DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Response to Amendment
This is in response to an amendment/response filed 6/1/2026.
No claims have been cancelled.
No claims have been added.
Claims 22-24, 26-30, 32-39, and 42-45 are now pending.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the independent claims (pages 7-12) in a reply filed 6/1/2026 have been considered but are moot because the arguments are based on newly changed limitations in the amendment and new ground of rejections using newly introduced references or a newly introduced portion of an existing reference are applied in the current rejection.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim(s) 22, 23, 27, 29, 30, 32, 33, 36-39, 44, and 45 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hammarwall US 20150131604 (hereinafter “Hammarwall”) in view of Cha et al. US 20220271888 (hereinafter “Cha”) and in further view of Iun et al. US 20170150317 (hereinafter “Iun”)
As to claim 22:
Hammarwall discloses:
A wireless device comprising processing circuitry (“The processing circuitry 1020, 1120 may comprise one or several microprocessors, digital signal processors, and the like, as well as other digital hardware and a memory.”, Hammarwall [0129]) configured to: transmit, to a network node, at least one radio channel measurement, the at least one radio channel measurement being associated with an associated one of a plurality of transmitting TPs, one or more indoor radio units, IRUs, and one or more baseband processing units, BBs, (“To harvest the gains of introducing coordinated transmission or CoMP feedback it is essential that a radio network node or base station, e g an eNodeB, can accurately predict the performance of a UE or wireless device for various coordinated transmission hypotheses, in order to select an appropriate downlink assignment. To this end, accurate interference measurements at a terminal are a key element for CSI reporting targeting different transmission hypotheses. However, current state of the art solutions for interference measurements are constrained by current standards and/or limitations imposed by UE specific muting of data channels, making accurate interference measurements difficult, in particular for CoMP systems employing dynamic point selection and/or joint transmission, where the transmission point association to a UE varies dynamically in time.”, Hammarwall [0038]) (Examiner’s Note: eNodeB can have both IRU(s) and BB(s))
and receive, from the network node, information for dynamic on-off switching (DOOS) indicating: a selection of a first subset of the plurality of TPs (“In the subsequent discussion an antenna or antenna array covering a certain geographical area is referred to as a point, or transmission and/or reception point, or more specifically for the context of this disclosure as a Transmission Point (TP).”, Hammarwall [0005]) (“In the example of FIG. 8 muting configuration Mute1 875 corresponds to a transmit configuration where transmissions to the UE 803 are transmitted from TP1 801, muting configuration Mute2 880 corresponds to a transmit configuration where transmissions to the UE 803 are transmitted from TP2 802, and muting configuration Mute3 885 corresponds to a transmit configuration where transmissions to the UE 803 are transmitted from TP1 801 and TP2 802. In this latter case, the UE 803 should thus assume that no muting is made on IMR1 835 and IMR2 825, whereas IMR3 is muted, as neither TP1 801 nor TP2 802 transmits on IMR3 830, 845.”, Hammarwall [0066]) that are activated for use in at least one of: receiving one or more signals from at least one TP within the first subset of the plurality of TPs, and transmitting one or more signals to at least one TP within the first subset of the plurality of TPs; (“The method comprises selecting a transmission configuration from said plurality of transmission configurations for transmitting said information carrying signal to said receiving node and transmitting a dynamic configuration message to said receiving node. The dynamic configuration message identifies, to said receiving node, the at least one muting configuration out of said plurality of muting configurations that corresponds to said selected transmission configuration. The method further comprises transmitting said information carrying signal to said receiving node in a transmission according to said selected transmission configuration, wherein the transmission is muted in accordance with the identified at least one muting configuration.”, Hammarwall [0042]) (“the UE is configured by a radio network node, such as an eNodeB, with a dynamically configurable data/control muting pattern, i e a set of TFREs that the UE should expect to be muted, that is compatible with the muting pattern or patterns of the one or more transmission points. This may for example be implemented in form of a table 870 of muting configurations 875, 880, 885 where each muting configuration is applicable to at least one transmit configuration.”, Hammarwall [0066])
