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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 10/31/2023, 05/15/2024. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Response to Amendment
The Amendment filed 02/27/2026 has been entered. Claims 1-6, 9-14, and 17-20 have been amended.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments/amendments with respect to the rejection to 112(b) have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection to 112(b) of claims has been withdrawn.
Applicant’s arguments/amendments with respect to the rejection of claims under 35 USC § 103 have been considered but are not persuasive.
Applicant’s arguments:
Wu does not suggest that any part of Table 826 indicates "spatial-domain (SD) basis vectors Lᵣ associated with CSI-RS resource r = 1, ... , NTRP."
The Examiner’s Response
Applicant asserts “…Wu does not suggest that any part of Table 826 indicates "spatial-domain (SD) basis vectors Lᵣ associated with CSI-RS resource r = 1, ... , NTRP.”. However, the Examiner respectfully disagrees. Claim 1 discloses that “NL values of (L1, . . . , LN TRP ) belongs to a table including NL , (L1, . . . , LN TRP ) and an associate index... ” . In view of Wu Fig. 9 and further explained by paragraph 114 “example 900 shows ... table that includes ... coefficients associated with different combinations of selected TRPs (spatial domain basis) ... index value”.
Please note: “associated” defines a very weak relation, applicant is advised to add limitations that define strong relation.
Applicant is reminded that obviousness may be established by combining or modifying the teachings of the prior art to produce the claimed invention where there is some teaching, suggestion, or motivation to do so found either in the references themselves or in the knowledge generally available to one of ordinary skill in the art. See in re Fine, 837 F.2d 1071, 5 USPQ2d 1596 (Fed. Cir. 1988), In re Jones, F.2d 347, 21 USPQ2d 1941 (Fed. Cir. 1992), and KSR international Co. v. Teleflex, Inc., 550 U.S. 398, 82 USPQ2d 1385 (2007).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim(s) 1-2, 5-6, 8-10, 13-14, and 16-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu (US20250220477A1), hereinafter Wu in view of Dai (US 20250253992 A1), hereinafter Dai .
Regarding to claim 1,
Wu teaches a user equipment (UE) comprising: a transceiver configured to receive information about (i) a channel state information (CSI) report associated with a number NTRP ≥1 CSI reference signal (CSI-RS) resources and (ii) NL≥1 sets of values of (L1, . . . , LN TRP ), where: each of the NL sets of values of (L1, . . . , LN TRP ) belongs to a table including ,NTRP, (L1, . . . , LN TRP ), and an associated index, and (L1, . . . , LN TRP ) is a tuple of numbers of spatial-domain (SD) Lr associated with CSI-RS resource r=1, . . . , NTRP; and a processor operably coupled to the transceiver, the processor configured to determine the CSI report based on the information (fig 8-10, and [0101]-[0117], [0101] As shown by reference number 825, the network entity 810 may transmit a configuration for reporting CSI for multiple TRPs... if there are multiple CSI-RS resources (within one CSI-RS resource set), the TRP index values may be CRIs. For example, as shown by table 826, there is a combination of TRPs for each TRP index value, or for each CRI. Combinations of TRPs may be {TRP1, TRP2, TRP3, and TRP4} ... [0106]... UE 820 may select a parameter index value from a parameter table based on the one or more selected TRPs and the calculated CSI report parameters....[0110] This may include determining the CSI report parameters based at least in part on a parameter index value in or associated with the CSI report and the parameter table.)... [0117] Example 1000 shows that a CJT codebook configuration may include multiple codebook configurations, including a separate codebook for each TRP. Example 1000 also shows a parameter table with index values for different numbers of TRPs, RIs, and sets of coefficients that may be selected by the UE 820).
Wu does not explicitly teach wherein the transceiver is further configured to transmit the determined CSI report.
Dai teaches wherein the transceiver is further configured to transmit the determined CSI report (fig. 10, and [0145] UE 1004 may transmit the CSI report 1050 that is received by the network entity 1002. The CSI report 1050 may be populated with values determined by the UE 1004 (e.g., at 1040). In the example of FIG. 10, the CSI report 1050 includes a first CSI part 1052 (“CSI part 1”) and a second CSI part 1054 (“CSI part 2”)).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to add the teaching of Dai to the teaching of Wu. The motivation for such an addition would be to improve reliability, coverage, and/or capacity ([0033] Dai).
