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 Arguments
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1 and 47 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
Applicant’s arguments, see 112 Rejections, filed 02/19/2026, with respect to claims 5 have been fully considered and are persuasive. The 112 Rejection of claims 5 has been withdrawn.
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 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) 1, 3, 12, 14, 16 25, and 47-48, is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Yi et al. (US 2023/0239125 A1) in view of Feuersanger et al. (US 2015/0230286 A1).
Regarding claims 1 and 47, Yi discloses:
a wireless communication node (fig.15 element 1504 which depicts a base station) comprising a memory (fig.15 element 1514 depicts a memory) for storing computer instructions (fig.15 element 1514 and par.[0210] which recites, in part, “Memory 1514 and memory 1524 (e.g., one or more non-transitory computer readable mediums) may store computer program instructions or code that may be executed by the processing system 1508 and/or the processing system 1518 to carry out one or more of the functionalities discussed in the present application.”), and a processor in communication with memory (fig.15 depicts the processor in communications with the memory over a bus, element 1508), wherein, when the processor executes the computer instructions (fig.15 and par.[0211] “ The processing system 1508 and/or the processing system 1518 may perform at least one of signal coding/processing, data processing, power control, input/output processing, and/or any other functionality that may enable the wireless device 1502 and the base station 1504 to operate in a wireless environment.”), the processor is configured to cause the device to:
a method performed by a wireless communications node (par.[0038] which discloses a base station) in a wireless network (par.[0038] which recites, in part, “A base station may communicate with a mix of wireless devices.”. The communications between the wireless devices and base station constituting a wireless communications network, fig.1a and par.[0045]), comprising:
transmitting, to a User Equipment (UE) (par.[0038] the wireless devices) in the wireless network (par.[0045] fig.1a and par.[0045] which recites, in part, “a mobile communication network 100 in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. The mobile communication network 100 may be, for example, a public land mobile network (PLMN) run by a network operator. As illustrated in FIG. 1A, the mobile communication network 100 includes a core network (CN) 102, a radio access network (RAN) 104, and a wireless device 106.”), an indication message (the disclosure of Yi provides a plurality of indications from the network to the UE throughout the specification, in particular, the disclosure of Yi teaches a carrier activation in par.[0136]) indicating configuration information for a configuration of a at least one element associated with the wireless communication node of the UE (as discussed above, the disclosure of Yi teaches a plurality of indications which pertain to communications between the wireless communication node and the user equipment, and in particular Yi teaches at least a carrier activation. The carrier being a carrier used for communications between the UE and wireless node. Par.[0136] which recites, in part, “A cell, comprising a downlink carrier and optionally an uplink carrier, may be assigned with a physical cell ID and a cell index……The same/similar concept may apply to, for example, a carrier activation. When the disclosure indicates that a first carrier is activated, the specification may mean that a cell comprising the first carrier is activated.” Additionally TCI states are activated/deactivated as discussed in par.[0133 and 0226]), wherein:
the indication message is transmitted via at least one of:
a higher layer signaling (par.[0136] describes RRC signaling, e.g. the Cell Index, par.[0226]);
a Downlink Control Information (DCI) (PT-RS activation may be conveyed via DCI, which is layer-1 signaling. Par.[0226] describes TCI state activation/deactivation); or
a reference signaling (par.[0077] describes the MAC-CE which is L2 signaling used to configured TCI state or other information being multiplexed with SRS), and the higher layer signaling is implemented in at least one of:
a Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling (par.[0136 or 226] as discussed above);
a MAC CE signaling (par.[0077 or 0226] as discussed above); or
a system information signaling (par.[0079] which recites, in part, “a broadcast control channel (BCCH) for carrying system information messages in the form of a master information block (MIB) and several system information blocks (SIBs), wherein the system information messages may be used by the UEs to obtain information about how a cell is configured and how to operate within the cell”);
a type of the configuration comprises one of:
an activation of the at least one element, a deactivation of at least one element, or a configuration update related to the at least one element (as discussed above the disclosure of Yi teaches activation/deactivation of a plurality of elements, such as carrier, or TCI states as discussed above); and
the at least one element comprises at least one of:
a cell, a frequency layer, a frequency band, a carrier, a Transmission and Reception Point (TRP), a beam, a Transmission Configuration Indication (TCI) state, an antenna, an antenna port, a MIMO layer, a rank, an antenna panel, a reference signal, or a reference resource (par.[0133] describes an SCell or PScell being activated or deactivated. par.[0136] describes a cell, and carrier being activated. As a frequency layer comprises one or more carriers activating a carrier comprises an implicit activation of a frequency layer or band. The disclosure also teaches activation of TCI states, as discussed above in par.[0133 and 0226]. Par.[0164] describes activating deactivating TCI states. Par.[0158] describes activating/deactivating SRS resources or resource sets).
