DETAILED ACTION
This office action is responsive to communications filed on December 30, 2025. Claims 1-30 are pending in the application.
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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The Information Disclosure Statement filed on 3/16/2026 has been considered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 1, 2, 14, 15, and 27-30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Karjalainen et al. (US 2021/0250797) in view of Choi et al. (US 2021/0167877).
Regarding Claim 1, Karjalainen teaches a method for wireless communications by a user equipment (UE), comprising:
receiving a resource configuration indicating a time and frequency cross-link interference (CLI) measurement resource for physical layer measurement of CLI caused by uplink transmission by one or more other UEs during downlink slots of the UE (“certain embodiments may allow a network to flexibly configure cross-link interference measurement windows defined in frequency and time for a UE” – See [0027]; “the UE may calculate channel estimates of each known UL interfering signal and/or the related interference power by computing L1-RSRP” – See [0035]; “In step 701, the user equipment may receive a configuration for determining one or more antenna panel-wise cross-link interference measurements from a network entity configured to receive one or more downlink spatial directions” – See [0055]; “In order to enable the measurement of UL-to-DL cross-link interference, neighbouring gNB and/or relay node has scheduled access link UE to transmit UL SRS signals in two consecutive two OFDM symbols with comb-2 and comb-4 RE patterns. In some embodiments, another gNB may have awareness of a neighbouring gNB's access link UL SRS resource configuration, such as symbol location, SRS bandwidth, and comb-type. Based on this information, the network may configure by RRC signalling for an intended UE single CSI-IM resource set with two CSI-IM resources inside of CSI-IM set to have same bandwidth configuration and RE pattern as interfering UE UL SRS transmission” – See [0046]; The UE receives a CLI measurement resource configuration that specifies time and frequency resources, wherein the measurement is L1-RSRP (physical layer measurement), and wherein the cross-link interference is caused by other UEs in a neighboring gNB/cell);
measuring at least one CLI metric based on measurements taken in a measurement occasion according to the resource configuration (“In step 703, the user equipment may calculate one or more interference estimates of UL interfering signals and related cross-link interference powers from the network entity. In some embodiments, the calculating may further include calculating one or more of full measurement types, partial measurement types, and/or unknown measurement types” – See [0055]; The UE measures the CLI based on the CLI measurement resource configuration); and
reporting the at least one CLI metric (“In step 705, the user equipment may transmit one or more interference measurements based upon the configured flexible UL-to-DL cross-link specific resource configuration to the network entity” – See [0055]; The UE transmits the CLI measurement results to the base station).
Karjalainen does not explicitly teach receiving a report configuration indicating time resources of CLI reporting occasions, wherein the report is transmitted in a reporting occasion according to the report configuration.
However, Choi teaches receiving a report configuration indicating time resources of CLI reporting occasions, wherein the report is transmitted in a reporting occasion according to the report configuration (“The BS B 1225 may configure, through higher layer signaling, the user equipment B 1220 to measure SRS CLI, and the user equipment B 1220 may measure the SRS 1210, transmitted by the user equipment A 1200, according to SRS measurement configuration provided by the BS B 1225. The user equipment B 1220 may measure the SRS 1210, and may report a measurement result of the SRS 1210 to the BS B 1225. The BS B 1225 may provide configuration information necessary to report the measurement result, for example, parameters at least representing a transmission resource and transmission time, to the user equipment B 1220 through higher layer signaling” – See [0174]; The UE receives a report configuration indicating a transmission resource/time (CLI reporting occasions) for reporting the CLI measurement results, and the UE transmits the report in accordance with the configuration).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Karjalainen to include receiving a report configuration indicating time resources of CLI reporting occasions, wherein the report is transmitted in a reporting occasion according to the report configuration. Motivation for doing so would be to provide the UE with configuration information necessary to report the measurement result (See Choi, [0074]).
