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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see Applicants’ remarks, filed May 20, 2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1 under 35 U.S.C. 103 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of newly found prior art Fakoorian et al. (US 2019/0124598).
Fakoorian teaches measuring, by the UE, path loss based on transmitting the SRS resource to the gNB (SRS transmitted to the base station (Section 0049), path loss based on SRS is determined (Section 0104)); updating, by the UE at least one of the one or more power control parameters based on measuring by the UE the path loss to output an updated power control parameter (path-loss for SRS power calculations (Section 0098), SRS power control loop (Section 0050), this renders a scenario wherein power control parameters are updated based on the path loss), and transmitting the SRS resource based on the updated power control parameter (path-loss for SRS power calculations (Section 0098), SRS power control loop (Section 0050), this renders a scenario wherein power control parameters are updated based on the path loss, the SRS will be transmitted based on said updated power control parameters).
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, 2, 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen et al. (US 2020/0106647) in view of Fakoorian et al. (US 2019/0124598)
Regarding Claim 1, Chen teaches a method, comprising: determining, at a user equipment (UE), that a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) resource is to be transmitted to a base station (gNB) (Section 0032, SRS to be transmitted to a network entity on the uplink via the BWP); in response to determining that the SRS resource is to be transmitted to the gNB, determining one or more power control parameters of the SRS resource (Sections 0070, 0071, power control parameter); transmitting the SRS resource with the determined one or more power control parameters to the gNB (Sections 0069).
Chen does not teach measuring, by the UE, path loss based on transmitting the SRS resource to the gNB; updating, by the UE at least one of the one or more power control parameters based on measuring by the UE the path loss to output an updated power control parameter, and transmitting the SRS resource based on the updated power control parameter.
Fakoorian, which also teaches use of SRSs, teaches measuring, by the UE, path loss based on transmitting the SRS resource to the gNB (SRS transmitted to the base station (Section 0049), path loss based on SRS is determined (Section 0104)); updating, by the UE at least one of the one or more power control parameters based on measuring by the UE the path loss to output an updated power control parameter (path-loss for SRS power calculations (Section 0098), SRS power control loop (Section 0050), this renders a scenario wherein power control parameters are updated based on the path loss), and transmitting the SRS resource based on the updated power control parameter (path-loss for SRS power calculations (Section 0098), SRS power control loop (Section 0050), this renders a scenario wherein power control parameters are updated based on the path loss, the SRS will be transmitted based on said updated power control parameters).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Chen with the above features of Fakoorian for the purpose providing proper power adjustments based on channel conditions as taught by Fakoorian.
Regarding Claim 2, Chen in view of Fakoorian teaches all of the claimed limitations recited in Claim 1. Chen further teaches in response to determining that the SRS resource is to be transmitted to the gNB, determining spatial relation information of the SRS resource (Section 0075).
Regarding Claim 9, Chen in view of Fakoorian teaches all of the claimed limitations recited in Claim 1. Chen further teaches wherein multiple options for the one or more power control parameters are configured for an SRS resource set that includes the SRS resource and wherein determining the one or more power control parameters of the SRS resource comprises selecting the one or more power control parameters from the multiple options for the one or more power control parameters that are configured for the resource set (Section 0072, multiple options for power control parameters).
Claim(s) 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen et al. (US 2020/0106647) in view of Fakoorian et al. (US 2019/0124598), as applied to Claim 1 set forth above, and in further view of Logothetis (US 2022/0312339)
Regarding Claim 3, Chen in view of Fakoorian teaches all of the claimed limitations recited in Claim 1. Chen in view of Fakoorian does not teach wherein determining the one or more power control parameters of the SRS resource comprises determining a fractional power control multiplier.
Logothetis, which also teaches the use of SRSs, teaches determining a fractional power control multiplier (Section 0081).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Chen in view of Fakoorian with the above features of Logothetis for the purpose of compensating for the scan loss that occurs due to beamforming as taught by Logothetis.
