DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
The amendment submitted on 02/06/2026 has been received and considered by the Examiner. Claims 1-4, 9-10, 12-14, and 17-20 were amended. Claims 1-20 remain pending.
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.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-20 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on the combination of references applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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, 3, 8-9, 12-13, 17, and 19-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shah et al. (US 2023/0093045 A1, hereinafter “Shah”) in view of Hemo et al. (US 2020/0295972 A1, hereinafter “Hemo”).
As to Claim 1, 13, and 20:
Shah describes a method to calculate the polarization imbalance for several beams and choose the least imbalanced one.
Specifically, Shah teaches:
A user equipment (UE), comprising: at least one memory; and at least one processor coupled to the at least one memory and, based at least in part on information stored in the at least one memory, the at least one processor is configured
Fig. 8 of Shah, and the accompanying description in paragraph 0100, describe a user equipment including a processor that executes a program stored in memory (Shah, 0100, Fig. 8).
Perform at least one polarization imbalance measurement of at least one signal transmission
Shah describes a UE that “calculates weight” based on “H/V imbalance”, the horizontal/vertical polarization imbalance (Shah, 0061-0062).
The at least one polarization imbalance measurement
Shah describes a UE that “calculates weight” based on “H/V imbalance”, the horizontal/vertical polarization imbalance (Shah, 0061-0062).
Switch to a set of beam weights for communication between the UE and a network node for mitigation of a polarization imbalance associated with the at least one polarization imbalance measurement
Shah describes “switching to a better gNB Tx beam” to minimize “H/V imbalance” (Shah, 0061-0062).
Communicate, with the network node, based on the set of beam weights
Shah describes “switching to a better gNB Tx beam” to minimize “H/V imbalance” (Shah, 0061-0062).
Shah does not explicitly disclose:
The at least one ... measurement is associated with an external covering or case of the UE
However, Hemo does describe a method to reduce over-the-air leakage that results from environmental factors such as a phone case.
Specifically, Hemo teaches:
The at least one ... measurement is associated with an external covering or case of the UE that is external to a housing of the UE
Hemo describes “OTA leakage caused by environmental changes such as a change in temperature or mobile phone case replacement” (Hemo, 0038).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to apply Shah’s method to correct a polarization imbalance to address interference resulting from a mobile phone case, as described in Hemo. A mobile phone case can interfere with a phone’s polarization balance, so it makes sense to correct it if possible.
Claim 13 describes substantially the same subject matter as Claim 1 from the perspective of the network device.
Claim 20 describes the same subject matter as Claim 1 in the form of a method claim.
As to Claim 3:
Shah teaches:
Transmit, to the network node, a beamforming indication indicative of the set of beam weights for the mitigation of the polarization imbalance associated with the at least one polarization imbalance measurement
Shah describes a UE capable of “reporting a top ranked beam to the base station” that has “a lowest H/V imbalance” (Shah, 0069).
As to Claim 8:
Shah teaches:
The at least one polarization imbalance measurement
Shah describes a UE that “calculates a horizontal/vertical (H/V) polarization imbalance” (Shah, 0004).
Shah does not explicitly disclose:
The ... measurement is based on at least one of a material composition of the external covering or case, a dielectric constant of the external covering or case, a material thickness of the external covering or case, a carrier frequency range of operation, a set of housing properties of the UE, a UE antenna array dimension, inter-antenna element spacings at the UE, one or more steered beam properties, or a direction of interest associated with beamforming
However, from this list, Hemo at least teaches:
The ... measurement is based on ... a material composition of the external covering or case, a dielectric constant of the external covering or case, a material thickness of the external covering or case,
Hemo describes “OTA leakage caused by environmental changes such as a change in temperature or mobile phone case replacement” (Hemo, 0038). Replacing the mobile phone case could vary any of “the external covering or case”, “a dielectric constant of the external covering or case”, or “a material thickness of the external covering or case”.
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to apply Shah’s method to correct a polarization imbalance to address interference resulting from a mobile phone case, as described in Hemo. A mobile phone case can interfere with a phone’s polarization balance, so it makes sense to correct it if possible.
As to Claim 9 and 17:
Shah teaches:
Switch to the set of beam weights based on ... A comparison of the at least one polarization imbalance measurement to an imbalance threshold condition
Shah describes a UE that “reports ... one or more ranked beams” if its H/V polarization doesn’t satisfy “a predetermined threshold” (Shah, 0004).
Switch to the set of beam weights based on ... A UE beamforming configuration indicative of switching to the set of beam weights from an initial set of beam weights associated with the at least one signal transmission
Shah describes a UE that “reports ... one or more ranked beams” if its H/V polarization doesn’t satisfy “a predetermined threshold” (Shah, 0004). Here, one of the “ranked beams” is analogous to a “beamforming configuration”.
Claim 17 contains the same subject matter as Claim 9 from the perspective of the network device.
As to Claim 12 and 19:
Shah teaches:
A transceiver coupled to the at least one processor
Fig. 9 in Shah shows an example user device including a “Radio Front End Module 915” and “application circuitry 905”.