Yi teaches activation and/or deactivation of a carrier, cell, BWP, etc. and timer for a duration, as discussed in par.[0133] with regard to the activation message, but does not disclose:
wherein the configuration is characterized by at least one of the following combinations:
a periodicity, a duration lasted for the configuration, and a time offset relative to a reference time point;
the periodicity, the duration, a start time position relative to the reference time point, and an end time position relative to the reference time point;
the periodicity, the duration, the start time position relative to the reference time point; the duration, the start time position relative to the reference time point; or
the duration, the start time position relative to the reference time point, and the end time position relative to the reference time point.
In an analogous art, the disclosure of Feuersanger teaches:
wherein the configuration is characterized by at least one of the following combinations:
a periodicity, a duration lasted for the configuration, and a time offset relative to a reference time point;
the periodicity, the duration, a start time position relative to the reference time point, and an end time position relative to the reference time point;
the periodicity, the duration, the start time position relative to the reference time point;
the periodicity, the duration, the start time position relative to the reference time point (par.[0136] teaches to deactivation/activation pattern, which suggests a periodicity, wherein the pattern comprises an duration, and an offset the UE is able to determine when to activate the SCell, and when to deactivate the SCell, periodically).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the instant application to combine the teachings of Yi as discussed with regard to the activation/deactivation of parameters for communication with the disclosure of Feuersanger which describes a duration wherein the parameters are active. The motivation/suggestion would have been to provide an effective interference coexistence in the network by detailing when and how long the UE may utilize the SCell.
Regarding claim 3, the disclosure of Feuersanger:
a timer;
a higher layer parameter;
a sub-carrier spacing;
a carrier frequency;
a medium access control-control element (MAC CE); or
a downlink control information (DCI) (par.[0127] which teaches the activation/deactivation being sent in control information, par.[0214]).
Regarding claim 12, the disclosure of Yi teaches:
wherein Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) bits of the DCI is scrambled by one of a Paging Radio Network Temporary Identifier (P-RNTI) or a System Information RNTI (SI-RNTI) (par.[0192] which recites, in part, “A base station may attach one or more cyclic redundancy check (CRC) parity bits to a DCI in order to facilitate detection of transmission errors. When the DCI is intended for a UE (or a group of the UEs), the base station may scramble the CRC parity bits with an identifier of the UE (or an identifier of the group of the UEs).” And par.[0193] which recites, in part, “A purpose may be indicated by the type of RNTI used to scramble the CRC parity bits. For example, a DCI having CRC parity bits scrambled with a paging RNTI (P-RNTI) may indicate paging information and/or a system information change notification……… A DCI having CRC parity bits scrambled with a system information RNTI (SI-RNTI) may indicate a broadcast transmission of the system information.”).
Regarding claim 14, Yi discloses:
the DCI comprises a group common DCI, the group common DCI comprising at least one block, each of the at least one block comprising configuration information corresponding to one UE and a serving cell associated with the one UE; and
a size of the group common DCI is aligned with one of the following DCI formats:
a DCI format 1-0 monitored in common search space; or
a DCI format 1-0 monitored in UE specific search space (par.[0191] describes a group common PDCCH, and par.[0194] describes the fallback DCI 1_0, and par.[0198] describes a common Search Space or UE-Specific Search Space. The Search Space being resources wherein the UE may locate a DCI 1_0 assigned to the UE).
Regarding claim 16, Yi discloses:
cells; frequency layers; frequency bands; carriers; TRPs; beams; a TCI states; antennas; antenna ports; MIMO layers; transmission layers; ranks; antenna panels; reference signals; or reference resources (par.[0355] describes the SRS resources allocated wherein the max number of SRS resources can be allocated).