Regarding Claim 2, Karjalainen in view of Choi teaches the method of Claim 1. Choi further teaches that the resource configuration also indicates parameters for generating a reference signal sequence and for mapping the sequence to the configured time and frequency resources (“resourceMapping: This defines the position of an OFDM symbol of an SRS resource in one slot. This may include startPosition indicating a start OFDM symbol in an SRS resource, nrofSymbols representing the number of consecutive OFDM symbols available for SRS transmission, and repetitionFactor representing the repetitive frequency of an SRS” – See [0150]; “freqDomainPosition and freqDomainShifi: These are used to determine frequency-domain positions of SRS resources” – See [0152]; “sequenceld: This represents an SRS sequence ID” – See [0154]; The CLI resource configuration indicates parameters for the reference signal sequence and mapping of the reference signal/sequence to configured time and frequency resources).
Claims 14 and 27-30 are rejected based on reasoning similar to Claim 1.
Claim 15 is rejected based on reasoning similar to Claim 2.
Claims 3-5 and 16-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Karjalainen et al. (US 2021/0250797) in view of Choi et al. (US 2021/0167877) and further in view of Jin et al. (US 2021/0144574).
Regarding Claim 3, Karjalainen in view of Choi teaches the method of Claim 1. Choi further teaches that the resource configuration indicates a type for the CLI measurement resource as periodic, semi-persistent or aperiodic (“periodicityAnd011set-p (or periodici AndOffset-sp): This indicates a slot-level SRS periodicity and a slot offset in relation to a periodic or semi-persistent SRS resource. SRS resources in the same SRS resource set may have the same slot-level periodicity. For an aperiodically-configured SRS resource set, a slot-level option is defined by slotOffset which is a higher layer parameter” – See [0149]; The CLI measurement resource configuration indicates periodic, aperiodic, or semi-persistent).
Karjalainen and Choi do not explicitly teach that the report configuration indicates a type for the CLI measurement report as periodic, semi-persistent or aperiodic.
However, Jin teaches that the report configuration indicates a type for the CLI measurement report as periodic, semi-persistent or aperiodic (“According to various embodiments, a new reference signal type for periodical report of CLI measurement may be defined. That is, a CLI periodical-report-dedicated information element (IE) may be introduced, and a parameter related thereto may be configured. The periodicity, the number of reports, information on report resources, and the maximum number of resources included in the report may be included in the corresponding configuration” – See [0200]; The report configuration indicates a report type as periodic).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Karjalainen such that the report configuration indicates a type for the CLI measurement report as periodic, semi-persistent or aperiodic. Motivation for doing so would be to enable the network to specify different CLI reporting schemes such as periodical, event-based, and so on (See Jin, [0216]).
Regarding Claim 4, Karjalainen in view of Choi teaches the method of Claim 1. Karjalainen and Choi do not explicitly teach determining the reporting occasion for reporting the CLI metric measured based on an association of the resource configuration with the report configuration.
However, Jin teaches determining the reporting occasion for reporting the CLI metric measured based on an association of the resource configuration with the report configuration (“the measurement and reporting of the cross-link interference described in FIG. 5 is configured and performed. In operation 6-15, the base station may provide measurement configuration information (measConfig) to the terminal, wherein, in the configuration information, CLI measurement- and reporting-related configuration information other than the existing measurement configuration and reporting of the downlink reference signal may be included. Further, in the measurement configuration information (measConfig), a measurement object configuration (measObject), a report configuration (reportConfig), the configuration of a measurement identifier related to the measurement object and report scheme (measID)” – See [0173]; The reporting occasion is determined based on association of a resource configuration specified in a measurement object and a reporting configuration).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Karjalainen to include determining the reporting occasion for reporting the CLI metric measured based on an association of the resource configuration with the report configuration. Motivation for doing so would be to provide the UE with various conditions for determining when to measure and report CLI so that event-based reporting (See Jin, [0218]).
Regarding Claim 5, Karjalainen in view of Choi and Jin teaches the method of Claim 4. Jin further teaches that the association is indicated via: a resource configuration ID of a configured resource provided in the report configuration; or a report configuration ID of a report configuration provided in the resource configuration (“the measurement and reporting of the cross-link interference described in FIG. 5 is configured and performed. In operation 6-15, the base station may provide measurement configuration information (measConfig) to the terminal, wherein, in the configuration information, CLI measurement- and reporting-related configuration information other than the existing measurement configuration and reporting of the downlink reference signal may be included. Further, in the measurement configuration information (measConfig), a measurement object configuration (measObject), a report configuration (reportConfig), the configuration of a measurement identifier related to the measurement object and report scheme (measID)” – See [0173]; The resource configuration includes a measID that corresponds to the resource configuration and report configuration).
