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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 11/11/25 has been entered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1, 2, 4-7, 10-17, 19-22, 25-30 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by HAN et al. (U.S. Pub No. 2019/0037530 A1)
1, Han teaches a method of wireless communication performed by a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: receiving, from a network, a beam prediction configuration [par 0015, 0085, 0086,The disclosure provides an apparatus and a method for efficiently selecting beams by predicting the movement of a terminal in a wireless communication system. the terminal 520 may receive signals from a base station (not shown). The terminal 520 may perform a beam search procedure in order to improve the quality of a reception signal. The terminal 520 may identify a beam (downlink reception beam) to be used for downlink communication through a beam search procedure. The signal may be a reference signal transmitted from the base station. For example, the reference signal may be one of a beam reference signal (BRS), a beam refinement reference signal (BRRS), a cell-specific reference signal (CRS), a channel state information-reference signal (CSI-RS), and a demodulation-RS (DM-RS).];
receiving, from the network, error statistics for each of a plurality of beam directions [par 0085, 0086, The terminal 520 may identify a beam (downlink reception beam) to be used for downlink communication through a beam search procedure. The terminal 520, as a beam search procedure, may receive signals through respective beams operated in the terminal 520. The signal may be a reference signal transmitted from the base station. For example, the channel quality may be beam reference signal received power (BRSRP) and reference signal received power (RSRP), and may be at least one of reference signal received quality (RSRQ), a received signal strength indicator (RSRI), a signal-to-interference and noise ratio (SINR), a carrier-to- interference and noise ratio (CINR), a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), an error vector magnitude (EVM), a bit error rate (BER), and a block error rate (BLER)|;
wherein the plurality of beam directions correspond to a set of potential beams that the UE can use for communication with network [par 0120, 01212, 0128, When the second measurement information is reported, the terminal determines whether or not the currently set beam direction falls within the effective range of the reference direction at the time 732. The terminal, based on the reference sensor value and the second measurement information, may determine whether or not the direction indicated by the currently set reception beam 750 falls within the effective range of the reference direction. When the third measurement information is reported, the terminal determines whether or not the direction of the currently set beam falls within the effective range of the reference direction at the time 733. Like that at the time 732, it may be determined whether or not the direction of the currently set beam changes with the movement of the terminal. The terminal may identify a beam the direction of which according to the current state of the terminal falls within the effective range of the reference direction, among a plurality of beams (e.g., 39 beams) that can be operated by the terminal. In some embodiments, the terminal may calculate the directions for the respective beams, and may determine whether or not the calculated directions fall within the effective range of the reference direction]
wherein the error statistics indicate a prediction accuracy of the beam prediction configuration for each of the plurality of beam directions[par 0086, 0115, The terminal 520 may measure the signals received through the respective beams to thus determine the channel quality for each beam. When identifying the beam, various indices indicative of the channel quality may be used. For example, the channel quality may be beam reference signal received power (BRSRP) and reference signal received power (RSRP), and may be at least one of reference signal received quality (RSRQ), a received signal strength indicator (RSRI), a signal-to-interference and noise ratio (SINR), a carrier-to-interference and noise ratio (CINR), a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), an error vector magnitude (EVM), a bit error rate (BER), and a block error rate (BLER). The terminal 520, based on the channel quality of each beam, may identify an optimal beam among the beams. The optimal beam may be referred to as a “preferred beam” or a “best beam. The terminal may obtain measurement information whenever an event occurs. In some embodiments, when a sensor in the terminal detects more than a predetermined range of movement, the sensor may notify the processor in the terminal of the detection result. The terminal may make a request for measurement information to the sensor when receiving the detection result. In some other embodiments, the terminal may obtain measurement information whenever the beam is changed. The terminal may further obtain measurement information from the sensor in order to calculate a more accurate direction]
responsive to the UE predicting a first beam direction of the plurality of beam directions using the beam prediction configuration [par 0119, More specifically, whenever the measurement information is reported, the terminal, based on the reported measurement information, determines whether or not the current beam direction falls within the effective range of the reference direction. Whenever the measurement information is reported, the terminal may calculate the direction of the currently set beam, thereby determining whether or not the direction of the beam falls within the effective range, or, based on the amount of change included in the measurement information, may determine whether or not the direction of the beam falls within the effective range],
the first beam direction associated with a first error statistic of the error statistics [par 0086, 0090, 0140, The terminal 520 may receive a plurality of signals by means of different beams, respectively. The terminal 520 may measure the signals received through the respective beams to thus determine the channel quality for each beam. When identifying the beam, various indices indicative of the channel quality may be used. For example, the channel quality may be beam reference signal received power (BRSRP) and reference signal received power (RSRP), and may be at least one of reference signal received quality (RSRQ), a received signal strength indicator (RSRI), a signal-to-interference and noise ratio (SINR), a carrier-to-interference and noise ratio (CINR), a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), an error vector magnitude (EVM), a bit error rate (BER), and a block error rate (BLER). The terminal 520, based on the channel quality of each beam, may identify an optimal beam among the beams. The terminal 520 may measure the channel quality for the signal of the first beam 511. At this time, the first beam 511 is oriented in the first direction 551. When setting a first beam, the terminal determines first direction information for the first direction of the first beam at a time 931. The terminal determines the first direction information using the first measurement information, which has been most recently obtained (at the time 911) since the time 931. The terminal may perform a beam search for the first beam. The terminal may receive a signal from the base station through the first beam. The terminal may perform a search for the first beam, and may then store the first direction information on the first direction of the first beam],
transmitting an uplink (UL) communication to the network in the first beam direction [par 0092, 0096, when performing a beam search (or when performing a direction search), and may adaptively change the beam index, thereby efficiently performing the beam search procedure. In addition, in all of the procedures for operating one or more beams, such as downlink/uplink Communications through an optimal beam, as well as in the beam search procedure. The terminal may obtain first direction information on the first direction of the first beam when performing a beam search for the first beam. In some embodiments, the terminal may perform a transmission beam search of the base station through the first beam of the terminal];
and responsive to the UE predicting a second beam direction of the plurality of beam directions using the beam prediction configuration [par 0090, 0098, 0106, 0141, Afterwards, the terminal 520 may change the beam in order to perform a beam search through the second beam 512. The terminal 520 may change beam configuration from the first beam 511 to the second beam 512 for beam search. The terminal 520 may change a beam index from a first index to a second index. The terminal 520 may change the beam configuration to the second beam 512 in order to perform a search in the second direction 552. In operation 603, based on measurement information on the movement, the terminal may determine second direction information on the second direction of the second beam. Here, the movement means a change in the state of the terminal, such as rotating, moving, or tilting of the terminal. The terminal may identify another beam out of the effective range of the first direction. In some embodiments, the terminal may change the index according to the order for beam search, and may sequentially determine whether or not the direction of a beam corresponding to the index belongs to the effective range of the first direction. Here, the first direction means the direction in which a beam search has already been performed in the corresponding direction. The terminal may store channel quality information (e.g., RSRP) on the first direction],
the second beam direction associated with a second error statistic of the error statistics different from the first error statistic [par 0120, 0141, 0152, When the second measurement information is reported, the terminal determines whether or not the currently set beam direction falls within the effective range of the reference direction at the time 732. The terminal, based on the reference sensor value and the second measurement information, may determine whether or not the direction indicated by the currently set reception beam 750 falls within the effective range of the reference direction. If the direction indicated by the reception beam 750 is out of the effective range at the time 732, the terminal may identify a beam belonging to the effective range. For example, the terminal may determine whether or not a beam search procedure for the second direction has already been performed. The terminal may determine whether or not the second direction belongs to a search set. The search set may include a plurality of directions. The terminal may determine whether or not to perform a search in respective directions through the direction information on the respective directions included in the search set. If the second direction falls within the effective range of at least one of a plurality of directions, the terminal may determine that the second direction belongs to the search set. However, if the second direction does not fall within the effective range of any one of the plurality of directions, the terminal may determine that the second direction does not belong to the search set],
transmitting the UL communication to the network in a third beam direction different from the second beam direction [par 0143, 0194, The terminal determines a third direction for the third beam at a time 933, when setting the third beam after the time allocated for the second beam has elapsed. The terminal determines the third direction using the fifth measurement information, which has been most recently obtained (at the time 915) since the time 933. The terminal may identify a beam corresponding to the reference direction set in operation 1301 according to the currently set beam and the movement value. The terminal may determine the identified beam as a communication beam. The terminal may determine parameters associated with the communication beam through the index of the determined communication beam. The terminal may configure such that a beamforming unit forms the identified beam using the determined parameters. The terminal may perform direction compensation, and may then receive or transmit signals from or to the base station through the set communication bear].
