DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on April 29, 2025 and August 27, 2025 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Response to Amendment
The amendment filed on June 13, 2025 has been accepted and entered. Accordingly, claims 1-7, 9, 10, 12-14, and 16-17 have been amended. Claims 8 and 11 have been canceled.
Applicant’s amendments to the claims 1-13 to address Section 112 overcome the claim 112 rejection and amendment to claim 17 to address informalities overcome the claim objections previously set forth in the Non-Final Office Action mailed February 13, 2025.
Claims 1-7, 9, 10, 12-20 are pending in this application.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed on June 13, 2025 regarding claim 1 has been fully considered but the arguments are essentially directed towards the newly introduced limitations and they are addressed in this Office Action, below.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1-7, 9, 10, and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over KAKISHIMA et al. (US20200195332A1), hereinafter Kakishima, in view of Matsumura et al. (US 20230189270 A1), hereinafter Matsumura, in view of Tsai et al. (US 20200153581 A1), hereinafter Tsai, and further in view of Pan et al. (US 20240129017 A1), hereinafter Pan.
Regarding Claim 1, Kakishima discloses A user equipment (UE 10 [Fig. 1, ¶0034]) comprising:
at least one processor; (UE 10 includes a processor [Fig. 1, ¶0034])
and at least one memory including computer program code; (UE 10 includes programs stored in memory [Fig. 1, ¶0034])
the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the user equipment at least to:
receive, from a network, a configuration that enables group-based beam reporting; (Kakishima discloses UE receiving an indication (configuration) of UE beam grouping type (group-based) from a network node (TRP 20A). The beam grouping type (Type 1 to Type 6. [¶0054]) may be specified based on e.g., UE capability. [Fig. 7, ¶0095])
receive an indication that the group-based beam reporting is associated with a first transmit receive point, TRP, or a group of TRPs, the group of TRPs comprising at least the first TRP and a second TRP; (Kakishima discloses UE feedback schemes may be designed to report the type of the grouping and details for each beam and the grouping information and BS configuration schemes may be designed to inform the grouping type or types assumed for beam reporting from the UE 10 of the type of the grouping and details for each beam and the grouping information. [¶0048]. In Fig. 2B, the TRP 20 includes multiple panels 200A and 200B and transmits downlink signals using the TBs 11-14 associated with the panel 200A and the TBs 21-24 associated with the panel 200B, indicating single/first TRP [¶0037]. In Fig. 2A, TRPs 20A and 20B may transmit multiple downlink signals using multiple Tx beams (TBs) 11-14 and 21-24, respectively, indicating group of TRPs [¶0036]).
first determine whether at least two beams are received simultaneously at the user equipment (Kakishima discloses the UE transmit all necessary feedback information indicating whether Tx/Rx beam pairs can be used simultaneously [¶0011], and the TRP 20 may be required to specify which beams can be received by the UE 10 simultaneously. [¶0045]. Based on beam grouping types beams in the same group [Type 1/3/5 ¶0056, 0062, 0068] or across different groups [Type 2/4/6, ¶0059, 0065, 0071] can be received simultaneously. For example, in beam grouping “Type 1”, as shown in FIG. 4A, the UE 10 simultaneously receives the TB 11 from the TRP 20A and the TBs 23 and 24 from the TRP 20B using the RB a1 and RB b1, with the TBs 11, 23, and 24 divided into the same group. [¶0056])
wherein if the group-based beam reporting is associated with the first TRP, each beam of the at least two beams is associated with the first TRP (The indication notified from the TRP 20 may be referred to as a TRP configuration, includes “TBs (Tx Beams)”, “RBs (Rx Beams)/beam groups” and Beam grouping type” [¶106]. As shown in FIG. 2B, for example, the TRP 20 (example, first TRP20A) includes multiple panels 200A and 200B and transmits downlink signals using the TBs 11-14 associated with the panel 200A [¶0037], indicates beams from one/first TRP. Based on Fig. 4B, in the beam grouping type “Type 2”, the UE 10 simultaneously receives TBs 11 and 12 that are associated with TRP 20A (first TRP) and may perform the beam reporting, with at least two beams [¶0059])
and if the group-based beam reporting is associated with the group of TRPs, one beam of the at least two beams is associated with the first TRP and at least one other beam of the at least two beams is associated with the second TRP; (Based on Fig. 4A, in the beam grouping type “Type 1”, UE 10 simultaneously receives TB11 from TRP 20A and TBs 23 and 24 from the TRP 20B, TB11 is associated with TRP 20A (first TRP), and TB 23 is associated TRP 20B (second TRP). [Fig. 4A, ¶0056])
and, if so determine, based at least in part on the first determining, to report the at least two beams to the network. (As shown in Fig. 3, at step S103, in response to the UE 10 receiving the TBs from the TRPs 20A and 20B, the UE 10 may perform, to the TRP 20A, beam reporting that indicates beam information generated based on a beam grouping type. In the beam grouping type “Type 1”, the UE 10 may perform the beam reporting, with at least two beams, that indicates beam information as shown in FIG. 4A. [¶0056]. In the beam grouping type “Type 2”, the UE 10 may perform the beam reporting, with at least two beams, that indicates beam information as shown in FIG. 4B. [¶0059].)
