and the associated BS TX beams used in the CSI report procedure, and the CSI report includes CSI-RS resource indicator (CRI) (i.e., the single CSI-RS resource indicator). Therefore, the CSI report includes the single CSI-RS resource indicator that indicates the two or more beams), wherein the channel state information report indicates the respective reference signal receive power measurements corresponding to the two or more beams indicated by the single CSI-RS resource indicator (Park: Fig. 5 (¶64, ¶66 - ¶67); wherein the UE performs UE RX beam sweeping (e.g., over the beams) to determine the “best” UE RX beam for the CSI-RS report. The UE measures signal quality of the signal, such as reference signal receive power (RSRP) and the UE reports the measured signal quality (e.g., RSRP) to the BS together with the symbol index. In some cases, the UE may report multiple symbol indices to the BS, corresponding to multiple beam pairings. Therefore, in accordance with the monitoring of the downlink burst, the UE obtains the RSRP measurements of the beam pairings and reports them to the base station); and
receive a downlink transmission using the beams indicated in the channel state information report, the beams indicated via the single CSI-RS resource indicator (Park: Fig. 14, step 1415, ¶ 102; wherein the UE receiving a multi-beam (e.g., multiple simultaneous BS TX beams) data transmission (e.g., a PDSCH) from the BS using the determined one or more UE receive beams).
Park does not explicitly teach the two or more beams selected by the UE are indicated in the CSI report, and beams indicated by the UE via the single CSI-RS resource indicator.
Referring to the invention of Faxér 1, Faxér 1 teaches the two or more beams selected by the UE are indicated in the CSI report, and beams indicated by the UE via the single CSI-RS resource indicator (Faxér 1: ¶ 53; wherein the gNB transmits multiple CSI-RS resources in a plurality of beams and the UE feeds back a number of the strongest beams of the plurality of beams in the form of multiple CSI-RS resource indicators (CRIs) in the CSI report. Therefore, the CSI report includes a number of (wherein “a number of” implies two or more) the strongest beams that the UE feeds back (selects / indicates) from the plurality of beams sent by the gNB (network device)).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the UE selection of beams teachings of Faxér 1 into the CSI-RS teachings of the invention of Park in order for the network device (gNB) to determine how to transmit DL data to a UE over plurality of antenna ports (Faxér 1: ¶ 53).
Referring to the invention of Faxér 2, Faxér 2 teaches that “Typically though, CSI is only fed back for a single, preferred, CSI-RS resource and if multiple CSI-RS resources are configured, the transmitter of the CSI feedback initially performs a CSI-RS resource selection using a CSI-RS resource indicator (CRI)” (Faxér 2: ¶ 6). Therefore, Faxér 2 teaches that a CSI feedback is only for a single, preferred, CSI-RS resource and even if there are multiple CSI-RS resources configured, the transmitter initially performs a selection of the single preferred CSI-RS using a CSI-RS resource indicator (CRI) to make the selection of one CSI-RS. Likewise, A CSI-RS port may be precoded so that it is virtualized over multiple physical antenna ports (i.e., a single CSI-RS may indicate multiple physical antenna ports/beams) (Faxér 2: ¶ 4 – 6).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the single, preferred CSI-RS teachings of Faxér 2 into the CSI report teachings of Faxér 1, and the combined inventions of Park in order to effectively support precoding in a MIMO wireless communication system (Faxér 2: ¶ 4).
In view of the teachings of Faxér 2, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art that the CSI reporting in Faxér 1 could include the CSI feedback that is based on a single preferred CSI-RS resource (i.e., single CRI) as taught by Faxér 2, in order to effectively support precoding in a MIMO wireless communication system. Therefore, the limitation “the two or more beams selected by the UE are indicated in the CSI report” and “beams indicated by the UE via the single CSI-RS resource indicator” will be obviously met.
