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 Remarks
This Office action is considered fully responsive to the amendment filed 11/11/2025.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see Remarks, filed 11/11/2025, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1-3, 11-12 under U.S.C. 102 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 Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn.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 US 20220116981 A1.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Applicant’s amendments to claim 1 “wherein two repeated PDCCH candidates belong to two search space (SS) sets having a same type, and wherein the two SS sets have an association relationship and are common SS sets or UE-specific SS sets” cannot be located in para. 0021-0021, 0030-0034 and 0039-0041 of the instant specification as pointed out by Applicant (page 5, Remarks). Furthermore, Examiner looked at the entire instant specification and could not locate any disclosure of “repeated” PDCCH candidates, “two search space (SS) sets having a same type” and “common SS sets or UE-specific SS sets.” The dependent claims are rejected by virtue of their dependencies from claim 1.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
The term “type” in claim 1 is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term “type” is not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention. The dependent claims are rejected by virtue of their dependencies from claim 1. Additionally MPEP 2173.05(b) with respect to Relative Terminology states: “The addition of the word "type" to an otherwise definite expression (e.g., Friedel-Crafts catalyst) extends the scope of the expression so as to render it indefinite.”
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) 1-3, 11-12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Publication No. 2020/0359407 A1 to Takeda et al. (“Takeda”) [provided by Applicant] in view of U.S. Publication No. 2022/0116981 A1 to Saber et al. (“Saber”).
As to claim 1, Takeda discloses a method for configuring a transmission configuration indication (TCI) state in a multi-transmission/reception point (TRP) system (paras. 0016, 0081, 0108, 0121-0123, 0138, radio base station (i.e. TRP), TCI-state), comprising: obtaining a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) related information according to a monitored search space and a corresponding control resource set (CORESET) (paras. 0007, 0042, 0081-0085, the downlink control channel (for example, PDCCH) for delivering each of the multiple DCIs; The user terminal monitors (blind-decodes) the DCIs transmitted via the downlink control channel in the CORESETs (or the search spaces in the CORESETs), and detects the DCI for the user terminal ), wherein the CORESET configures one active TCI state or two active TCI states (para. 0081-0085, activated TCI states; whether the TCI-state field is enabled or disabled may be determined per CORESET configuration), and each of the active TCI states includes transmission beam related information parameter (para. 0081-0085, 0108, 0159, The transmitting/receiving sections 203 may transmit signals by using transmitting beams, or receive signals by using receiving beams. The transmitting/receiving sections 203 may transmit and/or receive signals by using given beams selected by the control section 401; para. 0170, based on (a TCI state to represent) at least one of information about the quasi-co-location of the downlink shared channel, and information about the quasi-co-location of the second DCI, included in the first DCI, the control section 401 may control the receipt of at least one of the downlink shared channel and the second DCI); and a user equipment (UE) receiving a PDCCH through a receiving beam corresponding to the TCI state (para. 0079, the DMRS port for the PDCCH that delivers the first-stage DCI and the DMRS port for the PDCCH that delivers the second-stage DCI hold a QCL relationship; para. 0153, user terminal; para. 0159, The transmitting/receiving sections 203 may transmit signals by using transmitting beams, or receive signals by using receiving beams. The transmitting/receiving sections 203 may transmit and/or receive signals by using given beams selected by the control section 401; para. 0170, based on (a TCI state to represent) at least one of information about the quasi-co-location of the downlink shared channel, and information about the quasi-co-location of the second DCI, included in the first DCI, the control section 401 may control the receipt of at least one of the downlink shared channel and the second DCI).
Takeda does not expressly disclose wherein two repeated PDCCH candidates belong to two search space (SS) sets having a same type, and wherein the two SS sets have an association relationship and are common SS sets or UE-specific SS sets.
Saber discloses candidates of two USS [para. 0104, UE specific SS (USS)] can be explicitly linked to each other across different SS sets or within the same SS set, when the UE is configured to receive PDCCH repetition schemes (para. 0137).
