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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 01/22/2026 has been entered.
Response to Remarks
This Office action is considered fully responsive to the amendment filed 01/22/2026.
The previous specification objections are maintained as they have not been addressed.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 01/12/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant alleges they have incorporated the previously indicated allowable subject matter into the independent claims (pages 11-12, Remarks) but that is not the case. Rather, Applicant has included some of the subject matter of the previously indicated allowable subject matter, however has also written the amended limitations in the alternative such that all limitations do not need to be given patentable weight.
Examiner telephoned and left a voice message for Agent Kevin M. Donnelly (Reg. No. 61, 643) on 02/23/2026 to discuss proposed amendments to place the application in condition for allowance. As of 02/27/2026 no response has been received.
See the Claims Rejections section for a detailed mapping of the prior art to the claim limitations.
Specification
The use of the terms Wi-Fi, WiMAX, Flash-OFDM, which is a trade name or a mark used in commerce, has been noted in this application. The term should be accompanied by the generic terminology; furthermore each of the terms should be capitalized entirely wherever it appears or, where appropriate, include a proper symbol indicating use in commerce such as ™, SM , or ® following the term.
Although the use of trade names and marks used in commerce (i.e., trademarks, service marks, certification marks, and collective marks) are permissible in patent applications, the proprietary nature of the marks should be respected and every effort made to prevent their use in any manner which might adversely affect their validity as commercial marks.
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)(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.
Claim(s) 1, 4, 9, 14, 17, 21, 25, 30, 35, 37, 39-40 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by U.S. Publication No. 2024/0015737 A1 to RAGHAVAN et al. (“Raghavan”).
As to claim 1, see similar rejection to claim 25. The apparatus teaches the method.
As to claim 4, see similar rejection to claim 35. The apparatus teaches the method.
As to claim 9, see similar rejection to claim 37. The apparatus teaches the method.
As to claim 14, see similar rejection to claim 30. The apparatus teaches the method.
As to claim 17, see similar rejection to claim 39. The apparatus teaches the method.
As to claim 21, see similar rejection to claim 40. The apparatus teaches the method.
As to claim 25, Raghavan discloses a user equipment (UE) for wireless communications (fig. 2, UE 110), comprising: at least one a processor (fig. 2, processor 205); at least one memory coupled with the at least one processor (fig. 2, memory arrangement 210) and storing executable by the at least one processor to cause the UE to (para. 0059, a program containing lines of code stored on a non-transitory computer readable storage medium that, when compiled, may be executed on a processor or microprocessor):
receive, from a network entity, a downlink control information message comprising a first indication of one or more transmission configuration indicator states for communications with the network entity (para. 0038, joint TCI state switch can be indicated by MAC CE and/or DCI, i.e. DCI includes target TCI state) and a second indication that schedules one or more uplink shared channel transmissions, one or more sounding reference signal transmissions, one or more channel state information reports, one or more semi-persistent scheduling downlink channel reception opportunities or one or more uplink transmissions in respective transmission opportunities, or that includes an activation indication for one or more configured grant uplink transmissions (para. 0020, The TCI state change delay engine 235 may perform operations including determining a span of time for continuing to use an old TCI state [i.e. this implies at least one UL transmission occurs after receiving the DCI as the old TCI state is still being used for uplink before switching over to the new TCI state] after receiving a TCI state change indicator from the network; para. 0037, The joint TCI state refers to a TCI chain including UL and DL signals, and a separate UL TCI state refers to a TCI chain including only UL signals (although the source RS may be a DL signal); para. 0031, A TCI chain may be configured to include UL components, including ports for UL RS, e.g., SRS, and/or UL channels, e.g., RACH, PUCCH, and PUSCH, para. 0038, joint TCI state switch can be indicated by MAC CE and/or DCI, i.e. DCI includes joint TCI state switch and pertains to the implied UL transmission sent before the delayed switchover);
