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 .
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finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 03/10/2026 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
Applicant’s submission filed on 03/10/2026 has been entered. Claim(s) 1, 5-10 and 12-13 are pending in the application.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 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.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1, 5-10 and 12-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ling et al. (US 2023/0370219 A1), hereinafter “LING” in view of Lim et al. (US 2022/0312337 A1), hereinafter “LIM” in view of Yang et al. (US 2021/0377870 A1), hereinafter “YANG”.
Regarding claim 1, LING teaches, ‘A method comprising: receiving, by a terminal, from a base station, configuration information related to a sounding reference signal (SRS),’ (Paragraph [0016], a method comprises receiving a configuration, wherein the configuration indicates two SRS resource sets),
‘wherein the configuration information includes information on a plurality of SRS resource sets, and each of the plurality of SRS resource sets includes a plurality of SRS resources;’ (Paragraph [0004], the UE may be configured with a single SRS resource set composed of one or multiple SRS resources. Paragraph [0056], SRS resource set 0, that is composed of SRS resources 0 and 1… SRS resource set 1, that is composed of SRS resources 2 and 3)
‘transmitting, by the terminal, to the base station, the SRS on the plurality of SRS resources in each of the plurality of SRS resource sets;’ (Paragraph [0005], the UE shall use one or multiple SRS resources for SRS transmission… The one or multiple SRS resources… can be indicated based on a SRI field);
‘…wherein a precoder and transmission rank of the uplink transmission are determined based on the plurality of SRS resource indicator fields,…’ (Paragraph [0055], The spatial relation information and ports of the PUSCH transmission are determined according to the indicated SRS resource… for non-codebook based PUSCH transmission),…
LING does not explicitly teach but LIM teaches, ‘receiving, by the terminal, from the base station, downlink control information for scheduling an uplink transmission for non-codebook based transmission,’ (LIM - Paragraph [0481], non-codebook-based PUSCH transmission is configured via higher layer signaling… the terminal may receive DCI of an existing format or a new format),
‘wherein the downlink control information includes an SRS resource set indication field and a plurality of SRS resource indicator fields;’ (LIM - Paragraph [0479], the base station may transmit, to the terminal, DCI in which multiple SRI or TPMI fields exist. Paragraph [0670], the terminal may consider at least one of… SRI bit-field (e.g., 2 fields or more) information)
‘and transmitting, by the terminal, to the base station, the uplink transmission based on the downlink control information,’ (LIM – Paragraph [0012], transmitting, to the base station, a PUSCH, based on the transmission power [determined from the DCI]),
‘wherein based on a value of the SRS resource set indication field, i) a first SRS resource indicator field of the plurality of SRS resource indicator fields has a first bit length and indicates one or more SRS resources within one of the plurality of SRS resource sets’ (LIM – Paragraph [0672], if one PUCCH-SpatialRelationinfo is activated in one PUCCH resource, the terminal may perform repeated PUCCH transmission to a single TRP. Paragraph [0673], When the terminal performs switching of
(repeated) PUSCH transmission from multiple TRPs to a single TRP… reinterpretation of information on a TPC field of the same size in DCI… is required)
‘or ii) each of the plurality of SRS resource indicator fields has a second bit length smaller than the first bit length and respectively indicates one or more SRS resources within each of the plurality of SRS resource sets,…’ (LIM – Paragraph [0515], When multiple TPMIs are selected… a bit length of the second TPMI field may be shorter than that of the first TPMI field. Paragraph [0538], When multiple SRI fields are selected… a bit length of the second SRI field may be shorter than that of the first SRI field),…
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have known to combine the teachings of LIM with LING because both are in the same /similar field of endeavor. The advantage of incorporating the above limitation(s) of LIM into LING is that LIM provides receiving, from a base station, a radio resource control (RRC) message including at least one physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) power control information and at least one PO-PUSCH set; receiving, from the base station, downlink control information (DCI) including a transmission power control (TPC) command value and an open-loop power control parameter set indicator; in case that the DCI includes an SRS resource indicator (SRI) and the open-loop power control parameter set indicator is configured to 1, determining transmission power based on PUSCH power control information corresponding to the SRI, the TPC command value, and a first value of a PO-PUSCH set corresponding to the SRI; and transmitting, to the base station, a PUSCH, based on the transmission power. (See Paragraph [0012], LIM)