wherein the at least one processor and the computer program code are further configured to cause the user equipment to: (UE 10 includes a processor and programs stored in memory [Fig. 1, ¶0034])
determine that at least two beams are not received simultaneously at the user equipment; (Kakishima discloses in FIGS. 2A and 2B, for example, the RBa1 and the RBa2 cannot simultaneously used for reception of the downlink signals. ¶0041. Kakishima illustrates TBs 11, 23, and 24 in group index “1” and TB 12 with group index “2” [¶0056 ] and for an example with Type 1, different TBs (at least two) reported for different groups cannot be received simultaneously at the UE 10. [¶0057]. The UE 10 may perform the beam reporting that indicates beam information as shown in FIG. 4A, with TBs 11/23/24 received simultaneously and TB 12 not simultaneously. [¶0056], indicates at least two of the beams are not received simultaneously)
wherein determining whether at least two beams are received simultaneously comprises performing beam measurements for at least two beams associated with the first TRP or one beam of the at least two beams associated with the first TRP and at least one other beam of the at least two beams associated with the second TRP and (Kakishima discloses based on Fig. 4B, in the beam grouping type “Type 2”, the UE 10 simultaneously receives TBs 11 and 12 that are associated with TRP 20A (first TRP) and may perform the beam reporting, with at least two beams [¶0059]. Based on Fig. 4A, in the beam grouping type “Type 1”, UE 10 simultaneously receives TB11 from TRP 20A and TBs 23 and 24 from the TRP 20B, TB11 is associated with TRP 20A (first TRP), and TB 23 is associated TRP 20B (second TRP). The UE 10 may perform the beam reporting that indicates beam information as shown in FIG. 4A. [Fig. 4A, ¶0056])
determining whether the at least two beams are received simultaneously at the user equipment, (Kakishima discloses the UE transmit all necessary feedback information indicating whether Tx/Rx beam pairs can be used simultaneously [¶0011], and the TRP 20 may be required to specify which beams can be received by the UE 10 simultaneously. [¶0045]. Based on beam grouping types beams in the same group [Type 1/3/5 ¶0056, 0062, 0068] or across different groups [Type 2/4/6, ¶0059, 0065, 0071] can be received simultaneously. For example, in beam grouping “Type 1”, as shown in FIG. 4A, the UE 10 simultaneously receives the TB 11 from the TRP 20A and the TBs 23 and 24 from the TRP 20B using the RB a1 and RB b1, with the TBs 11, 23, and 24 divided into the same group. [¶0056])
the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the user equipment at least to: (UE 10 includes a processor and programs stored in memory [Fig. 1, ¶0034])
receive an indication that group-based beam reporting shall be applied per TRP or across TRPs, (Kakishima discloses that BS configuration schemes may be designed to inform the grouping type and details for each beam and the grouping information. ¶0048. For example, in beam grouping type 1, UE 10 simultaneously receives TBs 23 and 24 from the TRP 20B with the same group index (e.g. , group index “1”) configuration (per TRP) and UE 10 simultaneously receives the TB 11 from the TRP 20A and the TBs 23 and 24 from the TRP 20B with the same group index (e.g. , group index “1”) configuration (across TRP) ¶0056. These configurations illustrate the TRP can indicate the per TRP or across TRP configuration with the grouping type and group index configurations.)
wherein the indication that the group-based beam reporting is associated with a group of TRPs or with a first TRP is received via RRC, MAC CE, or via DCI when the indication is explicit. (Kakishima discloses that TRP 20 may configure the UE 10 to report the UE beam grouping type from a set {1, 2, 3, 4} (Types 1-4) in each reporting slot (¶0103) and the indication that indicates beam grouping type may be transmitted semi-statically (e.g., Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling) or dynamically (e.g., Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) or Downlink Control Information (DCI)).