Regarding claims 25 and 48, Yi discloses:
a device for wireless communication (fig.15 element 1502 which depicts a wireless device for wireless communications, par.[0204]) comprising a memory (fig.15 element 1524, and par.[0210]) for storing computer instructions (par.[0210] describes the memory storing instructions) and a processor (fig.15 element 1518 par.[0206]) in communication with the memory (fig.15 elements 1524 – 1518), wherein, when the processor executes the computer instructions (par.[0206 – 0207] and fig.15 wherein the memory and processor are coupled communicatively to perform the methods discussed below), the processor is configured to implement a method, comprising:
the method performed by a user equipment (UE) (par.[0038] which discloses a wireless device) in a wireless network (par.[0038] which recites, in part, “A base station may communicate with a mix of wireless devices.”. The communications between the wireless devices and base station constituting a wireless communications network, fig.1a and par.[0045]), comprising:
receiving, from a wireless communication node (par.[0038] which recites, in part, “A base station may communicate with a mix of wireless devices.”.) in the wireless network (par.[0045] fig.1a and par.[0045] which recites, in part, “a mobile communication network 100 in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. The mobile communication network 100 may be, for example, a public land mobile network (PLMN) run by a network operator. As illustrated in FIG. 1A, the mobile communication network 100 includes a core network (CN) 102, a radio access network (RAN) 104, and a wireless device 106.”), an indication message (the disclosure of Yi provides a plurality of indications from the network to the UE throughout the specification, in particular, the disclosure of Yi teaches a carrier activation in par.[0136]) indicating configuration information for a configuration of a at least one element associated with the wireless communication node of the UE (as discussed above, the disclosure of Yi teaches a plurality of indications which pertain to communications between the wireless communication node and the user equipment, and in particular Yi teaches at least a carrier activation. The carrier being a carrier used for communications between the UE and wireless node. Par.[0136] which recites, in part, “A cell, comprising a downlink carrier and optionally an uplink carrier, may be assigned with a physical cell ID and a cell index……The same/similar concept may apply to, for example, a carrier activation. When the disclosure indicates that a first carrier is activated, the specification may mean that a cell comprising the first carrier is activated.” Additionally TCI states are activated/deactivated as discussed in par.[0226]), wherein:
the indication message is transmitted via at least one of:
a higher layer signaling (par.[0136] describes RRC signaling, e.g. the Cell Index, par.[0226]);
a Downlink Control Information (DCI) (PT-RS activation may be conveyed via DCI, which is layer-1 signaling. Par.[0226] describes TCI state activation/deactivation); or
a reference signaling (par.[0077] describes the MAC-CE which is L2 signaling used to configured TCI state or other information being multiplexed with SRS), and the higher layer signaling is implemented in at least one of:
a Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling (par.[0136 or 226] as discussed above);
a MAC CE signaling (par.[0077 or 0226] as discussed above); or
a system information signaling (par.[0079] which recites, in part, “a broadcast control channel (BCCH) for carrying system information messages in the form of a master information block (MIB) and several system information blocks (SIBs), wherein the system information messages may be used by the UEs to obtain information about how a cell is configured and how to operate within the cell”);
a type of the configuration comprises one of:
an activation of the at least one element, a deactivation of at least one element, or a configuration update related to the at least one element (as discussed above the disclosure of Yi teaches activation/deactivation of a plurality of elements, such as carrier, or TCI states as discussed above); and
the at least one element comprises at least one of:
a cell, a frequency layer, a frequency band, a carrier, a Transmission and Reception Point (TRP), a beam, a Transmission Configuration Indication (TCI) state, an antenna, an antenna port, a MIMO layer, a rank, an antenna panel, a reference signal, or a reference resource (par.[0133] describes an SCell or PScell being activated or deactivated. par.[0136] describes a cell, and carrier being activated. As a frequency layer comprises one or more carriers activating a carrier comprises an implicit activation of a frequency layer or band. The disclosure also teaches activation of TCI states, as discussed above in par.[0133 and 0226]. Par.[0164] describes activating deactivating TCI states. Par.[0158] describes activating/deactivating SRS resources or resource sets).
Yi teaches activation and/or deactivation of a carrier, cell, BWP, etc. and timer for a duration, as discussed in par.[0133] with regard to the activation message, but does not disclose:
wherein the configuration is characterized by at least one of the following combinations:
a periodicity, a duration lasted for the configuration, and a time offset relative to a reference time point;
the periodicity, the duration, a start time position relative to the reference time point, and an end time position relative to the reference time point;
the periodicity, the duration, the start time position relative to the reference time point; the duration, the start time position relative to the reference time point; or
the duration, the start time position relative to the reference time point, and the end time position relative to the reference time point.