LING and LIM do not explicitly teach but YANG teaches, ‘…and wherein the plurality of SRS resource sets are related to a single power control parameter set.’ (YANG - Paragraph [0006], DCI includes a single-bit indication field for the open loop power level and a sounding reference signal resource indicator (SRI) field based at least in part on a DCI format of the DCI, and wherein the SRI field indicates a power parameter set including multiple open loop power levels [plurality of SRS resource sets]… In some aspects, the UE may determine the open loop power level based at least in part on the one-bit indication and the SRI. For example, the determination of the open loop power level may be based at least in part on a preconfigured rule for resolving the ambiguity. More particularly, the rule may indicate to use a lowest-indexed open loop power level of the power parameter set [single power control parameter set]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have known to combine the teachings of YANG with LING and LIM because both are in the same/similar field of endeavor. The advantage of incorporating the above limitation(s) of YANG into LING and LIM is that YANG provides resolution of ambiguity with regard to determination of an open loop power control value (e.g., a PO value) for a user equipment that is configured with at least two downlink control information formats, of which one is configured with a sounding reference signal resource indicator (SRI) field and another is not configured with an SRI field. (See Abstract, YANG)
Regarding claim 5, LING, LIM and YANG teach, The method of claim 1, LING does not explicitly teach but LIM teaches, ‘wherein based on the plurality of SRS resource indicator fields being respectively mapped one-to-one to the plurality of SRS resource sets,’ (LIM – Paragraph [0479], In order to support the method of single DCI-based repeated PUSCH transmission in consideration of multiple TRPs, the base station may transmit, to the terminal, DCI in which multiple SRI or TPMI fields exist. Paragraph [0481], If multiple SRI fields are used… two or more SRS resource sets in which usage, higher layer signaling, is configured to codebook or non-codebook may be configured, each SRI field may indicate each SRS resource, and each SRS resource may be included in two different SRS resource sets. Paragraph [0601], In this case, a first SRI field may be determined by the base station by referring to a first SRS resource set… and a second SRI field may be determined by the base station by referring to a second SRS resource set),
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have known to combine the teachings of LIM with LING because both are in the same /similar field of endeavor. The advantage of incorporating the above limitation(s) of LIM into LING is that LIM provides receiving, from a base station, a radio resource control (RRC) message including at least one physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) power control information and at least one PO-PUSCH set; receiving, from the base station, downlink control information (DCI) including a transmission power control (TPC) command value and an open-loop power control parameter set indicator; in case that the DCI includes an SRS resource indicator (SRI) and the open-loop power control parameter set indicator is configured to 1, determining transmission power based on PUSCH power control information corresponding to the SRI, the TPC command value, and a first value of a PO-PUSCH set corresponding to the SRI; and transmitting, to the base station, a PUSCH, based on the transmission power. (See Paragraph [0012], LIM)
LING and LIM do not explicitly teach but YANG teaches, ‘the single power control parameter set is configured only for one of the plurality of SRS resource sets.’ (YANG – Paragraph [0006], determination of the open loop power level may be based at least in part on a preconfigured rule for
resolving the ambiguity. More particularly, the rule may indicate to use a lowest-indexed open loop power level of the power parameter set. Paragraph [0059], if the UE is scheduled by the DCI format that does not contain the SRI field, then the UE may use the PO-PUSCH-set configuration that has a lowest identifier ( e.g., is the first configured PO-PUSCH-set)).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have known to combine the teachings of YANG with LING and LIM because both are in the same/similar field of endeavor. The advantage of incorporating the above limitation(s) of YANG into LING and LIM is that YANG provides resolution of ambiguity with regard to determination of an open loop power control value (e.g., a PO value) for a user equipment that is configured with at least two downlink control information formats, of which one is configured with a sounding reference signal resource indicator (SRI) field and another is not configured with an SRI field. (See Abstract, YANG)
Regarding claim 6, LING, LIM and YANG teach, The method of claim 1, LING does not explicitly teach but LIM teaches, ‘wherein based on the plurality of SRS resource indicator fields being respectively mapped one-to-one to the plurality of SRS resource sets,’ (LIM – Paragraph [0479], In order to support the method of single DCI-based repeated PUSCH transmission in consideration of multiple TRPs, the base station may transmit, to the terminal, DCI in which multiple SRI or TPMI fields exist. Paragraph [0601], a first SRI field may be determined by the base station by referring to a first SRS resource set…