Though Kakishima discloses performing beam reporting based on the beam grouping type (¶0098, Fig. 7, step s405), Kakishima does not explicitly disclose:
determine to report a strongest beam received at the user equipment;
provide an indication of a beam measurement for the strongest beam and a null indication to the network,
wherein the indication that the group-based beam reporting is associated with the group of TRPs or that the group-based beam reporting is associated with the first TRP comprises a higher layer index,
wherein the beams are identified based on channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS) resources or synchronization/PBCH block (SSB) indexes,
Matsumara, however, discloses:
determine to report a strongest beam received at the user equipment; (Matsumura teaches in Fig. 7, the UE measures CSI-RS signals from TRP #1 and #2 using resources of CSI-RS resource indicator (CRI) #1-1 - #1-4, #2-1 to #2-4 corresponding to different beams. [¶0122]. CSI report of Fig. 5 shows indication for highest measurement value. [Fig. 5, ¶0075-0078]. When the nrofReportedRS is set to 1 (‘n1’ as a value) for an L1-RSRP report, RSRP #1 that is a field with a given number of bits (for example, m bits) indicating L1-RSRP with the highest measurement value is included in the CSI report. [Fig. 5, ¶0077, 0078]) and
provide an indication of a beam measurement for the strongest beam and a null indication to the network, (Matsumura teaches the groupBasedBeamReporting can be used for reporting the best beam of TRP 1 as RSRP #1 and the best beam of TRP 2 as differential RSPF #2. [Fig. 5, ¶0083] CSI report in Fig. 4 includes “reportQuantity” for one of parameters (cri-RSRP, ssb-Index-RSRP, and the like) and the Fig. 4 excerpt shows Null indications. [¶0067-0069])
wherein the indication that the group-based beam reporting is associated with the group of TRPs or that the group-based beam reporting is associated with the first TRP comprises a higher layer index, (Matsumura discloses the group-based beam reporting is configured with M groups and N beam indices on the basis of UE capability. [¶0100, 0101]. M and N may be configured by higher layer parameters on the basis of the number of panels included by the UE, or may be determined on the basis of the number of TRPs (the number of configured TRPs) to perform transmission to the UE. [¶0102, 0103])
wherein the beams are identified based on channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS) resources or synchronization/PBCH block (SSB) indexes, (Matsumura discloses the groupBasedBeamReporting includes different numbers of beam measurement resource IDs (for example, SSBRIs and CRIs) for the measurement results (for example, L1-RSRP) corresponding to respective IDs. [¶0067-0069]. Fig. 2A/2B ¶0053, 0055 discloses information elements CSI-RS resource IDs and SSB index information (“SSB-Index”) to identify the beams.)
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the device of Kakishima with the feature of higher layer index in the beam report configuration and beam identification as taught by Matsumura in order to improve communication throughput by appropriately judging which beam index the UE can simultaneously receive. (Matsumura ¶0006)
Though Kakishima discloses group based beam reporting from multi-TRP (Fig. 4A/4B), Kakishima and Matsumura do not explicitly disclose the multi-DCI:
wherein the user equipment is supported by multi-DCI based multi-TRP transmission and the user equipment is configured with group-based beam reporting,
Tsai, however, discloses:
wherein the user equipment is supported by multi-DCI based multi-TRP transmission and the user equipment is configured with group-based beam reporting, (Tsai discloses UE to perform PDCCH TX/RX with multiple TRPs, a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) can be associated with a search space, which in turn is associated with a CORESET. The CORESET is configured with multiple CCEs. The CCEs for one DCI received by UE 503 comes from multiple TRPs, such as DCI #1 511 from gNB 501 and DCI #2 521 from gNB 502. [Fig. 5, ¶0036]. Fig. 3 illustrates UE 303 performs group-based beam reporting at step 311. The group-based beam reporting measures multiple TRP including gNB 301 and gNB 302. [¶0032]
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the device of Kakishima and Matsumura to support multi-DCI based multi-TRP as taught by Tsai in order to get higher data rate and higher spectral efficiency gains requiring the mobile station to coordinate with multiple transmission points (TRP) for reporting and control information reception. (Tsai, [¶0003])
Though Kakishima discloses group based beam reporting (Fig. 4A/4B/7), Kakishima, Matsumura and Tsai do not explicitly disclose the event-based reporting:
wherein the user equipment is further configured for event-based reporting and the reception of simultaneous beams from a first TRP in the case of per TRP reporting or from a first TRP and a second TRP in the case of across TRP reporting is configured as an event,
Pan, however, discloses:
wherein the user equipment is further configured for event-based reporting and the reception of simultaneous beams from a first TRP in the case of per TRP reporting or from a first TRP and a second TRP in the case of across TRP reporting is configured as an event, (Pan discloses The one or more of the beam measurement information (BMI) or beam related information (BRI) to be reported by the WTRU may be configured by a RRC message, or dynamically signalled by MAC CE. The WTRU may report BMI or BRI in a periodic or aperiodic manner, for example, as configured by a TRP. Event-based or aperiodic beam reporting may be triggered by the WTRU. ¶0199)
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the device of Kakishima, Matsumura and Tsai with the event-based beam reporting feature as taught by Pan in order to reduce signalling/feedback overhead to improve Beam management robustness. (Pan ¶0106)
Regarding Claim 2, Kakishima, Matsumura, Tsai and Pan disclose all of the limitations of claim 1 including the group-based beam reporting with group of TRPs. Kakishima and Tsai further disclose:
