DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Specification
The lengthy specification has not been checked to the extent
necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors.
Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which
applicant may become aware in the specification.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1, and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being
anticipated by Guo et al. US-20180092129-A1(hereinafter “Guo”).
As to claim 1:
Guo Discloses:
A method performed by a user equipment (UE), the method comprising:
receiving and measuring a first downlink beam reference signal; and
“the UE might also have different level of beam reciprocity between UE's Tx and Rx beams” Guo [0120]
“UE measures the strongest RSRP of beam reference signal” Guo [0130]
“Tx beam ID is the beam ID with the strongest RSRP measured from beam reference signals.” Guo [0147]
selecting one or more first downlink beam reference signals.
“Tx beam ID selected by the UE” Guo [0148]
As to claim 14:
Guo Discloses:
A user equipment (UE) comprising:
a transceiver configured to receive a first downlink beam reference signal to transmit signals to the base station; and
“the UE might also have different level of beam reciprocity between UE's Tx and Rx beams” Guo [0120]
“UE measures the strongest RSRP of beam reference signal” Guo [0130]
“Tx beam ID is the beam ID with the strongest RSRP measured from beam reference signals.” Guo [0147]
a processor coupled to the transceiver, the processor configured to select and measure one or more first downlink beam reference signals.
“Tx beam ID is the beam ID with the strongest RSRP measured from beam reference signals.” Guo [0147]
“Tx beam ID selected by the UE” Guo [0148]
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 2, 4-8, and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Guo et al. US-20180092129-A1 (hereinafter “Guo”) and further in view of KIM et al. US-20220022237-A1 (hereinafter “KIM”).
As to claim 2:
Guo discloses:
The method of claim 1, further comprising:
receiving configuration information on a second downlink beam reference signal transmitted by a base station;
“The MAC-CE or L1 control message are used to trigger the transmission of reference signal and also to trigger the UE to report the information of the best TRP beam, including, for example, the TRP beam ID, beam-specific RSRP and/or the UE Rx beam ID. The reference signal used for P-2 and P-3 could be a second beam reference signal (BRS), or CSI-RS.” Guo [0205]
receiving and measuring a plurality of second downlink beam reference signals corresponding to the first downlink beam reference signal
“The configuration of P-2/P3 and second BRS could be sent after UE has measured and reported the beam ID based on first BRS.” Guo [0222]
according to the configuration information on the second downlink beam reference signal; and
“The configuration of second BRS is UE-specific and the transmission of second BRS is UE-specific and aperiodic.” Guo [0222]
Guo does not explicitly teach:
selecting one or more second downlink beam reference signals.
However, KIM teaches:
selecting one or more second downlink beam reference signals.
“the UE may transmit a specific sequence to a preamble through a Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) … In the case of a contention based RACH, a Contention Resolution Procedure may be additionally performed (S606).” KIM [0154]
This method of contention taught in KIM because “In the case of a contention based RACH, a Contention Resolution Procedure may be additionally performed” KIM [0154], which is an improvement on the method taught in Guo as mentioned above. This appears to one of ordinary skill in the art as an obvious combination, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to standardize the Random Access feature (RACH) mentioned in this application.
As to claim 4:
Guo Discloses:
The method of claim 2, wherein the configuration information on the second downlink beam reference signal comprises at least one of the following:
a number of the second downlink beam reference signals configured in or mapped to the first downlink beam reference signal; and
“The configuration includes the information of number of ports multiplexed by FDM, mapping of ports to the frequency domain resource, number of time-domain repetitions and the repetition mode.” Guo [0223]
a time-frequency resource position of the second downlink beam reference signals configured in or mapped to the first downlink beam reference signal.
“configuration has one port in frequency time and multiple time repetition and this configuration is for the procedure P-3.” Guo [0223]
As to claim 5:
Guo discloses:
The method of claim 2, wherein the configuration information on the second downlink beam reference signal comprises at least one of the following:
a time domain unit interval of the second downlink beam reference signal from a reference point in a time domain;
“configuration has one port in frequency time and multiple time repetition and this configuration is for the procedure P-3.” Guo [0223]
a frequency domain unit interval of the second downlink beam reference signal from a reference point in a frequency domain;
“The configuration includes the information of number of ports multiplexed by FDM, mapping of ports to the frequency domain resource, number of time-domain repetitions and the repetition mode.” Guo [0223]
a number of time domain units occupied by the second downlink beam reference signal; and
“The configuration includes the information of number of ports multiplexed by FDM, mapping of ports to the frequency domain resource, number of time-domain repetitions and the repetition mode.” Guo [0223]
Guo does not explicitly teach:
a number of frequency domain units occupied by the second downlink beam reference signal,
wherein the reference point is at least one of
an absolute time domain point or an absolute frequency domain point,
a time domain starting position of the downlink beam reference signal corresponding to the second downlink beam reference signal, and
a frequency domain starting position of the downlink beam reference signal corresponding to the second downlink beam reference signal.
