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 Amendment
This is in response to an amendment/response/communication filed 1/14/2024.
No claims have been added.
Claim(s) 5-6, 12-13 and 15-17 has/have been cancelled.
Claims(s) 1-4, 7-11, 14 and 18-22 is/are currently pending.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement(s) (IDS(s)) submitted on 1/31/2024 and 1/14/2025 is/are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the Examiner.
Drawings
The drawings were received on 1/31/2024. These drawings are objected.
Figures 1A, 1B and 2-4 should be designated by a legend such as --Prior Art-- because only that which is old is illustrated. See MPEP § 608.02(g). Corrected drawings in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. The replacement sheet(s) should be labeled “Replacement Sheet” in the page header (as per 37 CFR 1.84(c)) so as not to obstruct any portion of the drawing figures. If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Specification
The lengthy specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant's cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
Claim Interpretation
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The limitation “A User Equipment (UE) configured to…” as noted in claim 18 and the limitation “A network node configured to..” as noted in claim 14 are modified by structure for performing the claimed function, therefore, 35 U.S.C. 112(f) is NOT invoked.
Examiner’s Comments Regarding Subject Matter Eligibility
The potential abstract ideas of “deciding which one or more out of option 1 and option 2…” as noted in claim 1 and similarly as noted in claim 14 and “computing a covariance…” and “determining receiver weights…” as note in claim 7 and similarly as noted in claim 19 are considered as not capable of being performed in the human mind and the claims are therefore considered as eligible subject matter under 35 U.S.C. 101.
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 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.
Claim(s) 1 and 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over NTT Docomo, “User Device and Interference Measuring Method”, 2020-08-27, JP, JP 2020129707 (Foreign Patent Documents citation #1, listed on IDS dated 2025-01-24, citations are from English translation) in view of Levitsky et al. US 20230344600.
As to claim 1:
NTT Docomo discloses:
A method performed by a network node for assisting a User Equipment (UE) in detecting Downlink (DL) symbols to be received by the UE in a wireless communications network, which DL symbols comprise front loaded Demodulation Reference Signals (DMRS) and one or more additional DMRS, and which network node serves the UE in a cell, the method comprising:
(“The second embodiment is the embodiment 2-1 in which the front-loaded DMRS arranged at the beginning of the data area is used to measure the interference amount, and the second embodiment is performed in which the additional DMRS is used to measure the interference amount. -2. Each will be described below.”; NTT Docomo; p.10, middle of page)
“Serving in DL”/”DL front-loaded DMRS…”/”DMRS”/FIG. 25/FIG. 26/”additional DMRS” maps to “DL symbols comprise front loaded Demodulation Reference Signals (DMRS) and one or more additional DMRS, and which network node serves the UE in a cell”
obtaining a first scheduling information about the front loaded DMRS and the one or more additional DMRS in a current slot scheduled in the cell;
(“In case 1-1, UL DMRS and DL DMRS are mapped to different REs, for example, as shown in FIGS. 25 and 26. That is, UL DMRS and DL DMRS are multiplexed by frequency division multiplexing (eg, IFDMA). The following operation will be described by using the base station 201 of the serving cell and the user apparatus 101 as an example, but the same operation can be performed by the base station of another cell and the user apparatus.
In the setting of DMRS, the base station 201 notifies the user apparatus 101 of DMRS configuration (DMRS configuration). The notification content is, for example, designation such as configuration 1 or configuration 2 or an antenna port number. Further, the base station 201 notifies the user apparatus 101 of the port range used by DL/UL and the antenna port for PDSCH transmission (reception for the user apparatus). Furthermore, the base station 201 notifies (sets) the measurement mode to the user apparatus 101 so that the user apparatus 101 can perform DMRS measurement. The measurement modes include, for example, a mode in which an interference amount is measured by UL DMRS from a UL interference cell, a mode in which an interference amount is measured by DL DMRS from a DL interference cell, and a mode in which both interference amounts are measured.”; NTT Docomo; p.12, bottom of page, p.13, top of page)
(“FIG. 21 is a diagram for explaining the example 2-1. (A) shows the slot configuration of DL of a serving cell, (b) shows the slot configuration of DL interference cell, (c) shows the slot configuration of UL interference cell. It is the same in FIGS. 22 to 27 that (a) to (c) mean these.”; NTT Docomo; p.10, bottom of page)
(“The scheduling unit 230 performs resource allocation and the like to the user equipment 100. The setting information management unit 240 includes a storage unit, stores preset setting information, and dynamically and/or semi-statically determines and holds the setting information to be set for the user apparatus 100. In addition, the inter-base station communication unit 250 transmits and receives, for example, information (interference amount and the like) necessary for cooperative scheduling, DMRS setting information, ZP CSI-RS setting information, and the like to and from other base stations.”; NTT Docomo; p.17; bottom of page)
(where
“DL DMRS are mapped to different REs”/”the base station 201 notifies the user apparatus 101 of DMRS configuration (DMRS configuration).”/”Serving in DL”/”DL front-loaded DMRS”/”DMRS”/FIG. 25/FIG. 26/”the slot configuration of DL of a serving cell”/”cooperative scheduling” maps to “obtaining a first scheduling information about the front loaded DMRS and the one or more additional DMRS in a current slot scheduled in the cell”
obtaining a second scheduling information about empty symbols in the current slot from an interfering cell;
(“In the example of FIG. 25, the user apparatus 101 of the serving cell can receive the DL DMRS from the DL interfering cell in the resource of the DL DMRS of its own and measure the amount of interference from the DL interfering cell. Note that the user equipment 101 of the serving cell can identify the DL DMRS of the DL interference cell received by the resource of its own DL DMRS by making the DL DMRS sequence and the like different between cells. Further, the user equipment 101 of the serving cell measures the amount of interference from the UL interference cell by receiving the UL DMRS from the UL interference cell in a resource in which the DL DMRS of the own cell is not mapped, in the symbol to which the DL DMRS of its own is mapped. it can.”; NTT Docomo; p.12, top of page)
(“The resource is, for example, a resource in which no downlink signal is transmitted in the serving cell of the user equipment. With this configuration, it is possible to measure the interference amount due to the uplink communication of the interfering cell without being affected by the downlink signal in the serving cell of the user equipment.”; NTT Docomo; p.19, bottom of page)
(where
“the user apparatus 101 of the serving cell can receive the DL DMRS from the DL interfering cell in the resource of the DL DMRS of its own”/” the user equipment 101 of the serving cell measures the amount of interference from the UL interference cell by receiving the UL DMRS from the UL interference cell in a resource in which the DL DMRS of the own cell is not mapped”/”In the setting of DMRS, the base station 201 notifies the user apparatus 101 of DMRS configuration (DMRS configuration)”/”Interfering in DL”/”Interfering in UL”/FIG. 25/FIG. 26/”a resource in which no downlink signal is transmitted in the serving cell”/”symbol to which the DL DMRS of its own is mapped” maps to “obtaining a second scheduling information about empty symbols in the current slot from an interfering cell”
deciding which one or more out of option 1 and option 2 to use for computing covariance at the UE based on the first scheduling information and the second scheduling information, …and option 2 comprises individual DMRS;
(“The user apparatus further includes a transmission unit that transmits a measurement report including an interference amount due to the uplink communication measured by the measurement unit and identification information of the user device that has performed the uplink communication to a base station. May be With this configuration, the base station of the serving cell (and other cooperating base stations) can recognize the user equipment that is the source of the UL interference, and can perform scheduling for interference reduction on the user equipment. ..”; NTT Docomo; p. 19, bottom of page)
(“The user apparatus 101 acquires a covariance matrix based on the measurement of the interference signal, and performs interference suppression using the covariance matrix. Moreover, when the user apparatus 101 receives the reference signal (NZP CSI-RS, DMRS) of the interference cell, the interference cancellation (SIC) may be performed by decoding the interference signal.”; NTT Docomo; p.15, bottom of page) (where
“the base station of the serving cell (and other cooperating base stations) can recognize the user equipment that is the source of the UL interference, and can perform scheduling for interference reduction on the user equipment.”/” The notification content is, for example, designation such as configuration 1 or configuration 2”/”The measurement modes include, for example, a mode in which an interference amount is measured by UL DMRS from a UL interference cell, a mode in which an interference amount is measured by DL DMRS from a DL interference cell”/”user apparatus 101 acquires a covariance matrix based on the measurement of the interference signal, and performs interference suppression using the covariance matrix. Moreover, when the user apparatus 101 receives the reference signal (NZP CSI-RS, DMRS” maps to “deciding which one or more out of option 1 and option 2 to use for computing covariance at the UE based on the first scheduling information and the second scheduling information, …and option 2 comprises individual DMRS”, where “can recognize the user equipment that is the source of the UL interference, and can perform scheduling for interference reduction on the user equipment” maps to “deciding”, “configuration 1” maps to “option 1”, “configuration 2” maps to “option 2”, “user apparatus 101 acquires a covariance matrix” maps to “computing covariance at the UE”, “UL interference”/FIG. 25/FIG. 26 maps to “based on the first scheduling information and the second scheduling information”, “mode in which an interference amount is measured by UL DMRS from a UL interference cell, a mode in which an interference amount is measured by DL DMRS from a DL interference cell” maps to “option 2 comprises individual DMRS”
sending an indication to the UE, which indication indicates a recommendation based on the deciding which one or more out of option 1 and option 2, to use for computing covariance at the UE for detecting the DL symbols.
(where
“the base station 201 notifies the user apparatus 101 of DMRS configuration (DMRS configuration). The notification content is, for example, designation such as configuration 1 or configuration 2”/“user apparatus 101 acquires a covariance matrix based on the measurement of the interference signal, and performs interference suppression using the covariance matrix. Moreover, when the user apparatus 101 receives the reference signal (NZP CSI-RS, DMRS) of the interference cell”/”receiving the UL DMRS from the UL interference cell in a resource in which the DL DMRS of the own cell is not mapped”/FIG. 25/FIG. 26 maps to “sending an indication to the UE, which indication indicates a recommendation based on the deciding which one or more out of option 1 and option 2, to use for computing covariance at the UE for detecting the DL symbols”
NTT Docomo teaches a base station providing two configurations for performing interference detection and mitigation to a user apparatus, where the base station determines which configuration it to be used by the user apparatus, where the user apparatus uses covariance to perform interference mitigation.
NTT Docomo as described above does not explicitly teach:
wherein option 1 comprises accumulated DMRS
However, Levitsky et al. further teaches an average/SINR/DMRS capability which includes:
wherein option 1 comprises accumulated DMRS
(“The post-processing SINR calculated based on Equation 2 and the actual post-processing SINR that is expected in case of PDSCH (defined analytically for the sake of the explanation based on Equation 1) may be different from one another. In some cases, the post-processing SINR representative for PDSCH (which may be represented by the variable γ.sub.DMRS) and that is expected to be obtained using DMRS based channel estimation and the post-processing SINR calculated based on Equation 2 (which may be represented by the variable γ.sub.CSI-RS) may be determined based on a CSI-RS and CSI-IM resources. The γ.sub.DMRS may be an actual representative (or projection) of post processing SINR for channel and reception conditions for data resources allocated to a UE 115 while the γ.sub.CSI-RS may be an estimate of post processing SINR based on channel and reception conditions for the data resources estimated based on CSI-RS and CSI-IM resources. The expected difference between γ.sub.CSI-RS and γ.sub.DMRS can be defined or learned per channel characteristics set and per given reception conditions and may later be used to estimate an γ.sub.DMRS based on applying an adjustment to a calculated γ.sub.CSI-RS. In some cases, the difference between the γ.sub.DMRS and the γ.sub.CSI-RS may be non-linear, and γ.sub.DMRS may be determined using a non-linear function—e.g., γ.sub.DMRS≈f(γ.sub.CSI-RS). A UE 115 may determine a set of mapping functions or average differences between calculated post-processing SINR values for CSI-RS (γ.sub.CSI-RS) and measured or calculated post-processing SINR values for DMRSs (γ.sub.DMRS) for different combinations of CSI-RS and DMRS configurations. Thus, a difference provided by a corresponding mapping function between a γ.sub.DMRS and a γ.sub.CSI-RS may be based on a configuration of a DMRS and a configuration of a CSI-RS and defined per channel characteristics set and per given input/thermal SNR.”; Levitsky et al.; 0093)
(“In some examples, the UE 115 may calculate one or more CSF components (e.g., a CQI, a PMI, an RI, or a combination) based on the DMRS configuration associated with the CSI reference resource. For example, to determine a value for the CQI, the UE 115 may use a post-processing SINR value or estimated spectral efficiency and some CQI mapping function determined assuming-a specific DMRS configuration that obtained based on tracking one or more DMRS related parameters from CSI reference resource slot or an equivalently CSI reference resource. The UE 115 may similarly determine the PMI and the RI. The UE 115 may include the CSF components determined as described above in addition to the selected DMRS configuration option in the joint periodic DMRS and CSF report to the base station 105. In some cases, such as for periodic reporting, a joint DMRS and CSF report may define CSF consistent with the currently used DMRS option (e.g., for the CSI reference resource) and in addition provide an indication of the selected DMRS configuration. In some other cases, such as for aperiodic reporting, a joint DMRS and CSF report may include a list of bundles of the selected DMRS option and the corresponding CQI, CSF, or both.”; Levitsky et al.; 0097)
(“A base station 105 may determine configurations for the different reference signals. In some cases, the base station 105 may determine a downlink or uplink DMRS configuration for a UE 115 by selecting the DMRS configuration from a set of DMRS configurations supported by a UE. The base station 105 may then signal the selected DMRS configuration to a UE 115 using dynamic control signaling, such as DCI based signaling of the selected DMRS configuration, MAC-CE based activation of the selected DMRS configuration, RRC based reconfiguration, or any combination. For example, the UE 115 may use a MAC-CE based activation for a set of the selected DMRS options with a complimentary DCI based selection of one of the activated options per allocation.”; Levitsky et al.; 0089)
(where
“A UE 115 may determine a set of mapping functions or average differences between calculated post-processing SINR values for CSI-RS (γ.sub.CSI-RS) and measured or calculated post-processing SINR values for DMRSs (γ.sub.DMRS) for different combinations of CSI-RS and DMRS configurations” maps to “wherein option 1 comprises accumulated DMRS”
Levitsky et al. teaches a base station configuring a UE with DMRS configuration, where the UE performs and average calculation based on DMRSs.
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the average/SINR/DMRS capability of Levisky et al. into NTT Docomo. By modifying the processing/communications of NTT Docomo to include the average/SINR/DMRS capability as taught by the processing/communications of Levitsky et al., the benefits of interference reduction (NTT Docomo; p.19, bottom of page) with improved latency (Levitsky et al.; 0134) are achieved.