and a selection of a second subset of the plurality of TPs that are muted with respect to at least one of: receiving one or more signals from at least one TP within the first subset of the plurality of TPs, and transmitting one or more signals to at least one TP within the first subset of the plurality of TPs, wherein the selection of the first and the second subsets of the plurality of TPs is based on the at least one radio channel measurement, and wherein each of the first and the second subsets of the TPs is less than all of the plurality of TPs. (“As mentioned above, interference measurement resources (IMRs), are adopted by the LTE standard to enable the network to better control the interference measurements in the UEs. By muting a particular set of transmission points on a corresponding IMR a UE will only measure the residual interference caused by any non-muted transmission point in the vicinity. Hence, in a coordinated cluster of transmission points, the IMR is a powerful tool for measuring the uncontrolled residual interference outside of the coordinated cluster, when all coordinated transmission points are muted on the resource elements of the IMR. However, to select a transmission configuration for a UE, the system needs to be able to track/estimate also different intra-cluster interference levels corresponding to different transmission and blanking hypotheses. It has therefore been proposed to allow configuration of multiple distinct IMRs, wherein the network is responsible for realizing different relevant (Intra-cluster) interference hypotheses in the different IMRs, e.g., by muting the data transmissions accordingly on different transmission points, and that a UE should be able to perform multiple interference measurements, corresponding to different intra-cluster interference hypotheses, by means of configuring multiple IMRs; thus enabling CQI reporting for the different interference hypotheses. Hence, by associating a particular reported CQI with a particular IMR the relevant CQIs can be made available to the network for effective scheduling.”, Hammarwall [0063]) (“the UE is configured by a radio network node, such as an eNodeB, with a dynamically configurable data/control muting pattern, i e a set of TFREs that the UE should expect to be muted, that is compatible with the muting pattern or patterns of the one or more transmission points. This may for example be implemented in form of a table 870 of muting configurations 875, 880, 885 where each muting configuration is applicable to at least one transmit configuration.”, Hammarwall [0066])
As shown above, Hammarwall teaches TPs. Hammarwall does not explicitly teach:
the plurality of TRPs, one or more IRUs, and one or more BBs associated with a single cell;
However, Cha further teaches TRPs and TRPs associated with a single cell which includes:
the plurality of TRPs, one or more IRUs, and one or more BBs associated with a single cell; (“For example, in the case where there are multiple TPs/TRPs such as remote radio heads (RRHs) in one cell as in a distributed antenna system (DAS), when all and/or some of the multiple TPs/TRPs transmit PRSs by sharing the same time-frequency resource, a PRS transmitted from a relatively close TP/TRP (to the UE) may have a greater signal strength than a PRS transmitted from a relatively far TP/TRP, and thus the UE may fail in receiving the PRS from the relatively far TP/TRP.”, Cha [0407]) (“In this situation, for example, the UE may need to request muting for a PRS transmitted from a specific TP/TRP. That is, for example, the UE may request muting for a PRS transmitted from the relatively close (and/or the relatively far) TP/TRP among the multiple TPs/TRPs to the LMF/location server/BS. For example, when the PRS transmitted from the relatively close (and/or the relatively far) TP/TRP is muted in response to the request, the UE may properly receive the PRS from the relatively far (and/or the relatively close) TP/TRP.”, Cha [0408]) (Examiner’s Note: a base station can have both IRU(s) and BB(s))
Hammarwall and Cha are analogous because they pertain to managing transmission points.
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include TRPs associated with a single cell as described in Cha into Hammarwall. By modifying the method to include TRPs associated with a single cell as taught by Cha, the benefits of minimized interference (Hammarwall [0021] and Cha [0407]) are achieved.
The combination of Hammarwall and Cha as described above does not explicitly teach:
and wherein the switching that activates or mutes the respective TRPs of the first and the second subsets of the plurality of TRPs is performed in one of the IRUs, the BBs, or the TRPs.