However, KIM teaches:
a number of frequency domain units occupied by the second downlink beam reference signal,
wherein the reference point is at least one of
a time domain starting position of the downlink beam reference signal corresponding to the second downlink beam reference signal, and
“a PDCCH occasion (i.e., a time domain location for receiving the PDCCH) based on information (e.g., pdcch-ConfigSIB1) in the MIB.” KIM [0255]
This method of using time domain position taught in KIM because “If there is the Type0-PDCCH common search space” KIM [0255], which is an improvement on the method taught in Guo as mentioned above. This appears to one of ordinary skill in the art as an obvious combination, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to distinguish between different repetitions as mentioned in this application.
As to claim 6:
Guo does not explicitly teach:
The method of claim 2, wherein the second downlink beam reference signal comprises at least one of:
a synchronization signal block (SSB) transmitting with a fine beam;
a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) of a physical broadcast channel (PBCH) transmitting in the synchronization signal block (SSB);
a DMRS transmitting in a control resource set (CORESET) for scheduling system information;
a DMRS transmitting in a search space;
a DMRS transmitting in downlink control information;
a DMRS transmitting in a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH); and
a DMRS transmitting on a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) carrying system information.
However, KIM teaches:
The method of claim 2, wherein the second downlink beam reference signal comprises at least one of:
a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) of a physical broadcast channel (PBCH) transmitting in the synchronization signal block (SSB);
“The PBCH is constituted by a data RE and a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) RE for each OFDM symbol.” KIM [0241]
This method of using DMRS taught in KIM because “the SSB is constituted by PSS, SSS, and PBCH … The PBCH is constituted by a data RE and a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) RE for each OFDM symbol” KIM [0241], which is an improvement on the method taught in Guo as mentioned above. This appears to one of ordinary skill in the art as an obvious combination, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to enable coherent demodulation of data as mentioned in this application.
As to claim 7:
Guo does not explicitly teach:
The method of claim 6,
wherein the DMRS is a DMRS of repetition transmission of a corresponding signal, and
wherein the corresponding signal repeatedly transmitted comprises at least one of:
a CORESET repeatedly transmitted;
a PBCH and/or a search space repeatedly transmitted;
a downlink control information (DCI)/PDCCH repeatedly transmitted;
a PDSCH carrying system information which is repeatedly transmitted;
message 2 or message 4 in a random access procedure which is repeatedly transmitted; and
a random access response (RAR) or a DCI/PDCCH for scheduling message 3 which is repeatedly transmitted.
However, KIM teaches:
The method of claim 6,
wherein the DMRS is a DMRS of repetition transmission of a corresponding signal, and
“When a carrier frequency is 3 GHz or less, the half-frame indication information may be implicitly signaled using PBCH DMRS.” KIM [0241]
“the UE assumes that the half frame with the SSB is repeated with a periodicity of 20 ms.” KIM [0255]
wherein the corresponding signal repeatedly transmitted comprises at least one of:
a PBCH and/or a search space repeatedly transmitted;
“The MIB includes information/parameters related to System InformationBlock1 (SIB1) reception and is transmitted through the PBCH of the SSB. In initial cell selection, the UE assumes that the half frame with the SSB is repeated with a periodicity of 20 ms.” KIM [0255]
This method of repetitive transmission taught in KIM because “The SI is divided into a master information block (MIB) and a plurality of system information blocks (SIB) … In initial cell selection, the UE assumes that the half frame with the SSB is repeated with a periodicity of 20 ms.” KIM [0255], which is an improvement on the method taught in Guo as mentioned above. This appears to one of ordinary skill in the art as an obvious combination, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to ensure reliable and accurate reception of the MIB as mentioned in this application.
As to claim 8:
Guo does not explicitly teach:
The method of claim 7, further comprising:
receiving a configuration for repetition transmission transmitted by the base station;
performing repetition transmission according to the configuration for repetition transmission;
wherein the configuration for the repetition transmission comprises at least one of:
a number of repetition transmissions;
a starting position of a time-frequency resource of and/or a size of the time-frequency resource occupied by the repetition transmission;
a time domain interval and/or a frequency domain interval between signals repeatedly transmitted; and
a period of signals repeatedly transmitted.
