DETAILED ACTION
This office action is a response to an amendment filed on 07/01/2026.
Response to Amendment
The Amendment filed on 07/01/2026 has been entered.
Claims 1-3, 5-11, 18, 20-22, and 24-27 are pending
Claims 1, 18 and 20 are amended
Claims 4, 12-17 and 23 are canceled
Claims 1-3, 5-11, 18, 20-22, and 24-27 remain rejected.
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 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 of this title, 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.
Claims 1-3, 5-7, 11, 18, 20-22 and 24-26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang et al. (US20190296946A1), hereinafter referenced as Zhang, in view of Xue et al. (US 20160338056 A1), hereinafter referenced as Xue.
Regarding claims 1, 18 and 20, Zhang teaches a method (Para. [0002]-Zhang discloses reference signal transmission method and transmission apparatus in the communications field. Para. [0102]-Zhang discloses reference signal transmission apparatus, the transmission apparatus includes a memory, a processor, a transceiver, and a computer program that is stored in the memory and that may run on the processor, and when executing the computer program, the processor performs the transmission method), comprising:
determining frequency-domain positions of reference signals on a plurality of resource blocks (RBs) (Para. [0252]-Zhang discloses the network device or the terminal device can determine a frequency domain position of a resource block (PRB) to which a PTRS is to be mapped ... the network device or the terminal device determines a frequency domain position of a resource element to which the PTRS is to be mapped in the resource block. (See also Para. [0078-0079, 0090-0091 and 0235-0236])),
the reference signals are used for phase noise estimation (Para. [0009]-Zhang discloses the resource block offset of the frequency domain position of the PTRS of the terminal device is determined by using information related to the terminal device, to help randomize PTRS interference, thereby stabilizing performance of PTRS-based phase noise estimation),
the plurality of RBs comprise a first RB (Para. [0078]-Zhang discloses demodulation reference signal (DMRS) of a terminal device is to be mapped in a first resource block, where the first resource block is a resource block to which a first PTRS of the terminal device is to be mapped. Para. [0042]-Zhang discloses the network device allocates K physical resource blocks (PRB) to the terminal device, relative RBs whose sequence numbers (or numbers or indexes) are 0, 1, . . . , and K−1 may be obtained in ascending order of sequence numbers of the K PRBs, where K is an integer greater than 0. For example, the network device allocates four PRBs whose sequence numbers are 0, 1, 6, and 7 to the terminal device, and four relative RBs whose sequence numbers are 0, 1, 2, and 3 are obtained in ascending order of sequence numbers),
a quantity of the reference signals on the first RB is W (Para. [0041-0045]-Zhang discloses a quantity of PTRSs in this embodiment of this application may be understood as a quantity of PTRS symbols … a frequency domain position of an M.sup.th PTRS symbol in the sequence of the PTRS in a relative RB may be a (Δf+M*N).sup.th relative RB, where Δf indicates the resource block offset of the frequency domain position, N indicates the frequency domain density of the PTRS, and M is an integer greater than or equal to 0),
the W reference signals occupy consecutive frequency-domain resources on the first RB (Para. [0245]-Zhang discloses method for determining a relationship between a frequency domain position of a relative RB to which a PTRS is to be mapped and a frequency domain position of a PRB to which the PTRS is to be mapped is also applicable to a scenario in which PRBs are contiguous. Para. [0078]-Zhang discloses demodulation reference signal (DMRS) of a terminal device is to be mapped in a first resource block, where the first resource block is a resource block to which a first PTRS of the terminal device is to be mapped), and
W is an integer greater than 1 (Para. [0041-0045]-Zhang discloses a quantity of PTRSs in this embodiment of this application may be understood as a quantity of PTRS symbols … a frequency domain position of an M.sup.th PTRS symbol in the sequence of the PTRS in a relative RB may be a (Δf+M*N).sup.th relative RB, where Δf indicates the resource block offset of the frequency domain position, N indicates the frequency domain density of the PTRS, and M is an integer greater than or equal to 0),
mapping, based on the frequency-domain positions of the reference signals on the plurality of RBs, the reference signals to one or more symbols (Para. [0040]-Zhang discloses the frequency domain position of the PTRS may be understood as a frequency domain position to which a PTRS symbol in a sequence of the PTRS is mapped); and
sending the one or more symbols to which the reference signals are mapped (Para. [0008]-Zhang discloses performing, by the network device, transmission of the PTRS with the terminal device based on the resource block offset of the frequency domain position of the PTRS. Para. [0040]-Zhang discloses the frequency domain position of the PTRS may be understood as a frequency domain position to which a PTRS symbol in a sequence of the PTRS is mapped. Para. [0041]-Zhang discloses a quantity of PTRSs in this embodiment of this application may be understood as a quantity of PTRS symbols).