Provide, to the network node via the transceiver, reporting results associated with the switch to the set of beam weights
Shah describes a UE that “reports, to a base station, one or more ... ranked beams” based on “calculated H/V polarization imbalance” (Shah, 0004).
And from the list of:
The reporting results are indicative of at least one of a polarization imbalance improvement, a two-layer spectral efficiency improvement, or the at least one polarization imbalance measurement
Shah at least teaches:
The reporting results are indicative of ... a polarization imbalance improvement or the at least one polarization imbalance measurement
Shah describes reporting beams that result from a “H/V polarization imbalance” measurement which reads on both “a polarization imbalance improvement” and “at least one polarization imbalance measurement”.
Claim 19 contains substantially the same subject matter as Claim 12 from the perspective of the network device.
Claim(s) 4 and 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shah (US 2023/0093045 A1) in view of Hemo (US 2020/0295972 A1) and further in view of Wang et al. (US 2025/0176052 A1, hereinafter “Wang”).
As to Claim 4 and 14:
The combination of Shah and Hemo does not explicitly disclose:
Receive, from the network node and based on the beamforming indication, at least one of a transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state change or a beam switching indication associated with the set of beam weights
However, Wang does describe a method for a UE to obtain a new TCI state from a network device through a beam recovery procedure.
Specifically, Wang teaches:
Receive, from the network node and based on the beamforming indication, at least one of a transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state change or a beam switching indication associated with the set of beam weights
Wang describes a method where a terminal receives a “BFR response (BFRR)” that causes it to “apply [a] new beam” (Wang, 0064-0065). This is analogous to the claimed “beam switching indication” from the list of “at least one of a transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state change or a beam switching indication associated with the set of beam weights”.
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Wang’s method for a base station to respond to and confirm a UE’s request to switch to a new beam into Shah’s method for overcoming a polarization imbalance. The base station will need to agree with to use any new beam weights, so it obviously needs to confirm the new beamforming weights the UE has adopted.
Claim 14 describes the same subject matter as Claim 4 from the perspective of the network device.
Claim(s) 2, 5-7, and 15-16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shah (US 2023/0093045 A1) in view of Hemo (US 2020/0295972 A1) and further in view of Abdelmonem et al. (US 11,956,058 B1, hereinafter “Abdelmonem”).
As to Claim 2:
The combination of Shah and Suguro does not explicitly disclose:
Calculate, prior to the switch to the set of beam weights, one or more beam weights of the set of beam weights based on the at least one polarization imbalance measurement
However, Abdelmonem does describe methods to modify antenna polarization to mitigate interference blocking select antennas.
Specifically, Abdelmonem teaches:
Calculate, prior to the switch to the set of beam weights, one or more beam weights of the set of beam weights based on the at least one polarization imbalance measurement
Fig. 2D in Abdelmonem describes “equations” that “can be applied to derive new signals” so that “a best or optimal polarization to utilize for a given beam or associated signal may be determined” (Abdelmonem col. 10, lines 51-53, 67; col. 11, lines 1, 11-14; col. 20, lines 29-34).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Abdelmonem’s method of calculating new polarization weights into Shah’s method for mitigating polarization imbalance. If no existing weights provide acceptable balance, it would be obvious to create new ones to fit this need.
As to Claim 5 and 15:
The combination of Shah and Suguro does not explicitly disclose:
The set of beam weights includes at least one of a first beam weight associated with a first polarization or a second beam weight associated with a second polarization that is orthogonal to the first polarization
However, Abdelmonem does teach:
The set of beam weights includes at least one of a first beam weight associated with a first polarization or a second beam weight associated with a second polarization that is orthogonal to the first polarization
Figures 2C-2E in Abdelmonem show example polarization adjustments and accompanying equations that may be “orthogonally polarized” (Abdelmonem, col. 10, lines 51-57).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Abdelmonem’s use of orthogonally polarized antennas into Shah’s method for mitigating polarization imbalance. Orthogonally polarized antenna pairs are a standard antenna setup that can benefit from balanced polarization.
Claim 15 recites the same limitations as Claim 5 from the perspective of a network device.
As to Claim 6:
Shah teaches:
At least one of the first beam weight or the second beam weight is associated with a UE beam that corresponds to a respective network node beam for the communication
The purpose of Shah’s method to minimize H/V polarization imbalance is to generate “a better gNB Tx beam” (Shah, 0061-0062).
As to Claim 7:
Shah teaches:
The at least one signal transmission includes one or more reference signals
The method in Shah is performed “with respect to reference signals comprising SSB reference signals” (Shah, 0071).
The at least one polarization imbalance measurement is associated with a signal strength difference across the first polarization and the second polarization of the one or more reference signals
The polarization imbalance in Shah is based on “measured RSRP values” (Shah, 0066).
As to Claim 16:
Shah teaches:
At least one of the first beam weight or the second beam weight is associated with a UE beam that corresponds to a respective network node beam for the communication
The purpose of Shah’s method to minimize H/V polarization imbalance is to generate “a better gNB Tx beam” (Shah, 0061-0062).
The at least one signal transmission includes one or more reference signals
The method in Shah is performed “with respect to reference signals comprising SSB reference signals” (Shah, 0071).