2, Han describe the method of claim 1, wherein the beam prediction configuration comprises a machine learning configuration [par 0241, the terminal may obtain the expected movement information of the terminal through a learning procedure by means of machine learning. The terminal may determine patterns of a user].
4. Han disclose the method of claim 1, wherein the error statistics indicate, for each of the plurality of beam directions, at least one of: an error rate; or a difference in a signal power between the respective beam direction and an observed best beam direction [par 0086, When identifying the beam, various indices indicative of the channel quality may be used. For example, the channel quality may be beam reference signal received power (BRSRP) and reference signal received power (RSRP), and may be at least one of reference signal received quality (RSRQ), a received signal strength indicator (RSRI), a signal-to-interference and noise ratio (SINR), a carrier-to-interference and noise ratio (CINR), a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), an error vector magnitude (EVM), a bit error rate (BER), and a block error rate (BLER). The terminal 520, based on the channel quality of each beam, may identify an optimal beam among the beams. The optimal beam may be referred to as a “preferred beam” or a “best beam”. The optimal beam means a beam corresponding to the case in which a measured channel quality value is the maximum (signal magnitude-related channel quality) or the case in which a measured channel quality value is the minimum (error rate-related channel quality)].
5, Han demonstrate the method of claim 1, wherein: the transmitting the UL communication in the first beam direction comprises: responsive to the first error statistic exceeding a first threshold associated with the first beam direction, selecting the first beam direction for the transmitting the UL communication [claim 8, determining third direction information regarding a third direction of the first beam according to the movement of the apparatus, based on the first direction information and the
measurement information, wherein the performing of the beam search comprises: identifying a beam which is within a threshold range of the third direction among a plurality beams of the apparatus];
and the transmitting the UL communication in the third beam direction comprises: responsive to the second error statistic being below a second threshold associated with the second beam direction[par 0086, The terminal 520, based on the channel quality of each beam, may identify an optimal beam among the beams. The optimal beam may be referred to as a “preferred beam” or a “best beam’. The optimal beam means a beam corresponding to the case in which a measured channel quality value is the maximum (signal magnitude-related channel quality) or the case in which a measured channel quality value is the minimum (error rate-related channel quality)],
selecting the third beam direction for the transmitting the UL communication [par 0143, The terminal determines a third direction for the third beam at a time 933, when setting the third beam after the time allocated for the second beam has elapsed. The terminal determines the third direction using the fifth measurement information, which has been most recently obtained (at the time 915) since the time]
6. Han disclose the method of claim 1, further comprising: transmitting, to the network, a feedback signal indicating the second error statistic is below a threshold [par 230, The terminal may receive all of the signals through the omni-directional beam, and may measure the channel quality for each of the signals. The terminal may generate feedback information on the top N signals having good channel quality, and may
transmit the feedback information to the base station (beam reporting). The base station may identify an optimal beam to be used for communication from the feedback information];
obtaining channel measurements of a reference signal burst in the plurality of beam directions [par 0089, For example, the terminal 520 may receive reference signals transmitted from the base station in different beam directions for a downlink transmission beam search of the base station. The terminal 520 needs to receive the Signals in the same direction in order to measure the channel quality for the respective beams of the base station);
and selecting, based on the channel measurements, the third beam direction for the UL communication [par 0143, The terminal determines a third direction for the third beam at a time 933, when setting the third beam after the time allocated for the second beam has elapsed. The terminal determines the third direction using the fifth measurement information, which has been most recently obtained (at the time 915) since the time 933. Like the second direction, the terminal may determine whether or not the third direction belongs to the search set].
7, Han conveys the method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving, from the network, at least one signal indicating a first error threshold for the first beam direction and a second error threshold for the second beam direction [par 0086, The terminal 520 may receive a plurality of signals by means of different beams, respectively. The terminal 520 may measure the signals received through the respective beams to thus determine the channel quality for each beam. When identifying the beam, various indices indicative of the channel quality may be used. a carrier-to-interference and noise ratio (CINR), a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), an error vector magnitude (EVM), a bit error rate (BER), and a block error rate (BLER). The terminal 520, based on the channel quality of each beam, may identify an optimal beam among the beams. The optimal beam may be referred to as a “preferred beam” or a “best beam”. The optimal beam means a beam corresponding to the case in which a measured channel quality value is the maximum (signal magnitude-related channel quality) or the case in which a measured channel quality value is the minimum (error rate-related channel quality),
wherein the transmitting the UL communication in the first beam direction is based on a comparison of the first error statistic with the first error threshold, and wherein the transmitting the UL communication in the third beam direction is based on a comparison of the second error statistic with the second error threshold [par 0087, the terminal 520 performs a downlink beam search using three beams (e.g., a first beam 511, a second beam 512, and a third beam 513) will be described as an example. The terminal 520 may control a first beam 511, a second beam 512, and a third beam 513 by means of a first index for the first beam 511, a second index for the second beam 512, and a third index for the third beam 513, respectively. The terminal 520 may perform a beam search while changing the beam in the order of the first beam 511, the second beam 512, and the third beam 513. The terminal 520 may perform a beam search by changing beam configuration in the order of the first index, the second index, and the third index].
10. Han display the method of claim 1, wherein the error statistics foreach beam direction of the plurality of beam directions comprise: error statistics for the beam direction[par 0084, 0086, The terminal changes, searches for, compensates for, or identifies the beam, taking into account the direction in which the beam is actually oriented, thereby controlling directivity. Directivity control may be an operation for directivity fixation to maintain the direction of the beam that is in use by the terminal (e.g., a base station beam search), or may be an operation for directivity diversity to transmit signals in multiple directions from the terminal (a terminal beam search)];
and error statistics for at least one additional parameter, the at least one additional parameter comprising one or more of: a power saving mode of the UE; a location of the UE; or a sub-use case of the UE [par 0142, When the terminal performs a beam search in the direction of another identified beam (i.e., the direction out of the effective range of the first direction), the terminal may include the direction of another identified beam in the search set. In some other embodiments, the terminal may not receive a reference signal during the corresponding resource interval. The terminal may operate in a low-power mode].