Zhang fails to explicitly teach the frequency-domain positions of the W reference signals on the first RB are determined based on a position of a center of the W reference signals on the first RB and W.
However, Xue teaches the frequency-domain positions of the W reference signals on the first RB are determined based on a position of a center of the W reference signals on the first RB and W (Fig. 2, Para. [0013]-Xue discloses determining, by the UE, a resource location of an actual access resource corresponding to a detected actual sequence in the access cell according to the location relationship between each candidate access resource in the multiple candidate access resources and the resource on which the access cell is located and a correspondence between the any candidate sequence in the at least one candidate sequence and the multiple candidate access resources, the method further includes: determining, by the UE, a second reference signal that is at the resource location of the actual access resource, where the second reference signal is a reference signal segment clipped from a first reference signal and corresponding to the resource location, and the first reference signal is a reference signal generated by using the center frequency point of the access cell as a center and using a quantity of resource blocks included in the bandwidth of the access cell as a frequency domain width; or determining, by the UE, a second reference signal that is at the resource location of the actual access resource, where the second reference signal is a reference signal segment clipped from a frequency domain center of a first reference signal and corresponding to a first frequency domain width, the first frequency domain width is a frequency domain width occupied by the actual access resource, a reference signal in the bandwidth of the access cell is a cyclic shift of the first reference signal, and the first reference signal is a reference signal generated by using the center frequency point of the access cell as a center and using a quantity of resource blocks included in the bandwidth of the access cell as a frequency domain width. (See also Para. [0137])).
Zhang and Xue are both considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of communication networks, dealing with information transmission method, user equipment, and base station.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the Zhang to incorporate the teachings of Xue on reference signal resource block, with a motivation to determine frequency-domain positions of the reference signal, and guarantee randomized PTRS interference (Zhang, Para. [0005]).
Regarding claims 2 and 21, Zhang in view of Xue teaches the method according to claim 1 and The computer program product according to claim 20 respectively,
Zhang further teaches a manner of mapping the reference signals to the first RB is cyclic code mapping (Para. [0299-0300]-Zhang discloses when an adjacent subcarrier falls beyond a range, a value may be cyclically used based on a quantity of elements in the set ... For example, when j−1=0, j−1 may be set to P, in other words, when the value is less than a smallest number, a cyclic process is performed to the end of the set to obtain a largest value. Para. [0258]-Zhang discloses because a resource element/a subcarrier to which the PTRS is to be mapped needs to be in a subcarrier set occupied by a DMRS port associated with the first PTRS, the network device may determine, based on scheduling information of the DMRS, at least one subcarrier occupied by the DMRS port, associated with the PTRS, in one symbol in the first resource block).
Regarding claims 3 and 22, Zhang in view of Xue teaches the method according to claim 1 and The computer program product according to claim 20 respectively,
Zhang further teaches W is an odd number greater than 1 (Para. [0041-0045]-Zhang discloses a quantity of PTRSs in this embodiment of this application may be understood as a quantity of PTRS symbols … a frequency domain position of an M.sup.th PTRS symbol in the sequence of the PTRS in a relative RB may be a (Δf+M*N).sup.th relative RB, where Δf indicates the resource block offset of the frequency domain position, N indicates the frequency domain density of the PTRS, and M is an integer greater than or equal to 0).
Regarding claims 5 and 24, Zhang in view of Xue teaches the method according to claim1 and The computer program product according to claim 20 respectively,
Zhang further teaches the frequency-domain positions of the reference signals on the plurality of RBs are determined based on a frequency-domain density of the reference signals on the plurality of RBs or a quantity of frequency-domain resources occupied by the reference signals on each RB (Para. [0045]-Zhang discloses a frequency domain position of an M.sup.th PTRS symbol in the sequence of the PTRS in a relative RB may be a (Δf+M*N).sup.th relative RB, where Δf indicates the resource block offset of the frequency domain position, N indicates the frequency domain density of the PTRS, and M is an integer greater than or equal to 0).