Park and Faxér 1 both teach that the respective reference signal receive power measurements are reported in a CSI-RS report ((Park: Fig. 5 (¶64, ¶66 - ¶67); wherein the UE performs UE RX beam sweeping (e.g., over the beams) to determine the “best” UE RX beam for the CSI-RS report. The UE measures signal quality of the signal, such as reference signal receive power (RSRP) and the UE reports the measured signal quality (e.g., RSRP) to the BS together with the symbol index. In some cases, the UE may report multiple symbol indices to the BS, corresponding to multiple beam pairings. Therefore, in accordance with the monitoring of the downlink burst, the UE obtains the RSRP measurements of the beam pairings and reports them to the base station) and (Faxér 1: ¶ 53; wherein the gNB transmits multiple CSI-RS resources in a plurality of beams and the UE feeds back a number of the strongest beams of the plurality of beams in the form of multiple CSI-RS resource indicators (CRIs) together with L1-RSRP (reference signal received power) for each selected resource in the CSI report. Therefore, the CSI report includes a number of (wherein “a number of” implies two or more) the strongest beams that the UE feeds back (selects / indicates) from the plurality of beams sent by the gNB)). However, Park in view of Faxér 1 and Faxér 2 does not explicitly disclose that the downlink transmission is a linear combination of at least a first beam of the two or more beams weighted by a first beam weight and a second beam of the two or more beams weighted by a second beam weight, the first beam weight and the second beam weight being based at least in part on the respective reference signal receive power measurements indicated in the channel state information report.
Referring to the invention of Kotecha, Kotecha teaches that downlink transmission (Kotecha: ¶ 22; wherein the base station uses beamforming techniques to transmit one or more data streams through the transmit antenna array) is a linear combination (Kotecha: ¶ 34; wherein the cell search may be performed with a weighted linear combination of some of the identified RX beams) of at least a first beam of the two or more beams weighted by a first beam weight and a second beam of the two or more beams weighted by a second beam weight (Kotecha:¶ 22, ¶ 34; wherein, a third stage computation is performed by the user equipment for each selected SSB frequency and RX beam identified in the first and second stage computations… and wherein the base station uses beamforming techniques to transmit one or more data streams through the transmit antenna array, and the receiver combines the received signal stream(s) from the receive antenna array to reconstruct the transmitted data. This is accomplished with “beamforming” weights whereby each data signal si is processed … for transmission by applying a weight vector wi to the signal si and transmitting the result xi over the transmit antenna array, …and wherein the base station has an array of N transmit antennas, the digital signal processor and analog beamformer prepare a transmission signal, represented by the vector xi, for each signal si. The transmission signal vector xi is determined in accordance with equation
xi = wi · si,
where wi is the ith beamforming, N dimensional transmission weight vector (also referred to as a “transmit beamformer”), and each coefficient wj of weight vector wi represents a weight and phase shift on the jth transmit antenna), the first beam weight and the second beam weight being based at least in part on the respective reference signal receive power measurements indicated in the channel state information report (Kotecha: ¶ 22, ¶ 34, ¶ 75-76; wherein, the weighting could be based on the received signal strength metric, and wherein the UE device generates a composite received signal strength metric value from a batch of samples collected over the plurality of receive beams detected in the first receiver sweep period to detect one or more SSBs (it should be noted that while Kotecha did not explicitly state that the RSRP (i.e., RX beam power) or the RSSI is received in a CSI report, a person having ordinary skill in the art would understand that an RSRP or an RSSI (which is analogous to maximum power or amplitude (Kotecha: ¶ 20)) can be received in a CSI report because an RSRP or an RSSI can be derived or estimated from a CSI report)).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the concept of a base station sending a downlink transmission using a linear combination of beams as taught by Kotecha into the beam management process of the combined inventions of Park, Faxér 1 and Faxér 2, in order to improve throughput in wireless communication links (Kotecha: ¶ 2).