11, Han disclose a method of wireless communication performed by a network unit, the method comprising: transmitting, to a user equipment (UE) a beam prediction configuration par 0015, 0086, The disclosure provides an apparatus and a method for efficiently selecting beams by predicting the movement of a terminal in a wireless communication system. The terminal 520 may receive a plurality of signals from the base station. The terminal 520 may receive a plurality of signals by means of different beams, respectively. The terminal 520 may measure the signals received through the respective beams to thus determine the channel quality for each beam. When identifying the beam, various indices indicative of the channel quality may be used];
transmitting, to the UE error statistics for each of a plurality of beam directions[par 0085, 0086, The terminal 520 may identify a beam (downlink reception beam) to be used for downlink communication through a beam search procedure. The terminal 520, as a beam search procedure, may receive signals through respective beams operated in the terminal 520. The signal may be a reference signal transmitted from the base station. For example, the channel quality may be beam reference signal received power (BRSRP) and reference signal received power (RSRP), and may be at least one of reference signal received quality (RSRQ), a received signal strength indicator (RSRI), a signal-to-interference and noise ratio (SINR), a carrier-to- interference and noise ratio (CINR), a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), an error vector magnitude (EVM), a bit error rate (BER), and a block error rate (BLER)|,
wherein the plurality of beam directions correspond to a set of potential beams that the UE can use for communication with network unit [par 0120, 01212, 0128, When the second measurement information is reported, the terminal determines whether or not the currently set beam direction falls within the effective range of the reference direction at the time 732. The terminal, based on the reference sensor value and the second measurement information, may determine whether or not the direction indicated by the currently set reception beam 750 falls within the effective range of the reference direction. When the third measurement information is reported, the terminal determines whether or not the direction of the currently set beam falls within the effective range of the reference direction at the time 733. Like that at the time 732, it may be determined whether or not the direction of the currently set beam changes with the movement of the terminal. The terminal may identify a beam the direction of which according to the current state of the terminal falls within the effective range of the reference direction, among a plurality of beams (e.g., 39 beams) that can be operated by the terminal. In some embodiments, the terminal may calculate the directions for the respective beams, and may determine whether or not the calculated directions fall within the effective range of the reference direction]
wherein the error statistics indicate a prediction accuracy of the beam prediction configuration for each of the plurality of beam directions[par 0086, 0115, The terminal 520 may measure the signals received through the respective beams to thus determine the channel quality for each beam. When identifying the beam, various indices indicative of the channel quality may be used. For example, the channel quality may be beam reference signal received power (BRSRP) and reference signal received power (RSRP), and may be at least one of reference signal received quality (RSRQ), a received signal strength indicator (RSRI), a signal-to-interference and noise ratio (SINR), a carrier-to-interference and noise ratio (CINR), a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), an error vector magnitude (EVM), a bit error rate (BER), and a block error rate (BLER). The terminal 520, based on the channel quality of each beam, may identify an optimal beam among the beams. The optimal beam may be referred to as a “preferred beam” or a “best beam. The terminal may obtain measurement information whenever an event occurs. In some embodiments, when a sensor in the terminal detects more than a predetermined range of movement, the sensor may notify the processor in the terminal of the detection result. The terminal may make a request for measurement information to the sensor when receiving the detection result. In some other embodiments, the terminal may obtain measurement information whenever the beam is changed. The terminal may further obtain measurement information from the sensor in order to calculate a more accurate direction]
receiving from the UE, a feedback signal indicating an error statistic for a predicted beam direction is below a threshold[par 230, The terminal may receive all of the signals through the omni-directional beam, and may measure the channel quality for each of the signals. The terminal may generate feedback information on the top N signals having good channel quality, and may transmit the feedback information to the base station (beam reporting). The base station may identify an optimal beam to be used for communication from the feedback information);
and transmitting, to the UE based on the feedback signal, one or more reference signals in each of the plurality of beam directions[par 0089, For example, the terminal 520 may receive reference signals transmitted from the base station in different beam directions for a downlink transmission beam search of the base station. The terminal 520 needs to receive the signals in the same direction in order to measure the channel quality for the respective beams of the base station);
12. Han provide the method of claim 11, wherein the beam prediction configuration comprises a machine learning configuration[par 0241, the terminal may obtain the
expected movement information of the terminal through a learning procedure by means of machine learning. The terminal may determine patterns of a user].
13. Han reveal The method of claim 11, wherein the error statistics indicate, for each of the plurality of beam directions, at least one of: an error rate; or difference in a signal power between the respective beam direction and an observed best beam direction [par 0086, When identifying the beam, various indices indicative of the channel quality may be used. For example, the channel quality may be beam reference signal received power (BRSRP) and reference signal received power (RSRP), and may be at least one of reference signal received quality (RSRQ), a received signal strength indicator (RSRI), a signal-to-interference and noise ratio (SINR), a carrier-to-interference and noise ratio (CINR), a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), an error vector magnitude (EVM), a bit error rate (BER), and a block error rate (BLER). The terminal 520, based on the channel quality of each beam, may identify an optimal beam among the beams. The optimal beam may be referred to as a “preferred beam” or a “best beam”. The optimal beam means a beam corresponding to the case in which a measured channel quality value is the maximum (signal magnitude-related channel quality) or the case in which a measured channel quality value is the minimum (error rate-related channel quality)].
14. Han describes the method of claim 11, further comprising: transmitting, to the UE, at least one signal indicating a first error threshold fora first beam direction and a second error threshold fora second beam direction [par 0086, The terminal 520 may receive a plurality of signals by means of different beams, respectively. The terminal 520 may
measure the signals received through the respective beams to thus determine the channel quality for each beam. When identifying the beam, various indices indicative of the channel quality may be used. a Carrier-to-interference and noise ratio (CINR), a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), an error vector magnitude (EVM), a bit error rate (BER), and a block error rate (BLER). The terminal 520, based on the channel quality of each beam, may identify an optimal beam among the beams. The optimal beam may be referred to as a “preferred beam” or a “best beam”. The optimal beam means a beam corresponding to the case in which a measured channel quality value is the maximum (signal magnitude-related channel quality) or the case in which a measured channel quality value is the minimum (error rate-related channel quality),
wherein: the first error threshold is based on a first error statistic associated with the first beam direction, the first error statistic indicated in the error statistics; and the second error threshold is based on a second error statistic associated with the second beam direction, the second error statistic indicated in the error statistics[par 0087, the terminal 520 performs a downlink beam search using three beams (e.g., a first beam 511, a second beam 512, and a third beam 513) will be described as an example. The terminal 520 may control a first beam 511, a second beam 512, and a third beam 513 by means of a first index for the first beam 511, a second index for the second beam 512, and a third index for the third beam 513, respectively. The terminal 520 may perform a beam search while changing the beam in the order of the first beam 511, the second beam 512, and the third beam 513. The terminal 520 may perform a beam search by changing beam configuration in the order of the first index, the second index, and the third index].
