Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/513,976

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR FEEDING BACK CHANNEL INFORMATION OF DELAY-DOPPLER DOMAIN, AND ELECTRONIC DEVICE

Non-Final OA §102§103
Filed
Nov 20, 2023
Examiner
ALI, LABIBAH ILMA
Art Unit
3667
Tech Center
3600 — Transportation & Electronic Commerce
Assignee
Vivo Mobile Communication Co., Ltd.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
3y 1m
To Grant

Examiner Intelligence

Grants only 0% of cases
0%
Career Allow Rate
0 granted / 0 resolved
-52.0% vs TC avg
Minimal +0% lift
Without
With
+0.0%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 1m
Avg Prosecution
9 currently pending
Career history
9
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§103
72.2%
+32.2% vs TC avg
§102
22.2%
-17.8% vs TC avg
§112
5.6%
-34.4% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 0 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §103
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . Priority 2. Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 3. 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. 4. The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action: A person shall be entitled to a patent unless – (a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. 5. Claim(s) 1-6, 10, 17-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Akoum (US 2021/0083742 A1); hereinafter Akoum. 6. Regarding claim 1, Akoum teaches a method for feeding back channel information of a delay-Doppler domain, comprising: sending, by a first device, target feedback information to a second device ([0019] The method also can comprise determining, by the first device, channel state information feedback in the delay doppler domain), wherein the target feedback information is associated with target channel information ([0019-0022] Covariance matrices, Further, the method can comprise transforming, by the first device, respective matrices of the group of component matrices into respective covariance matrices in a delay doppler domain. The method can comprise, according to some implementations, selecting, by the first device, points from a group of points on a delay doppler grid, wherein a point corresponds to a covariance matrix.), the target channel information is all or part of channel information of a delay-Doppler domain obtained by the first device performing channel estimation on a target signal ([0022] In an example, selecting the points can comprise choosing values of a chosen norm of the respective covariance matrices in the delay doppler domain. [Fig. 5 & 0019] By a first device comprising a processor, a channel covariance matrix in a time-frequency domain based on a channel estimation associated with reference signals received from a second device), and the target signal is a signal sent by the second device or a third device to the first device ([0019] According to an embodiment , provided is a method that can comprise determining , by a first device comprising a processor, a channel covariance matrix in a time-frequency domain based on a channel estimation associated with reference signals received from a second device). 7. Regarding claim 2, Akoum teaches the method according to claim 1, wherein the target channel information comprises all delay-Doppler pairs in the delay-Doppler domain ([0038] Further , FIG . 4 illustrates a chart 400 of the power of the same channel of FIG . 3 in the delay doppler domain in accordance with one of more embodiments described herein. In this case, delay 402 is illustrated along the X-axis and Doppler 404 is illustrated along the Z-axis.), and complex gains corresponding to the delay-Doppler pairs, and each delay-Doppler pair is determined by a pair of delay value and Doppler value, and is used for indicating a region indicated by the pair of delay value and Doppler value in the delay-Doppler domain ([0043-0045] Given the sparsity of the covariance matrix representation in the delay doppler domain, L out of N×M selected points whose power is above a certain threshold can be selected for feedback. The L selected points and their relative position in the delay doppler grid can be fed back such that at the base station (e.g., the transmitter device). In another embodiment, the feedback compression can be performed jointly, such that the codebook that the PMI is based on, is chosen according to the location of the covariance matrix and its amplitude value (e.g. power) in the delay doppler grid). 8. Regarding claim 3, Akoum teaches the method according to claim 1, further comprising: obtaining norms of complex gains corresponding to delay-Doppler pairs in the delay-Doppler domain, and determining the target channel information based on delay-Doppler pairs meeting a first condition ([0022] In an example, selecting the points can comprise choosing values of a chosen norm of the respective covariance matrices in the delay doppler domain), wherein the delay-Doppler pairs meeting the first condition comprise at least one of the following: delay-Doppler pairs having norms greater than a threshold ([0024] In some implementations, the method can comprise assigning, by the first device, a first feedback budget level to first samples in a delay doppler grid determined to have first norm levels above a defined norm threshold. [0043] Given the sparsity of the covariance matrix representation in the delay doppler domain, L out of N×M selected points whose power is above a certain threshold can be selected for feedback. The L selected points and their relative position in the delay doppler grid can be fed back such that at the base station (e.g., the transmitter device); or a first quantity of delay-Doppler pairs having largest norms. 