transmit, to the network entity, in accordance with the second indication, at least one of the one or more uplink shared channel transmissions, at least one of the one or more sounding reference signal transmissions, at least one of the one or more channel state information reports, an acknowledgment feedback message for at least one of the one or more semi-persistent scheduling downlink channel reception opportunities, a confirmation message for the activation indication, at least one of the one or more configured grant uplink transmissions or at least one of the one or more uplink transmissions in the respective transmission opportunity (para. 0020, The TCI state change delay engine 235 may perform operations including determining a span of time for continuing to use an old TCI state [i.e. this implies at least one UL transmission occurs after receiving the DCI as the old TCI state is still being used for uplink before switching over to the new TCI state] after receiving a TCI state change indicator from the network; para. 0037, The joint TCI state refers to a TCI chain including UL and DL signals, and a separate UL TCI state refers to a TCI chain including only UL signals (although the source RS may be a DL signal); para. 0031, A TCI chain may be configured to include UL components, including ports for UL RS, e.g., SRS, and/or UL channels, e.g., RACH, PUCCH, and PUSCH; para. 0038, joint TCI state switch can be indicated by MAC CE and/or DCI, i.e. DCI includes joint TCI state switch); and
communicating with the network entity using the one or more transmission configuration indicator states and after a delay, wherein the delay comprises an amount of time or a quantity of symbols between transmitting the at least one of the one or more uplink shared channel transmissions, the at least one of the one or more sounding reference signal transmissions, the at least one of the one or more channel state information reports, the acknowledgment feedback message, the confirmation message, the at least one of the one or more configured grant uplink transmissions or the at least one of the one or more uplink transmissions in the respective transmission opportunity and communicating with the network entity using the one or more transmission configuration indicator states (para. 0052, For the UE receiving the separate UL TCI state switch command, the starting point for the switching delay is the slot in which the UE receives the PDSCH with MAC-CE or the PDCCH with DCI indicating the separate UL TCI state switch. The ending point for the switching delay is the slot in which the UE transmits the UL signal associated with the target TCI state; para. 0037, The joint TCI state refers to a TCI chain including UL and DL signals, and a separate UL TCI state refers to a TCI chain including only UL signals (although the source RS may be a DL signal); para. 0031, A TCI chain may be configured to include UL components, including ports for UL RS, e.g., SRS, and/or UL channels, e.g., RACH, PUCCH, and PUSCH;).
As to claim 30, Raghavan discloses a network entity for wireless communications (fig. 3, gNB 120A), comprising: at least one a processor (fig. 3, processor 305); at least one memory coupled with the at least one processor (fig. 3, Memory Arrangement 310); and storing instructions in the at least one memory and executable by the at least one processor to cause the network entity to (para. 0059, a program containing lines of code stored on a non-transitory computer readable storage medium that, when compiled, may be executed on a processor or microprocessor):
transmit, to a user equipment (UE), a downlink control information message comprising a first indication of one or more transmission configuration indicator states for the UE to use for communications with the network entity (para. 0038, joint TCI state switch can be indicated by MAC CE and/or DCI, i.e. DCI includes target TCI state) and a a second indication that schedules one or more uplink shared channel transmissions, one or more sounding reference signal transmissions, one or more channel state information reports, one or more semi-persistent scheduling downlink channel reception opportunities or one or more uplink transmissions in respective transmission opportunities, or that includes an activation indication for one or more configured grant uplink transmissions (para. 0020, The TCI state change delay engine 235 may perform operations including determining a span of time for continuing to use an old TCI state [i.e. this implies at least one UL transmission occurs after receiving the DCI as the old TCI state is still being used for uplink before switching over to the new TCI state] after receiving a TCI state change indicator from the network; para. 0037, The joint TCI state refers to a TCI chain including UL and DL signals, and a separate UL TCI state refers to a TCI chain including only UL signals (although the source RS may be a DL signal); para. 0031, A TCI chain may be configured to include UL components, including ports for UL RS, e.g., SRS, and/or UL channels, e.g., RACH, PUCCH, and PUSCH, para. 0038, joint TCI state switch can be indicated by MAC CE and/or DCI, i.e. DCI includes joint TCI state switch and pertains to the implied UL transmission sent before the delayed switchover);