Prior to the effective filing date of the instant application, it would have been
obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to implement the search spaces and candidates of Saber into the invention of Takeda. The suggestion/motivation would have been for transmission schemes for physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) transmission from multiple transmission and reception points (TRPs) to schedule a same channel (Saber, para. 0002). Incorporating the search spaces and candidates of Saber into the invention of Takeda was within the ordinary ability of one of ordinary skill in the art based on the teachings of Saber.
As to claim 2, Takeda and Saber further discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein the 1 active TCI state or the 2 active TCI states configured by the CORESET are respectively indicated using different medium access control (MAC) control elements (CEs) (Takeda, para. 0074, when a number of pieces of QCL information (TCI states) are configured for the first-stage DCI through higher layer signaling, one of these pieces of QCL information (TCI states) may be activated (specified) by a MAC CE. This MAC CE may be different from the MAC CE for reporting QCL information (TCI state) for the PDSCH and/or the like). In addition, as the primary reference is used to teach the instant claim limitations, the same suggestion/motivation of claim 1 applies.
As to claim 3, Takeda and Saber further discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein the 1 active TCI state or the 2 active TCI states configured by the CORESET are indicated using the same MAC CE (Takeda, para. 0083, When more than eight types of TCI states (QCL information for the PDSCH) are reported (configured) through higher layer signaling, the activation of these TCI states may be controlled by a MAC CE. For example, eight or fewer types of TCI states may be activated (specified) by a MAC CE). In addition, as the primary reference is used to teach the instant claim limitations, the same suggestion/motivation of claim 1 applies.
As to claim 11, Takeda and Saber further discloses a user equipment comprising a processor and a communication circuit, wherein the processor is connected to the communication circuit (Takeda, para. 0153, user terminal, fig. 9, transmitting/receiving section and control section connected); the processor is configured to execute the method for configuring TCI state according to claim 1 (Takeda, para. 0164, control section 401 controls the whole of the user terminal). In addition, as the primary reference is used to teach the instant claim limitations, the same suggestion/motivation of claim 1 applies.
As to claim 12, Takeda and Saber further discloses a user equipment storing instructions, wherein the instructions, when being executed, implement the method for configuring TCI state according to claim 1 (Takeda, para. 0188, the processor 1001 reads programs (program codes), software modules, data, and so forth from the storage 1003 and/or the communication apparatus 1004, into the memory 1002, and executes various processes according to these. As for the programs, programs to allow computers to execute at least part of the operations of the above-described embodiments may be used.). In addition, as the primary reference is used to teach the instant claim limitations, the same suggestion/motivation of claim 1 applies.
Claim(s) 4-5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Publication No. 2020/0359407 A1 to Takeda et al. (“Takeda”) [provided by Applicant] in view of U.S. Publication No. 2022/0116981 A1 to Saber et al. (“Saber”) and in further view of U.S. Publication No. 2023/0171775 A1 to PAN et al. (“Pan”).
As to claim 4, Takeda and Saber does not expressly disclose the method according to claim 1, wherein when the CORESET configures two of the active TCI states, the UE receiving the PDCCH through the receiving beam corresponding to the TCI states further comprises: dividing frequency domain resources of a PDCCH candidate into two groups based on resource elements, which are a first group of PDCCH candidate resources and a second group of PDCCH candidate resources; receiving the first group of PDCCH candidate resources by using one receiving beam of receiving beams corresponding to the active TCI states, and subsequently receiving the second group of PDCCH candidate resources by using another receiving beam of receiving beams corresponding to the active TCI states.
