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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 12/23/2026 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
Applicant’s amendment filed on 12/23/2026 has been entered. Independent Claims 1, 14, 30, and 40 have been amended. Dependent claims 2, 9, 14-24, 30, and 34-40 have been amended. No claims have been cancelled. No claims are new and have been entered. Claims 1-40 are still pending in this application.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments filed on 12/23/2026 on pages 13-14 of applicant’s remark regarding Claim 1 under 35 USC § 103. The applicant argues that Cao fails to teach that the TCI state indicates at least one serving cell identifier. However, the TCI state inherently has a TCI state ID associated with the signal, see ¶0183-¶0185, as the mapping has been modified to show that. Thus, the applicant here fails to patentably distinguish the claimed invention of the TCI state indicates at least one serving cell identifier from the teachings of Cao. The applicant’s arguments have been fully considered, but are not persuasive.
Applicant’s arguments filed on 12/23/2026 on pages 15-16 of applicant’s remark regarding Claim 24 under 35 USC § 103. The applicant argues that Cao fails to teach that the TCI state indicates at least one serving cell identifier. However, the TCI state inherently has a TCI state ID associated with the signal, see ¶0183-¶0185, as the mapping has been modified to show that. Thus, the applicant here fails to patentably distinguish the claimed invention of the TCI state indicates at least one serving cell identifier from the teachings of Cao. The applicant’s arguments have been fully considered, but are not persuasive.
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) 1-5, 9-23, 30, 31, 40, 43 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang (Pub. No.: US 20190281587 A1, hereafter “Zhang”) in view of Zhang (Pub. No.: US 20220376880 A1, hereafter “Zhang’880”), and further in view of Cao (Pub. No.: US 20210391899 A1, hereafter “Cao”).
Regarding Claim 1, Claim 14, Claim 30, and Claim 40
Zhang teaches a method and UE comprising
A method of wireless communication (Zhang Fig. 6: 600) performed by a user equipment (UE) (Zhang Fig. 6: 601), comprising:
receiving (Zhang ¶0077: receiving), from the BS (Zhang ¶0077: gNB), downlink data (Zhang ¶0077: PDSCH) or control information using the beam (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim; Zhang teaches the UE receiving data).
Zhang does not explicitly teach
transmitting, to the BS, uplink data or control information using the beam;
However, Zhang’880 teaches
transmitting (Zhang’880 ¶0045: 302 operations can be performed by the UE), to the BS (Zhang’880 Fig. 1: 102), uplink data (Zhang’880 Fig. 3: 302) or control information using the beam (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim; Zhang’880 teaches transmitting a TCI state from the UE to the BS);
It would have been obvious for one skilled in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Zhang by way of Zhang’880, to include an element that teaches transmitting a TCI state from the UE to the BS, as taught by Zhang’880 in Fig. 1, Fig. 3, ¶0045, and ¶0047, to further standardize and optimize usage of massive MIMO networks, with wireless networks as gNBs and UEs often maintain multiple communication beams.
Zhang in view of Zhang’880 does not explicitly teach
receiving from a base station (BS), a joint transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state for a common beam for uplink and downlink communication, wherein the joint TCI state indicates one or more reference signals providing one or more properties of the common beam and at least one serving cell identifier;
However, Cao teaches
receiving (Cao ¶0233: TCI state) from a base station (BS) (Cao Fig. 19B: from BS to UE), a joint transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state (Cao ¶0233: TCI state) for a common beam (Cao ¶0233: same beam direction) for uplink (Cao ¶0233: beam used by the UE) and downlink communication (Cao ¶0233: source reference signal), wherein the joint TCI state indicates one or more reference signals providing one or more properties of the common beam (Cao ¶0233: reference signal) and at least one serving cell identifier (Cao ¶0183-¶0185: TCI state ID , examiner’s note, the base station has TCI state generation that can automatically have the TCI state ID in the message; Cao teaches a UE receiving a TCI state for a QCL relationship, and the TCI containing a reference signal to be used for beam direction, and a TCI state ID);
It would have been obvious for one skilled in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Zhang in view of Zhang’880 by way of Cao, to include an element that teaches a UE receiving a TCI state for a QCL relationship, and the TCI containing a reference signal to be used for beam direction, and a TCI state ID, as taught by Cao in Fig. 19B and ¶0183-0185 and ¶0233, to reduce pathloss in higher frequency channels, due to communicating with a wider range of UEs with a wider beam spreading by matching the angle of departure compared to the angle of arrival from the BS to the UE, respectively.
