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 .
DETAILED ACTION
This action is in response to communications filed on 03/30/2026.
Claims 1-7 and 9-20 are currently pending in the application.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 03/30/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
The scope of the independent claim has been amended to recite in part: “wherein the PTRS-DMRS port association indicates, for a second uplink transmission of the plurality of uplink transmissions, that a PTRS port is associated with a DMRS port having a lower index than one or more other DRMS ports associated with the PTRS port”. Applicant in remarks states that Khoshnevisan fails to disclose this limitation. However, examiner asserts that Khoshnevisan does disclose this limitation. The claim mapping previously cited to [0005-0006] of Khoshnevisan to teach the port association, recites that: “the first set of repetitions of an uplink communication are to be transmitted by a UE according to a first set of transmission parameters, and a second set of repetitions of the uplink communication are to be transmitted by the UE according to a second set of transmission parameters… determine one or more first PTRS port and DMRS port associations for the first set of repetitions, and one or more second PTRS port and DMRS port associations for the second set of repetitions”. This quote shows there are port associations for the second uplink communication. Regarding the argument on page 9 that the art does not disclose port association corresponding to a first uplink transmission, this is taught in the cited [0006] as quoted above. Previously cited [0045-0046] show the values for the port associations. These cited values read on index numbers and are referred to as index values in the cited paragraphs. For clarity, examiner would like to additionally point to paragraph [0060] which gives a specific example of what was discussed in [0045-0046] regarding the port association for a second uplink transmission having a lower index than one or more others, “the single PTRS-DMRS association indication may have a value of 01, the UE 120 may identify one PTRS port for the first set of repetitions, and the UE 120 may identify two PTRS ports for the second set of repetitions. In this example, the UE 120 may determine one PTRS-DMRS association for the first set of repetitions according to a DMRS port association of 01 (e.g., a value of 1) in mapping 305, and two PTRS-DMRS associations for the second set of repetitions according to DMRS port associations of 01 (e.g., an MSB value of 0 and an LSB value of 1) in mapping 310.” This quote shows an example where the first association (for first uplink transmission) has a value of 1 and the second association have a value of 0, making the port association indicating for the second uplink transmission that a PTRS port is associated with a DMRS port having a lower index than one or more other DRMS ports associated with the PTRS ports. Khoshnevisan [0059], [0068], and [0055] also give more context to the port association related index values. Accordingly, the rejections are maintained. Please see claim rejections section below for further details.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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.
Claims 1-7 and 9-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Khoshnevisan (WO 2021/168597 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Khoshnevisan teaches
A method (Khoshnevisan [0005]: method) comprising:
receiving, by a wireless communication device from a wireless communication node, a first signaling that includes a phase tracking reference signal (PTRS) - demodulation reference signal (DMRS) port association (Khoshnevisan fig. 4: receiving by wireless communication device (UE (user equipment)) from a wireless communication node (BS (base station)) first signaling; [0005-0006]: wireless communication between BS and UE; [0006]: DCI signaling includes scheduling according to transmission parameters to enable the UE to determine the PTRS-DMRS port associations); and
determining, by the wireless communication device, that the PTRS-DMRS port association corresponds to a first uplink transmission of a plurality of uplink transmissions, (Khoshnevisan fig. 4: PTRS-DMRS association determined by UE; [0006]: DCI signaling includes scheduling according to transmission parameters to enable the UE to determine the PTRS-DMRS port associations)
wherein the PTRS-DMRS port association indicates, for a second uplink transmission of the plurality of uplink transmissions, that a PTRS port is associated with a DMRS port having a lower index than one or more other DMRS ports associated with the PTRS port (Khoshnevisan [0045-0046] and [0060]: index values mapping respective PTRS port associated with DMRS port, two different index values meaning that one set of associated ports would have a lower index than the other; [0060]: “the single PTRS-DMRS association indication may have a value of 01, the UE 120 may identify one PTRS port for the first set of repetitions, and the UE 120 may identify two PTRS ports for the second set of repetitions. In this example, the UE 120 may determine one PTRS-DMRS association for the first set of repetitions according to a DMRS port association of 01 (e.g., a value of 1) in mapping 305, and two PTRS-DMRS associations for the second set of repetitions according to DMRS port associations of 01 (e.g., an MSB value of 0 and an LSB value of 1) in mapping 310.”).