Regarding claim 26, Park in view of Faxér 1, Faxér 2, and Kotecha teaches the apparatus of claim 24, wherein, to obtain the respective reference signal receive power measurements, the instructions are further executable by the one or more processors to cause the apparatus to:
measure a reference signal received power associated with each of the two or more beams indicated by the single CSI-RS resource indicator (Park: Fig. 4, ¶ 64; wherein the UE 404 may determine the strongest beam, such as the beam having a highest channel quality measurement… the highest reference signal received power (RSRP), when performing beam sweeping for each of a number of BS transmit (TX) beams (i.e., two or more beams) in order to determine the best RX beam corresponding to each of the TX beams), and wherein, to transmit the channel state information report, the instructions are further executable by the one or more processors to cause the apparatus to:
transmit the channel state information report comprising the reference signal received power associated with the two or more beams (Park: ¶ 67; wherein the UE may report the measured signal quality (e.g., RSRP) to the BS together with the symbol index. In some cases, the UE may report multiple symbol indices to the BS, corresponding to multiple beam pairings).
Regarding claim 27, Park in view of Faxér 1, Faxér 2, and Kotecha teaches the apparatus of claim 26, wherein the instructions are further executable by the one or more processors to cause the apparatus to:
select the two or more beams based at least in part on a threshold reference signal received power associated with measurements of the one or more CSI-RSs (Park: ¶ 96; wherein the UE 1304 can determine the best RX beam(s) (e.g., strongest beams, beams having a highest signal quality measurement, or beams having a signal quality measurement above a threshold) for each of the multi-beam CSI-RS transmissions); and
transmit an indication of the two or more beams associated with the single CSI-RS resource indicator, the two or more beams having the reference signal received power that exceeds the threshold reference signal received power (Park: ¶ 97; wherein, using the determined RX beams from the beam management procedure, the UE 1304 can measure the multi-beam CSI-RS transmission (e.g., CSI-RS #m0) to determine the CSI feedback (e.g., PMI, CQI, etc.) for reporting to the BS 1302).
Regarding claim 28, Park in view of Faxér 1, Faxér 2, and Kotecha teaches the apparatus of claim 24, wherein the instructions are further executable by the one or more processors to cause the apparatus to:
receive a set of transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states associated with the two or more beams (Park: ¶ 84; wherein the CSI report configuration, received from the BS, may configure the TCI state(s) associated with the CSI-RS resources for the UE to measure); and
select the two or more beams based at least in part on the set of TCI states (Park: ¶ 86; wherein after the UE measures the RS (CSI-RS) from the BS the UE 1020 can feed back to the BS 1010 an index of a preferred beam b.sub.1 (e.g., TX beam 1014) or beams of the candidate beams).
Regarding claim 29, Park in view of Faxér 1, Faxér 2, and Kotecha teaches the apparatus of claim 24, wherein the instructions are further executable by the one or more processors to cause the apparatus to:
receive an indication of a set of TCI states and a repetition factor associated with the one or more CSI-RSs (Park: ¶ 95 - ¶ 96; wherein the BS 1302 transmits multiple TX beams per CSI-RS with repetition, and the CSI-RSs used for the new beam management procedure (e.g., the CSI-RS resource set with CSI-RSs #n0, #n1, #n2, #n3) is configured with an associated TCI-state for the CSI-RS); and
receive one or more repetitions of the one or more CSI-RSs in accordance with the repetition factor (Park: ¶ 95; wherein as shown in Fig. 13, the BS 1302 repeats the CSI-RS #n, each repetition (CSI-RS #n0, CSI-RS #n1, CSI-RS #n2, CSI-RS #n3) uses the same set of multiple beams (e.g., identical beam sets 1306, 1308, 1310, 1313 using the ports #0, #1, #2, #3, respectively)), the one or more repetitions of the one or more CSI-RSs being associated with a determination of a beam weight factor to be used in analog beamforming, hybrid beamforming, or both (Park: Fig. 13, ¶ 98; wherein after the new CSI reporting procedure, using the CSI-RS #m0, and based on the TCI-state, the UE 1304 can determine the UE RX beam(s) 1320 corresponding to the indicated multi-beam CSI-RS to apply for the analog precoding/detecting (e.g., analog beamforming). The UE can apply demodulation reference signals (DMRS) for the digital detecting. Based on the analog and digital detecting, the UE 1304 can perform the hybrid detecting 1326 to receive and demodulate the multi-beam PDSCH).