Claim 14 differs by the following limitation, which is also taught by the prior art,
Zhang does not explicitly teach
a first interface configured to obtain a transmission configuration indicator (TCI) for a beam,
a second interface configured to output uplink
However, Zhang’880 teaches
a first interface configured to obtain a transmission configuration indicator (TCI) for a beam (Zhang’880 Fig. 3: 302),
a second interface configured to output uplink (Zhang’880 Fig. 3: 308; Zhang’880 teaches transmitting a TCI state from the UE to the BS and the UE receiving control channels)
It would have been obvious for one skilled in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Zhang by way of Zhang’880, to include an element that teaches transmitting a TCI state from the UE to the BS and the UE receiving control channels, as taught by Zhang’880 in Fig. 3, to further standardize and optimize usage of massive MIMO networks, with wireless networks as gNBs and UEs often maintain multiple communication beams.
Claim 30 differs by the following limitation, which is also taught by the prior art, Zhang teaches
receiving a communication (Zhang ¶0126: Nsmf service-based interface) from a non-serving neighbor cell (Zhang ¶0126: another SMF, e.g. a roaming scenario; Zhang teaches the UE communicating with another cell);
Zhang does not explicitly teach
wherein the uplink TCI state indicates one or more reference signals providing one or more properties of the common beam and at least one cell identifier associated with at least one of the one or more reference signals.
However, Cao teaches
wherein the uplink TCI state (Cao ¶0233: TCI state) indicates one or more reference signals (Cao ¶0233: reference signal) providing one or more properties of the common beam (Cao ¶0233: reference signal) and at least one cell identifier associated with at least one of the one or more reference signals (Cao ¶0233: NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceID or SSB_Index; Cao teaches a TCI that contains an intermediate reference signal that contains NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceID or SSB_Index to act as an ID).
It would have been obvious for one skilled in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Zhang in view of Zhang’880 by way of Cao, to include an element that teaches a TCI that contains an intermediate reference signal that contains NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceID or SSB_Index to act as an ID, as taught by Cao in Fig. 19B and ¶0233, to reduce pathloss in higher frequency channels, due to communicating with a wider range of UEs with a wider beam spreading by matching the angle of departure compared to the angle of arrival from the BS to the UE, respectively.
Claim 40 differs by the following limitation, which is also taught by the prior art,
Zhang teaches
a processing system (Zhang Fig. 8A: 805; Zhang teaches containing a processor)
Regarding Claim 2
Zhang in view of Zhang’880 and further in view of Cao teaches the method as explained above in Claim 1. Zhang further discloses
wherein the joint TCI state includes a TCI state identifier (Zhang ¶0032: TCI-states configurations; Zhang teaches TCI state parameters for configuring a quasi co-location relationship).
Regarding Claim 3
Zhang in view of Zhang’880 and further in view of Cao teaches the method as explained above in Claim 2. Zhang further discloses
wherein the identifier is in a field (Zhang ¶0076: MAC layer for preconfigured TCI states or beans) for common beam configurations (Zhang ¶0077: beam control information), or the identifier is in a field shared between common beam configurations (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim), downlink beam configurations (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim), and uplink beam configurations (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim; Zhang teaches a MAC layer for beam control information).
Regarding Claim 4
Zhang in view of Zhang’880 and further in view of Cao teaches the method as explained above in Claim 1. Zhang further discloses
wherein the one or more reference signals (Zhang ¶0080: additional downlink reference signals) include at least one of: a synchronization signal (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim), a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) (Zhang ¶0080: CSI-RS), a sounding reference signal (SRS) (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim), a positioning reference signal (PRS) (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim), a physical random access channel (PRACH) signal (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim), a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim), or a combination thereof (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim; Zhang teaches a downlink reference signal with a CSI-RS).
Regarding Claim 5
Zhang in view of Zhang’880 and further in view of Cao teaches the method as explained above in Claim 1. Zhang further discloses
wherein the one or more properties for the common beam (Zhang ¶0032: TCI-state) include at least one of: a Doppler shift (Zhang ¶0032: doppler shift), a Doppler spread (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim), an average delay (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim), a delay spread (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim), a spatial reception filter (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim), spatial relation information for transmission (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim), or a combination thereof (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim; Zhang teaches a TCI state with a doppler shift segment).
Regarding Claim 9
Zhang in view of Zhang’880 and further in view of Cao teaches the method as explained above in Claim 1. Zhang further discloses
wherein the joint TCI state further (Zhang ¶0034: TCI-state) indicates one or more identifiers of one or more antenna panels associated with the UE (Zhang ¶0034: antenna port quasi co-location; Zhang teaches a TCI relating to the antenna port quasi co-location).