and a second SRI field may be determined by the base station by referring to a second SRS resource set),
‘even though power control parameter sets are configured for each of the plurality of SRS resource sets,’ (LIM – Paragraph [0600], SRI-PUSCH-PowerControl in each sriPUSCH-MappingToAddModList may include a transmission power parameter… for each beamforming direction, that is, a corresponding TRP),
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have known to combine the teachings of LIM with LING because both are in the same /similar field of endeavor. The advantage of incorporating the above limitation(s) of LIM into LING is that LIM provides receiving, from a base station, a radio resource control (RRC) message including at least one physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) power control information and at least one PO-PUSCH set; receiving, from the base station, downlink control information (DCI) including a transmission power control (TPC) command value and an open-loop power control parameter set indicator; in case that the DCI includes an SRS resource indicator (SRI) and the open-loop power control parameter set indicator is configured to 1, determining transmission power based on PUSCH power control information corresponding to the SRI, the TPC command value, and a first value of a PO-PUSCH set corresponding to the SRI; and transmitting, to the base station, a PUSCH, based on the transmission power. (See Paragraph [0012], LIM)
LING and LIM do not explicitly teach but YANG teaches, ‘only the single power control parameter set for any one of the plurality of SRS resource sets is applied for the uplink transmission.’ (YANG – Paragraph [0006], the determination of the open loop power level may be based at least in part on a preconfigured rule for resolving the ambiguity. More particularly, the rule may indicate to use a lowest-indexed open loop power level of the power parameter set).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have known to combine the teachings of YANG with LING and LIM because both are in the same/similar field of endeavor. The advantage of incorporating the above limitation(s) of YANG into LING and LIM is that YANG provides resolution of ambiguity with regard to determination of an open loop power control value (e.g., a PO value) for a user equipment that is configured with at least two downlink control information formats, of which one is configured with a sounding reference signal resource indicator (SRI) field and another is not configured with an SRI field. (See Abstract, YANG)
Regarding claim 7, LING, LIM and YANG teach, The method of claim 1, LING does not explicitly teach but LIM teaches, ‘…is mapped to only one of the plurality of SRS resource indicator fields.’ (LIM – Paragraph [0632], An indicated TPC value may be applied to first PUCCH/PUSCH resource transmitted for a first TRP… TPC command-related/associated information newly configured via a higher lay may be explicit configuration information on a specific timing or beam, to which a TPC control value is applied, from among multiple timings or multiple beams. Paragraph [0634], the terminal may determine that the information indicated by the TPC field in the DCI is basically applied in a first beamforming direction at a first or odd-numbered timing).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have known to combine the teachings of LIM with LING because both are in the same /similar field of endeavor. The advantage of incorporating the above limitation(s) of LIM into LING is that LIM provides receiving, from a base station, a radio resource control (RRC) message including at least one physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) power control information and at least one PO-PUSCH set; receiving, from the base station, downlink control information (DCI) including a transmission power control (TPC) command value and an open-loop power control parameter set indicator; in case that the DCI includes an SRS resource indicator (SRI) and the open-loop power control parameter set indicator is configured to 1, determining transmission power based on PUSCH power control information corresponding to the SRI, the TPC command value, and a first value of a PO-PUSCH set corresponding to the SRI; and transmitting, to the base station, a PUSCH, based on the transmission power. (See Paragraph [0012], LIM)
LING and LIM do not explicitly teach but YANG teaches, ‘wherein the single power control parameter set for the uplink transmission…’ (YANG – Paragraph [0006], More particularly, the rule may indicate to use a lowest-indexed open loop power level of the power parameter set. Paragraph [0059], if the UE is scheduled by the DCI format that does not contain the SRI field, then the UE may use the PO-PUSCH-set configuration that has a lowest identifier ( e.g., is the first configured PO-PUSCH-set))…