Regarding claim 30, Park teaches an apparatus for wireless communications at a network device (Park: Fig. 1, ¶ 44; Base Station (BS) 110), comprising:
one or more processors (Park: Fig. 17, ¶ 122; Processor 1704); and
one or more memories in electronic communication with the one or more processors (Park: Fig. 17, ¶ 122; Memory 1712) and storing instructions executable by the one or more processors to cause the apparatus to (Park: Fig. 17, ¶ 122; wherein the processor 1704 has circuitry configured to implement the code stored in the computer-readable medium/memory 1712):
receive synchronization signal block (SSB) measurement results associated with a plurality of transmitted SSBs of an SSB burst (Park: Fig. 5 (¶57, ¶66 - ¶67); wherein the UE receives a plurality of SSBs transmitted in a burst, and the UE sweeps the receive beams in order to determine an appropriate receive beam. Once the UE succeeds in receiving a symbol of the SSB, the UE and BS have discovered a beam pairing. The UE measures signal quality of the signal, such as reference signal receive power (RSRP) or another signal quality parameter. The UE then reports the measured results together with the symbol index to the BS. In some cases, the UE may report multiple symbol indices to the BS, corresponding to multiple beam pairings);
transmit an indication that a single channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) resource indicator is configured to indicate a selection of two or more beams (Park: Fig. 4 & 5 (¶63 - ¶77), Fig. 14 (¶100 - ¶104), and Fig. 15 (¶109 - ¶118); wherein the UE receives a single transmission configuration indicator (TCI) from a base station (BS), for a UE to perform beam management procedures. Likewise, in ¶ 117, the BS sends a CSI configuration for the beam management procedures which configures the UE with at least one CSI-RS resource set (i.e., the single CSI-RS resource indicator), each set may include resources configured with a number of ports with each port associated with a different BS transmit beam for a CSI-RS. Therefore, the single TCI indication received from the BS indicates that the single CSI-RS resource indicator is associated with multiple beams (i.e., two or more beams)), wherein a quantity of the two or more beams is in accordance with the SSB measurement results (Park: Fig. 5 (¶57, ¶66 - ¶67); wherein the UE then reports the measured results together with the symbol index to the BS. In some cases, the UE may report multiple symbol indices to the BS, corresponding to multiple beam pairings. Therefore, the quantity of the two or more beams in the beam pairings are in accordance with the SSB measurement results);
transmit a downlink burst comprising one or more CSI-RSs to measure in accordance with at least the single CSI-RS resource indicator (Park: Fig. 14 & 15, step 1410 / step 1515, ¶ 104 and ¶ 112 , ¶ 117; wherein the beam management procedure includes the UE (upon receiving a PDSCH that contains the multi-beam data transmission downlink form the BS) measuring another RS (CSI-RS) received from the BS using the one or more preferred UE receive beams based on the single TCI received from the BS (which comprised the single CSI-RS resource indicator));
receive a channel state information report comprising the single CSI-RS resource indicator that indicates the two or more beams (Park: Fig. 14, step 1410, ¶ 85 and ¶ 104; wherein after the UE measures the RS (CSI-RS) from the BS using the one or more preferred UE receive beams based on the single TCI received from the BS, the UE reports channel state information (CSI) back to the BS based on the measurement performed, and wherein the RS is associated with the first set of BS transmit beams, the single TCI state points to the CSI-RS (i.e., the single CSI-RS resource indicator) and the associated BS TX beams used in the CSI report procedure, and the CSI report includes CSI-RS resource indicator (CRI) (i.e., the single CSI-RS resource indicator). Therefore, the CSI report includes the single CSI-RS resource indicator that indicates the two or more beams), wherein the channel state information report indicates respective reference signal receive power measurements corresponding to the two or more beams indicated by the single CSI-RS resource indicator (Park: Fig. 5 (¶64, ¶66 - ¶67); wherein the UE performs UE RX beam sweeping (e.g., over the beams) to determine the “best” UE RX beam for the CSI-RS report. The UE measures signal quality of the signal, such as reference signal receive power (RSRP) and the UE reports the measured signal quality (e.g., RSRP) to the BS together with the symbol index. In some cases, the UE may report multiple symbol indices to the BS, corresponding to multiple beam pairings. Therefore, in accordance with the monitoring of the downlink burst, the UE obtains the RSRP measurements of the beam pairings and reports them to the base station); and
transmit a downlink transmission using the beams indicated in the one or more channel state information reports, the beams indicated via the CSI-RS resource indicator (Park: Fig. 14, step 1415, ¶ 102; wherein the UE receiving a multi-beam (e.g., multiple simultaneous BS TX beams) data transmission (e.g., a PDSCH) from the BS using the determined one or more UE receive beams).