Regarding Claim 10
Zhang in view of Zhang’880 and further in view of Cao teaches the method and UE as explained above in Claim 9. Zhang further discloses
wherein the one or more identifiers (Zhang ¶0022: TCI) include at least one identifier associated with downlink communications (Zhang ¶0022: Rx beam) and at least one identifier associated with uplink communications (Zhang ¶0022: Tx beam), or the one or more identifiers include at least one identifier associated with both downlink communications and uplink communications (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim; Zhang teaches a TCI relating to Tx and Rx beams).
Regarding Claim 11
Zhang in view of Zhang’880 and further in view of Cao teaches the method and UE as explained above in Claim 9. Zhang further discloses
wherein the one or more identifiers (Zhang ¶0034: TCI-state) include at least one of: an identifier of an antenna port group (Zhang ¶0034: antenna port quasi co-location), or an identifier of a beam group (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim; Zhang teaches a TCI relating to the antenna port quasi co-location).
Regarding Claim 12 and Claim 18
Zhang in view of Zhang’880 and further in view of Cao teaches the method and UE as explained above in Claim 9. Zhang further discloses
wherein the one or more antenna panels include a plurality of antenna panels (Zhang Fig. 9: 911), each panel using a different analog beam (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim), uplink power control parameter (Zhang ¶0061: measurement results, e.g. power values), uplink timing advance parameter (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim), or a combination thereof (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim; Zhang teaches a plurality of antennas where there’s a power control parameter).
Regarding Claim 13 and Claim 17
Zhang in view of Zhang’880 and further in view of Cao teaches the method and UE as explained above in Claim 9. Zhang further discloses
wherein the joint TCI state indicates a plurality of beams (Zhang ¶0060: multiple beams of a cell), each beam being associated with different identifiers of one or more antenna panels associated with the UE (Zhang ¶0061: measurements can configure RSRP, RSRQ, and/or SINR as a quality; Zhang teaches multiple measurements relating to beam quality).
Zhang in view of Zhang’880 does not explicitly teach
including the common beam used for both uplink and downlink communication
However, Cao teaches
including the common beam (Cao ¶0233: same beam direction) used for both uplink (Cao ¶0233: beam used by the UE) and downlink communication (Cao ¶0233: source reference signal; Cao teaches a common beam being used in both directions from a BS to a UE and vice versa)
It would have been obvious for one skilled in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Zhang in view of Zhang’880 by way of Cao, to include an element that teaches a common beam being used in both directions from a BS to a UE and vice versa, as taught by Cao in ¶0233, to reduce pathloss in higher frequency channels, due to communicating with a wider range of UEs with a wider beam spreading by matching the angle of departure compared to the angle of arrival from the BS to the UE, respectively.
Regarding Claim 15
Zhang in view of Zhang’880 and further in view of Cao teaches the UE as explained above in Claim 14. Zhang further discloses
wherein at least one of the one or more reference signals provides at least two properties for the common beam (Zhang ¶0061: measurements can configure RSRP, RSRQ, and/or SINR as a quality; Zhang teaches multiple measurements relating to beam quality).
Regarding Claim 16
Zhang in view of Zhang’880 and further in view of Cao teaches the UE as explained above in Claim 14. Zhang further discloses
wherein the joint TCI state (Zhang ¶0077: control information) further indicates, at least one bandwidth part (BWP) identifier (Zhang ¶0077: bandwidth) associated with at least one of the one or more reference signals (Zhang ¶0077: for a scheduled PDSCH; Zhang teaches the control information containing bandwidth information and reference signal information for a future signal).
Regarding Claim 19
Zhang in view of Zhang’880 and further in view of Cao teaches the UE as explained above in Claim 18. Zhang further discloses
wherein the one or more power control parameters (Zhang Fig. 11: 1101) include at least one of: a pathloss reference signal (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim), a nominal power parameter (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim), a pathloss scaling factor (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim), a close-loop index (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim), an identifier of a power control group (Zhang ¶0192: power control), or a combination thereof (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim; Zhang teaches a communication with power control information).
Regarding Claim 20
Zhang in view of Zhang’880 and further in view of Cao teaches the UE as explained above in Claim 18. Zhang does not explicitly state
wherein the joint TCI state indicates a plurality of beams, including the common beam used for both uplink and downlink communication, each beam sharing the one or more power control parameters or using different power control parameters.