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have known to combine the teachings of YANG with LING and LIM because both are in the same/similar field of endeavor. The advantage of incorporating the above limitation(s) of YANG into LING and LIM is that YANG provides resolution of ambiguity with regard to determination of an open loop power control value (e.g., a PO value) for a user equipment that is configured with at least two downlink control information formats, of which one is configured with a sounding reference signal resource indicator (SRI) field and another is not configured with an SRI field. (See Abstract, YANG)
Regarding claim 8, LING, LIM and YANG teach, The method of claim 1, LING does not explicitly teach but LIM teaches, ‘wherein even though a plurality of power control parameter sets are respectively mapped to each of the plurality of SRS resource indicator fields,’ (LIM – Paragraph [0600], The base station may indicate two or more SRI fields in DCI… determine PUSCH transmission power for TRP 1 by referring to a PUSCH power transmission parameter… and may determine PUSCH transmission power for TRP 2 by referring to a PUSCH power transmission [different] parameter… indicated by a second SRI field),
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have known to combine the teachings of LIM with LING because both are in the same /similar field of endeavor. The advantage of incorporating the above limitation(s) of LIM into LING is that LIM provides receiving, from a base station, a radio resource control (RRC) message including at least one physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) power control information and at least one PO-PUSCH set; receiving, from the base station, downlink control information (DCI) including a transmission power control (TPC) command value and an open-loop power control parameter set indicator; in case that the DCI includes an SRS resource indicator (SRI) and the open-loop power control parameter set indicator is configured to 1, determining transmission power based on PUSCH power control information corresponding to the SRI, the TPC command value, and a first value of a PO-PUSCH set corresponding to the SRI; and transmitting, to the base station, a PUSCH, based on the transmission power. (See Paragraph [0012], LIM)
LING and LIM do not explicitly teach but YANG teaches, ‘only one of the plurality of power control parameter sets is applied for the uplink transmission.’ (YANG – Paragraph [0006], the determination of the open loop power level may be based at least in part on a preconfigured rule for
resolving the ambiguity. More particularly, the rule may indicate to use a lowest-indexed open loop power level of the power parameter set).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have known to combine the teachings of YANG with LING and LIM because both are in the same/similar field of endeavor. The advantage of incorporating the above limitation(s) of YANG into LING and LIM is that YANG provides resolution of ambiguity with regard to determination of an open loop power control value (e.g., a PO value) for a user equipment that is configured with at least two downlink control information formats, of which one is configured with a sounding reference signal resource indicator (SRI) field and another is not configured with an SRI field. (See Abstract, YANG)
Regarding claim 9, LING, LIM and YANG teach, The method of claim 1, LING does not explicitly teach but LIM teaches, ‘wherein the plurality of SRS resource indicator fields are the first SRS resource indicator field and a second SRS resource indicator field,’ (LIM – Paragraph [0479], the base station may transmit, to the terminal, DCI in which multiple SRI or TPMI fields exist. Paragraph [0480], the terminal may receive DCI of an existing format or a new format having 2 SRI fields and 2 TPMI fields),
‘wherein the second SRS resource indicator field is applied only when the first SRS resource indicator field indicates 4 SRS resources,’ (LIM – Paragraphs [0540]-[0541], a dynamic switching method supportable via codepoints indicating a reserved value in multiple SRI fields, it is assumed that the maximum number of PUSCH antenna ports is 4 and the number of SRS resources in each SRS resource set is 4. It is assumed that the first SRI field is configured by 4 bits… The number of bits of the second SRI field may be configured based on a layer having the largest number of candidates among the number of SRS resource selection candidates for each layer. For example, an SRI field value indicating an SRS resource selection candidate for layer 1 may be 0 to 3 and may have a total of 4 candidates),
‘and wherein the second SRS resource indicator field is ignored when the first SRS resource indicator field indicates less than 4 SRS resources.’ (LIM – Paragraphs [0675]-[0676], the terminal may assume that a first 2-bit field (MBS field) of two TPC fields… is applied to a single TRP, and the remaining 2-bit field is disregarded… A TPC command field indicated for a TRP other than the actually configured TRP may be disregarded).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have known to combine the teachings of LIM with LING because both are in the same /similar field of endeavor. The advantage of incorporating the above limitation(s) of LIM into LING is that LIM provides receiving, from a base station, a radio resource control (RRC) message including at least one physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) power control information and at least one PO-PUSCH set; receiving, from the base station, downlink control information (DCI) including a transmission power control (TPC) command value and an open-loop power control parameter set indicator; in case that the DCI includes an SRS resource indicator (SRI) and the open-loop power control parameter set indicator is configured to 1, determining transmission power based on PUSCH power control information corresponding to the SRI, the TPC command value, and a first value of a PO-PUSCH set corresponding to the SRI; and transmitting, to the base station, a PUSCH, based on the transmission power. (See Paragraph [0012], LIM)