As to claim 14:
NTT Docomo discloses:
A network node configured to assist a User Equipment (UE) in detecting Downlink (DL) symbols to be received by the UE in a wireless communications network, which DL symbols comprise front loaded Demodulation Reference Signals (DMRS) and one or more additional DMRS, and which network node serves the UE in a cell, the method comprising:
a processor; and
a memory comprising instructions which. when executed by the processor. cause the network node to:
(“The second embodiment is the embodiment 2-1 in which the front-loaded DMRS arranged at the beginning of the data area is used to measure the interference amount, and the second embodiment is performed in which the additional DMRS is used to measure the interference amount. -2. Each will be described below.”; NTT Docomo; p.10, middle of page)
“Serving in DL”/”DL front-loaded DMRS…”/”DMRS”/FIG. 25/FIG. 26/”additional DMRS” maps to “DL symbols comprise front loaded Demodulation Reference Signals (DMRS) and one or more additional DMRS, and which network node serves the UE in a cell”
obtaining a first scheduling information about the front loaded DMRS and the one or more additional DMRS in a current slot scheduled in the cell;
(“In case 1-1, UL DMRS and DL DMRS are mapped to different REs, for example, as shown in FIGS. 25 and 26. That is, UL DMRS and DL DMRS are multiplexed by frequency division multiplexing (eg, IFDMA). The following operation will be described by using the base station 201 of the serving cell and the user apparatus 101 as an example, but the same operation can be performed by the base station of another cell and the user apparatus.
In the setting of DMRS, the base station 201 notifies the user apparatus 101 of DMRS configuration (DMRS configuration). The notification content is, for example, designation such as configuration 1 or configuration 2 or an antenna port number. Further, the base station 201 notifies the user apparatus 101 of the port range used by DL/UL and the antenna port for PDSCH transmission (reception for the user apparatus). Furthermore, the base station 201 notifies (sets) the measurement mode to the user apparatus 101 so that the user apparatus 101 can perform DMRS measurement. The measurement modes include, for example, a mode in which an interference amount is measured by UL DMRS from a UL interference cell, a mode in which an interference amount is measured by DL DMRS from a DL interference cell, and a mode in which both interference amounts are measured.”; NTT Docomo; p.12, bottom of page, p.13, top of page)
(“FIG. 21 is a diagram for explaining the example 2-1. (A) shows the slot configuration of DL of a serving cell, (b) shows the slot configuration of DL interference cell, (c) shows the slot configuration of UL interference cell. It is the same in FIGS. 22 to 27 that (a) to (c) mean these.”; NTT Docomo; p.10, bottom of page)
(“The scheduling unit 230 performs resource allocation and the like to the user equipment 100. The setting information management unit 240 includes a storage unit, stores preset setting information, and dynamically and/or semi-statically determines and holds the setting information to be set for the user apparatus 100. In addition, the inter-base station communication unit 250 transmits and receives, for example, information (interference amount and the like) necessary for cooperative scheduling, DMRS setting information, ZP CSI-RS setting information, and the like to and from other base stations.”; NTT Docomo; p.17; bottom of page)
(where
“DL DMRS are mapped to different REs”/”the base station 201 notifies the user apparatus 101 of DMRS configuration (DMRS configuration).”/”Serving in DL”/”DL front-loaded DMRS”/”DMRS”/FIG. 25/FIG. 26/”the slot configuration of DL of a serving cell”/”cooperative scheduling” maps to “obtaining a first scheduling information about the front loaded DMRS and the one or more additional DMRS in a current slot scheduled in the cell”
obtaining a second scheduling information about empty symbols in the current slot from an interfering cell;
(“In the example of FIG. 25, the user apparatus 101 of the serving cell can receive the DL DMRS from the DL interfering cell in the resource of the DL DMRS of its own and measure the amount of interference from the DL interfering cell. Note that the user equipment 101 of the serving cell can identify the DL DMRS of the DL interference cell received by the resource of its own DL DMRS by making the DL DMRS sequence and the like different between cells. Further, the user equipment 101 of the serving cell measures the amount of interference from the UL interference cell by receiving the UL DMRS from the UL interference cell in a resource in which the DL DMRS of the own cell is not mapped, in the symbol to which the DL DMRS of its own is mapped. it can.”; NTT Docomo; p.12, top of page)
(“The resource is, for example, a resource in which no downlink signal is transmitted in the serving cell of the user equipment. With this configuration, it is possible to measure the interference amount due to the uplink communication of the interfering cell without being affected by the downlink signal in the serving cell of the user equipment.”; NTT Docomo; p.19, bottom of page)
(where
“the user apparatus 101 of the serving cell can receive the DL DMRS from the DL interfering cell in the resource of the DL DMRS of its own”/” the user equipment 101 of the serving cell measures the amount of interference from the UL interference cell by receiving the UL DMRS from the UL interference cell in a resource in which the DL DMRS of the own cell is not mapped”/”In the setting of DMRS, the base station 201 notifies the user apparatus 101 of DMRS configuration (DMRS configuration)”/”Interfering in DL”/”Interfering in UL”/FIG. 25/FIG. 26/”a resource in which no downlink signal is transmitted in the serving cell”/”symbol to which the DL DMRS of its own is mapped” maps to “obtaining a second scheduling information about empty symbols in the current slot from an interfering cell”
deciding which one or more out of option 1 and option 2 to use for computing covariance at the UE based on the first scheduling information and the second scheduling information, …and option 2 comprises individual DMRS;
(“The user apparatus further includes a transmission unit that transmits a measurement report including an interference amount due to the uplink communication measured by the measurement unit and identification information of the user device that has performed the uplink communication to a base station. May be With this configuration, the base station of the serving cell (and other cooperating base stations) can recognize the user equipment that is the source of the UL interference, and can perform scheduling for interference reduction on the user equipment. ..”; NTT Docomo; p. 19, bottom of page)
(“The user apparatus 101 acquires a covariance matrix based on the measurement of the interference signal, and performs interference suppression using the covariance matrix. Moreover, when the user apparatus 101 receives the reference signal (NZP CSI-RS, DMRS) of the interference cell, the interference cancellation (SIC) may be performed by decoding the interference signal.”; NTT Docomo; p.15, bottom of page) (where
“the base station of the serving cell (and other cooperating base stations) can recognize the user equipment that is the source of the UL interference, and can perform scheduling for interference reduction on the user equipment.”/” The notification content is, for example, designation such as configuration 1 or configuration 2”/”The measurement modes include, for example, a mode in which an interference amount is measured by UL DMRS from a UL interference cell, a mode in which an interference amount is measured by DL DMRS from a DL interference cell”/”user apparatus 101 acquires a covariance matrix based on the measurement of the interference signal, and performs interference suppression using the covariance matrix. Moreover, when the user apparatus 101 receives the reference signal (NZP CSI-RS, DMRS” maps to “deciding which one or more out of option 1 and option 2 to use for computing covariance at the UE based on the first scheduling information and the second scheduling information, …and option 2 comprises individual DMRS”, where “can recognize the user equipment that is the source of the UL interference, and can perform scheduling for interference reduction on the user equipment” maps to “deciding”, “configuration 1” maps to “option 1”, “configuration 2” maps to “option 2”, “user apparatus 101 acquires a covariance matrix” maps to “computing covariance at the UE”, “UL interference”/FIG. 25/FIG. 26 maps to “based on the first scheduling information and the second scheduling information”, “mode in which an interference amount is measured by UL DMRS from a UL interference cell, a mode in which an interference amount is measured by DL DMRS from a DL interference cell” maps to “option 2 comprises individual DMRS”
sending an indication to the UE, which indication indicates a recommendation based on the deciding which one or more out of option 1 and option 2, to use for computing covariance at the UE for detecting the DL symbols.
(where
“the base station 201 notifies the user apparatus 101 of DMRS configuration (DMRS configuration). The notification content is, for example, designation such as configuration 1 or configuration 2”/“user apparatus 101 acquires a covariance matrix based on the measurement of the interference signal, and performs interference suppression using the covariance matrix. Moreover, when the user apparatus 101 receives the reference signal (NZP CSI-RS, DMRS) of the interference cell”/”receiving the UL DMRS from the UL interference cell in a resource in which the DL DMRS of the own cell is not mapped”/FIG. 25/FIG. 26 maps to “sending an indication to the UE, which indication indicates a recommendation based on the deciding which one or more out of option 1 and option 2, to use for computing covariance at the UE for detecting the DL symbols”
NTT Docomo teaches a base station providing two configurations for performing interference detection and mitigation to a user apparatus, where the base station determines which configuration it to be used by the user apparatus, where the user apparatus uses covariance to perform interference mitigation.
NTT Docomo as described above does not explicitly teach:
wherein option 1 comprises accumulated DMRS
However, Levitsky et al. further teaches an average/SINR/DMRS capability which includes:
wherein option 1 comprises accumulated DMRS
(“The post-processing SINR calculated based on Equation 2 and the actual post-processing SINR that is expected in case of PDSCH (defined analytically for the sake of the explanation based on Equation 1) may be different from one another. In some cases, the post-processing SINR representative for PDSCH (which may be represented by the variable γ.sub.DMRS) and that is expected to be obtained using DMRS based channel estimation and the post-processing SINR calculated based on Equation 2 (which may be represented by the variable γ.sub.CSI-RS) may be determined based on a CSI-RS and CSI-IM resources. The γ.sub.DMRS may be an actual representative (or projection) of post processing SINR for channel and reception conditions for data resources allocated to a UE 115 while the γ.sub.CSI-RS may be an estimate of post processing SINR based on channel and reception conditions for the data resources estimated based on CSI-RS and CSI-IM resources. The expected difference between γ.sub.CSI-RS and γ.sub.DMRS can be defined or learned per channel characteristics set and per given reception conditions and may later be used to estimate an γ.sub.DMRS based on applying an adjustment to a calculated γ.sub.CSI-RS. In some cases, the difference between the γ.sub.DMRS and the γ.sub.CSI-RS may be non-linear, and γ.sub.DMRS may be determined using a non-linear function—e.g., γ.sub.DMRS≈f(γ.sub.CSI-RS). A UE 115 may determine a set of mapping functions or average differences between calculated post-processing SINR values for CSI-RS (γ.sub.CSI-RS) and measured or calculated post-processing SINR values for DMRSs (γ.sub.DMRS) for different combinations of CSI-RS and DMRS configurations. Thus, a difference provided by a corresponding mapping function between a γ.sub.DMRS and a γ.sub.CSI-RS may be based on a configuration of a DMRS and a configuration of a CSI-RS and defined per channel characteristics set and per given input/thermal SNR.”; Levitsky et al.; 0093)
(“In some examples, the UE 115 may calculate one or more CSF components (e.g., a CQI, a PMI, an RI, or a combination) based on the DMRS configuration associated with the CSI reference resource. For example, to determine a value for the CQI, the UE 115 may use a post-processing SINR value or estimated spectral efficiency and some CQI mapping function determined assuming-a specific DMRS configuration that obtained based on tracking one or more DMRS related parameters from CSI reference resource slot or an equivalently CSI reference resource. The UE 115 may similarly determine the PMI and the RI. The UE 115 may include the CSF components determined as described above in addition to the selected DMRS configuration option in the joint periodic DMRS and CSF report to the base station 105. In some cases, such as for periodic reporting, a joint DMRS and CSF report may define CSF consistent with the currently used DMRS option (e.g., for the CSI reference resource) and in addition provide an indication of the selected DMRS configuration. In some other cases, such as for aperiodic reporting, a joint DMRS and CSF report may include a list of bundles of the selected DMRS option and the corresponding CQI, CSF, or both.”; Levitsky et al.; 0097)
(“A base station 105 may determine configurations for the different reference signals. In some cases, the base station 105 may determine a downlink or uplink DMRS configuration for a UE 115 by selecting the DMRS configuration from a set of DMRS configurations supported by a UE. The base station 105 may then signal the selected DMRS configuration to a UE 115 using dynamic control signaling, such as DCI based signaling of the selected DMRS configuration, MAC-CE based activation of the selected DMRS configuration, RRC based reconfiguration, or any combination. For example, the UE 115 may use a MAC-CE based activation for a set of the selected DMRS options with a complimentary DCI based selection of one of the activated options per allocation.”; Levitsky et al.; 0089)
(where
“A UE 115 may determine a set of mapping functions or average differences between calculated post-processing SINR values for CSI-RS (γ.sub.CSI-RS) and measured or calculated post-processing SINR values for DMRSs (γ.sub.DMRS) for different combinations of CSI-RS and DMRS configurations” maps to “wherein option 1 comprises accumulated DMRS”
Levitsky et al. teaches a base station configuring a UE with DMRS configuration, where the UE performs and average calculation based on DMRSs.
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the average/SINR/DMRS capability of Levisky et al. into NTT Docomo. By modifying the processing/communications of NTT Docomo to include the average/SINR/DMRS capability as taught by the processing/communications of Levitsky et al., the benefits of interference reduction (NTT Docomo; p.19, bottom of page) with improved latency (Levitsky et al.; 0134) are achieved.
Claim(s) 2 and 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over NTT Docomo, “User Device and Interference Measuring Method”, 2020-08-27, JP, JP 2020129707 (Foreign Patent Documents citation #1, listed on IDS dated 2025-01-24, citations are from English translation) in view of Levitsky et al. US 20230344600 and in further view of Levitsky et al. (hereinafter “Levitsky2”) US 20230231610.
As to claim 2:
NTT Docomo discloses:
deciding which one or more out of option 1 and option 2 to use for computing covariance at the UE, based on the first scheduling information and the second scheduling information comprises:
…
deciding to compute covariance at the UE by using option 1;
…
deciding to compute covariance at the UE by using option 2
(“The user apparatus 101 acquires a covariance matrix based on the measurement of the interference signal, and performs interference suppression using the covariance matrix. Moreover, when the user apparatus 101 receives the reference signal (NZP CSI-RS, DMRS) of the interference cell, the interference cancellation (SIC) may be performed by decoding the interference signal.”; NTT Docomo; p.15, bottom of page)
(“In case 1-1, UL DMRS and DL DMRS are mapped to different REs, for example, as shown in FIGS. 25 and 26. That is, UL DMRS and DL DMRS are multiplexed by frequency division multiplexing (eg, IFDMA). The following operation will be described by using the base station 201 of the serving cell and the user apparatus 101 as an example, but the same operation can be performed by the base station of another cell and the user apparatus.
