Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 18/304,596

SIGNAL TRANSMISSION METHOD AND APPARATUS

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Apr 21, 2023
Priority
Oct 22, 2020 — continuation of PCT/CN2020/123023 +1 more
Examiner
PHAM, NHU
Art Unit
2479
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.
OA Round
2 (Non-Final)
83%
Grant Probability
Favorable
2-3
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
73%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 83% — above average
83%
Career Allowance Rate
20 granted / 24 resolved
+25.3% vs TC avg
Minimal -10% lift
Without
With
+-10.0%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 1m
Avg Prosecution
9 currently pending
Career history
42
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
1.2%
-38.8% vs TC avg
§103
85.7%
+45.7% vs TC avg
§102
13.1%
-26.9% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 24 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
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 Arguments Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-20 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument. Nam discloses grouping modulation symbols into M groups of modulation symbols, zero-padding to obtain groups of extended symbols, and performs precoding to map to antenna port 0, antenna port 1, antenna port 2, antenna port 3. However, Nam does not disclose gth group of G groups of antenna ports, and each gth group has plurality of antenna ports. Thus, Huang discloses a first precoder matrix for a first group of antenna ports and a second precoder matrix that is different from the first precoder matrix for a second group of antenna ports. Huang also discloses three or more such groups of antennas may exist or be used and each group having two or more coherent antennas. Instead of performing pre-code the modulated symbols based on a precoder matrix, Huang can apply adding one or more preset symbols to an mth group of modulation symbols to obtain an mth group of extended symbols and performing precoding on s groups of extended symbols of Nam within grouped antenna port architecture of Huang. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status. The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action: A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made. The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action. Claims 1-11, 18-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Huang et al. (US 20190393931; hereinafter “Huang”) in view of Nam et al. (US 20100067512; hereinafter “Nam”). Regarding claims 1, 18, Huang discloses: A method, wherein the method comprises: grouping, by a transmitting end, n modulation symbols into M groups of modulation symbols, wherein M is an integer greater than or equal to 2, and n is an integer greater than or equal to 2; ([0116] The layer mapper 410 may map the modulated symbols (e.g., x.sub.0, x.sub.1, x.sub.2, . . . ) to two or more layers for transmission where, a first data stream on a first layer may be a sequence of modulated symbols (e.g., a.sub.0, a.sub.1, a.sub.2, . . . ) and a second data stream on the second layer may be another sequence of modulated symbols (e.g., b.sub.0, b.sub.1, b.sub.2, . . . )) groups of modulation symbols corresponding to a gth group of G groups of antenna ports (Fig. 4A, [0117] The precoding block 415-a and the precoding block 415-b may receive modulated symbols of the data streams and pre-code the modulated symbols based on a precoder matrix. For example, two precoder matrices for two different groups of antenna ports (e.g., antenna group 405-a and antenna group 405-b); [0052] With reference to FIG. 4A, antenna port.sub.0 and antenna port.sub.1 may belong to antenna group 405-a. The antenna ports of antenna group 405-a may be noncoherent with the antenna ports of antenna group 405-b, such that antenna port.sub.0 and antenna port.sub.2 may be noncoherent, antenna port.sub.1 and antenna port.sub.3 (e.g., belong to antenna group 405-b) may be noncoherent, and so on; Examiner’s Note: n >= 2, M = 2, G = 2, each G has two or more antenna ports), the gth group of antenna ports includes a plurality of antenna ports, G is an integer greater than or equal to 2, a value of g is an integer from 1 to G ([0052] In other examples, three or more such groups of antennas may exist or be used, each group having two or more coherent antennas; [0052] With reference to FIG. 4A, antenna port.sub.0 and antenna port.sub.1 may belong to antenna group 405-a. The antenna ports of antenna group 405-a may be noncoherent with the antenna ports of antenna group 405-b, such that antenna port.sub.0 and antenna port.sub.2 may be noncoherent, antenna port.sub.1 and antenna port.sub.3 (e.g., belong to antenna group 405-b) may be noncoherent, and so on; Examiner’s Note: n >= 2, M = 2, G >= 2, each G has two or more antenna ports (e.g., g)) performing, by the transmitting end, second-level precoding … corresponding to the gth group (of G groups) of antenna ports to obtain a symbol corresponding to each antenna port in the gth group of antenna ports, wherein in the second-level precoding, a dimension of a precoding matrix for a gth group of precoding antenna ports is related to number of groups of modulated symbols and a quantity of antenna ports comprised in the gth group of antenna ports; ([0099] For