DETAILED ACTION
1. This office action is a response to the Application/Control Number:18/326,697 filed on 05/31/2023.
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
2. A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 01/02/2026 has been entered.
Claims Status
3. This office action is based upon claims received on 01/02/2026, which replace all prior or other submitted versions of the claims.
-Claims 1, 8, 16, 17, 18, 19 are amended.
-Claims 1-19 are pending.
-Claims 1-19 are rejected.
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
4. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Priority
5. Acknowledgment is made of a continuation of PCT/CN2021/071874 filed 01/14/2021.
Response to Amendments/Remarks
6. Applicant's remarks/arguments, see page 9 of 11, filed on 01/02/2026, with respect to CLAIM OBJECTIONS have been considered in light of applicant’s remarks and amendments. The objections to Claim 16 as now applicable, are presented below under claim objections.
7. Applicant's remarks/arguments, see page 8 to 11, filed on 01/02/2026, with respect to Rejection under 35 U.S.C. § 103 have been considered but are moot and not persuasive because the arguments do not apply to the new grounds of rejection being used in the current rejection.
Furthermore, remarks with respect to Rejections of Dependent Claims, have been considered, and are moot and not persuasive at least via dependency to the independent claims and via individual rejections addressing the specific claims.
The rejection has been revised and set forth below according to the amended claims (see Office Action).
A. With respect to applicant’s remarks - applicant in remarks presented (See page 9 (ln 23-27)) pertaining to independent claim 1 (as applicable to parallel features in independent claims 17-19), indicates:
“the cited references fail to teach or suggest a wireless communication device
determining a first application time to apply a beam state indicated by a first DCI in a first CC,
according to a smallest SCS amongst one or more SCS configurations of one or more active
BWPs in the group of CCs, in which each CC is configured with a respective SCS of a plurality
of SCSs.”
B. To the extent this office action relies on Yao et al (US 20230396393 A1) i.e. “Yao” in view of OUCHI et al. (US 20200296576 A1) i.e. “Ouchi”, for the rejection of claim 1 (used as an example for other independent claims 17-19) where claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yao in view of Ouchi, further in view of LIU et al. (US 20240040583 A1), i.e. “LIU”, this office action respectfully contends Yao and Ouchi continue to teach and read upon claim limitations taught as combined are presented below for reference:
Yao teaches: A method (Yao FIG. 14 & ¶0089 […] a flow diagram 1400 for joint UE reception beam switching);
Which this office action respectfully contends reads on and teaches the subject claim limitations referenced as follows: a flow diagram 1400 reads on: A method ) .
comprising: receiving, by a wireless communication device from a wireless communication node in a first component carrier (CC) of a group of CCs (Yao FIG. 14 & ¶0090 At 1402, the UE may receive an indication to switch beams from the BS including a configuration of TCI states for reception beam switching […] At 1408, the TCI states may be applied to one or more component carriers);
Which this office action respectfully contends reads on and teaches the subject claim limitations referenced as follows: per ¶0090 At 1402, the UE may receive an indication to switch beams from the BS reads on: comprising: receiving, by a wireless communication device from a wireless communication node , where i.e. 1408, the TCI states may be applied to one or more component carriers reads on: in a first component carrier (CC) of a group of CCs applied to at least one first component carrier on which receive an indication of a group of more component carriers to apply the TCI states.
a first downlink control information (DCI) indicating a beam state (Yao FIG. 14 & ¶0093 […] one or more of downlink (DL) beams, uplink (UL) beams, PDCCH beam (i.e. control beam) and PDSCH beam (i.e. data beam), can be indicated by a TCI beam switching signal carried by a DCI format associated with beam switching. The DCI format to indicate TCI beam switching may be scrambled by a beam indication RNTI (BI-RNTI […]) ;
Which this office action respectfully contends reads on and teaches the subject claim limitations referenced as follows: can be indicated by a TCI beam switching signal carried by a DCI format associated with beam switching […] reads on: a first downlink control information (DCI) indicating i.e. one or more of downlink (DL) beams, uplink (UL) beams, PDCCH beam (i.e. control beam) and PDSCH beam (i.e. data beam), can be indicated by a TCI beam switching signal reads on: a beam state .
[[and]] determining, by the wireless communication device, a first application time to apply the beam state indicated by the first DCI in the first CC, according to one or more active bandwidth parts (BWPs) in the group of CCs (Yao FIG. 14 & ¶0090 See above; ¶0093 See above; 0094 […] where the UE would wait M slots after receiving the BI-RNTI DCI before switching to a new TCI and a new BWP […] wait N slots after receiving the BI-RNTI DCI before switching to a new TCI and the current active BWP […] The M slot and N slot delays could be predefined by a standard, configured by higher layer signaling, or reported by the UE );
Which this office action respectfully contends reads on and teaches the subject claim limitations referenced as follows: per ¶0094 i.e. the UE would wait M slots reads on: determining, by the wireless communication device, a first application time , and per ¶0094 i.e. before switching to a new TCI reads on: to apply the beam state i.e. after receiving the BI-RNTI DCI before switching reads on: indicated by the first DCI, where per ¶0090 i.e. At 1408, the TCI states may be applied to one or more component carriers and cell groups reads on: in the first CC, and Per ¶0094 i.e. switching to a new TCI and a new BWP i.e. indicates from the existing BWP or i.e. current active BWP reads on: one or more active bandwidth parts (BWPs) in the group of CCs including i.e. to a new TCI and a new BWP after waiting the M slots after receiving the BI-RNTI DCI with TCI beam switching signal as applied to i.e. one or more component carriers and cell groups. The office action notes that “one or more active bandwidth parts (BWPs) in the group of CCs” is known in prior art as also taught by Ouchi in combination.
and determining, by the wireless communication device, to apply the beam state to at least one target transmission (Yao FIG. 14 & ¶0090 See above […] At 1404, the UE may adjust the PDCCH reception beam to a new beam based on the configured TCI states. At 1406, the UE may adjust the PDSCH reception beam to a new beam based on the configured TCI states.; ¶0093 See above);
Which this office action respectfully contends reads on and teaches the subject claim limitations referenced as follows: i.e. At 1404, the UE may adjust the PDCCH reception beam to a new beam based on the configured TCI states. At 1406, the UE may adjust the PDSCH reception beam to a new beam based on the configured TCI states reads on: and determining, by the wireless communication device, to apply the beam state to at least one target transmission.
on at least one CC of the group of CCs (Yao FIG. 14 & ¶0090 See above; ¶0093 See above);
Which this office action respectfully contends reads on and teaches the subject claim limitations referenced as follows: per ¶0090 i.e. 1408, the TCI states may be applied to one or more component carriers reads on: on at least one CC of the group of CCs applied to at least one component carrier of a group of more component carriers on which TCI applied in 1404, 1406, after receiving an indication in 1402.
after (note: limitations separated by a recitation “or” are interpreted as presented in the alternative an not required together)
or starting from [[a]]the first application time (Yao FIG. 14 & ¶0093 See above; ¶0094 See above) ;
Which this office action respectfully contends reads on and teaches the subject claim limitations referenced as follows: the UE would wait M slots after receiving the BI-RNTI DCI before switching to a new TCI and a new reads on: or starting from the first application time of switching to a new TCI and a new BWP after waiting the M slots after receiving the BI-RNTI DCI with TCI beam switching signal.