15. Han creates the method of claim 11, wherein the error statistics for each beam direction of the plurality of beam directions comprise: error statistics for the beam direction[par 0084, 0086, The terminal changes, searches for, compensates for, or identifies the beam, taking into account the direction in which the beam is actually oriented, thereby controlling directivity. Directivity control may be an operation for directivity fixation to maintain the direction of the beam that is in use by the terminal (e.g., a base station beam search), or may be an operation for directivity diversity to transmit signals in multiple directions from the terminal (a terminal beam search)];
and error statistics for at least one additional parameter, the at least one additional parameter comprising one or more of: a power saving mode of the UE; a location of the UE; or a sub-use case of the UE[par 0142, When the terminal performs a beam search in the direction of another identified beam (i.e., the direction out of the effective range of the first direction), the terminal may include the direction of another identified beam in the search set. In some other embodiments, the terminal may not receive a reference signal during the corresponding resource interval. The terminal may operate in a low-power mode].
16. Han provide a user equipment (UE), comprising: a memory device; a transceiver; and a processor in communication with the memory device and the transceiver [par
0254, The one or more programs stored in the computer-readable storage medium may be configured for execution by one or more processors within the electronic device. The at least one program may include instructions that cause the electronic device to perform the methods according to various embodiments of the disclosure as defined by the appended claims and/or disclosed herein],
wherein the UE is configured to: receive, from a network, a beam prediction configuration[par 0015, 0085, 0086,The disclosure provides an apparatus and a method for efficiently selecting beams by predicting the movement of a terminal in a wireless communication system. the terminal 520 may receive signals from a base station (not shown). The terminal 520 may perform a beam search procedure in order to improve the quality of a reception signal. The terminal 520 may identify a beam (downlink reception beam) to be used for downlink communication through a beam search procedure. The signal may be a reference signal transmitted from the base station. For example, the reference signal may be one of a beam reference signal (BRS), a beam refinement reference signal (BRRS), a cell-specific reference signal (CRS), a channel state information-reference signal (CSI-RS), and a demodulation-RS (DM-RS).];
receive, from the network, error statistics for each of a plurality of beam directions[par 0085, 0086, The terminal 520 may identify a beam (downlink reception beam) to be used for downlink communication through a beam search procedure. The terminal 520, as a beam search procedure, may receive signals through respective beams operated in the terminal 520. The signal may be a reference signal transmitted from the base station. For example, the channel quality may be beam reference signal received power (BRSRP) and reference signal received power (RSRP), and may be at least one of reference signal received quality (RSRQ), a received signal strength indicator (RSRI), a signal-to-interference and noise ratio (SINR), a carrier-to- interference and noise ratio (CINR), a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), an error vector magnitude (EVM), a bit error rate (BER), and a block error rate (BLER)|;
wherein the plurality of beam directions correspond to a set of potential beams that the UE can use for communication with the network [par 0120, 01212, 0128, When the second measurement information is reported, the terminal determines whether or not the currently set beam direction falls within the effective range of the reference direction at the time 732. The terminal, based on the reference sensor value and the second measurement information, may determine whether or not the direction indicated by the currently set reception beam 750 falls within the effective range of the reference direction. When the third measurement information is reported, the terminal determines whether or not the direction of the currently set beam falls within the effective range of the reference direction at the time 733. Like that at the time 732, it may be determined whether or not the direction of the currently set beam changes with the movement of the terminal. The terminal may identify a beam the direction of which according to the current state of the terminal falls within the effective range of the reference direction, among a plurality of beams (e.g., 39 beams) that can be operated by the terminal. In some embodiments, the terminal may calculate the directions for the respective beams, and may determine whether or not the calculated directions fall within the effective range of the reference direction]
wherein the error statistics indicate a prediction accuracy of the beam prediction configuration for each of the plurality of beam directions[par 0086, 0115, The terminal 520 may measure the signals received through the respective beams to thus determine the channel quality for each beam. When identifying the beam, various indices indicative of the channel quality may be used. For example, the channel quality may be beam reference signal received power (BRSRP) and reference signal received power (RSRP), and may be at least one of reference signal received quality (RSRQ), a received signal strength indicator (RSRI), a signal-to-interference and noise ratio (SINR), a carrier-to-interference and noise ratio (CINR), a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), an error vector magnitude (EVM), a bit error rate (BER), and a block error rate (BLER). The terminal 520, based on the channel quality of each beam, may identify an optimal beam among the beams. The optimal beam may be referred to as a “preferred beam” or a “best beam. The terminal may obtain measurement information whenever an event occurs. In some embodiments, when a sensor in the terminal detects more than a predetermined range of movement, the sensor may notify the processor in the terminal of the detection result. The terminal may make a request for measurement information to the sensor when receiving the detection result. In some other embodiments, the terminal may obtain measurement information whenever the beam is changed. The terminal may further obtain measurement information from the sensor in order to calculate a more accurate direction]
responsive to the UE predicting a first beam direction of the plurality of beam directions using the beam prediction configuration [par 0119, More specifically, whenever the measurement information is reported, the terminal, based on the reported measurement information, determines whether or not the current beam direction falls within the effective range of the reference direction. Whenever the measurement information is reported, the terminal may calculate the direction of the currently set beam, thereby determining whether or not the direction of the beam falls within the effective range, or, based on the amount of change included in the measurement information, may determine whether or not the direction of the beam falls within the effective range],
the first beam direction associated with a first error statistic of the error statistics [par 0086, 0090, 0140, The terminal 520 may receive a plurality of signals by means of different beams, respectively. The terminal 520 may measure the signals received through the respective beams to thus determine the channel quality for each beam. When identifying the beam, various indices indicative of the channel quality may be used. For example, the channel quality may be beam reference signal received power (BRSRP) and reference signal received power (RSRP), and may be at least one of reference signal received quality (RSRQ), a received signal strength indicator (RSRI), a signal-to-interference and noise ratio (SINR), a carrier-to-interference and noise ratio (CINR), a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), an error vector magnitude (EVM), a bit error rate (BER), and a block error rate (BLER). The terminal 520, based on the channel quality of each beam, may identify an optimal beam among the beams. The terminal 520 may measure the channel quality for the signal of the first beam 511. At this time, the first beam 511 is oriented in the first direction 551. When setting a first beam, the terminal determines first direction information for the first direction of the first beam at a time 931. The terminal determines the first direction information using the first measurement information, which has been most recently obtained (at the time 911) since the time 931. The terminal may perform a beam search for the first beam. The terminal may receive a signal from the base station through the first beam. The terminal may perform a search for the first beam, and may then store the first direction information on the first direction of the first beam],