wherein if the group-based beam reporting is associated with the group of TRPs, the at least two beams comprise resources which are received at the user equipment using multiple spatial receive filters. (Tsai discloses in FIG. 2 the UE determines one or more than one Rx spatial filters to simultaneously receive CMR/IMR from two TRPs. At step 232, UE 203 determines Rx spatial filters to simultaneously receive CMR/IMR from gNB 201 and gNB 202, the UE determines the Rx spatial filters based on group-based beam reporting. [Fig. 2, ¶0031])
wherein the indication is an implicit principal without an additional higher layer parameter to determine whether group-based beam reporting is per TRP or across TRP. (Kakishima BS configuration schemes may be designed to inform the grouping type and details for each beam and the grouping information. ¶0048. For example, in beam grouping type 1, UE 10 simultaneously receives TBs 23 and 24 from the TRP 20B with the same group index (e.g. , group index “1”) configuration (per TRP) and UE 10 simultaneously receives the TB 11 from the TRP 20A and the TBs 23 and 24 from the TRP 20B with the same group index (e.g. , group index “1”) configuration (across TRP) ¶0056. These configurations illustrates the TRP can indicate the per TRP or across TRP configuration with the grouping type and group index configurations. (without the additional higher layer parameter, indicates implicit principal))
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the device of Kakishima, Matsumura, and Pan to support using multiple spatial receive filters as taught by Tsai in order to get higher data rate and higher spectral efficiency gains requiring the mobile station to coordinate with multiple transmission points (TRP) for reporting and control information reception. (Tsai, [¶0003])
Regarding Claim 3, Kakishima, Matsumura, Tsai and Pan disclose all of the limitations of claim 1. Kakishima further discloses the following limitation:
wherein the at least one processor and the computer program code are further configured to cause the user equipment to: if the group-based beam reporting is associated with the group of TRPs, determine whether the beam of the at least two beams associated with the first TRP is received at a first panel (Kakishima discloses TRPs 20A and 20B may transmit Tx beams (TBs) 11-14 and 21-24, respectively. And the UE 10 includes multiple panels 100A and 100B and receives downlink signals using an RB a1 and an RB a2 associated with the panel 100A and an RB b1 and an RB b2 associated with the panel 100B. [Fig. 2A, 2B, ¶0036]. Kakishima further discloses in the beam grouping type (group based beam reporting) “Type 2”, multiple TBs simultaneously received at the UE 10 may be divided into different groups. As shown in Fig. 4B, the UE 10 may receive the TB 12 and the TB 11 (from first TRP 20A) using at least one of the RB a1 and the RB a2, in the (first) panel 100A. [Fig. 4B, ¶0059])
and the at least one other beam of the at least two beams associated with the second TRP is received at a second panel. (Kakishima discloses the UE 10 may receive the TBs 23 and 24 (from second TRP 20B) using at least one of the RB b1 and the RB b2, in the (second) panel 100B. [Fig. 4B, ¶0059])
Regarding Claim 4, Kakishima, Matsumura, Tsai and Pan disclose all of the limitations of claim 1 including the group-based beam reporting with first TRP. Tsai further discloses:
wherein if the group-based beam reporting is associated with the first TRP, the at least two beams comprise resources which are received at the user equipment using a single spatial receive filter. (Tsai discloses the RX spatial filter information is determined based on a group-based beam reporting procedure performed by the UE [¶0005]. In a single-TRP (transmission points) transmission, for each TRP, beam management procedure is conducted independently. A UE can learn which Rx spatial filter (indicates single) is suitable for receiving each non-zero power (NZP) CSI-reference signal (RS) resource transmitted during beam management procedure. [¶0030])
wherein when the group-based beam reporting is configured to be applied per TRP, the user equipment is configured to only report CSI-RS and SSB resource indicators when those beams are received with a single spatial domain receive filter. (Tsai discloses in a single-TRP transmission, the UE obtains Rx spatial filter information for CSI acquisition by looking up which Rx spatial filter is suitable (UE is either configure with one spatial filter for CSI acquisition, ¶0005) to receive the NZP-CSIRS resource or SSB for beam management linked to the TCI-state-id. ¶0030)
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the device of Kakishima, Matsumura, and Pan to enable determining the Rx spatial filters based on group-based beam reporting as taught by Tsai in order to get higher data rate and higher spectral efficiency gains requiring the mobile station to coordinate with multiple transmission points (TRP) for reporting and control information reception. (Tsai, [¶0003])
Regarding Claim 5, Kakishima, Matsumura, Tsai and Pan disclose all of the limitations of claim 1. Kakishima further discloses the following limitation:
wherein the at least one processor and the computer program code are further configured to cause the user equipment to: if the group-based beam reporting is associated with the first TRP (Kakishima discloses the same TRP 20 (first TRP 20A) can transmit TBs 11-14 (with panel 200A) and the TBs 21-24 (with panel 200B), (instead of two separate TRPs) [Fig. 2B,¶0037]. In the beam grouping type (group-based beam reporting) “Type 2”, the UE 10 may perform the beam reporting that indicates beam information as shown in FIG. 4B. [¶0059])
determine whether the at least two beams associated with the first TRP are received at a given panel of at least two panels of the user equipment. (Kakishima discloses in beam grouping type “Type 2”, multiple TBs simultaneously received at the UE 10 may be divided into different groups. As shown in Fig. 4B, the UE 10 may receive the TB 12 and the TB 11 (from first TRP 20A) using at least one of the RB a1 and the RB a2, in the (first) panel 100A, among the two panels. [Fig. 4B, ¶0059])
