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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-2, 8-13, 22, 24, 26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Rahman et al. (Patent No: US20240155611A1), hereinafter, Rahman.
Regarding Claim 1, Rahman teaches
A method performed by a wireless communication device, the method comprising: receiving a configuration of a plurality of Transmission Configuration Indicator, TCI, states via Radio Resource Control, RRC, signaling; -Paragraph [0005] [0110] ([0005] recites, “In one embodiment, a UE in a wireless communication system is provided. The UE includes a transceiver configured to receive configuration information including a set of transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states …” [0110] recites, “…a number of reconfigurations are performed via RRC signaling (higher-layer configuration)…”
receiving a Media Access Control, MAC, Control Element, CE, that activates a subset of the plurality of TCI states; -Paragraph [0005] ([0005] recites, “…receive a medium access control-control element (MAC-CE) indicating activation of M TCI states from the set of TCI states, where M is a positive integer….”)
receiving a downlink control information, DCI, that: indicates one or more of the subset of the plurality of TCI states to be used; -Paragraph [0005][0007] ([0005] recites, “..a downlink control information (DCI) received via the transceiver, and the TCI state update is from the M activated states, determine a beam based on the TCI state update,…”)
and explicitly or implicitly indicates one or more particular Control Resource Sets, CORESETs, for which the one or more of the subset of the plurality of TCI states are to be used; -Paragraph [0391-0396] ([0393] recites, “CORESET ID: This field indicates a Control Resource Set identified with ControlResourceSetId as specified in TS 38.331, for which the TCI State is being indicated. “)
and using one or more spatial quasi colocation, QCL, downlink reference signals contained in the one or more of the subset of the plurality of TCI states to receive a Physical Downlink Control Channel, PDCCH, corresponding to the one or more particular CORESETs. -Paragraph [0005] ([0005] recites, “determine a beam based on the TCI state update, and apply the beam for a reception of both downlink (DL) control and data channels, wherein: a TCI state refers to at least one source reference signal (RS) with a corresponding quasi co-location (QCL) type, the QCL type is a type of a QCL property associated with the at least one source RS, and the beam refers to the QCL type being set to a spatial property used to receive or transmit the at least one source RS included in the TCI state update.” As described above, UE receives downlink control and data channels (PDCCH and PDSCH) using reference signal (RS) corresponding to QCL referred to by the TCI state which corresponds to particular CORESET.)
Regarding Claim 2, Rahman teaches the limitations of Claim 1
Rahman further teaches,
The method of claim 1 further comprising receiving a configuration of TCI state IDs for the plurality of TCI states, the configuration of the plurality of TCI state IDs being common for two or more Control Resource Sets, CORESETs, or being per CORESET. -Paragraph [0393-0394] ([0393-0394] recites, “CORESET ID: This field indicates a Control Resource Set identified with ControlResourceSetId as specified in TS 38.331, for which the TCI State is being indicated. TCI State ID: This field indicates the TCI state identified by TCI-StateId as specified in TS 38.331 applicable to the DL data and control and also to UL data and control.” As explained above, TCI state ID is the TCI state corresponding to one or multiple CORESET defined by CORESET IDs)
Regarding Claim 8, Rahman teaches the limitations of Claim 2
Rahman further teaches,
The method of claim 2 wherein the configuration of TCI state IDs for the plurality of TCI states is per CORESET. -Paragraph [0393-0394] ([0393-0394] recites, “CORESET ID: This field indicates a Control Resource Set identified with ControlResourceSetId as specified in TS 38.331, for which the TCI State is being indicated. TCI State ID: This field indicates the TCI state identified by TCI-StateId as specified in TS 38.331 applicable to the DL data and control and also to UL data and control.“)
Regarding Claim 9, Rahman teaches the limitations of Claim 8
Rahman further teaches,