In the setting of DMRS, the base station 201 notifies the user apparatus 101 of DMRS configuration (DMRS configuration). The notification content is, for example, designation such as configuration 1 or configuration 2 or an antenna port number. Further, the base station 201 notifies the user apparatus 101 of the port range used by DL/UL and the antenna port for PDSCH transmission (reception for the user apparatus). Furthermore, the base station 201 notifies (sets) the measurement mode to the user apparatus 101 so that the user apparatus 101 can perform DMRS measurement. The measurement modes include, for example, a mode in which an interference amount is measured by UL DMRS from a UL interference cell, a mode in which an interference amount is measured by DL DMRS from a DL interference cell, and a mode in which both interference amounts are measured.”; NTT Docomo; p.12, bottom of page, p.13, top of page)
NTT Docomo as described above does not explicitly teach:
identifying whether or not each symbol of the current slot scheduled in the cell experiences interference or not from the interfering cell, wherein:
when each symbol of the current slot scheduled in the cell experiences interference from the interfering cell…
when each symbol of the current slot scheduled in the cell does not experience interference from the interfering cell
However, Levitsky2 further teaches an DMRS/slot/validity/SINR/configuration capability which includes:
identifying whether or not each symbol of the current slot scheduled in the cell experiences interference or not from the interfering cell, wherein:
when each symbol of the current slot scheduled in the cell experiences interference from the interfering cell…
when each symbol of the current slot scheduled in the cell does not experience interference from the interfering cell…
(“In some examples, DMRS configuration report 215 may be transmitted as part of an aperiodic CSF report. For example, UE 115-a may be configured with a list of DMRS configurations to be addressed for DMRS selection and reporting (e.g., DMRS hypotheses) via control information 205. As part of the aperiodic CSF evaluation procedure, UE 115-a may select, from the network configured list of DMRS configurations, one or more most appropriate to the channel and reception conditions DMRS configurations. UE 115-a may select the one or more DMRS configurations by comparing the spectral efficiency, link quality characteristics, etc. estimated for communication link over the channel and associated with each of the DMRS configurations of the list of DMRS configurations. UE 115-a may use the parameters of one or more reference signals (e.g., DMRS) and a set of estimated channel characteristics (e.g., Doppler frequency, delay spread, signal to noise ratio (SNR)) to estimate multiple link quality characteristics (e.g., multiple post processing SINRs) and the corresponding spectral efficiencies associated with multiple DMRS configurations as part of the aperiodic CSF evaluation procedure. Additionally, UE 115-a may determine a CQI value associated with each of the selected one or more DMRS configurations. That is, UE 115-a may determine one or more DMRS configuration and CQI bundles. The one or more DMRS configuration and CQI bundles may be included in DMRS configuration report 215 and transmitted to base station 105-a as part of an extended aperiodic CSF report. DMRS configuration and CQI bundles may also be reported per subband, TB, or CDM group.”; Levitsky et al.; 0085)
(“As described herein, a UE 115 may identify a DMRS configuration based on a CSI reference resource for periodic reporting, which may allow the UE 115 to determine the DMRS configuration for a periodic joint DMRS and CSF report. Additionally or alternatively, the UE 115 may identify a DMRS configuration for regular periodic CSF report in a floating way, such as following the DMRS adaptation process taking place (e.g., without RRC reconfiguration to capture DMRS adaption dynamics in the context of CSF reporting or report configuration). In some cases, the UE 115 may determine a validity condition associated with the CSI reference resource is satisfied. For example, a slot in a serving cell (e.g., associated with the base station 105) may be a valid downlink slot for the CSI reference resource if the slot includes a downlink shared channel (e.g., a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH)) allocation with a duration greater than a threshold number of symbols. If the slot passes the validity condition (i.e., satisfies the threshold number of symbols), the UE 115 may derive the DMRS configuration from this slot for the CSI reference resource corresponding to the slot. If the slot fails the validity condition (i.e., does not meet the threshold number of symbols), the UE 115 may derive the DMRS configuration assumptions for a CSI reference resource for periodic CSF reporting from the nearest previous valid downlink slot. Additionally or alternatively, if the slot fails the validity condition, the UE 115 may assume a default predefined DMRS configuration assumptions for a CSI reference resource for periodic CSF reporting. In some cases, the CSI reporting may be performed based on one the one or more DMRS configuration assumptions (e.g., CSI reference resource assumptions), which may be predefined, derived by the UE 115 based on the CSI reference resource slot, or a combination.”; Levitsky et al.; 0096)
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the DMRS/slot/validity/SINR/configuration capability of Levisky2 into NTT Docomo. By modifying the processing/communications of NTT Docomo to include the DMRS/slot/validity/SINR/configuration as taught by the processing/communications of Levitsky2, the benefits of interference reduction (NTT Docomo; p.19, bottom of page) with improved latency (Levitsky2; 0134) are achieved.
As to claim 4:
NTT Docomo discloses:
deciding which one or more out of option 1 and option 2 to use for computing covariance at the UE, based on the first scheduling information and the second scheduling information comprises:
…
deciding to compute covariance at the UE by using option 1;
…
deciding to compute covariance at the UE by using option 2
deciding to compute covariance at the UE by using option 2, for both the one or more third parts and the one or more fourth parts of the current slot scheduled in the cell
(“The user apparatus 101 acquires a covariance matrix based on the measurement of the interference signal, and performs interference suppression using the covariance matrix. Moreover, when the user apparatus 101 receives the reference signal (NZP CSI-RS, DMRS) of the interference cell, the interference cancellation (SIC) may be performed by decoding the interference signal.”; NTT Docomo; p.15, bottom of page)
(“In case 1-1, UL DMRS and DL DMRS are mapped to different REs, for example, as shown in FIGS. 25 and 26. That is, UL DMRS and DL DMRS are multiplexed by frequency division multiplexing (eg, IFDMA). The following operation will be described by using the base station 201 of the serving cell and the user apparatus 101 as an example, but the same operation can be performed by the base station of another cell and the user apparatus.
In the setting of DMRS, the base station 201 notifies the user apparatus 101 of DMRS configuration (DMRS configuration). The notification content is, for example, designation such as configuration 1 or configuration 2 or an antenna port number. Further, the base station 201 notifies the user apparatus 101 of the port range used by DL/UL and the antenna port for PDSCH transmission (reception for the user apparatus). Furthermore, the base station 201 notifies (sets) the measurement mode to the user apparatus 101 so that the user apparatus 101 can perform DMRS measurement. The measurement modes include, for example, a mode in which an interference amount is measured by UL DMRS from a UL interference cell, a mode in which an interference amount is measured by DL DMRS from a DL interference cell, and a mode in which both interference amounts are measured.”; NTT Docomo; p.12, bottom of page, p.13, top of page)
NTT Docomo as described above does not explicitly teach:
identifying that no symbol of one or more third parts of the current slot scheduled in the cel does experience interference of the one or more interfering cell and identifying that each symbol of one or more fourth parts of the current slot scheduled in the cell does experience some interference from one or more interfering cells
However, Levitsky2 further teaches an DMRS/slot/validity/SINR/configuration capability which includes:
identifying that no symbol of one or more third parts of the current slot scheduled in the cel does experience interference of the one or more interfering cell and identifying that each symbol of one or more fourth parts of the current slot scheduled in the cell does experience some interference from one or more interfering cells
(“In some examples, DMRS configuration report 215 may be transmitted as part of an aperiodic CSF report. For example, UE 115-a may be configured with a list of DMRS configurations to be addressed for DMRS selection and reporting (e.g., DMRS hypotheses) via control information 205. As part of the aperiodic CSF evaluation procedure, UE 115-a may select, from the network configured list of DMRS configurations, one or more most appropriate to the channel and reception conditions DMRS configurations. UE 115-a may select the one or more DMRS configurations by comparing the spectral efficiency, link quality characteristics, etc. estimated for communication link over the channel and associated with each of the DMRS configurations of the list of DMRS configurations. UE 115-a may use the parameters of one or more reference signals (e.g., DMRS) and a set of estimated channel characteristics (e.g., Doppler frequency, delay spread, signal to noise ratio (SNR)) to estimate multiple link quality characteristics (e.g., multiple post processing SINRs) and the corresponding spectral efficiencies associated with multiple DMRS configurations as part of the aperiodic CSF evaluation procedure. Additionally, UE 115-a may determine a CQI value associated with each of the selected one or more DMRS configurations. That is, UE 115-a may determine one or more DMRS configuration and CQI bundles. The one or more DMRS configuration and CQI bundles may be included in DMRS configuration report 215 and transmitted to base station 105-a as part of an extended aperiodic CSF report. DMRS configuration and CQI bundles may also be reported per subband, TB, or CDM group.”; Levitsky et al.; 0085)
(“As described herein, a UE 115 may identify a DMRS configuration based on a CSI reference resource for periodic reporting, which may allow the UE 115 to determine the DMRS configuration for a periodic joint DMRS and CSF report. Additionally or alternatively, the UE 115 may identify a DMRS configuration for regular periodic CSF report in a floating way, such as following the DMRS adaptation process taking place (e.g., without RRC reconfiguration to capture DMRS adaption dynamics in the context of CSF reporting or report configuration). In some cases, the UE 115 may determine a validity condition associated with the CSI reference resource is satisfied. For example, a slot in a serving cell (e.g., associated with the base station 105) may be a valid downlink slot for the CSI reference resource if the slot includes a downlink shared channel (e.g., a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH)) allocation with a duration greater than a threshold number of symbols. If the slot passes the validity condition (i.e., satisfies the threshold number of symbols), the UE 115 may derive the DMRS configuration from this slot for the CSI reference resource corresponding to the slot. If the slot fails the validity condition (i.e., does not meet the threshold number of symbols), the UE 115 may derive the DMRS configuration assumptions for a CSI reference resource for periodic CSF reporting from the nearest previous valid downlink slot. Additionally or alternatively, if the slot fails the validity condition, the UE 115 may assume a default predefined DMRS configuration assumptions for a CSI reference resource for periodic CSF reporting. In some cases, the CSI reporting may be performed based on one the one or more DMRS configuration assumptions (e.g., CSI reference resource assumptions), which may be predefined, derived by the UE 115 based on the CSI reference resource slot, or a combination.”; Levitsky et al.; 0096)
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the DMRS/slot/validity/SINR/configuration capability of Levisky2 into NTT Docomo. By modifying the processing/communications of NTT Docomo to include the DMRS/slot/validity/SINR/configuration as taught by the processing/communications of Levitsky2, the benefits of interference reduction (NTT Docomo; p.19, bottom of page) with improved latency (Levitsky2; 0134) are achieved.
Claim(s) 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over NTT Docomo, “User Device and Interference Measuring Method”, 2020-08-27, JP, JP 2020129707 (Foreign Patent Documents citation #1, listed on IDS dated 2025-01-24, citations are from English translation) in view of Levitsky et al. US 20230344600 and in further view of Levitsky et al. (hereinafter “Levitsky2”) US 20230231610 and Qu et al. US 20230188294.
As to claim 3:
NTT Docomo discloses:
deciding which one or more out of option 1 and option 2 to use for computing covariance at the UE, based on the first scheduling information and the second scheduling information comprises:
…
deciding to compute covariance at the UE by using option 1;
…
deciding to compute covariance at the UE by using option 2
(“The user apparatus 101 acquires a covariance matrix based on the measurement of the interference signal, and performs interference suppression using the covariance matrix. Moreover, when the user apparatus 101 receives the reference signal (NZP CSI-RS, DMRS) of the interference cell, the interference cancellation (SIC) may be performed by decoding the interference signal.”; NTT Docomo; p.15, bottom of page)
(“In case 1-1, UL DMRS and DL DMRS are mapped to different REs, for example, as shown in FIGS. 25 and 26. That is, UL DMRS and DL DMRS are multiplexed by frequency division multiplexing (eg, IFDMA). The following operation will be described by using the base station 201 of the serving cell and the user apparatus 101 as an example, but the same operation can be performed by the base station of another cell and the user apparatus.
In the setting of DMRS, the base station 201 notifies the user apparatus 101 of DMRS configuration (DMRS configuration). The notification content is, for example, designation such as configuration 1 or configuration 2 or an antenna port number. Further, the base station 201 notifies the user apparatus 101 of the port range used by DL/UL and the antenna port for PDSCH transmission (reception for the user apparatus). Furthermore, the base station 201 notifies (sets) the measurement mode to the user apparatus 101 so that the user apparatus 101 can perform DMRS measurement. The measurement modes include, for example, a mode in which an interference amount is measured by UL DMRS from a UL interference cell, a mode in which an interference amount is measured by DL DMRS from a DL interference cell, and a mode in which both interference amounts are measured.”; NTT Docomo; p.12, bottom of page, p.13, top of page)
NTT Docomo as described above does not explicitly teach:
identifying whether or not each symbol of the current slot scheduled in the cell experiences interference or not from the interfering cell,
and deciding to compute covariance at the UE by using option 1 for one or more first parts of the current slot scheduled in the cell;
identifying that no symbol of one or more second parts of the current slot scheduled in the cell does experience interference from the interfering cell and deciding to compute covariance at the UE by using option 2 for the one or more second parts of the current slot scheduled in the cell
However, Levitsky2 further teaches an DMRS/slot/validity/SINR/configuration capability which includes:
identifying whether or not each symbol of the current slot scheduled in the cell experiences interference or not from the interfering cell,
and deciding to compute covariance at the UE by using option 1 …
identifying that no symbol of one or more second parts of the current slot scheduled in the cell does experience interference from the interfering cell and deciding to compute covariance at the UE by using option 2 …
(“In some examples, DMRS configuration report 215 may be transmitted as part of an aperiodic CSF report. For example, UE 115-a may be configured with a list of DMRS configurations to be addressed for DMRS selection and reporting (e.g., DMRS hypotheses) via control information 205. As part of the aperiodic CSF evaluation procedure, UE 115-a may select, from the network configured list of DMRS configurations, one or more most appropriate to the channel and reception conditions DMRS configurations. UE 115-a may select the one or more DMRS configurations by comparing the spectral efficiency, link quality characteristics, etc. estimated for communication link over the channel and associated with each of the DMRS configurations of the list of DMRS configurations. UE 115-a may use the parameters of one or more reference signals (e.g., DMRS) and a set of estimated channel characteristics (e.g., Doppler frequency, delay spread, signal to noise ratio (SNR)) to estimate multiple link quality characteristics (e.g., multiple post processing SINRs) and the corresponding spectral efficiencies associated with multiple DMRS configurations as part of the aperiodic CSF evaluation procedure. Additionally, UE 115-a may determine a CQI value associated with each of the selected one or more DMRS configurations. That is, UE 115-a may determine one or more DMRS configuration and CQI bundles. The one or more DMRS configuration and CQI bundles may be included in DMRS configuration report 215 and transmitted to base station 105-a as part of an extended aperiodic CSF report. DMRS configuration and CQI bundles may also be reported per subband, TB, or CDM group.”; Levitsky et al.; 0085)
(“As described herein, a UE 115 may identify a DMRS configuration based on a CSI reference resource for periodic reporting, which may allow the UE 115 to determine the DMRS configuration for a periodic joint DMRS and CSF report. Additionally or alternatively, the UE 115 may identify a DMRS configuration for regular periodic CSF report in a floating way, such as following the DMRS adaptation process taking place (e.g., without RRC reconfiguration to capture DMRS adaption dynamics in the context of CSF reporting or report configuration). In some cases, the UE 115 may determine a validity condition associated with the CSI reference resource is satisfied. For example, a slot in a serving cell (e.g., associated with the base station 105) may be a valid downlink slot for the CSI reference resource if the slot includes a downlink shared channel (e.g., a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH)) allocation with a duration greater than a threshold number of symbols. If the slot passes the validity condition (i.e., satisfies the threshold number of symbols), the UE 115 may derive the DMRS configuration from this slot for the CSI reference resource corresponding to the slot. If the slot fails the validity condition (i.e., does not meet the threshold number of symbols), the UE 115 may derive the DMRS configuration assumptions for a CSI reference resource for periodic CSF reporting from the nearest previous valid downlink slot. Additionally or alternatively, if the slot fails the validity condition, the UE 115 may assume a default predefined DMRS configuration assumptions for a CSI reference resource for periodic CSF reporting. In some cases, the CSI reporting may be performed based on one the one or more DMRS configuration assumptions (e.g., CSI reference resource assumptions), which may be predefined, derived by the UE 115 based on the CSI reference resource slot, or a combination.”; Levitsky et al.; 0096)
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the DMRS/slot/validity/SINR/configuration capability of Levisky2 into NTT Docomo. By modifying the processing/communications of NTT Docomo to include the DMRS/slot/validity/SINR/configuration as taught by the processing/communications of Levitsky2, the benefits of interference reduction (NTT Docomo; p.19, bottom of page) with improved latency (Levitsky2; 0134) are achieved.