The office action furthermore presents that:
Yao does not appear to explicitly teach or strongly suggest (note i.e. see italicized portions -including arguendo “first” in “first component carrier” ): a first component carrier (CC) of a group of CCs in a carrier aggregation (CA), wherein each CC of the CC group is configured with a respective subcarrier spacing (SCS) of a plurality of SCSs;
Furthermore, in combination the office action presents that:
Ouchi teaches: receiving, by a wireless communication device in a first component carrier (CC) of a group of CCs in a carrier aggregation (CA), a first downlink control information (DCI) indicating a state, wherein each CC of the CC group is configured with a respective subcarrier spacing (SCS) of a plurality of SCSs (Ouchi - ¶0066 […] A BWP may be a set of physical resources allocated sequentially in one carrier. The BWP may be selected from subsets allocated sequentially in the frequency domain of one carrier. In other words, the bandwidth corresponding to the BWP may be configured to be narrower than or equal to the bandwidth of the carrier (serving cell or cell). […] The number of BWPs configured to one carrier may be one or multiple. In a case that multiple BWPs are configured to one carrier, one BWP is activated in one carrier. The terminal apparatus expects that an uplink BWP and a downlink BWP are simultaneously activated in one carrier[…] ; ¶0067 […]In a case that a BWP is configured […] the terminal apparatus may not assume that at least the PDSCH/PDCCH/PUSCH/PUCCH is mapped outside of the BWP (the bandwidth of the BWP based on BWP configuration) via DCI format (uplink grant and/or downlink grant) or higher layer parameters. The terminal apparatus may receive the PDSCH/PDCCH or transmit the PUSCH/PUCCH within the bandwidth of the active BWP ;¶0071 FIG. 2-FIG. 4 […] In a case that multiple BWPs are configured for one serving cell corresponding to one carrier and in a case that CA in a band combination including different SCS combinations is performed (for example, CA is performed in CA_1a in FIG. 2, CA_1-1a in FIG. 3, or CA_1a-3a in FIG. 4), SCS may be configured for each BWP. That is, dynamic SCS changes may be made by dynamically switching BWP for a certain serving cell. For example, in a case that BWP indication information is included in DCI format, switching of BWP can be performed dynamically);
Which this office action respectfully contends reads on and teaches the subject claim limitations referenced as follows: per ¶0071 i.e. in a case that BWP indication information is included in DCI format reads on: receiving, by a wireless communication device from a wireless communication node , where i.e. dynamic SCS changes may be made by dynamically i.e. switching BWP for a certain serving cell. Where i.e. in a case that BWP indication information is included in DCI format i.e. DCI associated with switching i.e. BWP reads on: in a first component carrier (CC) , where per ¶0071 i.e. In a case that multiple BWPs are configured for one serving cell corresponding to one carrier reads on: of a group of CCs and in a case that CA in a band combination reads on: in a carrier aggregation (CA) including different SCS combinations is performed, where per ¶0071 i.e. switching BWP for a certain serving cell. i.e. in a case that BWP indication information is included in DCI format i.e. DCI associated with switching reads on: a first downlink control information (DCI) i.e. that BWP indication information is included indicating a state associated with dynamic switching of BWP and SCS. Per ¶0071 i.e. CA in a band combination including i.e. different SCS combinations is performed, i.e. SCS may be configured for each BWP reads on: wherein each CC of the CC group is configured with a respective subcarrier spacing (SCS) and i.e. per ¶0071 i.e. CA in a band combination including different SCS combinations reads on: of a plurality of SCSs );
[[and]] determining, by the wireless communication device, one or more active bandwidth parts (BWPs) in the group of CCs (Ouchi – FIG. 1- 4; ¶0066 See above; ¶0067 See above; ¶0071 see above; NOTE-DISCLOSURE & TEACHING: per ¶0066 i.e. In a case that multiple BWPs are configured to one carrier, one BWP is activated in one carrier and per ¶0067 i.e. receive the PDSCH/PDCCH or transmit the PUSCH/PUCCH within the bandwidth of the active BWP reads on: determining, by the wireless communication device, one or more active bandwidth parts (BWPs) , and furthermore per ¶0071 FIG. 2-FIG. 4 i.e. In a case that multiple BWPs are configured for one serving cell corresponding to one carrier and in a case that CA in a band combination including different SCS combinations is performed (for example, CA is performed in CA_1a in FIG. 2, CA_1-1a in FIG. 3, or CA_1a-3a in FIG. 4) i.e. BWPs configured in a carrier resulting from CA band combination reads on: in the group of CCs .
The office action furthermore notes that:
While Yao in view of Ouchi teaches: A method comprising: receiving, by a wireless communication device from a wireless communication node in a first component carrier (CC) of a group of CCs in a carrier aggregation (CA), a first downlink control information (DCI) indicating a beam state, wherein each CC of the CC group is configured with a respective subcarrier spacing (SCS) of a plurality of SCSs; [[and]] determining, by the wireless communication device, a first application time to apply the beam state indicated by the first DCI in the first CC, according to one or more active bandwidth parts (BWPs) in the group of CCs; and determining, by the wireless communication device, to apply the beam state to at least one target transmission on at least one CC of the group of CCs after or starting from [[a]]the first application time.
Yao in view of Ouchi does not appear to explicitly teach or strongly suggest (note i.e. see italicized portions ): according to a smallest subcarrier spacing (SCS) amongst one or more SCS configurations of one or more active bandwidth parts (BWPs);
The office action furthermore combines new reference LIU et al. (US 20240040583 A1), i.e. “LIU” to teach limitations that Yao in view of Ouchi do not appear to explicitly teach or strongly suggest (See above).
C. As noted herein, the office action respectfully contends that Yao and Ouchi continue to teach and read upon claim limitations taught as referenced herein above. Furthermore, applicant's arguments and remarks appear directed against Yao and Ouchi references individually, and one cannot show nonobviousness by attacking references individually where the rejections are based on combinations of references. See In re Keller, 642 F.2d 413, 208 USPQ 871 (CCPA 1981); In re Merck & Co., 800 F.2d 1091, 231 USPQ 375 (Fed. Cir. 1986).
Applicant is respectfully directed to the new grounds of rejection of independent claim 1 (used as an example representing other independent claims 17-19) presented under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yao in view of Ouchi and LIU where the disclosure of each and every limitation of claims as amended are presented in combination.
The rejection has been revised and set forth below according to the amended claims (see Office Action).
Claim Objections
8. Claim 1, 6, 16, 17-19 are objected to because of the following informalities:
A. Claim 1 (representing Claims 17-19 ) recites “receiving, by a wireless communication device from a wireless communication node in a first component carrier (CC) of a group of CCs in a carrier aggregation (CA), a first downlink control information (DCI) indicating a beam state, wherein each CC of the CC group” where recitation of “the CC group” while recited with an article “the” before “CC group” (i.e. for the first time), is interpreted as possibly finding antecedence in “a group of CCs” (i.e. “the CC group” interpreted as intended to possibly be “the group of CCs”), i.e. to avoid any questions about antecedence.
Should applicant contend otherwise, and to avoid any questions raised, applicant is requested to review and verify applicant’s objective for the referred to claim language including “CC group”, and as a result avoid questions raised about antecedent basis. Examiner interprets the subject claims listed as best possible.
B. Claim 6 (depending from claim 3) recites “wherein the time unit” where recitation of “the time unit” while recited with an article “the” before “time unit” is interpreted as possibly finding antecedence in “a first time unit” (i.e. in claim 3), i.e. to avoid any questions about antecedence.
Should applicant contend otherwise, and to avoid any questions raised, applicant is requested to review and verify applicant’s objective for the referred to claim language, and as a result avoid questions raised about antecedent basis. Examiner interprets the subject claims listed as best possible.
C. Claim 16 recites “after [[the]] an SRS, and before a first time period after [[the]] an SRS transmission” after a preceding recitation of “the latest SRS transmission” in clam 16 and “a latest SRS transmission” in claim 15 (i.e. from which claim 16 depends), where “an SRS” and “an SRS transmission” as referenced in claim 16 are individually interpreted as possibly intended as being distinct from “the latest SRS transmission” in clam 16 and “a latest SRS transmission” in claim 15 as referenced (and i.e. possibly bearing no antecedence relationship to “the latest SRS transmission” in clam 16 and “a latest SRS transmission” in claim 15).
Should applicant contend otherwise, and to avoid any questions raised, applicant is requested to review and verify applicant’s objective for the referred to claim language. Examiner interprets the subject claims listed as best possible.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
9. 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.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the
examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the
effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised
of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that
was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner
to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art
against the later invention.
10. Claims 1 – 7, 8, 11, 12, 14, 17-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yao et al (US 20230396393 A1) i.e. “Yao” in view of OUCHI et al. (US 20200296576 A1) i.e. “Ouchi”, further in view of LIU et al. (US 20240040583 A1), i.e. “LIU” .