Regarding claim 10, LING, LIM and YANG teach, The method of claim 9, LING does not explicitly teach but LIM teaches, ‘wherein a size of the first SRS resource indicator field is 4 bits,’ (LIM – Paragraph [0540], In order to describe, as a specific example, a dynamic switching method supportable via codepoints indicating a reserved value in multiple SRI fields, it is assumed that the maximum number of PUSCH antenna ports is 4 and the number of SRS resources in each SRS resource set is 4. It is assumed that the first SRI field is configured by 4 bits, and indication is performed in the same way as in NR Release 15/16),
‘and a size of the second SRS resource indicator field is determined according to a number of layers for transmission of the uplink transmission.’ (LIM – Paragraph [0541], The number of bits of the second SRI field may be configured based on a layer having the largest number of candidates among the number of SRS resource selection candidates for each layer… the number of candidates for layer 2 has a largest value with a total of 6, and the number of bits of the second SRI field may be thus configured to 3 according to the number of SRS field candidates for layer 2).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have known to combine the teachings of LIM with LING because both are in the same /similar field of endeavor. The advantage of incorporating the above limitation(s) of LIM into LING is that LIM provides receiving, from a base station, a radio resource control (RRC) message including at least one physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) power control information and at least one PO-PUSCH set; receiving, from the base station, downlink control information (DCI) including a transmission power control (TPC) command value and an open-loop power control parameter set indicator; in case that the DCI includes an SRS resource indicator (SRI) and the open-loop power control parameter set indicator is configured to 1, determining transmission power based on PUSCH power control information corresponding to the SRI, the TPC command value, and a first value of a PO-PUSCH set corresponding to the SRI; and transmitting, to the base station, a PUSCH, based on the transmission power. (See Paragraph [0012], LIM)
Regarding claim 12, LING teaches, ‘A terminal comprising: at least one transceiver for transmitting and receiving a wireless signal; and at least one processor for controlling the at least one transceiver, wherein the at least one processor configured to:’ (Paragraph [0011], a remote unit comprises a receiver and a transmitter, the receiver receives a configuration… and the receiver further
receives a DCI scheduling a PUSCH transmission… and the transmitter transmits the PUSCH transmission. Paragraph [0034], processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus)
‘receive, from a base station, configuration information related to a sounding reference signal (SRS),’ (Paragraph [0016], a method comprises receiving a configuration, wherein the configuration indicates two SRS resource sets),
‘wherein the configuration information includes information on a plurality of SRS resource sets, and each of the plurality of SRS resource sets includes a plurality of SRS resources;’ (Paragraph [0004], the UE may be configured with a single SRS resource set composed of one or multiple SRS resources. Paragraph [0056], SRS resource set 0, that is composed of SRS resources 0 and 1… SRS resource set 1, that is composed of SRS resources 2 and 3)
‘transmit, to the base station, the SRS on the plurality of SRS resources in each of the plurality of SRS resource sets;’ (Paragraph [0005], the UE shall use one or multiple SRS resources for SRS transmission… The one or multiple SRS resources… can be indicated based on a SRI field);
‘…wherein a precoder and transmission rank of the uplink transmission are determined based on the plurality of SRS resource indicator fields,…’ (Paragraph [0055], The spatial relation information and ports of the PUSCH transmission are determined according to the indicated SRS resource… for non-codebook based PUSCH transmission),…
LING does not explicitly teach but LIM teaches, ‘receive, from the base station, downlink control information for scheduling an uplink transmission for non-codebook based transmission,’ (LIM - Paragraph [0481], non-codebook-based PUSCH transmission is configured via higher layer signaling… the terminal may receive DCI of an existing format or a new format),
‘wherein the downlink control information includes an SRS resource set indication field and a plurality of SRS resource indicator fields;’ (LIM - Paragraph [0479], the base station may transmit, to the terminal, DCI in which multiple SRI or TPMI fields exist. Paragraph [0670], the terminal may consider at least one of… SRI bit-field (e.g., 2 fields or more) information)