Claim(s) 4, 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen et al. (US 2020/0106647) in view of Fakoorian et al. (US 2019/0124598) in view of Logothetis (US 2022/0312339), as applied to Claim 3 set forth above, and further in view of Wang et al. (US 2023/0140323)
Regarding Claim 4, Chen in view of Fakoorian in view of Logothetis teaches all of the claimed limitations recited in Claim 3. Chen further teaches a nominal UE transmit power (Sections 0071, power control parameter enables a nominal UE transmit power for an SRS resource).
Chen in view of Fakoorian and in further view of Logothetis does not teach wherein a nominal UE transmit power and a pathloss reference signal are configured for an SRS resource set that includes the SRS resource based on a worst transmission and reception point (TRP} transmission.
Wang, which also teaches the use of SRSs, teaches a pathloss reference signal are configured for an SRS resource set that includes the SRS resource based on a worst transmission and reception point (TRP} transmission (Section 0161, TRP configures for uplink power control (ULPC), which occurs during changes in transmission conditions such as changes in the attenuation caused by noise and interference).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of the Chen in view of Fakoorian and in further view of Logothetis with the above features of Wang for the purpose of providing intercell beam failure recovery as taught by Wang.
Regarding Claim 7, Chen in view of Fakoorian in view of Wang teaches all of the claimed limitations recited in Claim 6. Chen in view of Fakoorian does not teach wherein a single pathloss reference signal and a single fractional power control multiplier are configured for an SRS resource set that includes the SRS resource.
Wang, which also teaches the use of SRSs, teaches a single pathloss reference signal configured for an SRS resource (Section 0161).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of the Chen in view of Fakoorian in view of Logothetis with the above features of Wang for the purpose of providing intercell beam failure recovery as taught by Wang.
Chen in view of Fakoorian in view of Wang does not teach a single fractional power control multiplier configured for an SRS resource.
Logothetis, which also teaches the use of SRSs, teaches a single fractional power control multiplier configured for an SRS resource (Section 0081).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Chen in view of Fakoorian in view of Wang with the above features of Logothetis for the purpose of compensating for the scan loss that occurs due to beamforming as taught by Logothetis.
Claim(s) 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen et al. (US 2020/0106647) in view of Fakoorian et al. (US 2019/0124598) and further in view of Wang et al. (US 2023/0140323)
Regarding Claim 6, Chen in view of Fakoorian teaches all of the claimed limitations recited in Claim 1. Chen in view of Fakoorian does not teach determining a nominal UE transmit power for a TRP transmission.
Wang, which also teaches the use of SRSs, teaches determining a nominal UE transmit power for a TRP transmission (Section 0161, ULPC for SRS on the uplink to TRP comprises a nominal transmission power).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of the Chen in view of Fakoorian with the above features of Wang for the purpose of providing intercell beam failure recovery as taught by Wang.
Claim(s) 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen et al. (US 2020/0106647) in view of Fakoorian et al. (US 2019/0124598), as applied to Claim 1 set forth above, and further in view of Zhang et al. (US 2019/0281588)
Regarding Claim 8, Chen in view of Fakoorian teaches all of the claimed limitations recited in Claim 1. Chen in view of Fakoorian does not teach updating of the one or more power control parameters include using a medium access control (MAC) control element (MAC-CE) or dynamic control element (DCI) for the updating.
Zhang, which also teaches power control, teaches updating of the one or more power control parameters using a medium access control (MAC) control element (MAC-CE) or dynamic control element (DCI) for the updating (Section 0045).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of the Chen in view of Fakoorian with the above features of Zhang for the purpose enhancing uplink beam management as taught by Zhang.
Claim(s) 10, 11, 14 – 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen et al. (US 2020/0106647) in view of Fakoorian et al. (US 2019/0124598) in view of Wang et al. (US 2023/0140323) and in further view of Kim et al. (US 2020/0280465)
Regarding Claim 10, Chen in view of Fakoorian teaches all of the claimed limitations recited in Claim 1. Chen in view of Fakoorian does not teach wherein the SRS resource is shared between a first TRP transmission and a second TRP transmission, wherein the UE applies an Orthogonal Cover Code (OCC) to the SRS to maintain orthogonality in use of the SRS resource between the first TRP transmission and the second TRP transmission.