Regarding Claim 1. (Currently Amended) Yao teaches: A method (Yao FIG. 14 & ¶0089 […] a flow diagram 1400 for joint UE reception beam switching; NOTE-DISCLOSURE & TEACHING: a flow diagram 1400 reads on: A method )
comprising: receiving, by a wireless communication device from a wireless communication node in a first component carrier (CC) of a group of CCs (Yao FIG. 14 & ¶0090 At 1402, the UE may receive an indication to switch beams from the BS including a configuration of TCI states for reception beam switching […] At 1408, the TCI states may be applied to one or more component carriers; NOTE-DISCLOSURE & TEACHING: per ¶0090 At 1402, the UE may receive an indication to switch beams from the BS reads on: comprising: receiving, by a wireless communication device from a wireless communication node , where i.e. 1408, the TCI states may be applied to one or more component carriers reads on: in a first component carrier (CC) of a group of CCs applied to at least one first component carrier on which receive an indication of a group of more component carriers to apply the TCI states),
a first downlink control information (DCI) indicating a beam state (Yao FIG. 14 & ¶0093 […] one or more of downlink (DL) beams, uplink (UL) beams, PDCCH beam (i.e. control beam) and PDSCH beam (i.e. data beam), can be indicated by a TCI beam switching signal carried by a DCI format associated with beam switching. The DCI format to indicate TCI beam switching may be scrambled by a beam indication RNTI (BI-RNTI […] ; NOTE-DISCLOSURE & TEACHING: can be indicated by a TCI beam switching signal carried by a DCI format associated with beam switching […] reads on: a first downlink control information (DCI) indicating i.e. one or more of downlink (DL) beams, uplink (UL) beams, PDCCH beam (i.e. control beam) and PDSCH beam (i.e. data beam), can be indicated by a TCI beam switching signal reads on: a beam state );
[[and]] determining, by the wireless communication device, a first application time to apply the beam state indicated by the first DCI in the first CC, according to one or more active bandwidth parts (BWPs) in the group of CCs (Yao FIG. 14 & ¶0090; ¶0093 See above; 0094 […] where the UE would wait M slots after receiving the BI-RNTI DCI before switching to a new TCI and a new BWP […] wait N slots after receiving the BI-RNTI DCI before switching to a new TCI and the current active BWP […] The M slot and N slot delays could be predefined by a standard, configured by higher layer signaling, or reported by the UE ; NOTE-DISCLOSURE & TEACHING: per ¶0094 i.e. the UE would wait M slots reads on: determining, by the wireless communication device, a first application time , and per ¶0094 i.e. before switching to a new TCI reads on: to apply the beam state i.e. after receiving the BI-RNTI DCI before switching reads on: indicated by the first DCI, where per ¶0090 i.e. At 1408, the TCI states may be applied to one or more component carriers and cell groups reads on: in the first CC, and Per ¶0094 i.e. switching to a new TCI and a new BWP i.e. indicates from the existing BWP or i.e. current active BWP reads on: one or more active bandwidth parts (BWPs) in the group of CCs including i.e. to a new TCI and a new BWP after waiting the M slots after receiving the BI-RNTI DCI with TCI beam switching signal as applied to i.e. one or more component carriers and cell groups. The office action notes that “one or more active bandwidth parts (BWPs) in the group of CCs” is known in prior art as also taught by Ouchi in combination);
and determining, by the wireless communication device, to apply the beam state to at least one target transmission (Yao FIG. 14 & ¶0090 See above […] At 1404, the UE may adjust the PDCCH reception beam to a new beam based on the configured TCI states. At 1406, the UE may adjust the PDSCH reception beam to a new beam based on the configured TCI states.; ¶0093 See above; NOTE-DISCLOSURE & TEACHING: i.e. At 1404, the UE may adjust the PDCCH reception beam to a new beam based on the configured TCI states. At 1406, the UE may adjust the PDSCH reception beam to a new beam based on the configured TCI states reads on: and determining, by the wireless communication device, to apply the beam state to at least one target transmission )
on at least one CC of the group of CCs (Yao FIG. 14 & ¶0090 See above; ¶0093 See above; NOTE-DISCLOSURE & TEACHING: per ¶0090 i.e. 1408, the TCI states may be applied to one or more component carriers reads on: on at least one CC of the group of CCs applied to at least one component carrier of a group of more component carriers on which TCI applied in 1404, 1406, after receiving an indication in 1402)
after (note: limitations separated by a recitation “or” are interpreted as presented in the alternative an not required together)
or starting from [[a]]the first application time (Yao FIG. 14 & ¶0093 See above; ¶0094 See above ; NOTE-DISCLOSURE & TEACHING: the UE would wait M slots after receiving the BI-RNTI DCI before switching to a new TCI and a new reads on: or starting from the first application time of switching to a new TCI and a new BWP after waiting the M slots after receiving the BI-RNTI DCI with TCI beam switching signal).
Yao does not appear to explicitly teach or strongly suggest (note i.e. see italicized portions -including arguendo “first” in “first component carrier” ): a first component carrier (CC) of a group of CCs in a carrier aggregation (CA), wherein each CC of the CC group is configured with a respective subcarrier spacing (SCS) of a plurality of SCSs;
Ouchi teaches: receiving, by a wireless communication device in a first component carrier (CC) of a group of CCs in a carrier aggregation (CA), a first downlink control information (DCI) indicating a state, wherein each CC of the CC group is configured with a respective subcarrier spacing (SCS) of a plurality of SCSs (Ouchi - ¶0066 […] A BWP may be a set of physical resources allocated sequentially in one carrier. The BWP may be selected from subsets allocated sequentially in the frequency domain of one carrier. In other words, the bandwidth corresponding to the BWP may be configured to be narrower than or equal to the bandwidth of the carrier (serving cell or cell). […] The number of BWPs configured to one carrier may be one or multiple. In a case that multiple BWPs are configured to one carrier, one BWP is activated in one carrier. The terminal apparatus expects that an uplink BWP and a downlink BWP are simultaneously activated in one carrier[…] ; ¶0067 […]In a case that a BWP is configured […] the terminal apparatus may not assume that at least the PDSCH/PDCCH/PUSCH/PUCCH is mapped outside of the BWP (the bandwidth of the BWP based on BWP configuration) via DCI format (uplink grant and/or downlink grant) or higher layer parameters. The terminal apparatus may receive the PDSCH/PDCCH or transmit the PUSCH/PUCCH within the bandwidth of the active BWP ;¶0071 FIG. 2-FIG. 4 […] In a case that multiple BWPs are configured for one serving cell corresponding to one carrier and in a case that CA in a band combination including different SCS combinations is performed (for example, CA is performed in CA_1a in FIG. 2, CA_1-1a in FIG. 3, or CA_1a-3a in FIG. 4), SCS may be configured for each BWP. That is, dynamic SCS changes may be made by dynamically switching BWP for a certain serving cell. For example, in a case that BWP indication information is included in DCI format, switching of BWP can be performed dynamically; NOTE-DISCLOSURE & TEACHING: per ¶0071 i.e. in a case that BWP indication information is included in DCI format reads on: receiving, by a wireless communication device from a wireless communication node , where i.e. dynamic SCS changes may be made by dynamically i.e. switching BWP for a certain serving cell. Where i.e. in a case that BWP indication information is included in DCI format i.e. DCI associated with switching i.e. BWP reads on: in a first component carrier (CC) , where per ¶0071 i.e. In a case that multiple BWPs are configured for one serving cell corresponding to one carrier reads on: of a group of CCs and in a case that CA in a band combination reads on: in a carrier aggregation (CA) including different SCS combinations is performed, where per ¶0071 i.e. switching BWP for a certain serving cell. i.e. in a case that BWP indication information is included in DCI format i.e. DCI associated with switching reads on: a first downlink control information (DCI) i.e. that BWP indication information is included indicating a state associated with dynamic switching of BWP and SCS. Per ¶0071 i.e. CA in a band combination including i.e. different SCS combinations is performed, i.e. SCS may be configured for each BWP reads on: wherein each CC of the CC group is configured with a respective subcarrier spacing (SCS) and i.e. per ¶0071 i.e. CA in a band combination including different SCS combinations reads on: of a plurality of SCSs );
[[and]] determining, by the wireless communication device, one or more active bandwidth parts (BWPs) in the group of CCs (Ouchi – FIG. 1- 4; ¶0066 See above; ¶0067 See above; ¶0071 see above; NOTE-DISCLOSURE & TEACHING: per ¶0066 i.e. In a case that multiple BWPs are configured to one carrier, one BWP is activated in one carrier and per ¶0067 i.e. receive the PDSCH/PDCCH or transmit the PUSCH/PUCCH within the bandwidth of the active BWP reads on: determining, by the wireless communication device, one or more active bandwidth parts (BWPs) , and furthermore per ¶0071 FIG. 2-FIG. 4 i.e. In a case that multiple BWPs are configured for one serving cell corresponding to one carrier and in a case that CA in a band combination including different SCS combinations is performed (for example, CA is performed in CA_1a in FIG. 2, CA_1-1a in FIG. 3, or CA_1a-3a in FIG. 4) i.e. BWPs configured in a carrier resulting from CA band combination reads on: in the group of CCs );
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Yao with teachings of Ouchi, since Ouchi enables procedures where transmission efficiency can be improved in a wireless communication system (Ouchi - ¶0013).
While Yao in view of Ouchi teaches: A method comprising: receiving, by a wireless communication device from a wireless communication node in a first component carrier (CC) of a group of CCs in a carrier aggregation (CA), a first downlink control information (DCI) indicating a beam state, wherein each CC of the CC group is configured with a respective subcarrier spacing (SCS) of a plurality of SCSs; [[and]] determining, by the wireless communication device, a first application time to apply the beam state indicated by the first DCI in the first CC, according to one or more active bandwidth parts (BWPs) in the group of CCs; and determining, by the wireless communication device, to apply the beam state to at least one target transmission on at least one CC of the group of CCs after or starting from [[a]]the first application time.