However, Iun further teaches switching the transmission/reception devices at multiple locations which includes:
and wherein the switching that activates or mutes the respective TRPs of the first and the second subsets of the plurality of TRPs is performed in one of the IRUs, the BBs, or the TRPs. (“In some embodiments, the node is further operable to use the information indicative of the geographic location of the wireless device to selectively activate transmitters and/or receivers of one or more of the RRHs for communication with the wireless device.”, Iun [0015]) (Examiner’s Note: RRHs maps to TRPs) (“The baseband unit 12, and in particular the ON/OFF pattern assignment generator 22, then configures the IRU 14 and/or the RRHs 16 with the assigned ON/OFF patterns (step 102). In some embodiments, the baseband unit 12 configures the RRHs 16 with the assigned ON/OFF patterns, in which case the RRHs 16 activate/deactivate their receivers 18 according to the configured ON/OFF patterns. This configuration of the RRHs 16 may, in some embodiments, be made by the IRU 14 under the control of the baseband unit 12 (e.g., the baseband unit 12 may provide the assigned ON/OFF patterns to the IRU 14, where the IRU 14 then controls/configures the RRHs 16 according to the assigned ON/OFF patterns). However, in other embodiments, the baseband unit 12 may alternatively configure the IRU 14 with the ON/OFF patterns for the RRHs 16 such that the IRU 14 combines the signals from the receivers 18 of the RRHs 16 for the different receive branches according to the ON/OFF patterns assigned and configured for the RRHs 16. For example, the IRU 14 may mute the signals from the receivers 18 that are configured as OFF (e.g., using switches or amplifying with a gain of zero) such that the combined signals are the combination of only those signals received by the receivers 18 that are configured as ON. In this manner, the IRU 14 effectively turns the receivers 18 of the RRHs 16 ON/OFF according to the assigned and configured ON/OFF patterns.”, Iun [0047]) (“In some embodiments where the ON/OFF patterns are configured at the RRHs 16, the receivers 18 of the RRHs 16 are ON/OFF according to the configured ON/OFF patterns during reception of the uplink transmission.”, Iun [0049]) (Examiner’s Note: this limitation says “the switching that activates or mutes the respective TRPs….is performed in one of the IRUs, the BBs, or the TRPs” – Iun teaches configuring the switching at different locations including IRU, BB, and RRH/TRP. The limitation also says “performed in one of…” which implies that the switching can be done in IRU, BB, or TRP. The limitation does not require the implementation in all three.)
Hammarwall, Iun, and Cha are analogous because they pertain to managing transmission points.
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include switching the transmission/reception devices at multiple locations as described in Iun into Hammarwall as modified by Cha. By modifying the method to include switching the transmission/reception devices at multiple locations as taught by Iun, the benefits of minimized interference (Hammarwall [0021], Iun [0062], and Cha [0407]) are achieved.
As to claim 23:
Claim 23 is rejected on the same grounds of rejection set forth in claim 22 from the perspective of the network node.
As to claim 27:
Hammarwall discloses:
The method of claim 23, wherein selecting the first subset of the TRPs comprises selecting at least one antenna on at least one TRP in the first subset of the TRPs. (“Moreover, a point, or "transmission point" and/or a "reception point", corresponds in the present disclosure to a set of antennas covering essentially the same geographical area in a similar manner. Thus, a point might correspond to one of the sectors at a site, e g a base station site, but it may also correspond to a site having one or more antennae all intending to cover a similar geographical area. Often, different points represent different sites. Antennas correspond to different points when they are sufficiently geographically separated and/or have antenna diagrams pointing in sufficiently different directions.”, Hammarwall [0003]) (Examiner’s Note: Cha discloses TRP)
As to claim 29:
Hammarwall discloses:
The method of claim 23, wherein each of the TRPs has multiple corresponding antennas, and wherein selecting the first subset of the TRPs comprises selecting the corresponding antennas on the TRPs for at least one of transmitting and receiving the one or more signals to the one or more wireless devices. (“Moreover, a point, or "transmission point" and/or a "reception point", corresponds in the present disclosure to a set of antennas covering essentially the same geographical area in a similar manner. Thus, a point might correspond to one of the sectors at a site, e g a base station site, but it may also correspond to a site having one or more antennae all intending to cover a similar geographical area. Often, different points represent different sites. Antennas correspond to different points when they are sufficiently geographically separated and/or have antenna diagrams pointing in sufficiently different directions.”, Hammarwall [0003]) (Examiner’s Note: Cha discloses TRP)
As to claim 30:
Hammarwall discloses:
The method of claim 23, wherein the first subset of TRPs comprises a single TRP, the single TRP comprising at least one of a transmitter and a receiver. (“Moreover, a point, or "transmission point" and/or a "reception point", corresponds in the present disclosure to a set of antennas covering essentially the same geographical area in a similar manner. Thus, a point might correspond to one of the sectors at a site, e g a base station site, but it may also correspond to a site having one or more antennae all intending to cover a similar geographical area. Often, different points represent different sites. Antennas correspond to different points when they are sufficiently geographically separated and/or have antenna diagrams pointing in sufficiently different directions.”, Hammarwall [0003]) (Examiner’s Note: Cha discloses TRP)
As to claim 32:
Hammarwall as described above does not explicitly teach:
The method of claim 23, wherein the plurality of radio channel measurements comprise a plurality of Reference Signal Received Power, RSRP, measurements.