However, Qu et al. further teaches an front-loaded/additional/covariance capability which includes:
for one or more first parts of the current slot scheduled in the cell;
for the one or more second parts of the current slot scheduled in the cell
(“In this example, the micro site may respectively obtain the first interference covariance matrix and the second interference covariance matrix based on the front-loaded DMRS symbol and the additional DMRS symbol, where the first interference covariance matrix and the second interference covariance matrix are the interference covariance matrices respectively for the PDCCH and the PDSCH of the macro site, so that the micro site more effectively suppresses the neighboring cell interference.”; Qu et al.; 0145)
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the front-loaded/additional/covariance capability of Qu et al. into NTT Docomo. By modifying the processing/communications of Qu et al. to include the front-loaded/additional/covariance as taught by the processing/communications of Levitsky2, the benefits of interference reduction (NTT Docomo; p.19, bottom of page) with improved throughput (Qu et al.; 0007) are achieved.
Claim(s) 7, 8, 18 and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over NTT Docomo, “User Device and Interference Measuring Method”, 2020-08-27, JP, JP 2020129707 (Foreign Patent Documents citation #1, listed on IDS dated 2025-01-24, citations are from English translation) in view of Levitsky et al. US 20230344600 and in further view of Gong et al. US 20160036542.
As to claim 7:
NTT Docomo discloses:
A method performed by a a User Equipment (UE) for detecting Downlink (DL) symbols to be received by the UE in a wireless communications network, which DL symbols comprise front loaded Demodulation Reference Signals (DMRS) and one or more additional DMRS, and which network node serves the UE in a cell, the method comprising:
(“The second embodiment is the embodiment 2-1 in which the front-loaded DMRS arranged at the beginning of the data area is used to measure the interference amount, and the second embodiment is performed in which the additional DMRS is used to measure the interference amount. -2. Each will be described below.”; NTT Docomo; p.10, middle of page)
“Serving in DL”/”DL front-loaded DMRS…”/”DMRS”/FIG. 25/FIG. 26/”additional DMRS” maps to “DL symbols comprise front loaded Demodulation Reference Signals (DMRS) and one or more additional DMRS, and which network node serves the UE in a cell”
receiving an indication from the network node, which indication indicates a recommendation of which one or more out of option 1 and option2 to use for computing covariance at the UE…and option 2 comprises individual DMRS;
(“In case 1-1, UL DMRS and DL DMRS are mapped to different REs, for example, as shown in FIGS. 25 and 26. That is, UL DMRS and DL DMRS are multiplexed by frequency division multiplexing (eg, IFDMA). The following operation will be described by using the base station 201 of the serving cell and the user apparatus 101 as an example, but the same operation can be performed by the base station of another cell and the user apparatus.
In the setting of DMRS, the base station 201 notifies the user apparatus 101 of DMRS configuration (DMRS configuration). The notification content is, for example, designation such as configuration 1 or configuration 2 or an antenna port number. Further, the base station 201 notifies the user apparatus 101 of the port range used by DL/UL and the antenna port for PDSCH transmission (reception for the user apparatus). Furthermore, the base station 201 notifies (sets) the measurement mode to the user apparatus 101 so that the user apparatus 101 can perform DMRS measurement. The measurement modes include, for example, a mode in which an interference amount is measured by UL DMRS from a UL interference cell, a mode in which an interference amount is measured by DL DMRS from a DL interference cell, and a mode in which both interference amounts are measured.”; NTT Docomo; p.12, bottom of page, p.13, top of page)
(“FIG. 21 is a diagram for explaining the example 2-1. (A) shows the slot configuration of DL of a serving cell, (b) shows the slot configuration of DL interference cell, (c) shows the slot configuration of UL interference cell. It is the same in FIGS. 22 to 27 that (a) to (c) mean these.”; NTT Docomo; p.10, bottom of page)
(“The scheduling unit 230 performs resource allocation and the like to the user equipment 100. The setting information management unit 240 includes a storage unit, stores preset setting information, and dynamically and/or semi-statically determines and holds the setting information to be set for the user apparatus 100. In addition, the inter-base station communication unit 250 transmits and receives, for example, information (interference amount and the like) necessary for cooperative scheduling, DMRS setting information, ZP CSI-RS setting information, and the like to and from other base stations.”; NTT Docomo; p.17; bottom of page)
(where
“DL DMRS are mapped to different REs”/”the base station 201 notifies the user apparatus 101 of DMRS configuration (DMRS configuration).”/”Serving in DL”/”DL front-loaded DMRS”/”DMRS”/FIG. 25/FIG. 26/”the slot configuration of DL of a serving cell”/”cooperative scheduling” maps to “obtaining a first scheduling information about the front loaded DMRS and the one or more additional DMRS in a current slot scheduled in the cell”
receiving, from the network node, information about a symbol level interference;;
(“In the example of FIG. 25, the user apparatus 101 of the serving cell can receive the DL DMRS from the DL interfering cell in the resource of the DL DMRS of its own and measure the amount of interference from the DL interfering cell. Note that the user equipment 101 of the serving cell can identify the DL DMRS of the DL interference cell received by the resource of its own DL DMRS by making the DL DMRS sequence and the like different between cells. Further, the user equipment 101 of the serving cell measures the amount of interference from the UL interference cell by receiving the UL DMRS from the UL interference cell in a resource in which the DL DMRS of the own cell is not mapped, in the symbol to which the DL DMRS of its own is mapped. it can.”; NTT Docomo; p.12, top of page)
(“The resource is, for example, a resource in which no downlink signal is transmitted in the serving cell of the user equipment. With this configuration, it is possible to measure the interference amount due to the uplink communication of the interfering cell without being affected by the downlink signal in the serving cell of the user equipment.”; NTT Docomo; p.19, bottom of page)
(where
“the user apparatus 101 of the serving cell can receive the DL DMRS from the DL interfering cell in the resource of the DL DMRS of its own”/” the user equipment 101 of the serving cell measures the amount of interference from the UL interference cell by receiving the UL DMRS from the UL interference cell in a resource in which the DL DMRS of the own cell is not mapped”/”In the setting of DMRS, the base station 201 notifies the user apparatus 101 of DMRS configuration (DMRS configuration)”/”Interfering in DL”/”Interfering in UL”/FIG. 25/FIG. 26/”a resource in which no downlink signal is transmitted in the serving cell”/”symbol to which the DL DMRS of its own is mapped” maps to “receiving, from the network node, information about a symbol level interference”
computing a covariance according to the recommendation and based on the information about a symbol level interference;
(“The user apparatus further includes a transmission unit that transmits a measurement report including an interference amount due to the uplink communication measured by the measurement unit and identification information of the user device that has performed the uplink communication to a base station. May be With this configuration, the base station of the serving cell (and other cooperating base stations) can recognize the user equipment that is the source of the UL interference, and can perform scheduling for interference reduction on the user equipment. ..”; NTT Docomo; p. 19, bottom of page)
(“The user apparatus 101 acquires a covariance matrix based on the measurement of the interference signal, and performs interference suppression using the covariance matrix. Moreover, when the user apparatus 101 receives the reference signal (NZP CSI-RS, DMRS) of the interference cell, the interference cancellation (SIC) may be performed by decoding the interference signal.”; NTT Docomo; p.15, bottom of page) (where
“the base station of the serving cell (and other cooperating base stations) can recognize the user equipment that is the source of the UL interference, and can perform scheduling for interference reduction on the user equipment.”/” The notification content is, for example, designation such as configuration 1 or configuration 2”/”The measurement modes include, for example, a mode in which an interference amount is measured by UL DMRS from a UL interference cell, a mode in which an interference amount is measured by DL DMRS from a DL interference cell”/”user apparatus 101 acquires a covariance matrix based on the measurement of the interference signal, and performs interference suppression using the covariance matrix. Moreover, when the user apparatus 101 receives the reference signal (NZP CSI-RS, DMRS”/FIG. 25/FIG. 26 maps to “computing a covariance according to the recommendation and based on the information about a symbol level interference”,
NTT Docomo teaches a base station providing two configurations for performing interference detection and mitigation to a user apparatus, where the base station determines which configuration it to be used by the user apparatus, where the user apparatus uses covariance to perform interference mitigation.
NTT Docomo as described above does not explicitly teach:
wherein option 1 comprises accumulated DMRS
determining receiver weights based on the computed covariance
detecting DL symbols based on the determined receiver weights.
However, Levitsky et al. further teaches an average/SINR/DMRS capability which includes:
wherein option 1 comprises accumulated DMRS
(“The post-processing SINR calculated based on Equation 2 and the actual post-processing SINR that is expected in case of PDSCH (defined analytically for the sake of the explanation based on Equation 1) may be different from one another. In some cases, the post-processing SINR representative for PDSCH (which may be represented by the variable γ.sub.DMRS) and that is expected to be obtained using DMRS based channel estimation and the post-processing SINR calculated based on Equation 2 (which may be represented by the variable γ.sub.CSI-RS) may be determined based on a CSI-RS and CSI-IM resources. The γ.sub.DMRS may be an actual representative (or projection) of post processing SINR for channel and reception conditions for data resources allocated to a UE 115 while the γ.sub.CSI-RS may be an estimate of post processing SINR based on channel and reception conditions for the data resources estimated based on CSI-RS and CSI-IM resources. The expected difference between γ.sub.CSI-RS and γ.sub.DMRS can be defined or learned per channel characteristics set and per given reception conditions and may later be used to estimate an γ.sub.DMRS based on applying an adjustment to a calculated γ.sub.CSI-RS. In some cases, the difference between the γ.sub.DMRS and the γ.sub.CSI-RS may be non-linear, and γ.sub.DMRS may be determined using a non-linear function—e.g., γ.sub.DMRS≈f(γ.sub.CSI-RS). A UE 115 may determine a set of mapping functions or average differences between calculated post-processing SINR values for CSI-RS (γ.sub.CSI-RS) and measured or calculated post-processing SINR values for DMRSs (γ.sub.DMRS) for different combinations of CSI-RS and DMRS configurations. Thus, a difference provided by a corresponding mapping function between a γ.sub.DMRS and a γ.sub.CSI-RS may be based on a configuration of a DMRS and a configuration of a CSI-RS and defined per channel characteristics set and per given input/thermal SNR.”; Levitsky et al.; 0093)
(“In some examples, the UE 115 may calculate one or more CSF components (e.g., a CQI, a PMI, an RI, or a combination) based on the DMRS configuration associated with the CSI reference resource. For example, to determine a value for the CQI, the UE 115 may use a post-processing SINR value or estimated spectral efficiency and some CQI mapping function determined assuming-a specific DMRS configuration that obtained based on tracking one or more DMRS related parameters from CSI reference resource slot or an equivalently CSI reference resource. The UE 115 may similarly determine the PMI and the RI. The UE 115 may include the CSF components determined as described above in addition to the selected DMRS configuration option in the joint periodic DMRS and CSF report to the base station 105. In some cases, such as for periodic reporting, a joint DMRS and CSF report may define CSF consistent with the currently used DMRS option (e.g., for the CSI reference resource) and in addition provide an indication of the selected DMRS configuration. In some other cases, such as for aperiodic reporting, a joint DMRS and CSF report may include a list of bundles of the selected DMRS option and the corresponding CQI, CSF, or both.”; Levitsky et al.; 0097)
(“A base station 105 may determine configurations for the different reference signals. In some cases, the base station 105 may determine a downlink or uplink DMRS configuration for a UE 115 by selecting the DMRS configuration from a set of DMRS configurations supported by a UE. The base station 105 may then signal the selected DMRS configuration to a UE 115 using dynamic control signaling, such as DCI based signaling of the selected DMRS configuration, MAC-CE based activation of the selected DMRS configuration, RRC based reconfiguration, or any combination. For example, the UE 115 may use a MAC-CE based activation for a set of the selected DMRS options with a complimentary DCI based selection of one of the activated options per allocation.”; Levitsky et al.; 0089)
(where
“A UE 115 may determine a set of mapping functions or average differences between calculated post-processing SINR values for CSI-RS (γ.sub.CSI-RS) and measured or calculated post-processing SINR values for DMRSs (γ.sub.DMRS) for different combinations of CSI-RS and DMRS configurations” maps to “wherein option 1 comprises accumulated DMRS”
Levitsky et al. teaches a base station configuring a UE with DMRS configuration, where the UE performs and average calculation based on DMRSs.
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the average/SINR/DMRS capability of Levisky et al. into NTT Docomo. By modifying the processing/communications of NTT Docomo to include the average/SINR/DMRS capability as taught by the processing/communications of Levitsky et al., the benefits of interference reduction (NTT Docomo; p.19, bottom of page) with improved latency (Levitsky et al.; 0134) are achieved.
However, Gong et al. further teaches a covariance/matrix/weights/receiver/symbol capability which includes:
determining receiver weights based on the computed covariance
(“The related document/art has proved that the demodulation performance is substantially improved by using the MMSE-IRC receiver when compared to the traditional MRC receiver or MMSE receiver, the reason is that the MMSE-IRC receiver can obtain a more accurate receiving weight by using the interference channel covariance matrix. Therefore, acquiring more accurate interference channel information is an effective way to improve the receiving performance in the condition of MMSE-IRC receiver or advanced receivers.”; Gong et al.; 0199)
(“wherein R represents an estimated interference covariance matrix, σ.sup.2 is the noise power, and P.sub.1 is the transmitting signal power of the serving cell equal to E[|d.sub.1(k,l)|.sup.2].”; Gong et al.; 0191)
(where
“obtain a more accurate receiving weight by using the interference channel covariance matrix”/”estimated interference covariance matrix” maps to “determining receiver weights based on the computed covariance”
detecting DL symbols based on the determined receiver weights.
(“In a case of measuring interference through the DMRS, a receiving weight is:”; Gong et al.; 0194)
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(“In the LTE/LTE-A system, the received signal of a receiver on the kth subcarrier and Ith OFDM symbol (N.sub.Rx×1 dimension, wherein N.sub.Rx represents the number of receiving antennas) can be indicated as a sum of three parts, the signal of the receiver itself H.sub.1(k,l)d.sub.1 (k,l), the interference signal H.sub.j(k,l)d.sub.j(k,l)(j>1), and the noise n(k,l):”; Gong et al.; 0186)
(where
“measuring interference through the DMRS, a receiving weight”/FIG. 1/FIG. 2/”Time domain OFDM symbol index”/FIG. 5
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the covariance/matrix/weights/receiver/symbol capability of Gong et al. into NTT Docomo. By modifying the processing/communications of NTT Docomo to include the covariance/matrix/weights/receiver/symbol capability as taught by the processing/communications of Gong et al., the benefits of interference reduction (NTT Docomo; p.19, bottom of page) with improved performance (Gong et al.; 0199) are achieved.