Yao in view of Ouchi does not appear to explicitly teach or strongly suggest (note i.e. see italicized portions ): according to a smallest subcarrier spacing (SCS) amongst one or more SCS configurations of one or more active bandwidth parts (BWPs);
LIU teaches: determining, by the wireless communication device, a first application time to apply the beam state indicated by the first DCI, according to a smallest subcarrier spacing (SCS) amongst one or more SCS configurations of one or more active bandwidth parts (BWPs) (LIU FIG. 6 & ¶0147 […] If the TCI state is indicated in the TCI field of the DCI on the serving cell with a serving cell ID, when the serving cell ID is configured as part of a cell list, the TCI state with the same ID indicated in the TCI field applies to all serving cells in the cell list for determining the common UL beam for UL transmission and the power control parameters for the UL transmission, starting from the first slot that is Y symbols after the acknowledgment of the DCI or of the PDSCH transmission scheduled by the DCI, wherein Y is predetermined. The actual duration of Y symbols may be determined by the smallest of the SCS configurations of the active DL BWPs of all serving cells; NOTE-DISCLOSURE & TEACHING: per ¶0147 i.e. the TCI state with the same ID indicated in the TCI field applies to all serving cells in the cell list for determining the common UL beam for UL transmission and the power control parameters for the UL transmission, starting from the first slot that is Y symbols after reads on: determining, by the wireless communication device, a first application time, per ¶0147 i.e. the TCI state with the same ID indicated in the TCI field applies to all serving cells in the cell list for determining the common UL beam for UL transmission reads on: to apply the beam state indicated per ¶0147 i.e. indicated in the TCI field of the DCI reads on: by the first DCI, where per ¶0147 i.e. wherein Y is predetermined. The actual duration of Y symbols may be determined by the smallest of the SCS configurations reads on: according to a smallest subcarrier spacing (SCS) amongst one or more SCS configurations and per ¶0147 i.e. of the active DL BWPs reads on: of one or more active bandwidth parts (BWPs));
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Yao in view of Ouchi with teachings of LIU, since LIU enables a common TX beam (i.e. common UL beam) for all UL channels is used for transmission of all UL channels to reduce the signaling overhead and latency (LIU - ¶0006 & ¶0007).
Regarding Claim 2. (Original) Yao in view of Ouchi and LIU teaches: The method of claim 1,
furthermore Yao teaches: wherein the first application time is determined according to at least one of: a reference time (Yao FIG. 14 & ¶0093 See Claim 1; ¶0094 See Claim 1 […]; NOTE-DISCLOSURE & TEACHING: i.e. the UE would wait M slots after receiving the BI-RNTI DCI i.e. before switching to a new TCI and a new BWP reads on: wherein the first application time , where or i.e. wait M slots after i.e. receiving the BI-RNTI DCI reads on: is determined according to at least one of: a reference time associated receiving the BI-RNTI DCI),
or a time offset (Yao FIG. 14 & ¶0093 See above; ¶0094 […] where the UE would wait M slots after receiving the BI-RNTI DCI before switching to a new TCI and a new BWP […]; NOTE-DISCLOSURE & TEACHING: i.e. the UE would wait M slots after receiving the BI-RNTI DCI i.e. before switching to a new TCI and a new BWP reads on: wherein the first application time of switching to a new TCI and a new BWP or i.e. wait M slots reads on: is determined according to at least one of: or a time offset waiting M Slots after receiving the BI-RNTI DCI as a reference).
Regarding Claim 3. (Previously Presented) Yao in view of Ouchi and LIU teaches: The method of claim 2,
furthermore Yao teaches: wherein the first application time is determined by applying the time offset after the reference time (Yao FIG. 14 & ¶0093 See above; ¶0094 […] where the UE would wait M slots after receiving the BI-RNTI DCI before switching to a new TCI and a new BWP […]; NOTE-DISCLOSURE & TEACHING: i.e. the UE would wait M slots after receiving the BI-RNTI DCI i.e. before switching to a new TCI and a new BWP reads on: wherein the first application time of switching to a new TCI and a new BWP or i.e. wait M slots reads on: is determined by applying the time offset waiting M Slots after receiving the BI-RNTI DCI as a reference reads on: after the reference time ),
or (note: limitations separated by a recitation “or” are interpreted as presented in the alternative and not required together i.e. for the purposes of patentable weight)
by applying the time offset after a first time unit occurring after the reference time (note: limitations separated by a recitation “or” are interpreted as presented in the alternative and not required together i.e. for the purposes of patentable weight).
Regarding Claim 4. (Previously Presented) Yao in view of Ouchi and LIU teaches: The method of claim 2,
furthermore Yao teaches: wherein the reference time comprises one of (note: limitations subsequent to recitation “one of” and separated by a recitation “or” are interpreted as presented in the alternative an not required together i.e. for the purposes of patentable weight):
a second time unit during which the wireless communication device receives the first DCI (Yao FIG. 14 & ¶0093 See above; ¶0094 See claim 1; NOTE-DISCLOSURE & TEACHING: i.e. the UE would wait M slots i.e. after receiving the BI-RNTI DCI reads on: wherein the reference time i.e. where the UE would wait M slots after receiving the BI-RNTI DCI reads on: a second time unit during which the wireless communication device receives the first DCI the time unit being with reference to at least a slot before waiting i.e. M Slots after receiving the BI-RNTI DCI, after which i.e. switching to a new TCI and a new BWP ),
a third time unit during which the wireless communication device would transmit a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) (note: limitations subsequent to recitation “one of” including or separated by a recitation “or” are interpreted as presented in the alternative an not required together i.e. for the purposes of patentable weight)
or a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) with hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK) information for the first DCI (note: limitations subsequent to recitation “one of” including or separated by a recitation “or” are interpreted as presented in the alternative an not required together i.e. for the purposes of patentable weight),
or a fourth time unit during which the wireless communication device would transmit a PUCCH (note: limitations subsequent to recitation “one of” including or separated by a recitation “or” are interpreted as presented in the alternative an not required together i.e. for the purposes of patentable weight)
or PUSCH with HARQ-ACK information for a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) scheduled by the first DCI (note: limitations subsequent to recitation “one of” including or separated by a recitation “or” are interpreted as presented in the alternative an not required together i.e. for the purposes of patentable weight).
Regarding Claim 5. (Original) Yao in view of Ouchi and LIU teaches: The method of claim 2,
furthermore Yao teaches: wherein the time offset comprises X time units (Yao FIG. 14 & ¶0093 See above; ¶0094 […] where the UE would wait M slots after receiving the BI-RNTI DCI before switching to a new TCI and a new BWP […] The M slot and N slot delays could be predefined by a standard, configured by higher layer signaling, or reported by the UE; NOTE-DISCLOSURE & TEACHING: i.e. the UE would i.e. wait M slots reads on: wherein the time offset comprises X time units after receiving the BI-RNTI DCI ),
wherein X is: a predefined value (Yao FIG. 14 & ¶0093 See above; ¶0094 See claim 1; NOTE-DISCLOSURE & TEACHING: The M slot and N slot delays could be predefined by a standard reads on: wherein X is: a predefined value, including configured by higher layer signaling),
a value indicated by the first DCI (note: limitations subsequent separated by a recitation “or” are interpreted as presented in the alternative an not required together),
or a value configured by radio resource control (RRC) (note: limitations subsequent separated by a recitation “or” are interpreted as presented in the alternative an not required together)
or medium access control control element (MAC-CE) signaling (note: limitations subsequent separated by a recitation “or” are interpreted as presented in the alternative an not required together).
Regarding Claim 6. (Original) Yao in view of Ouchi and LIU teaches: The method of claim 3,
furthermore Yao teaches: wherein the time unit comprises at least one of (note: limitations subsequent to recitation “at least one of” including being separated by a recitation “or” are interpreted as presented in the alternative an not required together):
a subframe(note: limitations subsequent to recitation “at least one of” including being separated by a recitation “or” are interpreted as presented in the alternative an not required together),
a frame(note: limitations subsequent to recitation “at least one of” including being separated by a recitation “or” are interpreted as presented in the alternative an not required together),
an orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) frame(note: limitations subsequent to recitation “at least one of” including being separated by a recitation “or” are interpreted as presented in the alternative an not required together),
a millisecond(note: limitations subsequent to recitation “at least one of” including being separated by a recitation “or” are interpreted as presented in the alternative an not required together),
a microsecond(note: limitations subsequent to recitation “at least one of” including being separated by a recitation “or” are interpreted as presented in the alternative an not required together),
a second(note: limitations subsequent to recitation “at least one of” including being separated by a recitation “or” are interpreted as presented in the alternative an not required together),
a slot (Yao FIG. 14 & ¶0093 See Claim 1; ¶0094 See claim 1; NOTE-DISCLOSURE & TEACHING: i.e. the UE would i.e. wait M slots reads on: wherein the time unit comprises at least one of: a slot ),
a symbol (note: limitations subsequent to recitation “at least one of” including being separated by a recitation “or” are interpreted as presented in the alternative an not required together), or
an OFDM symbol(note: limitations subsequent to recitation “at least one of” including being separated by a recitation “or” are interpreted as presented in the alternative an not required together).