However, Cha further teaches RSRP and RSRQ measurements associated with TRPs which includes:
The method of claim 23, wherein the plurality of radio channel measurements comprise a plurality of Reference Signal Received Power, RSRP, measurements.(“ UE measurement: E-UTRA reference signal received power (RSRP), E-UTRA reference signal received quality (RSRQ), UE E-UTRA reception (Rx)-transmission (Tx) time difference, GERAN/WLAN reference signal strength indication (RSSI), UTRAN common pilot channel (CPICH) received signal code power (RSCP), and/or UTRAN CPICH Ec/Io”, Cha [0245])
Hammarwall and Cha are analogous because they pertain to managing transmission points.
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include RSRP and RSRQ measurements associated with TRPs as described in Cha into Hammarwall. By modifying the method to include RSRP and RSRQ measurements associated with TRPs as taught by Cha, the benefits of minimized interference (Hammarwall [0021] and Cha [0407]) are achieved.
As to claim 33:
Hammarwall as described above does not explicitly teach:
The method of claim 23, wherein the plurality of radio channel measurements comprise a plurality of Reference Signal Received Quality, RSRQ, measurements.
However, Cha further teaches RSRP and RSRQ measurements associated with TRPs which includes:
The method of claim 23, wherein the plurality of radio channel measurements comprise a plurality of Reference Signal Received Quality, RSRQ, measurements. (“UE measurement: E-UTRA reference signal received power (RSRP), E-UTRA reference signal received quality (RSRQ), UE E-UTRA reception (Rx)-transmission (Tx) time difference, GERAN/WLAN reference signal strength indication (RSSI), UTRAN common pilot channel (CPICH) received signal code power (RSCP), and/or UTRAN CPICH Ec/Io”, Cha [0245])
Hammarwall and Cha are analogous because they pertain to managing transmission points.
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include RSRP and RSRQ measurements associated with TRPs as described in Cha into Hammarwall. By modifying the method to include RSRP and RSRQ measurements associated with TRPs as taught by Cha, the benefits of minimized interference (Hammarwall [0021] and Cha [0407]) are achieved.
As to claim 36:
Hammarwall discloses:
The method of Claim 23, wherein the first subset of the TRPs comprises a plurality of TRPs configured to be simultaneously active in the single cell, each of the plurality of TRPs being selected for at least one of: transmission of the one or more signals to at least one of a plurality of wireless devices, and reception of the one or more signals from at least one of a plurality of wireless devices. (FIG. 8 shows a configuration in which two transmission points are not muted, Hammarwall [FIG. 8]) (Examiner’s Note: Cha discloses TRP)
As to claim 37:
Hammarwall as described above does not explicitly teach:
The method of claim 23, wherein each TRP within the first subset of TRPs is configured to be simultaneously active in the single cell during a first transmission time interval (TTI).
However, Cha further teaches simultaneously active TRPs which includes:
The method of claim 23, wherein each TRP within the first subset of TRPs is configured to be simultaneously active (“configure simultaneous transmission of the specific PRS resource at a specific time/period”, Cha [0447]) in the single cell (“different cells”, Cha [0447]) during a first transmission time interval (TTI). (“TTI”, Cha [0127])
Hammarwall, and Cha are analogous because they pertain to managing transmission points.
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include simultaneously active TRPs as described in Cha into Hammarwall. By modifying the coordinated multi-point (CoMP) system by including simultaneously active TRPs as taught by Cha, the benefits of minimize interference (Hammarwall [0021]) and improved positioning (Cha [0216]) are achieved.
As to claim 38:
Hammarwall as described above does not explicitly teach:
The method of claim 23, further comprising associating the first subset of the TRPs with a plurality of wireless devices.
However, Cha further teaches TRPs associated with wireless devices which includes:
The method of claim 23, further comprising associating the first subset of the TRPs with a plurality of wireless devices. (“For example, in the case where there are multiple TPs/TRPs such as remote radio heads (RRHs) in one cell as in a distributed antenna system (DAS), when all and/or some of the multiple TPs/TRPs transmit PRSs by sharing the same time-frequency resource, a PRS transmitted from a relatively close TP/TRP (to the UE) may have a greater signal strength than a PRS transmitted from a relatively far TP/TRP, and thus the UE may fail in receiving the PRS from the relatively far TP/TRP.”, Cha [0407])
Hammarwall and Cha are analogous because they pertain to managing transmission points.