Regarding claims 6 and 25, Zhang in view of Xue teaches the method according to claim 5 and The computer program product according to claim 24 respectively,
Zhang further teaches the frequency-domain density of the reference signals on the plurality of RBs or quantity of frequency-domain resources occupied by the reference signals on each RB is associated with one or more of the following information: a quantity of the reference signals on the plurality of RBs, a modulation scheme, a quantity of the plurality of RBs, and a frequency band in which the plurality of RBs are located (Para. [0011]-Zhang discloses frequency domain density (a frequency domain interval) n of a PTRS may mean that a PTRS symbol is mapped to one in every n resource blocks (RB). A value of n may be, for example, 1, 2, 4, 8, or 16. Para. [0042]-Zhang discloses when the network device allocates K physical resource blocks (PRB) to the terminal device, relative RBs whose sequence numbers (or numbers or indexes) are 0, 1, . . . , and K−1 may be obtained in ascending order of sequence numbers of the K PRBs, where K is an integer greater than 0).
Regarding claims 7 and 26, Zhang in view of Xue teaches the method according to claim1 and The computer program product according to claim 20 respectively,
Zhang further teaches the reference signals are distributed on at least two of the RBs in the plurality of RBs (Para. [0011]-Zhang discloses frequency domain density (a frequency domain interval) n of a PTRS may mean that a PTRS symbol is mapped to one in every n resource blocks (RB). A value of n may be, for example, 1, 2, 4, 8, or 16. Para. [0041]-Zhang discloses a quantity of PTRSs in this embodiment of this application may be understood as a quantity of PTRS symbols), and
there is a same spacing between every two adjacent RBs in the at least two of the RBs (Para. [0245]-Zhang discloses method for determining a relationship between a frequency domain position of a relative RB to which a PTRS is to be mapped and a frequency domain position of a PRB to which the PTRS is to be mapped is also applicable to a scenario in which PRBs are contiguous).
Regarding claim 11, Zhang in view of Xue teaches the method according to claim 1,
Zhang further teaches the reference signal is a phase tracking reference signal (PTRS) (Para. [0007]-Zhang discloses determining, by a network device, a resource block offset of a frequency domain position of a phase tracking reference signal (PTRS) of a terminal device based on PTRS information of the terminal device).
Claims 8 and 27 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang et al. (US20190296946A1), hereinafter referenced as Zhang, in view of Xue et al. (US 20160338056 A1), hereinafter referenced as Xue, and further in view of Zhongshan et al. (US 20130259024 A1), hereinafter referenced as Zhongshan.
Regarding claims 8 and 27, Zhang in view of Xuw teaches the method according to claim 1 and The computer program product according to claim 20 respectively,
Zhang further teaches the plurality of RBs comprise a second RB and a third RB (Para. [0078]-Zhang discloses demodulation reference signal (DMRS) of a terminal device is to be mapped in a first resource block, where the first resource block is a resource block to which a first PTRS of the terminal device is to be mapped. Para. [0042]-Zhang discloses the network device allocates K physical resource blocks (PRB) to the terminal device, relative RBs whose sequence numbers (or numbers or indexes) are 0, 1, . . . , and K−1 may be obtained in ascending order of sequence numbers of the K PRBs, where K is an integer greater than 0. For example, the network device allocates four PRBs whose sequence numbers are 0, 1, 6, and 7 to the terminal device, and four relative RBs whose sequence numbers are 0, 1, 2, and 3 are obtained in ascending order of sequence numbers), and
the second RB and the third RB are RBs adjacent to a direct current DC subcarrier (Para. [0261]-Zhang discloses a subcarrier occupied by the DMRS port associated with the PTRS includes a direct current (DC) subcarrier. Para. [0258]-Zhang discloses because a resource element/a subcarrier to which the PTRS is to be mapped needs to be in a subcarrier set occupied by a DMRS port associated with the first PTRS, the network device may determine, based on scheduling information of the DMRS, at least one subcarrier occupied by the DMRS port, associated with the PTRS, in one symbol in the first resource block).