Regarding Claim 7. (Original) Yao in view of Ouchi and LIU teaches: The method of claim 1,
furthermore Yao teaches: wherein the beam state comprises at least one of (note: limitations subsequent to recitation “at least one of” including being separated by a recitation “or” are interpreted as presented in the alternative an not required together):
a quasi co-location (QCL) state(note: limitations subsequent to recitation “at least one of” including being separated by a recitation “or” are interpreted as presented in the alternative an not required together),
a transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state (Yao FIG. 14 & ¶0093 […] one or more of downlink (DL) beams, uplink (UL) beams, PDCCH beam (i.e. control beam) and PDSCH beam (i.e. data beam), can be indicated by a TCI beam switching signal carried by a DCI format associated with beam switching […] ; NOTE-DISCLOSURE & TEACHING: one or more of downlink (DL) beams, uplink (UL) beams, PDCCH beam (i.e. control beam) and PDSCH beam (i.e. data beam) can be indicated by i.e. a TCI beam switching signal reads on: wherein the beam state comprises at least one of: a transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state carried by a DCI format associated with beam switching),
spatial relation information (note: limitations subsequent to recitation “at least one of” including being separated by a recitation “or” are interpreted as presented in the alternative an not required together),
reference signal information(note: limitations subsequent to recitation “at least one of” including being separated by a recitation “or” are interpreted as presented in the alternative an not required together),
spatial filter information (note: limitations subsequent to recitation “at least one of” including being separated by a recitation “or” are interpreted as presented in the alternative an not required together),
or precoding information (note: limitations subsequent to recitation “at least one of” including being separated by a recitation “or” are interpreted as presented in the alternative an not required together).
Regarding Claim 8. (Currently Amended) Yao in view of Ouchi and LIU teaches: The method of claim 1,
furthermore Yao teaches: wherein determining the first application time further comprises determining a time unit of the first application time the one or more active BWPs in the group of CCs and configurations of an active BWP for a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) reception (Yao FIG. 14 & ¶0090 See Claim 1; ¶0093 See Claim, 1; ¶0094 See claim 1 ; NOTE-DISCLOSURE & TEACHING: per ¶0094 i.e. the UE would wait M slots reads on: wherein determining the first application time further comprises determining a time unit of the first application time, and per ¶0094 i.e. switching to a new TCI and a new BWP i.e. indicates from the existing BWP or i.e. current active BWP reads on: according to the one or more active BWPs in the group of CCs including i.e. wait N slots after receiving the BI-RNTI DCI before switching to a new TCI and the current active BWP reads on: and an active BWP for a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) reception where DCI correspond to PDCCH reception on an active BWP to which a new TCI is applied, and as applicable to i.e. one or more component carriers and cell groups. The office action notes that “one or more active bandwidth parts (BWPs) in the group of CCs” is known in prior art as also taught by Ouchi in combination)
Yao in view of Ouchi does not appear to explicitly teach or strongly suggest (note i.e. see italicized portions ): according to the one or more SCS configurations of the one or more active BWPs and of one or more SCS configurations of an active BWP;
LIU teaches: wherein determining the first application time further comprises determining a time unit of the first application time a smallest of the one or more SCS configurations of the one or more active BWPs and of one or more SCS configurations of an active BWP (LIU FIG. 6 & ¶0147 See Claim 1; NOTE-DISCLOSURE & TEACHING: per ¶0147 i.e. the TCI state with the same ID indicated in the TCI field applies to all serving cells in the cell list for determining the common UL beam for UL transmission and the power control parameters for the UL transmission, starting from the first slot that is Y symbols after reads on: wherein determining the first application time i.e. Y symbols reads on: further comprises determining a time unit of the first application time, per ¶0147 i.e. the TCI state with the same ID indicated in the TCI field applies to all serving cells in the cell list for determining the common UL beam for UL transmission reads on: to apply the beam state indicated per ¶0147 i.e. indicated in the TCI field of the DCI reads on: by the first DCI, where per ¶0147 i.e. wherein Y is predetermined. The actual duration of Y symbols may be determined by the smallest of the SCS configurations reads on: according to a smallest of the one or more SCS configurations and per ¶0147 i.e. of the active DL BWPs reads on: of the one or more active BWPs and a smallest of the one or more SCS configurations of one or more SCS configurations of an active BWP);
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Yao in view of Ouchi and LIU, further with the teachings of LIU, since LIU enables a common TX beam (i.e. common UL beam) for all UL channels is used for transmission of all UL channels to reduce the signaling overhead and latency (LIU - ¶0006 & ¶0007).
Regarding Claim 11. (Previously Presented) Yao in view of Ouchi and LIU teaches: The method of claim 1,
furthermore Yao teaches: wherein: the first application time or a minimum value of the first application time(note: limitations separated by a recitation “or” are interpreted as presented in the alternative an not required together) is based on a capability of the wireless communication device (Yao FIG. 14 & ¶0093 See above; ¶0094 See claim 1; NOTE-DISCLOSURE & TEACHING: per ¶0094 i.e. The M slot and N slot delays could be by reported by the UE reads on: wherein: the first application time is based on a capability of the wireless communication device ),
or (note: limitations separated by a recitation “or” are interpreted as presented in the alternative an not required together)
the first application time (note: limitations separated by a recitation “or” are interpreted as presented in the alternative an not required together)
or a minimum value of the first application time (note: limitations separated by a recitation “or” are interpreted as presented in the alternative an not required together) is configured or indicated by the wireless communication node (note: limitations separated by a recitation “or” are interpreted as presented in the alternative an not required together).
Regarding Claim 12. (Original) Yao in view of Ouchi and LIU teaches: The method of claim 1,
furthermore Yao teaches: wherein:
the first application time (note: limitations separated by a recitation “or” are interpreted as presented in the alternative an not required together) or (note: limitations separated by a recitation “or” are interpreted as presented in the alternative an not required together) a minimum value of the first application time(note: limitations separated by a recitation “or” are interpreted as presented in the alternative an not required together) is determined based on a capability of the wireless communication device for
a CC (note: limitations separated by a recitation “or” are interpreted as presented in the alternative an not required together) or(note: limitations separated by a recitation “or” are interpreted as presented in the alternative an not required together) CC group(note: limitations separated by a recitation “or” are interpreted as presented in the alternative an not required together),
for a band (note: limitations separated by a recitation “or” are interpreted as presented in the alternative an not required together) or (note: limitations separated by a recitation “or” are interpreted as presented in the alternative an not required together) band group(note: limitations separated by a recitation “or” are interpreted as presented in the alternative an not required together), for a BWP(note: limitations separated by a recitation “or” are interpreted as presented in the alternative an not required together), or (note: limitations separated by a recitation “or” are interpreted as presented in the alternative an not required together) for a SCS configuration (note: limitations separated by a recitation “or” are interpreted as presented in the alternative an not required together),
or (note: limitations separated by a recitation “or” are interpreted as presented in the alternative an not required together)
the first application time (note: limitations separated by a recitation “or” are interpreted as presented in the alternative an not required together) or (note: limitations separated by a recitation “or” are interpreted as presented in the alternative an not required together) the minimum value of the first application time(note: limitations separated by a recitation “or” are interpreted as presented in the alternative an not required together)
is configured (note: limitations separated by a recitation “or” are interpreted as presented in the alternative an not required together)
or (note: limitations separated by a recitation “or” are interpreted as presented in the alternative an not required together)
indicated by the wireless communication node for a CC(note: limitations separated by a recitation “or” are interpreted as presented in the alternative an not required together) or (note: limitations separated by a recitation “or” are interpreted as presented in the alternative an not required together) CC group(note: limitations separated by a recitation “or” are interpreted as presented in the alternative an not required together), for a band (note: limitations separated by a recitation “or” are interpreted as presented in the alternative an not required together) or(note: limitations separated by a recitation “or” are interpreted as presented in the alternative an not required together) band group(note: limitations separated by a recitation “or” are interpreted as presented in the alternative an not required together),
for a BWP (Yao FIG. 14 & ¶0093 See above; ¶0094 See claim 1; NOTE-DISCLOSURE & TEACHING: per ¶0094 i.e. The M slot and N slot delays could be configured by higher layer signaling or per ¶0094 i.e. BS can configure a N slot delay for a UE indicated with a TCI reads on: wherein: the first application time is configured or indicated by the wireless communication node, where per ¶0094 i.e. BS can configure a N slot delay for a UE indicated with a TCI associated within a current active BWP reads on: for a BWP ),
or (note: limitations separated by a recitation “or” are interpreted as presented in the alternative an not required together)
for each SCS configuration (note: limitations separated by a recitation “or” are interpreted as presented in the alternative an not required together).