The method of claim 8 wherein the MAC CE activates up to M TCI states per CORESET. -Paragraph [0054] ([0054] recites, “…receiving a medium access control-control element (MAC-CE) indicating activation of M TCI states from the set of TCI states, where M is a positive integer; identifying a medium for indicating a TCI state update, wherein the medium is the MAC-CE or a downlink control information (DCI), and the TCI state update is from the M activated states;…”)
Regarding Claim 10, Rahman teaches the limitations of Claim 9
Rahman further teaches,
The method of claim 9 wherein the MAC CE comprises a bandwidth part ID, a serving cell ID, TCI state IDs of the subset of the plurality of TCI states activated, and a CORESET ID. -Fig. 23; Paragraph [0391-0396] (Fig. 23 for example shows the structure of MAC CE with bandwidth part ID (BWP ID), Serving Cell ID, TCI State IDs, and CORESET ID. Paragraph [0391-0396] describes the definition of these parameters)
Regarding Claim 11, Rahman teaches the limitations of Claim 1
Rahman further teaches,
The method of claim 1 wherein the DCI implicitly indicates the one or more particular CORESETs for which the one or more of the subset of the plurality of TCI states are to be used. -Paragraph [0423] ([0423] recites, “the BS transmits, via a medium, a TCI state update indicating a beam from the M activated TCI states, wherein the medium is the MAC-CE or a downlink control information (DCI).”)
Regarding Claim 12, Rahman teaches the limitations of Claim 11
Rahman further teaches,
The method of claim 11 wherein the one or more particular CORESETs for which the one or more of the subset of the plurality of TCI states are to be used consist of a CORESET in which a PDCCH carrying the DCI is received. -Fig. 13; Paragraph [0140] ([0140] recites, “As shown in FIG. 13, a UE is configured to receive a dedicated DCI (DL-TCI-DCI) indicating the common beam (TCI state) for the reception of DL control (PDCCH) and data (PDSCH). The UE receives (e.g., a DL-TCI-DCI format) and decodes DL-TCI-DCI in slot (or subframe) N, and uses the indicated beam (TCI state) to receive DL control (PDCCH) starting in the same (slot N) or later slot(s). For illustration, let X be the gap (in number of slots/subframes) between the slot carrying the DL-TCI-DCI and the slot carrying the DL control, then the UE receives DL control starting in slot N+X. The UE decodes DL-DCI (e.g., a DL-DCI format) contained in PDCCH to obtain scheduling information for the DL assignment. The UE then uses the indicated beam (TCI state) to receive DL data (PDSCH, according to the DL assignment) in slot N+X+K.sub.0. Here, the value of X can be fixed. Alternatively, the value of X can be selected from a set of values. Optionally, the value of X is not configured or set in a particular manner due to the aperiodic nature of the DCI signaling (DL-TCI-DCI and/or DL-DCI). That is, the time unit location (e.g., slot, subframe) used to signal the DL-TCI-DCI can be different from that used to signal the DL-DCI.”)
Regarding Claim 13, Rahman teaches the limitations of Claim 1
Rahman further teaches,
The method of claim 1 wherein the DCI explicitly indicates the one or more particular CORESETs for which the one or more of the subset of the plurality of TCI states are to be used. -Fig. 13; Paragraph [0054][0415][0393] ([0054] recites, “…receiving a medium access control-control element (MAC-CE) indicating activation of M TCI states from the set of TCI states, where M is a positive integer; identifying a medium for indicating a TCI state update, wherein the medium is the MAC-CE or a downlink control information (DCI), and the TCI state update is from the M activated states; determining a beam based on the TCI state update; and applying the beam for a reception of both downlink (DL) control and data channels…” [0415] recites, “In one embodiment, t=1, and: when M=1, the medium is the MAC-CE that activates the M TCI states, and the M activated TCI states corresponds to a single activated TCI state that also corresponds to the TCI state update; and when M>1, the medium is the DCI.” As shown in Fig. 13, DCI, which is carried over PDCCH may contain explicit indication of TCI states corresponding to the CORESET to be monitored. [0393] recites, “CORESET ID: This field indicates a Control Resource Set identified with ControlResourceSetId as specified in TS 38.331, for which the TCI State is being indicated.”)