Pan discloses at para. 0034, In New Radio (NR) and other standards, the PDCCH needs to be mapped to one or more control channel elements (CCEs) in a group of resource elements (REs). For example, the PDCCH includes one or more control channel elements (CCEs), where one RE includes one subcarrier in a frequency domain and one symbol in a time domain. A set of the one or more CCEs for transmitting the PDCCH may also be referred to as a control resource set (CORESET). The CORESET includes multiple physical resource blocks (PRBs) in the frequency domain and Z symbols in the time domain, where Z is a natural number. For example, Z may be an integer taken from 1, 2 or 3. The symbols here include, but are not limited to, one of the following: an orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol, a Single-carrier Frequency-Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) or an orthogonal frequency-division multiple access (OFDMA). To monitor the PDCCH, candidate PDCCHs of a certain aggregation level are configured to be a set, and the set of candidate PDCCHs of this level is a search space (SS). A set of multiple SSs forms one search space set (SS set, SSSET, or SSS), and a radio resource control information element (RRC IE) search space defines one SSS. Each terminal may be configured with at least one SSS. To monitor the PDCCH, a PDCCH monitoring occasion of the current terminal and the monitored PDCCH candidate or the PDCCH candidate are configured in the SS, i.e. dividing frequency domain resources of a PDCCH candidate into two groups based on resource elements, which are a first group of PDCCH candidate resources and a second group of PDCCH candidate resources.
Further, Pan discloses in S4, based on S1 and S3, monitoring occasions in the SSS, that is, PDCCH monitoring occasions are grouped, where different groups correspond to different activated TCI. S4 corresponds to embodiment two (par. 0110) and monitoring occasions of the first half in one slot or one span form the first group, and monitoring occasions of the second half are the second group (para. 0130), i.e. receiving the first group of PDCCH candidate resources by using one receiving beam of receiving beams corresponding to the active TCI states, and subsequently receiving the second group of PDCCH candidate resources by using another receiving beam of receiving beams corresponding to the active TCI states.
Prior to the effective filing date of the instant application, it would have been
obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to implement the TCI states of Pan into the invention of Takeda and Saber. The suggestion/motivation would have been for transmitting a control channel (Pan, para. 0031). Incorporating the TCI states of Pan into the invention of Takeda and Saber was within the ordinary ability of one of ordinary skill in the art based on the teachings of Pan.
As to claim 5, Takeda and Saber does not expressly disclose the method according to claim 4, wherein the dividing the frequency domain resources of the PDCCH candidate into two groups based on resource elements, which are the first group of PDCCH candidate resources and the second group of PDCCH candidate resources, further comprises: dividing the frequency domain resources of the PDCCH candidate into two groups according to parity of resource element index values, wherein those frequency domain resources of the PDCCH candidate with odd-numbered resource element index values are grouped into the first group of PDCCH candidate resources, and those frequency domain resources of the PDCCH candidate with even-numbered resource element index values are grouped into the second group of PDCCH candidate resources; or dividing the frequency domain resources of the PDCCH candidate into two groups according to a size of the resource element index values, wherein those frequency domain resources of the PDCCH candidate of a first half of the resource element index values are grouped into the first group of PDCCH candidate resources, and those frequency domain resources of the PDCCH candidate of a second half of the resource element index values are grouped into the second group of PDCCH candidate resources.
Pan discloses at paras. 0139-0140 a grouping mode of the SSSs may be one of the following.1. SSSs indexed by the first half of SSS identities (SSSIDs) belong to the first SSS group, and SSSS indexed by the second half of the SSSIDs belong to the second SSS group. 2. SSSs with odd SSSID indices belong to the first SSS group, and SSSs with even SSSID indices belong to the second SSS group. At para. 0034, SSS is made up of candidate PDCCHs with resource elements (REs).
Prior to the effective filing date of the instant application, it would have been
obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to implement the groups of Pan into the invention of Takeda and Saber. The suggestion/motivation would have been for transmitting a control channel (Pan, para. 0031). Incorporating the groups of Pan into the invention of Takeda and Saber was within the ordinary ability of one of ordinary skill in the art based on the teachings of Pan.