However, KIM teaches:
The method of claim 7, further comprising:
receiving a configuration for repetition transmission transmitted by the base station;
“a PDCCH occasion (i.e., a time domain location for receiving the PDCCH) based on information (e.g., pdcch-ConfigSIB1)” KIM [0255]
performing repetition transmission according to the configuration for repetition transmission;
“The MIB includes information/parameters related to System InformationBlock1 (SIB1) reception and is transmitted through the PBCH of the SSB. In initial cell selection, the UE assumes that the half frame with the SSB is repeated with a periodicity of 20 ms.” KIM [0255]
wherein the configuration for the repetition transmission comprises at least one of:
a starting position of a time-frequency resource of and/or a size of the time-frequency resource occupied by the repetition transmission;
“a PDCCH occasion (i.e., a time domain location for receiving the PDCCH) based on information (e.g., pdcch-ConfigSIB1) in the MIB. If there is no Type0-PDCCH common search space, pdcch-ConfigSIB1 provides information on a frequency location” KIM [0255]
This method of repetitive transmission taught in KIM because “The SI is divided into a master information block (MIB) and a plurality of system information blocks (SIB) … In initial cell selection, the UE assumes that the half frame with the SSB is repeated with a periodicity of 20 ms.” KIM [0255], which is an improvement on the method taught in Guo as mentioned above. This appears to one of ordinary skill in the art as an obvious combination, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to ensure reliable and accurate reception of the MIB as mentioned in this application.
As to claim 12:
Guo does not explicitly teach:
The method of claim 2, wherein the selected second downlink beam reference signal is made to be quasi co-located with a downlink signal of a random access procedure.
However, KIM teaches:
The method of claim 2, wherein the selected second downlink beam reference signal is made to be quasi co-located with a downlink signal of a random access procedure.
“if a target antenna port is a specific NZP CSI-RS, it may be indicated/configured that corresponding NZP CSI-RS antenna ports have been QCLed with a specific TRS from a QCL-Type A viewpoint and OCLed with a specific SSB from a QCL-Type D viewpoint.” KIM [0188]
This method of QCL signals taught in KIM because “ay adopt one of the following values: … {Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, delay spread}” KIM [0183], which is an improvement on the method taught in Guo as mentioned above. This appears to one of ordinary skill in the art as an obvious combination, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to ensure improve UE reception performance as mentioned in this application.
Claims 3, and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Guo et al. US-20180092129-A1 (hereinafter “Guo”) and further in view of Lin et al. US-20190313391-A1 (hereinafter “Lin”).
As to claim 3:
Guo does not explicitly teach:
The method of claim 2, wherein selecting the one or more first downlink beam reference signals comprises:
selecting one or more first downlink beam reference signals based on a number X of the first downlink beam reference signal,
a first threshold (TRSRP) for a reference signal received power (RSRP) value, and
a number R of the first downlink beam reference signal,
the RSRP value of which is greater than the first threshold (TRSRP), where X and R are positive integers.
However, Lin teaches:
The method of claim 2, wherein selecting the one or more first downlink beam reference signals comprises:
selecting one or more first downlink beam reference signals based on a number X of the first downlink beam reference signal,
“BS 101 performs periodic beam sweeping with reference signal (RS) carried on individual BS TX beams. UE 102 measures beamformed channel state by using different UE RX beams 1-8 and report the measurements to BS … By UE measurements, some DL beams have lower reference signal received power (RSRP), and some DL beams have higher RSRP.” Lin [0027]
a first threshold (TRSRP) for a reference signal received power (RSRP) value, and
“The UE can select one PRACH from PRACHs associated with a DL beam above a predefined RSRP threshold to send preamble.” Lin [0027]
a number R of the first downlink beam reference signal,
“there are already dedicated PRACH resources on each SSBs configured for each SI message supporting MSG1-based request.” Lin [0040]
the RSRP value of which is greater than the first threshold (TRSRP), where X and R are positive integers.
“The UE can select one PRACH from PRACHs associated with a DL beam above a predefined RSRP threshold to send preamble.” Lin [0027]
“BS 101 performs periodic beam sweeping with reference signal (RS) carried on individual BS TX beams … By UE measurements, some DL beams have lower reference signal received power (RSRP), and some DL beams have higher RSRP.” Lin [0027]
“there are already dedicated PRACH resources on each SSBs configured for each SI message supporting MSG1-based request.” Lin [0040]
This method of RSRP taught in Lin because it is useful “In downlink DL-based beam management” Lin [0027], which is an improvement on the method taught in Guo as mentioned above. This appears to one of ordinary skill in the art as an obvious combination, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to ensure the power is sufficient for successful connection as mentioned in this application.
As to claim 10:
Guo does not explicitly teach:
The method of claim 9, wherein transmitting the feedback through the uplink signal comprises:
feedback a selected beam based on mapping between the second downlink beam reference signal and random access resource.
However, Lin teaches:
The method of claim 9, wherein transmitting the feedback through the uplink signal comprises:
feedback a selected beam based on mapping between the second downlink beam reference signal and random access resource.