9. Regarding claim 4, Akoum teaches the method according to claim 3, wherein the norms are modulus values of the complex gains or target powers of modulus values of the complex gains ([0022] In an example, selecting the points can comprise choosing values of a chosen norm of the respective covariance matrices in the delay doppler domain. [Fig. 3, Fig. 4 & 0043-0045] L out of N×M selected points whose power is above a certain threshold can be selected for feedback. In another embodiment, the feedback compression can be performed jointly, such that the codebook that the PMI is based on, is chosen according to the location of the covariance matrix and its amplitude value (e.g. power) in the delay doppler grid). 10. Regarding claim 5, Akoum teaches the method according to claim 3, wherein the target channel information comprises at least one of the following: position information of the delay-Doppler pairs meeting the first condition in the delay-Doppler domain ([0024] In some implementations, the method can comprise assigning, by the first device, a first feedback budget level to first samples in a delay doppler grid determined to have first norm levels above a defined norm threshold. [0043] Given the sparsity of the covariance matrix representation in the delay doppler domain, L out of N×M selected points whose power is above a certain threshold can be selected for feedback. The L selected points and their relative position in the delay doppler grid can be fed back such that at the base station (e.g., the transmitter device); and the complex gains corresponding to the delay-Doppler pairs meeting the first condition. 11. Regarding claim 6, Akoum teaches the method according to claim 1, wherein before the sending, by a first device, target feedback information to a second device, the method further comprises at least one of the following: directly quantizing the target channel information as the target feedback information ( In Fig. 5 Quantized feedback block 514 after grid subsampling. [0031] According to some implementations, the operations can comprise performing grid subsampling based on the group of covariance matrices in the delay doppler domain. Further, the operations can comprise facilitating a transmission to the network device, wherein the transmission comprises quantized feedback based on the performing the grid subsampling); and according to the target channel information, determining the target feedback information based on a target codebook selected from a codebook set. 12. Regarding claim 10, Akoum teaches the method according to claim 1, further comprising: obtaining, by the first device, a first parameter based on a channel estimation result of the delay-Doppler domain ([0019] The method also can comprise determining, by the first device, channel state information feedback in the delay doppler domain) or a vectorized equivalent channel matrix estimation result of the delay-Doppler domain, and feeding back the first parameter to the second device, wherein the first parameter comprises at least one of the following: a channel quality indicator; a precoding matrix indicator ([0042] For each of these selected L points, where every point corresponds to a covariance matrix, a limited feedback codebook-based scheme can be utilized to indicate the precoding matrix index (PMI) to the transmitter device (e.g., the base station device)); a rank indicator; a channel state information resource indicator; a synchronization signal and PBCH block resource indicator; a layer indicator; and an L1 reference signal received power. 13. Regarding claim 17, Akoum teaches a terminal, comprising a processor, a memory, and a program or an instruction stored in the memory and runnable on the processor, wherein the program or the instruction, when executed by the processor, causes the terminal to perform ([0070] In some embodiments, the non-limiting term User Equipment (UE) is used. It can refer to any type of wireless device that communicates with a radio network node in a cellular or mobile communication system): sending, by a first device, target feedback information to a second device ([0019] The method also can comprise determining, by the first device, channel state information feedback in the delay doppler domain), wherein the target feedback information is associated with target channel information ([0019-0022] Covariance matrices, Further, the method can comprise transforming, by the first device, respective matrices of the group of component matrices into respective covariance matrices in a delay doppler domain. The method can comprise, according to some implementations, selecting, by the first device, points from a group of points on a delay doppler grid, wherein a point corresponds to a covariance matrix.), the target channel information is all or part