Park does not explicitly teach channel state information report comprising at least a single CSI-RS resource indicator that indicates the two or more beams.
Referring to the invention of Faxér 1, Faxér 1 teaches the two or more beams are indicated in the CSI report, and the two or more beams indicated by the single CSI-RS resource indicator (Faxér 1: ¶ 53; wherein the gNB transmits multiple CSI-RS resources in a plurality of beams and the UE feeds back a number of the strongest beams of the plurality of beams in the form of multiple CSI-RS resource indicators (CRIs) in the CSI report. Therefore, the CSI report includes a number of (wherein “a number of” implies two or more) the strongest beams that the UE feeds back (selects / indicates) from the plurality of beams sent by the gNB (network device)).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the UE selection of beams teachings of Faxér 1 into the CSI-RS teachings of the invention of Park in order for the network device (gNB) to determine how to transmit DL data to a UE over plurality of antenna ports (Faxér 1: ¶ 53).
Referring to the invention of Faxér 2, Faxér 2 teaches that “Typically though, CSI is only fed back for a single, preferred, CSI-RS resource and if multiple CSI-RS resources are configured, the transmitter of the CSI feedback initially performs a CSI-RS resource selection using a CSI-RS resource indicator (CRI)” (Faxér 2: ¶ 6). Therefore, Faxér 2 teaches that a CSI feedback is only for a single, preferred, CSI-RS resource and even if there are multiple CSI-RS resources configured, the transmitter initially performs a selection of the single preferred CSI-RS using a CSI-RS resource indicator (CRI) to make the selection of one CSI-RS. Likewise, A CSI-RS port may be precoded so that it is virtualized over multiple physical antenna ports (i.e., a single CSI-RS may indicate multiple physical antenna ports/beams) (Faxér 2: ¶ 4 – 6).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the single, preferred CSI-RS teachings of Faxér 2 into the CSI report teachings of Faxér 1, and the combined inventions of Park in order to effectively support precoding in a MIMO wireless communication system (Faxér 2: ¶ 4).
In view of the teachings of Faxér 2, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art that the CSI reporting in Faxér 1 could include the CSI feedback that is based on a single preferred CSI-RS resource (i.e., single CRI) as taught by Faxér 2, in order to effectively support precoding in a MIMO wireless communication system. Therefore, the limitation “the two or more beams are indicated in the CSI report” and “beams indicated by the single CSI-RS resource indicator” will be obviously met.
Park and Faxér 1 both teach that the respective reference signal receive power measurements are reported in a CSI-RS report ((Park: Fig. 5 (¶64, ¶66 - ¶67); wherein the UE performs UE RX beam sweeping (e.g., over the beams) to determine the “best” UE RX beam for the CSI-RS report. The UE measures signal quality of the signal, such as reference signal receive power (RSRP) and the UE reports the measured signal quality (e.g., RSRP) to the BS together with the symbol index. In some cases, the UE may report multiple symbol indices to the BS, corresponding to multiple beam pairings. Therefore, in accordance with the monitoring of the downlink burst, the UE obtains the RSRP measurements of the beam pairings and reports them to the base station) and (Faxér 1: ¶ 53; wherein the gNB transmits multiple CSI-RS resources in a plurality of beams and the UE feeds back a number of the strongest beams of the plurality of beams in the form of multiple CSI-RS resource indicators (CRIs) together with L1-RSRP (reference signal received power) for each selected resource in the CSI report. Therefore, the CSI report includes a number of (wherein “a number of” implies two or more) the strongest beams that the UE feeds back (selects / indicates) from the plurality of beams sent by the gNB)). However, Park in view of Faxér 1 and Faxér 2 does not explicitly disclose that the downlink transmission is a linear combination of at least a first beam of the two or more beams weighted by a first beam weight and a second beam of the two or more beams weighted by a second beam weight, the first beam weight and the second beam weight being based at least in part on the respective reference signal receive power measurements indicated in the channel state information report.