Regarding claim 2, Khoshnevisan teaches
The method of claim 1 (the limitations of parent claim 1 as indicated above),
wherein each of the plurality of uplink transmissions comprises a respective group of physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmission (Khoshnevisan [0048] and [0051]: connection with an uplink communication in a PUSCH; [0052]: “may schedule multiple repetitions (i.e., PUSCH transmission occasions)”; only one of the listed limitations is required per the claim language, however multiple were mapped for the purpose of compact prosecution), a group of transmissions associated with a respective sounding reference signal (SRS) resource sets ([0045]: SRS resources), a group of transmissions to a respective transmission-reception point (TRP) ([0048] and [0069]: “may transmit multiple repetitions of an uplink communication that are received by different TRPs,”), a group of transmissions associated with a respective quasi-colocation (QCL) assumption, or a group of transmissions associated with one path loss reference signal (PL-RS), and
wherein each group of transmissions comprises at least one transmission ([0048]: at least one transmission per repetition (group of transmissions)).
Regarding claim 3, Khoshnevisan teaches
The method of claim 1 (the limitations of parent claim 1 as indicated above), wherein the first uplink transmission is indicated with a larger number of actual PTRS ports, than others of the plurality of uplink transmissions (Khoshnevisan [0064]: indicated quantity of PTRS ports with different numbers per repetition, more in first transmission than second transmission).
Regarding claim 4, Khoshnevisan teaches
The method of claim 1 (the limitations of parent claim 1 as indicated above), wherein the first uplink transmission is indicated with a smaller number of actual PTRS ports, than others of the plurality of uplink transmissions (Khoshnevisan [0064]: indicated quantity of PTRS ports with different numbers per repetition, less in first transmission than second transmission).
Regarding claim 5, Khoshnevisan teaches
The method of claim 1 (the limitations of parent claim 1 as indicated above), wherein the first uplink transmission has a rank of 2 (Khoshnevisan [0063-0064] and [0068]: 2 layers for UE to use for UL transmission).
Regarding claim 6, Khoshnevisan teaches
The method of claim 1 (the limitations of parent claim 1 as indicated above), wherein the first uplink transmission is configured with a maximum number of PTRS ports, that is larger than others of the plurality of uplink transmissions (Khoshnevisan [0045] and [0064]: maximum quantity of PTRS ports, a “quantity of PTRS ports that are to be transmitted by a set of repetitions”, meaning multiple PTRS ports per repetition, more PTRS ports than the plurality of UL transmissions).
Regarding claim 7, Khoshnevisan teaches
The method of claim 1 (the limitations of parent claim 1 as indicated above), wherein the first uplink transmission is associated with at least one of:
first transmit precoding matrix index (TPMI) field in the first signaling (Khoshnevisan [0045]: TPMI from first signaling; only one of the list is required per the claim language, multiple are mapped for the purpose of compact prosecution),
first SRS resource indicator (SRI) field in the first signaling ([0045]: SRS resource indicator),
a SRS resource set indicated in the first SRI field,
a SRS resource set with a lower index (ID), or
a SRS resource set associated with a transmission-reception point (TRP) having a higher priority.
Regarding claim 9, Khoshnevisan teaches
The method of claim 1 (the limitations of parent claim 8 as indicated above), wherein the DMRS port is configured or indicated for the second uplink transmission and is not indicated in the PTRS-DMRS port association, or wherein the DMRS port is configured or indicated with a same index for the plurality of uplink transmissions (Khoshnevisan [0045-0046] and [0061]: single index value (same index) to identify a DMRS port when single PTRS port is identified).
Regarding claim 10, Khoshnevisan teaches
The method of claim 1 (the limitations of parent claim 1 as indicated above), wherein the PTRS-DMRS port association indicates that a PTRS port is associated with a DMRS port that is configured or indicated with a same index for the plurality of uplink transmissions (Khoshnevisan [0056]: single PTRS-DMRS association indication, may indicate single index value; Khoshnevisan [0045-0046] and [0061]: single index value (same index) to identify a DMRS port when single PTRS port is identified).
Regarding claim 11, Khoshnevisan teaches
The method of claim 3 (the limitations of parent claim 3 as indicated above), wherein a maximum number of PTRS ports configured for the first uplink transmission is different from others of the plurality of uplink transmissions (Khoshnevisan [0064]: indicated quantity of PTRS ports with different numbers per repetition (UL transmission); different quantities of PTRS ports for the different transmissions).