However, Zhang’880 teaches
wherein the TCI (Zhang’880 ¶0051: TCI) indicates a plurality of beams (Zhang’880 ¶0051: communication beams), each beam sharing the one or more power control parameters (Zhang’880 ¶0051: RSRP, e.g., reference signal received power measurements) or using different power control parameters (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim; Zhang’880 teaches a TCI relating to communication beams containing RSRP).
It would have been obvious for one skilled in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Zhang by way of Zhang’880, to include an element that teaches a TCI relating to communication beams containing RSRP, as taught by Zhang’880 in ¶0051, to further standardize and optimize usage of massive MIMO networks, with wireless networks as gNBs and UEs often maintain multiple communication beams.
Zhang in view of Zhang’880 does not explicitly teach
including the common beam used for both uplink and downlink communication
However, Cao teaches
including the common beam (Cao ¶0233: same beam direction) used for both uplink (Cao ¶0233: beam used by the UE) and downlink communication (Cao ¶0233: source reference signal; Cao teaches a common beam being used in both directions from a BS to a UE and vice versa)
It would have been obvious for one skilled in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Zhang in view of Zhang’880 by way of Cao, to include an element that teaches a common beam being used in both directions from a BS to a UE and vice versa, as taught by Cao in ¶0233, to reduce pathloss in higher frequency channels, due to communicating with a wider range of UEs with a wider beam spreading by matching the angle of departure compared to the angle of arrival from the BS to the UE, respectively.
Regarding Claim 21
Zhang in view of Zhang’880 and further in view of Cao teaches the UE as explained above in Claim 14. Zhang does not explicitly state
wherein the joint TCI state further indicates one or more codebook or non-codebook parameters to use when transmitting.
However, Zhang’880 teaches
wherein the joint TCI state (Zhang’880 ¶0052: TCI) further indicates one or more codebook (Zhang’880 ¶0052: codebook communication) or non-codebook parameters to use when transmitting (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim; Zhang’880 teaches the TCI further indicating codebook communication).
It would have been obvious for one skilled in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Zhang by way of Zhang’880, to include an element that teaches the TCI further indicating codebook communication, as taught by Zhang’880 in ¶0052, to further standardize and optimize usage of massive MIMO networks, with wireless networks as gNBs and UEs often maintain multiple communication beams.
Regarding Claim 22
Zhang in view of Zhang’880 and further in view of Cao teaches the UE as explained above in Claim 21. Zhang does not explicitly state
wherein the one or more codebook or non-codebook parameters include at least one of: an SRS resource indicator (SRI), a precoding matrix indicator (PMI), a rank indicator (RI), or a combination thereof.
However, Zhang’880 teaches
wherein the one or more codebook (Zhang’880 ¶0052: codebook communication) or non-codebook parameters (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim) include at least one of: an SRS resource indicator (SRI) (Zhang’880 ¶0052: srs-ResourceIndictor field), a precoding matrix indicator (PMI) (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim), a rank indicator (RI) (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim), or a combination thereof (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim; Zhang’880 teaches the codebook containing an SRS indicator).
It would have been obvious for one skilled in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Zhang by way of Zhang’880, to include an element that teaches the codebook containing an SRS indicator, as taught by Zhang’880 in ¶0052, to further standardize and optimize usage of massive MIMO networks, with wireless networks as gNBs and UEs often maintain multiple communication beams.
Regarding Claim 23
Zhang in view of Zhang’880 and further in view of Cao teaches the UE as explained above in Claim 21. Zhang does not explicitly state
wherein the joint TCI state indicates a plurality of beams, including the common beam used for both uplink and downlink communication, each beam using different codebook or non-codebook parameters.
However, Zhang’880 teaches
wherein the joint TCI state (Zhang’880 ¶0052: TCI) indicates a plurality of beams (Zhang’880 ¶0052: beam determination procedures), including the common beam used for both uplink and downlink communication, each beam using different codebook (Zhang’880 ¶0052: M-TCI states for downlink and N-TCI states for uplink beams) or non-codebook parameters (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim; Zhang’880 teaches a different TCI for different beams).
It would have been obvious for one skilled in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Zhang by way of Zhang’880, to include an element that teaches a different TCI for different beams, as taught by Zhang’880 in ¶0052, to further standardize and optimize usage of massive MIMO networks, with wireless networks as gNBs and UEs often maintain multiple communication beams.