Zhang fails to teach frequency-domain positions of the reference signals on the second RB and the third RB are symmetrically distributed by centering on the DC subcarrier.
However, Zhongshan teaches frequency-domain positions of the reference signals on the second RB and the third RB are symmetrically distributed by centering on the DC subcarrier (Fig. 3A, Para. [0041]-Zhongshan discloses the central symmetric property of the frequency domain ZC sequence. As illustrated in this figure, the subcarriers of ZC sequence are symmetrically distributed with the DC subcarrier (at the position #(N-1)/2) as the center. Namely, the #0 subcarrier data is symmetrical (equal) to the #N-1 subcarrier data, and the #1 subcarrier data is symmetrical to the #N-2 subcarrier data).
Zhang and Zhongshan are both considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of communication network, dealing with frequency domain.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the Zhang in view of Xue to incorporate the teachings of Zhongshan on the central symmetric property of the frequency domain, with a motivation for frequency domain positions relative to the central direct current subcarrier, and guarantee randomized PTRS interference (Zhang, Para. [0005]).
Claim 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang et al. (US20190296946A1), hereinafter referenced as Zhang, in view of Xue et al. (US 20160338056 A1), hereinafter referenced as Xue, and further in view of Ly et al. (US 20220360394 A1), hereinafter referenced as Ly.
Regarding claim 9, Zhang in view of Xue teaches the method according to claim 1,
Zhang fails to teach using single-carrier modulation.
However, Ly teaches the symbol is a symbol using single-carrier modulation, or the symbol is a symbol using multi-carrier modulation (Para. [0083]-Ly discloses signal waveforms transmitted over a carrier may be made up of multiple subcarriers (e.g., using multi-carrier modulation (MCM) techniques such as orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) or discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-S-OFDM))).
Zhang and Ly are both considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of communication network, dealing with PTRS.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the Zhang in view of Xue to incorporate the teachings of Ly on modulation, with a motivation for single-carrier or multi-carrier modulation, and guarantee randomized PTRS interference (Zhang, Para. [0005]).
Claim 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang et al. (US20190296946A1), hereinafter referenced as Zhang, in view of Xue et al. (US 20160338056 A1), hereinafter referenced as Xue, and further in view of Wang et al. (US 20150110215 A1), hereinafter referenced as Wang.
Regarding claim 10, Zhang in view of Xue teaches the method according to claim 1,
Zhang fails to teach non-constant modulus.
However, Wang teaches the reference signal is a signal with a non-constant modulus (Para. [0013]-Wang discloses receiving module, configured to receive a precoding matrix indicator sent by the user equipment, the precoding matrix indicator corresponding to a precoding matrix selected from a codebook by the user equipment based on the reference signal set, the codebook at least including a non-constant modulus precoding matrix).
Zhang and Wang are both considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of communication network, dealing with reference signal precoding resource.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the Zhang in view of Xue to incorporate the teachings of Wang on signal precoding, with a motivation for signal with non-constant modulus, and guarantee randomized PTRS interference (Zhang, Para. [0005]).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the claims have been considered but are moot because the arguments do not apply to the new reference (Xue et al. (US 20160338056 A1)) being used in the current rejection.
Conclusion
Listed below are the prior arts made of record and not relied upon but are considered pertinent to applicant`s disclosure.
Wu et al. (US 20200153585 A1)-discloses generating one or more OFDM symbols, where at least one OFDM symbol includes a PTRS resource block, the PTRS resource block includes at least two of three sequences: a PTRS sequence of Y elements, X elements after the PTRS sequence, and Z elements before the PTRS sequence, and the PTRS resource block occupies a plurality of consecutive resource elements REs, where X, Y, and Z are all integers; and sending the one or more OFDM symbols. According to the foregoing method and apparatus, inter-carrier interference is reduced, thereby improving spectral efficiency…. …Fig. 1-4
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to OLADIRAN GIDEON OLALEYE whose telephone number is (571)272-5377. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday: 07:30am - 05:30pm.
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 SPE, NICHOLAS A. JENSEN can be reached on (571) 270-5443. 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.
Examiner, Art Unit 2472 /OLADIRAN GIDEON OLALEYE/
Prosecution Insights