of channel information of a delay-Doppler domain obtained by the first device performing channel estimation on a target signal ([0022] In an example, selecting the points can comprise choosing values of a chosen norm of the respective covariance matrices in the delay doppler domain. [Fig. 5 & 0019] By a first device comprising a processor, a channel covariance matrix in a time-frequency domain based on a channel estimation associated with reference signals received from a second device), and the target signal is a signal sent by the second device or a third device to the first device ([0019] According to an embodiment , provided is a method that can comprise determining , by a first device comprising a processor, a channel covariance matrix in a time-frequency domain based on a channel estimation associated with reference signals received from a second device). 14. Regarding claim 18, Akoum teaches a network side device, comprising a processor, a memory, and a program or an instruction stored in the memory and runnable on the processor, wherein the program or the instruction, when executed by the processor, causes the network side device to perform (Fig 8. and [0066] A transmission to a transmitter device ( e.g. , a network device) can be facilitated by the receiver device at 812.): sending, by a first device, target feedback information to a second device ([0019] The method also can comprise determining, by the first device, channel state information feedback in the delay doppler domain), wherein the target feedback information is associated with target channel information ([0019-0022] Covariance matrices, Further, the method can comprise transforming, by the first device, respective matrices of the group of component matrices into respective covariance matrices in a delay doppler domain. The method can comprise, according to some implementations, selecting, by the first device, points from a group of points on a delay doppler grid, wherein a point corresponds to a covariance matrix.), the target channel information is all or part of channel information of a delay-Doppler domain obtained by the first device performing channel estimation on a target signal ([0022] In an example, selecting the points can comprise choosing values of a chosen norm of the respective covariance matrices in the delay doppler domain. [Fig. 5 & 0019] By a first device comprising a processor, a channel covariance matrix in a time-frequency domain based on a channel estimation associated with reference signals received from a second device), and the target signal is a signal sent by the second device or a third device to the first device ([0019] According to an embodiment , provided is a method that can comprise determining , by a first device comprising a processor, a channel covariance matrix in a time-frequency domain based on a channel estimation associated with reference signals received from a second device). 15. Regarding claim 19, Akoum teaches a readable storage medium, wherein the readable storage medium stores a program or an instruction, and when the program or the instruction is executed by the processor, steps of the method for feeding back channel information of a delay-Doppler domain according to claim 1 are implemented ([0030] Another embodiment can relate to a machine-readable storage medium, comprising executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, facilitate performance of operations. The operations can comprise performing a channel estimation based on reference signals received from a network device). 16. Regarding claim 20, Akoum teaches a computer program product, wherein the computer program product is stored in a storage medium, and the computer program product is executed by at least one processor to implement steps of the method for feeding back channel information of a delay-Doppler domain according to claim 1 ([0030] Another embodiment can relate to a machine-readable storage medium, comprising executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, facilitate performance of operations. The operations can comprise performing a channel estimation based on reference signals received from a network device. [0070] Facilitating sparsity adaptive feedback in the delay doppler domain can be implemented in connection with any type of device with a connection to the communications network (e.g., a mobile handset, a computer, a handheld device, etc.) any Internet of things (IoT) device (e.g., toaster, coffee maker, blinds, music players, speakers, etc.), and/or any connected vehicles (e.g., cars, airplanes, boats, space rockets, and/or other at least partially automated vehicles (e.g., drones), and so on)). Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 17. 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. 18. 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. 19. 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. 20. 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. 21. Claim(s) 7-9, and 11-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Akoum (US 2021/0083742 A1); hereinafter Akoum in view of Grossmann (EP 3576312 A1); hereinafter Grossman. 