Regarding Claim 6, Kakishima, Matsumura, Tsai and Pan disclose all of the limitations of claim 1. Kakishima further discloses the following limitation:
wherein the at least one processor and the computer program code are further configured to cause the user equipment to: provide at least two identifiers from the user equipment to the network, each identifier associated with one of the at least two beams. (Kakishima discloses in the beam reporting from the UE 10, as shown in FIG. 9, “11”, “12”, “23”, and “24” are set in the TB beam index, as the identifier for each beam. [Fig. 9, ¶0108])
Regarding Claim 7, Kakishima, Matsumura, Tsai and Pan disclose all of the limitations of claim 1. Kakishima further discloses the following limitation:
wherein the at least one processor and the computer program code configured to determine report the at least two beams comprises the at least one processor and the computer program code configured to cause the user equipment to provide an indication of a beam measurement for each of the at least two beams. [Kakishima discloses, At step S103, in response to the UE 10 receiving the TBs from the TRPs 20A and 20B, the UE 10 may perform, to the TRP 20A, beam reporting that indicates beam information generated based on a beam grouping type. Furthermore, the beam reporting may be performed as CSI reporting including Rank Indicator (RI), CSI-RS resource indicator (CRI), Precoding Matrix Indicator (PMI), Channel Quality Indicator (CQI), and/or Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), indicates beam measurement. [Fig. 3, ¶0053]
Regarding Claim 9, Kakishima, Matsumura, Tsai and Pan disclose all of the limitations of claim 1. Kakishima further discloses the following limitation:
wherein the at least one processor and the computer program code are configured to cause the user equipment to: associate a beam received at the user equipment with at least one of the first TRP and the second TRP based on the configuration that enables group-based beam reporting. (Based on Fig. 4A, in the beam grouping type (group-based beam reporting) “Type 1”, UE 10 simultaneously receives TB11 from TRP 20A and TBs 23 and 24 from the TRP 20B, TB11 is associated with TRP 20A (first TRP), and TB 23 is associated TRP 20B (second TRP). [Fig. 4A, ¶0056])
Regarding Claim 10, Kakishima, Matsumura, Tsai and Pan disclose all of the limitations of claim 9. Tsai further discloses:
wherein the at least one processor and the computer program code are configured to cause the user equipment to: associate the beam received at the user equipment with at least one of the first TRP and the second TRP based on a higher layer index or a quasi co-location reference. (Tsai discloses UE to perform PDCCH TX/RX with multiple TRPs, a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) can be associated with a search space, which in turn is associated with a CORESET. The CORSET is configured with multiple CCEs. The CCEs for one DCI received by UE 503 comes from multiple TRPs, such as DCI #1 511 from gNB 501 and DCI #2 521 from gNB 502. [Fig. 5, ¶0036]. A CORESET is defined with multiple OFDM symbols, and CCEs residing on a symbol are associated with a quasi-co-location (QCL) assumption. QCL assumptions for different CCE groups can be signaled by MAC-CE and/or RRC signaling (higher layer information). [Fig. 6, ¶0039])
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the device of Kakishima, Matsumura, and Pan to enable determining the Rx spatial filters based on group-based beam reporting as taught by Tsai in order to get higher data rate and higher spectral efficiency gains requiring the mobile station to coordinate with multiple transmission points (TRP) for reporting and control information reception. (Tsai, [¶0003])
Regarding Claim 13, Kakishima, Matsumura, Tsai and Pan disclose all of the limitations of claim 1. Kakishima further discloses the following limitation:
wherein the at least one processor and the computer program code are configured to cause the user equipment to: receive the indication at the user equipment from the network in dynamic signalling. (Kakishima discloses in examples of FIGS. 7 and 8, the indication that indicates beam grouping type may be transmitted semi-statically (e.g., Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling) or dynamically (e.g., Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) or Downlink Control Information (DCI)) [¶0104])
Claims 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over KAKISHIMA et al. (US20200195332A1), hereinafter Kakishima, in view of Matsumura et al. (US 20230189270 A1), hereinafter Matsumura, in view of Tsai et al. (US 20200153581 A1), hereinafter Tsai, in view of Pan et al. (US 20240129017 A1), hereinafter Pan, and further in view of YU et al. (US 20230106244 A1), hereinafter Yu.
Regarding Claim 12, the combination of Kakishima, Matsumura, Tsai and Pan disclose all of the limitations of claim 10. Kakishima and Matsumura further disclose:
wherein when the user equipment is configured to receive multi-TRP transmission two different values of higher layer parameters are configured for the CORESET, and (Matsumura discloses the group-based beam reporting is configured with M groups and N beam indices on the basis of UE capability. [¶0100, 0101]. M and N may be configured by higher layer parameters on the basis of the number of panels included by the UE, or may be determined on the basis of the number of TRPs (the number of configured TRPs) to perform transmission to the UE. [¶0102, 0103])
if the group-based beam reporting is configured, the group-based beam reporting is applied across TRPs. (Kakishima BS configuration schemes may be designed for the UE 10 to simultaneously receive the TB 11 from the TRP 20A and the TBs 23 and 24 from the TRP 20B with the same group index (e.g. , group index “1”) configuration (across TRP) ¶0056. These configurations illustrates the TRP can indicate the across TRP configuration with the grouping type and group index configurations.)