example, the base station 105-a may schedule a first precoder matrix for a first group of antenna ports that may be coherent and a second precoder matrix that is different from the first precoder matrix for a second group of antenna ports that may be coherent, where the first group of antenna ports may be noncoherent with the second group of antenna ports.); [0110] The precoding block 315-a and the precoding block 315-b may receive the modulated symbols and pre-code each symbol based on a precoder matrix. The precoder matrix may be selected by the base station and provided to the UE. For example, two precoders (precoder matrices) for two different groups of antenna ports (e.g., antenna group 305-a and antenna group 305-b) may be …; [0109] The layer mapper 310 may map the modulated symbols to two or more layers for transmission. In a two layer example (e.g., rank 2 transmission), half of the modulated symbols (e.g., x.sub.0, x.sub.2, x.sub.4, . . . ) may be mapped to layer 1 for transmission, and the other half of the modulated symbols (e.g., x.sub.1, x.sub.3, x.sub.5, . . . ) may be mapped to layer 2 for transmission) and sending, by the transmitting end, the symbol corresponding to each antenna port. ([0110] The output signals may then be mapped to antenna ports in the antenna group 305-a and antenna group 305-b.) However, Huang does not disclose: adding, by the transmitting end, one or more preset symbols to an mth group of modulation symbols to obtain an mth group of extended symbols, wherein a value of m is an integer from 1 to M, and locations of s groups of modulation symbols corresponding to a gth group of G groups of antenna ports in an s groups of extended symbols do not overlap locations of at least one group of modulation symbols corresponding to any other group of antenna ports in at least one group of extended symbols, and s is an integer greater or equal to 1 and less than or equal to M; Nam discloses: adding, by the transmitting end, one or more preset symbols to an mth group of modulation symbols to obtain an mth group of extended symbols, wherein a value of m is an integer from 1 to M, and locations of s groups of modulation symbols corresponding to a gth group of G groups of antenna ports in an s groups of extended symbols do not overlap locations of at least one group of modulation symbols corresponding to any other group of antenna ports in at least one group of extended symbols, and s is an integer greater or equal to 1 and less than or equal to M; ([0140] in FIG. 16A-(c), the non-paired precoder 730 utilizes a no-pairs C TxD preceding method 1615 to precode the no-paired sets (e.g., unpaired symbols output from pairing block 720). The non-paired precoder 730 maps each quarter of the input p'.sub.n(k), k=0, . . . ,M.sub.sc-1 for each n=0, . . . ,M.sub.no-pairs-1, to the corresponding quarter subcarriers of a precoder output in the increasing order of subcarrier index k, then n. The subcarriers at each precoder output, onto which the input signal is not mapped, are filled with zeros. For example, the TxD preceding outputs are defined by Equations 41, 42, 43 and 44 PNG media_image1.png 151 256 media_image1.png Greyscale [0141] In Equations 41-44, n=0, . . . ,M.sub.no-pairs-1; Examiner’s Note: Msc = 4; Input: modulation symbols p’n(k) for n =0 and k=0 to 3 (k= 0 to Mcs-1) = [p0 p1 p2 p3] Output: y’(0), y’(1), y’(2), y’(3) = different antenna ports Using equation 41-44, the results are: y’(0): p’n(k) for k = 0 to 0; 0 for k=1 to 3 y’(0) = [p0,0,0,0] -> Port 0 y’(1): p’n(k) for k = 2 to 2; 0 for k= 0 to 1 or 3 to 3 y’(1) = [0,0,p2,0] -> Port 1 y’(2): p’n(k) for k = 1 to 1; 0 for k= 0 to 0 or 2 to 3 y’(2) = [0,p1,0,0] -> Port 2 y’(3): p’n(k) for k = 3 to 3; 0 for k= 0 to 2 y’(2) = [0,0,0,p3] -> Port 3 Note: p0, p1, p2, and p3 are modulation symbols splits into 4 groups of modulation symbols) performing, by the transmitting end, second-level precoding on the s groups of extended symbols corresponding to the gth group of antenna ports to obtain a symbol corresponding to each antenna port in the gth group of antenna ports, wherein in the second-level precoding, a dimension of a precoding matrix for a gth group of precoding antenna ports is related to s and a quantity of antenna ports comprised in the gth group of antenna ports; ([0140] In another embodiment, illustrated in FIG. 16A-(c), the non-paired precoder 730 utilizes a no-pairs C TxD preceding method 1615 to precode the no-paired sets (e.g., unpaired symbols output from pairing block 720). The non-paired precoder 730 maps each quarter of the input p'.sub.n(k), k=0, . . . ,M.sub.sc-1 for each n=0, . . . ,M.sub.no-pairs-1, to the corresponding quarter subcarriers of a precoder output in the increasing order of subcarrier index k, then n. The subcarriers at each precoder output, onto which the input signal is not mapped, are filled with zeros. For example, the TxD preceding outputs are defined by Equations 41, 42, 43 and 44: PNG media_image1.png 151 256 media_image1.png Greyscale [0141] In Equations 41-44, n=0, . . . ,M.sub.no-pairs-1; Examiner’s Note: Outputs are y’(0), y’(1), y’(2), y’(3) which is different antenna ports) It would be obvious to the person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, to modify the teachings of Huang and teachings of Nam to include adding, by the transmitting end, one or more preset