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 .
Priorities and Examiner Remarks
This application is a National Stage entry of PCT/US2022/012967 (international filing date: 01/19/2022), which claims priority from provisional application 63140553
(filed 01/22/2021).
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
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 16-21 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 pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Claim 16 line 7, the phrase “partial frequency sounding with the SRS transmission” is unclear and ambiguous as to whether it is referred to the “the SRS transmission is partial frequency sounding” as in claim 16 line 5-6. If indeed so, it is suggested that --- partial frequency sounding with the SRS transmission --- be changed to --- the partial frequency sounding with the SRS transmission ---. Otherwise, clarification is respectfully requested. Similar problem appears in each of claims 18, 19, and 20.
Claims 17 and 21, these claims are rejected based on their dependency from the rejected base claim 16.
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 set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied 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 16-21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Xiong et al. (US 20190191453 A1, hereinafter Xiong), in view of CHOI et al. (US 20190372734 A1, hereinafter CHOI).
Regarding claim 16,
Xiong teaches a terminal comprising (Xiong, in general, see fig. 5 and/or fig. 6, along with fig. 14-15, note that fig. 5 is for an UE and fig. 6 is for a BS):
a receiver that receives, via higher layer signaling, configuration information regarding a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) transmission (Xiong, see at least para. 91 along with para. 131-133, “…In some embodiments, the UE 102 may determine, based on the DCI or RRC signalling or a combination thereof, a division of the PRBs in the one or more symbols of the control region to include: first PRBs for NR PUCCH transmission(s), and second PRBs for sounding reference signal (SRS) transmission(s). The UE 102 may transmit an SRS in the control region in at least one of the second PRBs…”);
and
a processor that, when a first parameter indicating a specific value is configured by the configuration information, determines that frequency sounding with the SRS transmission is partial frequency sounding (Xiong, see at least para. 131-133 of fig. 14 along with para. 91, for one non-limited example, “...As shown in the example in FIG. 14, the resources allocated for NR PUCCH and SRS (1410 and 1420, respectively) are separate in the frequency domain within the same symbol. Embodiments are not limited by the example sizes (in terms of PRBs, symbols and/or other) of elements shown in FIG. 14...”, note that para. 91 discloses “...based on the DCI or RRC signalling or a combination thereof, a division of the PRBs in the one or more symbols of the control region to include: first PRBs for NR PUCCH transmission(s), and second PRBs for sounding reference signal (SRS) transmission(s)...”);
wherein when partial frequency sounding with the SRS transmission is configured, the processor determines, using a second parameter configured by the configuration information, specific PRB used for the partial frequency sounding with the SRS transmission in one symbol (Xiong, see at least para. 131-133 along with para. 139 and 38, for one non-limiting example, “…In some embodiments, for multiplexing of the NR PUCCH and SRS in the same symbol within one slot, different comb offsets may be assigned for NR PUCCH and SRS. It should be noted that comb offset(s) for NR PUCCH and SRS transmission may be semi-statically configured by higher layers (such as via MSI, RMSI, SIB and/or RRC signaling) and/or may be dynamically indicated in the DCI...”, note that para. 139 and 38 respectively disclose “...The smallest time-frequency unit in a resource grid is denoted as a resource element (RE)...” and “...resource elements may be grouped into rectangular resource blocks 1800...”).
Xiong does not specifically teach specific resource elements (REs) mapped within a Resource Block (RB) [used for the partial frequency sounding].
CHOI teaches specific resource elements (REs) mapped within a Resource Block (RB) [used for the partial frequency sounding] (CHOI, in general, see sections including but not limited to paragraphs 109-124, in particular, see 124 along with para. 112, “...In FIG. 13, the number of ports per SRS resource is 4, and the number of SRS resources per symbol is 4, by way of example. As illustrated in FIG. 13, four REs of SRS resource #0 and four REs of SRS resource #1 are grouped respectively, and OCCs may be applied to the groups according to corresponding ports P...”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to a person having ordinary skill in the art to incorporate CHOI into Xiong for providing flexibilities and efficiency for resource allocations.
Regarding claim 17, Xiong in view of CHOI teaches the first parameter is a parameter regarding a frequency domain. (Xiong, see at least para. 131-133 of fig. 14 along with para. 91, for one non-limited example, “...As shown in the example in FIG. 14, the resources allocated for NR PUCCH and SRS (1410 and 1420, respectively) are separate in the frequency domain within the same symbol. Embodiments are not limited by the example sizes (in terms of PRBs, symbols and/or other) of elements shown in FIG. 14...”, note that para. 91 discloses “...based on the DCI or RRC signalling or a combination thereof, a division of the PRBs in the one or more symbols of the control region to include: first PRBs for NR PUCCH transmission(s), and second PRBs for sounding reference signal (SRS) transmission(s)...”)
Regarding claim 18, this claim is rejected for the same reasoning as claim 16 except this claim is in method claim format.
Regarding claim 19, this claim is rejected for the same reasoning as claim 16. To be more specific, although reciting subject matters slightly different, one skilled in the art would have known claim 19 performs reverse (or corresponding) procedures of claim 16. For example, it would be a base station of claim 19 that performs the reverse (or corresponding) receiving from and transmitting to the terminal of claim 16. Hence, the examiner applies the same rejection reasoning as set forth in claim 16.
Regarding claim 20, this claim is rejected for the same reasoning as a combination of claims 16 and 19, except this claim is in system claim format.
To be more specific, Xiong in view of CHOI also teaches a system comprising a terminal and a base station (Xiong, see at least fig. 5 and 6), which is well known in the art and commonly used for providing and enabling robust and reliable data communication hardware and software.
Regarding claim 21, Xiong in view of CHOI teaches the partial frequency sounding with the SRS transmission using four or less symbols is supported. (CHOI, see at least fig. 18 and corresponding paragraphs 150-152, in particular, see at least para. 152 in view of para. 138, for one non-limiting example, N=4, where N indicates number of SRS symbols)
Therefore, it would have been obvious, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to a person having ordinary skill in the art to incorporate CHOI into Xiong for providing flexibilities and efficiency for resource allocations.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 12/31/2025 have been fully considered. Regarding independent claims 16, 18, 19, and 20, since applicant's amendment necessitated new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action, previous Office action's rejections are moot. Accordingly, corresponding dependent claims have also been rejected in this Office action.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to YEE F LAM whose telephone number is (571)270-7577. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8am-5pm. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Ayman Abaza can be reached on 571-270-0422. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/YEE F LAM/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2465
Prosecution Insights