Claim 22 is the apparatus claim corresponding to the method claim 1 that has been rejected above. Applicant’s attention is directed to the rejection of claim 1. Claim 22 is rejected under the same rational as claim 1.
Rahman further teaches,
A wireless communication device comprising: one or more receivers; and processing circuitry associated with the one or more receivers, the processing circuitry configured to cause the wireless communication device -Fig. 3; Paragraph [0067] ([0067] recites, “ As shown in FIG. 3, the UE 116 includes an antenna 305, a radio frequency (RF) transceiver 310, TX processing circuitry 315, a microphone 320, and receive (RX) processing circuitry 325. The UE 116 also includes a speaker 330, a processor 340, an input/output (I/O) interface (IF) 345, a touchscreen 350, a display 355, and a memory 360. The memory 360 includes an operating system (OS) 361 and one or more applications 362.”
Regarding Claim 24, Rahman teaches
A method performed by a network node, the method comprising: sending, to a wireless communication device, a configuration of a plurality of Transmission Configuration Indicator, TCI, states via Radio Resource Control, RRC, signaling; -Paragraph [0006][0110] ([0006] recites, “ … The BS further includes a transceiver operably coupled to the processor. The transceiver is configured to: transmit the configuration information, transmit, via a medium, a TCI state update indicating a beam from the M activated TCI states…” [0110] recites, “…a number of reconfigurations are performed via RRC signaling (higher-layer configuration)…”
sending, to the wireless communication device, a Media Access Control, MAC, Control Element, CE, that activates a subset of the plurality of TCI states; -Paragraph [0006] ([0006] recites, “ .. generate a medium access control-control element (MAC-CE) indicating activation of M TCI states from the set of TCI states, where M is a positive integer….”)
and sending, to the wireless communication device, a downlink control information, DCI, that: indicates one or more of the subset of the plurality of TCI states to be used; -Paragraph [0006] ([0006] recites, “ … The transceiver is configured to: transmit the configuration information, transmit, via a medium, a TCI state update indicating a beam from the M activated TCI states, wherein the medium is the MAC-CE or a downlink control information (DCI), and transmit downlink (DL) control and data channels for reception via the indicated beam, …”)
and explicitly or implicitly indicates one or more particular Control Resource Sets, CORESETs, for which the one or more of the subset of the plurality of TCI states are to be used. -Paragraph [0391-0396] (([0393] recites, “CORESET ID: This field indicates a Control Resource Set identified with ControlResourceSetId as specified in TS 38.331, for which the TCI State is being indicated. “)
Claim 26 is the apparatus claim corresponding to the method claim 24 that has been rejected above. Applicant’s attention is directed to the rejection of claim 24. Claim 26 is rejected under the same rational as claim 24.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 3-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Rahman in view of 3GPP Release 15 (3GPP TS 38.331 version 15.2.1 Release 15), hereinafter, 3GPP Release 15
Regarding Claim 3, Rahman teaches the limitations of Claim 2
Rahman explicitly does not teach
The method of claim 2 wherein both the configuration of the plurality of TCI states and the configuration of the TCI state IDs are received in a Physical Downlink Shared Channel, PDSCH, Configuration Information Element, PDSCH-CONFIG IE.