In an analogous art, the disclosure of Feuersanger teaches:
wherein the configuration is characterized by at least one of the following combinations:
a periodicity, a duration lasted for the configuration, and a time offset relative to a reference time point;
the periodicity, the duration, a start time position relative to the reference time point, and an end time position relative to the reference time point;
the periodicity, the duration, the start time position relative to the reference time point;
the periodicity, the duration, the start time position relative to the reference time point (par.[0136] teaches to deactivation/activation pattern, which suggests a periodicity, wherein the pattern comprises an duration, and an offset the UE is able to determine when to activate the SCell, and when to deactivate the SCell, periodically).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the instant application to combine the teachings of Yi as discussed with regard to the activation/deactivation of parameters for communication with the disclosure of Feuersanger which describes a duration wherein the parameters are active. The motivation/suggestion would have been to provide an effective interference coexistence in the network by detailing when and how long the UE may utilize the SCell.
Claim(s) 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yi and Feuersanger, as applied to claim(s) 1, 25, 47-48, in view of Wong et al. (US 2013/0163492 A1).
Regarding claim 4, Yi and Feuersanger discloses: receiving an activation/deactivation command for a carrier, but does not disclose:
wherein transmitting the indication message comprises:
transmitting the indication message in response to a condition being met, wherein the condition comprises one or more criteria associated with at least one of a number of UEs in the cell, a number of UEs in the wireless communication node, or UE assistance information (fig.3 the UE can detect no activity on a second carrier, and send assistance information (i.e. sends deactivation request) and receives an indication to deactivate the second carrier).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the instant application to combine the teachings of Yi and Feuersanger for receiving an activation/deactivation signaling from the network with the reception of signaling from the network based on a condition. The motivation/suggestion would have been to reduce power consumption at the UE by the UE not monitoring on a second frequency band, and free up resource for other terminals.
Claim(s) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being over Yi and Feuersanger, as applied to claim(s) 1, 25, 47-48, in view of Sadek et al. (US 2017/0332288 A1).
Regarding claim 5, Yi and Feuersanger teaches activation/deactivation of particular parameters for communications between the network and the UE, but does not disclose:
wherein the configuration information comprises a list of sleep modes, each sleep mode corresponding to a deactivation duration indicating a period for the deactivation of the at least one element.
In an analogous art, the disclosure of Sadek teaches:
wherein the configuration information comprises a list of sleep modes, each sleep mode corresponding to a deactivation duration indicating a period for the deactivation of the at least one element (fig.5 and par.[0068] which recites, in part, “The DTX communication pattern 200 maybe characterized by a set of one or more DTX parameters. Each of the associated DTX parameters, including, for example, a duty cycle (i.e., T.sub.ON/T.sub.DTX) and the respective transmission powers during active periods 204 and inactive periods 206, may be adapted based on the current signaling conditions on the communication medium 132 to dynamically optimize the DTX communication pattern 200.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the instant application to combine the teachings of Yi and Feuersanger for transmitting control signaling to the UE, with disclosure of Sadek for including specific configuration information in the control signaling. The motivation/suggestion would have been to reduce power consumption and reduce resource usage during inactive periods between the network and the UE.
Claim(s) 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yi and Feuersanger as applied to claim(s) 1, 25, 47-48, in view of He et al. (US 2019/0254110 A1).
Regarding claim 8, Yi and Feuersanger teaches the activation or deactivation, but does not disclose:
wherein the indication message is transmitted via the DCI, a format of the DCI comprising at least one of:
a DCI format 0-1; a DCI format 0-2; a DCI format 1-1; or a DCI format 1-2.
In an analogous art, the disclosure of He teaches:
wherein the indication message is transmitted via the DCI, a format of the DCI comprising at least one of:
a DCI format 0-1; a DCI format 0-2; a DCI format 1-1; or a DCI format 1-2 (par.[0279 – 0280] teaches the use of physical layer signaling to convey activation or deactivation of a cell).
It would have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the instant application to combine the teachings of Yi and Feuersanger for providing configuration information to a UE in control information with the disclosure of He which teaches the use of a certain configuration channel in order to convey the control information. The motivation/suggestion would have been that the use of physical layer signaling is commonly used to convey control information which allows the UE to interact with the network according to the configuration.