Wang, which also teaches the use of SRSs, teaches a first TRP transmission and a second TRP transmission (Section 0156, multi-TRP operation renders a scenario of a first TRP transmission and a second TRP transmission).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of the Chen in view of Fakoorian with the above features of Wang for the purpose of providing intercell beam failure recovery as taught by Wang.
Chen in view of Fakoorian in view of Wang does not teach wherein the SRS resource is shared and wherein the UE applies an Orthogonal Cover Code (OCC) to the SRS to maintain orthogonality in use of the SRS resource
Kim, which also teaches the use of SRSs, teaches wherein the SRS resource is shared (Sections 0099 – 0100, OCC enables sharing of the SRS resource) and wherein the UE applies an Orthogonal Cover Code (OCC) to the SRS to maintain orthogonality in use of the SRS resource (Section 0099 – 0100).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of the Chen in view of Fakoorian in view of Wang with the above features of Kim for the purpose of enhancing channel estimation as taught by Kim.
Regarding Claim 11, Chen in view of Fakoorian in view of Wang in view of Kim teaches all of the claimed limitations recited in Claim 10. Chen in view of Fakoorian does not teach wherein the first TRP transmission is sent from the UE to a particular TRP and the second TRP transmission is sent from a second UE to the particular TRP.
Wang, which also teaches the use of SRSs, teaches wherein the first TRP transmission is sent from the UE to a particular TRP and the second TRP transmission is sent from a second UE to the particular TRP (Section 0156, multi-TRP transmission renders a plurality of scenarios such as a scenario of a first transmission sent to a particular TRP from a first UE and a second transmission sent from a second UE to the particular TRP).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of the Chen in view of Fakoorian with the above features of Wang for the purpose of providing intercell beam failure recovery as taught by Wang.
Regarding Claim 14, Chen in view of Fakoorian in view of Wang in view of Kim teaches all of the claimed limitations recited in Claim 11. Chen in view of Fakoorian does not teach wherein a third TRP transmission sent is sent from the UE to a second TRP, wherein the third TRP transmission is sent using the SRS resource, wherein a comb structure, frequency hopping, or resource block-level partial frequency sounding structure is used to provide orthogonality between the third TRP transmission and the first TRP transmission.
Wang, which also teaches the use of SRSs, teaches wherein a third TRP transmission sent is sent from the UE to a second TRP (Section 0156, multi-TRP transmission renders a plurality of scenarios such as a scenario of a third TRP transmission sent is sent from the UE to a second TRP).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of the Chen in view of Fakoorian with the above features of Wang for the purpose of providing intercell beam failure recovery as taught by Wang.
Chen in view of Fakoorian in view of Wang does not teach wherein a transmission is sent using the SRS resource, wherein a comb structure, frequency hopping, or resource block-level partial frequency sounding structure is used to provide orthogonality between the transmission and another transmission
Kim, which also teaches the use of SRSs, teaches wherein a transmission is sent using the SRS resource, wherein a comb structure, frequency hopping, or resource block-level partial frequency sounding structure is used to provide orthogonality between the transmission and another transmission (Section 0099).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of the Chen in view of Fakoorian in view of Wang with the above features of Kim for the purpose of enhancing channel estimation as taught by Kim.
Regarding Claim 15, Chen in view of Fakoorian in view of Wang in view of Kim teaches all of the claimed limitations recited in Claim 10. Chen in view of Fakoorian does not teach wherein the first TRP transmission is sent from the UE to a first TRP and the second TRP transmission is sent from the UE to a second TRP.
Wang, which also teaches the use of SRSs, teaches wherein the first TRP transmission is sent from the UE to a first TRP and the second TRP transmission is sent from the UE to a second TRP (Section 0156, multi-TRP transmission renders a plurality of scenarios such as a scenario of the first TRP transmission is sent from the UE to a first TRP and the second TRP transmission is sent from the UE to a second TRP).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of the Chen in view of Fakoorian with the above features of Wang for the purpose of providing intercell beam failure recovery as taught by Wang.