symbols to an mth group of modulation symbols to obtain an mth group of extended symbols, wherein a value of m is an integer from 1 to M, and locations of s groups of modulation symbols corresponding to a gth group of antenna ports in an s groups of extended symbols do not overlap locations of at least one group of modulation symbols corresponding to any other group of antenna ports in at least one group of extended symbols, and s is an integer greater or equal to 1 and less than or equal to M and perform second level precoding on the s groups of extended symbols corresponding to the gth group of antenna ports to obtain a symbol corresponding to each antenna port in the gth group of antenna ports. The motivation would have been to achieve greater spectral efficiency for allocated radio frequency (RF) channel bandwidths by utilizing space or antenna diversity at both the transmitter and the receiver (Nam ¶0003]) Regarding claims 2 and 20, Huang does not disclose: wherein: in a group of antenna ports, locations of any group of modulation symbols in the group of extended symbols do not overlap locations of another group of modulation symbols in another group of extended symbols; or in a group of antenna ports, locations of any group of modulation symbols in the group of extended symbols are the same as locations of another group of modulation symbols in another group of extended symbols. Nam discloses: wherein: in a group of antenna ports, locations of any group of modulation symbols in the group of extended symbols do not overlap locations of another group of modulation symbols in another group of extended symbols; ([0140] In another embodiment, illustrated in FIG. 16A-(c), the non-paired precoder 730 utilizes a no-pairs C TxD preceding method 1615 to precode the no-paired sets (e.g., unpaired symbols output from pairing block 720). The non-paired precoder 730 maps each quarter of the input p'.sub.n(k), k=0, . . . ,M.sub.sc-1 for each n=0, . . . ,M.sub.no-pairs-1, to the corresponding quarter subcarriers of a precoder output in the increasing order of subcarrier index k, then n. The subcarriers at each precoder output, onto which the input signal is not mapped, are filled with zeros. For example, the TxD preceding outputs are defined by Equations 41, 42, 43 and 44: PNG media_image1.png 151 256 media_image1.png Greyscale [0141] In Equations 41-44, n=0, . . . ,M.sub.no-pairs-1; Examiner’s Note: Using equation 41-44, the results are: y’(0) = [p0,0,0,0] -> Port 0 y’(1) = [0,0,p2,0] -> Port 1 y’(2) = [0,p1,0,0] -> Port 2 y’(2) = [0,0,0,p3] -> Port 3 p0, p1, p2, and p3 are 4 groups of modulation symbols and do not overlap) or in a group of antenna ports, locations of any group of modulation symbols in the group of extended symbols are the same as locations of another group of modulation symbols in another group of extended symbols. ([0136] In one embodiment, illustrated in FIG. 16A-(a), the non-paired precoder 730 utilizes a top-down split with repetition TxD preceding method 1605 to precode the no-paired sets (e.g., unpaired symbols output from pairing block 720). The non-paired precoder 730 maps the first half of the input, i.e., p'.sub.n(k), k=0, . . . ,M.sub.sc/2-1 for each n=0, . . . ,M.sub.no-pairs-1, onto the top half subcarriers of the two precoder outputs. Additionally, the non-paired precoder 730 maps the last half of the input, i.e., p'.sub.n(k), k=M.sub.sc/2, . . . ,M.sub.sc-1, for each n=0, . . . ,M.sub.no-pairs-1, onto the bottom half subcarriers of the other two precoder outputs. ) It would be obvious to the person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, to modify the teachings of Huang and teachings of Nam to include in a group of antenna ports, locations of any group of modulation symbols in the group of extended symbols do not overlap locations of another group of modulation symbols in another group of extended symbols; or in a group of antenna ports, locations of any group of modulation symbols in the group of extended symbols are the same as locations of another group of modulation symbols in another group of extended symbols. The motivation would have been to achieve greater spectral efficiency for allocated radio frequency (RF) channel bandwidths by utilizing space or antenna diversity at both the transmitter and the receiver (Nam ¶0003]) Regarding claim 3, Huang does not disclose: wherein before the adding one or more preset symbols to an mth group of modulation symbols to obtain an mth group of extended symbols, the method further comprises: performing, by the transmitting end, discrete Fourier transform (DFT) on the mth group of modulation symbols. Nam discloses: wherein before the adding one or more preset symbols to an mth group of modulation symbols to obtain an mth group of extended symbols, the method further comprises: (Fig. 7: transform precoder (DFT) 715 is before paring SC-FDMA symbols 720; [0109] An input to the transform precoder (hereinafter "DFT") 715 is the output generated by the modulation mapper 710, which is d(lM.sub.sc+i). The DFT 715 divides the input symbols d(lM.sub.sc+i) into multiple sets, or M.sub.SC-FDMA=M.sub.symb/M.sub.sc sets. Each set is composed of the number of subcarriers assigned for the UE's current transmission, or M.sub.sc. Further, each set corresponds to one SC-FDMA symbol. Then, the DFT 715 transforms each set