Claim(s) 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yi and Feuersanger as applied to claim(s) 1, 25, 47-48, in view of Babaei et al. (US 2022/0124674 A1).
Regarding claim 13, the disclosure of Yi and Feuersanger teaches a DCI with CRC scrambled but does not disclose:
wherein the DCI comprises a paging-early indication, the paging-early indication indicating to the UE whether to monitor paging occasion or not.
In an analogous art, the disclosure of Babaei teaches:
wherein the DCI comprises a paging-early indication, the paging-early indication indicating to the UE whether to monitor paging occasion or not (par.[0191] which recites, in part, “The DCI may be a paging DCI scheduling the paging TB or may be a paging early indication DCI received before the PO/timing of the paging DCI.” And par.[0193] which recites, in part, “In an example, the DCI may be a paging early indication DCI and may be received at a predetermined timing before the PO/timing of the paging DCI. For example, the timing of the DCI may be an offset before the PO or the PF (paging frame) comprising the PO or an offset before a timing of the paging DCI (e.g., as shown in FIG. 29 and FIG. 30).”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the instant application to combine the teachings of Yi and Feuersanger with the disclosure of Babaei for paging enhancement. The motivation/suggestion would have been to prevent the UE from waking during a PO when no paging is applicable to the UE.
Claim(s) 26-27 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yi and Feuersanger as applied to claim(s) 1, 25, 47-48, in view of Pu et al. (US 2024/0179781 A1).
Regarding claim 26, the disclosure of Yi and Feuersanger teaches the activation/deactivation of TCI states (par.[0239] which recites, in part, “The activation MAC CE may activate one or more TCI states for receiving PDSCHs. The activation MAC CE may activate a TCI state for a CORESET. In response to receiving the MAC CE activating the one or more TCI states for receiving PDSCHs, the wireless device may activate the one or more TCI states. The base station may transmit a DCI (e.g., based on DCI format 1_1) comprising a TCI state (or a TCI state code point) that indicating one TCI of the one or more TCI states.”, but does not disclose:
in response to the configuration information indicating an activation of the TCI state, activating a reference signal associated with the TCI state; and in response to the configuration information indicating a deactivation of the TCI state, deactivating the reference signal associated with the TCI state.
In an analogous art, the disclosure of Pu discloses:
in response to the configuration information indicating an activation of the TCI state, activating a reference signal associated with the TCI state; and in response to the configuration information indicating a deactivation of the TCI state, deactivating the reference signal associated with the TCI state (par.[0099] recites, in part, “In an implementation, one MAC CE used to activate or deactivate the target TCI state may also be used to instruct to activate or deactivate the target reference signal.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the instant application to combine the teachings of Yi and Feuersanger for activating/deactivating TCI states, with the disclosure of Pu for activating/deactivating the reference signal associated with the TCI state. The motivation/suggestion would have been to quickly activate or deactivate TCI states and reference signaling with reduced overhead.
Regarding claim 27, Pu discloses:
in response to the configuration information indicating a deactivation of the TCI state, stopping transmitting uplink channel or uplink signal using the TCI state, or stopping receiving downlink channel or downlink signal using the TCI state (par.[0099] describes the indication comprising the TCI state activation/deactivation with reference signal, and par.[0005] teaches that the TCI state is for the serving cell and uplink channel or signaling. Thus, based on par.[0099] when the reference signal associated with the TCI is deactivated the reference signal would be deactivated and unable to be used for uplink channel or uplink signal. Conversely, if activated it would be usable for uplink channel and uplink signal).
Claim(s) 28 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yi and Feuersanger as applied to claim(s) 1, 25, 47-48, in view of Xu et al. (US 2020/0260428 A1).
Regarding claim 28, the disclosure of Yi and Feuersanger teaches the activation/deactivation of spatial relation (par.[0265] which recites, in part, “In an example, the activation command may comprise one or more spatial relation assumptions for one or more SRS resources of the SRS resource set.”, but does not disclose:
in response to the configuration information indicating an activation of a spatial relation information, activating a reference signal associated with the spatial relation information; and
in response to the configuration information indicating a deactivation of a spatial relation information, deactivating the reference signal associated the spatial relation information.