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include TRPs associated with wireless devices as described in Cha into Hammarwall. By modifying the method to include TRPs associated with wireless devices as taught by Cha, the benefits of minimized interference (Hammarwall [0021] and Cha [0407]) are achieved.
As to claim 39:
Hammarwall as described above does not explicitly teach:
The method of claim 38, wherein each TRP within the first subset of the TRPs is associated with a respective one of the plurality of wireless devices.
However, Cha further teaches TRPs associated with wireless devices which includes:
The method of claim 38, wherein each TRP within the first subset of the TRPs is associated with a respective one of the plurality of wireless devices. (“For example, in the case where there are multiple TPs/TRPs such as remote radio heads (RRHs) in one cell as in a distributed antenna system (DAS), when all and/or some of the multiple TPs/TRPs transmit PRSs by sharing the same time-frequency resource, a PRS transmitted from a relatively close TP/TRP (to the UE) may have a greater signal strength than a PRS transmitted from a relatively far TP/TRP, and thus the UE may fail in receiving the PRS from the relatively far TP/TRP.”, Cha [0407])
Hammarwall and Cha are analogous because they pertain to managing transmission points.
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include TRPs associated with wireless devices as described in Cha into Hammarwall. By modifying the method to include TRPs associated with wireless devices as taught by Cha, the benefits of minimized interference (Hammarwall [0021] and Cha [0407]) are achieved.
As to claim 44:
Hammarwall discloses:
The method of claim 23, wherein the network node is a base station. (“Further, terminology such as eNodeB and UE should be considered as non-limiting and does in particular not imply a certain hierarchical relation between the two; in general the term "eNodeB" or base station could be considered as a first device, first node or transmitting node and the term "UE" could be considered as a second device, second node or receiving node, and these two devices communicate with each other over a radio channel that may be of various types, for example a multiple-Input-multiple-output, "MIMO" channel.”, Hammarwall [0062]) (Examiner’s Note: Cha discloses TRP)
As to claim 45:
Hammarwall discloses:
A network node comprising processing circuitry configured to perform the method of claim 23. (“The processing circuitry 1020, 1120 may comprise one or several microprocessors, digital signal processors, and the like, as well as other digital hardware and a memory.”, Hammarwall [0129]) (Examiner’s Note: Cha discloses TRP)
Claim(s) 34, 35, and 42 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hammarwall in view of Cha and Iun, as applied to claim 22 above, and further in view of Li et al. US 20190246321 (hereinafter “Li”)
As to claim 34:
The combination of Hammarwall, Iun, and Cha as described above does not explicitly teach:
The method of Claim 23, wherein selecting the first subset of the TRPs comprises including in the first subset only the TRPs having an associated radio channel measurement that is equal to or greater than a threshold value.
However, Li further teaches measurement associated with TRPs that is equal to or greater than a threshold value which includes:
The method of claim 23, wherein selecting the first subset of the TRPs (“a separate coordinating entity or device may select a set of TRPs”, Li [0007]) comprises including in the first subset only the TRPs having an associated radio channel measurement (“identify the best set of channels (e.g., among all TRPs 705), a set of channels with channel measurements that satisfy a threshold, and/or the like”, Li [0095]) that is equal to or greater than a threshold value. (“Some aspects are described herein in connection with thresholds. As used herein, satisfying a threshold may refer to a value being greater than the threshold, greater than or equal to the threshold”, Li [0145])
Hammarwall, Iun, Cha, and Li are analogous because they pertain to managing transmission points.
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include measurement associated with TRPs that is equal to or greater than a threshold value as described in Li into Hammarwall as modified by Cha and Iun. By modifying the method to include measurement associated with TRPs that is equal to or greater than a threshold value as taught by Li, the benefits of improved channel conditions (Li [0122]), minimized interference (Hammarwall [0021] and Iun [0062]), and improved positioning (Cha [0216]) are achieved.
As to claim 35:
The combination of Hammarwall, Iun, and Cha as described above does not explicitly teach:
The method of Claim 23, wherein selecting the first subset of the TRPs comprises including in the first subset only a TRP having a best radio channel measurement.