Regarding to claim 2,
Wu and Dai teach the UE of claim 1,
Wu further teaches wherein, when NL>1, the processor is further configured to: select one of the NL sets of values of (L1, . . . , LN TRP ), and determine the CSI report associated with the selected set of values (fig. 9-11, [0107] For example, if 4 TRPs are selected and reported, the L values for 4 TRPs may be configured as [3, 3, 1, 1]. If 2 out of 4 TRPs are selected and reported, the L values may be configured as [4, 4] ... [0114] Example 900 shows a portion of a parameter table that includes coefficients associated with different combinations of selected TRPs (spatial domain basis), such as for 2 TRPs, 3 TRPs, or 4 TRPs. Once the UE 820 selects the TRPs and calculates the coefficients (CRI report parameters) for the selected TRPs, the UE 820 may select the index value of the row of the selected TRPs and the calculated coefficients).
Regarding to claim 5,
Wu and Dai teach the UE of claim 1,
Wu further teaches wherein, for NTRP ∈ {2,3.4}, the table includes one or more of the values of (L1, . . . , LN TRP ) according to:
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(fig. 7-9, and [0113]-[0114] parameter table .... Example 900 shows a portion of a parameter table that includes coefficients associated with different combinations of selected TRPs (spatial domain basis), such as for 2 TRPs, 3 TRPs, or 4 TRPs. Once the UE 820 selects the TRPs and calculates the coefficients (CRI report parameters) for the selected TRPs, the UE 820 may select the index value of the row of the selected TRPs and the calculated coefficients. The rows of the parameter table may also account for different ranks, indicated by rank indicators (RIs)).
Regarding to claim 6,
Wu and Dai teach the UE of claim 1,
Wu further teaches wherein, for NTRP ∈ {1, 2, 3, 4}, the table includes one or more of the values of (L1, . . . , LN TRP ) according to:
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(fig. 7-9, and [0113]-[0114] parameter table .... Example 900 shows a portion of a parameter table that includes coefficients associated with different combinations of selected TRPs (spatial domain basis), such as for 2 TRPs, 3 TRPs, or 4 TRPs. Once the UE 820 selects the TRPs and calculates the coefficients (CRI report parameters) for the selected TRPs, the UE 820 may select the index value of the row of the selected TRPs and the calculated coefficients. The rows of the parameter table may also account for different ranks, indicated by rank indicators (RIs)).
Regarding to claim 8,
Wu and Dai teach the UE of claim 1,
Wu does not explicitly teach wherein (L1, . . . , LN TRP ) satisfying Σr=1 N TRP Lr>Lmax is not allowed to be included in the information about the NL values of (L1, . . . , LN TRP ),
where Lmax is a value associated with a UE capability for a supported total number of SD basis vectors for the NTRP CSI-RS resources.
Dai teaches wherein (L1, . . . , LN TRP ) satisfying Σr=1 N TRP Lr>Lmax is not allowed to be included in the information about the NL values of (L1, . . . , LN TRP ), where Lmax is a value associated with a UE capability for a supported total number of SD basis vectors for the NTRP CSI-RS resources (fig. 11, and [0178] In some examples in which the network configures the total number of SD bases (Ltot) (e.g., the first case 1110 and the second case 1120 of FIG. 11), the UE may be configured with the ability to determine whether the UE can select the TRPs (e.g., the second case 1120 of FIG. 11). For example, the UE may have the ability to determine to select the TRPs based on the value of the configured total number of SD bases (Ltot) and/or the configured number of TRPs (NTRP). In some examples, the UE may determine to select the TRPs when the configured total number of SD bases (Ltot) is less than or equal to a SD bases threshold (Lthr) (e.g., Ltot≤Lthr). For example, if the SD bases threshold is set to four (e.g., L.sub.thr=4), then the UE may determine to select the TRPs, even if the network provides a selection of TRPs, when the configured total number of SD bases (Ltot) is less than or equal to four SD bases. In some such scenarios, the UE may proceed using the conditions of the second case 1120 of FIG. 11).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to add the teaching of Dai to the teaching of Wu. The motivation for such an addition would be to improve reliability, coverage, and/or capacity ([0033] Dai).
Claims [9-10, 13-14, and 16] (base station apparatus), and [17-18] (UE method) are rejected under the same reasoning as claims [1-2, 5-6, and 8] (UE apparatus), where Wu teaches both apparatus and method for BS and UE ([0013]).