Zhang in view of Zhang’880 does not explicitly teach
including the common beam used for both uplink and downlink communication
However, Cao teaches
including the common beam (Cao ¶0233: same beam direction) used for both uplink (Cao ¶0233: beam used by the UE) and downlink communication (Cao ¶0233: source reference signal; Cao teaches a common beam being used in both directions from a BS to a UE and vice versa)
It would have been obvious for one skilled in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Zhang in view of Zhang’880 by way of Cao, to include an element that teaches a common beam being used in both directions from a BS to a UE and vice versa, as taught by Cao in ¶0233, to reduce pathloss in higher frequency channels, due to communicating with a wider range of UEs with a wider beam spreading by matching the angle of departure compared to the angle of arrival from the BS to the UE, respectively.
Regarding Claim 31
Zhang in view of Zhang’880 and further in view of Cao teaches the method as explained above in Claim 30. Zhang does not explicitly state
wherein the communication is a reference signal or a physical channel communication.
However, Zhang’880 teaches
wherein the communication (Zhang’880 ¶0052: TCI generated codebook) is a reference signal (Zhang’880 ¶0062: TCI states can indicate a reference signal) or a physical channel communication (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim; Zhang’880 teaches a TCI generated codebook using a reference signal).
It would have been obvious for one skilled in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Zhang by way of Zhang’880, to include an element that teaches a TCI generated codebook using a reference signal, as taught by Zhang’880 in ¶0052 and ¶0062, to further standardize and optimize usage of massive MIMO networks, with wireless networks as gNBs and UEs often maintain multiple communication beams.
Claim(s) 6-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang (Pub. No.: US 20190281587 A1, hereafter “Zhang”) in view of Zhang (Pub. No.: US 20220376880 A1, hereafter “Zhang’880”), further in view of Cao (Pub. No.: US 20210391899 A1, hereafter “Cao”), and even further in view of Go (Pub. No.: US 20220239440 A1, hereafter “Go”).
Regarding Claim 6
Zhang in view of Zhang’880 and further in view of Cao teaches the method as explained above in Claim 1. Zhang in view of Zhang’880 and further in view of Cao fails to explicitly teach
wherein the joint TCI state further indicates one or more timing advance (TA) parameters to use when transmitting.
However, Go teaches
wherein the TCI (Go ¶0536: TCI state) further indicates one or more timing advance (TA) parameters to use when transmitting (Go ¶0536: TA for each panel ID; Go teaches the TCI state being tied with a TA parameter).
It would have been obvious for one skilled in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Zhang by way of Zhang’880 and further in view of Cao, and even further modified by Go to include an element that teaches the TCI state being tied with a TA parameter, as taught by Go in ¶0536, to further standardize and optimize usage of uplink transmission configurations and increasing the flexibility of the operational capacity of a UE.
Regarding Claim 7
Zhang in view of Zhang’880, further in view of Cao, and even further in view of Go teaches the method as explained above in Claim 6. Zhang in view of Zhang’880, and further in view of Cao, does not explicitly teach
wherein the one or more TA parameters include at least one of: a TA value, an identifier of a TA group, or a combination thereof
However, Go teaches
wherein the one or more TA parameters (Go ¶0536: TA) include at least one of: a TA value (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim), an identifier of a TA group (Go ¶0536: TA panel ID), or a combination thereof (Go ¶0053: plurality of IDs for a plurality of panels; Go teaches a TA parameter for a panel ID).
It would have been obvious for one skilled in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Zhang by way of Zhang’880, and further in view of Cao, and even further modified by Go to include an element that teaches a TA parameter for a panel ID, as taught by Go in ¶0536, to further standardize and optimize usage of uplink transmission configurations and increasing the flexibility of the operational capacity of a UE.
Regarding Claim 8
Zhang in view of Zhang’880, further in view of Cao, and even further in view of Go teaches the method as explained above in Claim 6. Cao teaches
including the common beam (Cao ¶0233: same beam direction) used for both uplink (Cao ¶0233: beam used by the UE) and downlink communication (Cao ¶0233: source reference signal; Cao teaches a common beam being used in both directions from a BS to a UE and vice versa)
It would have been obvious for one skilled in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Zhang in view of Zhang’880 by way of Cao, to include an element that teaches a common beam being used in both directions from a BS to a UE and vice versa, as taught by Cao in ¶0233, to reduce pathloss in higher frequency channels, due to communicating with a wider range of UEs with a wider beam spreading by matching the angle of departure compared to the angle of arrival from the BS to the UE, respectively.
Zhang in view of Zhang’880, further in view of Cao does not explicitly teach
wherein the joint TCI state indicates a plurality of beams, each beam sharing the one or more TA parameters or using different TA parameters
However, Go teaches
wherein the joint TCI state indicates a plurality of beams (Go ¶0536: TCI state), each beam sharing the one or more TA parameters (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim) or using different TA parameters (Go ¶0536: PTRS; Go teaches a TCI state that uses PTRS related to the transmission of the uplink signal and the panel ID).