22. Regarding claim 7, Akoum teaches the method according to claim 6, wherein the according to the target channel information, determining the target feedback information based on a target codebook selected from a codebook set ([0042] For each of these selected L points, where every point corresponds to a covariance matrix, a limited feedback codebook-based scheme can be utilized to indicate the precoding matrix index (PMI) to the transmitter device (e.g., the base station device). [0045] In another embodiment, the feedback compression can be performed jointly, such that the codebook that the PMI is based on, is chosen according to the location of the covariance matrix and its amplitude value (e.g. power) in the delay doppler grid), but does not explicitly teach comprises at least one of the following: selecting a codebook most similar to the target channel information from the codebook set, and determining the target feedback information based on the most similar codebook; and in a case that the target channel information is represented by a weighted sum of a plurality of codebooks in the codebook set, determining the target feedback information based on the weighted sum of the plurality of codebooks. 23. Grossman, in the same field of wireless communications, teaches comprises at least one of the following: selecting a codebook most similar to the target channel information from the codebook set, and determining the target feedback information based on the most similar codebook; and in a case that the target channel information is represented by a weighted sum of a plurality of codebooks in the codebook set, determining the target feedback information based on the weighted sum of the plurality of codebooks ([0029 - 0030] In accordance with embodiments, the Doppler-delay-beam three-stage precoder is based on three separate codebooks. In accordance with embodiments, the Doppler-delay precoder matrix (W) is represented by PNG media_image1.png 198 506 media_image1.png Greyscale weighted sum of multiple codebook components. [0090-0092] The UE selects a preferred Doppler-delay precoder matrix W based on a performance metric (see step 256 in Fig. 4). In accordance with embodiments, the UE selects the precoder matrix W that optimizes the mutual-information). 24. It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine the teachings of Akoum and Grossman. Akoum teaches determining target feedback information based on a target codebook selected from a codebook set and Grossman teaches selecting a codebook from a codebook set based on codebook components. A person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to combine Akoum’s determining target feedback information with Grossman’s selecting codebook technique to improve the accuracy and efficiency of channel representation and feedback. 25. Regarding claim 8, Akoum teaches the method according to claim 7, but does not explicitly teach wherein the determining the target feedback information based on the weighted sum of the plurality of codebooks comprises: using an index and a corresponding weighted value of each of the plurality of codebooks as the target feedback information based on the weighted sum of the plurality of codebooks. 26. Grossman, in the same field of wireless communications, teaches wherein the determining the target feedback information based on the weighted sum of the plurality of codebooks comprises: using an index and a corresponding weighted value of each of the plurality of codebooks as the target feedback information based on the weighted sum of the plurality of codebooks ([0074] In a next step, the UE calculates a CQI using the explicit CSI in the form of the channel tensor and a composite Doppler-delay-beam three-stage precoder constructed using three separate codebooks (plurality of codebooks. [0100-0102] The first PMI component may correspond to the selected vectors and may be represented in the form of three-tuple’ sets, where each three-tuple (u,d,v) is associated with a selected spatial beam vector a selected delay vector and a selected Doppler-frequency vector for example, the three-tuple’ sets may be represented by i 1 = [i 1,1,i 1,2,i 1,3] for a rank-1 transmission. Here, i 1,1 contains ∑l U(l) indices of selected DFT-vectors for the spatial beams, i 1,2 contains indices of selected delay-vectors, and i 1,3 contains indices of selected Doppler-frequency-vectors. In accordance with embodiments, to report the Doppler-delay-beam combining coefficients Y(p,u,d,v) from the UE to the gNB, the UE may quantize the coefficients using a codebook approach. The quantized combining coefficients are represented by i 2, the second PMI.). 27. It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine the teachings of Akoum and Grossman. Akoum teaches determining the target feedback information based on the weighted sum and Grossman teaches reporting indices and weight value corresponding to delay and doppler components and based on the coefficients representing weighted sum from a plurality of codebooks. A person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to combine Akoum’s determining target feedback information with Grossman’s selecting codebook technique to improve the accuracy and efficiency of channel representation and feedback. 