Claim 16 is rejected based on reasoning similar to Claim 3.
Claim 17 is rejected based on reasoning similar to Claim 4.
Claim 18 is rejected based on reasoning similar to Claim 5.
Claims 7 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Karjalainen et al. (US 2021/0250797) in view of Choi et al. (US 2021/0167877) and further in view of Pedersen et al. (US 2012/0093012).
Regarding Claim 7, Karjalainen in view of Choi teaches the method of Claim 1. Karjalainen and Choi do not explicitly teach that the reporting occasion occurs a first minimum timing interval after a latest measurement resource that can be used for measuring the reported CLI metric.
However, Pedersen teaches that the reporting occasion occurs a first minimum timing interval after a latest measurement resource that can be used for measuring a reported metric (“NCSI-meas≤NCSI-report−tproc; where NCSI-meas is the index of the CSI measurement subframe. NCSI-report is the index of the CSI reporting subframe. tproc is the minimum processing time allowed for the UE to process the measurement” – See [0047]-[0051]; The reporting occasion occurs after a minimum processing time after the measurement).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Karjalainen such that the reporting occasion occurs a first minimum timing interval after a latest measurement resource that can be used for measuring a reported metric. Motivation for doing so would be to provide an unambiguous timing relation between the measurement time and the report time (See Pedersen, [0045]).
Claim 20 is rejected based on reasoning similar to Claim 7.
Claims 8, 9, 21, and 22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Karjalainen et al. (US 2021/0250797) in view of Choi et al. (US 2021/0167877) and Pedersen et al. (US 2012/0093012) and further in view of Kim et al. (US 2022/0159596).
Regarding Claim 8, Karjalainen in view of Choi and Pedersen teaches the method of Claim 7. Karjalainen, Choi, and Pedersen do not explicitly teach that the first minimum timing interval depends, at least in part, on a type of the CLI metric.
However, Kim teaches that the first minimum timing interval depends, at least in part, on a type of the CLI metric (“CLI-RSSI measurement has relatively low UE complexity in comparison to CLI-RSRP” – See [0353]; A CLI-RSSI metric is less complex than a CLI-RSRP metric, thus requiring less processing time).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Karjalainen such that the first minimum timing interval depends, at least in part, on a type of the CLI metric. Motivation for doing so would be to set the minimum timing interval according to the computation complexity of the metric (See Kim, [0353]).
Regarding Claim 9, Karjalainen in view of Choi, Pedersen and Kim teaches the method of Claim 8. Kim further teaches that the first minimum timing interval is smaller for a receive signal strength indicator (RSSI) CLI type than for a reference signal receive power (RSRP) CLI type (“CLI-RSSI measurement has relatively low UE complexity in comparison to CLI-RSRP” – See [0353]; A CLI-RSSI metric is less complex than a CLI-RSRP metric, thus requiring less processing time).
Claim 21 is rejected based on reasoning similar to Claim 8.
Claim 22 is rejected based on reasoning similar to Claim 9.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments filed December 30, 2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
On pages 11-12 of the remarks, Applicant argues “Applicant respectfully disagrees with the Office Action's characterization of the cited references. Specifically, Applicant submits that the combination of Karjalainen and Choi fails to teach or suggest both "receiving a resource configuration indicating a time and frequency cross- link interference (CLI) measurement resource" and separately "receiving a report configuration indicating time resources of CLI reporting occasions," as recited by claim 1.
The Office Action cites paragraph [0174] of Choi for allegedly teaching a report configuration indicating time resources of CLI reporting occasions. However, this paragraph merely describes configuration information for reporting SRS measurement results, stating that "The BS B 1225 may provide configuration information necessary to report the measurement result, for example, parameters at least representing a transmission resource and transmission time, to the user equipment B 1220 through higher layer signaling."
Applicant respectfully submits that Choi's disclosure of a "transmission resource and transmission time" for reporting SRS measurement results is fundamentally different from the claimed invention. Claim 1 separately recites: (1) receiving a resource configuration indicating a time and frequency CLI measurement resource for physical layer measurement of CLI; and (2) receiving a report configuration indicating time resources of CLI reporting occasions.