However, Li further teaches best channel measurements associated with TRPs which includes:
The method of claim 23, wherein selecting the first subset of the TRPs (“a separate coordinating entity or device may select a set of TRPs”, Li [0007]) comprises including in the first subset only a TRP (“select a single TRP 705”, Li [0095]) having a best radio channel measurement. (“compare the channel measurements to identify the best set of channels”, Li [0095])
Hammarwall, Cha, Iun, and Li are analogous because they pertain to managing transmission points.
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include best channel measurements associated with TRPs as described in Li into Hammarwall as modified by Cha and Iun. By modifying the method to include best channel measurements associated with TRPs as taught by Li, the benefits of improved channel conditions (Li [0122]), minimized interference (Hammarwall [0021] and Iun [0062]), and improved positioning (Cha [0216]) are achieved.
As to claim 42:
The combination of Hammarwall, Iun, and Cha as described above does not explicitly teach:
The method of Claim 38, further comprising obtaining location information associated with each one of the plurality of wireless devices, and wherein the association of the first subset of TRPs with the plurality of wireless devices is based on the location information associated with each one of the plurality of wireless devices.
However, Li further teaches location information associated with TRPs which includes:
The method of 38, further comprising obtaining (“measurement reports may be sent from a UE 115”, [0126]) location information associated with each one of the plurality of wireless devices (“the channel conditions for a UE 115 may change over time due to location of the UE 115”, Li [0126]), and wherein the association of the first subset of TRPs with the plurality of wireless devices (“The TRPs 105 may coordinate amongst themselves or may be coordinated by a separate entity (e.g., a coordinating entity 205) to determine which TRPs 105 are to support communication for a cluster 110 of the UE 115”, Li [0126]) is based on the location information associated with each one of the plurality of wireless devices. (“the channel conditions for a UE 115 may change over time due to location of the UE 115”, Li [0126])
Hammarwall, Cha, Iun, and Li are analogous because they pertain to managing transmission points.
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include location information associated with TRPs as described in Li into Hammarwall as modified by Cha. By modifying the method to include location information associated with TRPs as taught by Li, the benefits of improved channel conditions (Li [0122]), minimized interference (Hammarwall [0021] and Iun [0062]), and improved positioning (Cha [0216]) are achieved.
Claim(s) 43 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hammarwall in view of Cha and Iun, as applied to claim 22 above, and further in view of Khoshnevisan et al. US 20200186304 (hereinafter “Khoshnevisan”)
As to claim 43:
The combination of Hammarwall, Iun, and Cha as described above does not explicitly teach:
The method of Claim 38, further comprising obtaining information indicating an amount of data to be transmitted by each of the plurality of wireless devices, and wherein the association of the first subset of TRPs with the plurality of wireless devices is based on the information indicating the amount of data to be transmitted by each of the plurality of wireless devices.
However, Khoshnevisan further teaches grouping TRPs based on the amount of data which includes:
The method of claim 38, further comprising obtaining information indicating an amount of data to be transmitted by each of the plurality of wireless devices, and wherein the association of the first subset of TRPs with the plurality of wireless devices is based on the information indicating the amount of data to be transmitted by each of the plurality of wireless devices.(“ In some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the BSR provides an adjusted buffer status from a current buffer status of the UE based on a ratio of data transmitted to the first TRP relative to a total amount of uplink data transmitted between the UE and the set of TRPs. Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein may further include operations, features, means, or instructions for configuring the UE to estimate the adjusted buffer status based on past amounts of data transmitted via the first TRP relative to the total amount of uplink data transmitted between the UE and the set of TRPs.”, Khoshnevisan [0025])
Hammarwall, Cha, Iun, and Khoshnevisan are analogous because they pertain to managing transmission points.
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include grouping TRPs based on the amount of data as described in Khoshnevisan into Hammarwall as modified by Cha and Iun. By modifying the method to include grouping TRPs based on the amount of data as taught by Khoshnevisan, the benefits of improved utilization (Khoshnevisan [0098]), minimized interference (Hammarwall [0021] and Iun [0062]), and improved positioning (Cha [0216]) are achieved.
Claim(s) 24, 26, and 28 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hammarwall in view of Cha and Iun, as applied to claim 22 above, and further in view of Guo et al. US 20180092129 (hereinafter “Guo”)
As to claim 24:
The combination of Hammarwall, Iun, and Cha as described above does not explicitly teach:
The method of claim 23, wherein selecting the first subset of the TRPs comprises using at least one switch to enable the first subset of TRPs to at least one of: transmit the one or more signals to the one or more wireless devices, and receive the one or more signals from the one or more wireless devices.