However, 3GPP Release 15 teaches
The method of claim 2 wherein both the configuration of the plurality of TCI states and the configuration of the TCI state IDs are received in a Physical Downlink Shared Channel, PDSCH, Configuration Information Element, PDSCH-CONFIG IE. – Page 140 (It recites, “The PDSCH-Config IE is used to configure the UE specific PDSCH parameters”
PDSCH-Config ::= SEQUENCE {
dataScramblingIdentityPDSCH INTEGER (0..1023)
dmrs-DownlinkForPDSCH-MappingTypeA SetupRelease { DMRS-DownlinkConfig }
dmrs-DownlinkForPDSCH-MappingTypeB SetupRelease { DMRS-DownlinkConfig }
tci-StatesToAddModList SEQUENCE (SIZE(1..maxNrofTCI-States)) OF TCI-State
tci-StatesToReleaseList SEQUENCE (SIZE(1..maxNrofTCI-States)) OF TCI-StateId
As seen above TCI state related information are received over PDSCH config IE)
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the “Dynamic Beam Indication Mechanism” proposed by Rahman with the concept of 3GPP Release 15 to include “both the configuration of the plurality of TCI states and the configuration of the TCI state IDs are received in a Physical Downlink Shared Channel, PDSCH, Configuration Information Element, PDSCH-CONFIG IE” One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to reducing complexity and improve transmission efficiency.
Regarding Claim 4, Rahman and 3GPP Release 15 teaches the limitations of Claim 3
Rahman further teaches
The method of claim 3 wherein the configuration of the plurality of TCI states applies to all CORESETs configured in a same bandwidth part as the PDSCH-CONFIG IE. -Paragraph [0393][0395] ([0393] recites, “CORESET ID: This field indicates a Control Resource Set identified with ControlResourceSetId as specified in TS 38.331, for which the TCI State is being indicated. “ [0395] recites, “BWP ID: This field indicates a DL BWP for which the MAC CE applies as the codepoint of the DCI bandwidth part indicator field as specified in TS 38.212.” TCI states apply to all CORESETs configured in a same BWP. These configurations are all part of standard and is known to an ordinary person with skill in the art that these configurations are set in PDSCH-CONFIG IE)
Regarding Claim 5, Rahman and 3GPP Release 15 teaches the limitations of Claim 4
Rahman further teaches
The method of claim 4 wherein the MAC CE activates the subset of the plurality of TCI states for all CORESETs configured in a same bandwidth part as the configuration of the plurality of TCI states. -Fig. 23, 25; Paragraph [0409] ([0409] recites, “ the UE receives a medium access control-control element (MAC-CE) indicating activation of M TCI states from the set of TCI states, where M is a positive integer.” The claim is about configuration and no new feature. An ordinary person with skill in the art will understand the configuration and as shown in Fig. 23, the subset of the TCI states may apply to all CORESETs configured within the BWP when the same CORESET Pool Index for all CORESETS in the BWP, and the TCI state is also the same, then the TCI ID applies to all CORESETS)
Regarding Claim 6, Rahman and 3GPP Release 15 teaches the limitations of Claim 4
Rahman further teaches
The method of claim 4 wherein the MAC CE comprises a bandwidth part ID, a serving cell ID, and TCI state IDs of the subset of the plurality of TCI states activated, but does not include a CORESET ID. -Fig. 23; Paragraph [0054] ([0054] recites, “… generating a medium access control-control element (MAC-CE) indicating activation of M TCI states from the set of TCI states, where M is a positive integer; transmitting the configuration information; transmitting, via a medium, a TCI state update indicating a beam from the M activated TCI states, wherein the medium is the MAC-CE or a downlink control information (DCI)…” Fig. 23 shows MAC CE structure with BWP ID, serving cell ID, activated TCI states IDs etc. The claim is about configuration and no new feature. An ordinary person with skill in the art will understand the configuration and CORESET ID may not be included)
Regarding Claim 7, Rahman and 3GPP Release 15 teaches the limitations of Claim 6
Rahman further teaches
The method of claim 6 wherein the MAC CE activates the subset of the plurality of TCI states for all CORESETs configured in a same bandwidth part as that indicated by the bandwidth part ID comprised in the MAC CE. -Fig. 23; Paragraph [0395] ([0395] recites, “BWP ID: This field indicates a DL BWP for which the MAC CE applies as the codepoint of the DCI bandwidth part indicator field as specified in TS 38.212.” This claim is nothing but configuration. As explained above and as shown in Fig. 23, An ordinary person with skill in the art will understand the configuration and the subset of the TCI states may apply to all Control Resource Sets (CORESETs) within a Bandwidth Part (BWP) when a set of TCI state IDs are activated for a set of Component Carriers (CCs) or Downlink Bandwidth Parts (DL BWPs). )
Claims 14-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Rahman in view of Bagheri et al. (US20200314881A1), hereinafter, Bagheri
Regarding Claim 14, Rahman teaches the limitations of Claim 13
Rahman explicitly does not teach
The method of claim 13 wherein the DCI comprises a bitfield that indicates the one or more particular CORESETs for which the one or more of the subset of the plurality of TCI states are to be used.