While there may be an association between these two configurations (e.g., as explicitly recited in claim 4), they are separate and serve different purposes: the resource configuration specifies when and where CLI measurements are taken, while the report configuration independently specifies when CLI metrics are to be reported. As described in paragraph [0087] of the published application, separate CLI measurement and reporting configurations may "allow for faster and more flexible CLI reporting, which may allow for quicker adaptation at the network side. For example, a gNB may be able to re-allocate resources and/or adapt scheduling to account for dynamic TDD configuration changes of the aggressor UE." This flexibility may be achieved, for example, by configuring measurement and reporting independently, to achieve different periodicities or timing relationships between measurement occasions and reporting occasions.
In contrast, Choi only mentions providing "parameters at least representing a transmission resource and transmission time" and does not disclose a separate report configuration (separate from a resource configuration) "indicating time resources of CLI reporting occasions" as recited in claim 1. Choi's approach does not contemplate or suggest the claimed architecture where measurement resources and reporting occasions are configured through separate, independent configurations.”
The Examiner respectfully disagrees. In claim 1, the steps of “receiving a resource configuration indicating a time and frequency cross- link interference (CLI) measurement resource” and separately “receiving a report configuration indicating time resources of CLI reporting occasions” are recited in a broad and generic fashion. There is no language specifically pointing out that the resources for CLI measurement and the resources for transmitting the CLI report are “separate” and “independent” from each other.
Furthermore, in response to Applicant’s argument that the references fail to show certain features of the invention, it is noted that the features upon which applicant relies (i.e., “separate CLI measurement and reporting configurations may ‘allow for faster and more flexible CLI reporting, which may allow for quicker adaptation at the network side. For example, a gNB may be able to re-allocate resources and/or adapt scheduling to account for dynamic TDD configuration changes of the aggressor UE.’ This flexibility may be achieved, for example, by configuring measurement and reporting independently, to achieve different periodicities or timing relationships between measurement occasions and reporting occasions”) are not recited in the rejected claim(s). Although the claims are interpreted in light of the specification, limitations from the specification are not read into the claims. See In re Van Geuns, 988 F.2d 1181, 26 USPQ2d 1057 (Fed. Cir. 1993).
With respect to the limitation “receiving a resource configuration indicating a time and frequency cross-link interference (CLI) measurement resource”, Karjalainen teaches (“certain embodiments may allow a network to flexibly configure cross-link interference measurement windows defined in frequency and time for a UE” – See [0027]; “In step 701, the user equipment may receive a configuration for determining one or more antenna panel-wise cross-link interference measurements from a network entity configured to receive one or more downlink spatial directions” – See [0055]). The UE receives a CLI measurement resource configuration that specifies time and frequency resources for CLI measurement.
With respect to the limitation “receiving a report configuration indicating time resources of CLI reporting occasions”, Choi teaches (“The BS B 1225 may configure, through higher layer signaling, the user equipment B 1220 to measure SRS CLI, and the user equipment B 1220 may measure the SRS 1210, transmitted by the user equipment A 1200, according to SRS measurement configuration provided by the BS B 1225. The user equipment B 1220 may measure the SRS 1210, and may report a measurement result of the SRS 1210 to the BS B 1225. The BS B 1225 may provide configuration information necessary to report the measurement result, for example, parameters at least representing a transmission resource and transmission time, to the user equipment B 1220 through higher layer signaling” – See [0174]). The UE receives a report configuration indicating a transmission resource/time (CLI reporting occasions) for reporting the CLI measurement results.
Thus, the combined teachings of Karjalainen and Choi teach “receiving a resource configuration indicating a time and frequency cross- link interference (CLI) measurement resource” and “receiving a report configuration indicating time resources of CLI reporting occasions,” as recited in independent claim 1.
While the written description discloses various potentially non-obvious features related performing dynamic re-allocation of resources and schedule adaptation, these features are not currently recited in independent claims 1, 14, and 27-30.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6, 10-13, 19, and 23-26 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Scott M Sciacca whose telephone number is (571)270-1919. The examiner can normally be reached Monday thru Friday, 7:30 A.M. - 5:00 P.M. EST.
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/SCOTT M SCIACCA/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2478
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