However, Guo further teaches muting and TRP switching which includes:
The method of claim 23, wherein selecting the first subset of the TRPs (“the gNB could choose the proper TRP Tx beam ID for the UE”, Guo [0231]) comprises using at least one switch to enable the first subset of TRPs (“When a blockage quickly”, Guo [0317]) to at least one of: transmit the one or more signals to the one or more wireless devices (“The BS includes a transceiver configured to transmit, to a user equipment (UE), RACH configuration information”, Guo [0005]), and receive the one or more signals from the one or more wireless devices. (“receive, from the UE over a first beam associated with the first beam ID, an RACH preamble configured based on the RACH structure”, Guo [0005])
Cha, Hammarwall, Iun, and Guo are analogous because they pertain to managing transmission points.
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include muting and TRP switching as described in Guo et al. into Hammarwall as modified by Cha. By modifying the coordinated multi-point (CoMP) system by including muting and TRP switching as taught by Guo, the benefits of improved positioning (Cha [0216]), minimize interference (Hammarwall [0021] and Iun [0062]), and improved link quality (Guo et al.; 0244) are achieved.
As to claim 26:
The combination of Hammarwall, Iun, and Cha as described above does not explicitly teach:
The method of claim 23, wherein selecting the second subset of the TRPs for muting comprises using at least one switch to disable or block the second subset of TRPs from at least one of: transmitting the one or more signals to the one or more wireless devices, and receiving the one or more signals from the one or more wireless devices.
However, Guo further teaches muting and TRP switching which includes:
The method of claim 23, wherein selecting the second subset of the TRPs (“Based on the measurement report from the UE, the gNB could choose the proper TRP Tx beam ID for the UE”, Guo [0231]) for muting (“When the gNB mute other signal transmissions”, Guo [0355]) comprises using at least one switch to disable or block the second subset of TRPs (“When a blockage between the UE and one TRP is detected, the system could switch to another TRP quickly”, Guo [0317]) from at least one of: transmitting the one or more signals to the one or more wireless devices, and receiving the one or more signals from the one or more wireless devices. (“The initial access signals are the first signals to be detected by the UE. The initial access signals are supposed to be received by all UEs. When transmitting initial access signals, there does not exist any beam alignment between the TRP and the UE”, Guo [0180])
Cha, Hammarwall, Iun, and Guo are analogous because they pertain to managing transmission points.
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include muting and TRP switching as described in Guo et al. into Hammarwall as modified by Cha and Iun. By modifying the coordinated multi-point (CoMP) system by including muting and TRP switching as taught by Guo, the benefits of improved positioning (Cha [0216]), minimize interference (Hammarwall [0021] and Iun [0062]), and improved link quality (Guo et al.; 0244) are achieved.
As to claim 28:
The combination of Hammarwall, Iun, and Cha as described above does not explicitly teach:
The method of claim 23, further comprising receiving a plurality of uplink signals from the one or more wireless devices and non-coherently combining the plurality of uplink signals.
However, Guo further teaches muting and TRP switching which includes:
The method of claim 23, further comprising receiving a plurality of uplink signals from the one or more wireless devices (“The initial access signals are supposed to be received by all UEs. When transmitting initial access signals, there does not exist any beam alignment between the TRP and the UE”, Guo [0248]) and non-coherently combining the plurality of uplink signals. (“to support non-coherent JT (joint transmission). Through beam grouping and corresponding measurement, the gNB is able to be aware of beam combinations from multiple different TRPs which are QCLed to the same UE Rx beam. It implies that those beams can be received the UE with the same Rx beam at the same time. In yet another example of scenario, to support spatial multiplexing MIMO transmission from multiple TRPs. Through beam grouping and corresponding measurement, the gNB is able to know the beam combination from multiple different TRPs which are able to be received by the UE with same Rx beam at the same time.”, Guo [0317])
Cha, Iun, Hammarwall, and Guo are analogous because they pertain to managing transmission points.
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include muting and TRP switching as described in Guo et al. into Hammarwall as modified by Cha and Iun. By modifying the coordinated multi-point (CoMP) system by including muting and TRP switching as taught by Guo, the benefits of improved positioning (Cha [0216]), minimize interference (Hammarwall [0021] and Iun [0062]), and improved link quality (Guo et al.; 0244) are achieved.
Conclusion
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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/A.C.K./
Examiner
Art Unit 2471
/SUJOY K KUNDU/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2471
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