to the frequency domain by performing a DFT operation on each set using Equation 20 … [0111] The transmitter 700 is configured to pair the SC-FDMA symbols in the pairing block 720. The pairing block 720 receives the output from the DFT 715.) performing, by the transmitting end, discrete Fourier transform (DFT) on the mth group of modulation symbols. ([0109] An input to the transform precoder (hereinafter "DFT") 715 is the output generated by the modulation mapper 710, which is d(lM.sub.sc+i). The DFT 715 divides the input symbols d(lM.sub.sc+i) into multiple sets, or M.sub.SC-FDMA=M.sub.symb/M.sub.sc sets. Each set is composed of the number of subcarriers assigned for the UE's current transmission, or M.sub.sc. Further, each set corresponds to one SC-FDMA symbol. Then, the DFT 715 transforms each set to the frequency domain by performing a DFT operation on each set using Equation 20) It would be obvious to the person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, to modify the teachings of Huang and teachings of Nam to include before the adding one or more preset symbols to an mth group of modulation symbols to obtain an mth group of extended symbols, the method further comprises: performing, by the transmitting end, discrete Fourier transform (DFT) on the mth group of modulation symbols. The motivation would have been to achieve greater spectral efficiency for allocated radio frequency (RF) channel bandwidths by utilizing space or antenna diversity at both the transmitter and the receiver (Nam ¶0003]) Regarding claim 4, Huang does not disclose: wherein a size of the DFT is a quantity of symbols in the mth group of modulation symbols. Nam discloses: wherein a size of the DFT is a quantity of symbols in the mth group of modulation symbols. ([0109] An input to the transform precoder (hereinafter "DFT") 715 is the output generated by the modulation mapper 710, which is d(lM.sub.sc+i). The DFT 715 divides the input symbols d(lM.sub.sc+i) into multiple sets, or M.sub.SC-FDMA=M.sub.symb/M.sub.sc sets. Each set is composed of the number of subcarriers assigned for the UE's current transmission, or M.sub.sc. Further, each set corresponds to one SC-FDMA symbol. Then, the DFT 715 transforms each set to the frequency domain by performing a DFT operation on each set using Equation 20) It would be obvious to the person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, to modify the teachings of Huang and teachings of Nam to include a size of the DFT is a quantity of symbols in the mth group of modulation symbols. The motivation would have been to achieve greater spectral efficiency for allocated radio frequency (RF) channel bandwidths by utilizing space or antenna diversity at both the transmitter and the receiver (Nam ¶0003]) Regarding claim 5, Huang discloses: wherein M is greater than or equal to G and M is less than or equal to a sum of quantities of antenna ports in the G groups of antenna ports. ([0116] The layer mapper 410 may map the modulated symbols (e.g., x.sub.0, x.sub.1, x.sub.2, . . . ) to two or more layers for transmission where, a first data stream on a first layer may be a sequence of modulated symbols (e.g., a.sub.0, a.sub.1, a.sub.2, . . . ) and a second data stream on the second layer may be another sequence of modulated symbols (e.g., b.sub.0, b.sub.1, b.sub.2, . . . ); [0117] The precoding block 415-a and the precoding block 415-b may receive modulated symbols of the data streams and pre-code the modulated symbols based on a precoder matrix. For example, two precoder matrices for two different groups of antenna ports (e.g., antenna group 405-a and antenna group 405-b); [0052] With reference to FIG. 4A, antenna port.sub.0 and antenna port.sub.1 may belong to antenna group 405-a. The antenna ports of antenna group 405-a may be noncoherent with the antenna ports of antenna group 405-b, such that antenna port.sub.0 and antenna port.sub.2 may be noncoherent, antenna port.sub.1 and antenna port.sub.3 (e.g., belong to antenna group 405-b) may be noncoherent, and so on; Examiner’s Note: M = 2, G = 2, each G has two or more antenna ports) Regarding claims 6, 17, Huang does not disclose: wherein: locations of the mth group of modulation symbols in the mth group of extended symbols are discontinuous; locations of the mth group of modulation symbols in the mth group of extended symbols are continuous; or a part of locations of the mth group of modulation symbols in the mth group of extended symbols are continuous, and the other part of the locations are discontinuous. Nam discloses: wherein: locations of the mth group of modulation symbols in the mth group of extended symbols are discontinuous; ([0142] In another embodiment illustrated in FIG. 16A-(d), the non-paired precoder 730 utilizes a no-pairs D TxD preceding method 1620 (and 1635) to precode the no-paired sets (e.g., unpaired symbols output from pairing block 720). The non-paired precoder 730 maps the elements at the even-th position of the first half of the input signal, i.e., p'.sub.n(k), k=2,4, . . . ,M.sub.sc/2-2, for each n=0, . . . ,M.sub.no-pairs-1 to the corresponding subcarriers of a precoder output. Further, the non-paired precoder 730 maps the elements at the odd-th position of the first half of the input signal, i.e., p'.sub.n(k), k=1,3, . . . ,M.sub.sc/2-1, for each n=0, . . . ,M.sub.no-pairs-1 to the