However, Bagheri teaches,
The method of claim 13 wherein the DCI comprises a bitfield that indicates the one or more particular CORESETs for which the one or more of the subset of the plurality of TCI states are to be used. -Paragraph [0032] ([0032] recites, “According to TS 38.214 V15.4.0, if a UE is configured with the higher layer parameter tci-PresentInDCI that is set as ‘enabled’ for the control resource set (CORESET) scheduling the PDSCH, the UE assumes that the transmission configuration indication (TCI) field is present in the DCI format 1_1 of the PDCCH transmitted on the CORESET.” The claim is just configuration and not a new feature. It is easily understandable to an ordinary person with skill in the art that, depending on the design need the DCI bit fields are set and signaled to the UE over PDCCH)
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the “Dynamic Beam Indication Mechanism” proposed by Rahman with the concept of Bagheri to include “DCI comprises a bitfield that indicates the one or more particular CORESETs for which the one or more of the subset of the plurality of TCI states are to be used “ One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to improve reliability and efficiency [0064].
Regarding Claim 15, Rahman teaches the limitations of Claim 1
Rahman explicitly does not teach
The method of claim 1 wherein a TCI update provided by the DCI is applied to CORESETs in two or more serving cells or two or more component carriers, simultaneously.
However, Bagheri teaches
The method of claim 1 wherein a TCI update provided by the DCI is applied to CORESETs in two or more serving cells -Fig. 6; Paragraph [0194] ([0194] recites,” FIG. 6 illustrates a flow diagram 600 in a user equipment for downlink resource allocation for multi-TRP transmission. The method includes receiving 602 a configuration of a plurality of transmission configuration indicator states for a serving cell for physical downlink shared channel transmissions, wherein each of the plurality of transmission configuration indicator states contains parameters for configuring a quasi-co-location relationship between downlink reference signals and demodulation reference signal ports of the physical downlink shared channel transmissions. A physical downlink control channel is received 604, which includes downlink control information for scheduling a physical downlink shared channel. A determination is made 606 as to whether an offset between the reception of the physical downlink control channel and a reception of the physical downlink shared channel is less than a predetermined threshold, where in response to the determination that the offset is less than the predetermined threshold, a configured pair of transmission configuration indicator states comprising a first transmission configuration indicator state and a second transmission configuration indicator state is selected from the received configuration of the plurality of transmission configuration indicator states. The physical downlink shared channel is decoded 608 based on the selected configured pair of transmission configuration indicator states.”
or two or more component carriers, simultaneously.
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the “Dynamic Beam Indication Mechanism” proposed by Rahman with the concept of Bagheri to include “TCI update provided by the DCI is applied to CORESETs in two or more serving cells “ One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to improve reliability and efficiency [0064].
Regarding Claim 16, Rahman and Bagheri combination teach the limitations of Claim 15
Rahman explicitly does not teach
The method of claim 15 wherein the two or more serving cells or the two or more component carriers to which the TCI updated provided by the DCI is to be simultaneously applied are preconfigured.