It would have been obvious for one skilled in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Zhang by way of Zhang’880, further in view of Cao, and even further modified by Go to include an element that teaches a TCI state that uses PTRS related to the transmission of the uplink signal and the panel ID, as taught by Go in ¶0536, to further standardize and optimize usage of uplink transmission configurations and increasing the flexibility of the operational capacity of a UE.
Claim(s) 32, 33, 35, 36, 41, 42 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang (Pub. No.: US 20190281587 A1, hereafter “Zhang”) in view of Zhang (Pub. No.: US 20220376880 A1, hereafter “Zhang’880”), further in view of Cao (Pub. No.: US 20210391899 A1, hereafter “Cao”), and further in view of Matsumura (Pub. No.: US 20240032060 A1, hereafter “Matsumura”).
Regarding Claim 32
Zhang in view of Zhang’880 and further in view of Cao teaches the method and the system as explained above in Claim 30. Cao teaches
including the common beam (Cao ¶0233: same beam direction) used for both uplink (Cao ¶0233: beam used by the UE) and downlink communication (Cao ¶0233: source reference signal; Cao teaches a common beam being used in both directions from a BS to a UE and vice versa)
It would have been obvious for one skilled in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Zhang in view of Zhang’880 by way of Cao, to include an element that teaches a common beam being used in both directions from a BS to a UE and vice versa, as taught by Cao in ¶0233, to reduce pathloss in higher frequency channels, due to communicating with a wider range of UEs with a wider beam spreading by matching the angle of departure compared to the angle of arrival from the BS to the UE, respectively.
Zhang in view of Zhang’880 and further in view of Cao does not explicitly teach
determining a common beam for downlink reception and uplink transmission, wherein the uplink beam is the common beam used for both uplink and downlink communication, based on the joint downlink and uplink TCI state.
However, Matsumura teaches
determining a common beam (Matsumura ¶0129: common beam) for downlink reception (Matsumura ¶0129: DL) and uplink transmission (Matsumura ¶0129: UL), based on the joint downlink (Matsumura ¶0129: DL) and uplink TCI state (Matsumura ¶0129: TCI state; Matsumura teaches a common beam for downlink and uplink reception based on the TCI state).
It would have been obvious for one skilled in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Zhang by way of Zhang’880, further in view of Cao, and even further with Matsumura to include an element that teaches a common beam for downlink and uplink reception based on the TCI state, as taught by Matsumura in ¶0129, to further standardize and optimize usage of massive MIMO networks, with wireless networks as gNBs and UEs often maintain multiple communication beams.
Regarding Claim 33
Zhang in view of Zhang’880, further in view of Cao, and even further Matsumura teaches the method and UE as explained above in Claim 30. Zhang in view of Zhang’880 and further in view of Cao does not explicitly state
wherein the common beam is dynamically configured using at least one of a radio resource control (RRC) communication, a medium access control (MAC) control element (MAC-CE), or downlink control information (DCI).
However, Matsumura teaches
wherein the common beam (Matsumura ¶0129: common beam) is dynamically configured (Matsumura ¶0129: beam management) using at least one of a radio resource control (RRC) communication (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim), a medium access control (MAC) control element (MAC-CE) (Matsumura ¶0129: MAC-CE), or downlink control information (DCI) (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim; Matsumura teaches common beam management with a MAC-CE).
It would have been obvious for one skilled in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Zhang by way of Zhang’880, further in view of Cao, and even further with Matsumura to include an element that teaches common beam management with a MAC-CE, as taught by Matsumura in ¶0129, to further standardize and optimize usage of massive MIMO networks, with wireless networks as gNBs and UEs often maintain multiple communication beams.
Claim(s) 24, 34, 37, 38 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being anticipated by Laddu (Pub.: No.: US 20230254741 A1, hereafter “Laddu”) in view of Cao (Pub. No.: US 20210391899 A1, hereafter “Cao”).
Regarding Claim 24 and Claim 34
Laddu teaches a method and UE comprising
receiving a communication (Laddu Fig. 2: 220) from a non-serving neighbor cell (Laddu Fig. 2: 120c); and determining a parameter associated with a joint transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state (Laddu ¶0074: TCI states) based on the received communication from the non-serving neighbor cell (Laddu ¶0074: step 220, TRP 120c transmits an indication of another primary set of TCI states associated with a third TRP; Laddu teaches a UE receiving communication from a non-serving cell, and generating a TCI state based off of said communication),
Laddu does not explicitly teach
wherein the joint TCI state indicates one or more reference signals providing properties for both downlink and uplink communication using a common beam and at least one cell identifier associated with at least one of the one or more reference signals.