Regarding Claim 16, Chen in view of Fakoorian in view of Wang in view of Kim teaches all of the claimed limitations recited in Claim 10. Chen further teaches wherein the UE configures the SRS for transmission in response to receiving an indication of the setting of the SRS from the network entity (Section 0032).
Chen in view of Fakoorian in view of Wang does not teach wherein the UE applies the OCC to the SRS in response to receiving an indication from the gNB.
Kim, which also teaches the use of SRSs, teaches wherein the UE applies the OCC to the SRS (Sections 0099 – 0100).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of the Chen in view of Fakoorian in view of Wang with the above features of Kim for the purpose of enhancing channel estimation as taught by Kim. The combination of in view of Fakoorian in view of Wang and Kim teaches wherein the UE applies the OCC to the SRS in response to receiving an indication from the gNB.
Claim(s) 12, 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen et al. (US 2020/0106647) in view of Fakoorian et al. (US 2019/0124598) in view of Wang et al. (US 2023/0140323) in view of Kim et al. (US 2020/0280465) and in further view of Chen et al. (US 2015/0327263), hereafter Chen263
Regarding Claim 12, Chen in view of Fakoorian in view of Wang in view of Kim teaches all of the claimed limitations recited in Claim 11. Chen in view of Fakoorian does not teach wherein a third TRP transmission sent is sent from the UE to a second TRP, wherein the third TRP transmission is sent using a second resource comprising a same SRS base sequence as the SRS resource, wherein a cyclic shift is applied to the SRS base sequence for the third TRP transmission such that the second resource and the SRS resource are orthogonal.
Wang, which also teaches the use of SRSs, teaches wherein a third TRP transmission sent is sent from the UE to a second TRP (Section 0156, multi-TRP transmission renders a plurality of scenarios such as a scenario of a third TRP transmission sent is sent from the UE to a second TRP).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of the Chen in view of Fakoorian with the above features of Wang for the purpose of providing intercell beam failure recovery as taught by Wang.
Chen in view of Fakoorian in view of Wang in view of Kim does not teach wherein a transmission is sent using a second resource comprising a same SRS base sequence as the SRS resource, wherein a cyclic shift is applied to the SRS base sequence for the third TRP transmission such that the second resource and the SRS resource are orthogonal.
Chen263, which also teaches the use of SRSs, teaches wherein a transmission is sent using a second resource comprising a same SRS base sequence as the SRS resource, wherein a cyclic shift is applied to the SRS base sequence for the third TRP transmission such that the second resource and the SRS resource are orthogonal (Section 0050).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of the Chen in view of Fakoorian in view of Wang in view of Kim with the above features of Chen263 for the purpose of providing TDD communications thus optimizing spectrum usage as taught by Chen263.
Regarding Claim 13, Chen in view of Fakoorian in view of Wang in view of Kim in view of Chen263 teaches all of the claimed limitations recited in Claim 11. Chen in view of Fakoorian does not teach wherein a third TRP transmission sent is sent from the UE to a second TRP, wherein the third TRP transmission is sent using a second resource comprising a different SRS base sequence as the SRS resource.
Wang, which also teaches the use of SRSs, teaches wherein a third TRP transmission sent is sent from the UE to a second TRP (Section 0156, multi-TRP transmission renders a plurality of scenarios such as a scenario of a third TRP transmission sent is sent from the UE to a second TRP).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of the Chen in view of Fakoorian with the above features of Wang for the purpose of providing intercell beam failure recovery as taught by Wang.
Chen in view of Fakoorian in view of Wang in view of Kim does not teach wherein a transmission is sent using a second resource comprising a different SRS base sequence as the SRS resource.
Chen263, which also teaches the use of SRSs, teaches wherein a transmission is sent using a second resource comprising a different SRS base sequence as the SRS resource (Section 0050, a shift in the SRS base sequence renders a different SRS bases sequence).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of the Chen in view of Fakoorian in view of Wang in view of Kim with the above features of Chen263 for the purpose of providing TDD communications thus optimizing spectrum usage as taught by Chen263.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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/RAYMOND S DEAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2645 Raymond S. Dean
July 15, 2026
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