As to claim 8:
NTT Docomo discloses:
wherein the recommendation is based on a first scheduling information about the front loaded DMRS and the one or more additional DMRS in a current slot scheduled in the cell, and a second scheduling information about empty symbols in the current slot from an interfering cell
(“The second embodiment is the embodiment 2-1 in which the front-loaded DMRS arranged at the beginning of the data area is used to measure the interference amount, and the second embodiment is performed in which the additional DMRS is used to measure the interference amount. -2. Each will be described below.”; NTT Docomo; p.10, middle of page)
(“In case 1-1, UL DMRS and DL DMRS are mapped to different REs, for example, as shown in FIGS. 25 and 26. That is, UL DMRS and DL DMRS are multiplexed by frequency division multiplexing (eg, IFDMA). The following operation will be described by using the base station 201 of the serving cell and the user apparatus 101 as an example, but the same operation can be performed by the base station of another cell and the user apparatus.
In the setting of DMRS, the base station 201 notifies the user apparatus 101 of DMRS configuration (DMRS configuration). The notification content is, for example, designation such as configuration 1 or configuration 2 or an antenna port number. Further, the base station 201 notifies the user apparatus 101 of the port range used by DL/UL and the antenna port for PDSCH transmission (reception for the user apparatus). Furthermore, the base station 201 notifies (sets) the measurement mode to the user apparatus 101 so that the user apparatus 101 can perform DMRS measurement. The measurement modes include, for example, a mode in which an interference amount is measured by UL DMRS from a UL interference cell, a mode in which an interference amount is measured by DL DMRS from a DL interference cell, and a mode in which both interference amounts are measured.”; NTT Docomo; p.12, bottom of page, p.13, top of page)
(“FIG. 21 is a diagram for explaining the example 2-1. (A) shows the slot configuration of DL of a serving cell, (b) shows the slot configuration of DL interference cell, (c) shows the slot configuration of UL interference cell. It is the same in FIGS. 22 to 27 that (a) to (c) mean these.”; NTT Docomo; p.10, bottom of page)
(“The scheduling unit 230 performs resource allocation and the like to the user equipment 100. The setting information management unit 240 includes a storage unit, stores preset setting information, and dynamically and/or semi-statically determines and holds the setting information to be set for the user apparatus 100. In addition, the inter-base station communication unit 250 transmits and receives, for example, information (interference amount and the like) necessary for cooperative scheduling, DMRS setting information, ZP CSI-RS setting information, and the like to and from other base stations.”; NTT Docomo; p.17; bottom of page)
(“In the example of FIG. 25, the user apparatus 101 of the serving cell can receive the DL DMRS from the DL interfering cell in the resource of the DL DMRS of its own and measure the amount of interference from the DL interfering cell. Note that the user equipment 101 of the serving cell can identify the DL DMRS of the DL interference cell received by the resource of its own DL DMRS by making the DL DMRS sequence and the like different between cells. Further, the user equipment 101 of the serving cell measures the amount of interference from the UL interference cell by receiving the UL DMRS from the UL interference cell in a resource in which the DL DMRS of the own cell is not mapped, in the symbol to which the DL DMRS of its own is mapped. it can.”; NTT Docomo; p.12, top of page)
(“The resource is, for example, a resource in which no downlink signal is transmitted in the serving cell of the user equipment. With this configuration, it is possible to measure the interference amount due to the uplink communication of the interfering cell without being affected by the downlink signal in the serving cell of the user equipment.”; NTT Docomo; p.19, bottom of page)
(“The user apparatus further includes a transmission unit that transmits a measurement report including an interference amount due to the uplink communication measured by the measurement unit and identification information of the user device that has performed the uplink communication to a base station. May be With this configuration, the base station of the serving cell (and other cooperating base stations) can recognize the user equipment that is the source of the UL interference, and can perform scheduling for interference reduction on the user equipment. ..”; NTT Docomo; p. 19, bottom of page)
(“The user apparatus 101 acquires a covariance matrix based on the measurement of the interference signal, and performs interference suppression using the covariance matrix. Moreover, when the user apparatus 101 receives the reference signal (NZP CSI-RS, DMRS) of the interference cell, the interference cancellation (SIC) may be performed by decoding the interference signal.”; NTT Docomo; p.15, bottom of page)
As to claim 18:
NTT Docomo discloses:
A User Equipment configured to detect Downlink (DL) symbols to be received by the UE in a wireless communications network, which DL symbols comprise front loaded Demodulation Reference Signals (DMRS) and one or more additional DMRS, and which network node serves the UE in a cell, the method comprising:
processor and
a memory comprising instructions which. when executed by the processor. cause the UE to:
(“The second embodiment is the embodiment 2-1 in which the front-loaded DMRS arranged at the beginning of the data area is used to measure the interference amount, and the second embodiment is performed in which the additional DMRS is used to measure the interference amount. -2. Each will be described below.”; NTT Docomo; p.10, middle of page)
“Serving in DL”/”DL front-loaded DMRS…”/”DMRS”/FIG. 25/FIG. 26/”additional DMRS” maps to “DL symbols comprise front loaded Demodulation Reference Signals (DMRS) and one or more additional DMRS, and which network node serves the UE in a cell”
receiving an indication from the network node, which indication indicates a recommendation of which one or more out of option 1 and option2 to use for computing covariance at the UE…and option 2 comprises individual DMRS;
(“In case 1-1, UL DMRS and DL DMRS are mapped to different REs, for example, as shown in FIGS. 25 and 26. That is, UL DMRS and DL DMRS are multiplexed by frequency division multiplexing (eg, IFDMA). The following operation will be described by using the base station 201 of the serving cell and the user apparatus 101 as an example, but the same operation can be performed by the base station of another cell and the user apparatus.
In the setting of DMRS, the base station 201 notifies the user apparatus 101 of DMRS configuration (DMRS configuration). The notification content is, for example, designation such as configuration 1 or configuration 2 or an antenna port number. Further, the base station 201 notifies the user apparatus 101 of the port range used by DL/UL and the antenna port for PDSCH transmission (reception for the user apparatus). Furthermore, the base station 201 notifies (sets) the measurement mode to the user apparatus 101 so that the user apparatus 101 can perform DMRS measurement. The measurement modes include, for example, a mode in which an interference amount is measured by UL DMRS from a UL interference cell, a mode in which an interference amount is measured by DL DMRS from a DL interference cell, and a mode in which both interference amounts are measured.”; NTT Docomo; p.12, bottom of page, p.13, top of page)
(“FIG. 21 is a diagram for explaining the example 2-1. (A) shows the slot configuration of DL of a serving cell, (b) shows the slot configuration of DL interference cell, (c) shows the slot configuration of UL interference cell. It is the same in FIGS. 22 to 27 that (a) to (c) mean these.”; NTT Docomo; p.10, bottom of page)
(“The scheduling unit 230 performs resource allocation and the like to the user equipment 100. The setting information management unit 240 includes a storage unit, stores preset setting information, and dynamically and/or semi-statically determines and holds the setting information to be set for the user apparatus 100. In addition, the inter-base station communication unit 250 transmits and receives, for example, information (interference amount and the like) necessary for cooperative scheduling, DMRS setting information, ZP CSI-RS setting information, and the like to and from other base stations.”; NTT Docomo; p.17; bottom of page)
(where
“DL DMRS are mapped to different REs”/”the base station 201 notifies the user apparatus 101 of DMRS configuration (DMRS configuration).”/”Serving in DL”/”DL front-loaded DMRS”/”DMRS”/FIG. 25/FIG. 26/”the slot configuration of DL of a serving cell”/”cooperative scheduling” maps to “obtaining a first scheduling information about the front loaded DMRS and the one or more additional DMRS in a current slot scheduled in the cell”
receiving, from the network node, information about a symbol level interference;;
(“In the example of FIG. 25, the user apparatus 101 of the serving cell can receive the DL DMRS from the DL interfering cell in the resource of the DL DMRS of its own and measure the amount of interference from the DL interfering cell. Note that the user equipment 101 of the serving cell can identify the DL DMRS of the DL interference cell received by the resource of its own DL DMRS by making the DL DMRS sequence and the like different between cells. Further, the user equipment 101 of the serving cell measures the amount of interference from the UL interference cell by receiving the UL DMRS from the UL interference cell in a resource in which the DL DMRS of the own cell is not mapped, in the symbol to which the DL DMRS of its own is mapped. it can.”; NTT Docomo; p.12, top of page)
(“The resource is, for example, a resource in which no downlink signal is transmitted in the serving cell of the user equipment. With this configuration, it is possible to measure the interference amount due to the uplink communication of the interfering cell without being affected by the downlink signal in the serving cell of the user equipment.”; NTT Docomo; p.19, bottom of page)
(where
“the user apparatus 101 of the serving cell can receive the DL DMRS from the DL interfering cell in the resource of the DL DMRS of its own”/” the user equipment 101 of the serving cell measures the amount of interference from the UL interference cell by receiving the UL DMRS from the UL interference cell in a resource in which the DL DMRS of the own cell is not mapped”/”In the setting of DMRS, the base station 201 notifies the user apparatus 101 of DMRS configuration (DMRS configuration)”/”Interfering in DL”/”Interfering in UL”/FIG. 25/FIG. 26/”a resource in which no downlink signal is transmitted in the serving cell”/”symbol to which the DL DMRS of its own is mapped” maps to “receiving, from the network node, information about a symbol level interference”
computing a covariance according to the recommendation and based on the information about a symbol level interference;
(“The user apparatus further includes a transmission unit that transmits a measurement report including an interference amount due to the uplink communication measured by the measurement unit and identification information of the user device that has performed the uplink communication to a base station. May be With this configuration, the base station of the serving cell (and other cooperating base stations) can recognize the user equipment that is the source of the UL interference, and can perform scheduling for interference reduction on the user equipment. ..”; NTT Docomo; p. 19, bottom of page)
(“The user apparatus 101 acquires a covariance matrix based on the measurement of the interference signal, and performs interference suppression using the covariance matrix. Moreover, when the user apparatus 101 receives the reference signal (NZP CSI-RS, DMRS) of the interference cell, the interference cancellation (SIC) may be performed by decoding the interference signal.”; NTT Docomo; p.15, bottom of page) (where
“the base station of the serving cell (and other cooperating base stations) can recognize the user equipment that is the source of the UL interference, and can perform scheduling for interference reduction on the user equipment.”/” The notification content is, for example, designation such as configuration 1 or configuration 2”/”The measurement modes include, for example, a mode in which an interference amount is measured by UL DMRS from a UL interference cell, a mode in which an interference amount is measured by DL DMRS from a DL interference cell”/”user apparatus 101 acquires a covariance matrix based on the measurement of the interference signal, and performs interference suppression using the covariance matrix. Moreover, when the user apparatus 101 receives the reference signal (NZP CSI-RS, DMRS”/FIG. 25/FIG. 26 maps to “computing a covariance according to the recommendation and based on the information about a symbol level interference”,
NTT Docomo teaches a base station providing two configurations for performing interference detection and mitigation to a user apparatus, where the base station determines which configuration it to be used by the user apparatus, where the user apparatus uses covariance to perform interference mitigation.
NTT Docomo as described above does not explicitly teach:
wherein option 1 comprises accumulated DMRS
determining receiver weights based on the computed covariance
detecting DL symbols based on the determined receiver weights.
However, Levitsky et al. further teaches an average/SINR/DMRS capability which includes:
wherein option 1 comprises accumulated DMRS
(“The post-processing SINR calculated based on Equation 2 and the actual post-processing SINR that is expected in case of PDSCH (defined analytically for the sake of the explanation based on Equation 1) may be different from one another. In some cases, the post-processing SINR representative for PDSCH (which may be represented by the variable γ.sub.DMRS) and that is expected to be obtained using DMRS based channel estimation and the post-processing SINR calculated based on Equation 2 (which may be represented by the variable γ.sub.CSI-RS) may be determined based on a CSI-RS and CSI-IM resources. The γ.sub.DMRS may be an actual representative (or projection) of post processing SINR for channel and reception conditions for data resources allocated to a UE 115 while the γ.sub.CSI-RS may be an estimate of post processing SINR based on channel and reception conditions for the data resources estimated based on CSI-RS and CSI-IM resources. The expected difference between γ.sub.CSI-RS and γ.sub.DMRS can be defined or learned per channel characteristics set and per given reception conditions and may later be used to estimate an γ.sub.DMRS based on applying an adjustment to a calculated γ.sub.CSI-RS. In some cases, the difference between the γ.sub.DMRS and the γ.sub.CSI-RS may be non-linear, and γ.sub.DMRS may be determined using a non-linear function—e.g., γ.sub.DMRS≈f(γ.sub.CSI-RS). A UE 115 may determine a set of mapping functions or average differences between calculated post-processing SINR values for CSI-RS (γ.sub.CSI-RS) and measured or calculated post-processing SINR values for DMRSs (γ.sub.DMRS) for different combinations of CSI-RS and DMRS configurations. Thus, a difference provided by a corresponding mapping function between a γ.sub.DMRS and a γ.sub.CSI-RS may be based on a configuration of a DMRS and a configuration of a CSI-RS and defined per channel characteristics set and per given input/thermal SNR.”; Levitsky et al.; 0093)
(“In some examples, the UE 115 may calculate one or more CSF components (e.g., a CQI, a PMI, an RI, or a combination) based on the DMRS configuration associated with the CSI reference resource. For example, to determine a value for the CQI, the UE 115 may use a post-processing SINR value or estimated spectral efficiency and some CQI mapping function determined assuming-a specific DMRS configuration that obtained based on tracking one or more DMRS related parameters from CSI reference resource slot or an equivalently CSI reference resource. The UE 115 may similarly determine the PMI and the RI. The UE 115 may include the CSF components determined as described above in addition to the selected DMRS configuration option in the joint periodic DMRS and CSF report to the base station 105. In some cases, such as for periodic reporting, a joint DMRS and CSF report may define CSF consistent with the currently used DMRS option (e.g., for the CSI reference resource) and in addition provide an indication of the selected DMRS configuration. In some other cases, such as for aperiodic reporting, a joint DMRS and CSF report may include a list of bundles of the selected DMRS option and the corresponding CQI, CSF, or both.”; Levitsky et al.; 0097)
(“A base station 105 may determine configurations for the different reference signals. In some cases, the base station 105 may determine a downlink or uplink DMRS configuration for a UE 115 by selecting the DMRS configuration from a set of DMRS configurations supported by a UE. The base station 105 may then signal the selected DMRS configuration to a UE 115 using dynamic control signaling, such as DCI based signaling of the selected DMRS configuration, MAC-CE based activation of the selected DMRS configuration, RRC based reconfiguration, or any combination. For example, the UE 115 may use a MAC-CE based activation for a set of the selected DMRS options with a complimentary DCI based selection of one of the activated options per allocation.”; Levitsky et al.; 0089)
(where
“A UE 115 may determine a set of mapping functions or average differences between calculated post-processing SINR values for CSI-RS (γ.sub.CSI-RS) and measured or calculated post-processing SINR values for DMRSs (γ.sub.DMRS) for different combinations of CSI-RS and DMRS configurations” maps to “wherein option 1 comprises accumulated DMRS”
Levitsky et al. teaches a base station configuring a UE with DMRS configuration, where the UE performs and average calculation based on DMRSs.