Though Matsumura discloses configuration by higher layer indices for group-based beam reporting (¶0102, 0103), the combination of Kakishima, Matsumura, Tsai and Pan do not specifically disclose the following limitation:
wherein the higher layer index is associated with a CORESET.
wherein a higher layer parameter configured within the CORESET is used as an implicit principal when determining per TRP or across TRP group-based beam reporting,
wherein when the user equipment is configured to receive multi-TRP transmission two different values of higher layer parameters are configured for the CORESET, and
Yu, however, discloses the following limitation:
wherein the higher layer index is associated with a CORESET. (Yu discloses in NR Rel-15/16, a Quasi-Colocated (QCL) assumption for a transmission is indicated via a Transmission Configuration indication (TCI) state. For a PDCCH reception, a CORESET may be configured with a set of candidate TCI states by Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling. [¶0041]. TCI states may be associated with different TRPs. [¶0061] TCI state associated with a CORESET pool index (e.g., CORESETPoollndex) (a higher layer index) of the CORESET, where the CORESETPoolIndex may be used to identify a master CORESET, which may further correspond to a master TRP [¶0103])
wherein a higher layer parameter configured within the CORESET is used as an implicit principal when determining per TRP or across TRP group-based beam reporting, (Yu discloses the implicit configuration of BFD RS(s) may take place when BFD RS(s) is not explicitly configured. Thus, it is in the sense of implicit configuration that term “implicit” is used herein. For the implicit configuration, the UE may determine the BFD RS(s) by including the RS(s) in the RS set(s) indicated by the TCI state(s) for the respective CORESET(s) that the UE uses for monitoring PDCCH. ¶0047, 0103)
wherein when the user equipment is configured to receive multi-TRP transmission two different values of higher layer parameters are configured for the CORESET, and (Yu discloses a CORESET may be configured with a set of candidate TCI states by Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling. [¶0041]. TCI states may be associated with different TRPs. [¶0061])
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the user equipment of Kakishima, Matsumura, Tsai and Pan with the feature of higher layer association with coreset as taught by Yu in order to enable multi-TRP techniques applied for PDSCH for improved reliability and robustness targeted at fulfilling URLLC requirements (Yu, [¶0053])
Claims 14-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over KAKISHIMA et al. (US20200195332A1), hereinafter Kakishima, and in view of Matsumura et al. (US 20230189270 A1), hereinafter Matsumura.
Regarding Claim 14, Kakishima discloses An apparatus comprising:
at least one processor; [TRP 20 includes processor. ¶0032]
and at least one memory including computer program code; [TRP 20 includes programs stored in a memory. ¶0032]
the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to: [TRP 20 includes processor processing or executing data and programs stored in a memory. ¶0032]
provide, to a user equipment from a network, a configuration that enables group-based beam reporting; (Kakishima discloses TRP 20A, at step S402, providing an indication (configuration) of UE beam grouping type (group-based) to UE 10. The beam grouping type (Type 1 to Type 6. [¶0054]) may be specified based on e.g., UE capability. [Fig. 7, ¶0095, 0097])[Examiner Note: to a user equipment from a network” is interpreted as a UE in connection with the apparatus]
provide an indication to the user equipment from the network that the group-based beam reporting is associated with a first transmit receive point, TRP, or a group of TRPs, the group of TRPs comprising at least the first TRP and a second TRP; (Kakishima discloses UE feedback schemes may be designed to report the type of the grouping and details for each beam and the grouping information and BS configuration schemes may be designed to inform the grouping type or types assumed for beam reporting from the UE 10 of the type of the grouping and details for each beam and the grouping information. [¶0048]. In Fig. 2B, the TRP 20 includes multiple panels 200A and 200B and transmits downlink signals using the TBs 11-14 associated with the panel 200A and the TBs 21-24 associated with the panel 200B, indicating single/first TRP [¶0037]. In Fig. 2A, TRPs 20A and 20B may transmit multiple downlink signals using multiple Tx beams (TBs) 11-14 and 21-24, respectively, indicating group of TRPs [¶0036]. For example, in Fig. 7, at step S402, the TRP 20 may transmit an indication that designates a single beam grouping type (e.g., Type 5) to the UE 10. [0097] and associate the TB beam indexes as shown in Fig. 4C. [0068])
and receive reports from the user equipment at the network for at least two beams received simultaneously at the user equipment, (Kakishima discloses the UE transmit all necessary feedback information indicating whether Tx/Rx beam pairs can be used simultaneously [¶0011], and the TRP 20 may be required to specify which beams can be received by the UE 10 simultaneously. [¶0045]. Based on beam grouping types beams in the same group [Type 1/3/5 ¶0056, 0062, 0068] or across different groups [Type 2/4/6, ¶0059, 0065, 0071] can be received simultaneously. For example, in beam grouping “Type 1”, the UE 10 simultaneously receives the TB 11 from the TRP 20A and the TBs 23 and 24 from the TRP 20B and perform the beam reporting that indicates beam information as shown in FIG. 4A. [¶0056])
wherein if the group-based beam reporting is associated with the first TRP, each beam of the at least two beams is associated with the first TRP (The indication notified from the TRP 20 may be referred to as a TRP configuration, includes “TBs(Tx Beams)”, “RBs(Rx Beams)/beam groups” and Beam grouping type” [¶106]. As shown in FIG. 2B, for example, the TRP 20 (example, first TRP20A) includes multiple panels 200A and 200B and transmits downlink signals using the TBs 11-14 associated with the panel 200A [¶0037], indicates beams from one/first TRP. Based on Fig. 4B, in the beam grouping type “Type 2”, the UE 10 simultaneously receives TBs 11 and 12 that are associated with TRP 20A (first TRP) and may perform the beam reporting, with at least two beams [¶0059])