28. Regarding claim 9, Akoum teaches the method according to claim 6, wherein the according to the target channel information and based on a target codebook selected from a codebook set ([0042] For each of these selected L points, where every point corresponds to a covariance matrix, a limited feedback codebook-based scheme can be utilized to indicate the precoding matrix index (PMI) to the transmitter device (e.g., the base station device). [0045] In another embodiment, the feedback compression can be performed jointly, such that the codebook that the PMI is based on, is chosen according to the location of the covariance matrix and its amplitude value (e.g. power) in the delay doppler grid), but does not explicitly teach comprises at least one of the following: a first codebook obtained based on delay values and Doppler values corresponding to delay-Doppler pairs in the target channel information; a second codebook obtained based on complex gains corresponding to the delay-Doppler pairs in the target channel information; and a third codebook obtained based on the delay values and Doppler values corresponding to the delay-Doppler pairs in the target channel information and the complex gains corresponding to the delay-Doppler pairs.29. Grossman, in the same field of wireless communications, teaches comprises at least one of the following: a first codebook obtained based on delay values and Doppler values corresponding to delay-Doppler pairs in the target channel information ([0087-0088] The delay vectors may be selected from an oversampled DFT-codebook matrix Ω2. Each entry in the codebook matrix is associated with a specific delay. The Doppler-frequency vectors may be selected from an oversampled DFT-codebook matrix Ω3. Each entry in the codebook matrix is associated with a specific Doppler-frequency. [0094] In a third step, the UE selects three-tuples of Doppler-frequency DFT-vectors, delay DFT-vectors and Doppler-delay-beam combining coefficients, where the Doppler-frequency and delay DFT-vectors are selected from the codebooks Ω3 and Ω2, respectively, such that the mutual information is optimized); a second codebook obtained based on complex gains corresponding to the delay-Doppler pairs in the target channel information; and a third codebook obtained based on the delay values and Doppler values corresponding to the delay-Doppler pairs in the target channel information and the complex gains corresponding to the delay-Doppler pairs. 30. It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine the teachings of Akoum and Grossman. Akoum teaches determining target feedback information based on a target codebook selected from a codebook set and Grossman teaches a codebook obtained based on selected delay values and selected doppler values corresponding to a delay-doppler pairs. A person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to combine Akoum’s determining target feedback information with Grossman’s selecting codebook delay-doppler pairs to improve feedback efficiency and accuracy and reduce feedback overhead. 31. Regarding claim 11, Akoum teaches the method according to claim 6, wherein in a case of directly quantizing the target channel information (In Fig. 5 Quantized feedback block 514 after grid subsampling. [0031] According to some implementations, the operations can comprise performing grid subsampling based on the group of covariance matrices in the delay doppler domain. Further, the operations can comprise facilitating a transmission to the network device, wherein the transmission comprises quantized feedback based on the performing the grid subsampling), but does not explicitly teach floating point number precision of a complex gain corresponding to each delay-Doppler pair in the target feedback information is determined by a second parameter, and the second parameter is determined in at least one of the following ways: determining by a protocol; and determining by first signaling exchanged between the first device and the second device. 32. Grossman, in the same field of wireless communications, teaches floating point number precision of a complex gain corresponding to each delay-Doppler pair in the target feedback information is determined by a second parameter ([0107-0108] In accordance with embodiments the UE may be configured to quantize the complex Doppler-delay coefficients with a codebook approach. Each coefficient is represented by PNG media_image2.png 69 240 media_image2.png Greyscale where PNG media_image3.png 49 69 media_image3.png Greyscale is a polarization-, beam-, delay- and Doppler-frequency-dependent amplitude coefficient which is quantized with N bits; and PNG media_image4.png 55 71 media_image4.png Greyscale represents a phase which is represented by a BPSK, or QPSK, or 8PSK, and any higher-order constellation. [0108] In accordance with other embodiments, each coefficient may be represented by its real and imaginary part as PNG media_image5.png 72 356 media_image5.png Greyscale where PNG media_image6.png 59 93 media_image6.png Greyscale and PNG media_image7.png 53 113 media_image7.png Greyscale are quantized each with N bits), and the second parameter is determined in at least one of the following ways: determining by a protocol; and determining by first signaling exchanged between the first device and the second device ([0079] In accordance with embodiments, the values for the number of beams, delays, and Doppler-frequency components are configured via a higher layer (e.g., RRC, or MAC) signaling or as a part of the DCI (physical layer signaling) in the downlink grant from the gNB to the UE. [0089] The oversampled factors O1,1, O1,2, O2, O3 of the DFT-codebook matrices may be configured via a higher layer (e.g., RRC, or MAC) signaling or may be configured as a part of the DCI (physical layer signaling) in the downlink grant from the gNB to the UE). 