Referring to the invention of Kotecha, Kotecha teaches that downlink transmission (Kotecha: ¶ 22; wherein the base station uses beamforming techniques to transmit one or more data streams through the transmit antenna array) is a linear combination (Kotecha: ¶ 34; wherein the cell search may be performed with a weighted linear combination of some of the identified RX beams) of at least a first beam of the two or more beams weighted by a first beam weight and a second beam of the two or more beams weighted by a second beam weight (Kotecha:¶ 22, ¶ 34; wherein, a third stage computation is performed by the user equipment for each selected SSB frequency and RX beam identified in the first and second stage computations… and wherein the base station uses beamforming techniques to transmit one or more data streams through the transmit antenna array, and the receiver combines the received signal stream(s) from the receive antenna array to reconstruct the transmitted data. This is accomplished with “beamforming” weights whereby each data signal si is processed … for transmission by applying a weight vector wi to the signal si and transmitting the result xi over the transmit antenna array, …and wherein the base station has an array of N transmit antennas, the digital signal processor and analog beamformer prepare a transmission signal, represented by the vector xi, for each signal si. The transmission signal vector xi is determined in accordance with equation
xi = wi · si,
where wi is the ith beamforming, N dimensional transmission weight vector (also referred to as a “transmit beamformer”), and each coefficient wj of weight vector wi represents a weight and phase shift on the jth transmit antenna), the first beam weight and the second beam weight being based at least in part on the respective reference signal receive power measurements indicated in the channel state information report (Kotecha: ¶ 22, ¶ 34, ¶ 75-76; wherein, the weighting could be based on the received signal strength metric, and wherein the UE device generates a composite received signal strength metric value from a batch of samples collected over the plurality of receive beams detected in the first receiver sweep period to detect one or more SSBs (it should be noted that while Kotecha did not explicitly state that the RSRP (i.e., RX beam power) or the RSSI is received in a CSI report, a person having ordinary skill in the art would understand that an RSRP or an RSSI (which is analogous to maximum power or amplitude (Kotecha: ¶ 20)) can be received in a CSI report because an RSRP or an RSSI can be derived or estimated from a CSI report)).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the concept of a base station sending a downlink transmission using a linear combination of beams as taught by Kotecha into the beam management process of the combined inventions of Park, Faxér 1 and Faxér 2, in order to improve throughput in wireless communication links (Kotecha: ¶ 2).
Claims 7 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park et al., Faxér (1) et al., Faxér (2) et al., and Kotecha et al., as applied to claim 6 above, and further in view of Guan et al. [US PG PUB 20220173848] hereinafter Guan.
Regarding claim 7, Park in view of Faxér 1, Faxér 2, and Kotecha teaches the method of claim 6.
Park in view of Faxér 1, Faxér 2, and Kotecha do not explicitly teach wherein each TCI state of the set of TCI states is associated with a beam weight, a set of beam weights, a beam weight set index, or any combination thereof.