However, Bagheri teaches
The method of claim 15 wherein the two or more serving cells or the two or more component carriers to which the TCI updated provided by the DCI is to be simultaneously applied are preconfigured. -Paragraph [0027] ([0027] recites, “In accordance with at least some existing systems, such as according to TS 38.214 V15.4.0, a user equipment (UE) can be higher-layer configured with a list of up to M TCI-State configurations to decode PDSCH intended for the UE in a serving cell, where M depends on the UE capability. Each TCI-State contains parameters for configuring a quasi-co-location (QCL) relationship between one or two downlink reference signals (DL RS) and the demodulation reference signal (DM-RS) ports of the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH). The quasi co-location relationship is configured by the higher layer parameter qcl-Type1 for the first DL RS, and qcl-Type2 for the second DL RS (if configured). “ As explained above two or more serving cells may be related by QCL relationship and preconfigured by higher layer)
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the “Dynamic Beam Indication Mechanism” proposed by Rahman with the concept of Bagheri to include “two or more serving cells or the two or more component carriers to which the TCI updated provided by the DCI is to be simultaneously applied are preconfigured.”One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to improve reliability and efficiency [0064].
Regarding Claim 17, Rahman and Bagheri combination teach the limitations of Claim 15
Rahman explicitly does not teach
The method of claim 15 wherein the two or more serving cells or the two or more component carriers are indicated by a higher layer parameter.
However, Bagheri teaches
The method of claim 15 wherein the two or more serving cells or the two or more component carriers are indicated by a higher layer parameter. -Paragraph [0027][0165] ([0027] recites, “Each TCI-State contains parameters for configuring a quasi-co-location (QCL) relationship between one or two downlink reference signals (DL RS) and the demodulation reference signal (DM-RS) ports of the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH). The quasi co-location relationship is configured by the higher layer parameter qcl-Type1 for the first DL RS, and qcl-Type2 for the second DL RS (if configured).” [0165] recites. “ TCI states or the QCL assumptions for the PDSCH are derived based on the TCI state or QCL assumption whichever is applied for the CORESET used for the PDCCH transmission (reception by UE) for multi-TRP operation (e.g., in scheme 2 of multi-TRP transmission discussed above; when the number of non-overlapping sets of resources is greater than one).” As explained above, for multi-TRP (multiple serving cells) operations, TRP (cells) are related by QCL which are associated with serving cells and is configured by higher layer parameter.)
Response to Argument(s)
Applicant's argument(s) filed on February 28, 2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Therefore, the Examiner regretfully maintains the rejection.
The Applicant argues about the validity of the used prior art and says the provisional application No. 63/043,036 does not contain the citation used. -Page 3.
In response, the Examiner, does not agree with that and the subject matter used in the citation from the reference is mentioned in the provisional application as well. -Page 19, Paragraph 2 (It recites, “…TCI state update for the data beam is performed together with the DL assignment or the UL grant.”)
The Applicant argues, the prior art (Rahman) fails to teach all features of Claim 1. Specifically, the applicant argues, Rahman fails at least, "receiving a downlink control information, DCI, that: indicates one or more of the subset of the plurality of TCI states to be used; and explicitly or implicitly indicates one or more particular Control Resource Sets, CORESETs, for which the one or more of the subset of the plurality of TCI states are to be used." In an attempt to show this feature, the Patent Office referred to paragraph 0005 of Rahman stating: "... receive a medium access control-control element (MAC-CE) indicating activation of M TCI states from the set of TCI states, where M is a positive integer ...." Applicant respectfully disagrees that this teaches the claimed features.
Rahman teaches in paragraph 391:
"The MAC CE has a fixed size of 16 or 24 bits and all of some include the following fields:""CORESET ID: This field indicates a Control Resource Set identified with ControlResourceSetld as specified in TS 38.331, for which the TCI State is being indicated."6 This MAC CE of Rahman is not the same as the claimed DCI. In fact, this MAC CE is not even at the same level as the claimed DCI. DCI is designed for low latency, real-time control. DCI is transmitted in a very small, fixed-format message on the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH). The UE processes DCI immediately to schedule and decode data.