Claim(s) 3, 11, and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu in view of Dai and further in view of Gao ( US 20220149908 A1), hereinafter Gao.
Regarding to claim 3,
Wu and Dai teach the UE of claim 2,
Wu and Dai do not explicitly teach wherein the processor is further configured to include the selected value in the CSI report via an indicator of |log2 NL|-bit in a CSI part 1 of the CSI report.
Gao teaches wherein the processor is further configured to include the selected value in the CSI report via an indicator of |log2 NL|-bit in a CSI part 1 of the CSI report ([0009] the CSI part 1 is used to indicate a number of bits of the CSI part 2 and the precoding matrix type, and the CSI part 2 is used to indicate wideband precoding matrix indicator PMI information. ... [0052] The wideband PMI information field X.sub.1 includes information of a selected information of an oversampling rotation factor of a spatial-domain beam, selection information of a spatial-domain beam vector, and selection information of a strongest combination coefficient corresponding to each spatial laver) and (table 11 column 26, paragraph [0319-0320]).
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It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to add the teaching of Gao to the teaching of Wu and Dai. The motivation for such an addition would be to reduce reporting overheads ([0014] Gao).
Claims [11] (base station apparatus) , and [19] (UE method) are rejected under the same reasoning as claim 3 (UE apparatus), where Wu teaches both apparatus and method for BS and UE ([0013]).
Claims 4, 12, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu in view of Dai and further in view of Chung (US 20210051508 A1), hereinafter Chung.
Regarding to claim 4,
Wu and Dai teach the UE in claim 1,
Wu and Dai do not explicitly teach wherein, when NL=1, the processor is further configured to: determine the CSI report associated with a value of (L1, . . . , LN TRP ), and
omit an indicator for selecting a value of (L1, . . . , LN TRP ) in the CSI report
Chung teaches wherein, when NL=1, the processor is further configured to:
determine the CSI report associated with a value of (L1, . . . , LN TRP ), and
omit an indicator for selecting a value of (L1, . . . , LN TRP ) in the CSI report ([0020-0022] the CSI reporting may further include information related to omission of the specific group. Furthermore, the information related to the omission may include information on at least one of i) whether to omit, ii) an omission subject, or iii) an omission quantity. Furthermore, the information related to the coefficients may include at least one of i) information on a amplitude coefficient, ii) information on a phase coefficient, or iii) bitmap information related to the amplitude coefficient and the phase coefficient).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to add the teaching of Chung to the teaching of Wu and Dai. The motivation for such an addition would be to reduce size of a payload of the CSI ([0006] Chung )
Claims [12] (base station apparatus), and [20] (UE method) are rejected under the same reasoning as claim 4 (UE apparatus), where Wu teaches both apparatus and method for BS and UE ([0013]).
Claim(s) 7 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu in view of Dai and further in view of Kim ( US20240313919A1), hereinafter Kim.
Regarding to claim 7,
Wu and Dai teach the UE of claim 1,
Wu and Dai do not explicitly teach wherein (L1, . . . , LN TRP ) having Ln=4 for some r∈{1, . . . , NTRP} is allowed to be included in the information about the NL values of (L1, . . . , LN TRP ) when a number of CSI-RS ports (PCSI-RS) for a CSI-RS resource r is greater than 4.
Kim teaches wherein (L1, . . . , LN TRP ) having Ln=4 for some r∈{1, . . . , NTRP} is allowed to be included in the information about the NL values of (L1, . . . , LN TRP ) when a number of CSI-RS ports (PCSI-RS) for a CSI-RS resource r is greater than 4 ([0252] For existing eType II CB/PSCB, the base station may configure the number of ports that the terminal may select among all CSI-RS ports (e.g., L=2, 4, or 6) to the terminal through a specific parameter (e.g., paramCombination-r16). In this case, the terminal may select 2L CSI-RS ports based on the configured value (i.e., L value)).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to add the teaching of Kim to the teaching of Wu and Dai. The motivation for such an addition would be to determine/select the appropriate number of CSI-RS ports ([0253] Kim).
Claims [15] (base station apparatus) is rejected under the same reasoning as claim 7 (UE apparatus), where Wu teaches both apparatus and method for BS and UE ([0013]).
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 VAN T NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)272-6178. The examiner can normally be reached 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM (EST). Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Ayman A Abaza can be reached at (571) 270-0422. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/VAN TA NGUYEN/Examiner, Art Unit 2465
/AYMAN A ABAZA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2465
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