In an analogous art, the disclosure of Xu discloses:
in response to the configuration information indicating an activation of a spatial relation information, activating [[an]] a reference signal associated with the spatial relation information; and
in response to the configuration information indicating a deactivation of a spatial relation information, deactivating the reference signal associated the spatial relation information (par.[0448] and fig.36A and 36B teaches the Spatial Relation information which comprises the Spatial Relation RS set. The MAC-CE or DCI can be used for activating/deactivating the RS for the spatial relation).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the instant application to combine the teachings Yi and Feuersanger with the disclosure of Xu. The motivations/suggestion would have been to provide a mechanism for activating or deactivating a plurality of spatial relations with a single message reducing signaling overhead.
Claim(s) 29 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yi and Feuersanger as applied to claim(s) 1, 25, 47-48, in view of Sun et al. (US 2024/0057071 A1).
Regarding claim 29, the disclosure of Yi and Feuersanger teaches the activation/deactivation of spatial relation and TCI state as discussed above, but does not disclose:
wherein the configuration information indicates that a maximum number of antennas is n, or that a maximum number of antenna port is n, or that a maximum number of Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) layer is n, n being a positive integer, the method further comprising updating a number of at least one of the following to a non-negative integer less than or equal to n:DM-RS ports; CSI-RS ports; transmission layers; ranks; SRS ports; TCI states; reference resources; or reference resource sets.
In an analogous art the disclosure of Sun teaches:
wherein the configuration information indicates that a maximum number of antennas is n, or that a maximum number of antenna port is n, or that a maximum number of Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) layer is n, n being a positive integer, the method further comprising updating a number of at least one of the following to a non-negative integer less than or equal to n:DM-RS ports; CSI-RS ports; transmission layers; ranks; SRS ports; TCI states; reference resources; or reference resource sets (par.[0084] which recites, in part, “In some aspects, a maximum number of antenna ports on a panel may be considered. Valid SRS resources may be equal to or less than this maximum number. Upon identifying valid SRS resources, base station 120 may transmit an SRI indicating the valid SRS resources.” Par.[0103-0104] which recites, in part, “base station 120 may recognize that the number of ports for the SRS resources should be updated. This update may occur based on a number of antenna ports for the panel identified by UE 110. In some aspects, the update may be based on a maximum number of antenna ports on the panel.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the instant application to combine the teachings of Yi and Feuersanger with the disclosure of Sun. The motivation/suggestion would have been to configure the UE with SRS resources.
Claim(s) 29 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yi and Feuersanger as applied to claim(s) 1, 25, 47-48, in view of Xie et al. (US 2023/0224127 A1).
Regarding claim 29, the disclosure of Yi and Feuersanger teaches the activation/deactivation of spatial relation and TCI state as discussed above, but does not disclose:
wherein the configuration information indicates that a maximum number of antennas is n, or that a maximum number of antenna port is n, or that a maximum number of Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) layer is n, n being a positive integer, the method further comprising updating a number of at least one of the following to a non-negative integer less than or equal to n:DM-RS ports; CSI-RS ports; transmission layers; ranks; SRS ports; TCI states; reference resources; or reference resource sets.
In an analogous art the disclosure of Xie teaches:
wherein the configuration information indicates that a maximum number of antennas is n, or that a maximum number of antenna port is n, or that a maximum number of Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) layer is n, n being a positive integer, the method further comprising updating a number of at least one of the following to a non-negative integer less than or equal to n:DM-RS ports; CSI-RS ports; transmission layers; ranks; SRS ports; TCI states; reference resources; or reference resource sets (par.[0224] which describes the max antenna ports and transmission layer based on the configuration, and that the number of DM-RS ports cannot be greater than the maximum. Thus, if the maximum is reduced then the number of ports must be reduced to not exceed the maximum).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the instant application to combine the teachings of Yi and Feuersanger with the disclosure of Xie. The motivation/suggestion would have been to configure the UE with SRS resources.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 9, 11, and 30, 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
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Qi (US 2023/0045122 A1) “Methods and Apparatus for Frequency Layer Configuration for NR Positioning Reference Signals” describes activating/deactivating frequency layers, wherein the frequency layers comprise one or more carriers.
El Hamss et al. (US 2024/0259853 A1) “Methods and Apparatus for Enabling Frequency Layers for Positioning” describes activating/deactivating frequency layers as discussed in par.[0004 – 0008].
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JAMAAL HENSON
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2411
/JAMAAL HENSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2411