In contrast, MAC CE is a higher-level message that is transmitted within a regular data packet (e.g., on the Physical Downlink Shared Channel or PDSCH). MAC CE can be used for signaling information that does not have the same strict latency requirements as DCI, such as buffer status reports, power headroom reports, and activation/deactivation of features like Semi-Persistent Scheduling (SPS). As such, Rahman fails to teach all features of claim 1. Therefore, claim 1 is allowable over Rahman.
Inventive over any Combination Based on the differences discussed above, one of ordinary skill in the art would not be motivated to modify Rahman to arrive at the features of claim 1. For instance, DCI's fixed, compact format and direct transmission on the PDCCH are engineered for minimal latency.
Replacing DCI with a MAC CE would require the UE to first decode a larger data packet on the PDSCH which could introduce unacceptable delays. This could break the tight timing loop required for fast data transfers. As such, any combination including Rahman would still not teach the claimed features. Therefore, claim 1 is allowable over any combination that includes Rahman 6 Rahman, 10391, emphasis added. -Page 3, 4
In response, the examiner argues the above limitation is covered by the reference (Rahman) used.
Rahman teaches “receiving a configuration of a plurality of Transmission Configuration Indicator, TCI, states via Radio Resource Control, RRC, signaling;” -Abstract; Paragraph [0005] ([0005] recites, “The UE includes a transceiver configured to receive configuration information including a set of transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states..” [0110] recites, “ a number of reconfigurations are performed via RRC signaling (higher-layer configuration)” Therefore, it teaches configuration of plurality of TCI states are received at the UE by means of RRC signaling. )
receiving a Media Access Control, MAC, Control Element, CE, that activates a subset of the plurality of TCI states; -Abstract; Paragraph [0005], ([0005] recites “and receiving a medium access control-control element (MAC-CE) indicating activation of M TCI states from the set of TCI states, where M is a positive integer;” i.e., MAC-CE activates a subset (M) of the plurality of TCI states)
receiving a downlink control information, DCI, that: indicates one or more of the subset of the plurality of TCI states to be used; -Paragraph [0005][0007] recites, “..downlink control information (DCI) received via the transceiver, and the TCI state update is from the M activated states, determine a beam based on the TCI state update” [0007] recites, “..identifying a medium for indicating a TCI state update, wherein the medium is the MAC-CE or a downlink control information (DCI), and the TCI state update is from the M activated states; “As explained and as described in [0005][0007], MAC-CE or DCI carry TCI state update from the activated subset (M) and determine beam based on the TCI state update.)
In response to the Applicant’s argument that MAC-CE is not the same as claimed DCI, the Examiner rebuts as, the reference has the option of using MAC-CE or DCI as the medium to update the TCI state recited from the reference (Rahman) that [0007] (stress on the word OR) “..identifying a medium for indicating a TCI state update, wherein the medium is the MAC-CE or a downlink control information (DCI), and the TCI state update is from the M activated states;”)
For all the other claims, the Applicant argues and thinks as the independent Claim 1 is allowable and the prior art fails to address all the limitations of the independent claim, all the other dependent claims should be allowable. -Page 5
In response, the Examiner explained with recitation from the prior art that all the limitations of the independent claim (including the part where the applicant has concern) are taught by the prior art and hence is not allowable. Accordingly, the examiner is maintaining the same rejection status for all the other dependent claims.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to AHMED SAIFUDDIN whose telephone number is (703)756-4581. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:30am-6:00pm.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, KHALED M KASSIM can be reached on 571-270-3770. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/AHMED SAIFUDDIN/Examiner, Art Unit 2472
/KHALED M KASSIM/supervisory patent examiner, Art Unit 2475
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