corresponding subcarriers of another precoder output. The even-th and the odd-th elements of the last half for each n=0, . . . ,M.sub.no-pairs-1 are separately mapped to the corresponding subcarriers of the other precoder outputs. The subcarriers at each precoder output, onto which the input signal is not mapped, are filled with zeros.) locations of the mth group of modulation symbols in the mth group of extended symbols are continuous; ([0138] In another embodiment, illustrated in FIG. 16A-(b), the non-paired precoder 730 utilizes a top-down split with single-antenna transmission TxD preceding method 1610 to precode the no-paired sets (e.g., unpaired symbols output from pairing block 720). The non-paired precoder 730 maps the first half of the input, i.e., p'.sub.n(k), k=0, . . . ,M.sub.sc/2-1 for each n=0, . . . ,M.sub.no-pairs-1, to the top half subcarriers of one precoder outputs. Additionally, the non-paired precoder 730 maps the last half of the input, i.e., p'.sub.n(k), k=M.sub.sc/2, . . . ,M.sub.sc-1, for each n=0, . . . ,M.sub.no-pairs-1, to the bottom half subcarriers of another precoder output. The mapping is performed in the increasing order of subcarrier index k, then n. For the other precoder outputs, zero signals are mapped.) or a part of locations of the mth group of modulation symbols in the mth group of extended symbols are continuous, and the other part of the locations are discontinuous. ([0146] In another embodiment, illustrated in FIG. 16B-(e), the non-paired precoder 730 utilizes a no-pairs E with even-odd split with repetition TxD preceding method 1625 to precode the no-paired sets (e.g., unpaired symbols output from pairing block 720). The non-paired precoder 730 maps the elements at the even-th position of the input signal, i.e., p'.sub.n(k), k=2,4, . . . ,M.sub.sc-2, for each n=0, . . . ,M.sub.no-pairs-1, to the corresponding subcarriers of two precoder outputs. Additionally, the non-paired precoder 730 maps the elements at the odd-th position of the first half of the input signal, i.e., p'.sub.n(k), k=1,3, . . . ,M.sub.sc-1, for each n=0, . . . ,M.sub.no-pairs-1, to the corresponding subcarriers of the other two precoder outputs. The subcarriers at each precoder output, onto which the input signal is not mapped, are filled with zeros.) It would be obvious to the person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, to modify the teachings of Huang and teachings of Nam to include locations of the mth group of modulation symbols in the mth group of extended symbols are discontinuous; locations of the mth group of modulation symbols in the mth group of extended symbols are continuous; or a part of locations of the mth group of modulation symbols in the mth group of extended symbols are continuous, and the other part of the locations are discontinuous. The motivation would have been to achieve greater spectral efficiency for allocated radio frequency (RF) channel bandwidths by utilizing space or antenna diversity at both the transmitter and the receiver (Nam ¶0003]) Regarding claim 7, Huang does not disclose: wherein the adding, by the transmitting end, one or more preset symbols to an mth group of modulation symbols to obtain an mth group of extended symbols comprises: adding, by the transmitting end, x preset symbols to every y modulation symbols in the mth group of modulation symbols to obtain the mth group of extended symbols, wherein y is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and x is an integer greater than or equal to 1. Nam discloses: wherein the adding, by the transmitting end, one or more preset symbols to an mth group of modulation symbols to obtain an mth group of extended symbols comprises: adding, by the transmitting end, x preset symbols to every y modulation symbols in the mth group of modulation symbols to obtain the mth group of extended symbols, wherein y is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and x is an integer greater than or equal to 1. ([0140] In another embodiment, illustrated in FIG. 16A-(c), the non-paired precoder 730 utilizes a no-pairs C TxD preceding method 1615 to precode the no-paired sets (e.g., unpaired symbols output from pairing block 720). The non-paired precoder 730 maps each quarter of the input p'.sub.n(k), k=0, . . . ,M.sub.sc-1 for each n=0, . . . ,M.sub.no-pairs-1, to the corresponding quarter subcarriers of a precoder output in the increasing order of subcarrier index k, then n. The subcarriers at each precoder output, onto which the input signal is not mapped, are filled with zeros. For example, the TxD preceding outputs are defined by Equations 41, 42, 43 and 44: PNG media_image1.png 151 256 media_image1.png Greyscale [0141] In Equations 41-44, n=0, . . . ,M.sub.no-pairs-1; Examiner’s Note: Msc = 4; Input: modulation symbols p’n(k) for n =0 and k=0 to 3 (k= 0 to Mcs-1) = [p0 p1 p2 p3] Output: y’(0), y’(1), y’(2), y’(3) = different antenna ports Using equation 41-44, the results are: y’(0): p’n(k) for k = 0 to 0; 0 for k=1 to 3 y’(0) = [p0,0,0,0] -> Port 0 y’(1): p’n(k) for k = 2 to 2; 0 for k= 0 to 1 or 3 to 3 y’(1) = [0,0,p2,0] -> Port 1 y’(2): p’n(k) for k = 1 to 1; 0 for k= 0 to 0 or 2 to 3 y’(2) = [0,p1,0,0] -> Port 2 y’(3): p’n(k) for k = 3 to 3; 0 for k= 0 to 2 y’(2) = [0,0,0,p3] -> Port 3 Examiner’s Note: p0, p1, p2, and p3 are modulation symbols splits into 4 groups of