Regarding 14. (Original) Yao in view of Ouchi and LIU teaches: The method of claim 1,
(NOTE: Claim 14 depends from claim 1, and the claim 14 limitations associate with and recite “after the first application time” which is presented in the alternative in claim 1 as “after a first application time”, and therefore the limitations in claim 14 are also deemed and interpreted as presented in the alternative and not required)
comprising: determining, by the wireless communication device, to apply the beam state to a sounding reference signal (SRS) transmission, after the first application time(NOTE: Claim 14 depends from claim 1, and the claim 14 limitations associate with and recite “after the first application time” which is presented in the alternative in claim 1 as “after a first application time”, and therefore the limitations in claim 14 are also deemed and interpreted as presented in the alternative and not required).
Regarding Claim 17. (Currently Amended) Yao teaches: A wireless communication device (Yao FIG. 14 & ¶0089 […] a flow diagram 1400 for joint UE reception beam switching; ¶0090 At 1402, the UE may receive an indication to switch beams from the BS including a configuration of TCI states for reception beam switching NOTE-DISCLOSURE & TEACHING: At 1402, the UE reads on: A wireless communication device)
comprising: at least one processor configured (Yao FIG. 4 & ¶0053 […] a system 400 employable at a UE (User Equipment) […] Memory 430 can comprise one or more memory devices (e.g., memory 204G, local memory (e.g., including CPU register(s)) of processor(s) discussed herein, etc.) which can be of any of a variety of storage mediums (e.g., volatile and/or non-volatile according to any of a variety of technologies/constructions, etc.), and can store instructions and/or data associated with one or more of processor(s) 410 or transceiver circuitry 420; NOTE-DISCLOSURE & TEACHING: i.e. one or more of processor(s) 410 reads on: comprising: at least one processor configured):
(See the rejection of Claim 1, Claim 17 recites similar and parallel features to Claim 1, and the rationale for the rejection of Claim 1 applies similarly to Claim 17. Where applicable, minor differences between claims are noted as appropriate) to: receive, via a receiver from a wireless communication node in a first component carrier (CC) of a group of CCs in a carrier aggregation (CA), a first downlink control information (DCI) indicating a beam state, wherein each CC of the CC group is configured with a respective subcarrier spacing (SCS) of a plurality of SCSs; [[and]]determine a first application time to apply the beam state indicated by the first DCI in the first CC, according to a smallest subcarrier spacing (SCS) amongst one or more SCS configurations of one or more active bandwidth parts (BWPs) in the group of CCs ;and determine to apply the beam state to at least one target transmission on at least one CC of the group of CCs after or starting from [[a]] the first application time (See the rejection of Claim 1, Claim 17 recites similar and parallel features to Claim 1, and the rationale for the rejection of Claim 1 applies similarly to Claim 17. Where applicable, minor differences between claims are noted as appropriate).
Regarding Claim 18. (Currently Amended) Yao teaches: A wireless communication node (Yao FIG. 14 & ¶0089 […] a flow diagram 1400 for joint UE reception beam switching; ¶0090 At 1402, the UE may receive an indication to switch beams from the BS including a configuration of TCI states for reception beam switching NOTE-DISCLOSURE & TEACHING: from the BS reads on: A wireless communication node)
comprising: at least one processor configured (Yao FIG. 4 & ¶0053 […] a system 400 employable at […] a next generation Node B (gNodeB or gNB) or other BS (base station)/TRP (Transmit/Receive Point) […] Memory 430 can comprise one or more memory devices (e.g., memory 204G, local memory (e.g., including CPU register(s)) of processor(s) discussed herein, etc.) which can be of any of a variety of storage mediums (e.g., volatile and/or non-volatile according to any of a variety of technologies/constructions, etc.), and can store instructions and/or data associated with one or more of processor(s) 410 or transceiver circuitry 420; NOTE-DISCLOSURE & TEACHING: i.e. one or more of processor(s) 410 reads on: comprising: at least one processor configured)
(See the rejection of Claim 1 and Claim 17, Claim 18 recites similar and parallel features associated with a wireless communication node and reciprocally performed (i.e. network node configured to transmit and wireless node configured to receive) in association with the wireless communication device of Claim 1 and claim 17, and the rationale for the rejection of Claim 1 and claim 17 applies similarly to Claim 18. Where applicable, minor differences between claims are noted as appropriate) to: transmit, via a transmitter to a wireless communication device in a first component carrier (CC) of a group of CCs in a carrier aggregation (CA), a first downlink control information (DCI) indicating a beam state, wherein each CC of the CC group is configured with a respective subcarrier spacing (SCS) of a plurality of SCSs; [[and]] cause the wireless communication device to determine a first application time to apply the beam state indicated by the first DCI in the first CC, according to a smallest subcarrier spacing (SCS) amongst one or more SCS configurations of one or more active bandwidth parts (BWPs) in the group of CCs; and cause the wireless communication device to apply the beam state to at least one target transmission on at least one CC of the group of CCs after or starting from [[a]]the first application time (See the rejection of Claim 1 and Claim 17, Claim 18 recites similar and parallel features associated with a wireless communication node and reciprocally performed (i.e. network node configured to transmit and wireless node configured to receive) in association with the wireless communication device of Claim 1 and claim 17, and the rationale for the rejection of Claim 1 and claim 17 applies similarly to Claim 18. Where applicable, minor differences between claims are noted as appropriate).
Regarding Claim 19. (Currently Amended) Yao teaches: A method node (Yao FIG. 14 & ¶0089 […] a flow diagram 1400 for joint UE reception beam switching; ¶0090 At 1402, the UE may receive an indication to switch beams from the BS including a configuration of TCI states for reception beam switching NOTE-DISCLOSURE & TEACHING: receive an indication to switch beams from the BS reads on: A method node)
(See the rejection of Claim 18, Claim 19 recites similar and parallel features to Claim 18, and the rationale for the rejection of Claim 18 applies similarly to Claim 19. Where applicable, minor differences between claims are noted as appropriate) comprising: transmitting, by a wireless communication node to a wireless communication device in a first component carrier (CC) of a group of CCs in a carrier aggregation (CA), a first downlink control information (DCI) indicating a beam state, wherein each CC of the CC group is configured with a respective subcarrier spacing (SCS) of a plurality of SCSs; [[and]] causing the wireless communication device to determine a first application time to apply the beam state indicated by the first DCI in the first CC, according to a smallest subcarrier spacing (SCS) amongst one or more SCS configurations of one or more active bandwidth parts (BWPs) in the group of CCs; and causing the wireless communication device to apply the beam state to at least one target transmission on at least one CC of the group of CCs after or starting from [[a]] the first application time (See the rejection of Claim 18, Claim 19 recites similar and parallel features to Claim 18, and the rationale for the rejection of Claim 18 applies similarly to Claim 19. Where applicable, minor differences between claims are noted as appropriate).
11. Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yao in view of Ouchi and LIU further in view of ZHOU et al. (US 20210185689 A1) i.e. “ZHOU”.