receive, from the UE in accordance with the second indication, at least one of the one or more uplink shared channel transmissions, at least one of the one or more sounding reference signal transmissions, at least one of the one or more channel state information reports, an acknowledgment feedback message for at least one of the one or more semi-persistent scheduling downlink channel reception opportunities, a confirmation message for the activation indication, at least one of the one or more configured grant uplink transmissions or at least one of the one or more uplink transmissions in the respective transmission opportunity (para. 0020, The TCI state change delay engine 235 may perform operations including determining a span of time for continuing to use an old TCI state [i.e. this implies at least one UL transmission occurs after receiving the DCI as the old TCI state is still being used for uplink before switching over to the new TCI state] after receiving a TCI state change indicator from the network; para. 0037, The joint TCI state refers to a TCI chain including UL and DL signals, and a separate UL TCI state refers to a TCI chain including only UL signals (although the source RS may be a DL signal); para. 0031, A TCI chain may be configured to include UL components, including ports for UL RS, e.g., SRS, and/or UL channels, e.g., RACH, PUCCH, and PUSCH, para. 0038, joint TCI state switch can be indicated by MAC CE and/or DCI, i.e. DCI includes joint TCI state switch and pertains to the implied UL transmission sent before the delayed switchover); and
communicate with the UE using the one or more transmission configuration indicator states and after a delay, wherein the delay comprises an amount of time or a quantity of symbols between receiving the at least one of the one or more uplink shared channel transmissions, the at least one of the one or more sounding reference signal transmissions, the at least one of the one or more channel state information reports, the acknowledgment feedback message, the confirmation message, the at least one of the one or more configured grant uplink transmissions or the at least one of the one or more uplink transmissions in the respective transmission opportunity and communicating with the UE using the one or more transmission configuration indicator states (para. 0052, For the UE receiving the separate UL TCI state switch command, the starting point for the switching delay is the slot in which the UE receives the PDSCH with MAC-CE or the PDCCH with DCI indicating the separate UL TCI state switch. The ending point for the switching delay is the slot in which the UE transmits the UL signal associated with the target TCI state; para. 0037, The joint TCI state refers to a TCI chain including UL and DL signals, and a separate UL TCI state refers to a TCI chain including only UL signals (although the source RS may be a DL signal); para. 0031, A TCI chain may be configured to include UL components, including ports for UL RS, e.g., SRS, and/or UL channels, e.g., RACH, PUCCH, and PUSCH;).
As to claim 35, Raghavan further discloses the UE of claim 25 (see rejection to claim 25), wherein the at least one of the one or more sounding reference signal transmissions comprises [Examiner notes this limitation was written in the alternative in claim 25, hence it does not need to be given patentable weight] a lowest resource set identifier of a plurality of resource set identifiers or a highest resource set identifier of the plurality of resource set identifiers, each of the plurality of resource set identifiers corresponding to a respective sounding reference signal of the one or more sounding reference signal transmissions.
As to claim 37, Raghavan further discloses the UE of claim 25 (see rejection to claim 25), wherein the confirmation message [Examiner notes this limitation was written in the alternative in claim 25, hence it does not need to be given patentable weight] comprises a configured grant confirmation medium access control control element transmission confirming reception of the downlink control information message activating the one or more configured grant uplink transmissions.
As to claim 39, Raghavan further discloses network entity of claim 30 (see rejection to claim 30), wherein the at least one of the one or more sounding reference signal transmissions [Examiner notes this limitation was written in the alternative in claim 30, hence it does not need to be given patentable weight] comprises a lowest resource set identifier of a plurality of resource set identifiers or a highest resource set identifier of the plurality of resource set identifiers, each of the plurality of resource set identifiers corresponding to a respective sounding reference signal of the one or more sounding reference signal transmissions.
