Prosecution Insights
Last updated: May 29, 2026
Application No. 18/477,059

CHANNEL STATE INFORMATION REPORTING METHOD AND RELATED APPARATUS

Final Rejection §103
Filed
Sep 28, 2023
Priority
Apr 02, 2021 — CN 202110363922.9 +1 more
Examiner
BEYEN, ZEWDU A
Art Unit
2461
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.
OA Round
2 (Final)
83%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
1m
Est. Remaining
98%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 83% — above average
83%
Career Allowance Rate
702 granted / 842 resolved
+25.4% vs TC avg
Moderate +15% lift
Without
With
+14.7%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 9m
Avg Prosecution
29 currently pending
Career history
877
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.5%
-39.5% vs TC avg
§103
88.2%
+48.2% vs TC avg
§102
8.1%
-31.9% vs TC avg
§112
1.8%
-38.2% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 842 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . Response to Amendment Applicant’s amendment filled on 04/21/2026 has been entered. Claims 21, 27-35 are amended. Claims 21-40 are pending. Response to Arguments Applicant arguments filed on 04/21/2026 have been fully considered and but are moot in view of the new ground of rejection(s) Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action: A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made. The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows: 1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art. 2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue. 3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art. 4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness. Claim(s) 21,23,29,27,34-35,37 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Krishnamurthy to (US20140177745A1) in view of Harada to (US 12004171 B2) Regarding claims 21, 27, 35, Krishnamurthy teaches a communication apparatus([0116], UE) , a method, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium,([0116] discloses a controller 520 coupled to the housing 510, audio input and output circuitry 530 coupled to the housing 510, ..a user interface 560 coupled to the housing 510, a memory 570 coupled to the housing 510, and an antenna 580 coupled to the housing 510 and the transceiver 550) comprising: obtaining configuration information indicating first codebook subset information and second codebook subset information,([0047] the UE 110 can be configured with a first codebook associated with the first CSI-RS resource and a second codebook associated with the second CSI-RS resource) wherein the first codebook subset information is associated with a first reference signal resource subset, the second codebook subset information is associated with a second reference signal resource subset,( [0118] discloses the first CSI process associated with the first CSI-RS resource configuration and the second CSI process associated with the second CSI-RS resource configuration. The first set of channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS) can be different from the second set of channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS)) and the first reference signal resource subset and the second reference signal resource subset are respectively associated with different transmission configuration indication states;( [0047] A UE can be configured with multiple CSI processes to support Coordinated Multipoint (CoMP) scheduling and transmission from multiple Transmission Points (TPs). A CSI process is associated with the generation of one set of CSI which can consist of PMI for vertical or Level-1 beamforming, PMI for horizontal or Level-2 beamforming, RI, and/or CQI, based on an associated one or more CSI-RS resource(s))and sending a channel state information (CSI) report to a network device([ 0123] discloses The wireless communication device 500 can transmit a channel state information (CSI) report) wherein the CSI report is based on the first codebook subset information and the second codebook subset information( [0123] discloses the wireless communication device 500 can transmit a representation of at least one of the first precoding matrix (p) and the second precoding matrix (P). The wireless communication device 500 can transmit a channel state information (CSI) report including the representation of at least one of the first precoding matrix (p) and second precoding matrix (P) Krishnamurthy does not explicitly teach different transmission configuration indication states, and the different transmission configuration indication states are respectively associated with different transmission reception points However, Harada teaches different transmission configuration indication states, and the different transmission configuration indication states are respectively associated with different transmission reception points (claim 3, the second operation is an operation that assumes a downlink reference signal indicated by a Transmission Configureation Indicator (TCI) state notified by a higheer layer signaling and the DMRS antenna port have a QCL relation, and the processor, when a list of a plurality of TCI states each corresponding to different Transmission and Reception Points (TRPs) is notified by the higher layer signaling) Therefore, it would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art before the effective filing date to enable the system of Krishnamurthy include different transmission configuration indication states, and the different transmission configuration indication states are respectively associated with different transmission reception points, as suggested by Harada. This modification would benefit the system to reduce signal interference. Regarding claims 23,29,37 Krishnamurthy teaches wherein the first codebook subset information is used to determine G seventh parameters and H eighth parameters, G and H are integers greater than or equal to 1, ([0038] discloses one codebook, C.sub.H, can quantize the short-term variations of the channel matrix for an equivalent horizontal array formed by a particular virtualization of M elements within each column) and a sum of G and H is equal to M5; ([0038] where H.sub.V.sup.(n) is the channel matrix associated with the n-th vertical subset array of M vertical transmitting antenna elements, where n=1, . . . , NL. The notation .parallel..cndot.|.sub.F denotes the Frobenius norm which is the sum of the magnitude square of the matrix's elements) the second codebook subset information is used to determine J ninth parameters and K tenth parameters, J and K are integers greater than or equal to 1,([0038] discloses Another codebook, C.sub.V, can be used for spatial quantization of an equivalent vertical array to help the eNB virtualize the M elements within each column. C.sub.H can be a Release 10 codebook with possible enhancements for 4 transmit antennas (Tx) in the equivalent horizontal array, such as a codebook using a W.sub.1W.sub.2 weighting structure (precoder corresponding to a codebook entry is a matrix multiplication of two matrices, W.sub.1 and W.sub.2), where a precoding vector or matrix applies weights to signals transmitted from each antenna in an antenna array) and a sum of J and K is equal to M5;([0038] where H.sub.V.sup.