‘and transmit, to the base station, the uplink transmission based on the downlink control information,’ (LIM – Paragraph [0012], transmitting, to the base station, a PUSCH, based on the transmission power [determined from the DCI]),
‘wherein based on a value of the SRS resource set indication field, i) a first SRS resource indicator field of the plurality of SRS resource indicator fields has a first bit length and indicates one or more SRS resources within one of the plurality of SRS resource sets’ (LIM – Paragraph [0672], if one PUCCH-SpatialRelationinfo is activated in one PUCCH resource, the terminal may perform repeated PUCCH transmission to a single TRP. Paragraph [0673], When the terminal performs switching of
(repeated) PUSCH transmission from multiple TRPs to a single TRP… reinterpretation of information on a TPC field of the same size in DCI… is required)
‘or ii) each of the plurality of SRS resource indicator fields has a second bit length smaller than the first bit length and respectively indicates one or more SRS resources within each of the plurality of SRS resource sets,…’ (LIM – Paragraph [0515], When multiple TPMIs are selected… a bit length of the second TPMI field may be shorter than that of the first TPMI field. Paragraph [0538], When multiple SRI fields are selected… a bit length of the second SRI field may be shorter than that of the first SRI field),…
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have known to combine the teachings of LIM with LING because both are in the same /similar field of endeavor. The advantage of incorporating the above limitation(s) of LIM into LING is that LIM provides receiving, from a base station, a radio resource control (RRC) message including at least one physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) power control information and at least one PO-PUSCH set; receiving, from the base station, downlink control information (DCI) including a transmission power control (TPC) command value and an open-loop power control parameter set indicator; in case that the DCI includes an SRS resource indicator (SRI) and the open-loop power control parameter set indicator is configured to 1, determining transmission power based on PUSCH power control information corresponding to the SRI, the TPC command value, and a first value of a PO-PUSCH set corresponding to the SRI; and transmitting, to the base station, a PUSCH, based on the transmission power. (See Paragraph [0012], LIM)
LING and LIM do not explicitly teach but YANG teaches, ‘…and wherein the plurality of SRS resource sets are related to a single power control parameter set.’ (YANG - Paragraph [0006], DCI includes a single-bit indication field for the open loop power level and a sounding reference signal resource indicator (SRI) field based at least in part on a DCI format of the DCI, and wherein the SRI field indicates a power parameter set including multiple open loop power levels [plurality of SRS resource sets]… In some aspects, the UE may determine the open loop power level based at least in part on the one-bit indication and the SRI. For example, the determination of the open loop power level may be based at least in part on a preconfigured rule for resolving the ambiguity. More particularly, the rule may indicate to use a lowest-indexed open loop power level of the power parameter set [single power control parameter set]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have known to combine the teachings of YANG with LING and LIM because both are in the same/similar field of endeavor. The advantage of incorporating the above limitation(s) of YANG into LING and LIM is that YANG provides resolution of ambiguity with regard to determination of an open loop power control value (e.g., a PO value) for a user equipment that is configured with at least two downlink control information formats, of which one is configured with a sounding reference signal resource indicator (SRI) field and another is not configured with an SRI field. (See Abstract, YANG)
Regarding claim 13, LING teaches, ‘A base station comprising: at least one transceiver for transmitting and receiving a wireless signal; and at least one processor for controlling the at least one transceiver, wherein the at least one processor configured to:’ (Paragraph [0017], In one embodiment, a base unit comprises a transmitter and a receiver… the transmitter further transmits a DCI scheduling a PUSCH transmission… the receiver receives the PUSCH transmission. Paragraph [0034], processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus),
‘transmit, to a terminal, configuration information related to a sounding reference signal (SRS), wherein the configuration information includes information on a plurality of SRS resource sets, and each of the plurality of SRS resource sets includes a plurality of SRS resources;’ (Paragraph [0017], the transmitter transmits a configuration, wherein the configuration indicates two SRS resource sets. Paragraph [0056], SRS resource set 0, that is composed of SRS resources 0 and 1… SRS resource set 1, that is composed of SRS resources 2 and 3)
‘receive, from the terminal, the SRS on a plurality of SRS resources in each of the plurality of SRS resource sets;’ (Paragraph [0005], the UE shall use one or multiple SRS resources for SRS transmission… The one or multiple SRS resources… can be indicated based on a SRI field);