Regarding claim 12, Khoshnevisan teaches
The method of claim 1 (the limitations of parent claim 1 as indicated above), wherein the first uplink transmission is configured with a maximum number of PTRS ports, that is smaller than others of the plurality of uplink transmissions (Khoshnevisan [0064]: indicated quantity of PTRS ports with different numbers per repetition, less in first transmission than second transmission).
Regarding claim 13, Khoshnevisan teaches
A method (Khoshnevisan [0006]: method) comprising:
sending, by a wireless communication node to a wireless communication device, a first signaling that includes a phase tracking reference signal (PTRS) - demodulation reference signal (DMRS) port association (Khoshnevisan fig. 4: receiving by wireless communication device (UE (user equipment)) from a wireless communication node (BS (base station)) first signaling (sending from wireless communication node to wireless communication device); [0005-0006]: wireless communication between BS and UE; [0006]: DCI signaling includes scheduling according to transmission parameters to enable the UE to determine the PTRS-DMRS port associations); and
causing the wireless communication device to determine that the PTRS-DMRS port association corresponds to a first uplink transmission of a plurality of uplink transmissions (Khoshnevisan fig. 4: PTRS-DMRS association determined by UE; [0006]: DCI signaling includes scheduling according to transmission parameters to enable [cause] the UE to determine the PTRS-DMRS port associations),
wherein the PTRS-DMRS port association indicates, for a second uplink transmission of the plurality of uplink transmissions, that a PTRS port is associated with a DMRS port having a lower index than one or more other DMRS ports associated with the PTRS port (Khoshnevisan [0045-0046] and [0060]: index values mapping respective PTRS port associated with DMRS port, two different index values meaning that one set of associated ports would have a lower index than the other; [0060]: “the single PTRS-DMRS association indication may have a value of 01, the UE 120 may identify one PTRS port for the first set of repetitions, and the UE 120 may identify two PTRS ports for the second set of repetitions. In this example, the UE 120 may determine one PTRS-DMRS association for the first set of repetitions according to a DMRS port association of 01 (e.g., a value of 1) in mapping 305, and two PTRS-DMRS associations for the second set of repetitions according to DMRS port associations of 01 (e.g., an MSB value of 0 and an LSB value of 1) in mapping 310.”).
Regarding claim 14, Khoshnevisan teaches
A wireless communication node (Khoshnevisan [0024]: base station (BS) communications wirelessly, also referred to as a node), comprising:
at least one processor (Khoshnevisan [0036]: processor) configured to:
send, via a transmitter to a wireless communication device, a first signaling that includes a phase tracking reference signal (PTRS) - demodulation reference signal (DMRS) port association (Khoshnevisan fig. 4: receiving by wireless communication device (UE (user equipment)) from a wireless communication node (BS (base station)) first signaling (sending from wireless communication node to wireless communication device); [0005-0006]: wireless communication between BS and UE; [0006]: DCI signaling includes scheduling according to transmission parameters to enable the UE to determine the PTRS-DMRS port associations); and
cause the wireless communication device to determine that the PTRS-DMRS port association corresponds to a first uplink transmission of a plurality of uplink transmissions (Khoshnevisan fig. 4: PTRS-DMRS association determined by UE; [0006]: DCI signaling includes scheduling according to transmission parameters to enable [cause] the UE to determine the PTRS-DMRS port associations),
wherein the PTRS-DMRS port association indicates, for a second uplink transmission of the plurality of uplink transmissions, that a PTRS port is associated with a DMRS port having a lower index than one or more other DMRS ports associated with the PTRS port (Khoshnevisan [0045-0046] and [0060]: index values mapping respective PTRS port associated with DMRS port, two different index values meaning that one set of associated ports would have a lower index than the other; [0060]: “the single PTRS-DMRS association indication may have a value of 01, the UE 120 may identify one PTRS port for the first set of repetitions, and the UE 120 may identify two PTRS ports for the second set of repetitions. In this example, the UE 120 may determine one PTRS-DMRS association for the first set of repetitions according to a DMRS port association of 01 (e.g., a value of 1) in mapping 305, and two PTRS-DMRS associations for the second set of repetitions according to DMRS port associations of 01 (e.g., an MSB value of 0 and an LSB value of 1) in mapping 310.”).