Claim(s) 6-9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Publication No. 2020/0359407 A1 to Takeda et al. (“Takeda”) [provided by Applicant] in view of U.S. Publication No. 2022/0116981 A1 to Saber et al. (“Saber”) and in further view of U.S. Publication No. 2020/0288479 A1 to Xi et al. (“Xi”).
As to claim 6, Takeda and Saber does not expressly disclose the method according to claim 1, wherein after the UE receiving the PDCCH through the receiving beam corresponding to the TCI state, the method further comprises: the UE, when a scheduling time between the PDCCH and its scheduled physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) is less than a threshold value, using the receiving beam corresponding to a default TCI state to receive the PDSCH.
Xi discloses a wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU) may monitor control resource sets (CORESETs) to receive a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) having downlink control information (DCI) that includes a scheduling offset and an indicated beam for a scheduled physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) reception. When the scheduling offset of the scheduled PDSCH is less than a threshold, a default beam of a transmission configuration indication (TCI) state may be utilized to receive the scheduled PDSCH (para. 0084, abstract, fig. 4).
Prior to the effective filing date of the instant application, it would have been
obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to implement the offset of Xi into the invention
of Takeda and Saber. The suggestion/motivation would have been to use pre-configured settings for beam selection (Xi, para. 0003). Incorporating the offset of Xi into the invention of Takeda and Saber was within the ordinary ability of one of ordinary skill in the art based on the teachings of Xi.
As to claim 7, Takeda and Saber does not expressly disclose the method according to claim 6, wherein the UE using the receiving beam corresponding to the default TCI state to receive the PDSCH further comprises: using, as the default TCI state, a TCI state with the smallest index value among the two active TCI states of the CORESET with the smallest index value in CORESETs monitored in a previous time slot, and the UE using the receiving beam corresponding to the default TCI state to receive the PDSCH.
Xi discloses beam indication for a PDSCH or NR-PDSCH may be based on a threshold for a scheduling offset. Selecting the spatial QCL indicated from the TCI state carried in a DCI or following the spatial QCL used for a CORESET (para. 0083, core resource set, i.e. resource elements) with the lowest ID may be performed based on the scheduling offset and threshold Threshold-Sched-Offset (para. 0096), with WTRU may use a default beam to receive the PDSCH (806). The default beam may be the beam for the WTRU to receive the reference CORESET. The reference CORESET may be the 1st CORESET within a similar CC/BWP as the scheduled PDSCH when one or more CORESETs are configured in that slot and CC/BWP, i.e. monitored in previous time slots (para. 0134), A WTRU may be configured to monitor one or more CORESETs in a slot. One or more CORESETs in a slot may be associated with a similar downlink beam, a same CSI-RS resource, a same SS block, or the like. If the one or more CORESETs are associated with the similar downlink beam, such as associated with the same downlink reference signal, the CORESETs may be configured in similar or different time locations, i.e. different time slots (para. 0149, fig. 7).
Prior to the effective filing date of the instant application, it would have been
obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to implement the lowest ID of Xi into the invention of Takeda and Saber. The suggestion/motivation would have been to use pre-configured settings for beam selection (Xi, para. 0003). Incorporating the offset of Xi into the invention of Takeda and Saber was within the ordinary ability of one of ordinary skill in the art based on the teachings of Xi.
As to claim 8, Takeda and Saber does not expressly disclose the method according to claim 6, wherein the UE using the receiving beam corresponding to the default TCI state to receive the PDSCH further comprises: using, as the default TCI state, a TCI state corresponding to a resource element with the smallest resource element index value of CORESETs monitored in a previous time slot; and the UE using the receiving beam corresponding to the default TCI state to receive the PDSCH.