transmitting an uplink (UL) communication to the network in the first beam direction [par 0092, 0096, when performing a beam search (or when performing a direction search), and may adaptively change the beam index, thereby efficiently performing the beam search procedure. In addition, in all of the procedures for operating one or more beams, such as downlink/uplink Communications through an optimal beam, as well as in the beam search procedure. The terminal may obtain first direction information on the first direction of the first beam when performing a beam search for the first beam. In some embodiments, the terminal may perform a transmission beam search of the base station through the first beam of the terminal];
and responsive to the UE predicting a second beam direction of the plurality of beam directions using the beam prediction configuration [par 0090, 0098, 0106, 0141, Afterwards, the terminal 520 may change the beam in order to perform a beam search through the second beam 512. The terminal 520 may change beam configuration from the first beam 511 to the second beam 512 for beam search. The terminal 520 may change a beam index from a first index to a second index. The terminal 520 may change the beam configuration to the second beam 512 in order to perform a search in the second direction 552. In operation 603, based on measurement information on the movement, the terminal may determine second direction information on the second direction of the second beam. Here, the movement means a change in the state of the terminal, such as rotating, moving, or tilting of the terminal. The terminal may identify another beam out of the effective range of the first direction. In some embodiments, the terminal may change the index according to the order for beam search, and may sequentially determine whether or not the direction of a beam corresponding to the index belongs to the effective range of the first direction. Here, the first direction means the direction in which a beam search has already been performed in the corresponding direction. The terminal may store channel quality information (e.g., RSRP) on the first direction],
the second beam direction associated with a second error statistic of the error statistics different from the first error statistic [par 0120, 0141, 0152, When the second measurement information is reported, the terminal determines whether or not the currently set beam direction falls within the effective range of the reference direction at the time 732. The terminal, based on the reference sensor value and the second measurement information, may determine whether or not the direction indicated by the currently set reception beam 750 falls within the effective range of the reference direction. If the direction indicated by the reception beam 750 is out of the effective range at the time 732, the terminal may identify a beam belonging to the effective range. For example, the terminal may determine whether or not a beam search procedure for the second direction has already been performed. The terminal may determine whether or not the second direction belongs to a search set. The search set may include a plurality of directions. The terminal may determine whether or not to perform a search in respective directions through the direction information on the respective directions included in the search set. If the second direction falls within the effective range of at least one of a plurality of directions, the terminal may determine that the second direction belongs to the search set. However, if the second direction does not fall within the effective range of any one of the plurality of directions, the terminal may determine that the second direction does not belong to the search set],
transmitting the UL communication to the network in a third beam direction different from the second beam direction [par 0143, 0194, The terminal determines a third direction for the third beam at a time 933, when setting the third beam after the time allocated for the second beam has elapsed. The terminal determines the third direction using the fifth measurement information, which has been most recently obtained (at the time 915) since the time 933. The terminal may identify a beam corresponding to the reference direction set in operation 1301 according to the currently set beam and the movement value. The terminal may determine the identified beam as a communication beam. The terminal may determine parameters associated with the communication beam through the index of the determined communication beam. The terminal may configure such that a beamforming unit forms the identified beam using the determined parameters. The terminal may perform direction compensation, and may then receive or transmit signals from or to the base station through the set communication bear].
17. Han defines the UE of claim 16, wherein the beam prediction configuration comprises a machine learning configuration[par 0241, the terminal may obtain the expected movement information of the terminal through a learning procedure by means of machine learning. The terminal may determine patterns of a user].
19.Han provide the UE of claim 16, wherein the error statistics indicate, for each of the plurality of beam directions, at least one of: an error rate; or a difference in a signal power between the respective beam direction and an observed best beam direction[par 0086, When identifying the beam, various indices indicative of the channel quality may be used. For example, the channel quality may be beam reference signal received power (BRSRP) and reference signal received power (RSRP), and may be at least one of reference signal received quality (RSRQ), a received signal strength indicator (RSRI), a signal-to-interference and noise ratio (SINR), a carrier-to-interference and noise ratio (CINR), a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), an error vector magnitude (EVM), a bit error rate (BER), and a block error rate (BLER). The terminal 520, based on the channel quality of each beam, may identify an optimal beam among the beams. The optimal beam may be referred to as a “preferred beam” or a “best beam”. The optimal beam means a beam corresponding to the case in which a measured channel quality value is the maximum (signal magnitude-related channel quality) or the case in which a measured channel quality value is the minimum (error rate-related channel quality)].
20. The UE of claim 16, wherein: the UE configured to transmit the UL communication in the first beam direction comprises the UE configured to: responsive to the first error statistic exceeding a first threshold associated with the first beam direction[claim 8, determining third direction information regarding a third direction of the first beam according to the movement of the apparatus, based on the first direction information and the measurement information, wherein the performing of the beam search comprises: identifying a beam which is within a threshold range of the third direction among a plurality beams of the apparatus];
select the first beam direction for the transmitting the UL communication; and the transmitting the UL communication in the third beam direction comprises: responsive to the second error statistic being below a second threshold associated with the second beam direction[par 0086, The terminal 520, based on the channel quality of each beam, may identify an optimal beam among the beams. The optimal beam may be referred to as a “preferred beam” or a “best beam’. The optimal beam means a beam corresponding to the case in which a measured channel quality value is the maximum (signal magnitude-related channel quality) or the case in which a measured channel quality value is the minimum (error rate-related channel quality)],
select the third beam direction for the transmitting the UL communication[par 0143, The terminal determines a third direction for the third beam at a time 933, when setting the third beam after the time allocated for the second beam has elapsed. The terminal determines the third direction using the fifth measurement information, which has been most recently obtained (at the time 915) since the time]
21. Han disclose the UE of claim 16, wherein the UE is further configured to: transmit, to the network, a feedback signal indicating the second error statistic is below a threshold[par 230, The terminal may receive all of the signals through the omni- directional beam, and may measure the channel quality for each of the signals. The terminal may generate feedback information on the top N signals having good channel quality, and may transmit the feedback information to the base station (beam reporting). The base station may identify an optimal beam to be used for communication from the feedback information],
obtain channel measurements of a reference signal burst in the plurality of beam directions[par 0089, For example, the terminal 520 may receive reference signals transmitted from the base station in different beam directions for a downlink transmission beam search of the base station. The terminal 520 needs to receive the Signals in the same direction in order to measure the channel quality for the respective beams of the base station);
and select, based on the channel measurements, the third beam direction for the UL communication [par 0143, The terminal determines a third direction for the third
beam at a time 933, when setting the third beam after the time allocated for the second beam has elapsed. The terminal determines the third direction using the fifth measurement information, which has been most recently obtained (at the time 915) since the time 933. Like the second direction, the terminal may determine whether or not the third direction belongs to the search set].