Regarding claim 15, Khoshnevisan teaches
A wireless communication device (Khoshnevisan [0030]: “A UE may be a… wireless communication device”; Khoshnevisan [0003]: user equipment in wireless communication network), comprising:
at least one processor (Khoshnevisan [0031]: one or more processors) configured to:
receive, via a receiver a from a wireless communication node ([0052], [0035], and [0037]: receive from BS (wireless communication node) via antennas (receiver)), a first signaling that includes a phase tracking reference signal (PTRS) - demodulation reference signal (DMRS) port association (Khoshnevisan fig. 4: receiving by wireless communication device (UE (user equipment)) from a wireless communication node (BS (base station)) first signaling; [0005-0006]: wireless communication between BS and UE; [0006]: DCI signaling includes scheduling according to transmission parameters to enable the UE to determine the PTRS-DMRS port associations); and
determine that the PTRS-DMRS port association corresponds to a first uplink transmission of a plurality of uplink transmissions (Khoshnevisan fig. 4: PTRS-DMRS association determined by UE; [0006]: DCI signaling includes scheduling according to transmission parameters to enable the UE to determine the PTRS-DMRS port associations),
wherein the PTRS-DMRS port association indicates, for a second uplink transmission of the plurality of uplink transmissions, that a PTRS port is associated with a DMRS port having a lower index than one or more other DMRS ports associated with the PTRS port (Khoshnevisan [0045-0046] and [0060]: index values mapping respective PTRS port associated with DMRS port, two different index values meaning that one set of associated ports would have a lower index than the other; [0060]: “the single PTRS-DMRS association indication may have a value of 01, the UE 120 may identify one PTRS port for the first set of repetitions, and the UE 120 may identify two PTRS ports for the second set of repetitions. In this example, the UE 120 may determine one PTRS-DMRS association for the first set of repetitions according to a DMRS port association of 01 (e.g., a value of 1) in mapping 305, and two PTRS-DMRS associations for the second set of repetitions according to DMRS port associations of 01 (e.g., an MSB value of 0 and an LSB value of 1) in mapping 310.”).
Regarding claim 16, Khoshnevisan teaches
The wireless communication device of claim 15 (the limitations of parent claim 15 as indicated above),
wherein each of the plurality of uplink transmissions comprises a respective group of physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmission (Khoshnevisan [0048] and [0051]: connection with an uplink communication in a PUSCH; [0052]: “may schedule multiple repetitions (i.e., PUSCH transmission occasions)”; only one of the listed limitations is required per the claim language, however multiple were mapped for the purpose of compact prosecution), a group of transmissions associated with a respective sounding reference signal (SRS) resource sets ([0045]: SRS resources), a group of transmissions to a respective transmission-reception point (TRP) ([0048] and [0069]: “may transmit multiple repetitions of an uplink communication that are received by different TRPs,”), a group of transmissions associated with a respective quasi-colocation (QCL) assumption, or a group of transmissions associated with one path loss reference signal (PL-RS), and
wherein each group of transmissions comprises at least one transmission ([0048]: at least one transmission per repetition (group of transmissions)).
Regarding claim 17, Khoshnevisan teaches
The wireless communication device of claim 15 (the limitations of parent claim 15 as indicated above), wherein the first uplink transmission is indicated with a larger number of actual PTRS ports, than others of the plurality of uplink transmissions (Khoshnevisan [0064]: indicated quantity of PTRS ports with different numbers per repetition, more in first transmission than second transmission).
Regarding claim 18, Khoshnevisan teaches
The wireless communication device of claim 15 (the limitations of parent claim 15 as indicated above), wherein the first uplink transmission is indicated with a smaller number of actual PTRS ports, than others of the plurality of uplink transmissions (Khoshnevisan [0064]: indicated quantity of PTRS ports with different numbers per repetition, less in first transmission than second transmission).
Regarding claim 19, Khoshnevisan teaches
The wireless communication device of claim 15 (the limitations of parent claim 15 as indicated above), wherein the first uplink transmission has a rank of 2 (Khoshnevisan [0063-0064] and [0068]: 2 layers for UE to use for UL transmission).
Regarding claim 20, Khoshnevisan teaches
The wireless communication device of claim 15 (the limitations of parent claim 15 as indicated above), wherein the first uplink transmission is configured with a maximum number of PTRS ports, that is larger than others of the plurality of uplink transmissions (Khoshnevisan [0045] and [0064]: maximum quantity of PTRS ports, a “quantity of PTRS ports that are to be transmitted by a set of repetitions”, meaning multiple PTRS ports per repetition, more PTRS ports than the plurality of UL transmissions).
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RACHEL E MARKS whose telephone number is (703)756-1309. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 8:30am-6pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Charles C Jiang can be reached at (571)270-7191. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/R.E.C./Examiner, Art Unit 2412 /CHARLES C JIANG/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2412
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