However, Cao teaches
wherein the joint TCI state (Cao ¶0233: TCI state) indicates one or more reference signals (Cao ¶0233: reference signal) providing properties for both downlink (Cao ¶0233: source reference signal) and uplink (Cao ¶0233: beam used by the UE) communication using a common beam (Cao ¶0233: same beam direction) and at least one cell identifier associated with at least one of the one or more reference signals (Cao ¶0183-¶0185: TCI state ID , examiner’s note, the base station has TCI state generation that can automatically have the TCI state ID in the message; Cao teaches a TCI state containing a QCL relationship with multiple resources for receiving and sending a signal from a UE to a BS with the same beam direction and a cell identifier associated with the reference signal).
It would have been obvious for one skilled in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Zhang in view of Zhang’880 by way of Cao, to include an element that teaches a TCI state containing a QCL relationship with multiple resources for receiving and sending a signal from a UE to a BS with the same beam direction and a cell identifier associated with the reference signal, as taught by Cao in ¶0233, to reduce pathloss in higher frequency channels, due to communicating with a wider range of UEs with a wider beam spreading by matching the angle of departure compared to the angle of arrival from the BS to the UE, respectively.
Claim 34 differs by the following limitation, which is also taught by the prior art,
an interface configured to obtain a communication from a non-serving neighbor cell (Laddu ¶0047: UE connected to TRPs via air interface using beams);
Regarding Claim 37
Laddu in view of Cao teaches the UE as explained above in Claim 34. Laddu further discloses
wherein the communication (Laddu ¶0075: step 230 contains multi-DCI based multi-TRP operations) includes at least one of: a synchronization signal block (SSB) (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim), a channel state information (CSI) reference signal (CSI-RS) (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim), a positioning reference signal (PRS) (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim), a sounding reference signal (SRS) (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim), a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) (Laddu ¶0071: downlink control information and DCI), a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim), a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim), a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim), or a physical random access channel (PRACH) (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim; Laddu teaches the UE receiving information of a mix of DCI and PDCCH).
Regarding Claim 38
Laddu in view of Cao teaches the UE as explained above in Claim 34. Laddu further teaches
Wherein the non-serving neighbor cell (Laddu ¶0094: for inter-cell mobility) is associated with a cell identifier corresponding to a physical cell identifier (Laddu ¶0094: physical cell identifier) or another type of cell identifier (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim; Laddu teaches a physical cell identifier that includes the non-serving cells).
Claim(s) 25-27 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Laddu (Pub.: No.: US 20230254741 A1, hereafter “Laddu”), in view of Cao (Pub. No.: US 20210391899 A1, hereafter “Cao”), in further view of Zhang (Pub. No.: US 20220376880 A1, hereafter “Zhang’880”).
Regarding Claim 25
Laddu in view of Cao teaches the UE as explained above in Claim 24. Laddu in view of Cao does not explicitly state
wherein the parameter is a quasi-co-location (QCL) parameter or a spatial relationship parameter.
However, Zhang’880 teaches
wherein the parameter (Zhang’880 ¶0062: TCI) is a quasi-co-location (QCL) parameter (Zhang’880 ¶0062: QCL relationships) or a spatial relationship parameter (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim; Zhang’880 teaches a TCI relating to a QCL relationship).
It would have been obvious for one skilled in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Laddu in view of Cao, with Zhang’880 to include an element that teaches a TCI relating to a QCL relationship, as taught by Zhang’880 in ¶0062, to further standardize and optimize usage of massive MIMO networks, with wireless networks as gNBs and UEs often maintain multiple communication beams.
Regarding Claim 26
Laddu in view of Cao teaches the method as explained above in Claim 25. Laddu in view of Cao does not explicitly state
wherein the parameter is a downlink QCL parameter or is associated with uplink spatial relationship information.
However, Zhang’880 teaches
wherein the parameter (Zhang’880 ¶0062: TCI) is a downlink QCL parameter (Zhang’880 ¶0062: QCL-TypeD relationships between two or more downlink references) or is associated with uplink spatial relationship information (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim; Zhang’880 teaches a relationship between TCI and a downlink QCL parameter).