Xi discloses the WTRU may determine the beam or spatial QCL parameter for PDSCH reception. If the scheduling offset<threshold K, then the PDSCH may use the beam indicated by the default TCI state that corresponds to the TCI state used for control channel QCL indication for the lowest CORESET ID (para. 0083, core resource set, i.e. resource elements) in a respective slot. If the scheduling offset>=threshold K, then the PDSCH may use the beam or spatial QCL parameter indicated by the N-bit TCI field in a DCI used or assignment. In these examples, threshold K may be variable or parameter Threshold-Sched-Offset (para. 0108), with WTRU may use a default beam to receive the PDSCH (806). The default beam may be the beam for the WTRU to receive the reference CORESET. The reference CORESET may be the 1st CORESET within a similar CC/BWP as the scheduled PDSCH when one or more CORESETs are configured in that slot and CC/BWP, i.e. monitored in previous time slots (para. 0134), A WTRU may be configured to monitor one or more CORESETs in a slot. One or more CORESETs in a slot may be associated with a similar downlink beam, a same CSI-RS resource, a same SS block, or the like. If the one or more CORESETs are associated with the similar downlink beam, such as associated with the same downlink reference signal, the CORESETs may be configured in similar or different time locations, i.e. different time slots (para. 0149, fig. 7).
Prior to the effective filing date of the instant application, it would have been
obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to implement the lowest ID of Xi into the invention of Takeda and Saber. The suggestion/motivation would have been to use pre-configured settings for beam selection (Xi, para. 0003). Incorporating the offset of Xi into the invention of Takeda and Saber was within the ordinary ability of one of ordinary skill in the art based on the teachings of Xi.
As to claim 9, Takeda and Saber does not expressly disclose the method according to claim 6, wherein the UE using the receiving beam corresponding to the default TCI state to receive the PDSCH further comprises: using, as the default TCI state, a TCI state corresponding to an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol with the smallest OFDM symbol index value in a time domain of CORESETs monitored in a previous time slot; and the UE using the receiving beam corresponding to the default TCI state to receive the PDSCH.
Xi discloses FIG. 8 is an example of a procedure for determining a beam for PDSCH communications 800. Although a PDSCH(s) is referenced in FIG. 8, a NR-PDSCH(s) may similarly apply or be substituted. Initially, a WTRU may receive a DCI scheduling a PDSCH(s) indicating a scheduling offset and a beam indication (802) for PDSCH reception. For a scheduled or repeated PDSCH, if the starting [para. 0063, OFDM symbol] symbol, i.e. smallest OFDM symbol index value, is not later than a threshold (804), then the WTRU may use a default beam to receive the PDSCH (806). The default beam may be the beam for the WTRU to receive the reference CORESET. The reference CORESET may be the 1st CORESET within a similar CC/BWP as the scheduled PDSCH when one or more CORESETs are configured in that slot and CC/BWP, i.e. monitored in previous time slots (para. 0134), A WTRU may be configured to monitor one or more CORESETs in a slot. One or more CORESETs in a slot may be associated with a similar downlink beam (claim 5, using a pre-determined transmission configuration indication (TCI) state from a plurality of TCI states per CORESET as a default beam), a same CSI-RS resource, a same SS block, or the like. If the one or more CORESETs are associated with the similar downlink beam, such as associated with the same downlink reference signal, the CORESETs may be configured in similar or different time locations, i.e. different time slots (para. 0149, fig. 7).
Prior to the effective filing date of the instant application, it would have been
obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to implement the smallest symbol of Xi into the invention of Takeda and Saber. The suggestion/motivation would have been to use pre-configured settings for beam selection (Xi, para. 0003). Incorporating the offset of Xi into the invention of Takeda and Saber was within the ordinary ability of one of ordinary skill in the art based on the teachings of Xi.
Claim(s) 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Publication No. 2020/0359407 A1 to Takeda et al. (“Takeda”) [provided by Applicant] in view of U.S. Publication No. 2022/0116981 A1 to Saber et al. (“Saber”) and in further view of U.S. Publication No. 2022/0225338 A1 to Zhu et al. (“Zhu”).