(n) is the channel matrix associated with the n-th vertical subset array of M vertical transmitting antenna elements, where n=1, . . . , NL. The notation .parallel..cndot.|.sub.F denotes the Frobenius norm which is the sum of the magnitude square of the matrix's elements) and M5 is an integer greater than 1, and M5 is determined based on the configuration information([0038] discloses the eNB 120 can configure a first CSI-RS resource with M CSI-RS antenna ports and transmit CSI-RS on antenna ports corresponding to only one set of M antenna elements to enable feedback to assist Level-1 beamforming). Regarding claim 34, Krishnamurthy teaches wherein the communication apparatus is a 34. terminal device or a chip ([0116] discloses UE..a controller 520 coupled to the housing 510, audio input and output circuitry 530 coupled to the housing 510, ..a user interface 560 coupled to the housing 510, a memory 570 coupled to the housing 510, and an antenna 580 coupled to the housing 510 and the transceiver 550) Claim(s) 22,28,36 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Krishnamurthy to (US20140177745A1) in view of Harada to (US 12004171 B2) further in view of Ge to (US 20190181929 A1) Regarding claims 22,28,36 Krishnamurthy teaches wherein: the configuration information further indicates first rank restriction indication information and second rank restriction indication information;([0047] discloses the sub-CSI-RS resources can be configured independently or in a configuration list or a bitmap with each bit set to one indicating a predetermined CSI-RS resource for a sub-CSI-RS resource preferably in order for the L vertical subarrays. Codebook subset restriction can be independently applied for CSI associated with the first CSI-RS resource (Level-1 beamforming) and CSI associated with the second CSI-RS resource (Level-2 beamforming) of the CSI process. For example, to assist Level-1 beamforming, a codebook subset restriction can be applied to use PMI reporting corresponding to the first CSI-RS resource constrained to rank 1 feedback with possibly a subset of the rank 1 precoders) the first rank restriction indication information is used to obtain rank indicator RI information in first-type CSI information, ([0047] to assist Level-1 beamforming, a codebook subset restriction can be applied to use PMI reporting corresponding to the first CSI-RS resource constrained to rank 1 ) and the first-type CSI information has an association relationship with a channel measurement resource pair; ;([0047] discloses the sub-CSI-RS resources can be configured independently or in a configuration list or a bitmap with each bit set to one indicating a predetermined CSI-RS resource for a sub-CSI-RS resource preferably in order for the L vertical subarrays. Codebook subset restriction can be independently applied for CSI associated with the first CSI-RS resource (Level-1 beamforming) )the channel measurement resource pair is one of one or more channel measurement resource pairs determined from a reference signal resource set, ,( [0118] discloses the first CSI process associated with the first CSI-RS resource configuration and the second CSI process associated with the second CSI-RS resource configuration. The first set of channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS) can be different from the second set of channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS)) and the reference signal resource set comprises K reference signal resources, wherein K is an integer greater than or equal to 2; ( [0118] discloses the first CSI process associated with the first CSI-RS resource configuration and the second CSI process associated with the second CSI-RS resource configuration. The first set of channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS) can be different from the second set of channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS)) and the CSI report comprises the first-type CSI information or the second-type CSI information([ 0123] discloses The wireless communication device 500 can transmit a channel state information (CSI) report) Krishnamurthy does not explicitly teach the second rank restriction indication information is used to obtain RI information in second-type CSI information, and the second-type CSI information has an association relationship with one of the K reference signal resources However, Ge teaches the second rank restriction indication information is used to obtain RI information in second-type CSI information,([0006]discloses a rank indication restriction parameter related to a technical solution in this application is one or more of: TypeI-SinglePanel-RI-Restriction, TypeI-MultiPanel-RI-Restriction, TypeII-RI-Restriction, and TypeII-PortSelection-RI-Restriction) and the second-type CSI information has an association relationship with one of the K reference signal resources;( [0053] Discloses parameter used by the network device to indicate the terminal device to perform CSI reporting is a rank indication restriction (RI restriction), and the RI restriction parameter field is used to indicate, to the terminal device, PMIs and RIs corresponding to ranks (rank) that are allowed to be reported) Therefore, it would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art before the effective filing date to enable the system of Krishnamurthy include the second rank restriction indication information is used to obtain RI information in second-type CSI information, and the second-type CSI information has an association relationship with one of the K reference signal resources, as suggested by Ge. This modification would benefit the system to reduce signal interference. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 24-26,30-33,38-40 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 ZEWDU A BEYEN whose telephone number is (571)270-7157. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00-6:00. 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, Huy D Vu can be reached at 571-272-3155. 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. /ZEWDU A BEYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2461
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Prosecution Timeline

Sep 28, 2023
Application Filed
Oct 30, 2023
Response after Non-Final Action
Feb 05, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103
Apr 21, 2026
Response Filed
May 20, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §103 (current)

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Prosecution Projections

3-4
Expected OA Rounds
83%
Grant Probability
98%
With Interview (+14.7%)
2y 9m (~1m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 842 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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