Referring to the invention of Guan, Guan teaches wherein each TCI state of the set of TCI states is associated with a beam weight, a set of beam weights, a beam weight set index, or any combination thereof (Guan: ¶ 261; wherein beam indication information may include but is not limited to one or more of the following: a beam number, an absolute index of a beam, a relative index of a beam, a logical index of a beam, a transmission parameter (Tx parameter) corresponding to a beam, a reception parameter (Rx parameter) corresponding to a beam, a transmit weight corresponding to a beam, a weight matrix corresponding to a beam, a weight vector corresponding to a beam, an index of a weight matrix corresponding to a beam, an index of a weight vector corresponding to a beam, an index of a receive weight corresponding to a beam, a receive codebook corresponding to a beam, a transmit codebook corresponding to a beam, an index of a receive codebook corresponding to a beam, an index of a transmit codebook corresponding to a beam, or the like. The beam indication information may also be embodied as TCI) Therefore, The TCI states is associated with any of the above being a beam weight.
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the beam weight teachings of the combined Park, Faxér 1, Faxér 2, and Kotecha inventions to explicitly state the beam weights/factors mentioned in the Guan invention in order to provide a method for updating beam information to reduce signaling overheads and a delay of a beam indication (Guan: ¶ 6).
Regarding claim 18, Park in view of Faxér 1, Faxér 2, and Kotecha teaches the method of claim 17.
Park in view of Faxér 1, Faxér 2, and Kotecha do not explicitly teach wherein each TCI state of the set of TCI states is associated with a beam weight, a set of beam weights, a beam weight set index, or any combination thereof.
Referring to the invention of Guan, Guan teaches wherein each TCI state of the set of TCI states is associated with a beam weight, a set of beam weights, a beam weight set index, or any combination thereof (Guan: ¶ 261; wherein beam indication information may include but is not limited to one or more of the following: a beam number, an absolute index of a beam, a relative index of a beam, a logical index of a beam, a transmission parameter (Tx parameter) corresponding to a beam, a reception parameter (Rx parameter) corresponding to a beam, a transmit weight corresponding to a beam, a weight matrix corresponding to a beam, a weight vector corresponding to a beam, an index of a weight matrix corresponding to a beam, an index of a weight vector corresponding to a beam, an index of a receive weight corresponding to a beam, a receive codebook corresponding to a beam, a transmit codebook corresponding to a beam, an index of a receive codebook corresponding to a beam, an index of a transmit codebook corresponding to a beam, or the like. The beam indication information may also be embodied as TCI) Therefore, The TCI states is associated with any of the above being a beam weight.
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the beam weight teachings of the combined Park, Faxér 1, Faxér 2, and Kotecha inventions to explicitly state the beam weights/factors mentioned in the Guan invention in order to provide a method for updating beam information to reduce signaling overheads and a delay of a beam indication (Guan: ¶ 6).
Claim 19 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park et al., Faxér (1) et al., Faxér (2) et al., and Kotecha et al., as applied to claim 17 above, and further in view of Cao et al. [US PG PUB 20200336181] hereinafter Cao.
Regarding claim 19, Park in view of Faxér 1, Faxér 2, and Kotecha teaches the method of claim 17.
Park in view of Faxér 1, Faxér 2, and Kotecha does not specifically disclose further comprising: transmitting the selection of the two or more beams based at least in part on one or more different channel state information reports received from at least one other UE.
Referring to the invention of Cao, Cao teaches transmitting, the selection of the two or more beams based at least in part on one or more different channel state information reports received from at least one other UE (Cao: Fig. 17, ¶ 242; wherein in step S1705, the base station performs MU-MIMO transmission scheduling based on channel state information reported by the user equipment device k and other user equipment in conjunction with specific network status, thus generates information indicating usage configuration (i.e., the selected beams) of the activated N TCI states according to scheduling results, and includes the usage configuration information in for example DCI to send to the user equipment k).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the received CSI reports teachings of the combined Park, Faxér 1, Faxér 2, and Kotecha inventions to explicitly state that it received CSI reports from another UE as taught by Cao in order to improve the system throughput and reliability (Cao: Abstract).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Liu et al. [US 20230283426 A1]: Group Based Beam Reporting for Multi-TRP DL Transmission with L1-RSRP Measurement.
Ben Hadj Fredj et al. [US 20240014870 A1]: Apparatus and Method of Transmitting a CSI Report on a Transmission Occasion.
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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/EDAN ORGAD/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2414
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