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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 March 20, 2026 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1, 4-15, 18-28, 58 and 87-91 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Regarding the independent claims the new secondary reference Kim discloses PCI determination using SSB where the SSBs are related to TCI and QCL.
Regarding the new claims Kim also discloses L1 measurements and Hakola discloses selection of TCI based on RSRP measurements.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 1, 4-6, 8, 10-15, 18-20, 22, 24-28, 58, 87-89 and 91 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Manolakos et al. (WO 2020069415 A1, hereinafter Manolakos) in view of Kim et al. (US 20230318687 A1)
Regarding claims 1, 15, 58 Manolakos discloses:
receiving downlink control information (DCI) from a first cell of a plurality of cells, the DCI indicating at least one of a plurality of transmission configuration indication (TCI) states, a plurality of path loss (PL) reference signal (RS) identifiers (IDs), or a plurality of spatial relation information IDs, the at least one of the plurality of TCI states, the plurality of PL RS IDs, or the plurality of spatial relation information IDs corresponding to one or more physical cell identities (PCIs), each of the one or more PCIs being associated with one of the plurality of cells; (Paragraph [0116], “the base station may, in some cases, transmit a TCI state indication to UE 115-b. For example, in some cases, the base station may transmit an indication of a TCI state (e.g., identification of a certain configured TCI state, via DCI), for UE 115-b use in receiving a subsequent transmission.”)
(Paragraph [0117], “the base station (e.g., TRP 205-c and/or TRP 205-d) may transmit a downlink transmission encoded according to a first PCI (e.g., associated with TRP 205-c) or a second PCI (e.g., associated with TRP 205-d), based on the association identified at 305 and the TCI state associated with the downlink transmission.”)
and communicating with the first cell over a first beam based on the determined first PCI associated with the first cell. (Fig. 5 and 7, Paragraph [0130], “The device 505 may be an example of aspects of a UE 115 as described herein.” And paragraph [0144], “FIG. 7 shows a block diagram 700 of a communications manager 705 that supports association of TCI states to PCIs in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure” And paragraph [0145], “The TCI state manager 710 may receive, using a receive beam associated with a TCI state, a downlink transmission from a set of TRPs identified by a set of PCIs.” The device that houses the TCI state manager is a UE that receives downlink transmission through beam associated with TCI state where the PCI comes from.)
Manolakos does not disclose:
determining a first PCI of the one or more PCIs associated with the first cell based on a synchronization signal block (SSB) of a first beam and at least one of a first TCI state of the plurality of TCI states, a first PL RS ID of the plurality of PL RS IDs, or a first spatial relation information ID of the plurality of spatial relation information IDs, the at least one of the first TCI state, the first PL RS ID, or the first spatial relation information ID corresponding to the first PCI;
Wherein the SSB of the first beam corresponds to a quasi co-location (QCL) source for the first beam, the first PCI corresponding to a PCI of the SSB
Kim discloses:
determining a first PCI of the one or more PCIs associated with the first cell based on a synchronization signal block (SSB) of a first beam and at least one of a first TCI state of the plurality of TCI states, a first PL RS ID of the plurality of PL RS IDs, or a first spatial relation information ID of the plurality of spatial relation information IDs, the at least one of the first TCI state, the first PL RS ID, or the first spatial relation information ID corresponding to the first PCI; (Paragraph [0155], “In order to configure SSB information of a non-serving cell, the base station may configure measurement object (MO) information (e.g., MO ID)/physical cell ID (PCI)/SSB index, etc to the terminal. Here, the PCI may be one of PCIs included in the MO ID. Also, the SSB index may indicate one of SSBs corresponding to the PCI included in the MO ID.” And paragraph [0204], “in order to inform the terminal of the exact power of the SSB corresponding to the non-serving cell, the base station may configure parameters (ss-PBCH-BlockPower) for SS/PBCH block power for the SSB corresponding to the PCI of the non-serving cell to the terminal for a non-serving cell having a PCI different from that of the serving cell. In addition, the resource/physical channels in which the SSB corresponding to the non-serving cell is connected to the TCI-State set as the reference RS in the QCL information within the serving cell (i.e., the resource of the serving cell in which the SSB of the non-serving cell is set as the reference RS)/Physical channels) may perform related operations based on a parameter” The UE will receive the information from the base station to help determine PCI.)