22. Han reveal the UE of claim 16, wherein the UE is further configured to: receive, from the network, at least one signal indicating a first error threshold for the first beam direction and a second error threshold for the second beam direction[par 0086, The terminal 520 may receive a plurality of signals by means of different beams, respectively. The terminal 520 may measure the signals received through the respective beams to thus determine the channel quality for each beam. When identifying the beam, various indices indicative of the channel quality may be used. a carrier-to-interference and noise ratio (CINR), a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), an error vector magnitude (EVM), a bit error rate (BER), and a block error rate (BLER). The terminal 520, based on the channel quality of each beam, may identify an optimal beam among the beams. The optimal beam may be referred to as a “preferred beam” or a “best beam’. The optimal beam means a beam corresponding to the case in which a measured channel quality value is the maximum (signal magnitude-related channel quality) or the case in which a measured channel quality value is the minimum (error rate-related channel quality)),
wherein the transmitting the UL communication in the first beam direction is based on a comparison of the first error statistic with the first error threshold, and wherein the transmitting the UL communication in the third beam direction is based on a comparison of the second error statistic with the second error threshold[par 0087, the terminal 520 performs a downlink beam search using three beams (e.g., a first beam 511, a second beam 512, and a third beam 513) will be described as an example. The terminal 520 may control a first beam 511, a second beam 512, and a third beam 513 by means of a first index for the first beam 511, a second index for the second beam 512, and a third index for the third beam 513, respectively. The terminal 520 may perform a beam search while changing the beam in the order of the first beam 511, the second beam 512, and the third beam 513. The terminal 520 may perform a beam search by changing beam configuration in the order of the first index, the second index, and the third index].
25. Han display the UE of claim 16, wherein the error statistics foreach beam direction of the plurality of beam directions comprise: error statistics for the beam direction[par 0084, 0086, The terminal changes, searches for, compensates for, or identifies the beam, taking into account the direction in which the beam is actually oriented, thereby controlling directivity. Directivity control may be an operation for directivity fixation to maintain the direction of the beam that is in use by the terminal (e.9., a base station beam search), or may be an operation for directivity diversity to transmit signals in multiple directions from the terminal (a terminal beam search)|
and error statistics for predicting at least one additional parameter, the at least one additional parameter comprising one or more of: a power saving mode of the UE; a location of the UE; or a sub-use case of the UE[par 0142, When the terminal performs a beam search in the direction of another identified beam (i.e., the direction out of the effective range of the first direction), the terminal may include the direction of another identified beam in the search set. In some other embodiments, the terminal may not receive a reference signal during the corresponding resource interval. The terminal may operate in a low-power mode].
26. Han defines a network unit, comprising: a memory device; a transceiver; and a processor in communication with the memory device and the transceiver [par 0062, Accordingly, all or a part of the communication unit 210 may be referred to as a “transmitter”, a “receiver”, or a “transceiver”. In the following description, the transmission and reception performed through a wireless channel will be used to encompass the execution of the process by the communication unit 210 as described above]
wherein the network unit is configured to: transmit, to a user equipment (UE) a beam prediction configuration[par 0085, 0086, The terminal 520 may identify a beam (downlink reception beam) to be used for downlink communication through a beam search procedure. The terminal 520, as a beam search procedure, may receive signals through respective beams operated in the terminal 520. The signal may be a reference signal transmitted from the base station. For example, the channel quality may be beam reference signal received power (BRSRP) and reference signal received power (RSRP), and may be at least one of reference signal received quality (RSRQ), a received signal strength indicator (RSRI), a signal-to-interference and noise ratio (SINR), a carrier-to- interference and noise ratio (CINR), a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), an error vector magnitude (EVM), a bit error rate (BER), and a block error rate (BLER)|;
transmit, to the UE error statistics for each of a plurality of beam directions[par 0085, 0086, The terminal 520 may identify a beam (downlink reception beam) to be used for downlink communication through a beam search procedure. The terminal 520, as a beam search procedure, may receive signals through respective beams operated in the terminal 520. The signal may be a reference signal transmitted from the base station. For example, the channel quality may be beam reference signal received power (BRSRP) and reference signal received power (RSRP), and may be at least one of reference signal received quality (RSRQ), a received signal strength indicator (RSRI), a signal-to-interference and noise ratio (SINR), a carrier-to- interference and noise ratio (CINR), a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), an error vector magnitude (EVM), a bit error rate (BER), and a block error rate (BLER)|;
wherein the plurality of beam directions correspond to a set of potential beams that the UE can use for communication with network [par 0120, 01212, 0128, When the second measurement information is reported, the terminal determines whether or not the currently set beam direction falls within the effective range of the reference direction at the time 732. The terminal, based on the reference sensor value and the second measurement information, may determine whether or not the direction indicated by the currently set reception beam 750 falls within the effective range of the reference direction. When the third measurement information is reported, the terminal determines whether or not the direction of the currently set beam falls within the effective range of the reference direction at the time 733. Like that at the time 732, it may be determined whether or not the direction of the currently set beam changes with the movement of the terminal. The terminal may identify a beam the direction of which according to the current state of the terminal falls within the effective range of the reference direction, among a plurality of beams (e.g., 39 beams) that can be operated by the terminal. In some embodiments, the terminal may calculate the directions for the respective beams, and may determine whether or not the calculated directions fall within the effective range of the reference direction]
wherein the error statistics indicate a prediction accuracy of the beam prediction configuration for each of the plurality of beam directions[par 0086, 0115, The terminal 520 may measure the signals received through the respective beams to thus determine the channel quality for each beam. When identifying the beam, various indices indicative of the channel quality may be used. For example, the channel quality may be beam reference signal received power (BRSRP) and reference signal received power (RSRP), and may be at least one of reference signal received quality (RSRQ), a received signal strength indicator (RSRI), a signal-to-interference and noise ratio (SINR), a carrier-to-interference and noise ratio (CINR), a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), an error vector magnitude (EVM), a bit error rate (BER), and a block error rate (BLER). The terminal 520, based on the channel quality of each beam, may identify an optimal beam among the beams. The optimal beam may be referred to as a “preferred beam” or a “best beam. The terminal may obtain measurement information whenever an event occurs. In some embodiments, when a sensor in the terminal detects more than a predetermined range of movement, the sensor may notify the processor in the terminal of the detection result. The terminal may make a request for measurement information to the sensor when receiving the detection result. In some other embodiments, the terminal may obtain measurement information whenever the beam is changed. The terminal may further obtain measurement information from the sensor in order to calculate a more accurate direction]
receive, from the UE, a feedback signal indicating an error statistic for a predicted beam direction is below a threshold [par 230, The terminal may receive all of the signals through the omni-directional beam, and may measure the channel quality for each of the signals. The terminal may generate feedback information on the top N signals having good channel quality, and may transmit the feedback information to the base station (beam reporting). The base station may identify an optimal beam to be used for communication from the feedback information];
and transmit, to the UE based on the feedback signal, one or more reference signals in each of the plurality of beam directions[par 0089, For example, the terminal 520 may receive reference signals transmitted from the base station in different beam directions for a downlink transmission beam search of the base station. The terminal 520 needs to receive the signals in the same direction in order to measure the channel quality for the respective beams of the base station);
27, Han demonstrate the network unit of claim 26, wherein the beam prediction configuration comprises a machine learning configuration[par 0241, the terminal may obtain the expected movement information of the terminal through a learning procedure by means of machine learning. The terminal may determine patterns of a user].