As to claim 40, Raghavan further discloses the network entity of claim 30 (see rejection to claim 30), wherein the confirmation message [Examiner notes this limitation was written in the alternative in claim 25, hence it does not need to be given patentable weight] comprises a configured grant confirmation medium access control control element transmission confirming reception of the downlink control information message activating the one or more configured grant uplink transmissions at the UE.
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.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 6, 36 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Publication No. 2024/0015737 A1 to RAGHAVAN et al. (“Raghavan”) in view of WO 202001584 A1 to HANG et al. (“Hang”) [Examiner cites to attached English translation].
As to claim 6, see similar rejection to claim 36. The apparatus teaches the method.
As to claim 36, Raghavan does not expressly disclose the UE of claim 25, wherein the instructions are further executable by the at least one processor to cause the UiE to: receive an additional downlink control information message comprising the first indication of the one or more transmission configuration indicator states for communications with the network entity and an additional indication to perform a channel state information measurement operation; and refrain from communicating with the network entity using the one or more transmission configuration indicator states based at least in part on the additional indication in the additional downlink control information message comprising the additional indication to perform the channel state information measurement operation.
Hang discloses at page 4: In the above method, the TCI (i.e. first indication) of the third DCI (i.e. additional downlink control information message) sent by the first network device to the terminal carries a fifth identifier, thereby clarifying the association relationship between the second CSI (i.e. channel state information measurement operation) and the third DCI to the terminal. After the terminal needs to feed back to the network the HARQ-ACK for the third DCI TB and the HARQ-ACK for the fourth DCI TB, the terminal encapsulates the second CSI and the HARQ-ACK for the third DCI TB in the same package. One UCI is not encapsulated in the same UCI as the HARQ-ACK for the TB for the fourth DCI (i.e. refraining from communicating with the base station). It can be seen that according to the TCI of the third DCI sent by the first network device, it can be predicted that the UCI for the third DCI includes the second CSI, so the first network device can reasonably estimate the size of the UCI for the third DCI, so Receive the UCI on the correct PUCCH resource set and PUCCH resource. Correspondingly, according to the TCI of the fourth DCI sent by the second network device, it can be predicted that the UCI for the fourth DCI does not include the second CSI, so the second network device can reasonably estimate the size of the UCI for the fourth DCI, so Receive the UCI on the correct PUCCH resource set and PUCCH resource.
Prior to the effective filing date of invention, it would have been obvious to a
person of ordinary skill in the art to incorporate the DCI as taught by Hang into
the invention of Raghavan. The suggestion/motivation would have been to generate UCI (Hang, page 4). Including the DCI as taught by Hang into
the invention of Raghavan was within the ordinary ability of one of ordinary skill in the art based on the teachings of Hang.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 10, 38 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US 20230216626 A1 discloses at para. 0120: In this embodiment, a MAC CE is used to activate a subset of the UL TCI states. The activated UL TCI states can be used to indicate at least spatial relation information for PUSCH transmissions. In the MAC CE, a mapping between a codepoint of a bit field in UL DCI (i.e., a DCI that schedules PUSCH, triggers aperiodic/semi-persistent CSI, triggers aperiodic SRS, or activates UL configured grant transmission) and the one or more activated UL TCI states are be indicated. Since the UL TCI states are separately configured from TCI states for downlink in this embodiment, a MAC CE dedicated to activating these UL TCI states is sent from the gNB to the UE (i.e., this MAC CE is separate from the MAC CEs used for activating TCI states for downlink). The use of dedicated MAC CE for activating UL TCI states is that it provides the flexibility to activate UL TCI states independent of the TCI states activated for downlink.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to OMAR J GHOWRWAL whose telephone number is (571)270-5691. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00am-6:00pm.
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/OMAR J GHOWRWAL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2463