“UE uses the selected PRACH resource to implicitly inform gNB which DL beam has a better RSRP to the UE. Upon detecting the preamble, network could accordingly determine the DL beam to send random access response” Lin [0027]
This method of feedback taught in Lin because it is useful “In downlink DL-based beam management” Lin [0027], which is an improvement on the method taught in Guo as mentioned above. This appears to one of ordinary skill in the art as an obvious combination, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to continuously ensure the power is sufficient for successful connection as mentioned in this application.
Claims 9, and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Guo et al. US-20180092129-A1 (hereinafter “Guo”) and further in view of YOU et al. US-20190182821-A1 (hereinafter “YOU”).
As to claim 9:
Guo does not explicitly teach:
The method of claim 8, further comprising performing at least one of the following for the signal repeatedly transmitted:
selecting one signal to be repeatedly transmitted by detecting each of a plurality of signals repeatedly transmitted;
performing combined detection on a plurality of signals repeatedly transmitted; and
for the selected one signal repeatedly transmitted, transmitting a feedback through an uplink signal, wherein
the uplink signal is at least one of
a group of random access resources,
an uplink data channel, and
a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) signal after message 4.
However, YOU teaches:
The method of claim 8, further comprising performing at least one of the following for the signal repeatedly transmitted:
selecting one signal to be repeatedly transmitted by detecting each of a plurality of signals repeatedly transmitted;
“Upon receipt of the PDCCH, the UE may select the best of the analog beam directions in which the PDCCH has been transmitted, and feed back the selected analog beam direction to the eNB.” [0141] YOU US-20190182821-A1
“if a control channel and/or a data channel is transmitted in a single analog beam direction, the same signal may be transmitted repeatedly a plurality of times to transmit the channel during the same time period as for transmission in a plurality of analog beam directions.” [0142] YOU
for the selected one signal repeatedly transmitted, transmitting a feedback through an uplink signal, wherein
“Upon receipt of the PDCCH, the UE may select the best of the analog beam directions in which the PDCCH has been transmitted, and feed back the selected analog beam direction to the eNB.” [0141] YOU
the uplink signal is at least one of
a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) signal after message 4.
“the feedback information may be transmitted on PUCCH A” [0142] YOU
This method of feedback taught in YOU because it is useful “To allow the UE to determine and feed back the best analog beam direction” YOU [0141], which is an improvement on the method taught in Guo as mentioned above. This appears to one of ordinary skill in the art as an obvious combination, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to continuously ensure the beam direction is sufficient for successful connection as mentioned in this application.
As to claim 11:
Guo does not explicitly teach:
The method of claim 9, wherein when the uplink signal is a PUCCH signal after message 4:
feedback is performed by jointly coding or separately coding the second downlink beam reference signal and the fed back ACK signal.
However, YOU teaches:
The method of claim 9, wherein when the uplink signal is a PUCCH signal after message 4:
feedback is performed by jointly coding or separately coding the second downlink beam reference signal and the fed back ACK signal.
“Within a certain time interval, (i) directions of the transmit and receive beams may change simultaneously over time … a UE may use a beam reference signal (BRS) to select the best beam.” [0098] YOU
This method of jointly coding or separately coding taught in YOU because “a transmitter may transmit … A receiver may also receive a signal while changing a direction of the beam over time” YOU [0141], which is an improvement on the method taught in Guo as mentioned above. This appears to one of ordinary skill in the art as an obvious combination, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to continuously ensure the successful connection as mentioned in this application.
Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Guo et al. US-20180092129-A1 (hereinafter “Guo”) and further in view of GUAN et al. EP-3790338-A1 (hereinafter “GUAN”).
Guo does not explicitly teach:
The method of claim 2, wherein the selected second downlink beam reference signal is a second downlink beam reference signal that is fed back through an uplink signal latest or is determined to be correct.
However, GUAN teaches:
The method of claim 2, wherein the selected second downlink beam reference signal is a second downlink beam reference signal that is fed back through an uplink signal latest or is determined to be correct.
“S250: The terminal device sends beam feedback information to the network device based on a measurement result of receive quality of each transmission.” GUAN [0153]
“S250 may alternatively be performed when the terminal device successfully decodes the transport block sent by the network device. In addition, in this case, the terminal device may further feed back ACK information to the network device, to notify the network device that the terminal device successfully decodes the transport block.” GUAN [0163]
This method of feedback taught in GUAN because it is useful “to notify the network device that the terminal device successfully decodes the transport block.” GUAN [0163], which is an improvement on the method taught in Guo as mentioned above. This appears to one of ordinary skill in the art as an obvious combination, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to ensure the successful connection as mentioned in this application.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
YEO US-20200028640-A1 teaches a similar setup overall
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to AHMED K JABER whose telephone number is (703)756-5565. The examiner can normally be reached Monday thru Friday ET.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Khaled Kassim be reached on (571) 270-3770. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/AHMED K JABER/Examiner, Art Unit 2472
/KHALED M KASSIM/supervisory patent examiner, Art Unit 2472