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the average/SINR/DMRS capability of Levisky et al. into NTT Docomo. By modifying the processing/communications of NTT Docomo to include the average/SINR/DMRS capability as taught by the processing/communications of Levitsky et al., the benefits of interference reduction (NTT Docomo; p.19, bottom of page) with improved latency (Levitsky et al.; 0134) are achieved.
However, Gong et al. further teaches a covariance/matrix/weights/receiver/symbol capability which includes:
determining receiver weights based on the computed covariance
(“The related document/art has proved that the demodulation performance is substantially improved by using the MMSE-IRC receiver when compared to the traditional MRC receiver or MMSE receiver, the reason is that the MMSE-IRC receiver can obtain a more accurate receiving weight by using the interference channel covariance matrix. Therefore, acquiring more accurate interference channel information is an effective way to improve the receiving performance in the condition of MMSE-IRC receiver or advanced receivers.”; Gong et al.; 0199)
(“wherein R represents an estimated interference covariance matrix, σ.sup.2 is the noise power, and P.sub.1 is the transmitting signal power of the serving cell equal to E[|d.sub.1(k,l)|.sup.2].”; Gong et al.; 0191)
(where
“obtain a more accurate receiving weight by using the interference channel covariance matrix”/”estimated interference covariance matrix” maps to “determining receiver weights based on the computed covariance”
detecting DL symbols based on the determined receiver weights.
(“In a case of measuring interference through the DMRS, a receiving weight is:”; Gong et al.; 0194)
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(“In the LTE/LTE-A system, the received signal of a receiver on the kth subcarrier and Ith OFDM symbol (N.sub.Rx×1 dimension, wherein N.sub.Rx represents the number of receiving antennas) can be indicated as a sum of three parts, the signal of the receiver itself H.sub.1(k,l)d.sub.1 (k,l), the interference signal H.sub.j(k,l)d.sub.j(k,l)(j>1), and the noise n(k,l):”; Gong et al.; 0186)
(where
“measuring interference through the DMRS, a receiving weight”/FIG. 1/FIG. 2/”Time domain OFDM symbol index”/FIG. 5
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the covariance/matrix/weights/receiver/symbol capability of Gong et al. into NTT Docomo. By modifying the processing/communications of NTT Docomo to include the covariance/matrix/weights/receiver/symbol capability as taught by the processing/communications of Gong et al., the benefits of interference reduction (NTT Docomo; p.19, bottom of page) with improved performance (Gong et al.; 0199) are achieved.
As to claim 19:
NTT Docomo discloses:
wherein the recommendation is based on a first scheduling information about the front loaded DMRS and the one or more additional DMRS in a current slot scheduled in the cell, and a second scheduling information about empty symbols in the current slot from an interfering cell
(“The second embodiment is the embodiment 2-1 in which the front-loaded DMRS arranged at the beginning of the data area is used to measure the interference amount, and the second embodiment is performed in which the additional DMRS is used to measure the interference amount. -2. Each will be described below.”; NTT Docomo; p.10, middle of page)
(“In case 1-1, UL DMRS and DL DMRS are mapped to different REs, for example, as shown in FIGS. 25 and 26. That is, UL DMRS and DL DMRS are multiplexed by frequency division multiplexing (eg, IFDMA). The following operation will be described by using the base station 201 of the serving cell and the user apparatus 101 as an example, but the same operation can be performed by the base station of another cell and the user apparatus.
In the setting of DMRS, the base station 201 notifies the user apparatus 101 of DMRS configuration (DMRS configuration). The notification content is, for example, designation such as configuration 1 or configuration 2 or an antenna port number. Further, the base station 201 notifies the user apparatus 101 of the port range used by DL/UL and the antenna port for PDSCH transmission (reception for the user apparatus). Furthermore, the base station 201 notifies (sets) the measurement mode to the user apparatus 101 so that the user apparatus 101 can perform DMRS measurement. The measurement modes include, for example, a mode in which an interference amount is measured by UL DMRS from a UL interference cell, a mode in which an interference amount is measured by DL DMRS from a DL interference cell, and a mode in which both interference amounts are measured.”; NTT Docomo; p.12, bottom of page, p.13, top of page)
(“FIG. 21 is a diagram for explaining the example 2-1. (A) shows the slot configuration of DL of a serving cell, (b) shows the slot configuration of DL interference cell, (c) shows the slot configuration of UL interference cell. It is the same in FIGS. 22 to 27 that (a) to (c) mean these.”; NTT Docomo; p.10, bottom of page)
(“The scheduling unit 230 performs resource allocation and the like to the user equipment 100. The setting information management unit 240 includes a storage unit, stores preset setting information, and dynamically and/or semi-statically determines and holds the setting information to be set for the user apparatus 100. In addition, the inter-base station communication unit 250 transmits and receives, for example, information (interference amount and the like) necessary for cooperative scheduling, DMRS setting information, ZP CSI-RS setting information, and the like to and from other base stations.”; NTT Docomo; p.17; bottom of page)
(“In the example of FIG. 25, the user apparatus 101 of the serving cell can receive the DL DMRS from the DL interfering cell in the resource of the DL DMRS of its own and measure the amount of interference from the DL interfering cell. Note that the user equipment 101 of the serving cell can identify the DL DMRS of the DL interference cell received by the resource of its own DL DMRS by making the DL DMRS sequence and the like different between cells. Further, the user equipment 101 of the serving cell measures the amount of interference from the UL interference cell by receiving the UL DMRS from the UL interference cell in a resource in which the DL DMRS of the own cell is not mapped, in the symbol to which the DL DMRS of its own is mapped. it can.”; NTT Docomo; p.12, top of page)
(“The resource is, for example, a resource in which no downlink signal is transmitted in the serving cell of the user equipment. With this configuration, it is possible to measure the interference amount due to the uplink communication of the interfering cell without being affected by the downlink signal in the serving cell of the user equipment.”; NTT Docomo; p.19, bottom of page)
(“The user apparatus further includes a transmission unit that transmits a measurement report including an interference amount due to the uplink communication measured by the measurement unit and identification information of the user device that has performed the uplink communication to a base station. May be With this configuration, the base station of the serving cell (and other cooperating base stations) can recognize the user equipment that is the source of the UL interference, and can perform scheduling for interference reduction on the user equipment. ..”; NTT Docomo; p. 19, bottom of page)
(“The user apparatus 101 acquires a covariance matrix based on the measurement of the interference signal, and performs interference suppression using the covariance matrix. Moreover, when the user apparatus 101 receives the reference signal (NZP CSI-RS, DMRS) of the interference cell, the interference cancellation (SIC) may be performed by decoding the interference signal.”; NTT Docomo; p.15, bottom of page)
Claim(s) 9, 11, 20 and 22 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over NTT Docomo, “User Device and Interference Measuring Method”, 2020-08-27, JP, JP 2020129707 (Foreign Patent Documents citation #1, listed on IDS dated 2025-01-24, citations are from English translation) in view of Levitsky et al. US 20230344600 and in further view of Gong et al. US 20160036542 and Levitsky et al. (hereinafter “Levitsky2”) US 20230231610.
As to claim 9:
NTT Docomo discloses:
deciding which one or more out of option 1 and option 2 to use for computing covariance at the UE, based on the first scheduling information and the second scheduling information comprises:
…
deciding to compute covariance at the UE by using option 1;
…
deciding to compute covariance at the UE by using option 2
(“The user apparatus 101 acquires a covariance matrix based on the measurement of the interference signal, and performs interference suppression using the covariance matrix. Moreover, when the user apparatus 101 receives the reference signal (NZP CSI-RS, DMRS) of the interference cell, the interference cancellation (SIC) may be performed by decoding the interference signal.”; NTT Docomo; p.15, bottom of page)
(“In case 1-1, UL DMRS and DL DMRS are mapped to different REs, for example, as shown in FIGS. 25 and 26. That is, UL DMRS and DL DMRS are multiplexed by frequency division multiplexing (eg, IFDMA). The following operation will be described by using the base station 201 of the serving cell and the user apparatus 101 as an example, but the same operation can be performed by the base station of another cell and the user apparatus.
In the setting of DMRS, the base station 201 notifies the user apparatus 101 of DMRS configuration (DMRS configuration). The notification content is, for example, designation such as configuration 1 or configuration 2 or an antenna port number. Further, the base station 201 notifies the user apparatus 101 of the port range used by DL/UL and the antenna port for PDSCH transmission (reception for the user apparatus). Furthermore, the base station 201 notifies (sets) the measurement mode to the user apparatus 101 so that the user apparatus 101 can perform DMRS measurement. The measurement modes include, for example, a mode in which an interference amount is measured by UL DMRS from a UL interference cell, a mode in which an interference amount is measured by DL DMRS from a DL interference cell, and a mode in which both interference amounts are measured.”; NTT Docomo; p.12, bottom of page, p.13, top of page)
NTT Docomo as described above does not explicitly teach:
identifying whether or not each symbol of the current slot scheduled in the cell experiences interference or not from the interfering cell, wherein:
when each symbol of the current slot scheduled in the cell experiences interference from the interfering cell…
when each symbol of the current slot scheduled in the cell does not experience interference from the interfering cell
However, Levitsky2 further teaches an DMRS/slot/validity/SINR/configuration capability which includes:
identifying whether or not each symbol of the current slot scheduled in the cell experiences interference or not from the interfering cell, wherein:
when each symbol of the current slot scheduled in the cell experiences interference from the interfering cell…
when each symbol of the current slot scheduled in the cell does not experience interference from the interfering cell…
(“In some examples, DMRS configuration report 215 may be transmitted as part of an aperiodic CSF report. For example, UE 115-a may be configured with a list of DMRS configurations to be addressed for DMRS selection and reporting (e.g., DMRS hypotheses) via control information 205. As part of the aperiodic CSF evaluation procedure, UE 115-a may select, from the network configured list of DMRS configurations, one or more most appropriate to the channel and reception conditions DMRS configurations. UE 115-a may select the one or more DMRS configurations by comparing the spectral efficiency, link quality characteristics, etc. estimated for communication link over the channel and associated with each of the DMRS configurations of the list of DMRS configurations. UE 115-a may use the parameters of one or more reference signals (e.g., DMRS) and a set of estimated channel characteristics (e.g., Doppler frequency, delay spread, signal to noise ratio (SNR)) to estimate multiple link quality characteristics (e.g., multiple post processing SINRs) and the corresponding spectral efficiencies associated with multiple DMRS configurations as part of the aperiodic CSF evaluation procedure. Additionally, UE 115-a may determine a CQI value associated with each of the selected one or more DMRS configurations. That is, UE 115-a may determine one or more DMRS configuration and CQI bundles. The one or more DMRS configuration and CQI bundles may be included in DMRS configuration report 215 and transmitted to base station 105-a as part of an extended aperiodic CSF report. DMRS configuration and CQI bundles may also be reported per subband, TB, or CDM group.”; Levitsky et al.; 0085)
(“As described herein, a UE 115 may identify a DMRS configuration based on a CSI reference resource for periodic reporting, which may allow the UE 115 to determine the DMRS configuration for a periodic joint DMRS and CSF report. Additionally or alternatively, the UE 115 may identify a DMRS configuration for regular periodic CSF report in a floating way, such as following the DMRS adaptation process taking place (e.g., without RRC reconfiguration to capture DMRS adaption dynamics in the context of CSF reporting or report configuration). In some cases, the UE 115 may determine a validity condition associated with the CSI reference resource is satisfied. For example, a slot in a serving cell (e.g., associated with the base station 105) may be a valid downlink slot for the CSI reference resource if the slot includes a downlink shared channel (e.g., a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH)) allocation with a duration greater than a threshold number of symbols. If the slot passes the validity condition (i.e., satisfies the threshold number of symbols), the UE 115 may derive the DMRS configuration from this slot for the CSI reference resource corresponding to the slot. If the slot fails the validity condition (i.e., does not meet the threshold number of symbols), the UE 115 may derive the DMRS configuration assumptions for a CSI reference resource for periodic CSF reporting from the nearest previous valid downlink slot. Additionally or alternatively, if the slot fails the validity condition, the UE 115 may assume a default predefined DMRS configuration assumptions for a CSI reference resource for periodic CSF reporting. In some cases, the CSI reporting may be performed based on one the one or more DMRS configuration assumptions (e.g., CSI reference resource assumptions), which may be predefined, derived by the UE 115 based on the CSI reference resource slot, or a combination.”; Levitsky et al.; 0096)
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the DMRS/slot/validity/SINR/configuration capability of Levisky2 into NTT Docomo. By modifying the processing/communications of NTT Docomo to include the DMRS/slot/validity/SINR/configuration as taught by the processing/communications of Levitsky2, the benefits of interference reduction (NTT Docomo; p.19, bottom of page) with improved latency (Levitsky2; 0134) are achieved.
As to claim 11:
NTT Docomo discloses:
deciding which one or more out of option 1 and option 2 to use for computing covariance at the UE, based on the first scheduling information and the second scheduling information comprises:
…
deciding to compute covariance at the UE by using option 1;
…
deciding to compute covariance at the UE by using option 2
deciding to compute covariance at the UE by using option 2, for both the one or more third parts and the one or more fourth parts of the current slot scheduled in the cell
(“The user apparatus 101 acquires a covariance matrix based on the measurement of the interference signal, and performs interference suppression using the covariance matrix. Moreover, when the user apparatus 101 receives the reference signal (NZP CSI-RS, DMRS) of the interference cell, the interference cancellation (SIC) may be performed by decoding the interference signal.”; NTT Docomo; p.15, bottom of page)
(“In case 1-1, UL DMRS and DL DMRS are mapped to different REs, for example, as shown in FIGS. 25 and 26. That is, UL DMRS and DL DMRS are multiplexed by frequency division multiplexing (eg, IFDMA). The following operation will be described by using the base station 201 of the serving cell and the user apparatus 101 as an example, but the same operation can be performed by the base station of another cell and the user apparatus.