Regarding claim 9. (Original) Yao in view of Ouchi and LIU teaches: The method of claim 1,
Furthermore Yao teaches: wherein the first application time is determined according to a first target transmission in one CC of the group of CCs (Yao FIG. 14 & ¶0093 See Claim 1; 0094 See claim 1; NOTE-DISCLOSURE & TEACHING: per ¶0093 i.e. the UE would wait M slots reads on: wherein the first application time is determined i.e. after receiving the BI-RNTI DCI reads on: according to a first target transmission before switching i.e. from the existing BWP reads on: in one CC of the group of CCs i.e. to a new TCI and a new BWP after waiting the M slots after receiving the BI-RNTI DCI with TCI beam switching signal)
Yao in view of Ouchi and LIU does not appear to explicitly teach or strongly suggest (note see italicized portions): determined according to a completion time of a set of transmission repetitions of a first target transmission;
ZHOU which also teaches: A method (ZHOU FIG. 4 & ¶0062 […] example 400 associated with a new beam ready time for a DCI based beam activation command ;¶0063 […] a base station (e.g., base station 110) may transmit, and the UE 120 may receive, a DCI based beam activation command. […] the DCI based beam activation command may be used in association with,[…] , activation of a PDCCH TCI state, a PDSCH TCI state, a CSI-RS TCI state, a spatial relation for a PUCCH, […] the DCI based beam activation command may cause the UE to switch from a previous (or current) beam to the new beam for use in communicating with the base station; NOTE-DISCLOSURE & TEACHING: i.e. the UE 120 may receive, a DCI based beam activation command in conjunction with steps or procedures of example 400 reads on: A method)
comprising: receiving, by a wireless communication device from a wireless communication node in a first component carrier (CC) of a group of CCs (ZHOU FIG. 4 & ¶0063 see above; ¶0074 […] example of a new beam ready time for a DCI based PDCCH TCI state activation […] upon receiving a DCI based beam activation command at slot n, the UE may be able to receive a PDCCH with the TCI state of the serving cell on which a TCI state switch occurs no later than a time determined from computing slot n+T_HARQ+X ms+T_Ok*(T_first-SSB+T_SSB-proc) […] the UE may be able to receive on the previous TCI state until slot n+T_HARQ+X ms+T_Ok*(T_first-SSB) […] X may be a fixed (e.g., preconfigured) value, or may be expressed in terms of a number of symbols whose number and numerology may depend on a numerology of a component carrier with activation DCI, a component carrier of the activated beam; NOTE-DISCLOSURE & TEACHING: i.e. upon receiving a DCI based beam activation command at slot n reads on: comprising generating or transmitting a message: receiving, by a wireless communication device from a wireless communication node where per ¶0063 a base station (e.g., base station 110) may transmit, and the UE 120 may receive, a DCI based beam activation command associated with activation of a PDCCH TCI state, a PDSCH TCI state, a CSI-RS TCI state, and where per ¶0074 i.e. the UE may be able to receive on the previous TCI state until slot n+T_HARQ+X ms+T_Ok*(T_first-SSB) […] X may be a fixed (e.g., preconfigured) value, or may be expressed in terms of a number of symbols whose number and numerology may depend on a numerology of a component carrier with activation DCI reads on: in a first component carrier (CC) , and where i.e. a component carrier with activation DCI, and a component carrier of the activated beam reads on: of a group of CCs where FIG. 4 step 405 activation command associates with a component carrier with activation DCI, and step 420 using new beam associates with a component carrier of the activated beam ),
a first downlink control information (DCI) indicating a beam state (ZHOU FIG. 4 & ¶0063 see above; ¶0074 See above; NOTE-DISCLOSURE & TEACHING: per ¶0063 i.e. and the UE 120 may receive, a DCI based beam activation command. […] the DCI based beam activation command may be used in association with activation of a PDCCH TCI state, a PDSCH TCI state, a CSI-RS TCI state and per ¶00074 i.e. upon receiving a DCI based beam activation command at slot n reads on: a first downlink control information (DCI) indicating a beam state );
and determining, by the wireless communication device, to apply the beam state (ZHOU FIG. 4 & ¶0063 see above; ¶0074 See above; NOTE-DISCLOSURE & TEACHING: per ¶0063 i.e. the DCI based beam activation command may cause the UE to switch from a previous (or current) beam to the new beam for use in communicating with the base station reads on: and determining, by the wireless communication device, to apply the beam state comprising where per ¶0074 i.e. the activated beam of the i.e. a component carrier of the activated beam)
to at least one target transmission (ZHOU FIG. 4 & ¶0063 see above; ¶0074 See above; ¶0076 […] number 420, the UE and the base station may communicate using the beam after the new beam ready time. […] after determining the new beam ready time as described above, the UE and the base station may communicate (e.g., the UE may transmit, and the base station may receive, an uplink communication; the base station may transmit, the UE may receive, a downlink communication) using the beam after the new beam ready time has passed; NOTE-DISCLOSURE & TEACHING: per ¶0076 step 420 i.e. after determining the new beam ready time as described above, the UE and the base station may communicate (e.g., the UE may transmit, and the base station may receive, an uplink communication; the base station may transmit, the UE may receive, a downlink communication reads on: to at least one target transmission where per ¶0063 beam activation command associated with activation of a PDCCH TCI state, a PDSCH TCI state, a CSI-RS TCI state i.e. associated with a PDCCH, a PDSCH, a CSI-RS transmission using the new beam)
on at least one CC of the group of CCs (ZHOU FIG. 4 & ¶0063 see above; ¶0074 See above; ¶0076 See above; NOTE-DISCLOSURE & TEACHING: per ¶0074 i.e. slot n+T_HARQ+X ms+T_Ok*(T_first-SSB) where X is a number of symbols whose number and numerology may depend on a numerology of a component carrier with activation DCI, i.e. a component carrier of the activated beam reads on: on at least one CC activated slot n+T_HARQ+X ms+T_Ok*(T_first-SSB) up to which i.e. the UE may be able to receive on the previous TCI state, and i.e. a component carrier with activation DCI, and a component carrier of the activated beam reads on: of the group of CCs )
after (note: limitations separated by a recitation “or” are interpreted as presented in the alternative an not required together)
or starting from a first application time (ZHOU FIG. 4 & ¶0063 see above; ¶0074 See above; ¶0076 See above; NOTE-DISCLOSURE & TEACHING: per ¶0074 i.e. the UE may be able to receive on the previous TCI state until slot n+T_HARQ+X ms+T_Ok*(T_first-SSB) up to which i.e. the UE may be able to receive on the previous TCI state after which the new beam TCI state applies reads on: starting from a first application time),
furthermore ZHOU (Specific to this rejection) teaches: wherein the first application time is determined according to a completion time of a set of transmission repetitions of a first target transmission in one CC of the group of CCs (ZHOU FIG. 4 & ¶0071 […] when the new beam ready time is measured from the end of the DCI based beam activation command and when PDCCH repetition is used in association with communicating the DCI based beam activation command, the new beam ready time may be measured from a particular PDCCH repetition. Here, the particular PDCCH repetition may be a first transmission of a PDCCH including the DCI based beam activation command, a last transmission of the PDCCH including the DCI based beam activation command; ¶0074 See above; NOTE-DISCLOSURE & TEACHING: i.e. when PDCCH repetition is used in association with communicating the DCI based beam activation command reads on: wherein the first application time where i.e. the new beam ready time may be measured from a particular PDCCH repetition. Here, the particular PDCCH repetition may be a first transmission of a PDCCH including the DCI based beam activation command, a last transmission of the PDCCH including the DCI based beam activation command reads on: is determined according to a completion time of a set of transmission repetitions of a first target transmission in one CC comprising the per ¶0074 a component carrier with activation DCI , per 0074 i.e. a component carrier with activation DCI, a component carrier of the activated beam reads on: of the group of CCs ).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Yao in view of Ouchi and LIU with the teachings of ZHOU, since ZHOU enables use of a DCI based beam activation command, which may reduce latency and delay (as compared to using a MAC-CE for conveying the beam activation command) at the UE when applying the beam activation command (ZHOU - ¶0059).
12. Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yao in view of Ouchi and LIU further in view of VENUGOPAL et al. (US 20210195530 A1) i.e. “VENUGOPAL”
Regarding Claim 10. (Original) Yao in view of Ouchi and LIU teaches: The method of claim 1,
furthermore Yao teaches: comprising: determining, by the wireless communication device after or starting from the application time, information for the at least one target transmission, according to the beam state (Yao FIG. 14 & ¶0090 See Claim 1 […] At 1404, the UE may adjust the PDCCH reception beam to a new beam based on the configured TCI states. At 1406, the UE may adjust the PDSCH reception beam to a new beam based on the configured TCI states.; ¶0093 See Claim 1; ¶0094 See claim 1 ; NOTE-DISCLOSURE & TEACHING: per ¶0094 the UE would wait M slots after receiving the BI-RNTI DCI before switching to a new TCI and a new reads on: comprising: determining, by the wireless communication device starting from the application time , where per ¶0094 of switching to a new TCI and a new BWP after waiting the M slots after receiving the BI-RNTI DCI i.e. with TCI beam switching signal reads on: information for i.e. At 1404, the UE may adjust the PDCCH reception beam to a new beam based on the configured TCI states. At 1406, the UE may adjust the PDSCH reception beam to a new beam based on the configured TCI states reads on: the at least one target transmission, according to the beam state).
Yao in view of Ouchi and LIU does not appear to explicitly teach or strongly suggest (note see italicized portions): pathloss information for the at least one target transmission;
VENUGOPAL teaches: comprising: determining, by the wireless communication device, pathloss information for the at least one target transmission, according to the beam state (VENUGOPAL - ¶0085 […] the BS may use an uplink TCI state to provide flexibility in dynamically configuring and/or updating pathloss reference signal parameters to be used as part of beam management […] BS may use the uplink TCI state to indicate various types of uplink QCL relationships to the UE […] the BS may flexibly use the uplink TCI state to indicate whether a pathloss reference signal is configured for an associated uplink transmission, may use the uplink TCI state to indicate various parameters for the pathloss reference signal, and/or the like. The UE may determine that an indication of an uplink TCI state identifies a pathloss reference signal that is to be measured for determining an uplink power control parameter that is to be used for the associated uplink transmission; NOTE-DISCLOSURE & TEACHING: i.e. UE may determine that an indication of an uplink TCI state identifies a pathloss reference signal reads on: comprising: determining, by the wireless communication device, pathloss information for the at least one target transmission, where i.e. an uplink TCI state identifies a pathloss reference signal that is to be measured for determining an uplink power control parameter that is i.e. to be used for the associated uplink transmission reads on: pathloss information for the at least one target transmission associated with the uplink transmission, where i.e. an uplink TCI state identifies a pathloss reference signal reads on: according to the beam state).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Yao in view of Ouchi and LIU with teachings of VENUGOPAL , since VENUGOPAL increases reliability in beam management parameter and pathloss reference signal parameter signaling, decreases latency in configuring the pathloss reference signal parameters (VENUGOPAL - ¶0085 ).
13. Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yao in view of Ouchi and LIU further in view of Cirik et al. (US 20220045806 A1) i.e. “Cirik”
Regarding Claim 13. (Previously Presented) Yao in view of Ouchi and LIU teaches: The method of claim 1,
furthermore LIU teaches: DCI format comprises a DCI format 0_0 (LIU ¶0068 […] the determined common UL beam (i.e. common spatial relation) for UL transmission applies to the following UL channels: ¶0069 PUSCH scheduled by DCI format 0_0 or 0_1 or 0_2; NOTE-DISCLOSURE & TEACHING: per ¶0069 i.e. PUSCH scheduled by DCI format 0_0 or 0_1 or 0_2 reads on: DCI format comprises a DCI format 0_0 );
Yao in view of Ouchi and LIU does not appear to explicitly teach or strongly suggest (note see italicized portions): comprising: receiving, by the wireless communication device from the wireless communication node, a second DCI with a type A DCI format;
and determining, by the wireless communication device, to apply the beam state to a first target transmission that occurs after or starting from the first application time, the target transmission comprising a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) scheduled by the second DCI, wherein the type A DCI format comprises a DCI format 0_0.;
Cirik teaches: comprising: receiving, by the wireless communication device from the wireless communication node, a second DCI (Cirik FIG. 30 & ¶0395 […] t step 3020, the base station may determine to send/transmit a second plurality of downlink control signals/channels NOTE-DISCLOSURE & TEACHING: i.e.. a second plurality of downlink control signals/channels reads on: a second plurality of downlink control signals/channels)
with a type A DCI format (Cirik FIG. 30 & ¶0402 […] The wireless device may monitor control resource sets (coresets) for a plurality of DCI repetitions. […] The wireless device may receive one or more messages comprising one or more configuration parameters […] The one or more transmission parameters may comprise an indication of at least one of a spatial relation, a beam, […] The at least one DCI repetition may comprise a field indicating a time offset between a last-in-time repetition, of the plurality of DCI repetitions, and a second set of DCI repetitions. […] The at least one DCI repetition may use a format comprising at least one of DCI format 0_0, DCI format 0_1, or DCI format 0_2; NOTE-DISCLOSURE & TEACHING: i.e. at least one DCI repetition may use a format comprising at least one of DCI format 0_0 reads on: with a type A DCI format);
and determining, by the wireless communication device, to apply the beam state to the at least one target transmission that occurs after (note: limitations separated by a recitation “or” are interpreted as presented in the alternative an not required together)
or starting from the first application time (Cirik FIG. 19 Depicts PDCCH#2 & ¶0402 see above; NOTE-DISCLOSURE & TEACHING: i.e. The one or more transmission parameters may comprise an indication of at least one of a spatial relation, a beam reads on: and determining, by the wireless communication device, to apply the beam state to a first target transmission , where per FIG. 19 or any other repetitive DCI application depicted the parameters transmitted are effected at least at time depicted for first PDCCH reads on: that occurs starting from the first application time after which second DCI is effected),
the at least one target transmission comprising a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) scheduled by the second DCI (Cirik ¶0205 […] The at least one DCI message/PDCCH transmission (e.g., the second repetition, DCI 2) may schedule a transport block (e.g., PUSCH) NOTE-DISCLOSURE & TEACHING: the second repetition, DCI 2) may schedule a transport block (e.g., PUSCH) reads on: the at least one target transmission comprising a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) scheduled by the second DCI ),
wherein the type A DCI format comprises a DCI format 0_0 (Cirik FIG. 27, FIG. 30 & ¶0402 see above; NOTE-DISCLOSURE & TEACHING: i.e. at least one DCI repetition may use a format comprising at least one of DCI format 0_0 reads on: with a type A DCI format).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Yao in view of Ouchi and LIU with teachings of Cirik , since Cirik enables a configuration that may allow the base station to send/transmit repetitions of DCI indicating a new minimum scheduling offset earlier than the end of the time slot, which may provide advantages such as decreased latency (Cirik - ¶0364).
14. Claims 15, 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yao in view of Ouchi and LIU further in view of YANG et al. (US 20220369293 A1) i.e. “YANG”
Regarding Claim 15. (Original), Yao in view of Ouchi and LIU teaches: The method of claim 1,
furthermore Yao teaches: comprising: receiving, by the wireless communication device from the wireless communication node, a DCI (Yao FIG. 14 & ¶0093 See claim 1; NOTE-DISCLOSURE & TEACHING: […] one or more of downlink (DL) beams, uplink (UL) beams, PDCCH beam (i.e. control beam) and PDSCH beam (i.e. data beam), can be indicated by a TCI beam switching signal carried by a DCI format reads on: comprising: receiving, by the wireless communication device from the wireless communication node, a DCI associated with beam switching); and determining, by the wireless communication device, a transmit parameter of the target transmission (Yao FIG. 14 & ¶0090 See Claim 1 […] At 1404, the UE may adjust the PDCCH reception beam to a new beam based on the configured TCI states. At 1406, the UE may adjust the PDSCH reception beam to a new beam based on the configured TCI states.; ¶0093 See Claim 1; NOTE-DISCLOSURE & TEACHING: i.e. At 1404, the UE may adjust the PDCCH reception beam to a new beam based on the configured TCI states. At 1406, the UE may adjust the PDSCH reception beam to a new beam based on the configured TCI states reads on: and determining, by the wireless communication device, a transmit parameter of the target transmission);
Yao in view of Ouchi and LIU does not appear to explicitly teach or strongly suggest (note see italicized portions): receiving, a second DCI with a type B DCI format; ; and determining, by the wireless communication device, a transmit parameter of the target transmission, according to a latest SRS transmission in time domain based on the target transmission, or a transmission or reception of the second DCI;
YANG teaches: comprising: receiving, by the wireless communication device from the wireless communication node, a second DCI with a type B DCI format; and determining, by the wireless communication device, a transmit parameter of the target transmission (YANG ¶0081 […] the network side device sends the second DCI, that is, using the DCI to indicate the beam information. For example, in a case that the first channel is a PUSCH, a CRI or an SSBRI in the second DCI format format 0_1 is used to indicate beam information of the PUSCH, and the indicated CRI/SSBRI is associated with the target SRS resource (for example, a CRI or an SSBRI associated with an SRS resource is used as a source RS in spatial relation information of the target SRS resource); NOTE-DISCLOSURE & TEACHING: i.e. the network side device sends the second DCI reads on: comprising: receiving, by the wireless communication device from the wireless communication node, a second DCI, where per ¶0081 i.e. the second DCI format format 0_1 is used reads on: with a type B DCI format to indicate beam information reads on: a transmit parameter of the PUSCH reads on: of the target transmission ), according to
a latest SRS transmission in time domain based on the target transmission(note: limitations separated by a recitation “or” are interpreted as presented in the alternative and not required together i.e. for the purposes of patentable weight),
or (note: limitations separated by a recitation “or” are interpreted as presented in the alternative and not required together i.e. for the purposes of patentable weight)
a transmission (note: limitations separated by a recitation “or” are interpreted as presented in the alternative and not required together i.e. for the purposes of patentable weight)
or (note: limitations separated by a recitation “or” are interpreted as presented in the alternative and not required together i.e. for the purposes of patentable weight)
reception of the second DCI (YANG ¶0081 See above; NOTE-DISCLOSURE & TEACHING: i.e. the second DCI format format 0_1 is used to indicate beam information of the PUSCH reads on: reception of the second DCI ).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Yao in view of Ouchi and LIU with teachings of YANG, since YANG enables that SRS may be used as a source RS of beam information of at least one of a downlink channel or a downlink reference signal, and a CRI or an SSBRI may be used in the DCI to indicate beam information of the PUSCH, where this not only reduces signaling overheads for beam indication, but also improves flexibility of beam indication (YANG - ¶0117).
Regarding Claim 16. (Currently Amended) Yao in view of Ouchi and LIU and YANG teaches: The method of claim 15,
(NOTE: Claim 16 depends from claim 15, and the claim 16 limitations associate with and recite “the latest SRS transmission in time domain” which is presented in the alternative in claim 15, and therefore the limitations in claim 16 are also deemed and interpreted as presented in the alternative and not required) wherein: the latest SRS transmission in time domain occurs an SRS transmission (NOTE: Claim 16 depends from claim 15, and the claim 16 limitations associate with and recite “the latest SRS transmission in time domain” which is presented in the alternative in claim 15, and therefore the limitations in claim 16 are also deemed and interpreted as presented in the alternative and not required).
Conclusion
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/M.A.S./
Examiner, Art Unit 2414
01/20/2026
/EDAN ORGAD/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2414