and if the group-based beam reporting is associated with the group of TRPs, one beam of the at least two beams is associated with the first TRP and at least one other beam of the at least two beams is associated with the second TRP. (Based on Fig. 4A, in the beam grouping type “Type 1”, UE 10 simultaneously receives TB11 from TRP 20A and TBs 23 and 24 from the TRP 20B, TB11 is associated with TRP 20A (first TRP), and TB 23 is associated TRP 20B (second TRP). The UE 10 perform the beam reporting that indicates beam information as shown in FIG. 4A. [Fig. 4A, ¶0056])
wherein the indication that the group-based beam reporting is associated with a group of TRPs or with a first TRP is provided via RRC, MAC CE, or via DCI when the indication is explicit. (Kakishima TRP 20 may configure the UE 10 to report the UE beam grouping type from a set {1, 2, 3, 4} (Types 1-4) in each reporting slot (¶0103) and the indication that indicates beam grouping type may be transmitted semi-statically (e.g., Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling) or dynamically (e.g., Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) or Downlink Control Information (DCI)).
Though Kakishima discloses performing beam reporting based on the beam grouping type (¶0098, Fig. 7, step s405), Kakishima does not explicitly disclose:
wherein the beams are identified based on channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS) resources or synchronization/PBCH block (SSB) indexes,
Matsumara, however, discloses:
wherein the beams are identified based on channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS) resources or synchronization/PBCH block (SSB) indexes, (Matsumura discloses the groupBasedBeamReporting includes different numbers of beam measurement resource IDs (for example, SSBRIs and CRIs) for the measurement results (for example, L1-RSRP) corresponding to respective IDs. [¶0067-0069]. Fig. 2A/2B ¶0053, 0055 discloses information elements CSI-RS resource IDs and SSB index information (“SSB-Index”) to identify the beams.)
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the device of Kakishima with the feature of higher layer index in the beam report configuration and beam identification as taught by Matsumura in order to improve communication throughput by appropriately judging which beam index the UE can simultaneously receive. (Matsumura ¶0006)
Regarding Claim 15, Kakishima and Matsumura disclose all of the limitations of claim 14. Kakishima further discloses the following limitation:
wherein the at least one processor and the computer program code are configured to cause the apparatus to: receive at least two identifiers at the network from the user equipment, each identifier associated with one of the at least two beams. (Kakishima discloses in the beam reporting from the UE 10, as shown in FIG. 9, “11”, “12”, “23”, and “24” are set in the TB beam index, as the identifier for each beam. [Fig. 9, ¶0108])
Regarding Claim 16, Kakishima and Matsumura disclose all of the limitations of claim 14. Kakishima and Matsumura further discloses the following limitation:
wherein the at least one processor and the computer program code configured to cause the apparatus to receive reports for the at least two beams comprises the at least one processor and the computer program code configured to cause the apparatus to receive a beam measurement for each of the at least two beams. (Kakishima discloses, At step S103, in response to the UE 10 receiving the TBs from the TRPs 20A and 20B, the UE 10 may perform, to the TRP 20A, beam reporting that indicates beam information generated based on a beam grouping type. Furthermore, the beam reporting may be performed as CSI reporting including Rank Indicator (RI), CSI-RS resource indicator (CRI), Precoding Matrix Indicator (PMI), Channel Quality Indicator (CQI), and/or Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), indicates beam measurement. [Fig. 3, ¶0053])
wherein the beam measurement for a beam comprises an indication of the RSRP for that beam and when a number of reported CRIs is larger than one, differential reporting is used. (Matsumara discloses When the nrofReportedRS greater than 1 is configured for the L1-RSRP report or when the groupBasedBeamReporting is configured to be enabled for the L1-RSRP report, the UE uses a differential L1-RSRP-based report. ¶0078)
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the device of Kakishima with the feature of differential reporting in the beam report configuration as taught by Matsumura in order to improve communication throughput by appropriately judging which beam index the UE can simultaneously receive. (Matsumura ¶0006)
Regarding Claim 17, Kakishima and Matsumura disclose all of the limitations of claim 16. Kakishima further discloses the following limitation:
wherein the at least one processor and the computer program code are configured to cause the apparatus to: in response to receiving the beam measurements from the user equipment at the network, perform at least one of the following: (Kakishima discloses, at step S303 in Fig. 6, in response to the UE 10 receiving the TBs from the TRPs 20A and 20B, in steps S301 and S302, the UE 10 may perform, to the TRP 20A, beam reporting at First Stage. [Fig.6, ¶0081])
provide an indication to the user equipment to enable further group-based beam reporting (Kakishima discloses, at step S304, the TRP 20A may transmit a request for additional (further) beam information (group-based) after the TRP 20A receives the beam reporting at the first stage [Fig.6, ¶0081]),
wherein the further group-based beam reporting is associated with the group of TRPs or the first TRP; (Kakishima discloses, At step S305, the UE 10 may perform beam reporting at a second stage based on reception of the request for the additional beam information. The beam information includes TBs 11 and 12 that are associated with first TRP 20A. [Fig.6, ¶0081])
and modify transmission configuration indicator states associated with a given TRP. (As shown in FIG. 6, at step S304, the TRP 20A may transmit a request for additional beam information (modified transmission configuration) after the TRP 20A receives the beam reporting at the first stage. At step S305, the UE 10 perform beam reporting at a second stage based on reception of the request for the additional (modified) beam information. ¶0081)
Regarding Claim 18, Kakishima and Matsumura disclose all of the limitations of claim 14.