In the setting of DMRS, the base station 201 notifies the user apparatus 101 of DMRS configuration (DMRS configuration). The notification content is, for example, designation such as configuration 1 or configuration 2 or an antenna port number. Further, the base station 201 notifies the user apparatus 101 of the port range used by DL/UL and the antenna port for PDSCH transmission (reception for the user apparatus). Furthermore, the base station 201 notifies (sets) the measurement mode to the user apparatus 101 so that the user apparatus 101 can perform DMRS measurement. The measurement modes include, for example, a mode in which an interference amount is measured by UL DMRS from a UL interference cell, a mode in which an interference amount is measured by DL DMRS from a DL interference cell, and a mode in which both interference amounts are measured.”; NTT Docomo; p.12, bottom of page, p.13, top of page)
NTT Docomo as described above does not explicitly teach:
identifying that no symbol of one or more third parts of the current slot scheduled in the cel does experience interference of the one or more interfering cell and identifying that each symbol of one or more fourth parts of the current slot scheduled in the cell does experience some interference from one or more interfering cells
However, Levitsky2 further teaches an DMRS/slot/validity/SINR/configuration capability which includes:
identifying that no symbol of one or more third parts of the current slot scheduled in the cel does experience interference of the one or more interfering cell and identifying that each symbol of one or more fourth parts of the current slot scheduled in the cell does experience some interference from one or more interfering cells
(“In some examples, DMRS configuration report 215 may be transmitted as part of an aperiodic CSF report. For example, UE 115-a may be configured with a list of DMRS configurations to be addressed for DMRS selection and reporting (e.g., DMRS hypotheses) via control information 205. As part of the aperiodic CSF evaluation procedure, UE 115-a may select, from the network configured list of DMRS configurations, one or more most appropriate to the channel and reception conditions DMRS configurations. UE 115-a may select the one or more DMRS configurations by comparing the spectral efficiency, link quality characteristics, etc. estimated for communication link over the channel and associated with each of the DMRS configurations of the list of DMRS configurations. UE 115-a may use the parameters of one or more reference signals (e.g., DMRS) and a set of estimated channel characteristics (e.g., Doppler frequency, delay spread, signal to noise ratio (SNR)) to estimate multiple link quality characteristics (e.g., multiple post processing SINRs) and the corresponding spectral efficiencies associated with multiple DMRS configurations as part of the aperiodic CSF evaluation procedure. Additionally, UE 115-a may determine a CQI value associated with each of the selected one or more DMRS configurations. That is, UE 115-a may determine one or more DMRS configuration and CQI bundles. The one or more DMRS configuration and CQI bundles may be included in DMRS configuration report 215 and transmitted to base station 105-a as part of an extended aperiodic CSF report. DMRS configuration and CQI bundles may also be reported per subband, TB, or CDM group.”; Levitsky et al.; 0085)
(“As described herein, a UE 115 may identify a DMRS configuration based on a CSI reference resource for periodic reporting, which may allow the UE 115 to determine the DMRS configuration for a periodic joint DMRS and CSF report. Additionally or alternatively, the UE 115 may identify a DMRS configuration for regular periodic CSF report in a floating way, such as following the DMRS adaptation process taking place (e.g., without RRC reconfiguration to capture DMRS adaption dynamics in the context of CSF reporting or report configuration). In some cases, the UE 115 may determine a validity condition associated with the CSI reference resource is satisfied. For example, a slot in a serving cell (e.g., associated with the base station 105) may be a valid downlink slot for the CSI reference resource if the slot includes a downlink shared channel (e.g., a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH)) allocation with a duration greater than a threshold number of symbols. If the slot passes the validity condition (i.e., satisfies the threshold number of symbols), the UE 115 may derive the DMRS configuration from this slot for the CSI reference resource corresponding to the slot. If the slot fails the validity condition (i.e., does not meet the threshold number of symbols), the UE 115 may derive the DMRS configuration assumptions for a CSI reference resource for periodic CSF reporting from the nearest previous valid downlink slot. Additionally or alternatively, if the slot fails the validity condition, the UE 115 may assume a default predefined DMRS configuration assumptions for a CSI reference resource for periodic CSF reporting. In some cases, the CSI reporting may be performed based on one the one or more DMRS configuration assumptions (e.g., CSI reference resource assumptions), which may be predefined, derived by the UE 115 based on the CSI reference resource slot, or a combination.”; Levitsky et al.; 0096)
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the DMRS/slot/validity/SINR/configuration capability of Levisky2 into NTT Docomo. By modifying the processing/communications of NTT Docomo to include the DMRS/slot/validity/SINR/configuration as taught by the processing/communications of Levitsky2, the benefits of interference reduction (NTT Docomo; p.19, bottom of page) with improved latency (Levitsky2; 0134) are achieved.
As to claim 20:
NTT Docomo discloses:
deciding which one or more out of option 1 and option 2 to use for computing covariance at the UE, based on the first scheduling information and the second scheduling information comprises:
…
deciding to compute covariance at the UE by using option 1;
…
deciding to compute covariance at the UE by using option 2
(“The user apparatus 101 acquires a covariance matrix based on the measurement of the interference signal, and performs interference suppression using the covariance matrix. Moreover, when the user apparatus 101 receives the reference signal (NZP CSI-RS, DMRS) of the interference cell, the interference cancellation (SIC) may be performed by decoding the interference signal.”; NTT Docomo; p.15, bottom of page)
(“In case 1-1, UL DMRS and DL DMRS are mapped to different REs, for example, as shown in FIGS. 25 and 26. That is, UL DMRS and DL DMRS are multiplexed by frequency division multiplexing (eg, IFDMA). The following operation will be described by using the base station 201 of the serving cell and the user apparatus 101 as an example, but the same operation can be performed by the base station of another cell and the user apparatus.
In the setting of DMRS, the base station 201 notifies the user apparatus 101 of DMRS configuration (DMRS configuration). The notification content is, for example, designation such as configuration 1 or configuration 2 or an antenna port number. Further, the base station 201 notifies the user apparatus 101 of the port range used by DL/UL and the antenna port for PDSCH transmission (reception for the user apparatus). Furthermore, the base station 201 notifies (sets) the measurement mode to the user apparatus 101 so that the user apparatus 101 can perform DMRS measurement. The measurement modes include, for example, a mode in which an interference amount is measured by UL DMRS from a UL interference cell, a mode in which an interference amount is measured by DL DMRS from a DL interference cell, and a mode in which both interference amounts are measured.”; NTT Docomo; p.12, bottom of page, p.13, top of page)
NTT Docomo as described above does not explicitly teach:
identifying whether or not each symbol of the current slot scheduled in the cell experiences interference or not from the interfering cell, wherein:
when each symbol of the current slot scheduled in the cell experiences interference from the interfering cell…
when each symbol of the current slot scheduled in the cell does not experience interference from the interfering cell
However, Levitsky2 further teaches an DMRS/slot/validity/SINR/configuration capability which includes:
identifying whether or not each symbol of the current slot scheduled in the cell experiences interference or not from the interfering cell, wherein:
when each symbol of the current slot scheduled in the cell experiences interference from the interfering cell…
when each symbol of the current slot scheduled in the cell does not experience interference from the interfering cell…
(“In some examples, DMRS configuration report 215 may be transmitted as part of an aperiodic CSF report. For example, UE 115-a may be configured with a list of DMRS configurations to be addressed for DMRS selection and reporting (e.g., DMRS hypotheses) via control information 205. As part of the aperiodic CSF evaluation procedure, UE 115-a may select, from the network configured list of DMRS configurations, one or more most appropriate to the channel and reception conditions DMRS configurations. UE 115-a may select the one or more DMRS configurations by comparing the spectral efficiency, link quality characteristics, etc. estimated for communication link over the channel and associated with each of the DMRS configurations of the list of DMRS configurations. UE 115-a may use the parameters of one or more reference signals (e.g., DMRS) and a set of estimated channel characteristics (e.g., Doppler frequency, delay spread, signal to noise ratio (SNR)) to estimate multiple link quality characteristics (e.g., multiple post processing SINRs) and the corresponding spectral efficiencies associated with multiple DMRS configurations as part of the aperiodic CSF evaluation procedure. Additionally, UE 115-a may determine a CQI value associated with each of the selected one or more DMRS configurations. That is, UE 115-a may determine one or more DMRS configuration and CQI bundles. The one or more DMRS configuration and CQI bundles may be included in DMRS configuration report 215 and transmitted to base station 105-a as part of an extended aperiodic CSF report. DMRS configuration and CQI bundles may also be reported per subband, TB, or CDM group.”; Levitsky et al.; 0085)
(“As described herein, a UE 115 may identify a DMRS configuration based on a CSI reference resource for periodic reporting, which may allow the UE 115 to determine the DMRS configuration for a periodic joint DMRS and CSF report. Additionally or alternatively, the UE 115 may identify a DMRS configuration for regular periodic CSF report in a floating way, such as following the DMRS adaptation process taking place (e.g., without RRC reconfiguration to capture DMRS adaption dynamics in the context of CSF reporting or report configuration). In some cases, the UE 115 may determine a validity condition associated with the CSI reference resource is satisfied. For example, a slot in a serving cell (e.g., associated with the base station 105) may be a valid downlink slot for the CSI reference resource if the slot includes a downlink shared channel (e.g., a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH)) allocation with a duration greater than a threshold number of symbols. If the slot passes the validity condition (i.e., satisfies the threshold number of symbols), the UE 115 may derive the DMRS configuration from this slot for the CSI reference resource corresponding to the slot. If the slot fails the validity condition (i.e., does not meet the threshold number of symbols), the UE 115 may derive the DMRS configuration assumptions for a CSI reference resource for periodic CSF reporting from the nearest previous valid downlink slot. Additionally or alternatively, if the slot fails the validity condition, the UE 115 may assume a default predefined DMRS configuration assumptions for a CSI reference resource for periodic CSF reporting. In some cases, the CSI reporting may be performed based on one the one or more DMRS configuration assumptions (e.g., CSI reference resource assumptions), which may be predefined, derived by the UE 115 based on the CSI reference resource slot, or a combination.”; Levitsky et al.; 0096)
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the DMRS/slot/validity/SINR/configuration capability of Levisky2 into NTT Docomo. By modifying the processing/communications of NTT Docomo to include the DMRS/slot/validity/SINR/configuration as taught by the processing/communications of Levitsky2, the benefits of interference reduction (NTT Docomo; p.19, bottom of page) with improved latency (Levitsky2; 0134) are achieved.
As to claim 22:
NTT Docomo discloses:
deciding which one or more out of option 1 and option 2 to use for computing covariance at the UE, based on the first scheduling information and the second scheduling information comprises:
…
deciding to compute covariance at the UE by using option 1;
…
deciding to compute covariance at the UE by using option 2
deciding to compute covariance at the UE by using option 2, for both the one or more third parts and the one or more fourth parts of the current slot scheduled in the cell
(“The user apparatus 101 acquires a covariance matrix based on the measurement of the interference signal, and performs interference suppression using the covariance matrix. Moreover, when the user apparatus 101 receives the reference signal (NZP CSI-RS, DMRS) of the interference cell, the interference cancellation (SIC) may be performed by decoding the interference signal.”; NTT Docomo; p.15, bottom of page)
(“In case 1-1, UL DMRS and DL DMRS are mapped to different REs, for example, as shown in FIGS. 25 and 26. That is, UL DMRS and DL DMRS are multiplexed by frequency division multiplexing (eg, IFDMA). The following operation will be described by using the base station 201 of the serving cell and the user apparatus 101 as an example, but the same operation can be performed by the base station of another cell and the user apparatus.
In the setting of DMRS, the base station 201 notifies the user apparatus 101 of DMRS configuration (DMRS configuration). The notification content is, for example, designation such as configuration 1 or configuration 2 or an antenna port number. Further, the base station 201 notifies the user apparatus 101 of the port range used by DL/UL and the antenna port for PDSCH transmission (reception for the user apparatus). Furthermore, the base station 201 notifies (sets) the measurement mode to the user apparatus 101 so that the user apparatus 101 can perform DMRS measurement. The measurement modes include, for example, a mode in which an interference amount is measured by UL DMRS from a UL interference cell, a mode in which an interference amount is measured by DL DMRS from a DL interference cell, and a mode in which both interference amounts are measured.”; NTT Docomo; p.12, bottom of page, p.13, top of page)
NTT Docomo as described above does not explicitly teach:
identifying that no symbol of one or more third parts of the current slot scheduled in the cel does experience interference of the one or more interfering cell and identifying that each symbol of one or more fourth parts of the current slot scheduled in the cell does experience some interference from one or more interfering cells
However, Levitsky2 further teaches an DMRS/slot/validity/SINR/configuration capability which includes:
identifying that no symbol of one or more third parts of the current slot scheduled in the cel does experience interference of the one or more interfering cell and identifying that each symbol of one or more fourth parts of the current slot scheduled in the cell does experience some interference from one or more interfering cells
(“In some examples, DMRS configuration report 215 may be transmitted as part of an aperiodic CSF report. For example, UE 115-a may be configured with a list of DMRS configurations to be addressed for DMRS selection and reporting (e.g., DMRS hypotheses) via control information 205. As part of the aperiodic CSF evaluation procedure, UE 115-a may select, from the network configured list of DMRS configurations, one or more most appropriate to the channel and reception conditions DMRS configurations. UE 115-a may select the one or more DMRS configurations by comparing the spectral efficiency, link quality characteristics, etc. estimated for communication link over the channel and associated with each of the DMRS configurations of the list of DMRS configurations. UE 115-a may use the parameters of one or more reference signals (e.g., DMRS) and a set of estimated channel characteristics (e.g., Doppler frequency, delay spread, signal to noise ratio (SNR)) to estimate multiple link quality characteristics (e.g., multiple post processing SINRs) and the corresponding spectral efficiencies associated with multiple DMRS configurations as part of the aperiodic CSF evaluation procedure. Additionally, UE 115-a may determine a CQI value associated with each of the selected one or more DMRS configurations. That is, UE 115-a may determine one or more DMRS configuration and CQI bundles. The one or more DMRS configuration and CQI bundles may be included in DMRS configuration report 215 and transmitted to base station 105-a as part of an extended aperiodic CSF report. DMRS configuration and CQI bundles may also be reported per subband, TB, or CDM group.”; Levitsky et al.; 0085)
(“As described herein, a UE 115 may identify a DMRS configuration based on a CSI reference resource for periodic reporting, which may allow the UE 115 to determine the DMRS configuration for a periodic joint DMRS and CSF report. Additionally or alternatively, the UE 115 may identify a DMRS configuration for regular periodic CSF report in a floating way, such as following the DMRS adaptation process taking place (e.g., without RRC reconfiguration to capture DMRS adaption dynamics in the context of CSF reporting or report configuration). In some cases, the UE 115 may determine a validity condition associated with the CSI reference resource is satisfied. For example, a slot in a serving cell (e.g., associated with the base station 105) may be a valid downlink slot for the CSI reference resource if the slot includes a downlink shared channel (e.g., a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH)) allocation with a duration greater than a threshold number of symbols. If the slot passes the validity condition (i.e., satisfies the threshold number of symbols), the UE 115 may derive the DMRS configuration from this slot for the CSI reference resource corresponding to the slot. If the slot fails the validity condition (i.e., does not meet the threshold number of symbols), the UE 115 may derive the DMRS configuration assumptions for a CSI reference resource for periodic CSF reporting from the nearest previous valid downlink slot. Additionally or alternatively, if the slot fails the validity condition, the UE 115 may assume a default predefined DMRS configuration assumptions for a CSI reference resource for periodic CSF reporting. In some cases, the CSI reporting may be performed based on one the one or more DMRS configuration assumptions (e.g., CSI reference resource assumptions), which may be predefined, derived by the UE 115 based on the CSI reference resource slot, or a combination.”; Levitsky et al.; 0096)
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the DMRS/slot/validity/SINR/configuration capability of Levisky2 into NTT Docomo. By modifying the processing/communications of NTT Docomo to include the DMRS/slot/validity/SINR/configuration as taught by the processing/communications of Levitsky2, the benefits of interference reduction (NTT Docomo; p.19, bottom of page) with improved latency (Levitsky2; 0134) are achieved.