The at least one polarization imbalance measurement is associated with a signal strength difference across the first polarization and the second polarization of the one or more reference signals
The polarization imbalance in Shah is based on “measured RSRP values” (Shah, 0066).
The at least one polarization imbalance measurement
Shah describes measuring “H/V imbalance”, the horizontal/vertical polarization imbalance (Shah, 0061).
Shah does not explicitly disclose:
The ... measurement is based on at least one of a material composition of the external covering or case, a dielectric constant of the external covering or case, a material thickness of the external covering or case, a carrier frequency range of operation, a set of housing properties of the UE, a UE antenna array dimension, inter-antenna element spacings at the UE, one or more steered beam properties, or a direction of interest associated with beamforming
However, from this list, Hemo at least teaches:
The ... measurement is based on ... a material composition of the external covering or case, a dielectric constant of the external covering or case, a material thickness of the external covering or case,
Hemo describes “OTA leakage caused by environmental changes such as a change in temperature or mobile phone case replacement” (Hemo, 0038). Replacing the mobile phone case could vary any of “the external covering or case”, “a dielectric constant of the external covering or case”, or “a material thickness of the external covering or case”.
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to apply Shah’s method to correct a polarization imbalance to address interference resulting from a mobile phone case, as described in Hemo. A mobile phone case can interfere with a phone’s polarization balance, so it makes sense to correct it if possible.
Claim(s) 10-11 and 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shah (US 2023/0093045 A1) in view of Hemo (US 2020/0295972 A1) and further in view of del Barrio et al. (US 2023/0361848 A1, hereinafter “Del Barrio”).
As to Claim 10:
Shah teaches:
At least one signal transmission associated with the at least one polarization imbalance measurement
Shah teaches using “a highest RSRP for a set of reference signals” to calculate “a horizontal/vertical (H/V) polarization imbalance” (Shah, 0004).
The combination of Shah and Hemo does not explicitly disclose:
Transmit, to the network node, a signal request for the at least one signal transmission
Receive, from the network node, the at least one signal transmission based on the signal request
However, Del Barrio does describe a method for a user equipment to trigger beam reconfiguration.
Specifically, Del Barrio teaches:
Transmit, to the network node, a signal request for the at least one signal transmission
Del Barrio describes a method for a user equipment to “send Channel State Information-Reference Signal (CSI-RS) repetition request” (Del Barrio, 0090-0091).
Receive, from the network node, the at least one signal transmission based on the signal request
Del Barrio describes a method for a user equipment to “send Channel State Information-Reference Signal (CSI-RS) repetition request” and subsequently receive a CSI-RS in response (Del Barrio, 0090-0091).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Del Barrio’s method of allowing a user equipment to request a downlink reference signal to update a beam configuration into Shah’s method for updating a beam configuration to offset polarization imbalance. If a device detects an imbalanced polarization, it would be obvious to allow it to initiate beam reconfiguration.
As to Claim 11:
The combination of Shah and Hemo does not explicitly disclose:
The at least one signal transmission is associated with an initial set of beam weights based on a finite codebook
However, Del Barrio does teach:
The at least one signal transmission is associated with an initial set of beam weights based on a finite codebook
Del Barrio describes a “beam weight vector in the downlink codebook” for downlink reference signal transmissions (Del Barrio, 0064).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to associate a codebook similar to the one described in Del Barrio with the reference signals taught in Shah. Codebooks are a standard precoding tool that are often used for beamforming, so it would be obvious to use one during beam configuration.
As to Claim 18:
Shah teaches:
At least one signal transmission associated with the at least one polarization imbalance measurement
Shah teaches using “a highest RSRP for a set of reference signals” to calculate “a horizontal/vertical (H/V) polarization imbalance” (Shah, 0004).
The combination of Shah and Hemo does not explicitly disclose:
Receive, from the UE, a signal request for the at least one signal transmission
Transmitting the at least one signal transmission is based on the signal request
The at least one signal transmission is associated with an initial set of beam weights based on a finite codebook
However, Del Barrio does teach:
Receive, from the UE, a signal request for the at least one signal transmission
Del Barrio describes a method for a user equipment to “send Channel State Information-Reference Signal (CSI-RS) repetition request” (Del Barrio, 0090-0091).
Transmitting the at least one signal transmission is based on the signal request
Del Barrio describes a method for a user equipment to “send Channel State Information-Reference Signal (CSI-RS) repetition request” and subsequently receive a CSI-RS in response (Del Barrio, 0090-0091).
The at least one signal transmission is associated with an initial set of beam weights based on a finite codebook
Del Barrio describes a “beam weight vector in the downlink codebook” for downlink reference signal transmissions (Del Barrio, 0064).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to associate a codebook similar to the one described in Del Barrio with the reference signals taught in Shah. Codebooks are a standard precoding tool that are often used for beamforming, so it would be obvious to use one during beam configuration.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Benjamin Peter Welte whose telephone number is (703)756-5965. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Chirag Shah, can be reached at (571)272-3144. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/B.P.W./Examiner, Art Unit 2477
/CHIRAG G SHAH/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2477