Wherein the SSB of the first beam corresponds to a quasi co-location (QCL) source for the first beam, the first PCI corresponding to a PCI of the SSB (Paragraph [0204], “in order to inform the terminal of the exact power of the SSB corresponding to the non-serving cell, the base station may configure parameters (ss-PBCH-BlockPower) for SS/PBCH block power for the SSB corresponding to the PCI of the non-serving cell to the terminal for a non-serving cell having a PCI different from that of the serving cell. In addition, the resource/physical channels in which the SSB corresponding to the non-serving cell is connected to the TCI-State set as the reference RS in the QCL information within the serving cell (i.e., the resource of the serving cell in which the SSB of the non-serving cell is set as the reference RS)/Physical channels) may perform related operations based on a parameter”)
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Manolakos’ DCI with Kim’s neighbor cell information. One would have been motivated to do this to help the UE reduce “the complexity of the terminal and increasing the battery life.” ([0167] Kim).
Regarding claims 4 and 18 Manolakos discloses:
wherein a PCI of the SSB is associated with a root of a quasi co-location (QCL) chain of the first TCI state. (Paragraph [0090], “if a first set of antenna ports is quasi co-located with a second set of antenna ports (e.g., if a first set of antenna ports and a second set of antenna ports have a QCL relationship), a UE 115 may be able to perform channel estimation for demodulating data or control information received on the first set of antenna ports based on reference signals received on the second set of antenna ports.” Being quasi co-located makes the second set the root QCL and as mentioned before the reference signal is SSB for which the PCI is associated.)
Regarding claims 5 and 19 Manolakos discloses:
wherein the first PCI is configured with at least one of the first TCI state or the first spatial relation information ID. (Paragraph [0093], “the base station may transmit TCI state and PCI association information to the UE”. BS configures the TCI and PCI for UE.)
Regarding claims 6 and 20 Manolakos discloses:
wherein the first PCI is indicated by a field of the first TCI state or a field of the first spatial relation information ID. (Paragraph [0093], “The UE 115 may then identify a TCI state to use for reception of some downlink transmission (e.g., based on a TCI state indication received from the base station 105), and may identify one or more PCIs associated with the TCI state based on the received TCI state and PCI association
information.” There must be a field to help identify the PCI in the received TCI state.)
Regarding claims 8 and 22 Manolakos discloses:
receiving a medium access control (MAC) control element (MAC-CE) indicating the first PCI associated with the first cell. (Paragraph [0006], “A base station may configure a UE with a set of possible TCI states (e.g., via media access control (MAC) control element (MAC-CE) signaling, downlink control information, etc.) used to receive transmissions. The base station may further provide the UE with an association between a set of PCIs (e.g., associated with multiple TRPs, for example of the base station) and the set of TCI states.”)
Regarding claims 10 and 24 Manolakos discloses:
wherein at least one of the first TCI state or the first spatial relation information ID corresponds to a beam ID for the first beam. (Paragraph [0010], “Another apparatus for wireless communication as a UE is described. The apparatus may include means for receiving, using one or more receive beams associated with a TCI state…” and Paragraph [0042], “Each TCI state may be associated with a set of reference signals (e.g., synchronization signal blocks (SSBs), different types of channel state information reference signals (CSI- RSs), or tracking reference signals (TRSs))…” Beam ID is the reference signal which the TCI is associated with.)
Regarding claims 11 and 25 Manolakos discloses:
The method of claim 1, wherein the first TCI state corresponds to a lowest TCI state of the plurality of TCI states. (Paragraph [0114], “In other cases, the TCI state and PCI association information may include a list of TCI states as well as PCIs for each TRP associated with the TCI state (e.g., PCI of the one or more serving TRPs corresponding to each TCI state).” The lowest TCI state is just the first index in the corresponding list of TCI states.)