Claim(s) 10 and 21 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over NTT Docomo, “User Device and Interference Measuring Method”, 2020-08-27, JP, JP 2020129707 (Foreign Patent Documents citation #1, listed on IDS dated 2025-01-24, citations are from English translation) in view of Levitsky et al. US 20230344600 and in further view of Gong et al. US 20160036542 and Levitsky et al. (hereinafter “Levitsky2”) US 20230231610 and Qu et al. US 20230188294.
As to claim 10:
NTT Docomo discloses:
deciding which one or more out of option 1 and option 2 to use for computing covariance at the UE, based on the first scheduling information and the second scheduling information comprises:
…
deciding to compute covariance at the UE by using option 1;
…
deciding to compute covariance at the UE by using option 2
(“The user apparatus 101 acquires a covariance matrix based on the measurement of the interference signal, and performs interference suppression using the covariance matrix. Moreover, when the user apparatus 101 receives the reference signal (NZP CSI-RS, DMRS) of the interference cell, the interference cancellation (SIC) may be performed by decoding the interference signal.”; NTT Docomo; p.15, bottom of page)
(“In case 1-1, UL DMRS and DL DMRS are mapped to different REs, for example, as shown in FIGS. 25 and 26. That is, UL DMRS and DL DMRS are multiplexed by frequency division multiplexing (eg, IFDMA). The following operation will be described by using the base station 201 of the serving cell and the user apparatus 101 as an example, but the same operation can be performed by the base station of another cell and the user apparatus.
In the setting of DMRS, the base station 201 notifies the user apparatus 101 of DMRS configuration (DMRS configuration). The notification content is, for example, designation such as configuration 1 or configuration 2 or an antenna port number. Further, the base station 201 notifies the user apparatus 101 of the port range used by DL/UL and the antenna port for PDSCH transmission (reception for the user apparatus). Furthermore, the base station 201 notifies (sets) the measurement mode to the user apparatus 101 so that the user apparatus 101 can perform DMRS measurement. The measurement modes include, for example, a mode in which an interference amount is measured by UL DMRS from a UL interference cell, a mode in which an interference amount is measured by DL DMRS from a DL interference cell, and a mode in which both interference amounts are measured.”; NTT Docomo; p.12, bottom of page, p.13, top of page)
NTT Docomo as described above does not explicitly teach:
identifying whether or not each symbol of the current slot scheduled in the cell experiences interference or not from the interfering cell,
and deciding to compute covariance at the UE by using option 1 for one or more first parts of the current slot scheduled in the cell;
identifying that no symbol of one or more second parts of the current slot scheduled in the cell does experience interference from the interfering cell and deciding to compute covariance at the UE by using option 2 for the one or more second parts of the current slot scheduled in the cell
However, Levitsky2 further teaches an DMRS/slot/validity/SINR/configuration capability which includes:
identifying whether or not each symbol of the current slot scheduled in the cell experiences interference or not from the interfering cell,
and deciding to compute covariance at the UE by using option 1 …
identifying that no symbol of one or more second parts of the current slot scheduled in the cell does experience interference from the interfering cell and deciding to compute covariance at the UE by using option 2 …
(“In some examples, DMRS configuration report 215 may be transmitted as part of an aperiodic CSF report. For example, UE 115-a may be configured with a list of DMRS configurations to be addressed for DMRS selection and reporting (e.g., DMRS hypotheses) via control information 205. As part of the aperiodic CSF evaluation procedure, UE 115-a may select, from the network configured list of DMRS configurations, one or more most appropriate to the channel and reception conditions DMRS configurations. UE 115-a may select the one or more DMRS configurations by comparing the spectral efficiency, link quality characteristics, etc. estimated for communication link over the channel and associated with each of the DMRS configurations of the list of DMRS configurations. UE 115-a may use the parameters of one or more reference signals (e.g., DMRS) and a set of estimated channel characteristics (e.g., Doppler frequency, delay spread, signal to noise ratio (SNR)) to estimate multiple link quality characteristics (e.g., multiple post processing SINRs) and the corresponding spectral efficiencies associated with multiple DMRS configurations as part of the aperiodic CSF evaluation procedure. Additionally, UE 115-a may determine a CQI value associated with each of the selected one or more DMRS configurations. That is, UE 115-a may determine one or more DMRS configuration and CQI bundles. The one or more DMRS configuration and CQI bundles may be included in DMRS configuration report 215 and transmitted to base station 105-a as part of an extended aperiodic CSF report. DMRS configuration and CQI bundles may also be reported per subband, TB, or CDM group.”; Levitsky et al.; 0085)
(“As described herein, a UE 115 may identify a DMRS configuration based on a CSI reference resource for periodic reporting, which may allow the UE 115 to determine the DMRS configuration for a periodic joint DMRS and CSF report. Additionally or alternatively, the UE 115 may identify a DMRS configuration for regular periodic CSF report in a floating way, such as following the DMRS adaptation process taking place (e.g., without RRC reconfiguration to capture DMRS adaption dynamics in the context of CSF reporting or report configuration). In some cases, the UE 115 may determine a validity condition associated with the CSI reference resource is satisfied. For example, a slot in a serving cell (e.g., associated with the base station 105) may be a valid downlink slot for the CSI reference resource if the slot includes a downlink shared channel (e.g., a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH)) allocation with a duration greater than a threshold number of symbols. If the slot passes the validity condition (i.e., satisfies the threshold number of symbols), the UE 115 may derive the DMRS configuration from this slot for the CSI reference resource corresponding to the slot. If the slot fails the validity condition (i.e., does not meet the threshold number of symbols), the UE 115 may derive the DMRS configuration assumptions for a CSI reference resource for periodic CSF reporting from the nearest previous valid downlink slot. Additionally or alternatively, if the slot fails the validity condition, the UE 115 may assume a default predefined DMRS configuration assumptions for a CSI reference resource for periodic CSF reporting. In some cases, the CSI reporting may be performed based on one the one or more DMRS configuration assumptions (e.g., CSI reference resource assumptions), which may be predefined, derived by the UE 115 based on the CSI reference resource slot, or a combination.”; Levitsky et al.; 0096)
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the DMRS/slot/validity/SINR/configuration capability of Levisky2 into NTT Docomo. By modifying the processing/communications of NTT Docomo to include the DMRS/slot/validity/SINR/configuration as taught by the processing/communications of Levitsky2, the benefits of interference reduction (NTT Docomo; p.19, bottom of page) with improved latency (Levitsky2; 0134) are achieved.
However, Qu et al. further teaches an front-loaded/additional/covariance capability which includes:
for one or more first parts of the current slot scheduled in the cell;
for the one or more second parts of the current slot scheduled in the cell
(“In this example, the micro site may respectively obtain the first interference covariance matrix and the second interference covariance matrix based on the front-loaded DMRS symbol and the additional DMRS symbol, where the first interference covariance matrix and the second interference covariance matrix are the interference covariance matrices respectively for the PDCCH and the PDSCH of the macro site, so that the micro site more effectively suppresses the neighboring cell interference.”; Qu et al.; 0145)
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the front-loaded/additional/covariance capability of Qu et al. into NTT Docomo. By modifying the processing/communications of Qu et al. to include the front-loaded/additional/covariance as taught by the processing/communications of Levitsky2, the benefits of interference reduction (NTT Docomo; p.19, bottom of page) with improved throughput (Qu et al.; 0007) are achieved.
As to claim 21:
NTT Docomo discloses:
deciding which one or more out of option 1 and option 2 to use for computing covariance at the UE, based on the first scheduling information and the second scheduling information comprises:
…
deciding to compute covariance at the UE by using option 1;
…
deciding to compute covariance at the UE by using option 2
(“The user apparatus 101 acquires a covariance matrix based on the measurement of the interference signal, and performs interference suppression using the covariance matrix. Moreover, when the user apparatus 101 receives the reference signal (NZP CSI-RS, DMRS) of the interference cell, the interference cancellation (SIC) may be performed by decoding the interference signal.”; NTT Docomo; p.15, bottom of page)
(“In case 1-1, UL DMRS and DL DMRS are mapped to different REs, for example, as shown in FIGS. 25 and 26. That is, UL DMRS and DL DMRS are multiplexed by frequency division multiplexing (eg, IFDMA). The following operation will be described by using the base station 201 of the serving cell and the user apparatus 101 as an example, but the same operation can be performed by the base station of another cell and the user apparatus.
In the setting of DMRS, the base station 201 notifies the user apparatus 101 of DMRS configuration (DMRS configuration). The notification content is, for example, designation such as configuration 1 or configuration 2 or an antenna port number. Further, the base station 201 notifies the user apparatus 101 of the port range used by DL/UL and the antenna port for PDSCH transmission (reception for the user apparatus). Furthermore, the base station 201 notifies (sets) the measurement mode to the user apparatus 101 so that the user apparatus 101 can perform DMRS measurement. The measurement modes include, for example, a mode in which an interference amount is measured by UL DMRS from a UL interference cell, a mode in which an interference amount is measured by DL DMRS from a DL interference cell, and a mode in which both interference amounts are measured.”; NTT Docomo; p.12, bottom of page, p.13, top of page)
NTT Docomo as described above does not explicitly teach:
identifying whether or not each symbol of the current slot scheduled in the cell experiences interference or not from the interfering cell,
and deciding to compute covariance at the UE by using option 1 for one or more first parts of the current slot scheduled in the cell;
identifying that no symbol of one or more second parts of the current slot scheduled in the cell does experience interference from the interfering cell and deciding to compute covariance at the UE by using option 2 for the one or more second parts of the current slot scheduled in the cell
However, Levitsky2 further teaches an DMRS/slot/validity/SINR/configuration capability which includes:
identifying whether or not each symbol of the current slot scheduled in the cell experiences interference or not from the interfering cell,
and deciding to compute covariance at the UE by using option 1 …
identifying that no symbol of one or more second parts of the current slot scheduled in the cell does experience interference from the interfering cell and deciding to compute covariance at the UE by using option 2 …
(“In some examples, DMRS configuration report 215 may be transmitted as part of an aperiodic CSF report. For example, UE 115-a may be configured with a list of DMRS configurations to be addressed for DMRS selection and reporting (e.g., DMRS hypotheses) via control information 205. As part of the aperiodic CSF evaluation procedure, UE 115-a may select, from the network configured list of DMRS configurations, one or more most appropriate to the channel and reception conditions DMRS configurations. UE 115-a may select the one or more DMRS configurations by comparing the spectral efficiency, link quality characteristics, etc. estimated for communication link over the channel and associated with each of the DMRS configurations of the list of DMRS configurations. UE 115-a may use the parameters of one or more reference signals (e.g., DMRS) and a set of estimated channel characteristics (e.g., Doppler frequency, delay spread, signal to noise ratio (SNR)) to estimate multiple link quality characteristics (e.g., multiple post processing SINRs) and the corresponding spectral efficiencies associated with multiple DMRS configurations as part of the aperiodic CSF evaluation procedure. Additionally, UE 115-a may determine a CQI value associated with each of the selected one or more DMRS configurations. That is, UE 115-a may determine one or more DMRS configuration and CQI bundles. The one or more DMRS configuration and CQI bundles may be included in DMRS configuration report 215 and transmitted to base station 105-a as part of an extended aperiodic CSF report. DMRS configuration and CQI bundles may also be reported per subband, TB, or CDM group.”; Levitsky et al.; 0085)
(“As described herein, a UE 115 may identify a DMRS configuration based on a CSI reference resource for periodic reporting, which may allow the UE 115 to determine the DMRS configuration for a periodic joint DMRS and CSF report. Additionally or alternatively, the UE 115 may identify a DMRS configuration for regular periodic CSF report in a floating way, such as following the DMRS adaptation process taking place (e.g., without RRC reconfiguration to capture DMRS adaption dynamics in the context of CSF reporting or report configuration). In some cases, the UE 115 may determine a validity condition associated with the CSI reference resource is satisfied. For example, a slot in a serving cell (e.g., associated with the base station 105) may be a valid downlink slot for the CSI reference resource if the slot includes a downlink shared channel (e.g., a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH)) allocation with a duration greater than a threshold number of symbols. If the slot passes the validity condition (i.e., satisfies the threshold number of symbols), the UE 115 may derive the DMRS configuration from this slot for the CSI reference resource corresponding to the slot. If the slot fails the validity condition (i.e., does not meet the threshold number of symbols), the UE 115 may derive the DMRS configuration assumptions for a CSI reference resource for periodic CSF reporting from the nearest previous valid downlink slot. Additionally or alternatively, if the slot fails the validity condition, the UE 115 may assume a default predefined DMRS configuration assumptions for a CSI reference resource for periodic CSF reporting. In some cases, the CSI reporting may be performed based on one the one or more DMRS configuration assumptions (e.g., CSI reference resource assumptions), which may be predefined, derived by the UE 115 based on the CSI reference resource slot, or a combination.”; Levitsky et al.; 0096)
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the DMRS/slot/validity/SINR/configuration capability of Levisky2 into NTT Docomo. By modifying the processing/communications of NTT Docomo to include the DMRS/slot/validity/SINR/configuration as taught by the processing/communications of Levitsky2, the benefits of interference reduction (NTT Docomo; p.19, bottom of page) with improved latency (Levitsky2; 0134) are achieved.
However, Qu et al. further teaches an front-loaded/additional/covariance capability which includes:
for one or more first parts of the current slot scheduled in the cell;
for the one or more second parts of the current slot scheduled in the cell
(“In this example, the micro site may respectively obtain the first interference covariance matrix and the second interference covariance matrix based on the front-loaded DMRS symbol and the additional DMRS symbol, where the first interference covariance matrix and the second interference covariance matrix are the interference covariance matrices respectively for the PDCCH and the PDSCH of the macro site, so that the micro site more effectively suppresses the neighboring cell interference.”; Qu et al.; 0145)
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the front-loaded/additional/covariance capability of Qu et al. into NTT Docomo. By modifying the processing/communications of Qu et al. to include the front-loaded/additional/covariance as taught by the processing/communications of Levitsky2, the benefits of interference reduction (NTT Docomo; p.19, bottom of page) with improved throughput (Qu et al.; 0007) are achieved.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
US 20210243777 – teaches from-loaded DMRS (see para. 0023).
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MICHAEL K. PHILLIPS
Examiner
Art Unit 2464
/MICHAEL K PHILLIPS/Examiner, Art Unit 2464