28. Han provides the network unit of claim 26, wherein the error statistics indicate, for each of the plurality of beam directions, at least one of: an error rate; or a difference in a signal power between the respective beam direction and a best beam direction |par 0086, When identifying the beam, various indices indicative of the channel quality may be used. For example, the channel quality may be beam reference signal received power (BRSHP) and reference signal received power (RSRP), and may be at least one of reference signal received quality (RSRQ), a received signal strength indicator (RSRI), a Signal-to-interference and noise ratio (SINR), a carrier-to-interference and noise ratio (CINR), a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), an error vector magnitude (EVM), a bit error rate (BER), and a block error rate (BLER). The terminal 520, based on the channel quality of each beam, may identify an optimal beam among the beams. The optimal beam may be referred to as a “preferred beam” or a “best beam”. The optimal beam means a beam corresponding to the case in which a measured channel quality value is the maximum (signal magnitude-related channel quality) or the case in which a measured channel quality value is the minimum (error rate-related channel quality)].
29. Han convey the network unit of claim 26, wherein the network unit is further configured to: transmit, to the UE, at least one signal indicating a first error threshold for a first beam direction and a second error threshold fora second beam direction [par 0086, The terminal 520 may receive a plurality of signals by means of different beams, respectively. The terminal 520 may measure the signals received through the respective beams to thus determine the channel quality for each beam. When identifying the beam, various indices indicative of the channel quality may be used. a carrier-to-interference and noise ratio (CINR), a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), an error vector magnitude (EVM), a bit error rate (BER), and a block error rate (BLER). The terminal 520, based on the channel quality of each beam, may identify an optimal beam among the beams. The optimal beam may be referred to as a “preferred beam” or a “best beam’. The optimal beam means a beam corresponding to the case in which a measured channel quality value is the maximum (signal magnitude-related channel quality) or the case in which a measured channel quality value is the minimum (error rate-related channel quality)),
wherein: the first error threshold is based on a first error statistic associated with the first beam direction, the first error statistic indicated in the error statistics; and the second error threshold is based on a second error statistic associated with the second beam direction, the second error statistic indicated in the error statistics[par 0087, the terminal 520 performs a downlink beam search using three beams (e.g., a first beam 511, a second beam 512, and a third beam 513) will be described as an example. The terminal 520 may control a first beam 511, a second beam 512, and a third beam 513 by means of a first index for the first beam 511, a second index for the second beam 512, and a third index for the third beam 513, respectively. The terminal 520 may perform a beam search while changing the beam in the order of the first beam 511, the second beam 512, and the third beam 513. The terminal 520 may perform a beam search by changing beam configuration in the order of the first index, the second index, and the third index].
30. Han discloses the network unit of claim 26, wherein the error statistics for each beam direction of the plurality of beam directions comprise: error statistics for the beam
direction; and error statistics for at least one additional parameter[par 0084, 0086, The terminal changes, searches for, compensates for, or identifies the beam, taking into account the direction in which the beam ts actually oriented, thereby controlling directivity. Directivity control may be an operation for directivity fixation to maintain the direction of the beam that is in use by the terminal (e.g., a base station beam search), or may be an operation for directivity diversity to transmit signals in multiple directions from the terminal (a terminal beam search)];,
the at least one additional parameter comprising one or more of: a power saving mode of the UE; a location of the UE; or a sub-use case of the UE[par 0142, When the terminal performs a beam search in the direction of another identified beam (i.e., the direction out of the effective range of the first direction), the terminal may include the direction of another identified beam in the search set. In some other embodiments, the terminal may not receive a reference signal during the corresponding resource interval. The terminal may operate in a low-power mode].
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.
Claim(s) 3, 8, 9, 18, 23, 24,is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over HAN et al. (U.S. Pub No. 2019/0037530 A1) in view of LIN et al. (U.S. Pub No. 2020/0374863 A1).
3, Han illustrates the method of claim 2, further comprising: Han fail to show identifying the first beam direction based on the machine learning configuration and channel measurements associated with the plurality of beam directions; or identifying the second beam direction based on the machine learning configuration and channel
measurements associated with the plurality of beam directions.
In an analogous art LIN show identifying the first beam direction based on the machine learning configuration and channel measurements associated with the plurality of beam directions; or identifying the second beam direction based on the machine learning configuration and channel measurements associated with the plurality of beam directions [abstract, User Equipment (UE), information indicative of each of multiple UE locations in a wireless communication network. For each location, a respective antenna beam direction for communications between the network equipment and a UE at each location is determined. A Machine Learning (ML) module is trained using each location as an ML module input and the respective antenna beam direction for each location as an ML module output.
Before the effective filing date it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of Han and LIN because this would reduce the signaling overhead involved in beamforming, particularly in mmWave applications.
8, Han reveals the method of claim 1, Han fail to show wherein: the transmitting the UL communication in the first beam direction is based on a first beam prediction probability of the first beam direction exceeding a first beam prediction threshold, wherein the first beam prediction probability is based on the beam prediction configuration;
In an analogous art LIN show wherein: the transmitting the UL communication in the first beam direction is based on a first beam prediction probability of the first beam direction exceeding a first beam prediction threshold [par 0047, For the case of a single ML module, 1) the ML module outputs a probability of each possible beam being the 1.sup.st beam, a probability of each possible beam being the 2.sup.nd beam, ..., and each beam with highest probability being the n-th (1<=n<=N) beam is selected; or 2) the ML module outputs a probability of each beam, then the N beams with N largest probability are selected. For option 1), supposing there are M beams in total, the single ML module has M*N outputs, including M outputs indicating probabilities for the M beams, for each of the N beam predictions. For option 2), the N beam probabilities provide a measure of “strength” of each beam; the larger the probability, the stronger the beam]
and the transmitting the UL communication in the third beam direction is based on a second beam prediction probability of the second beam direction being smaller than a second beam prediction threshold[par 0047, For option 2), the N beam probabilities provide a measure of “strength” of each beam; the larger the probability, the stronger the beam]
wherein the second beam prediction probability is based on the beam prediction configuration [par 0047, /n an alternative embodiment, one ML module is trained for all N beam predictions, again using data samples collected for the N most reliable beam directions per UE location during training. For the case of a single ML module, 1) the ML module outputs a probability of each possible beam being the 1.sup.st beam, a probability of each possible beam being the 2.sup.nd beam]
Before the effective filing date it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of Han and LIN because this would reduce the signaling overhead involved in beamforming, particularly in mmWave applications.
18, Han demonstrate the UE of claim 17, Han fail to show wherein the UE is further configured to: identify the first beam direction based on the machine learning configuration and channel measurements associated with the plurality of beam directions; or identify the second beam direction based on the machine learning configuration and channel measurements associated with the plurality of beam directions.
In an analogous art LIN wherein the UE is further configured to: identify the first beam direction based on the machine learning configuration and channel measurements associated with the plurality of beam directions; or identify the second beam direction based on the machine learning configuration and channel measurements associated with the plurality of beam directions[abstract, User Equipment (UE), information indicative of each of multiple UE locations in a wireless communication network. For each location, a respective antenna beam direction for
communications between the network equipment and a UE at each location is determined. A Machine Learning (ML) module is trained using each location as an ML module input and the respective antenna beam direction for each location as an ML module output.
Before the effective filing date it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of Han and LIN because this would reduce the signaling overhead involved in beamforming, particularly in mmWave applications.