33. It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine the teachings of Akoum and Grossman. Akoum teaches directly quantizing the target channel information for feedback and Grossman teaches delay-doppler floating point coefficients precision of a complex gain and determining the parameter by a protocol. A person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to combine Akoum’s determining target feedback information with Grossman’s configurable floating point precision approach to improve feedback accuracy and reduce feedback overhead in delay-doppler systems. 34. Regarding claim 12, Akoum teaches the method according to claim 3, but does not explicitly teach wherein floating point number precision of each norm is determined by a third parameter, and the third parameter is determined in at least one of the following ways: determining by a protocol; and determining by first signaling exchanged between the first device and the second device. 35. Grossman, in the same field of wireless communications, teaches teach wherein floating point number precision of each norm is determined by a third parameter ([0107-0108] In accordance with embodiments the UE may be configured to quantize the complex Doppler-delay coefficients with a codebook approach. Each coefficient is represented by PNG media_image2.png 69 240 media_image2.png Greyscale where PNG media_image3.png 49 69 media_image3.png Greyscale is a polarization-, beam-, delay- and Doppler-frequency-dependent amplitude coefficient which is quantized with N bits; and PNG media_image4.png 55 71 media_image4.png Greyscale represents a phase which is represented by a BPSK, or QPSK, or 8PSK, and any higher-order constellation. [0108] In accordance with other embodiments, each coefficient may be represented by its real and imaginary part as PNG media_image5.png 72 356 media_image5.png Greyscale where PNG media_image6.png 59 93 media_image6.png Greyscale and PNG media_image7.png 53 113 media_image7.png Greyscale are quantized each with N bits), and the third parameter is determined in at least one of the following ways: determining by a protocol; and determining by first signaling exchanged between the first device and the second device ([0079] In accordance with embodiments, the values for the number of beams, delays, and Doppler-frequency components are configured via a higher layer (e.g., RRC, or MAC) signaling or as a part of the DCI (physical layer signaling) in the downlink grant from the gNB to the UE. [0089] The oversampled factors O1,1, O1,2, O2, O3 of the DFT-codebook matrices may be configured via a higher layer (e.g., RRC, or MAC) signaling or may be configured as a part of the DCI (physical layer signaling) in the downlink grant from the gNB to the UE). 36. It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine the teachings of Akoum and Grossman. Akoum teaches obtaining norms of complex gains and Grossman teaches delay-doppler floating point coefficients precision of each norm and determining the parameter by a protocol. A person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to combine Akoum’s obtaining norms of complex gains with Grossman’s configurable floating point precision approach to improve feedback accuracy and reduce feedback overhead in delay-doppler systems. 37. Regarding claim 13, Akoum teaches the method according to claim 3, wherein the threshold and the first quantity ([0024] In some implementations, the method can comprise assigning, by the first device, a first feedback budget level to first samples in a delay doppler grid determined to have first norm levels above a defined norm threshold) but does not explicitly teach are determined in at least one of the following ways determining by a protocol; and determining by first signaling exchanged between the first device and the second device. 38. Grossman, in the field of wireless communications, teaches are determined in at least one of the following ways determining by a protocol; and determining by first signaling exchanged between the first device and the second device ([0079] In accordance with embodiments, the values for the number of beams, delays, and Doppler-frequency components are configured via a higher layer (e.g., RRC, or MAC) signaling or as a part of the DCI (physical layer signaling) in the downlink grant from the gNB to the UE. [0089] The oversampled factors O1,1, O1,2, O2, O3 of the DFT-codebook matrices may be configured via a higher layer (e.g., RRC, or MAC) signaling or may be configured as a part of the DCI (physical layer signaling) in the downlink grant from the gNB to the UE). 