Regarding claims 12 and 26 Manolakos discloses:
wherein the first PCI associated with the first cell corresponds to one or more component carriers (CCs). (Paragraph [0082], “Wireless communications system 100 may support communication with a UE 115 on multiple cells or carriers, a feature which may be referred to as carrier aggregation (CA) or multi-carrier operation.” And paragraph [0083], “In some cases, wireless communications system 100 may utilize enhanced component carriers (eCCs).” The system supports CC for the PCI and cells.)
Regarding claims 13 and 27 Manolakos discloses:
wherein the one or more CCs are indicated in a CC list via radio resource control (RRC) signaling. (Paragraph [0082], “A UE 115 may be configured with multiple downlink CCs and one or more uplink CCs according to a carrier aggregation configuration.” And paragraph [0083], “an eCC may be associated with a carrier aggregation configuration” the carrier aggregation configuration is a list of CC configured via RRC.)
Regarding claims 14 and 28 Manolakos discloses:
wherein the first cell corresponds to one or more transmit-receive points (TRPs). (Paragraph [0006], “The base station may further provide the UE with an association between a set of PCIs (e.g., associated with multiple TRPs, for example of the base station)…” sets of physical cells are associated with TRPs.)
Regarding claim 87 Manolakos does not disclose:
The method of claim 1, wherein the PCI of the SSB is the PCI of a neighbor non-serving cell.
Kim discloses:
The method of claim 1, wherein the PCI of the SSB is the PCI of a neighbor non-serving cell. (Paragraph [0155], “In order to configure SSB information of a non-serving cell, the base station may configure measurement object (MO) information (e.g., MO ID)/physical cell ID (PCI)/SSB index, etc to the terminal. Here, the PCI may be one of PCIs included in the MO ID. Also, the SSB index may indicate one of SSBs corresponding to the PCI included in the MO ID.”)
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Manolakos’ DCI with Kim’s neighbor cell information. One would have been motivated to do this to help the UE reduce “the complexity of the terminal and increasing the battery life.” ([0167] Kim).
Regarding claim 88 Manolakos does not disclose:
the PCI of the neighbor non-serving cell is included in an L1 measurement PCI set configured for the UE.
Kim discloses:
the PCI of the neighbor non-serving cell is included in an L1 measurement PCI set configured for the UE. (Paragraph [0283], “The base station transmits resource reporting configuration for L1 measurement (e.g., L1-RSRP/L1-SINR, etc.) to the terminal based on serving cell/non-serving cell resources (S1501).”the physical cell id of the other neighbors must be there how else would the UE know who its measuring.)
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Manolakos’ PCI with Kim’s L1 measurement. One would have been motivated to do this to help the UE mobility around neighboring cells.
Regarding claim 89 Manolakos discloses:
TCI state associated with CSI-RS (Paragraph [0042], “Each TCI state may be associated with a set of reference signals (e.g., synchronization signal blocks (SSBs), different types of channel state information reference signals (CSI- RSs)”)
Manolakos does not disclose
measuring a reference signal received power (RSRP) or a signal-to-interference plus noise ratio (SINR) for the first TCI state.
Kim discloses:
measuring a reference signal received power (RSRP) or a signal-to-interference plus noise ratio (SINR) for the first TCI state. (Paragraph [0279], “SSB transmitted from serving cell and/or non-serving cell and CSI-RS for mobility may be used/configured/indicated as a resource for L1 measurement (e.g., for L1-RSRP/L1-SINR). In this case, since the resources of the neighboring cell may be considered in the CSI measurement/acquisition/reporting process in the L1/L2 phase, the terminal may examine more candidate resources, and report resources more suitable for control data transmission/data transmission to the base station.” For this measurement reporting the CSI-RS resources including information relating to the TCI state is used for the L1 measurement.)
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Manolakos’ TCI state associated with CSI-RS with Kim’s CSI-RS resource L1 measurement. One would have been motivated to do this to help UE mobility around neighboring cells.
Regarding claim 91 Manolakos does not disclose:
wherein the first TCI state associated with the neighbor non- serving cell provides a beam indication for a physical channel of a serving cell.