23. Han provide the UE of claim 16, Han fail to show wherein: the UE configured to transmit the UL communication in the first beam direction is based on a first beam prediction probability of the first beam direction exceeding a first beam prediction threshold, wherein the first beam prediction probability is based on the beam prediction configuration; and the UE configured to transmit the UL communication in the third beam direction is based on a second beam prediction probability of the second beam direction being smaller than a second beam prediction threshold, wherein the second beam prediction probability is based on the beam prediction configuration.
In an analogous art LIN show wherein: the UE configured to transmit the UL communication in the first beam direction is based on a first beam prediction probability of the first beam direction exceeding a first beam prediction threshold, wherein the first beam prediction probability is based on the beam prediction configuration [par 0047, For the case of a single ML module, 1) the ML module outputs a probability of each
possible beam being the 1.sup.st beam, a probability of each possible beam being the 2.sup.nd beam, ..., and each beam with highest probability being the n-th (1<=n<=N) beam is selected; or 2) the ML module outputs a probability of each beam, then the N beams with N largest probability are selected. For option 1), supposing there are M beams in total, the single ML module has M*N outputs, including M outputs indicating probabilities for the M beams, for each of the N beam predictions. For option 2), the N beam probabilities provide a measure of “strength” of each beam; the larger the probability, the stronger the beam]
and the UE configured to transmit the UL communication in the third beam direction is based on a second beam prediction probability of the second beam direction being smaller than a second beam prediction threshold[par 0047, For option 2), the N beam probabilities provide a measure of “strength” of each beam; the larger the probability, the stronger the beam]
wherein the second beam prediction probability is based on the beam prediction configuration[par 0047, In an alternative embodiment, one ML module is trained for all N beam predictions, again using data samples collected for the N most reliable beam directions per UE location during training. For the case of a single ML module, 1) the ML module outputs a probability of each possible beam being the 1.sup.st beam, a probability of each possible beam being the 2.sup.nd beam]
Before the effective filing date it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of Han and LIN because this would reduce the signaling overhead involved in beamforming, particularly in mmWave applications.
24. Han and LIN illustrate the UE of claim 23, wherein: the first beam prediction threshold is based on the first error statistic; and the second beam prediction threshold is based on the second error statistic[par 0120, 0152, When the second measurement information is reported, the terminal determines whether or not the currently set beam direction falls within the effective range of the reference direction at the time 732. The terminal, based on the reference sensor value and the second measurement information, may determine whether or not the direction indicated by the currently set reception beam 750 falls within the effective range of the reference direction. If the direction indicated by the reception beam 750 is out of the effective range at the time 732, the terminal may identify a beam belonging to the effective range. For example, the terminal may determine whether or not a beam search procedure for the second direction has already been performed. The terminal may determine whether or not the second direction belongs to a search set. The search set may include a plurality of directions. The terminal may determine whether or not to perform a search in respective directions through the direction information on the respective directions included in the search set. If the second direction falls within the effective range of at least one of a plurality of directions, the terminal may determine that the second direction belongs to the search set. However, if the second direction does not fall within the effective range of any one of the plurality of directions, the terminal may determine that the second direction does not belong to the search set],
Response to Arguments
Applicant respectfully submits that HAN does not disclose each and every feature recited in amended claim 1. For example, HAN does not disclose "receiving, from the network, error statistics for each of a plurality of beam directions, wherein the plurality of beam directions correspond to a set of potential beams that the UE can use for communication with the network, and wherein the error statistics indicate a prediction accuracy of the beam prediction configuration for each of the plurality of beam directions," as recited in claim 1.
Hence, HAN merely describes a UE performing a beam search procedure using reference signals received from a sensor, and selecting one of the beams based on channel quality values measured at the UE. However, the Examiner does not identify any passage in HAN that indicates receiving "error statistics" from the network or the sensor, much less "error statistics [that] indicate a prediction accuracy of the beam prediction configuration for each of the plurality of beam directions," as recited in claim 1.
The examiner respectfully disagrees HAN discloses in paragraph 0071, 0085, 0086, The backhaul communication unit 320 provides an interface to perform communication with other nodes in the network. That is, the backhaul communication unit 320 converts a bit stream transmitted from the base station 110 to other nodes, such as another access node, another base station, an upper node, a core network, or the like,
Referring to FIG. 5, the terminal 520 may receive signals from a base station (not shown). The terminal 520 may perform a beam search procedure in order to improve the quality of a reception signal. The signal may be a reference signal transmitted from the base station. For example, the reference signal may be one of a beam reference signal (BRS), a beam refinement reference signal (BRRS), a cell-specific reference signal (CRS), a channel state information-reference signal (CSI-RS), and a demodulation-RS (DM-RS). The terminal 520 may measure the signals received through the respective beams to thus determine the channel quality for each beam. When identifying the beam, various indices indicative of the channel quality may be used. For example, the channel quality may be beam reference signal received power (BRSRP) and reference signal received power (RSRP), and may be at least one of reference signal received quality (RSRQ), a received signal strength indicator (RSRI), a signal-to-interference and noise ratio (SINR), a carrier-to-interference and noise ratio (CINR), a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), an error vector magnitude (EVM), a bit error rate (BER), and a block error rate (BLER), the paragraphs show the terminal receiving information from a base station which is considered the network. The received signal allow the terminal to identify error signals such as signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), an error vector magnitude (EVM), a bit error rate (BER), and a block error rate (BLER), and to calculate or predict beam directions. As shown in para 0158, shows resources allocated by the base station, the terminal may determine whether or not to perform a complement beam search. As another example, in order to increase the accuracy for finding an optimal reception beam.
Hence, HAN merely describes a UE performing a beam search procedure, setting the identified beam as "communication beam," and setting a direction corresponding to the sensor as "reference direction." HAN's UE then adapts the direction of the "communication beam" to match the reference direction," such that "communication beam" and the "reference direction "fall within an effective range. The Applicant respectfully submits that HAN's "fall within the effective range" does not teach the claimed "error statistics [that] indicate an accuracy of the beam prediction configuration."
Accordingly, HAN does not disclose "receiving, from the network, error statistics for each of a plurality of beam directions, wherein the plurality of beam directions correspond to a set of potential beams that the UE can use for communication with the network, and wherein the error statistics indicate a prediction accuracy of the beam prediction configuration for each of the plurality of beam directions," as recited in amended claim 1. For at least the foregoing reasons, Applicant submits that amended claim 1 is patentable over HAN. Independent claims 11, 16, and 26 recite similar features. Therefore, independent claims 1, 11, 16, and 26, and the claims that depend thereon, are patentable over HAN. Accordingly, Applicant respectfully requests that the Examiner reconsider and withdraw the 35 U.S.C. § 102 rejection of claims 1, 2, 4-7, 10-17, 19-22, and 25-30.
The examiner respectfully disagrees in paragraph 0085, 0086, the paragraphs disclose the channel quality measurements, these channel quality measurements are used to measure the channel quality of each of the signals, the terminal may operate directional beams in order to find an optimal beam. The terminal may sequentially set a plurality of beams, thereby measuring the quality of the signal transmitted from the base station, and terminal may further obtain measurement information from the sensor in order to calculate a more accurate direction as shown in paragraphs 0115, 0232.
Conclusion
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/JASON A HARLEY/Examiner, Art Unit 2468