39. It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine the teachings of Akoum and Grossman. Akoum teaches obtaining norms and a threshold and Grossman teaches configuring delay and doppler parameters via protocol signaling such as RRC or MAC signaling. A person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to combine Akoum’s obtaining norms and a threshold with Grossman’s configuring delay and doppler parameters via protocol signaling approach to improve feedback accuracy and reduce feedback overhead in delay-doppler systems. 40. Regarding claim 14, Akoum teaches the method according to claim 8, but does not explicitly teach wherein floating point number precision of the weighted value is determined by a fourth parameter, and the fourth parameter is determined in at least one of the following ways: determining by a protocol; and determining by first signaling exchanged between the first device and the second device. 41. Grossman, in the same field of wireless communications, teaches wherein floating point number precision of the weighted value is determined by a fourth parameter [0100-0102] The first PMI component may correspond to the selected vectors and may be represented in the form of three-tuple’ sets, where each three-tuple (u,d,v) is associated with a selected spatial beam vector a selected delay vector and a selected Doppler-frequency vector For example, the three-tuple’ sets may be represented by i 1 = [i 1,1,i 1,2,i 1,3] for a rank-1 transmission. Here, i 1,1 contains ∑l U(l) indices of selected DFT-vectors for the spatial beams, i 1,2 contains indices of selected delay-vectors, and i 1,3 contains indices of selected Doppler-frequency-vectors. In accordance with embodiments, to report the Doppler-delay-beam combining coefficients Y(p,u,d,v) from the UE to the gNB, the UE may quantize the coefficients using a codebook approach. The quantized combining coefficients are represented by i 2, the second PMI. ([0107-0108] In accordance with embodiments the UE may be configured to quantize the complex Doppler-delay coefficients with a codebook approach. Each coefficient is represented by PNG media_image2.png 69 240 media_image2.png Greyscale where PNG media_image3.png 49 69 media_image3.png Greyscale is a polarization-, beam-, delay- and Doppler-frequency-dependent amplitude coefficient which is quantized with N bits; and PNG media_image4.png 55 71 media_image4.png Greyscale represents a phase which is represented by a BPSK, or QPSK, or 8PSK, and any higher-order constellation. [0108] In accordance with other embodiments, each coefficient may be represented by its real and imaginary part as PNG media_image5.png 72 356 media_image5.png Greyscale where PNG media_image6.png 59 93 media_image6.png Greyscale and PNG media_image7.png 53 113 media_image7.png Greyscale are quantized each with N bits),), and the fourth parameter is determined in at least one of the following ways: determining by a protocol; and determining by first signaling exchanged between the first device and the second device ([0079] In accordance with embodiments, the values for the number of beams, delays, and Doppler-frequency components are configured via a higher layer (e.g., RRC, or MAC) signaling or as a part of the DCI (physical layer signaling) in the downlink grant from the gNB to the UE. [0089] The oversampled factors O1,1, O1,2, O2, O3 of the DFT-codebook matrices may be configured via a higher layer (e.g., RRC, or MAC) signaling or may be configured as a part of the DCI (physical layer signaling) in the downlink grant from the gNB to the UE). 42. It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine the teachings of Akoum and Grossman. Akoum teaches determining the target information based on a weighted sum and Grossman teaches delay-doppler floating point coefficients precision of the weighted value and determining the parameter by a protocol. A person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to combine Akoum’s determining the target information based on a weighted sum with Grossman’s configurable floating point precision approach to improve feedback accuracy and reduce feedback overhead in delay-doppler systems. 43. Regarding claim 15, Akoum teaches the method according to claim 11, but does not explicitly teach wherein the first signaling comprises at least one of the following: radio resource control signaling; layer 1 signaling of a physical downlink control channel; information of a physical downlink shared channel; signaling of a medium access control element; a system information block; layer 1 signaling of a physical uplink control channel; MSG 1 information of a physical random access channel; MSG 3 information of the physical random access channel; MSG A information of the physical random access channel; information of a physical uplink shared channel; Xn interface signaling; PC5 interface signaling; and sidelink interface signaling. 