modulation symbols and x = 3 for every y) It would be obvious to the person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, to modify the teachings of Huang and teachings of Nam to include wherein the adding, by the transmitting end, one or more preset symbols to an mth group of modulation symbols to obtain an mth group of extended symbols comprises: adding, by the transmitting end, x preset symbols to every y modulation symbols in the mth group of modulation symbols to obtain the mth group of extended symbols, wherein y is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and x is an integer greater than or equal to 1. The motivation would have been to achieve greater spectral efficiency for allocated radio frequency (RF) channel bandwidths by utilizing space or antenna diversity at both the transmitter and the receiver (Nam ¶0003]) Regarding claim 8, Huang does not disclose: wherein x is an integer multiple of y. Nam discloses: wherein x is an integer multiple of y. ([0140] In another embodiment, illustrated in FIG. 16A-(c), the non-paired precoder 730 utilizes a no-pairs C TxD preceding method 1615 to precode the no-paired sets (e.g., unpaired symbols output from pairing block 720). The non-paired precoder 730 maps each quarter of the input p'.sub.n(k), k=0, . . . ,M.sub.sc-1 for each n=0, . . . ,M.sub.no-pairs-1, to the corresponding quarter subcarriers of a precoder output in the increasing order of subcarrier index k, then n. The subcarriers at each precoder output, onto which the input signal is not mapped, are filled with zeros. For example, the TxD preceding outputs are defined by Equations 41, 42, 43 and 44: PNG media_image1.png 151 256 media_image1.png Greyscale [0141] In Equations 41-44, n=0, . . . ,M.sub.no-pairs-1; Examiner’s Note: Msc = 4; Input: modulation symbols p’n(k) for n =0 and k=0 to 3 (k= 0 to Mcs-1) = [p0 p1 p2 p3] Output: y’(0), y’(1), y’(2), y’(3) = different antenna ports Using equation 41-44, the results are: y’(0): p’n(k) for k = 0 to 0; 0 for k=1 to 3 y’(0) = [p0,0,0,0] -> Port 0 y’(1): p’n(k) for k = 2 to 2; 0 for k= 0 to 1 or 3 to 3 y’(1) = [0,0,p2,0] -> Port 1 y’(2): p’n(k) for k = 1 to 1; 0 for k= 0 to 0 or 2 to 3 y’(2) = [0,p1,0,0] -> Port 2 y’(3): p’n(k) for k = 3 to 3; 0 for k= 0 to 2 y’(2) = [0,0,0,p3] -> Port 3 Examiner’s Note: p0, p1, p2, and p3 are modulation symbols splits into 4 groups of modulation symbols and x = 3 for every y) It would be obvious to the person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, to modify the teachings of Huang and teachings of Nam to include wherein x is an integer multiple of y. The motivation would have been to achieve greater spectral efficiency for allocated radio frequency (RF) channel bandwidths by utilizing space or antenna diversity at both the transmitter and the receiver (Nam ¶0003]) Regarding claim 9, Huang does not disclose: wherein y is an integer multiple of a quantity of resource elements (REs) comprised in a resource block group (RBG). Nam discloses: wherein y is an integer multiple of a quantity of resource elements (REs) comprised in a resource block group (RBG). ([0073] After preceding 320, the resource elements are mapped by the resource element mapper(s) 325. For each of the antenna ports 340 used for transmission of the DL physical channel 300, the block of complex-valued symbols y.sup.(p)(0), . . . ,y.sup.(p)(M.sub.symb.sup.ap-1) are mapped in sequence; [0082] The transmitted signal in each slot 392 is described by a resource grid of N.sub.RB.sup.ULN.sub.sc.sup.RB subcarriers 394 and N.sub.symb.sup.UL SC-FDMA symbols 396. Each element in the UL resource grid 390 is referred to as a resource element 398; [0086] In Equation 9, M.sub.sc.sup.RS=mN.sub.sc.sup.RB is the length of the reference signal sequence and 1.ltoreq.m.ltoreq.N.sub.RB.sup.max, UL.) It would be obvious to the person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, to modify the teachings of Huang and teachings of Nam to include wherein y is an integer multiple of a quantity of resource elements (REs) comprised in a resource block group (RBG). The motivation would have been to achieve greater spectral efficiency for allocated radio frequency (RF) channel bandwidths by utilizing space or antenna diversity at both the transmitter and the receiver (Nam ¶0003]) Regarding claim 10, Huang discloses: wherein the method further comprises: receiving, by the transmitting end, indication information, wherein the indication information is for determining the precoding matrix. ([0073] An indication of which precoding matrix for the UE 115 to use may be indicated to a UE 115, for example, in DCI.) Regarding claim 11, Huang discloses: wherein the indication information comprises: a precoding matrix index, wherein the precoding matrix index indicates a precoding matrix in a precoding matrix set, and the precoding matrix set comprises a precoding matrix for diversity transmission and a precoding matrix for non-diversity transmission; ([0101] In some cases, to reduce the signaling between the base station 105-a and the UE 115-a for both DL and UL transmissions, a codebook may be configured for each transmission rank for a given number of antenna ports. In this case, both the base station 105-a when selecting an actual precoder matrix to use for UL transmission from the UE 115-a, and the UE 115-a when generating the uplink