It would have been obvious for one skilled in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Laddu in view of Cao, by way of Zhang’880, to include an element that teaches a relationship between TCI and a downlink QCL parameter, as taught by Zhang’880 in ¶0062, to further standardize and optimize usage of massive MIMO networks, with wireless networks as gNBs and UEs often maintain multiple communication beams.
Regarding Claim 27
Laddu in view of Cao teaches the method as explained above in Claim 24. Laddu in view of Cao does not explicitly state
wherein the communication is a reference signal or a physical channel communication.
However, Zhang’880 teaches
wherein the communication (Zhang’880 ¶0052: TCI generated codebook) is a reference signal (Zhang’880 ¶0062: TCI states can indicate a reference signal) or a physical channel communication (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim; Zhang’880 teaches a TCI generated codebook using a reference signal).
It would have been obvious for one skilled in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Laddu, in view of Cao, by way of Zhang’880, to include an element that teaches a TCI generated codebook using a reference signal, as taught by Zhang’880 in ¶0052 and ¶0062, to further standardize and optimize usage of massive MIMO networks, with wireless networks as gNBs and UEs often maintain multiple communication beams.
Claim(s) 28, 29, 25, 26 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Laddu (Pub.: No.: US 20230254741 A1, hereafter “Laddu”), in view of Cao (Pub. No.: US 20210391899 A1, hereafter “Cao”), further in view of Matsumura (Pub. No.: US 20240032060 A1, hereafter “Matsumura”).
Regarding Claim 28 and Claim 35
Laddu in view of Cao teaches the method and the UE as explained above in Claim 24. Laddu in view of Cao does not explicitly state
determining a common beam for downlink reception and uplink transmission based on the joint downlink and uplink TCI state.
However, Matsumura teaches
determining the common beam (Matsumura ¶0129: common beam) for downlink reception (Matsumura ¶0129: DL) and uplink transmission (Matsumura ¶0129: UL) based on the TCI state (Matsumura ¶0129: TCI state; Matsumura teaches a common beam for downlink and uplink reception based on the TCI state).
It would have been obvious for one skilled in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Laddu, in view of Cao, with Matsumura to include an element that teaches a common beam for downlink and uplink reception based on the TCI state, as taught by Matsumura in ¶0129, to further standardize and optimize usage of massive MIMO networks, with wireless networks as gNBs and UEs often maintain multiple communication beams.
Regarding Claim 29 and Claim 36
Laddu in view of Cao, further in view of Matsumura teaches the method and the UE as explained above in Claim 28. Laddu in view of Cao does not explicitly state
wherein the common beam is dynamically configured using at least one of a radio resource control (RRC) communication, a medium access control (MAC) control element (MAC-CE), or downlink control information (DCI).
However, Matsumura teaches
wherein the common beam (Matsumura ¶0129: common beam) is dynamically configured (Matsumura ¶0129: beam management) using at least one of a radio resource control (RRC) communication (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim), a medium access control (MAC) control element (MAC-CE) (Matsumura ¶0129: MAC-CE), or downlink control information (DCI) (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim; Matsumura teaches common beam management with a MAC-CE).
It would have been obvious for one skilled in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Laddu, in view of Cao, with Matsumura to include an element that teaches common beam management with a MAC-CE, as taught by Matsumura in ¶0129, to further standardize and optimize usage of massive MIMO networks, with wireless networks as gNBs and UEs often maintain multiple communication beams.
Claim(s) 39 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Laddu (Pub.: No.: US 20230254741 A1, hereafter “Laddu”), in view of Cao (Pub. No.: US 20210391899 A1, hereafter “Cao”), and further in view of Kim (Pub. No.: US 20120188959 A1, hereafter “Zhang’959”),
Regarding Claim 39
Laddu in view of Cao teaches the method as explained above in Claim 38. Laddu in view of Cao does not explicitly teach
wherein the cell identifier is configured for each possible communication in the joint TCI state
However, Zhang’959 teaches
wherein the cell identifier (Zhang’959 ¶0067: PCI) is configured for each possible communication in the joint TCI state (Zhang’959 ¶0067: PCI according to uplink component carriers; Zhang’959 teaches a PCI corresponding to a joint uplink and downlink state).
It would have been obvious for one skilled in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Laddu, in view of Cao, by way of Zhang’959 to include an element that teaches a PCI corresponding to a joint uplink and downlink state, as taught by Zhang’959 in ¶0067, to further improve performance based on the PCI from downlink and uplink component carriers, and reduce ambiguousness or confusion.
Conclusion
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/JUSTIN MICHAEL WHITAKER/Examiner, Art Unit 2415
/Sudesh M. Patidar/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2415
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