Matsumura further discloses:
wherein the at least one processor and the computer program code are configured to cause the apparatus to: receive from the user equipment at the network an indication of beam measurement for a strongest beam received at the user equipment and a null indication. (Matsumura teaches in Fig. 7, the UE measures CSI-RS signals from TRP #1 and #2 using resources of CRI #1-1 - #1-4, #2-1 to #2-4 corresponding to different beams. [¶0122]. CSI report of Fig. 5 shows indication for highest measurement value. [Fig. 5, ¶0075-0078]. When the nrofReportedRS is set to 1 (‘n1’ as a value) for an L1-RSRP report, RSRP #1 that is a field with a given number of bits (for example, m bits) indicating L1-RSRP with the highest measurement value is included in the CSI report. [Fig. 5, ¶0077, 0078]. Matsumura teaches the groupBasedBeamReporting can be used for reporting the best beam of TRP 1 as RSRP #1 and the best beam of TRP 2 as differential RSPF #2. [Fig. 5, ¶0083] CSI report in Fig. 4 includes “reportQuantity” for one of parameters (cri-RSRP, ssb-Index-RSRP, and the like) and the Fig. 4 excerpt shows Null indications. [¶0067-0069])
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the device of Kakishima with the feature of beam measurement for a strongest beam in the beam report configuration and beam identification as taught by Matsumura in order to improve communication throughput by appropriately judging which beam index the UE can simultaneously receive. (Matsumura ¶0006)
Regarding Claim 19, Kakishima and Matsumura disclose all of the limitations of claim 14. Matsumura further discloses:
wherein the indication that the group-based beam reporting is associated with the group of TRPs or that the group-based beam reporting is associated with the first TRP comprises a higher layer index. (Matsumura discloses the group-based beam reporting is configured with M groups and N beam indices on the basis of UE capability. [¶0100, 0101]. M and N may be configured by higher layer parameters on the basis of the number of panels included by the UE, or may be determined on the basis of the number of TRPs (the number of configured TRPs) to perform transmission to the UE. [¶0102, 0103])
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the device of Kakishima with the feature of higher layer index in the beam report configuration and beam identification as taught by Matsumura in order to improve communication throughput by appropriately judging which beam index the UE can simultaneously receive. (Matsumura ¶0006)
Claims 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over KAKISHIMA et al. (US20200195332A1), hereinafter Kakishima, and in view of Matsumura et al. (US 20230189270 A1), hereinafter Matsumura and further in view of YU et al. (US 20230106244 A1), hereinafter Yu.
Regarding Claim 20, the combination of Kakishima and Matsumura disclose all of the limitations of claim 19. The combination of Kakishima and Matsumura do not specifically disclose the following limitation:
wherein the higher layer index is associated with a CORESET.
Yu, however, discloses the following limitations:
wherein the higher layer index is associated with a CORESET. (Yu discloses in NR Rel-15/16, a Quasi-Colocated (QCL) assumption for a transmission is indicated via a Transmission Configuration indication (TCI) state. For a PDCCH reception, a CORESET may be configured with a set of candidate TCI states by Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling. [¶0041]. TCI states may be associated with different TRPs. [¶0061] TCI state associated with a CORESET pool index (e.g., CORESETPoollndex) (a higher layer index) of the CORESET, where the CORESETPoolIndex may be used to identify a master CORESET, which may further correspond to a master TRP [¶0103])
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the user equipment of Kakishima and Matsumura with the feature of higher layer association with coreset as taught by Yu in order to enable multi-TRP techniques applied for PDSCH for improved reliability and robustness targeted at fulfilling URLLC requirements (Yu, [¶0053])
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MOHAMMED NIAMUL HUDA KHAN whose telephone number is (703)756-1689. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 8AM-5PM.
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