signal, may select a precoder matrix from the corresponding codebook… [0102] The UE 115-a may receive the indication (e.g., in control information) to use both the closed-loop MIMO scheme and the transparent diversity scheme for UL transmissions, for example, via RRC signaling 205 or in a DCI message carried on a PDCCH.) a precoding matrix index and a diversity transmission indication; ([0097] Following this identification operation, the base station 105-a may provide an indication (e.g., in control information) to the UE 115-a to use both the closed-loop MIMO scheme and the transparent diversity scheme for UL transmissions; a precoding matrix index and an identifier of a precoding matrix set, wherein a precoding matrix in the identified precoding matrix set is for diversity transmission; ([0097] Following this identification operation, the base station 105-a may provide an indication (e.g., in control information) to the UE 115-a to use both the closed-loop MIMO scheme and the transparent diversity scheme for UL transmissions; [0102] the UE 115-a may identify a first precoder matrix for precoding UL data on a first group of antenna ports (e.g., corresponding to UL transmit beam 210-a) and identify a second precoder matrix for precoding UL data on a second group of antenna ports (e.g., corresponding to UL transmit beam 210-b)) Claims 12-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Huang et al. (US 20190393931; hereinafter “Huang”) in view of Nam et al. (US 20100067512; hereinafter “Nam”) further in view of Wu et al. (US 10727915; hereinafter “Wu”). Regarding claim 12, combination of Huang and Nam does not disclose: wherein before the performing, by the transmitting end, second-level precoding on the s groups of extended symbols corresponding to the group of antenna ports to obtain a symbol corresponding to each antenna port in the gth group of antenna ports, the method further comprises: performing, by the transmitting end, first-level precoding on v groups of extended symbols, wherein a size of a precoding matrix for first-level precoding is v*v, and an element in the precoding matrix for first-level precoding is at least one of 0 or 1. However, Wu discloses: wherein before the performing, by the transmitting end, second-level precoding on the s groups of extended symbols corresponding to the group of antenna ports to obtain a symbol corresponding to each antenna port in the gth group of antenna ports, the method further comprises: performing, by the transmitting end, first-level precoding on v groups of extended symbols, wherein a size of a precoding matrix for first-level precoding is v*v, and an element in the precoding matrix for first-level precoding is at least one of 0 or 1. (Column 9 rows 45 – 62: The matrix Bi can be PNG media_image2.png 38 53 media_image2.png Greyscale and in this case, all the modulation vectors use the same Bi. It can be learned that, the matrix Bi is a diagonal matrix; and the matrix Bi includes two element sequences (that is, T=2) in the row, which are corresponding to the two antenna ports. The matrix Bi includes two element sequences in the column, where the two element sequences are non-zero element sequences and are corresponding to two non-zero modulation symbols in the modulation vector Ai. Through the foregoing process, [x1,0,x3,0] is mapped onto element sequences corresponding to two antenna ports; Column 9 rows 58 – 65: Optionally, the matrix Bi can alternatively be PNG media_image3.png 40 50 media_image3.png Greyscale ) It would be obvious to the person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, to modify the teachings of Huang and teachings of Nam to include performing, by the transmitting end, first-level precoding on v groups of extended symbols, wherein a size of a precoding matrix for first-level precoding is v*v, and an element in the precoding matrix for first-level precoding is at least one of 0 or 1. The motivation would have been to combine the multiple-input multiple-output technology with the technology such as the sparse code division multiple access technology to improve system capacity and transmission reliability to the greatest extent is a problem that needs to be resolved urgently. (Wu column 1 rows 42-46) Regarding claim 13, combination of Huang and Nam does not disclose: wherein the precoding matrix for first-level precoding is a block diagonal matrix or a block anti-diagonal matrix. However, Wu discloses: wherein the precoding matrix for first-level precoding is a block diagonal matrix or a block anti-diagonal matrix. (Column 9 rows 45 – 54: The matrix Bi can be PNG media_image2.png 38 53 media_image2.png Greyscale and in this case, all the modulation vectors use the same Bi. It can be learned that, the matrix Bi is a diagonal matrix) It would be obvious to the person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, to modify the teachings of Huang and teachings of Nam to include the precoding matrix for first-level precoding is a block diagonal matrix or a block anti-diagonal matrix. The motivation would have been to combine the multiple-input multiple-output technology with the technology such as the sparse code division multiple access technology to improve system capacity and transmission reliability to the greatest extent is a problem that needs to be resolved urgently. (Wu column 1 rows 