As to claim 10, Takeda and Saber does not expressly disclose the method according to claim 1, wherein, the UE using the receiving beam corresponding to the default TCI state to receive the PDSCH further comprises: using the two active TCI states of a CORESET with the smallest index value as two default TCI states when the PDSCH is sent through two TRPs; and the UE using two receiving beams corresponding the two default TCI states to respectively receive two PDSCHs of the two TRPs.
Zhu discloses the default TCI state(s)/receive beam(s) configurations in the 3GPP Rel. 15/16 assume that the PDCCH and the PDSCH could employ different beams, and therefore, the UE could use different spatial filters to receive the PDCCH and the PDSCH beams. If a common TCI state/beam is used/configured for various types of channels such as PDCCH and PDSCH, the configuration of the default TCI state(s)/receive beam(s) could be different from the existing solutions (described above, relying on lowest CORESET ID/TCI codepoint). Further, whether the UE could simultaneously receive the PDSCHs transmitted from the coordinating TRPs may also be considered when configuring the default TCI state(s) for the multi-TRP operation (para. 0104).
Prior to the effective filing date of the instant application, it would have been
obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to implement the TCI states of Zhu into the invention of Takeda and Saber. The suggestion/motivation would have been to determine default beams (Zhu, para. 0002). Incorporating the TCI states of Zhu into the invention of Takeda and Saber was within the ordinary ability of one of ordinary skill in the art based on the teachings of Zhu.
Claim(s) 13-14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Publication No. 2020/0359407 A1 to Takeda et al. (“Takeda”) [provided by Applicant] in view of U.S. Publication No. 2022/0116981 A1 to Saber et al. (“Saber”) and in further view of U.S. Publication No. 2023/0106244 A1 to YU et al. (“Yu”).
As to claim 13, Takeda and Saber does not expressly disclose the method according to claim 1, wherein a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) is used to indicate two TCI states of the CORESET; a field Serving Cell ID in the MAC CE is used to indicate a serving cell that uses this MAC CE; a field CORESET ID represents a control resource set identifier, which is indicated by a high-level parameter controlResourceSetId that indicates the CORESET that uses the one active TCI state; a field TCI State ID1 and a field TCI State ID2 represent the two active TCI states activated by the CORESET, which are indicated by a high-level parameter TCI-StateId.
Yu discloses at fig. 3, para. 0062-0067, a MAC CE format 300 with Serving Cell ID of 5 bits, CORESET ID (This field indicates a CORESET identified with ControlResourceSetId,) of 4 bits, TCI State ID #1 and #2 (identified by TCI-StateId ) of 7 bits each.
Prior to the effective filing date of the instant application, it would have been
obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to implement the MAC CE of Yu into the invention of Takeda and Saber. The suggestion/motivation would have been for Beam Failure Detection (BFD) Reference Signal (RS) determination (Yu, para. 0002). Incorporating the MAC CE of Yu into the invention of Takeda and Saber was within the ordinary ability of one of ordinary skill in the art based on the teachings of Yu.
As to claim 14, Takeda and Saber does not expressly disclose the method according to claim 13, wherein a length of the field Serving Cell ID is 5 bits, a length of the field CORESET ID is 4 bits, a length of the field TCI state ID1 is 7 bits, a length of the field TCI state ID2 is 7 bits.
Yu discloses at fig. 3, para. 0062-0067, a MAC CE format 300 with Serving Cell ID of 5 bits, CORESET ID (This field indicates a CORESET identified with ControlResourceSetId,) of 4 bits, TCI State ID #1 and #2 (identified by TCI-StateId ) of 7 bits each.
Prior to the effective filing date of the instant application, it would have been
obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to implement the MAC CE of Yu into the invention of Takeda and Saber. The suggestion/motivation would have been for Beam Failure Detection (BFD) Reference Signal (RS) determination (Yu, para. 0002). Incorporating the MAC CE of Yu into the invention of Takeda and Saber was within the ordinary ability of one of ordinary skill in the art based on the teachings of Yu.
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.
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