Kim discloses:
wherein the first TCI state associated with the neighbor non- serving cell provides a beam indication for a physical channel of a serving cell. (Paragraph [0204], “the resource/physical channels in which the SSB corresponding to the non-serving cell is connected to the TCI-State set as the reference RS in the QCL information within the serving cell (i.e., the resource of the serving cell in which the SSB of the non-serving cell is set as the reference RS)/Physical channels) may perform related operations based on a parameter..”)
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Manolakos’ TCI state with Kim’s neighbor cell information. One would have been motivated to do this to lessen the overhead and allow the UE to reuse already known neighbor references.
Claims 7, 9, 21 and 23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over the combination of Manolakos and Kim in view of Guo et al. (US 20190141693 A1, hereinafter Guo).
Regarding claims 7 and 21 Manolakos does not disclose:
wherein the at least one of the first TCI state, the first PL RS ID, or the first spatial relation information ID is indicated by a codepoint.
Guo discloses:
wherein the at least one of the first TCI state, the first PL RS ID, or the first spatial relation information ID is indicated by a codepoint. (Paragraph [0298], “Each codepoint of DCI field “transmission configuration indication” can indicate one TCI state from those up to 8 TCI states that activated in a MAC-CE message.”)
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the combined teachings of Manolakos and Kim in view of Guo to incorporate codepoints to the MAC-CE for the TCI states. One would have been motivated to do this to reduce latency and for fast beam switching (Paragraph [0300], Guo).
Regarding claims 9 and 23 Manolakos does not disclose:
wherein the MAC-CE includes a plurality of codepoints for a PCI field, the first PCI associated with the first cell corresponding to at least one codepoint of the plurality of codepoints.
Guo discloses:
wherein the MAC-CE includes a plurality of codepoints for a PCI field, the first PCI associated with the first cell corresponding to at least one codepoint of the plurality of codepoints. (Paragraph [0298], “Each codepoint of DCI field “transmission configuration indication” can indicate one TCI state from those up to 8 TCI states that activated in a MAC-CE message. On other hand, after the serving gNB send one MAC-CE message to activate a few TCI states, the indicating mapping between activated TCI states and codepoints of DCI field “transmission configuration indication” take effect after some time after the MAC-CE message is sent.” The codepoints associated with TCI state are included in the MAC-CE to activate the TCIs )
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the combined teachings of Manolakos and Kim in view of Guo to incorporate codepoints to the MAC-CE for the TCI states. One would have been motivated to do this to reduce latency and for fast beam switching (Paragraph [0300], Guo).
Claim 90 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over the combination of Manolakos and Kim in view of Hakola et al. (US 20200389884 A1).
Regarding claim 90 Manolakos does not disclose:
transmitting a measurement report comprising the RSRP or the SINR, wherein the first TCI is based on the measurement report.
Kim discloses:
transmitting a measurement report comprising the RSRP or the SINR, (Paragraph [0279], “SSB transmitted from serving cell and/or non-serving cell and CSI-RS for mobility may be used/configured/indicated as a resource for L1 measurement (e.g., for L1-RSRP/L1-SINR). In this case, since the resources of the neighboring cell may be considered in the CSI measurement/acquisition/reporting process in the L1/L2 phase, the terminal may examine more candidate resources, and report resources more suitable for control data transmission/data transmission to the base station.” For this measurement reporting the CSI-RS resources including information relating to the TCI state is used for the L1 measurement.)
Manolakos and Kim does not disclose:
wherein the first TCI is based on the measurement report.
Hakola discloses:
wherein the first TCI is based on the measurement report. (Paragraph [0075], “UE may select TCI state with highest signal quality in terms of hypothetical PDCCH BLER, RSRP, RSRQ or the like… the RSRP measurement can be done on SS block signals, CSI-RS or on a combination of SS block and CSI-RS signals.”)
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the combined teachings of Manolakos and Kim in view of Hakola to have TCI state selection based on RSRP measurement. One would have been motiviated to do this help the UE select “candidate beams for beam recovery” (Hakola [0075]).
Conclusion
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/NAM P. CAO/Examiner, Art Unit 2479 /JAE Y LEE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2479