44. Grossman, in the same field of wireless communications, teaches wherein the first signaling comprises at least one of the following: radio resource control signaling ([0079] In accordance with embodiments, the values for the number of beams, delays, and Doppler-frequency components are configured via a higher layer (e.g., RRC, or MAC) signaling or as a part of the DCI (physical layer signaling) in the downlink grant from the gNB to the UE. [0089] The oversampled factors O1,1, O1,2, O2, O3 of the DFT-codebook matrices may be configured via a higher layer (e.g., RRC, or MAC) signaling or may be configured as a part of the DCI (physical layer signaling) in the downlink grant from the gNB to the UE); layer 1 signaling of a physical downlink control channel; information of a physical downlink shared channel; signaling of a medium access control control element; a system information block; layer 1 signaling of a physical uplink control channel; MSG 1 information of a physical random access channel; MSG 3 information of the physical random access channel; MSG A information of the physical random access channel; information of a physical uplink shared channel; Xn interface signaling; PC5 interface signaling; and sidelink interface signaling. 45. It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine the teachings of Akoum and Grossman. Akoum teaches directly quantizing the target channel information for feedback and Grossman teaches that configuration parameters for channel feedback, including quantization, may be determined via higher-layer signaling such as radio resource control (RRC) signaling. A person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to combine Akoum’s determining target feedback information with Grossman’s RRC signaling mechanisms to improve feedback accuracy and reduce feedback overhead in delay-doppler systems. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 46. Claim(s) 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Akoum (US 2021/0083742 A1); hereinafter Akoum in view of Grossmann (EP 3576312 A1); hereinafter Grossman. as applied to claim 11 above, and further in view of Kittichokechai (US 10681584 B2); hereinafter US10681584B2. 47. Regarding claim 16, Akoum and Grossman teaches the method according to claim 11, but does not explicitly teach further comprising: adaptively adjusting at least one of the following parameters based on a transmission environment condition and a transmission requirement: the threshold, the first quantity, a first parameter, the second parameter, the third parameter, and the fourth parameter, wherein a process of the adaptive adjustment is triggered by the first device or the second device. 48. Kittichokechai, in the same field of wireless communications, teaches further comprising: adaptively adjusting at least one of the following parameters based on a transmission environment condition and a transmission requirement ([Page 12, col 8, lines 38-42] Examples of such channel properties can be, for example, a high Doppler spread, making the current estimate outdated sooner, or a frequency-flat channel, where the receiver cannot rely on frequency diversity to help the decoding succeed. [Page 13, col 10, lines 51-54] In another embodiment, the scaling factor is selected based on service requirements. For example, the lower scaling factor is used for services with BLER requirement below certain preconfigured level.): the threshold, the first quantity, a first parameter, the second parameter, the third parameter, and the fourth parameter, wherein a process of the adaptive adjustment is triggered by the first device or the second device ( [Page 13, col 10, lines 34-45] For example, if CQI(Y %)<threshold, the scaling factor 1/4 is selected. Otherwise, the scaling factor 1/2 is selected. In this case, 1-bit is used to report the scaling factor. If CQI(Y %) is smaller than the threshold, the UE should report a lower scaling factor so that if the scaling is needed, the extended code rate can be sufficiently low to support the desired BLER.). 49. It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine the teachings of Akoum, Grossman and Kittichokechai. Akoum and Grossman teach directly quantizing the target channel information for feedback and delay-doppler floating point coefficients precision of a complex gain and determining the parameter by a protocol, and Kittichokechai teaches adapting transmission-related parameters based on channel properties and thresholds such as high doppler spread and selecting parameter values based on adjustments. A person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to combine Akoum and Grossman’s determining target feedback information RRC signaling mechanisms with Kittichokechai’s adaptive adjustment based on transmission environment conditions to improve transmission reliability and reduce feedback overhead in delay-doppler systems. Conclusion 50. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LABIBAH I. ALI whose telephone number is (571)272-6738. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:00-5:00. 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, Gary Mui can be reached at (571) 270-1420. 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. /LABIBAH ILMA ALI/ Examiner, Art Unit 2465 /GARY MUI/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2465
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Prosecution Timeline

Nov 20, 2023
Application Filed
Feb 20, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §102, §103 (current)

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1-2
Expected OA Rounds
Grant Probability
3y 1m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 0 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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