‘…wherein a precoder and transmission rank of the uplink transmission are determined based on the plurality of SRS resource indicator fields,…’ (Paragraph [0055], The spatial relation information and ports of the PUSCH transmission are determined according to the indicated SRS resource… for non-codebook based PUSCH transmission),…
LING does not explicitly teach but LIM teaches, ‘transmit, to the terminal, downlink control information for scheduling an uplink transmission for non-codebook based transmission,’ (LIM - Paragraph [0481], non-codebook-based PUSCH transmission is configured via higher layer signaling… the terminal may receive DCI of an existing format or a new format),
‘wherein the downlink control information includes an SRS resource set indication field and a plurality of SRS resource indicator fields;’ (LIM - Paragraph [0479], the base station may transmit, to the terminal, DCI in which multiple SRI or TPMI fields exist. Paragraph [0670], the terminal may consider at least one of… SRI bit-field (e.g., 2 fields or more) information)
‘and receive, from the terminal, the uplink transmission based on the downlink control information,’ (LIM – Paragraph [0012], transmitting, to the base station, a PUSCH, based on the transmission power [determined from the DCI]),
‘wherein based on a value of the SRS resource set indication field, i) a first SRS resource indicator field of the plurality of SRS resource indicator fields has a first bit length and indicates one or more SRS resources within one of the plurality of SRS resource sets’ (LIM – Paragraph [0672], if one PUCCH-SpatialRelationinfo is activated in one PUCCH resource, the terminal may perform repeated PUCCH transmission to a single TRP. Paragraph [0673], When the terminal performs switching of
(repeated) PUSCH transmission from multiple TRPs to a single TRP… reinterpretation of information on a TPC field of the same size in DCI… is required)
‘or ii) each of the plurality of SRS resource indicator fields has a second bit length smaller than the first bit length and respectively indicates one or more SRS resources within each of to the plurality of SRS resource sets,…’ LIM – Paragraph [0515], When multiple TPMIs are selected… a bit length of the second TPMI field may be shorter than that of the first TPMI field. Paragraph [0538], When multiple SRI fields are selected… a bit length of the second SRI field may be shorter than that of the first SRI field),…
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have known to combine the teachings of LIM with LING because both are in the same /similar field of endeavor. The advantage of incorporating the above limitation(s) of LIM into LING is that LIM provides receiving, from a base station, a radio resource control (RRC) message including at least one physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) power control information and at least one PO-PUSCH set; receiving, from the base station, downlink control information (DCI) including a transmission power control (TPC) command value and an open-loop power control parameter set indicator; in case that the DCI includes an SRS resource indicator (SRI) and the open-loop power control parameter set indicator is configured to 1, determining transmission power based on PUSCH power control information corresponding to the SRI, the TPC command value, and a first value of a PO-PUSCH set corresponding to the SRI; and transmitting, to the base station, a PUSCH, based on the transmission power. (See Paragraph [0012], LIM)
LING and LIM do not explicitly teach but YANG teaches, ‘…and wherein the plurality of SRS resource sets are related to a single power control parameter set.’ (YANG - Paragraph [0006], DCI includes a single-bit indication field for the open loop power level and a sounding reference signal resource indicator (SRI) field based at least in part on a DCI format of the DCI, and wherein the SRI field indicates a power parameter set including multiple open loop power levels [plurality of SRS resource sets]… In some aspects, the UE may determine the open loop power level based at least in part on the one-bit indication and the SRI. For example, the determination of the open loop power level may be based at least in part on a preconfigured rule for resolving the ambiguity. More particularly, the rule may indicate to use a lowest-indexed open loop power level of the power parameter set [single power control parameter set]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have known to combine the teachings of YANG with LING and LIM because both are in the same/similar field of endeavor. The advantage of incorporating the above limitation(s) of YANG into LING and LIM is that YANG provides resolution of ambiguity with regard to determination of an open loop power control value (e.g., a PO value) for a user equipment that is configured with at least two downlink control information formats, of which one is configured with a sounding reference signal resource indicator (SRI) field and another is not configured with an SRI field. (See Abstract, YANG)
Conclusion
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/HAESHIL JESSICA CHOI/Examiner, Art Unit 2479 /JAE Y LEE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2479
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