42-46) Regarding claim 13, combination of Huang and Nam does not disclose: wherein a block in the block diagonal matrix is a unit matrix, and both a quantity of rows and a quantity of columns in the unit matrix are a quantity of antenna ports in a group of antenna ports. However, Wu discloses: wherein a block in the block diagonal matrix is a unit matrix, and both a quantity of rows and a quantity of columns in the unit matrix are a quantity of antenna ports in a group of antenna ports. (Column 9 rows 45 – 60: The matrix Bi can be PNG media_image2.png 38 53 media_image2.png Greyscale and in this case, all the modulation vectors use the same Bi. It can be learned that, the matrix Bi is a diagonal matrix; and the matrix Bi includes two element sequences (that is, T=2) in the row, which are corresponding to the two antenna ports. The matrix Bi includes two element sequences in the column, where the two element sequences are non-zero element sequences and are corresponding to two non-zero modulation symbols in the modulation vector Ai.) It would be obvious to the person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, to modify the teachings of Huang and teachings of Nam to include a block in the block diagonal matrix is a unit matrix, and both a quantity of rows and a quantity of columns in the unit matrix are a quantity of antenna ports in a group of antenna ports. The motivation would have been to combine the multiple-input multiple-output technology with the technology such as the sparse code division multiple access technology to improve system capacity and transmission reliability to the greatest extent is a problem that needs to be resolved urgently. (Wu column 1 rows 42-46) Claim 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Huang et al. (US 20190393931; hereinafter “Huang”) in view of Nam et al. (US 20100067512; hereinafter “Nam”) further in view of Noh et al. (US 20200266947; hereinafter “Noh”). Regarding claim 15, Combination of Nam and Huang discloses: wherein before the grouping, by a transmitting end, n modulation symbols into M groups of modulation symbols, the method further comprises: ([0077] Thereafter, the UL physical channel 350 is operable to perform transform preceding on the block of complex-valued modulation symbols d(0), . . . ,d(M.sub.symb-1). The transform precoder 365 divides the complex-valued modulation symbols, d(0), . . . ,d(M.sub.symb-1), into M.sub.symb/M.sub.sc.sup.PUSCH sets.) However, combination of Nam and Huang does not disclose: generating, by the transmitting end, a modulation symbol by using the following formula: di=ejπ2iMmod221-2bi+j1-2bi, wherein b represents a bit sequence, bi is an ith bit in the bit sequence, i is an integer greater than or equal to 0, d(i) is a modulation symbol corresponding to bi, i/M represents rounding down i/M to the nearest integer, and j is an imaginary part. Noh discloses: generating, by the transmitting end, a modulation symbol by using the following formula: di=ejπ2iMmod221-2bi+j1-2bi, wherein b represents a bit sequence, bi is an ith bit in the bit sequence, i is an integer greater than or equal to 0, d(i) is a modulation symbol corresponding to bi, i/M represents rounding down i/M to the nearest integer, and j is an imaginary part. (A constellation of pi/2 BPSK modulation may be as below. PNG media_image4.png 68 410 media_image4.png Greyscale [0145] In Equation 2, b(i) indicates an i.sup.th input bit sequence, and d(i) indicates an i.sup.th output modulation symbol.) It would be obvious to the person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, to modify the teachings of combination of Huang and Nam with a constellation of pi/2 BPSK modulation equation 2 of the teachings of Noh, to generating, by the transmitting end, a modulation symbol by using the following formula: di=ejπ2iMmod221-2bi+j1-2bi, wherein b represents a bit sequence, bi is an ith bit in the bit sequence, i is an integer greater than or equal to 0, d(i) is a modulation symbol corresponding to bi, i/M represents rounding down i/M to the nearest integer, and j is an imaginary part. The motivation would have to receive information indicating whether to apply transform precoding and pi/2 BPSK modulation to a PUSCH, receive information indicating whether to apply the pi/2 BPSK modulation to an UL DMRS, and identify a sequence having characteristics of a first PAPR (¶ [0015]). Allowable Subject Matter Claims 16-17 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. Conclusion Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a). A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NHU PHAM whose telephone number is (703)756-4511. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday: 8:30 am - 5 pm. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jae Y. Lee can be reached at (571) 270-3936. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /NHU PHAM/Examiner, Art Unit 2479 /JAE Y LEE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2479
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Prosecution Timeline

Apr 21, 2023
Application Filed
Nov 07, 2025
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103
Jan 05, 2026
Response Filed
Apr 20, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §103
Jun 11, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action

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